Weekend Review: theBalm Schwing Eyeliner & Meet Matt(e) Hughes Lipstick

Over Mardi Gras weekend, theBalm had a sale, so I thought I would try out some of their products. I'd had some eyeshadow, lipstick, and eyeliner in my Amazon shopping cart for a while, so the sale at theBalm's web site made the purchase irresistible. I was going to get the same things from the sale, but the lipstick I wanted ("Committed") was sold out, as was the eyeshadow I wanted, but I did get their Schwing Eye Liner and Meet Matt(e) Hughes lipstick in a similar color, "Honest."

These purchases were delivered yesterday, so I thought I would give them a go this morning and see what I thought of them. My criteria for a good eye liner is as follows:

1. The applicator needs to be able to make a wing point that could draw blood
2. The liner itself needs to be thin enough to create said wing, but thick enough that it doesn't run into my eyes before it dries
3. Smooth to apply; no clumps
4. Dries quickly
5. Doesn't make my eye lids itch (I have this problem with a lot of liners) or swell up
6. Lasts all day

My criteria for a great lipstick are these:

1. Color looks great with my skin tone and makeup style
2. Lasts for at least a few hours
3. Doesn't get clumpy or make my lips dry or cracked

On the Schwing eye liner: I'm impressed. The applicator is small and sharp and lifts out a goodly amount of liner liquid, enough to make the whole wing and fill it in in one dip, which I like. It goes on smooth and does seem to dry quickly, as I didn't have to keep my lids low for too long while it dried. I've been wearing this application for about three hours now and I don't have any itchiness or swelling, which is a problem I have had in the past with some brands of eye liner.

As you can see, the Schwing eye liner delivered on making a sharp wing. My overall rating? A+! I love it so far! I will update if anything changes by the end of the day or after using it for a week, but the outlook on this one is BRIGHT!

On the Meet Matt(e) Hughes lip stick, the first impression I got from it was the scent of it. I had never really given a lot of thought to how a lipstick smelled, but this was really nice. It has the scent of Peppermint Patties with a strong chocolate overtone to a minty scent. My second impression of it was the color, which seemed really orange. I was a little afraid of how bright orange the color was, but I only applied it to my upper lip and then pursed to get it on my lower lip. After a soft blot with a tissue, I actually really liked the color, too.

I'm not usually one for a lipstick that is so matte as this one is, but I knew what was coming based on the name of the product. I actually like it a lot with my skin tone and coloring, and it seems like it will be good for understated looks. Plus, I've been wearing it for a few hours now, and it is still on, just like when I put it on, and I've eaten some crackers and cheese in the meantime. Makes me a happy glamper.

Overall rating on the Meet Matt(e) Hughes lipstick? A+! I'll definitely be buying the "Committed" color from Amazon next time I place an order.