Products I'm currently obsessed with

I have made some awesome discoveries of new-to-me products in the past few months that I've been wanting to tell y'all about, so I thought I'd put together one of those "stuff I'm currently obsessed with" posts. In this post, I'll be gushing about:

• Bodycology's new Wild Poppy body product collection. ($3.69 per product at Walmart)
• New York Color's Color Wheel powder mosaics in Pink Cheek Glow and Allover Bronze Glow ($3.99-$4.99--at Walmart, Target, CVS & Rite Aid)
• Ecotools Finishing Kabuki brush ($6.00 at Walgreens)
• Real Colors Hydra Lips Waterproof Gel Lip Liner in  Pinup Pink ($5.00 at Sally Beauty Supply)
• Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Blackest Black ($7.00-$10.00 at Walmart, Walgreens, Target, CVS, Rite Aid....)

Ok, so lets get this show on the road.

Bodycology Wild Poppy Fragrance Mist

First up, Bodycology's new Wild Poppy body stuff. I have the fragrance photographed here because it is the fragrance I fell in love with first and that led me to buy the matching lotion and body wash and they are all awesome! I just happened upon this stuff one day while I was wasting money time in Walmart. I'm not usually one for smells. My signature fragrance for years has been Victoria's Secret Pink and I've been quite happy with that. But  I saw this and thought "hey I dig poppies" so I gave it a  sniff and--omg--LOVE! The bottle says "fresh scents of jasmine and rose transport you to a flower field on a spring day." Ok, I don't know why they site jasmine and rose scents for a fragrance called "poppy" but the rest is true! The scent is fresh and clean and bright and it has an energizing effect. It is precisely the kind of scent I go for (I hate anything too heavy or musky or spicy)!

Like I mentioned, I've been using the body wash and the lotion too and have been loving them as well.  Their scents are identical, the body wash lathers well and doesn't over-dry and the lotion is nice and creamy and sinks into the skin without leaving any nasty greasy feeling behind. And the price point is the best part of this stuff--a little over $3 for each product! Hooray for cheap, aromatherapeutic pampering! 

New York Color Color Wheel Powder Mosaics

All Over Bronze Glow

Pink Cheek Glow

(swatches of all makeup products at bottom of post)

Moving onto NYC's Color Wheels. OMG, how did I not discover these sooner??  Thanks be to CVS for printing me out an Xtra Care NYC coupon one day, because that is what sent me foraging for a new NYC product to try (don't you just love when you spend money JUST so you can use a coupon. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of saving??). I got the All Over Bronze Glow first and then later came back for the Pink Cheek Glow because I loved the bronzer so much. 

All Over Bronze Glow gives a gorgeous subtle sun-kissed look and it is NOT orangey and NOT full of crazy sparkles. It is nicely pigmented but not so overly pigmented that you end up with streaks on your face when you apply it and it blends out beautifully.

Pink Cheek Glow is a gorgeous warm peachy pink color--once again, no sparkles--just a pretty flush of color that brightens up your face. Pigmentation is nice and buildable and again the blendability is amazing. Both powders have a nice texture--fine-milled, not too chalky and not a ton of fall-out. I love when cheapie drugstore brands surprise me with their quality like this!

Ecotools Finishing Kabuki Brush

And what brush do I recommend for application of those awesome NYC Color Wheel powder mosaics?? Well, the Ecotools finishing kabuki brush of course! I thought I pretty much owned every Ecotools brush ever made but one day I spotted this in Walgreens and Ninja grabby hands commenced. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ecotools brushes--each and every one of them. You are simply not going to find better, more well-made brushes at any price point in my opinion. They never shed, the hairs are cruelty free and lush but not too soft as to be totally ineffective and they're green AND cheap--what more can you ask for??

Though this brush is called a 'finishing kabuki,' I use it for blushes and bronzers. The sparser duo-fiber hairs pick up and apply color in a nice, soft, diffused way, leaving the skin looking subtly sunkissed or flushed and NOT over-painted or streaked with color. 

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner

Maybelline Eye Studio gel liner,  I apologize for leaving you out of my list of holy grail eye products for so long! I grabbed this liner one day when I was on my way out of town and realized I forgot my FORMER holy grail E.L.F. Studio cream liner. Let me just say this stuff BLOWS the E.L.F. liner out of the water. Pitch black, smooth, doesn't flake, doesn't transfer, hasn't dried out on me yet and even the little brush it comes with (pictured above) is good! I tend to consider "included" brushes garbage because they usually suck but this one has a nice point and you can get a good fine line or a thicker line depending on how you hold it. It makes the cat eye liner  look a cinch!

The one thing I have to say about this liner is DO NOT buy it in CVS or Walgreens. It is nearly $10.00 there. Buy it at Target or Walmart where it is nearly $4 cheaper!

Real Colors Hydra Lips Waterproof Gel Lip Liner

And we have come to the final product I've chosen to rave about today. What is this you ask? THIS is a TRUE hot pink lip liner--gasp! True bright pink lip liners are SO hard to come by--whether you are shopping high end or drugstore. I know NYX makes a few but I don't have easy access to NYX since NOBODY anywhere near me carries their products (sob!!). So one day, I was in Sally Beauty Supply checking out their makeup (they have some seriously under-rated makeup products in that store) and this little gem caught my eye. I was a little wary because it had the word 'gel' in it and I was afraid it would be too soft. I actually LIKE my lip liners slightly dry with just a touch of 'tug' to them. If they are too wet, then they're really nothing more than a seriously anorexic lipstick & they defeat the purpose of a lipliner, which is to define the lips and help lipstick last and stay put (read NO FEATHERING) by giving it a slightly sticky base to cling to. 

But this stuff is NOT just a lipstick masquerading as a pencil. It has a great consistency, it lasts, it keeps my lipstick from wearing off and feathering (I have always had issues with feathering even when I was a teenager...damn wrinkly ass lips) and it is a bright, slightly cool & blue based pink that goes perfectly with all the fuschia lipcolors I love! Instant holy grail status for me!

Product Swatches

indoor, no flash

indoor, flash

outdoor natural light

the 2 round spots are top to bottom: NYC Color Wheel Pink Cheek Glow and All Over Bronze Glow

and I think it is obvious which is the lip liner and which is the eye liner ;) 

Well, thanks for sticking with me! Somehow these posts always end up WAY wordier than I ever expected them to be. I never did know when to shut up...