Beauty on a Budget: Rimmel Glam’Eyes Mono Eyeshadow
Rimmel Glam’Eyes Mono Eyeshadow
($3.99) come in several shades, but I recently tested out three shades:
- Royal Violet (400) is a lightened lavender purple with subtle white shimmer.
- Sapphire (450) is a nearly matte, periwinkle blue.
- Posh Peacock (500) is a gorgeous shade of blue with an aqua-teal shimmer-sheen.
These are definitely some of the better textured eyeshadows from mass that I’ve encountered recently. They’re also quite pigmented without having to maneuver in certain ways, like packing it on, using sponge-tip applicators, etc. Glam’Eyes Mono Eyeshadows work best with brushes, as the eyeshadows are quite silky. I found a sponge-tip felt a little rough on the shadows–like it was causing the shadow to break apart a bit.
Posh Peacock (500) was definitely my favorite, because it was richly pigmented (more so than the other two I tried), and it was just stunning when swatched. It was vibrant and had depth when I’ve come not to expect that from a lot of eyeshadows on the market these days. The other two shades were decently pigmented, but they were a little more on the powdery side, which is due in part to their more matte texture.
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- Product: 25/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: They’re not the best eyeshadows I’ve tried, but they’re very good. For $4, they’re a great entry point for those looking to play around with eyeshadows or even just brighter colors in general, without breaking the bank. And for those who get a little thrill out of brilliant drugstore scores, you may want to pick up one of their new Mono shades.
Availability: ULTA
Fresh for Summer with Essie’s Summer Collection
Essie’s Summer Collection features six shades of creamy summer colors. They dry pretty fast, and the finish is only slightly glossy, so I used Nubar’s Diamont Top Coat (it was the closest one at the time – no real preference!). I liked Knockout Pout and Pretty Edgy the most–very strong, opaque color and a fuss-free application. Vermillionaire applied the smoothest, and pros could probably get away with just one coat if they really wanted! I felt like these applied better than the average Essie, which may just be because three of the shades are much darker (and pastels have a tendency to be fussier).
- Knockout Pout is a brightened, glowing dark pink cream. It was pretty opaque in two coats.
- Haute as Hello is a lightened coral-orange. I used three coats with this one.
- Vermillionaire is a bold, deep orange. This one applied the best and only needed two coats.
- Pretty Edgy is a dark, grassy green cream. It’s pretty much exactly the color of grass to me – suppose that’s quite fitting for summer! I needed three coats to get a completely opaque look.
- Demure Vixen is a lightened mauve with pale purple shimmer. It’s a very soft, pretty color. The shimmer is incredibly subtle, but it’s there. It almost looks like a cream from a distance.
- Miss Matched is a pale pink-lilac cream. I found this one to be the streakiest, and I definitely needed three coats with it. You can still see some of my nail line even with three coats.
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- Product: 27/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If one of these colors grabs you, then it’s certainly worth checking out. I don’t have anything quite like Pretty Edgy, but the other shades may be a little easier to find, depending on how extensive your stash is!
Availability: Essie
Bobbi Brown Beach Collection: Long-Wear Cream Shadows
For summer, Bobbi Brown’s collection includes Metallic Long-Wear Cream Shadows ($22.00 for 0.12 oz.) in four new shades: Moonstone (pale shimmering green), Opal (opalescent pink), Pink Oyster (shimmering pink), and Surf (pale shimmering blue), as well as Long-Wear Cream Shadow ($22.00 for 0.12 oz.) in Shore (pale nude).
- Opal is an opalescent pinky-purple. It’s very sheer and light–it’s nice as an all-over wash on the lid. It could possibly be used as an eyeshadow base, too, since it’s more on the neutral side. Since the base almost feels and goes on clear, it looks glittery on the lid.
- Surf is a cool-toned baby blue with a silver-white sparkle-sheen. It has a soft colored base, so it looks smoother on the lid compared to Opal and more metallic and less glittery. It’s not a deep blue, but it’s a lot more representative of the color it looks like in the pot, so it’s the color I would expect!
- Shore is a creamy, matte beige. This is not an exciting color, but it’s incredibly versatile. It can be used to brighten up lids a bit, but it can be used as an eyeshadow base, too. It’s neutral and easy-to-use, particularly because of the matte finish.
I’m actually not a huge fan of Bobbi Brown’s Metallic Long-Wear Eyeshadows — they’re just incredibly sheer and more glittery than metallic. I reviewed a few shades earlier, when they first launched. I still wish they had more of a metallic finish, because they do feel more on the glittery side. The Metallics have an almost wet feel to them–it’s a thinner creamy consistency with a wet feel and applies very smoothly and evenly without any trouble (better than the other three I tried!). They also last all day without creasing or budging or fading.
I prefer the texture, feel, and color pay off of the original Long-Wear Eyeshadows for sure. I think having a couple of the Metallics can be fun, but they’re not as versatile as the more opaque ones. Like the Metallics, the original Long-Wear Eyeshadows last all day without budging, smudging, or fading. I just don’t think the Metallics are nearly as versatile or as multi-tasking as the original ones, which are more pigmented and very, very smooth.
Because these are two different products, I’m not going to give out an overall rating for all three. Instead, I’m going to break it down between the two — for Metallics, they work really well in terms of staying power and not creasing, but the color payoff is sheer and not buildable as purported, so they’re more of a B product for me. They’re better than the first ones I tried, because I do think these have a smoother finish and are truer-to-color in the pot. Shore, on the other hand, has excellent pay off and quality, so it’s much more of an A- product and shade.
RECOMMENDATION: Shore is an excellent neutral base that works well and looks great. It’s something that doesn’t inspire excitement, but it’s a very useable product. The Metallics don’t grab me and neither shade gets me any closer to loving them at the moment.
