In celebration of the month of luuuurve, Hard Candy sent over a few of PINK things for me to play with. It went from swatches to reviews to a full-on makeup look...
I've already tried and reviewed the Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collection in Pinking of You ($6.98 CAD). In a nutshell, the shadows are hit and miss. A majority of the shimmery pinky-purple shades are a chalky and sheer and powdery. A few of the purples were good but not amazing. But the metallic gunmetal? So stunning.
Left to Right: Hard Candy Fierce Effects Lipstick in Provocative; All Matte Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Mattely in Love; Take Me Out Liner in Hot Tamale;Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in Sprinkles; Glow All the Way Ombre Baked Blush in 994 Punch; Single & Loving It Eyeshadow in 902 Naughty Girl
For the lips, the Hard Candy Fierce Effects Lipstick in Provocative ($5.98 CAD) is a bold, daring pick. Provocative is a blue-toned fuchsia with fine fuchsia shimmer. The shimmer isn't bothersome and adds a slight frost to the lipstick. Then there's the Hard Candy All Matte Up Hydrating Lip Stain in Mattely in Love ($5.98 CAD), which is probably my favourite drugstore matte crayon formulation. I don't find it to be particularly hydrating or drying but it's comfortable on the lips and lasts 5-6 hours with very little transfer.
Despite the colour, the Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner in Hot Tamale ($4.98 CAD) is for your eyes and not your lips. I found the liner a little hard but warming it on the back of my hand before applying it to the eyes helps prevent any dragging. Also, it comes with a sharpener built-in to the cap which is super handy. The Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in Sprinkles ($6.98) is a pink-red glitter cream shadow. Despite being ultra pigmented, the formula is quite thick and wet, which makes the product patchy when you attempt to layer it or blend it over the eyelid.
The Hard Candy Glow All the Way Ombre Baked Blush in 994 Punch ($7.98 CAD) is a drugstore favourite of mine. It's pretty in the pan and sheeny, pretty and all the right amounts of glow on the cheekbones.
Last and the least is the Hard Candy Single & Loving It Eyeshadow in 902 Naughty Girl ($3.78 CAD). It's sheer, dry and looks like confetti for your eyes (which is not a good look).
Above is an eye look that I created using mostly Hard Candy! I started with a base of the Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in Sprinkles. It's not very prominent in person or in the photo but the red-pink adds warmth to the look. With the Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collection in Pinking of You I layered the stunning metallic gunmetal with a lighter purple, then blended the Shu Uemura Eyeshadow in M851 Soft Matte Brown into the crease (because the HC Top Ten Collection contains no matte blending shade). I tapped a shimmering pastel pink into the inner corners of my eyes using the Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collection in Pinking of You and lightly lined my lower lashline with the Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner in Hot Tamale. Last for the eyes, I topped everything off with the Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara.
I hate having (very) hooded lids because you can't see any of the hard work that I put into applying colour to my lids. It's both a blessing and a curse, as all of my makeup looks appear natural when my eyes are opened.
FACE:
EYES:
> Hard Candy Eye Def Metallic Eyeshadow in Sprinkles*
> Hard Candy Top Ten Eye Collection in Pinking of You*
> Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner in Hot Tamale*
LIPS:
And that (almost) concludes #LOVEWEEK. One more post is coming up in 12 hours... PSSSTTT. It's a giveaway!
Press samples featured. Hard Candy is available exclusively at Walmart.
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