Before I get started with the review, just like to say thank you for everyone for viewing my blog, youtube vids, deviantart etc etc. And thanks always for the comments and support.
Makes me super happy especially when I'm currently a NEET and looking for jobs >_<; but yeah.
That being said, I've been trying to apply for Adsense for the blog, just to see if I'm able to make some chingching and also because I always get so curious about these things.
BUT they didn't approve my blog with adsense so yeah, no chingching ahahaha. Not sure if you still see an ad on the bottom side of the page (no the Honeycolor ad - those arnt sponsored, just my support for them) but yeah.
SO LETS GET ON TO THE REVIEW.
Towards the end of last year, mom and I were just shopping at our local area and they were advertising Elizabeth Arden's Holiday Collection kit which apparently originally all the products combined retailed for approximately $300AUD (I think that's what the ad said) and was only sold for $90-98AUD.
At first we were just thinking whether we'd use any of the products but after long thinking, discussing and testing the products out, mom and I decided to split and buy the set anyway.
Mom actually wanted the lipsticks and mascara while I wanted bag, travel brushes, makeup remover. And the eyeshadows we just share or save to give to my aunty who lives in vietnam who is great with makeup.
When purchasing the kit, it comes in a box like so:
Showing what is contained inside the kit along with details along the sides of the box noting the products.
The kit contains:
→ Makeup bag
→ Mascara x 1
→ Shimmer Powder x 1
→ Makeup Remover 50mL x 1
→ Travel size brush x 3
→ Day & Night Makeup Bundle (Each bundle should contain an eyeshadow & blush palette in one, two lipsticks, one lipliner, one eyeliner, and lipgloss)
The makeup bag containing all the products inside should look like this when taken out of the box and the plastic bag. Red & Black gradient symbolising the Day (red) to Night (black) and has the signature Elizabeth Arden logo as their zippers.
My impression of the bag was great, the bag was spacious, didn't feel like those cheap sticky PVC material, the zip was smooth and didn't snag, hand was nicely sewn along with the bag was nicely sewn. So overall the bag is good for me :)
On the personal side, I actually like bags that are spacious because you are able to hold more and more of the chunkier products and it is easier to dig through to find the products unlike those other spacious bags where it has a zip in the middle and you literally just feel like pouring every content of the bag out just to find what you want.
As you unzip the bag, this is how the products are packaged inside of the bag and yeah.
At first glance I thought that the lipstick packaging was quite nice and classy looking and actually thought there'd be a little weight to them. But actually the packaging felt quite cheap, the plastic was super light and it just felt like those plastic containers where if you drop it- it's bound to crack. So slight disappointment in that. But hey, others aren't going to hold the lipstick so they won't know its cheap packaging when you're applying so all good ;)
One lip gloss is also included in each of the bundle. When I switched the gloss around and tested it with the lipstick, I thought they still somewhat complimented each other especially the more nude one but their choices in gloss with the lipstick is quite well.
More details about the lip products will be mentioned later on when reviewing the bundle.
With each of the bundle, you also receive a lip liner and an eye liner to compliment the theme for day or night.
Makeup remover- "All Gone Eye and Lip Makeup Remover" (50mL).
I have yet to test the remover yet but when I opened it, it's a twist cap bottle and one of those bottles with a small hole where you place a cotton pad over and soak it. There's not really much of a scent- almost no scent I would say, kinda just has that very very slight chemical smell but that's normal with all remover. Judging from reviews I've read on the remover, it works well and is apparently is quite gentle and suitable for all skin type. The bad reviews I've read of it seems like the people didn't know how to use it to remove.
Basically and typically for most makeup removers is to :
→ Soak some of the remover onto the cotton pad
→ Place it over your eye (while closed)
→ Keep it placed over the eye for approximately at least 5 seconds to allow the remover to break down the products
→ Gently swipe outwards, and most of your makeup should be removed and easily wiped off.
Alot of the bad reviews I read, people were complaining they needed to rub and swipe harshly and used alot of cotton pads etc etc. Obviously they didn't let the magic work its way to break down the product which made them rub and use alot of products and cotton pads.
One thing I found quite interesting was that when I first took it out of the makeup bag, the liquid had two layers which shows that the remover's content is most likely half oil and half water which is great and shows that it would be suitable for almost all skin types.
To remove this problem of having split layers, just shake the bottle prior to use and it should be fine for abit. Of course the layers will split again but yeah.