AVAILABILITY: Bobbi Brown
Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Champagne Room & Tickle Me
Too Faced Glamour Gloss
($19.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a plumping lip gloss available in twelve shades–from beige to marshmallow pink to iced raspberry. It’s a non-sticky lip gloss that’s moisturizing with a cooling sensation (it’s what “plumps”) (like when you use a mint mouthwash). It’s definitely not a sting or burning sensation, but it’s noticeable for at least a half hour. In general, I’m actually quite sensitive to a lot of lip plumpers–a few have really brutalized my lips, even after only an hour of wear. I didn’t have any issues with my lips drying out or peeling post-wear with Glamour Gloss (thankfully!).
- Champagne Room is a sheer, light tangerine base with champagne shimmer. It’s surprisingly not at all what I’d have imagined with a name like “Champagne Room,” though.
- Tickle Me is a sheer, pinky-coral base with golden shimmer.
The gloss is scented with a strong vanilla-frosting kind of scent–it’s a very sweet, sugary vanilla. It’s a little cloying for me, but I don’t notice the scent when it’s on my lips–just when I sniff the tube (wow, that sounds like I need help!). It’s moisturizing, and it wears for about three to four hours on me. One thing I noticed is that neither shade is particularly glossy. They’re definitely more on the subdued side for a gloss.
Ingredients: Polyisobutene, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Octyldodecanol, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax/Cera Carnauba/Cire de carnauba, Polyethylene, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Aroma/Flavor, Alaria Esculenta Extract, Faex/Yeast Extract/ Extrait de levure, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Lipids, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Lecithin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Menthoxypropanediol, Menthol, Silica, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360).
I like the gloss–neither shade spoke to me, but the formula itself was nice–but I am really not digging the quantity they give you. Based on price per ounce, Glamour Gloss ($158/oz.) is more expensive than Chanel ($142/oz.), Guerlain ($145/oz.), and YSL ($145/oz.) lip gloss. It’s also significantly less of a value as compared to similar high-end brands like MAC ($82/oz.), Tarte ($105/oz.), and Benefit ($105/oz.). For the $19 price tag, they don’t give you as much as I’d expect. If you’re someone who goes through a tube of lip gloss, it’s not the best gloss for your money, but if you rarely finish one, then you probably won’t notice the smaller quantity in these.
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- Product: 27/30
- Value: 6/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: If you’re looking for a gloss that lightly plumps lips without the bee-sting sensation, you may find the cooling sensation of Too Faced’s Glamour Gloss easier to tolerate. I’ve only tested two shades, but of those two, both of them are on the sheerer side. If you like your gloss less glossy, these are also a good option. Their biggest downside is the value.
WHERE TO BUY: Sephora
Summer Peach, Butter, L’Esprit, Malibu Green
American Apparel’s Summer Lacquers
Well, four of the five, at least! The lighter shades suffer from some of the same issues that the original shades did–a little streaky at first and need three coats to get a smooth, even look. The other new shade is California Trooper. Each shade retails for $6.
- Summer Peach is a soft, almost washed out peach. It doesn’t have any pink tones to it–definitely subtle orange tones, but it’s a very, very pale peach. While I found one coat was insanely pigmented, I still ended up with three to smooth everything out, since it was a little on the streaky side.
- Butter is exactly the color of butter. It is a soft, buttered yellow cream. Two coats here – it was easier to work with than Summer Peach.
- L’Esprit is pastel lavender cream. Like the other shades in AA’s line-up, it’s quite pigmented in just one coat, but I found two coats were needed to give it a smoother, more even finish.
- Malibu Green is a deep green-teal cream. This is such a beautiful shade, but it stains like no other. My nails were stained, and I had only worn this for less than a half hour. Just the residue on the cotton round I used for removal stained my other fingers a bit, too. I looked like I killed the Swamp Thing.
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- Product: 26/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: These didn’t quite apply as smoothly or easily as American Apparel’s original debut, and I really wish Malibu Green didn’t stain so much–it’s truly an incredible color! I’m not completely sold on any of these shades.
Availability: American Apparel
Oh, the Scent! NOW, There’s the Rub…
True Blue Spa There’s the Rub ($24.00 for 24 oz.) is a salt glow with natural sea salt–basically, it’s a sea salt-based body scrub to help slough off dead skin and all that fun stuff in the shower.
Where’s the Rub? IN THE SCENT. I’m sorry, but I found this product really, really difficult to test just because I found the scent so appalling. I’m not that prone to disusing a product purely based on scent–I can get through some interesting scents (chemical, synthetic, weird, whatever), but this smelled like I was scrubbing with household cleaner. It smelled exactly like the bathroom would after my Dad finished giving it a good scrub from floor to ceiling (when I used to live at home).
Anyway, I wanted to get that out of the way, because scent is inherently a personal experience, so you may not find it as cleanser-like as I did. I used it three times, and I really did like the product itself. Despite being a salt-based scrub, it didn’t feel overly coarse or harsh against skin. Each time I used it, I was in the shower, so I applied it to wet skin, and it was creamy and easy to scrub into skin. Sometimes a scrub will dissolve, disperse, or otherwise not allow you to really work it into the skin.
It gets the job done and leaves behind soft, smooth skin. It just smells terrible (to me) while in use. I didn’t notice any lingering scent post-shower, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned with a scent like this. I’ve used other True Blue Spa products, and I haven’t had any issues with the scents in those, so I was a bit surprised here. (One of my favorite products is their Just a Minute hand scrub, which has a nice orange-citrus scent.)
Because scent is personal, I don’t want my nose to dictate that this is a no-go purely on scent alone, particularly when the product performs well otherwise.
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- Product: 26/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: Smell before you buy, if you can. It may or may not be the right scent for you!
Availability: Bath & Body Works
