City Color Cosmetics Review

City Color Cosmetics was nice enough to send me a few products to review and I'm super happy they did because I'm always excited to try new makeup brands. Their products are comparable to NYX and NARS, are cruelty-free (yay, animals!), and inexpensive (yay, bank account!). You really cant go wrong with giving City Color Cosmetics a try. That being said, let's get on with it!

First, we have the Bold Blush Duo in Rose/Mauve.

I'm not exactly sure which color is Mauve and which is Rose because they both have a rosiness to them, but neither have a mauvyness in my opinion. What I am sure of is how much I love each color! I've been using them daily! And here are the swatches:
The color on the left is sparkly and almost bronzer-ish. It's very glowy and shimmery, though the camera didn't really pick up on that. A great shade for summer. The color on the right is matte and what I like to call "80's pink". They are both extremely pigmented, suitable for any skin color and are especially pretty when worn together!

Next up we have the Matte Lipsticks in the shades Pink and Ultra Pink.

Who doesn't love a pink matte lip?! I know I do. These lippies are very creamy, have amazing coverage and lasted me about 3+ hours. And they smell awesome, very fruity-like...it's a nostalgic smell for me for some reason!
Ultra Pink (left) Pink (right)Pink (top) is sort of a bubblegum coral. A very unique shade. Ultra Pink (bottom) is exactly as it's named. Ultra. Pink. It really doesn't get much hotter or pinker than this. 

Next we have the Shadow Primer in the shade Nude.

This primer is #1 on my favorite primers list. It reminds me so much of NYX's HD Eyeshadow Base, which used to be my all time favorite 'til I tried this one because if you know anything about me you know I love a good bargain and this primer is half the price of NYX's.
It's creamy and not sticky or dry feeling. The color is slightly yellow, so if you're cursed with dark eyelids like I am this primer will cancel out that darkness. Your eyeshadow will be flawless and it's going to stay-put and not crease for hours once it's on. 

Next we have the Timeless Beauty Eyeshadow/Blush Palette in Gold.

Cute packaging, 8 gorgeous eyeshadow shades and a beautiful blush. I used this palette to create a look recently and you can see it here along with a little tutorial on how to create it yourself.

The top row of swatches is the top row of the eyeshadows in order from left to right and the blush. The bottom row of swatches is the bottom row of eyeshadows from left to right. The only thing I don't like about this palette is the fact that the shades don't have names! City Color Cosmetics needs a shade namer and I want that job. Other than that, it's a great selection of earthy shades that I think would look amazing on everyone, but especially people with a tan or medium skin tone. I used the CCC Shadow Primer underneath these and as you can see they're all very shimmery and the color pay off was surprising to me because I don't usually expect a lot of pigmentation with inexpensive eyeshadows.

And lastly, we have the Longwear Eyeshadow Quad in Lilacs and Blues.

While these shades are adorable the pigmentation here leave something to be desired. I used the CCC Shadow Primer and they are still rather muted, but that's not always bad. I actually love how soft the pink and purple shades look, but I do think that the blue and yellow shades need to be much brighter! I would still recommend this palette to anyone looking for fun new colors to try. 

All in all I give City Color Cosmetics an A! It's an amazing brand for beauty on a budget. You can use the promo code 13MU1B15 until 8/31/13 to get 15% off your purchase at www.citycolorbeauty.com. And don't forget to follow City Color Cosmetics on Facebook and Twitter for exciting news, tutorials, discounts, giveaways and upcoming events!