I was reading and researching abit about the ingredients and it is great to see that they do not have isopropyl alcohol used in the remover.
Propanoic alcohol is commonly known as rubbing alcohol is often used to sterile equipments in medical industries and is very harsh on the skin (even in super small doses, it can dry out the skin intensely).
The alcohol used in this remover is Benzyl alcohol which is typically more on the safer side of alcohol since equal or less than 5% in concentration of it is considered a safezone. Despite that, it still is quite drying on the skin but not as bad.
Mascara- This is the "Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Mascara" (3mL)
My mom tried this mascara on herself where her lashes are quite short and sparse, and it just looked really good on her. Her lashes was more visible and had this really nice natural thing to her eye as if her lashes was full (has that tightlined look? then again depends on the method you apply).
HOWEVER when I tried the mascara for myself, I don't know- it just looked super clumpy for me. I get a super strong feeling because of the way I applied to it but yeah, it does lengthen my lashes that's for sure. Just the dolly clumping that bothered me, also may I add that it doesn't really holds its curls or add volume- which is understandable as it is known for its lengthening powers.
On the PLUS side, the formula seemed to condition the lashes really well most likely due to the name "treatment mascara". My lashes did feel soft and (probably my imagination) but slightly still had some of the length power after removing the eye makeup with the usual remover and cleanser. I don't know how to put it but it was definitely different compared to the usual.
The wand was your average spooly-looking wand with just the ordinary shape, nothing different or unique, slightly flexible due to the plastic wand but yeah.
I'm iffy with this at the moment, maybe when I apply it more correctly then it'd probably look great as my mom tried it, but in terms of formula- the formula is great that it conditions the lashes as a treatment like the name says. :)
Travel Size Makeup Brushes
This was what I was looking for since I like convenient brushes. In the brush set, you get three different brushes within a small plastic pouch that contains-
→ Angled brush
→ Flash eyeshadow brush
→ Powder brush
→ Angled brush
Was super unexpected as I thought it'd be like your typical angled liner brush but when I first opened it, it was actually a soft yet somewhat dense angled brush. Perfect for smudging out eyeliner and eyeshadow for smokey or soft look. Generally not good for lining but that's all good. The hairs didn't fall out at all and the feel of it didn't feel cheap.
→ Flat Eyeshadow brush
Just your usual flat eyeshadow brush is all I can really say, soft and somewhat dense- wouldn't be good to act as a concealer brush but it is great for eyeshadow. Once again the bristles didn't feel cheap and didn't fall out.
→ Powder brush
Now this brush concerned me alot. Even just looking at the picture, the bristles just look low quality, dead, dry etc- just looks like a dead wig. So I gave it a chance and had a little feel (not puns intended ;P) and yeah. The bristles are soft and actually doesn't feel so cheap quality but definitely not the same quality as the other two brushes. Probably would do so much better if it was condiitoned. But overall I think it'll get its job done :)
Shimmer Powder Trio (5g)
It took me a while to realise what this was actually, I thought it was an eyeshadow trio but looked at the details and realised it was like a shimmer brick. It came with a cute retractable brush (not the best quality bristles but does its job) and yeah.
Tested out the powders and my verdict is glitter/shimmer galore. Like it falls out upon picking it up and after I apply it on my skin, there is ALOT of shimmer. At first I thought the brush picked up too much so then i tried it with a cotton bud, and same result- shimmer all the way that spreaded really easily upon rubbing it. But the shimmer does stay as expected of shimmers and glitters, even as I type this at 4.30am- the area where I tested in the picture still has shimmer on it even after washing my hands etc.
For color wise, I can only see myself using the middle one to highlight my cheek bones, brow bone, cupids bow and nose bridge. Not much of the yellow or the right one. If I were to rate this out of 5, it'd probably be a 3.
Day Bundle
According to the packaging, the products in the day bundle:
→ Eyeshadow&Blush palette
→ Pencil Eyeliner in Black Brown
→ Pencil Lipliner in Cocoa Rose
→ Two lipsticks in Sugar & Rose
→ High Shine Lip Gloss in Goldern Pearl
The palette consisting of 6 eyeshadow colors:
→ Cafe au Lait- Highlighter (matte)
→ Lilac
→ Warm pink
→ Brown (matte)
→ Plumsmoke
→ Smokey Brown
Did some swatches (sorry not pictures due to swatching on hand that I cant take photos with) and I would say that these eyeshadow are quite good. The darker colors were definitely pigmented along with the highlighter, and the usual lilacs and pinks are hardly visible. They only thing that concerned me were the shimmer in the shimmer colored ones, it was just too much even for a holiday collection. I don't know, I don't think you need that much shimmer for a day time look- and even if its shimmer, NOT THAT MUCH AT LEAST. Its almost like the trio shimmer powder, the shimmer rubs and falls. But the eyeshadow colors stays. In terms of the combination of colors, It's an alright combination which can compliment each other and compliment all eye colors I would say.
