Wet n Wild – Sometimes Yaya

An Orange Battle Cry

As I have gotten older, I have come to understand more and more the need to give back. It has come as both gratitude for the ways in which I have been blessed, and a passion for causes that come closer and closer to my heart.

One of these is Cycle for Survival. An event where you do a mass exercise (think hundreds of people) and raise money for rare cancer research. Picture this: an Equinox fitness location (or whatever trendy fitness location you have in your neck of the woods – you’ll understand the specific club reference shortly) where all the equipment has been removed from the floor and replaced by stationary bikes. There is an instructor in the center every hour for four hours and each one leads a pom pom pumping, cheer inducing, sweaty good time. Continue reading “An Orange Battle Cry”

(Wet n’) Wild About Blush (b’ Bronzer)

Call me the budding drugstore maven, because I have been converted to the land of the under $10 cosmetics. I have some things brewing in the background awaiting the curtains to rise and there is just no room to play around with money and beauty like there used to be (though even then I had no business spending the way I did). Add that to the fact that cosmetics companies have become very cognizant of the fact that customers want quality, pigment, and they want it with a coupon. What better place to do that than a drugstore? Even if the brand doesn’t issue coupons, there are always deals and specials to hook you.I spent some time getting reacquainted with Wet n’ Wild cosmetics. I was already aware of the new lipsticks (which continue to pack a punch might I add – check my older post about them here), but sinfully overlooked their blushes and eyeshadows for a while. Well, my most recent run for milk and soda gave me reason to bring some home with me. I snagged three blushes and a bronzer (and for less than five dollars a pop, you really can get away with buying the whole collection with change to spare). As I set forth to photograph and test the newbies in my arsenal, I couldn’t resist toppling them like dominoes (the photos do the gameplay absolutely no justice!).The variety of shades are great for different skin tones and color payoff desires (i.e. if you’re a plum/coral/pink fan).

These powdered gals are great for layering. They went on pretty thin with one swipe and I was worried that hoodwinked, but then a second and third swipe gave priceless payoff. Not to mention, the 80s have been gone for a while, and no one needs the pigmentation three swipes deliver (though it’s good to know it’s a possibility). The photographs are also a bit different in coloring because the right was taken with flash (and is the true to life color).

You can see by the veins that peek through on my hand that despite layering, the colors don’t morph into war paint and become opaque. I had an easy time blending the colors on my hand, so one can only assume it’ll be the same on your face.

Tip: to maintain an even blush/bronzer application, make sure you moisturize your skin and then provide a primer/foundation layer for it to go on top of. The moisturizer will keep your skin moist and prevent drying-cracking mishaps, and the primer (or foundation) will create an even barrier between the powder and your skin, preventing blotchiness and allowing for a smooth blending process.

Have you found any drugstore gems recently?

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Wet n’ Wild Lipstick Shades

After my successfully indulgent trip to the drugstore (as well as the follow up online confession), it was only right to expose how the colors looked like in real life. In this photo – I tried to make the lip shades look like a Cingular sign :).

As I’ve said in my review, the lipsticks are creamy and highly pigmented, and very very worth the money. Something else I found out with these babies? They’re not for the faint of heart, and by that I mean, they are high maintenance. These sticks (or at least the colors I chose) need a brush applicator on hand at all times. If you use the lipstick on its own and brave it out, you’ll have plenty of cleanup to follow (it’s the worst to do cleanup after red lipstick, because your skin may turn pink from either the coloring or the irritation from rubbing). Every time I tried to apply Red Velvet on my own, I was running cleanup interference to the point that I wiped the whole thing off and started again. Did this three times before I gave up and took a brush thankyouverymuch
No swatch post is ever enough without the before and after shot. Here’s my before. There is no flash on the left and flash on the right. This pattern is the same throughout all the colors.Red Velvet is a bad mama jama. It’s matte but super creamy (okay all of them are – but still). It’s bright and has a blue tone to make your teeth look pearly white. Did I mention this would look awesome on all skin tones?Then the trouble started. Just Peachy is the kind of beige that a girl with my skin tone should steer clear of. As a matter of fact, I’m starting to think this shade is so specific that I’d have to keep my eye out for the perfect match. It has an pastel orange tint to it, making it disappear on my face. It felt like I was hiding my eyebrows… just you know – on my lips. My skin shade by MAC standards is NW20, so you’d have to be wayyyy below or way above for this color to work on you. It’d need to create a serious contrast.But alas, Yaya will not give up. I decided to layer my Armour Beauty gloss on top to give it more dimension.
What do you think? Any better?
Smokin’ Hot Pink is a very attractive coral and pink mix. It’s a bit reminiscent of pinup gals.I slipped up on Mauve Outta Here. Where the heck is the photo without flash? Y’all know as much as I do. It’s a lilac and pink mix that verges on not matching skin tones, but is just enough to get away with. Do you agree?

I kind of want to get more colors but my wallet is asking that I take a conservative stance with the pending holiday and birthday events. Ever notice how birthdays are always in clusters (and never in the clusters where you have the most discretionary income!)?

Which is your favorite?

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Wet n’ Wild Lipsticks

The last time I stepped foot into Rite Aid, they were having killer sales on all things unnecessary but pretty. Wet n’ Wild products were 40% off and the new Mega Last lipsticks were calling my name. Being that each one was $2.99, I figured if I got all four colors I was itching to try, one would be free, considering the discount. For $3 a pop I honestly would have tried them without the sale as well, but a brand can normally slip under the radar if they don’t make some kind of money saving commotion to land in the weekly paper.

Lips take center stage! This 4-hour, longwearing lip color leaves a semi-matte, crème finish in one stroke. Glides on easily with rich, velvety color that doesn’t cake, feather, or bleed. Made with hydrating skin-care ingredients: Hyaluronic Microspheres provide extraordinary adhesion to lips, an exclusive polymer complex offers cushion-like feel and texture, and natural marine plant extracts Coenzyme Q10 and Vitamins A & E help smooth lips. (source)

I got the following colors:

Usually, customers don’t expect the same color payoff and product performance from a product that is so cheap, but ladies and gents of the jury. When I tell you these lipsticks baffled me?! How can the company afford something so good for so cheap a price?!

These swatches are after one swipe. The description does not lie! The pigmentation was jam packed with bright goodness. For the most part, the colors I chose were a good match for me, and I dare say universally flattering as well.
The lipsticks appear more matte than creamy, but they have a generally creamy application (if that makes sense).

Though I was very pleased with the lipsticks, there were two things that drove me crazy. First, the lipsticks are so pigmented, that you almost have to use a lip brush to apply the product (especially the brighter colors) for neat application within the lines. As far as the bleeding goes, there is absolutely none. Second was the packaging. Y’all know I judge packaging almost as closely as the product itself, so this had to be addressed.

The packaging contains the color name, which isn’t the smartest thing if you want a name to reference in the future, or well – just because. I have been guilty of unwittingly buying doubles and triples of products, usually because I did not have the name handy to double check (an excuse on my part, but a minor thumbs down nonetheless). Another packaging peeve? The ‘peel here’ and perforation are on opposite sides!
I’m not sure if it was just the batch I got, or if they just had to sacrifice packaging for quality. Personally, I’ll readily make that sacrifice. I normally attack the packaging like a fiend anyhow.