little white truths

This little lip and cheek set was included in Memebox Special #36 Meme's Pouch (unboxed here). It's one of the better items in a box that really didn't grab me. The Croquis Alight Pact from that box is the one product that saved it - everything else I could take or leave.

Having said this, I like this little set more than I thought I was going to: it looks pretty cheap in all its airy fairy pinkness (notwithstanding that it retails for $47US), and the tints themselves look far too lolly-like for my taste at first glance.

The packaging itself is sturdy however and it comes with a nice little mirror plus a (useless) double-ended brush.

Please do ignore my slightly wonky photos - pregnancy has killed not only my spatial relations but also my sense of straight lines (!).

I'm not going to refer to the colours by their names - there's a limit to the amount of flossed fluffy pink crap I can tolerate in one post, and the photos are giving us a big enough dose of all that on their own. Let's just call them pink, orange and red. And let's just pretend that using this palette doesn't make me feel like a (primary) schoolgirl.

There's also a gloss and a concealer included, plus an empty pot if you want to mix your own colours.

Drww claims/product details:

Here's a swatch of each product. Presumably I don't need to spell out which is which ; )

You can see from my lips that the tints are pretty drying - at least when applied on your lips - so I needed to slap some gloss on straight after taking this shot. They're fine on your cheeks, however. And on your eyes, even though they're not designed for that purpose.

Verdict

While this set does look kind of cheap and barbie-ish (to me at least), it's actually quite nice overall. I wouldn't rush out and buy it, but it's something I'm glad to have for spring/summer and I liked it more than expected.

The concealer is totally rubbish, so forget that side of things: it covers nothing and sits in pores/wrinkles/dry patches, plus it's really visible (on my skin) and seems to sit on top of your face, rather than blending in. So it announces itself as concealer when applied, but doesn't actually perform that function. Not sure whether that's just an issue with my skin, or because it's just a bad product.

The gloss is fine but nothing special, though it's necessary because the tints are a little drying on your lips. In that sense it's good to have the gloss included, if you're planning to travel with this and nothing else in the lip department.

As for the tints, although the colours look like lollies in their pots, they're not so 'look at me' when applied and add a nice sheer and wearable glow to your lips/cheeks. I was pleasantly surprised. They're nice on their own and also when put underneath a powder blush, if you want to beef up the colour of your powder a little. I find I need to do that with some of my blushes when my skin's more tanned, since some of them don't show up as well on darker skin.

The orange is my favourite (isn't it always) and the pink works better on me than most pinks do - I think because it's got the whole blue-toned thing happening. Same goes for the red - it works better on me than most reds - which makes me happy because red isn't normally a colour I can get away with.

The colours feel quite glossy to the touch (just harder and thinner) and they apply well, plus they're blendable and buildable. They also stay put for a while, although having said this, I've only worn them with a finishing powder over the top so I'm not sure how they'd fare on their own, especially when it's hot.

Overall, this is a reasonable product and one I'm glad to own. I certainly wouldn't go out and pay $47US for it though, that's for sure!

Have you used this? I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts.