Monday, May 10, 2010

Wal-mart? Really? Yes. Wal-mart.


As a general rule, I avoid Walmart. Not only is that particular big box store a bane on society in their practices with employment, manufacturing, gun-toting, price fixing (I could go on), but it's visually depressing. There hasn't been any reason to go there, since when shopping in mass retailers I'd prefer Target- who wouldn't?! I am not swayed by the BCBG jewelry pairing with Miley Cyrus. She is worse than Walmart, plus- after seeing the "collection" it's more cheaply made than the rest of the junk in that store. But I will admit that I wanted to check out the new(ish) Hard Candy collection. It's one the of the many brands that bit the dust in the past few years and to have it rise from the ashes is intruiging.

It seems that the graphic artists and merchandisers that drugstore brands rely upon eludes the brand so far. I walked by the display 2 times before finally finding it- It was easy to pass by since it had no signage. After the problem finding it, I became overwhelmed with the layout; it's is a confusing mish-mosh of randomness. I like order in my displays, so that made it less appealing. As I scanned further, I noticed that there were stock issues in many of the sections- tons of sold out products. I hope that they can get these problems fixed before Wal-mart drops them, because....wait for it.....everything I have tried is outstanding.

I've never enjoyed a $6 mascara as I do the Hard Candy Ginormous volumizing mascara in carbon black. It's a rubber bristled wand that gives immediate payoff, good separation and the blackest of lashes. If you're looking for subtlety, this is not for you. If you want soft, touchable lashes- again, a no-go. But if you have thin, pale lashes and hate working on them for 10 minutes, adding coat after coat....A goldmine.

My other favorite find is the blush crush baked blush in Honeymoon Peach. I'm often drawn to a peachy blush and find myself using them more often than the pinks, berries and nudes. This looks more like a highlighter in the packaging and sure enough, it doesn't give much of any color payoff. But guess what? Top off your favorite blush with this and you will glow like none other. I've been using it as a basic eyeshadow; makes a wonderful base. Then I put it on the top of my cheekbones for a day to day glow. Great for any age, do not fear glow unless you are seriously oily. I think there's a subtle holographic touch with the varied colors in this swirled pan that catch the light ever-so-softly. And at $7, as opposed to the usual $30 for the department store highlighting powder....or even the $55 Chanel powder I used to love, it's a can't miss!

I've also tried the split personality duo shadow wand in dazed (lavender/silvery purple). This one is really pretty as an under eyeliner since it's a perfect shape to give a softened line of color. You'll have to work a little harder than I prefer to in order to get the powder onto the tip. They could fill the cap a little fuller with shadow than it is, but after 3 times twisting it back on I have a pretty soft shadow under the eye.

The other 2 products I've had the pleasure of using are the eye tattoos and the "button your lip" set of click pen lipgloss and twist up lipliner. For $10 you get 3 "eye tattoos". I chose the glitter set (though I don't have much use for it), but I did sport it a couple of weeks ago just for fun and it was super easy to apply. I actually just used a little bit of one of them by taking off the plastic covering and transferring that to my eyelid- as opposed to the main portion of the shadow that lives on the paper backed side. I got plenty of product and there's probably 2 more uses for that one tattoo. That would mean 3 uses each! It felt more like a cream shadow and it comes with a colorless loose powder to top it with. I opted for my own shadow in similar colors to set it and it held up really well. It completely guides you to where each color should live on your lid.
The lip set was the best bargain at $8 for 2 products. I really just wanted the lip liner, since it's so difficult to find a rosy shade that isn't too brownish. I chose the pinky lavendar gloss color called "flirt" since it's accompanied by a rosy lip liner. Both are so perfect! I love the click pen design- not unlike the YSL gloss or it's low-end sister by mark cosmetics (love that one too!). This one tastes like a sugar cookie and has more pigment than the others click glosses, like a stain. I will definitely be purchasing a couple more colors. The liner is pearly and pinky, just as I has hoped, also with a surprising amount of pigment payoff as well.

Overall- makes me want to try more. And isn't that just what I need? As you either know or can imagine....no. That is exactly what I don't need. So, in essence: Thanks a lot Wal-mart. You've done it again.

2 comments:

  1. This mascara sounds like my dream come true. Where can I buy this..Ulta?

    ReplyDelete