The Makeup Box

Lime Crime “Holiday Magic” Carousel Glosses swatches and tips

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Happy Holidays to All!

Just a quick post about a package in the mail a couple of days ago and almost fainted when I saw the goodies inside. Here’s a quick part 1 featuring the 3 new Holiday Magic glosses!

Disclaimer: Products in this post were sent by the company for review. I am under no obligation to make posts or give favorable reviews, and am not employed by any beauty brand.

With that said, enjoy!

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Juicy Red Lips (Revlon Really Red Lipstick and Lime Crime Candy Apple Gloss)

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Wearing an intense red, glossy lip requires that you layer. You want it to be as intense and opaque as possible, so wearing a gloss alone is nice, but layering it over a deep red lipstick gives you that pleather lips effect which I love.

Having a matte lipstick below also means you don’t need to apply your gloss right to the edges of your lips, so you are much less likely to get bleeding and feathering into lines around your mouth.

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The Rest of the Face:

This almost begs for the rest of the face to remain simple and neutral in contrast.

I’m using POP Beauty’s Eye Trio in No. 3 Park Avenue, and black gel liner for the simple eye.

Step 1: Using a flat angled brush, run matte black shadow along the upper lash line, extending up past the outer corners slightly.

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Step 2: Run bronze brown shadow over the entire lid, layering over the black liner so that you soften the black.

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Step 3: For some contouring, apply a pale ivory-pink highlight shade over the brow bone and also down the center of the lid.

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Step 4: Apply black gel liner over where the black powder liner was earlier. Then finish with a pale matte liner along the waterline and black mascara on the lashes.

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Step 5: Apply a deep red lipstick, do any cleaning-up you need around the edges to get it looking perfect, BEFORE you layer an intense red, sparkly gloss over it. If you don’t like sparkle, look for a creme finish such as MAC Russian Red Lipglass.

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Step 6: On the cheeks, I applied a soft iridescent satin pink shadow as a blush (Bourjois Ombre a Paupieres Eyeshadow #15 is a gorgeous fresh pink.

Milani Haute Flash Full Coverage Shimmer Lipglosses (lip swatches and review)

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I might be a little late to the Haute Flash game, but I found out not too long ago that Milani has come up with a line of full coverage Shimmery Glosses which remind me suspiciously of MAC and Lime Crime ones. 

Of course, I was curious if a drugstore brand could really match up to the high-end ones, so here’s the run-down.

There are 6 shades I believe, but I only got 4; 

102 Flashy: Neon sparkly blue-pink (below)

103 In a Flash: Deep sparky plum-purple (below)

106 Quick Flash:  Soft sparkly baby-pink

101 Hot Flash: Red on red sparkle (below)

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Smell: 

Not discernible

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Texture/Feel: 

Medium-thickness, like a Plushglass, but a lot less sticky. Not as thick as Lime Crime Carousel Glosses, and only moderately buildable in coverage.

Slight minty tingle on the lips, which is quite pleasant and inoffensive even if you dislike minty feeling products.

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Opacity:

If MAC Dazzleglasses are a 3 and Lime Crime Carousels an 8, these are about 6. I wouldn’t say they are really full-coverage, but you definitely get pretty good color payoff. All lip swatches shown above were done with just gloss over bare lips, without base or liner. 

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Application:

I really like the flat doe-foot paddle. The wide surface picks up more product than the typical doe-foot applicator shape, and allows you to apply a thicker layer of product without sacrificing control.

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Wear/Tenacity:

These wear like the typical gloss. They aren’t sticky, which is a plus for those who hate a gummy texture on the lips, but this also means it does not stay on as long as stickier glosses do. I’d say you can go 3-4 hours without touch-ups. 

It also goes on fairly evenly and does not gunk up in the center of your lips or in cracks. 

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Colors:

The colors are really pretty of course. My initial favorite shade was 102 Flashy, the hot pink, but then this particular gloss also has the poorest texture, as it is slightly gritty and lumpy.

The one I reach for most is Quick Flash because it’s so pretty and wearable for everyone. My least-favorite shade is 103 In a Flash, because it’s a deep prune-purple which does not wear as evenly as the other shades, although it does make a statement. You will need to apply a thick layer and keep touching up to keep it looking its best.

If you like really strong color, these are probably not going to have enough of a kick for you. If you want more color than regular glosses but don’t want anything too high-maintenance or dramatic, then you should try these.

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Finish:

These are not very glossy compared to other tube glosses. The texture is more like that of stick products like Revlon Lip Butters or MAC Sheen Supremes but in a tube, so you get sparkle but not dramatic shine. 

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Price:

At $7.25 per tube from Beautyjoint.com, these are not cheap compared to some drugstore glosses but definitely way cheaper than similar department store equivalents. (Use coupon code: MAKEUPBOX for an additional 5% off.)

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Verdict?

If can’t bear to shell out for MAC Sheen Supreme lipsticks but find Revlon Lip Butter shades a little too “tame” (which I do) then these are great for giving color, sparkle and some shine. I wouldn’t put these in the same category as other full-cover glosses and lacquers.

Midnight Iris: Gold and Navy Lip

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This is definitely NOT a Valentine’s Day lip! I was having a spot of fun with my wacky-colored Carousel Glosses the other day, and decided to do a “3D Lip” using unlikely colors.

Step 1: I used a navy blue kohl pencil (MAC Blooz) to line the rims of my lips.

Step 2: I applied blue gloss over the outer sections of my lip, avoiding the center and wiping away any smears right there.

Step 3: I applied a golden gloss to the center of the lips, being careful NOT to blend it into the blue.

Step 4: Roll your lips together (inwards only!) to smooth out the gloss and then stick a finger in to remove any excess from the center of the lips. 

Step 5: Reapply blue gloss to the outside areas of your lips as the rolling would have thinned it out by now.

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IMPORTANT: 

At Step 4, when you are rolling your lips together, don’t rub your lips side-to-side. Very gently just roll them into your mouth and then back out. Repeat the motion a few times.