New Stuff for Cool Girls: Hard Candy & Revlon

I've had my eye on these two products (not the colors I picked out specifically but just the brand) for quite some time now. Typically, before I buy something, I'm one to research as much as I can to ensure that I'll be satisfied with my purchase. This is especially true if what I'm buying is from a drugstore, where you usually can't test things and returns are a pain in everyones butt. Today, however while at Wal-Mart in the beauty section (duh) I decided to give these a go. As you can see they're in a similar color family, coral / peachy / orange. It's the start of summer and these colors are one of my favorites for this season. My other favorite is super bright teal / turquoise slapped beneath the lash line, but we'll get to that another day. Anyway, I ended up purchasing Hard Candy's Fox in a Box in Skinny Dipping and Revlons Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Coral Reef. And here's what I thought of them:

• Hard Candy Fox in a Box [ Skinny Dipping ]: "A highly pigmented multi-color powder compact that will surely bring out your inner foxy lady. Each box contains coordinated shades that blend together perfectly and a custom Hard Candy applicator brush. Sweep across chin, cheeks, forehead, and unleash the foxiness in you!"
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss [ Coral Reef ]: "Silky...Sexy...Brilliant. Glossy formula combines sheer color and intense moisture with light reflecting spheres to create amazing shine. SPF 15."

Thoughts so far
Hard Candy Fox in a Box [Skinny Dippin']. Okay, let me begin this by saying this "custom brush" sucks at life. No hard feelings hard candy (no pun intended, hehehe) but really? You call that a brush? Well, it's hardly. I don't even know what I can use it for. It's cute as a button, but no real purpose. Now, back to the makeup... this product comes in the cutest packaging I've seen in a while. And I'm a sucker for all things cute so this caught my eye the moment I saw it. However, it's a little impractical because of it's bulkiness and seems like it could be damaged easily. I definitely wouldn't feel safe keeping this in my purse, it's reserved for the vanity only. As for the actual makeup, it's cut 50 / 50 down the middle. On one side is the bronzer which is a slightly shimmery muted brown with some pink undertones. As for the other, it's a coral peach with pink and orange in there too, (I guess coral and peach both come from pink and orange mixing anyway). This side has also got a little shimmer. It says these are meant to be swirled together and applied but I prefer using them separately as a contour and blush. Or both blushes (at different times, of course), I say this because the brown is a little too pink for me, I like my contours and bronzers to be rather matte and brown / tan.
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss [Coral Reef]. I'd like to note that this particular color is more opaque than sheer, but that's what I love about it. Like I said before, this is the perfect summer color. It's a perfect peachy pink that, combined with the natural pigment of my lips, makes me fall in love. The SPF makes it even more desirable for summer too! If you're into more opaque colors all I did to achieve this was put a little bit of M.A.C. lipstick in Myth on before I applied the gloss. The nude, muted tones of the Myth make the coral and pink really pop, it's lovely. When I see this lipgloss, it makes me want to pair it with perfectly bronzed skin and some gold eye shadow...perfection.

Swatches

In order from left to right:
M.A.C. Sheertone Shimmer [Springsheen]
A seperate review for this can be found here. I swatched this because it the review I did for it, I didn't provide the viewers with a swatch so here it is. It's a pinky peach with gold shimmer, really beautiful and sheer if you only apply one layer. But it's also quite buildable and can give you a nice pop of color if that's what you're looking for.
Fox in a Box [Skinny Dippin']
The colored side: A very orange peach with shimmer. Definitely one of my go-to shades for summer. Gives a beautiful peachy flush.
The bronzer side: I really hate calling this a bronzer because it has such pink undertones. As you can see in the photo it almost creates a purpley / pinky / peachy. I just feel eh about this color, but we'll see what time brings...
*NOTE: All 3 of the swatches were used with M.A.C. Cream Colour Base [Pearl] before applying because it allows the true colors to show.

Outside, No Flash

Outside, Flash
In order from left to right:
M.A.C. Lipstick [Myth]
This is a muted nude color that is good to use when you want a normally sheer lipgloss (such as Coral Reef) to appear more opaque and bright. I used this as color reference and to show the difference of the color with and without a base.
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss [Coral Reef]
The thing I'm most in love with about this product is the formula. It's very similar, but better in my opinion, to Avon's Glazewear. Which is one of my favorite lines of glosses. So smooth and it feels really hydrating. It does wipe off easily so reapplication would be needed after eating / drinking. The packaging is very sleek and seems quite high end for a drugstore product. The color is very true to it's name, coral. Just pure coral. Though, I've done some research and as you know people have different pigmentation in their lips, this can change the color of the gloss. I really love this product and I'll definitely be buying a backup Coral Reef and see if there are any other colors that tickle my fancy.

If you've found any "New Stuff for Cool Girls", share it with us! (:

XOX,
- Mj