March 21, 2012

Hard Candy Shiny When Wet Duo Review & Swatches

Beauty is repetitive. Trends come, they go, and they come back just as quickly. Packaging, unique ideas and concepts, colors, etc…all have a way of being repeated over and over again in new and sometimes exciting ways. If you’re a beauty junkie it does become a chore to weed through a sea of products and find unique, new, and exciting releases as many products are simply do overs of something you already own or tried in the past.

Hard Candy Shiny When Wet Waterproof Mascara takes an idea that’s been done before but, well, they add their own little spin on it that made me smile.

You might recognize this packaging from the release of MAC Haute & Naughty Mascara and Rimmel who quickly followed up with their own version.

Hard Candy puts their own little spin on this packaging…

Rather than two mascara formulas in one tube, this features a mascara and an eyeliner in a single tube. Have I got your attention?

Unscrewing the bottom half of the tube will reveal your mascara applicator where as unscrewing the top half of the tube will reveal an eyeliner applicator. Pretty nifty right?

No worries, the liner and mascara do not share the same formula. I was scratching my head for a second thinking that the liner was dipping into the mascara tube, but actually it’s a sealed tube which houses the liner formula and makes up the wand of the mascara applicator.

On the down side, the packaging has one flaw that might prove fatal. I find the mascara wand portion does not seal closed. For some reason it skips around the inner rim but never fuller closes tightly. I thought this deserved to be mentioned as it might potentially dry out the formula in the future.

I don’t line my eyes with liquid mascara. I’m just completely dumb when it comes to application of a liquid liner so as cool as the packaging is, it proves pointless for me since I’m not taking advantage of both the mascara and the liner. You, too, might want to consider this when purchasing Hard Candy Shiny When Wet as it makes for a pointless purchase if you won’t be using both products.

This comes with a straight bushy brush. The brush is huge but it isn’t lethal thankfully. It seems to fit the contour of my lash line fairly well and I didn’t poke an eye out with it so even though the larger size seems intimidating at first, it proves easy to use. I find the formula a bit on the drier side and as soon as the applicator comes into view you’ll notice it has a clumpy, old mascara look to it. I was a little wary after noticing this but things turned out surprisingly well.

I do suggest curling prior as it seems to help the mascara apply with ease. I noticed some clumping on un-curled lashes that’s why I recommend giving them a bit of a curl prior as it seems that it applies sans clumps when lashes are pulled up and out beforehand.

It does a fairly nice job creating longer lashes and most importantly it creates fatter, fuller lashes. The waterproof formula holds out well but it does go a bit stiff and crunchy within moments of application. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing it just depends on if you’re tolerant of such a formula or not. There was some minor issues with flaking so be prepared for that, I blame it on the drier formula but it wasn’t so bad that I ended up with little black flakes all over my lower eye and cheek area.

Overall, Hard Candy Shiny When Wet offers a budget friendly way to get fuller, longer lashes. The formula has quirks here and there but you might think it’s worth a try out anyway particularly if you travel a lot and want your mascara and liquid liner handy in one place. I think the packaging is innovative and quite fun. Trying out tons of products a day, I do get a bit bored, but this was a pleasant little packaging surprise that I approve of in a major way.

Hard Candy is available exclusively at Walmart.

Whatcha think of this one?

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • suki

    this seems amazing! I have always been looking for a mascara and eyeliner combo 🙂 it’s shame they don’t have hard candy anymore in UK 🙁 sad times xxx

  • Eve

    Hm, I may have to pick this up for swimming this summer! I just bought the eye’m tired roller. Was only 5 bucks so not really sure how it works. I don’t have puffiness but I have major dark circles so I hope it will do something for that!

  • Olivia

    This is such an interesting product!! On normal days, i just line and put mascara on my eyes and i’m out the door so this could be a really nifty on the go product for me! Sucks that I live in nyc though because there are no walmarts here. I’m sure I’ll get my hands on it somehow though 😛

    • the Muse

      hey olivia you can take the train up to white plains, they have a super walmart across the street from the city center.

      • kiwikiwidragon

        Also, walmarts website usually has all these goodies as well. I have ordered there before when i couldn’t find products that weren’t opened or ruined.

  • LINDARRAGNAR

    so cool!! love that they include an eye liner!! p.s muse the purple eyeliner in the bottom pic looks splendid on you!!

  • Majick

    THis is totally cool packaging. I loved the MAC mascara when it came out. The only reason I didn’t repurchase is because I have a ton of Tarte mascara etc. from the kits.

    For the liquid liner challenged….

    LIQUID LINER TUTORIAL: The easiest way to get a nice thin line with liquid liner is to first hold the brush horizontally and basically drag the brush across the top of your eyelashes. Resting the brush on your lashes helps as a guide and the liner will hit the skin very close and in between the lashes which is where you want it to go. You can always make it thicker (with practice of course) but this way is almost fool proof. 🙂
    HOpe I helped someone.

  • Duckies Hawj

    Why is it when I used this product, it did not help me? The product didn’t dry as fast as others and the eyeliner part of it smeared when i lightly touched it.