Jamie from Polished Beauty Reviews Hello Waffle's Revamped Tinted Balms!

Hey, guys! I'm so excited to share my first guest post with you! Jamie from Polished Beauty wanted to share her swatches and review of Hello Waffle's new tinted balms. These have been reformulated to be less streaky and gritty, and from these swatches, I think Christine did an awesome job. Now I want to pick some up, myself!

So, all pictures are taken by Jamie, and I took the liberty of turning her photos into handy dandy collages. The majority of this review is written by her, but I'll pop in and give some of my own commentary as well. I'll specify who's saying what so you guys don't get lost. Let's jump right in!

Jamie: Hey, all! I'm guest posting on this blog today about Hello Waffle's newly re-released lip balms! Christine originally opened up shop with lip balms, but discontinued them last year to reformulate them, as they were getting grainy over time. This Spring, Christine re-released her balms in a new formula with both previous shades and some new colors as well in new new slim-line tubes for $5.50 CAD (about $4.40 US currently).

The shiny new slim-line tubes!

Comparing the old and new Maraschino formulas, from left to right

Jamie: Maraschino is described as a warm orange-toned red. I had an old sample from the original release, so I decided to compare the colors. While the formula is completely different (duh), the colors look identical to me, both on my arm and my lips.

Destiny: I'm really impressed that Christine was able to change up the formula so much, yet still be able to keep the color the same. It seems like formulations often result in color changes (Kat Von D Lolita, anyone?), so kudos to Christine! I also think it's great that the new balm is more moisturizing, and it's also more pigmented. For a lot of indie balms I've tried, the more moisturizing they are, the sheerer they get.

Jamie: Ginger Kitties is described as an orange-toned peach. I know with the original formula I had, the color was more orange than peach due to dye differences in the batches. The new formula shows up a nice, soft peach on me.

Destiny: I think it's interesting how pink this looks. The site description says it's orange-toned, and even the picture is fairly orange, almost a coral. The site swatch is an orange-red. I haven't been interested in Ginger Kitties at all, but now I'm rethinking it if it's going to be such a lovely pink!

Jamie: Orchid is described as a vibrant, warm purple. I would describe it more as a bright magenta-pink color. It's not a purple-purple, but instead a more purply/magenta color.

Destiny: Hrm. I'm not sure where I would place this on the color spectrum. I'd say it's a warm-toned fuchsia. (Also, what is up with the spelling of fuchsia? Fuch-see-ya. What is that?)

~

Jamie: All the colors went on full opaque and seem to "dry" in place. They all stain as well, which I prefer in a lip color. (After washing my arm with soap and water, you could still see the color from my swatches.)

Destiny: Alright, that wraps up today's Guest Post! I'm so glad Jamie reached out to me, and I'd love to do more posts like this in the future. I'm also going to shamelessly link her site, where she sells awesome nail polish marbled necklaces and pendants (and is having a sale!). Stay tuned!

Let's Try Out Kae Q's Beso Balms!

Lately I've been trying to expand my collection to more than just eyeshadow. Lip products have been a major draw for me, and after hearing a lot of lovely things about Kae Q, I snapped up a 6-pack of samples to give them a try.

Kae Q is owned and operated by Nicole Fiori, who runs her business out of Miami, Florida. Nicole is big on reducing her carbon footprint and using organic materials. Not only are her ingredients local, but she mixes all the oils found in her products herself. Right now her catalog consists of tinted and untinted balms, a clear lip liner, local farm products, and some sweet stickers (because who doesn't want a sticker of a heart-shaped beet?).

Nicole is a lamb, and she puts her heart and soul into everything she makes. She's been really open to customer comments and suggestions, and I feel like she's constantly coming up with new ideas and striving to make her company the best it can be. Her products really show it. Let's check out what I got, shall we?

Swatches are taken over exfoliated and moisturized lips. All quoted descriptions are taken off the Kae Q Etsy Store page, which you can check out here!

My six Besitos (samples of Nicole's Beso Balms)

Nicole is awesome enough to include applicators with orders of Besitos!

I thought they looked pretty after using them, so here's a before and after.

The sun was beating down through my window today, and I forgot to take my little Besitos out of the light. So, they were a little melted when I used them. Honestly, I'm going to try to warm them up every time I use them from now it. It gave them the consistency of Fyrinnae's Liquid Lustres, and that consistency is life. All colors were completely opaque with one swipe, with the exception of Mulberry and Passionfruit. Don't let the "balm' name fool you. If you told me these were lipsticks, I wouldn't question you. Not only are these crazy opaque, they're also very moisturizing. My lips feel luxurious after swatching these.

The swatches really speak for themselves, and Nicole's formula is very consistent, so I won't have a lot of commentary this time around.

T-B: Mango, Lychee, Snapdragon, Mulberry, Indigo, Passionfruit

Mango: "a gorgeous vivid red"

This is a beautiful red-orange on me. This was super easy to apply, and I was very impressed. I quickly found out they're all like that. Nicole has really outdone herself with her formula.

Lychee: "a classic matte brick red"

A gorgeous brick red. I'm not sure if I like this color or not on me. I'll have to take it for a spin sometime to make my final call.

Snapdragon: "a muted pink"

This is such a great MLBB for me, and it's perfect for Spring. Snapdragon felt the most moisturizing of the bunch, so I'd say this is probably the most "balm"y of the Besitos I ordered.

