April 25, 2018

Here’s Some Makeup Hits and Some Misses Too

It’s been a fairly slow Spring for makeup launches or at least it feels like that to me. We had a very busy Fall/Holiday season with makeup and collections that seemed to be releasing every other week. As Spring approached it felt like the launches were a little more spaced apart which was pretty helpful to our wallets.

Sort of!

As now it seems like there are sales every single day. First Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty, followed by Sephora’s Spring Event, Ulta’s Spring Haul Event, 15% Off at Macy’s, and soon after 20% at Ulta. Phew. I dunno about you but my smoking debit card can use a break.

Here’s some items that stood out for me over the last few months and others that didn’t really capture my attention. See if you agree with my makeup hits and misses.

I have to admit I find myself reaching quite often for Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette. If you like warmer nudes I don’t think you should be without it. The formula is soft, silky, and buttery with a stunning color pay off. It should be owned by one and all makeup lovers. This one was a hit!

Another fine example of excellently formulated eyeshadows comes from the Milani Bold Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette! I honestly expected this to suck and I’m sorry for every thinking that. These shadows are so creamy and buttery with amazing pigmentation. They apply beautifully and although a touch expensive for a drugstore palette I can honestly say I’d pay more for it since the formula is so top notch!

The buzz in eyeshadow palette land at the moment would be the Maybelline Lemonade Craze Eyeshadow Palette. Maybelline is hard at work trying to make this one go viral and succeeding. It’s a unique round of shades for a drugstore brand with pops of bright yellow and playful fuchsia. The formula wasn’t the best I’ve ever tried but I have to admit something draws me in with this little guy and I find myself eager for Summer so I can use it more often. I’m placing it under hits. When I originally reviewed it I urged people to buy and try it for themselves and I still feel the same about it. It’s a palette you have to experience and in the long run, crummy formula aside, I think you’ll enjoy it too!

Speaking of palettes two you can miss would be Too Faced White Peach Eyeshadow Palette and Urban Decay Petite Heat Eyeshadow Palette. Naked Heat Petite was a palette many, many people were looking forward to hoping that it would include transitional shades that the original full-size Heat Eyeshadow Palette failed to include. However, the palette failed to deliver anything truly unique or new nor did it work as an ideal companion to it’s bigger sister. Fairer tones might find it useful but the White Peach Eyeshadow Palette’s range of shades just didn’t do it for me. These felt shadows felt chalk and blended away easily during application. Not my idea of quality.

Moving away from palettes can we discuss what a fail some of Becca’s Anti-Fatigue Under Eye Primer was? Or at least it was for me as most everyone else I see reviewing it on Sephora or elsewhere is raving it. This dense primer was supposed to fill fine lines and prep for concealer but I felt like the texture was just too firm to do much. Not to mention this promised to reduce puffiness but really if you’re puffy eyes are due to age issues this isn’t going to help!

Other primers I thought were a miss? Tatcha The Silk Canvas Protective Primer which everyone and their mom is talking about at the moment. I purchased it quick as a flash and tore open the box with my teeth when it arrived. I was that excited about this. Sadly, the formula feels very slick on my drier skin. I am still actively trying to love this. I swear if it’s the last thing I do I’m going to make this somehow work for me!

And in the lipstick and lipgloss world we have a few hits and misses. Lipstick Queen’s The Dating Game Lipstick gets a huge rave for me. Bright colors, fun shades, and a creamy easy to apply formula makes this is a hit. NYX Strictly Vinyl Lipgloss gets a nice creamy full-coverage lipgloss that feels and looks more like a liquid lipstick and performs like a boss which makes it a hit. As for misses I’d suggest skipping Flower Beauty Mix n� Matte Lip Duos! The formula was oddly clumpy, dry, and just not to my liking at all! These are a safe miss!

Feel free to share your current hits and misses!

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

  • Kimmwc03

    I agree about the Milani and Maybelline palettes being hits and the Flower Mix ‘n Matte being a miss (the regular line of Flower lipsticks is a hit though). I haven’t tried the other items (mostly due to your reviews).

