Two for Thursday: Quick Drugstore Holiday Picks

Since it's the end of the month and I'll also be posting a monthly favorites, I wanted to share two quick reviews on drugstore (or drugstore-priced) beauty holiday kits.

First up is the Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Color Collection.

This set is marked at $4.99, but I found it last weekend on sale for $2.99 at both Rite Aid and CVS, with $2 rewards attached to it. Yes, that makes this set $0.99.

In this set, you receive nine of the Megalast nail polishes, each weighing in at 0.17fl/5ml. This is one of the cheapest formulas at the drugstore, but one of my favorites. It lasts and lasts on my nails.

I thought so much of it that I picked up one for me, and one for my mother for Christmas. If that's not a stamp of approval, I'm not sure what is.

I feel like this kit has neutrals, bolds, brights, and classic shades- essentially, all you'd need for any number of looks. I think that this is a great kit.

Next up, the Real Techniques Fresh Face Favorites Kit.

This retails for $19.99 at Ulta, but I found this kit for $6.99 at my local TJMaxx.

This set comes with three brushes: a BB/CC brush,a contour brush, and a detailer brush.

It also comes with a sponge wedge.

Do I think this is worth $19.99? Nope. But if you spot it at your local TJMaxx like I did, remember that it's this year's kit and totally worth it. I love Real Techniques brushes, and I find them to be really high quality.

Sorry for the quick post, but I wanted to share two kits I've picked up recently with you.

Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighter Palette

I've been quite vocal that I'm in love with Wet 'n Wild's Megaglo highlighter formula. So when they announced their first highlighting palette, I was in.

I forgot just how bad Wet 'n Wild's shipping is. It took two weeks for this to cross the country to me- meanwhile, it launched at Ulta and I could've had it much faster. I did run into a glitch with the website after ordering that required me to contact customer service. They were very quick to respond- same day- so bravo to that.

But two weeks shipping. In 2017- heck it'll be 2018 in a month and a half. Not acceptable. Love your products Wet 'n Wild, hate your shipping.

The Megaglo Highlighting Palette retails for $14.99, and contains four new shades. The palette has a  net weight of 0.19oz/5.4g each.

There's no mirror, but the four plastic pans (in the cardboard palette) were protected by a plastic overlay.

Let's jump into these.

First up, Sweet Peony.

This is a frosty pink without that much pigmentation. I noticed right away that these shades are more glittery and less metallic than the singles.

Next up is Diamond Lily.

I've really been feeling blue highlighters as of late, so I had high hopes. This is ok, but not fantastic.


The lower left shade is Wild Cosmos.

This shade is interesting- it's green but there's some purple running through it. I loved it in the pan, but it's not as fab on my skin.

The final shade is Wild Azalea.

This shade looks pretty in the pan, but it's a dad. It disappears on me, and it's stiff to the touch. Also- that's actual glitter, guys.

Let's go to a group swatch and then we'll talk. I think the swatch (fingers) will tell you all you need to know with this one.

I'm somewhat baffled by this palette. These don't feel like the singles- and don't have that same glide. There's so much more glitter in these, and Blushing Azalea even is invisible on my NW13-15 skin.

I love this formula, and these are different. I see so much promise in these shades, but they lack the buttery high-end feel of the singles. There was a huge opportunity here, and I feel like it's just not up to the bar that Wet 'n Wild has set. Will I use these? Yes. Will I reach for these as often as the singles? heck no.

Wet 'n Wild Megaglo Highlighter Shade Extension

I must confess: I've been dragging my feet to write this review for some reason. I'm not sure why.

In case you've been living under a rock for the past two years, Wet 'n Wild's Megaglo Highlighter is by far and away the best at the drugstore. The line started with two limited edition shades that were made permanent this year; now four more shades have joined the line. It was spotting them in the wild (vs online at Ulta, where I purchased mine) that finally made me write this post.

Side note: Gold Bar is back!!!!

OK, let's get back to the four new Megaglo highlighters ($4.99, 0.19oz/5.4g). Here's how this post is going to work- I'm going to give the briefest of intros to the new shades, swatch them all, then show you how they compare to other Wet 'n Wild shades. This isn't going to be an in-depth review of the formula by any stretch of the imagination.

Let's start with the first one to grab my eye- Royal Calyx.

These maintain that same design seen on the first two Megaglo highlighters. This is a lovely blurple highlighter.

It's not the most wearable of shades, but it's something fun in my collection. Here's a swatch:

I'll get into some comparisons here in a bit.

Next up, Golden Flower Crown.

It's truly a lovely gold that's not as intense as some other releases.

Here's a quick swatch before we get into comparisons later.

Next up, Botanic Dream.

This light pink is the type of highlighting shade that I gravitate towards.

It is a bit darker than most of my pinks but reminds me of a few things in my drawer.

Last, but certainly not least, is Blossom Glow.

This is the lightest shade of the new collection- and the one I've naturally been reaching for the most.

Look at that swatch- it's heaven on my skin.

Before I get into any comparisons, here's the two group swatches you've probably been wanting to see.

The four new shades:

And the ENTIRE permanent Wet 'n Wild Megaglo lineup:

So, I got out other Wet 'n Wild highlighters (limited and permanent) to do some color comparisons:

Comparison 1: Royal Calyx vs Lilac to Reality (LE Spring 2017):

Lilac to Reality is clearly much more pigmented and less wearable than Royal Calyx. The shimmer is also finer in Royal Calyx.

Comparison 2: Botanic Dream vs The Sweetest Bling (LE Spring 2017) vs Everlasting Glow (LE ColorIcon Unicorn Collection)

Botanic Dream is warmer than The Sweetest Bling as well as a little darker.

Comparison 3: Golden Flower Crown vs Holly Gold-head (aka the gold bar) vs Bronze Over the Rainbow (LE Unicorn Collection 2017)

Golden Flower Crown is lighter than Holly Gold-Head. They're different enough that I hope that the gold bar stays around permanently!


Bottom Line: Just buy them all. They're $4.99 each. They've got a formula that's similar to those being sold at nearly eight times that amount. Just do it.

Wet 'n Wild Midnight Mermaid Collection Part II

Confession: I hate super-long blog posts. And when my initial post about this collection was getting hella long, I had to cut it in half. As a reminder, we're talking about Wet 'n Wild's Fall 2017 Midnight Mermaid Collection, in the order of how much I love these products. (With the exception of the final product, it's such a win overall). You should be seeing displays at your local Walgreens- that's where I found these products.


But next time, just get the box.

3. Megalast Liquid Catsuit Metallic Matte Liquid Lipsticks ($4.99 each)

I don't think I've featured the Liquid Catsuits on my blog before, but I own quite a few of them. It's one of the better drugstore formulas, so I was curious about how they'd do with funky colored metallics. You get the wine-colored Harbor a Crush, coppery Coral Crown, emerald green Siren's Jewel, and navy Sea Seduction. like the regular line, you get 0.20oz/5.7g of product.

Let's go in order of what I initially thought would be most-least wearable in my mind.

At first, I was settled on only buying Harbor a Crush, since I adore metallic wine shades. I'm also trying a new photo array here to save space.

It's a glorious shade, but formula-wise it was the worst of the lot. Had I not purchased a second shade with this, I wouldn't have tried others. It took two full layers to get the final look. I'll be wearing this more this fall for sure!

Next up, the coppery Coral Crown.

This was the second shade I initially purchased and it's probably my favorite of the four. I didn't think it would be wearable, but it's glorious. The formula is also amazing- it's so pigmented and not patchy in the slightest. I'm not sure what was up with the wine-colored one-but that's the only dud in the patchy department. I can't wait to incorporate it this fall.

I only purchased Siren's Jewel to test the formula, to be honest.

It's beautiful and pigmented and a dream to work with. If I were to wear a green lipstick, this would be it. Stunning.

I thought Sea Seduction might be a nice alternative to black.

It's gorgeous. And the formula's great if you're a blue lipstick wearer!

Overall, I find these metallic matte liquid lipsticks to be outstanding and far outperform the Milani ones I have.


4. Megalast Megaliner Metallic Liquid Eyeliner ($3.99 each)

And now, the Megalast Megaliner Metallic Liquid Eyeliners. These brush-tip liquid liners are a part of the regular lineup, but this collection has three LE metallic shades. There are three shades: green Sea Symmetry, blue Sea Dreams, and silvery grey Trident's Shimmer. You get 0.12fl oz/3.5ml of product.

Sea Symmetry is the color that I bought just to finish out the collection:

I think Sea Dreams may be the shade on the promo photo:

Trident's Shimmer is usually up my alley:

OK, now that I've shown all three shades let's talk about my issues with the product. I find them patchy and skip a lot. I do have a huge bias against brush-tip liners, so I should state that up front. I've used these liners in the permanent collection, and I do know how to use brush tip liners. I just struggled with these- and they don't apply well to the eye. These are the dud of the collection, IMO.

Those are the most perfect swatches I could get, so you get the idea. They're pretty though.

Bottom Line: Wet 'n Wild killed it with this whole collection.

Wet 'n Wild Midnight Mermaid Collection Part I

I learned an expensive and important lesson with this collection. Initially, I passed on the bundle because I thought there was no way I'd ever want/wear navy metallic lipsticks. After my 26th trip to a store, I was cursing myself. I'm buying the next bundle.


