Looking for stocking stuffers for your favorite gal-pal? Wondering what to get to treat yourself after a long semester? Hopefully this review of some of the lovely products sent from Her Campus Nationals can give you an idea of what to grab to spread some holiday cheer!
The Makeup!
So the first thing I’d like to talk about here is the Rimmel London Provocalips 16 Hour Lipstick. I know what you’re thinking. 16 hours? That can’t be true! Well you’re both right and wrong. This lipstick doesn’t last for 16 hours, it lasts way longer! The way this stick works is that one end is the regular lipstick that comes in a variety of different colors, depending on the lipstick you choose. The other end is a clear gloss that goes on top and dries matte, and that’s how the lipstick stays for so long! Let me tell you that clear gloss is amazing!
I got the color 230 Kiss Fatal which is a gorgeous lavender/plum color that’s great for the holiday season. To test the lipstick’s durability, I tried it the way it was designed (lipstick+gloss), just the lipstick, and I tried the gloss on another (usually tricky!) lipstick of mine. In every case this product worked wonders. With the lipstick and the gloss, it wore for well over 24 hours. When I tried just the gloss with a q-tip over black lipstick (to match my soul of course) that usually wears away easily, it also held on insanely well!
Here I am dying around 1 a.m. in our library’s 24 Hour Room preparing for finals. In this photo I had been wearing this lipstick for a minimum of 18 hours all while eating food and drinking coffee throughout the day. Everything else about me is falling apart, but the lipstick held strong! Isn’t a bold lipstick the best way to get through dire situations?
(Look how excited I am to see yet another sunrise from the library! Yay!)
Trying the lipstick on its own without the gloss was still satisfying. It lasted about 10 hours before dulling a bit and only required one reapplication to brighten the color back up to take the picture for this article.
There are really only two downsides to this amazing product. First, to quote a fellow Her Campus staff member when we received these. It “smells like it would last 16 hours.” It definitely has an industrial scent, but I honestly believe you could paint a tank with these lipsticks and it would stay on with that magical matte gloss. Seriously, this stuff is military level technology and works on other lipsticks as well. Also, because it’s so effective, it’s pretty hard to take off. If you have sensitive skin on your lips, it might be even more of a challenge. But if you’re looking for something to last for days – you’ve got it!
The next product is the Rimmel Volume Flash ScandalEyes Mascara. I’m pretty attached to my Maybelline Clump Crusher. I’ve used the brand for years and can be pretty picky when it comes to mascara. However, this mascara does a lovely job of making your lashes look much longer. It also doesn’t clump very easily and goes on smooth. It does its job very well and is just plain nice. I now plan on incorporating it into my daily routine now.
The final makeup product I’m going to discuss is the Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner. Unfortunately, this product was the least successful for me personally. First, in my experiences with Kohl eyeliners, they’re usually supposed to be blendable and “smudgy” to give off a smoky effect. This felt less like a smoky Kohl liner and more like a regular pencil liner, just a little more oily. In addition, I don’t feel like this eyeliner worked well with my personal skin type, as it smudged onto my upper eyelid within an hour of wearing it. It went on very smooth and was really easy to work with, so I feel like depending on your skin type and the type of eyeliners that work for you, this could still be a really great liner. I personally prefer liquid liners and my eyelids are a little more fickle, but I still think this is a great product to check out. Makeup is a very personal thing and some formulas don’t work on everyone the same way.
The Tea!
What’s the T on Yogi Teas? They’re delicious! The two flavors I sampled were Green Tea Blueberry Slim Life and Sweet Tangerine Positive Energy. Both drinks were really interesting flavors I had never had before in a tea. But of the two, I thought the blueberry flavor was the better one. It had a strong sweet blueberry taste that paired super well with the bitterness of the green tea! The tangerine flavor was also really good but wasn’t super citrusy. It still tasted very nice and both of them were very soothing for the end of the semester. I recommend both teas,. as they were each lovely and calming!
To conclude this review, I’d like to send my deepest thanks to Rimmel and Yogi teas for supporting Her Campus and being kind enough to send us their products. In addition, I’d like to thank the other sponsors for also sending amazing products that are featured in other reviews and on our social media.