    • Isabella Muse

      ITA about the flower lipsticks! I just tried those petal ones and loved them! Shame the duos weren’t as great! Ha thanks I’m flattered 😀

  • L

    I actually really didn’t like Marc Jacobs Eye-Conic in Glambition even though it has amazing reviews. The colors looked really muddy on me and I thought there was a lot of fallout when applying. I like the new Too Faced Natural Eyes palette as well as the Mermaid palette by Tarte. I also got a new blush for the spring- MAC’s Modern Mandarin! It’s a really pretty orangey color and is unlike any of my other blushes! I love it for a nice spring glow.

      • L

        It’s their Satin finish so it’s not matte but I wouldn’t say I notice any glitter or abundance of shimmer. It’s just really glowy and natural–esp for an orange!!!

  • Jane

    Misses: Almay’s gel highlighter. It turns into loose, flecky glitter. Hard pass.
    Hits: their tinted moisturizer actually works really well! And I finally figured out how the melanin-poor among us need to use Pat McGrath’s hyper pigmented lipsticks (old school dab dab dab dab – full application on my plate porcelain face is startling). AND Estée Lauder brought out one shade lighter in Double Wear; I am going to,get sampled and see if I can finally wear Double Wear with everyone else!

    • Isabella Muse

      the one in the chubby barrel with the attached sponge applicator did you mean!? I like that stuff too!

      • Jane

        Yeah, that one! It took two tries to get my color right, but it’s pretty great.

        • Isabella Muse

          mine was too yellow, too orange, too glow-y! I had the same prob finding a good shade ;D

  • Kish

    Some hits for me recently were the BH Rosey Raye lip gloss and ColourPop’s Give It To Me Straight Palette. They look good together actually.

    A huge miss is Tarte’s Blemish Bully. It didn’t do anything for the few spots that I had. Nothing.

    And in the I’m still not quite sure category is It Cosmetics Bye Bye Foundation. I have a good color match, and it doesn’t oxidize on me. However, it’s a little slippery and doesn’t cover as well as I had hoped. What I really want is the Bye Bye Redness formula in the shade Fair. That is seriously the best stuff I’ve ever used, but the colors all seem too dark.

    I just received the Lemonade palette and about 30 other things in the mail from Ulta/Sephora, so this list may change lol

    • Isabella Muse

      yay! I liked the Rosey Raye too! ;-D I suspect Blemish Bully was a no go! I wrote a post about it a few months ago saying that I didn’t believe it was going to change the world the way Tarte was promoting it lol! I’m still testing Bye Bye Foundation! Haven’t really developed thoughts on it yet ;-D Let me know how it goes with Lemonade!

      • Kish

        I have some updates lol.

        Hits: Dr. Jart Shake +Shot masks. Creepy packaging, but I love them. Smashbox Petal Metal palette is amazing, but it’s definitely more copper on me. Maybelline Lemonade Craze is really good. The mattes are nice, not overbearing. Shimmers are fun and apply well.

        Misses: Stila Glitter & Glow eye trio. Too much glitter, not enough glow. LORAC pro 3, Too much powder everywhere, what a mess.

        • Isabella Muse

          More copper on me too Kish! I wish it was a touch more rose!

  • erin

    i too am on the tacha-just-didn’t-work-for-me train, and i tried, oh i tried 🙁

  • Rina

    I finally received the Maybelline Burgundy Bar from Amazon yesterday after your rec. It’s beautiful! Surprising, it worked better with a brush instead of the foam applicators we like. I still can’t find the Milani outside the website but I may not need it now. You didn’t add the UD Fail Palette, LOL!

    • Isabella Muse

      Yay so glad you liked it Rina!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-D Try Walmart for the Milani! They seem to be stocking a lot! LOL I know! I forgot! But yes Backtalk needs to be on here ;-D

  • CarrieAnne

    Does anyone see any other really good dupes for ABH Soft Glam? I know it sounds crazy but I think their formula is too powdery for the cost. But I do like the shades.