Overall rating out of 5 for day palette eyeshadows - I'd give it a 3.5 / 5.
The palette also contains a blush on the right in "Sunblush".
Once again shimmer because holiday season and look, great subtle color in my opinion. Didn't look heavy, added a nice subtle color to the face and added some shine but not as much as the other shimmer powders. The blush is definitely buildable which is great, it is somewhat pigmented so a little does go a long way, but the color is definitely buildable.
Overall rating would be 4.5 / 5.
Two lip colors in the day bundle are in Sugar(right) and Rose(left). Swatched these and they are really nice in my opinion. The consistency and texture is great and moisturising and didn't feel sticky. It is however transferable and will require often reapplication. The colors are great and subtle which is perfect for the day, nothing loud. Never judge a lipsticks color from its bullet as they all say, the color "Sugar" which looked really brown was a nice golten tan color with hints of pink in it which was great. Mom loved these two lipsticks. Overall rating would be 3.5 / 5.
I tried the gloss in the day bundle which was in the color "goldern pearl". A nice somwhat nude color which did compliment these two lipstick colors, but also did compliment the night bundle as well. Only thing I really didn't really like about the gloss was the consistency, was super sticky which when opening the mouth, had this weird sticky sensation like honey. Overall rating would be 4 / 5.
According to the packaging, the products in the night bundle:
→ Eyeshadow&Blush palette
→ Pencil Eyeliner in Smokey Black
→ Pencil Lipliner in Crimson
→ Two lipsticks in Brick & Ruby Rose
→ High Shine Lip Gloss in Rosegold
The palette consisting of 6 eyeshadow colors:
→ Soft Gold
→ Romance
→ Bronze Lustre
→ Classic Khaki Contour
→ Black Tie Contour
→ Misty Teal Contour
This set of eyeshadows were all shimmer, which was great for a holiday night look and getting the glam on. The shimmer in this palette was more subtle and didn't have much shimmer fallouts. All colors were quite pigmented and very buildable. Combination wise, thought the khaki color was quite strange and stood out the most but then I can see it working with the Bronze Lustre or Romance color. Did not have any fall out problems when picking up the eyeshadows. I think in terms of the quality of the eyeshadow, it seems this palette is somewhat better than the day palette. Strange since all palettes would be the same but could be the process of making. I don't know. Overall rating - 4 / 5
Blush that came in the palette was in the color "Golden Apple" (such a nice name). Coral color with gold shimmer pigments which was beautiful when applied (especially on my mom who has a more pale complexion). Added a super nice color to the face which warmed up the face especially with the gold shimmer pigments. The blush seemed to be more pigmented and stronger and therefore the build-ability of the blush isn't like the day palette. Overall rating would be 4.5 / 5 as alot is picked up which if applied directly to the face without blotting or tapping off, can be quite strong.
Last but not least, the testing the two lipstick colors in the night bundle in Brick(right) and Ruby Rose(left). Both of these colors was more on the rouge red side and beautiful, especially Ruby Rose which has a more crimson pink hint to it. Same consistency with the day bundle. Overall rating would be 4 / 5.
The high shine gloss in "Rosegold" was also tested on these lip colors and I would say that it does compliment it except in a different manner as the color of the gloss is quite different to the lip stick colors. The gloss is more on the pinky-berry color side and contains gold pigments which was really nice but did give it a different color when over the lip colors. I'd probably say that it compliments the lipstick color in "Ruby Rose" much better than brick for sure. Overall, same consistency and stickiness- rating is still 4 / 5.
And that concludes this super long first review. I'll try make it more simpler next time, but I hope you can enjoy it even though I got lazy towards the end because its 5.10am ahaha.
So sorry for the super long post, until then- happy 1st of february, stay well, take care and good night! ^_^
thank u so much for the enlightenment.... but u miss the lip and eyeliner. especially the eyeliner.. did it smudge or give u racoon eyes? or is it waterproof? thanks in advance.
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