It's after midnight as I post this, but it's still Easter in my books, so I hope you all are having/had a great time! Who doesn't like getting free chocolate and binge-eating them to their hearts' content? Oh, right, me. I'm not as fond of chocolate as I used to be when I was in high school. I blame the fact that I had to suffer through a whole term of chocolate-stained chef's whites, chocolate under my fingernails and smudges of chocolate on my arms, neck and even face.
However, that doesn't stop me from wearing Too Faced's Chocolate Bar for Easter yesterday.
The time for summery hues has passed now that we're smack dab in the middle of April, but I wanted to review the following products for those that live in the Northern Hemisphere. After all, what kind of person would I be if I didn't help my fellow beauty addicts decide whether or not they want to add the blush or highlighter to their collection?
Exactly.
It's no secret that I'm fond of everything under the TAM Beauty umbrella, and you can't blame me. The quality of their products is rather decent, and consistent, for the price, and they have a huge variety of stuff to choose from. I'm never short of things that I want to try from them and my TAM Beauty wishlist is far longer than the number of years I've been alive.
Before I go off on a tangent spouting all of the things I want to get from TAM Beauty, I'm going to go back to the purpose of this post. I bought these late last year because I wanted to try a few stick products to see how well they applied and whether they made application easier. I had to get the One Highlighter because, well, I can't resist highlighters, and I went with Rush for the One Blush because it was summertime and the colour looked perfect for the season.
The packaging for these products is made from plastic, with a rose-gold print that spells out the name and product title. The print isn't made to last, as it has started to wear off, especially after being in my makeup bag for when I need to do my makeup as I head to work. The sticks came loose from their tubes a few times, though they didn't come flying out except for one time when I removed the lid too quickly. I had to quickly pick it up from the floor (at home) and clean it before spraying it liberally with rubbing alcohol.
-2 points for poop packaging.
The products themselves are quite creamy and really easy to blend. They're not streaky but you actually need to swipe these sticks across the skin to get a good payoff, instead of just tapping it on. The problem with that is my foundation tends to get ruined whenever I apply it straight from the bullet and so it becomes muddy. The best way for me to apply it, without ruining my makeup, is to rub my fingers into the product and then pat it onto my skin where I need them. That encourages contamination of bacteria and debris, and so it severely shortens the shelf life of the highlighter and blush sticks.
They dry reasonably quickly and don't budge after a few minutes of application. You can blend this one out with a brush or your fingers, though I tend to use my fingers as my brushes are usually for powder products.
The One Highlighter
I like this one for its champagne pearl hue, and how it glides easily onto the skin. It doesn't appear ashy, and can be blended out easily. However, what frustrates me the most about this one is that the glitter is chunky, so when you're blending it out, the glitter gets everywhere and you cannot control it. It's as if the glitter becomes loose and then scatters like it's a powder. I'm not one for a glittery highlight, and while this can go under foundation, I wouldn't recommend it as it pretty much vanishes as soon as you apply your base. With this one I pretty much have to pat it on repeatedly with the fingers or straight from the bullet. In fact, I think there's a lot of wastage because you really need to build it up quite a bit to get a fair bit of glow.
Verdict: I do not fancy this product at all.
The One Blush in Rush
I picked this one up because I liked the coral shade, which is unlike all of the other blushes I own. I thought it was perfect for the warmer weather, and while I could have gone for the matte version, I thought the shimmer would make me look more fresh-faced and glowy. The gold glitter is slightly chunky, but not in a horrible disco-ball way. Also, blending it with your fingers helps reduce the sparkle so that it looks more like a subtle highlight. I have also blended this out with a buffing brush, and that helps to lift up some of the pigment if I've accidentally applied too much. This is a perfectly neutral blush that would suit most skin tones from fair to medium. Because of the sheer nature of this blush when blended out, it may not show up much on people of colour. While worn, it looks like I've worked up a flush, with a slight sheen of sweat.
Verdict: I like it, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
Both of these products last all day, even without being set with a setting powder. I do use a spritz of a fixing spray sometimes, so that may contribute to the lasting power of both the blush and the highlighter. However, I find that the chunkier glitter particles tend to migrate down the cheeks throughout the day, so they do get everywhere. They also don't adhere to the face very well after a couple of hours, so if you're a wog like me and have to kiss everyone on the cheeks, expect them to come away with a wash of glitter on their faces.
Which is what happened yesterday. Sorry, fam bam!
I wasn't able to take very good swatch photos on the face yesterday, because the lighting was just terrible, and I was quickly running out of time. I even forgot to do my brows. The horror!
Wishing you all a Happy Easter!
Do you like using cream/stick products, or do you prefer powders?
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