Marc Jacobs Kiss Pop Lip Color Stick in Pop-Arazzi

I got my new Kiss Pop in the mail Thursday morning but didn't have time to post until today so, first things first, I love the packaging! Seriously, all the exclamation points for this. The packaging is super sleek, creative, and not too bulky. I am in love!

Seriously, LOOK!

I am drooling...

A little taller and fatter than most standard lipsticks but very lightweight.

 Size is listed as .15 oz so about the same or more than most lipsticks. The Marc Jacobs Lip Gels are listed at .12 oz for comparisons sake. As you can see it is a twist up, so no sharpening necessary.

Pop-Arazzi is described as electric rose. I would say it is definitely a neon-ish bright pink. I'm bad with undertones but I would say this one is more neutral, if only slightly blue-based.

Unfortunately all the exclamation points for packaging do not extend to the formula, at least for this particular shade in the range. The description copied directly from the Sephora website is this:

What it is:
A dynamic lipstick that offers lightweight wear and staying power. 

What it does:
Give lips a burst of color—and hydration—when you swipe on this gel lip shade from Marc Jacobs. From nudes to brights, Kiss Pop offers the perfect color that lasts for hours. This high-performance lip gel features an oversized design, and is travel-friendly for convenient application. 

I only wore it for about three hours and during that time it lasted quite well. I did eat a bowl of cereal and drink a glass of water and had only minimal wear so I think the wear claims, while vague, certainly hold up. I only took it off because I got some cinnamon on my lips from the cereal and it was driving me crazy. I would suggest taking it off if you're going to eat a full meal though. Nobody needs a lipstick chin and brights are notorious for that.

Part of the reason for the staying power is the formula which seems to be more of a matte/semi-matte. The consequences of that are a lack of hydration. I'm not sure where the hydration claims came from and it's possible that other colors in the range are more hydrating. It acts like a typical matte so if you adjust your expectations you can act accordingly. I would suggest exfoliation and a bit of lip balm underneath, preferably a non-greasy one so as not to mess with the matte finish too much. This particular shade did apply a bit patchy, sank in to lip lines a bit, and showed off some of the dry skin on my lips. I know that sounds terrible but it wasn't that bad unless I was staring with my face up super close to the mirror. I'm definitely in need of a good exfoliation.

Ultimately this product is a decent one. I love the packaging but the formula, while long-wearing, needs some work to live up to its hydrating claims. Hopefully I can get down to Sephora soon to test the rest of the shades. I hope some of the less bright shades will do better so I'll hold off on total product damnation. I'm going to say it is a try before buy kind of product. Whether or not it's worth it is up to you.

Marc Jacobs Kiss Pop Lip Color Sticks are $28 at marcjacobsbeauty.com and sephora.com. They are sold out now online at Sephora but I'm assuming they will be available again soon and they are listed as being availabe in stores.

Mac Moody Blooms Collection Haul

The Moody Blooms Collection from Mac was released the week of June 23rd but I'm just now getting around to doing a swatch and review post. I am horrible at this whole beauty blogging thing. Anyway, I purchased three items from this collection. Here they are in all their swatched up, used up glory:

From left to right we have Bred for Beauty blush, Copperthorn fluidline, and Artistic License eyeshadow. Here are the swatches:

 

Bred for Beauty is a Beauty Powder Blush in a Matte finish described by Mac as a mid-tone blue pink. This blush is finely milled and super pigmented. I did a pretty heavy-handed swatch with my finger but depending on the brush you use it should be pretty easy to tone down for the face. Really pretty but not all that unique although it seems like it would work on a lot of different skintones. It retails for $21 and is still available pretty much everywhere.

Artistic License is an eyeshadow in the Veluxe Pearl finish described by Mac as a pinky gold. This shadow looks super pink in the pan and on my arm but I found that it showed more of an even mixture between pink and gold on my eyelid. I liked the formula as well, not super pigmented but not patchy either, and easy to build. It retails for $15 and is still available at bloomingdales.com, dillards.com, and maybe a store/counter near you.

Copperthorn is a fluidline that is listed on Nordstrom's website as having a Dazzle finish (whatever the hell that means) and is described by Mac as a glittery bronze. This fluidline is as finicky as it is gorgeous. It was easy to apply a solid layer with my finger or a q-tip but as it dries it feels stiff and if you go over it again it starts to come off. It's texture is more flakes than glitter with a thin base. I used my Mac 210 brush and pressed it underneath my lower lashline and loved it that way. As long as you don't mess with it too much there shouldn't be a lot of fall out. And I know some people like to use fluidlines on the waterline even though I don't think you are supposed to but with Copperthorn I would say DO NOT EVER USE ON THE WATERLINE FOR REAL I MEAN IT. I accidentally had some fall out from my lid onto my waterline and the flakes irritated/scratched the hell out of my eyeball. Really this one takes some experimenting with brushes and techniques but it is really beautiful and one of the more unique items Mac has put out. Like BfB, this is still available pretty much everywhere and retails for $16.

So these were my picks from the Moody Bloom collection, I still may pick up the Black Ivy fluidline if its available after my next paycheck. Overall I think this was a nice collection, not mind-blowing but a lot of good colors. If you can check this collection out in stores, I would.

Illamasqua Perseid Swatches

This is actually my first Illamasqua polish. It's from their new #Creators collection which was created by four different beauty bloggers for the company's 5th birthday. This polish was created by stylesuzi.com. The collection is exclusive to illamasqua.com and Illamasqua stores if you live in the UK. As soon as I saw this polish I knew I had to have it, even with the crazy international shipping prices, and I have no regrets. It may not have a perfect formula but it is one of the most unique polishes I've ever come across. It looks like galaxy nail art all in one bottle. No need for nail art skills with this polish!

The base color is a pretty inky purple with green shimmer and multi-sized holographic glitter. The formula was a bit thick but one coat was enough to cover the whole nail. There were a couple spots where I had to dab some polish on to fill in some color but the glitter went on evenly. I decided to dab in the spots instead of chancing a second coat because I was afraid of the polish becoming too lumpy. 

Unfortunately because of the glitter the polish was still a little lumpy so I used two coats of top coat for these swatches. The good thing is that the base color left no staining on removal but the glitter was kind of a pain which is usual for glitter polishes. Overall I'd still say this polish was worth the price to me but for other people it may not be.

Illamasqua #Creators collection consists of two polishes, Fusion and Perseid, and two lip glosses, Wanderlust and Culminate. Polishes and glosses are both £14.50 each from illamasqua.com.

Bonus cell phone pic: