If your family's anything like mine used to be, there was always a last-second scramble to find stuff for the stockings. I've
always been interested to check out the L.A. Colors drugstore offerings, and the stupidly low pricetag brought me in this year. I've got four of the items- which cost me a cool $12 in total. I picked mine up at Walgreens on a whim.
I know we're more than a month off from Christmas, but I wanted to post reviews on these since they caught
my eye and there will be lots of people in the stores this weekend, why not?
I'm more than aware that L.A. Colors is usually found online, in Dollar Tree, or occasionally at the drugstore. Other brands have shown that price point doesn't necessarily correlate to quality, but I won't trash these on performance the way I would if a luxury palette had the same performance (that's a spoiler alert).
L.A. Colors Color FYX Color Correctors Set ($6)
This kit caught my eye, partially because of the potential extreme value. There are five color correctors in this kit, which retails for $6. Even if not all of these will suit your complexion, that's an awesome deal. I haven't found that many color correctors that I haven't liked in general, so this was an easy pickup.
The kit gives a cute overview of color correcting.
Let's dig into the kit itself- these are small, but are a nice size. They're more than a deluxe sample but not too big. Each contains 0.09z/2.5g of product.
There's a nice lilac, a deep orange, a deep yellow, a deep green, and a glittery white in this kit. Rather than showing each one in depth, here's what the doefoot looks like:
Here's a group swatch, and I'll break down how these shades work with my NW13-15 complexion.
These
really remind me of the L.A. Girl correctors. Down to the glittery white corrector. The yellow's like the regular yellow (not the light one). I used to own most of those, but decluttered because the shades don't work for me.
Out of all of these, I can probably make the lilac work the easiest, can work with a light hand with the yellow, green, and white. If you wanted to try to the L.A. Girl but don't want to pay $4.99 (at Ulta) each, nab this set. I tested the yellow and lilac- they perform comparably to the L.A. Girl. Consider this set QBB approved.
Next up, the
L.A. Colors Shine v Matte Palettes ($2, 3 shades available)
Consider these the ultimate impulse purchase. Each of these contain 12 shades (6 shine, 6 matte) and have a net weight of 0.28oz/8g of product. Normally I'd pass, but given how nice Wet n Wild is at low prices, I figured why not. If they're good, they'd be an awesome stocking stuffer!
Let's start with the boring one- 41710WAG- Close to Nature.
So, the back of this palette brought me the distribution company- Beauty 21 Cosmetics. When I Googled it, I got an answer that made me laugh. Your QBB knows her brands. This umbrella has both L.A. Colors and L.A. Girl- so the previously-mentioned color correctors are the same, and this formula is similar to the quads I've played with previously. OK.
The pans have a different design, depending on the formula. The "Shines" have that pretty diamond stamping, and the mattes are blank. I had to break the palette into the two formulas when I swatched. So, first I'll show you a close up on the pans (I went down, starting with the top left, then came back to that bar going across), and then the corresponding swatches.
Here's how these swatches swatch:
Here's the mattes:
I''l note that shade #5 (the middle shade in the vertical stack) is cooler than it photographed.
Overall, I'd call this a workable palette and worth $2. Is it better than Wet 'n Wild? Nope. But can I work a neutral look out it? Yes. I like that there's skin-tone shades for me. The shimmers work much, much better with some Fix+.
Next up, 41711WAG- Sweet Romance.
*cough* Modern Renaissance vibes *cough* I had really high hopes for this because of the mauves in the palette.
I mean, look at these shades, right?
Sadly, it's a huge sad trombone.
I mean, come on!
Well, maybe the mattes perform better. Even if they're more like neutrals and not as interesting as the shines.
They do, but they're pretty meh.
This palette underwhelmed me so much that I wouldn't suggest spending $2 on it. Sorry, L.A. Colors. 2 or 3 decent shades out of 12 is too few by any estimation.
Now, it's all up to the colorful one (41715WAG-Prima Donna) to restore my faith in this investment.(OK, that's melodramatic because we've had one ok palette and one pass. I'm not mad at them for $2.)
We all know that purples are the hardest to formulate, and colorful palettes like this are usually either really good or really bad. Holding my breath.
Because these colors look so, so pretty.
WOW! Pleasantly surprised, especially with the performance of that grey-green and the purples. Already sold.
Let's see if these mattes can hang.
No, not the most full-pigmented mattes in the world. But really nice washes of color at this price point.
Out of the three, Prima Donna is my favorite one and the one that I'd recommend throwing in your family member's stocking. It's perfect for that younger makeup fan in your family, or for someone who wants a light wash of color.
So yes, there are decently performing products in those kits that look tempting in the drugstore.
