China Glaze Hunger Games Collection

A bit late but finally got the Hunger Games collection from China Glaze! I ordered all of them from Amazon for about $30.

 Luxe and Lush, Stone Cold, Riveting, Hook and Line, Electrify, Fast Track

Mahogany Magic, Dress Me Up, Harvest Moon, Foie Gras, Agro, Smoke and Ashes

There's 12 polishes in total and each one represents a district from the books. 

Luxe and Lush represents District 1, the district that exports luxury goods. This is a chunky flakey in a clear base. These flakes are larger than a polish like Shine of the Times from Essie and don't lie as flat.

Stone Cold is the polish for District 2, masonry. This is a dark grey pebbled with lighter grey flecks and the only matte polish in the collection.

Riveting represents District 3, technology. This is a bright jelly orange with gold shimmer.

Hook and Line represents the 4th District, which is fishing. This is a sheer silver color leaning more brown than cool. It's a unique color as it's definitely a silver but not metallic or glittery.

 Electrify corresponds to District 5, Panem's main source of power. Electrify is dense gold and red glitter in a clear base.

Fast Track is the polish for District 6, transportation. This is one of my favorites in the collection, another really unique one. I'd describe this as a gold glass flecked beige. Very interesting but still neutral.

Mahogany Magic represents District 7, which exports lumber. This is a brown creme with a hint of yellow green tones. Far from my favorite, I personally find this a gross color. I wish there was more "magic" to it, like a reddish brown shimmer.

Dress Me Up corresponds to District 8, textiles. A muddy mauve creme, this an interesting shade and one I've grown to like.

Harvest Moon represents District 9, grain. This is a gorgeous shimmering burnt orange gold shade. This screams fall and the harvest to me.

Foie Gras corresponds to the 10th District, exporter of livestock. This is a darkened taupe, a deep grey brown creme. 

 Agro is the polish for District 11, agriculture. I didn't find this polish too exciting in the bottle, but it's a whole other story on the nail! A stunning mossy olive green shimmer. This reflects lots of tones in different lights.

And finally, Smoke and Ashes, which corresponds to District 12, the mining district. This one was hard to photograph. A black with gorgeous shimmering blue and green and silver shimmers. One you really have to see in person to get the whole effect.

And a picture of my cotton ball during removal. I thought it showed off Smoke and Ashes shimmer well!

Overall, I think this collection really captures the feel of the Hunger Games and has very nice, smooth formulas. I have to say that there is a few standouts, but this wasn't my favorite collection. The earthy toned polished represent the movie well, but just aren't my favorite shades to wear. I still wanted this collection as I'm a big fan of the series though! I would have loved for a blue, but it's still very nice especially for autumn.

Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Lip

As soon as I saw the Give Me Some Lip sampler from Sephora it was an instant lemming. Now It's finally back in stock and into my lipgloss loving little sticky fingers! I believe this is the 3rd one of these lip samplers Sephora has put out, but this one is my first. What really caught my attention was the great deal of $25 for 6 lip products including two full size.

The sampler comes in a cute metallic box that opens like a book and is tied with a ribbon. All the products are nicely display inside and I think this would make a fantastic gift.

All of the shades are pretty much universally flattering and on the nude or sheer side. I think this was a good choice as not everyone likes to wear a bold lip and you can give every product a good run for its money. The kit comes with a Sephora Glossy Gloss in Precious Pink, Bite Lip Shine in Vintage, Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Baby Doll, Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Child, Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment, and Tarte Lipsurgance Natural Matte Lip Tint in Hope.

Sephora, Bite, Laura Mercier, Hourglass, Fresh, Tarte

same as above with flash

Here's my lips completely bare for comparison with the swatches.

Sephora Glossy Gloss in Precious Pink 

Precious Pink Glossy Gloss comes in a squeeze tube with a slanted applicator. This is a full size with 0.5 fl oz and retails at Sephora for $10. The formula is surprisingly not sticky, but thick. It has a nice but difficult to describe scent, fresh and sweet at the same time. Precious Pink is a pale pink that is essentially clear on the lips with small sparkles. Once the gloss wore off I wasn't left with any gritty feeling, but it only lasted about a half hour.

Bite Lip Shine in Vintage

Bite  Lip Shine in Vintage is a mini comes in a small, thin tube with a doe foot applicator. Vintage is a pretty sheer mauve that isn't heavy on the lips but a bit sticky. I found it difficult to test this one out because it smells absolutely awful. I can't think of any other way to describe it other than it smells like the dentist office. It's so gross I can't get over it and this one will probably go in the trash, which is sad because I like the color.

Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Baby Doll

Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Baby Doll is another mini, and comes in a cute chubby tube with a doe foot applicator. It's a pretty shimmery pink that adds a lovley hint of color to the lips. This one smells divine, like vanilla cotton candy if that exists. It's smooth and the shimmer particles aren't noticeable at all on the lip.

Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Child

Hourglass Extreme Sheen Lip Gloss in Child comes in a beautiful metallic tube thats flat instead of cylindrical. This isn't a skimpy tube either and I think it's the perfect size and shape to slip into your pocket on the go. Child is an nude orangey pink with a light vanilla scent. The gloss is a bit sticky but wears well and isn't too heavy. This might be the hardest shade to pull off in the set though. It's more opaque than sheer so it can look streaky and the pale color may be hard for certain complexions to pull off. This can be built up to tube color but thats an awfully thick layer of gloss on the lips so I recommend wearing it how I did in the above picture, one thin sheer coat. 

Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment

Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment is mini and comes in the cutest tiny twist-up lip balm. It has a beautiful sheerest rose pink color on the lips and feels moisturizing and light. I was afraid of having flowery lips but it has a delicate sweet sugared rose scent that's very pleasant. I adore this and will be getting a full size once the mini is gone. (With the rate I use lip balm should be in about a week LOL)

Tarte Lipsurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint in Hope

And lastly, a full size Tarte Matte LipSurgance in Hope, which at $24 nearly pays for the whole set. Hope is a lovley matte pink-red shade and has a minty scent. The texture is unlike anything I've ever tried, and not at all like what I was expecting. Just from the way it looked I was expected a balm like formula such as the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, but the matte aspect really changes things up. It's like a large pigmented velvet crayon. Odd description but I don't know how else to explain. It has very nice color payoff and looks very natural on the lips. I'm excited to wear this more.

Overall, I'm very glad I picked up this set and I think it's a great deal for the price. The Bite was a total miss for me, but I'm completely happy with the other products. I definatley am going to look at full size Fresh Lip Treatments, Hourglass Gloss, and Laura Mercier Lip Glace and am excited to play with the Tarte pencil-crayon-thing.