In a way, it's a testament that I sought out the entire collection, since I started by purchasing two liquid eyeshadows from Ulta... and then it spiraled. It's a large collection with some serious hits, and some serious misses. Let's talk about them all. I'll be posting Part II very soon.

This collection is comprised of: four ColorIcon Metallic Liquid Eyeshadows ($4.99 each), three Megaliner Metallic Liquid Liners ($3.99 each), four Liquid Catsuit Metallic Matte Lipsticks ($4.99 each), and one highlighter ($6.99).

Let's talk about them in the order that I personally rank them. With the exception of two eyeshadows purchased from Ulta, I bought the rest of the collection in-store at two different Walgreens, seven days apart.

1. ColorIcon Metallic Liquid Eyeshadows ($4.99, 0.12oz, 4 shades)

It really shouldn't have been a shocker that I'd love these, but they're amazing. These come in four shades- Lara's Necklace (black base, green glitter), Aquatic Prism (black base, blue/aqua glitter), Moonlight Majesty (black base, violet glitter), Mysterious Nights (black base, silver glitter). As someone who owns all of the shades of the Stila shadows and started a glitter series, these are a win for me. I just hope they bring back the formula with more shades. I've done full eye looks with two of the four shades already and have been pretty happy with the weartime. They fade a bit after seven hours, but they're gorgeous. They also require a bit of finessing, but for the price they're outstanding. Be careful that they don't go patchy; I seriously prefer using a tiny brush rather than the doefoot- just like I do with the Stilas.

Let's take a closer look at Lara's Necklace:

It's a black base with emerald green glitters in it- but it pulls quite difficult and is tough to accurately photograph.

The left swatch is a single pass, but the right one was me working hard to layer it, more like you'd do on the eye.

Aquatic Prism is my favorite from the group, and was the most difficult to track down:

It looks like nothing in that photograph. I happened to catch it better when actually trying to photograph the wands on these buggers:

I'm still shaking my head at how these don't translate. Look first at this swatch:

Looks like meh, right?

Look at it on the eye. This is SO what all of these do on the eye- swatches do not tell the story.

Here's the eye look I did with it- and Anastasia Beverly Hills Venice shadow.

Are you kidding me??? How is this the same shadow? I swear it is, and this is the same dang lighting as well. These Wet 'n Wild shadows hate being swatched but are magic on the eyes.

I find Moonlight Majesty to remind me of Stila Violet Vixen, as both are warm deep purples.

I think that swatch shows one of the issues- these can get quite patchy. FYI.

And here's a comparison swatch:

Let me be clear. Go buy the Wet 'n Wild. Do not buy the Stila. Here's what happened to my hand after removing the swatches:

I probably didn't need Mysterious Nights but I wanted to play with the formula:

It's a black shadow with silver glitters.

And here it is, compared to Stila Molten Midnight.

They're close enough that I recommend the Wet 'n Wild over the Stila- and since you're saving more than 75%? What a win!

Overall, these are incredible- and worth picking up. I think Aquatic Prism is the standout shade... and I don't normally recommend shades like this.

I've already nabbed backups of Aquatic Prism and Moonlight Majesty because these are so special and unlike anything in my collection (the later will be replacing Violet Vixen, which was pure evil to me. Boo on Stila for ignoring my repeated inquiries- please practice EXTREME CAUTION before even thinking of using Violet Vixen near your eyes. In fact, just buy the Wet 'n Wild shadow.

 One more look at the full collection:

This really looks high end. Well done, Wet n Wild!

2. MegaGlow Highlighting Bar- Midnight Moon

Wet 'n Wild is known for slaying the drugstore highlight game, particularly with their MegaGlo formulas. This LE release, Midnight Moon, is a white gold with a green shift.

It's also got a killer mermaid tail print:

I've been hearing some not-so-nice things about this product, so I didn't initially reach for it. Guess what? I like it so much I nabbed a backup when I spotted a non-pillaged display on Friday!

Here's a swatch:

It's totally wearable even with my complexion. I just use a fan brush and pick up a small bit for a very flattering glow.

I intentionally placed the highlighter in an odd place in the following photo- it's so that I could catch the effect on my skin.

Yes, it's a little blurry. But this catches the effect the best that I could manage- 5 applications later. So yes, it does work well on someone of my complexion- despite what many beauty gurus on YouTube are trying to tell you.

Bottom : Go for it with this collection. These shades are unique and the formulas are awesome!

Part II, where I talk about the liners and liquid lipsticks, will be coming before the end of this holiday weekend. I promise. I'm actually finishing this post about 12.5 hours before it goes live... I'll try to get the other half up either late Saturday or Sunday. I do owe the following before the end of the long weekend though: Part II, Sunday Dreaming/Ulta 21 Days recommendations, July/Aug favorites, July/Aug empties, and possibly a weekly drawer post on Monday. Yikes!