Mulberry: "a wonderful berry-red stain"

Mulberry wasn't as opaque as it showed on the site. I packed a lot of product on the applicator, but it still went on fairly sheer. I'll have to give it another shot when the product isn't warmed, but the others applied very opaque despite being in the sun a bit.

Indigo: "a shimmery, deep blue"

This applied a bit darker than the site photo, but I'm 100% okay with that. I've been wanting to experiment with funky lip colors, and this is awesome. Indigo is a tad metallic whereas the other Besitos are matte and semi-matte. This would be an great alternative to OCC Technopagan for someone who doesn't want to deal with the application and feathering of Lip Tars.

Passionfruit: "a deep, yet bright purple"

This also applied a tad darker than the site photo, and it also applied fairly sheer. Because of its dark color, Passionfruit had issues with streakiness due to how sheer it was. This is another one I'll have to try without warming it up first. I love me some purple lips, so I have a mighty need to make this work.

Welp, this wraps up my Kae Q review! These Besitos were amazing, and I'll definitely be snapping up some full sizes for my next order. Nicole is updating her Beso Balm packaging to slimline tubes soon, and they are too cute. I'm excited to see what else she comes up with next! Now I'm off to gorge on Easter candy. Stay tuned. :)

Checking Out Dark Matter's Stardust Shadows and Gravity Primer

Disclaimer: I am currently in the process of reswatching duochromes and photographing them differently to give my readers a more accurate depiction of the shifts. Please be patient while I go through the process of updating my past reviews. :)

Hey, guys! I took a bit of a break last week after a bout of writers' block, but now I'm back! Today I'm going to swatch and review four Stardust shadows from Dark Matter, as well as put their new(ish) Gravity primer to the test. Dark Matter opened in 2012, and came to light in IMAM last year. This is my first order from Dark Matter, but I'd been eyeing the company for a while. From a collection honoring badass female contributors to the world of science, to adorable star shaped swatches, I've been impressed.

When Dom released the Gravity Eyeshadow Primer, I finally bit the bullet and placed my order. My purchase was for three eyeshadow samples, and came with an additional shadow sample and a clamshell sample of the Gravity Primer. Keep in mind non-GWP shadow samples come in "test tubes". Such a cute name, and the tubes hold true to the science theme of Dark Matter, but they're very skinny and my brush couldn't fit in them. For my review today, I poured a tiny bit onto a business card and used them from there. When my shipment of jars arrives, I'll be depotting these. Sometimes theming needs to take a backseat to practicality.

L-R: Aries, Virgo, Aquarius, Betelgeuse, Gravity Eyeshadow Primer

Because I'm reviewing Dark Matter's Gravity Primer, my swatches are going to be a little different. From left to right and top to bottom, shadows will be swatched over bare skin, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, and Dark Matter's Gravity Eyeshadow Primer. As usual, all quoted descriptions are taken off Dark Matter's Etsy shop page, which you can check out here!

The elusive Gravity Primer in its natural habitat..

Let's start off with my first impression of Gravity, Dark Matter's primer. Gravity was advertised as part primer, part glitter glue. I'd say this is definitely a bit of both. It's a milky white both in the clamshell and on my skin, and stays tacky on your skin after applying. The consistency feels somewhere between Pixie Epoxy and e.l.f. Glitter Glue. I've yet to give this a test run, but I'll report back when I do! So far I feel like I haven't quite mastered the application yet. Onto the shadows!

Aries: "a light metallic gold with gold sparks"

This was a pale metallic dandelion yellow with gold sparks. It didn't hold up too well over bare skin, but looked nice over my primers. I think it performed the best over Pixie Epoxy, but I also think I went too heavy on the Gravity primer. A little goes a looong way, and I didn't realize it.

Virgo: "a light pink that has a golden duochrome"

This shadow leaned lilac on bare skin and UDPP, but was true to description over Pixie Epoxy and Gravity. This is a really delicate shade, and I'll be pairing it with brighter pinks and rose golds for Spring.

Aquarius: "a duochrome that shifts from a dark, yet pure blue to a metallic gold"

I was really impressed with the pigmentation over bare skin here. I wouldn't consider this to be a duochrome, however. Over primers, the shadow definitely transforms, but the color doesn't shift depending on the angle you look at it or the light hitting it. For me, the blue doesn't change to a metallic gold, but rather an antiqued green-gold. It isn't very true to the description, but I still like it.

Betelgeuse: "a chocolate burgundy base under an extreme flash of gold glittering highlight"

This actually ended up being my favorite of the bunch! This is a shadow that has the "glowing from within effect" that I love so much. The antique gold really pops over the dark base. I think the glowing effect is lost a bit over Gravity Primer.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with my order. The Stardusts are very pigmented over bare skin, and they look so beautiful over Pixie Epoxy and Gravity. I can't wait to try Aquarius and Betelgeuse as liners! Gravity is a great option for those who don't want to pick between a primer or a glitter glue. But since it's a bit of both, don't expect it to make your shadows pop like Pixie Epoxy does. In terms of learning how to apply it, I'd say it has the same learning curve as Pixie Epoxy. I also think that because of its color, it might not look quite right on someone with darker skin that me. I'm glad I was sent a sample of Gravity, but since I already have a primer and glitter glue I love, I likely won't be purchasing a full size unless it performs wonderfully on my oil slick eyelids.

Well, that wraps up my review! I'd definitely recommend Dark Matter to any indie lover. Dom definitely didn't disappoint, and I'm excited to see what she comes up with next!

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