On trend + affordable: Hard Candy summer 2017 items

I remember as a kid I was always drawn to Hard Candy products. The brand used to be quite pricey, but nowadays you can actually find it at Walmart and it still features all the trendy and cute items from before, but at a lower price point.

Not only is the packaging cute, but they also tend to come out with products that are so in at the moment.  There’s contour kits, lip pencils, setting sprays, primers, etc. For this season the brand has come out with their own versions of popular items, more commonly found in stores like Sephora rather than the drugstore, such as loose banana powder, colour correctors, and highlighters.

I received an abundance of items from their collection this season, and I’m kinda obsessed with everything. From the liquid colour corrector to the baking powder, they are definitely stepping it up a notch since these are all items that are super in at the moment, but often you need to spend major cash to pick them up.

The Sheer Envy Banana Powder (C$6.98) is probably my favourite item they sent over. It’s a loose banana powder that you use to set your concealer and bake it into the skin, giving you that airbrushed look and the prevention of creases.  Just apply the powder over your concealer, let it rest there for about 10 minutes (I usually use that time to do the rest of my eye makeup) then wipe it off.

Speaking of eyes, they have an affordable dupe to the Stila Magnificent Metals eyeshadows with their Look Pro! Metal Eyes kit (C$8.98). This kit includes four metallic pearl eyeshadows (two browns, a silver and a gold), mixing liquid, a mixing well, a dual-ended eyeshadow brush, and a mini black eyeliner. You can certainly apply the shadows dry, or use some of the mixing liquid to get a metallic effect.

I have one of the Stila Magnificent Metals eyeshadows, and although these is a clear difference between the two (the Stila one goes on more shimmery), I do appreciate this affordable version. The Hard Candy shadows apply metallic and to be honest, I really like the mixing liquid since you can use it with any eyeshadow, not just the ones in the kit. The brush is also quite nice and apply the shadows nicely.

Pair the eyeshadow kit with their Stoke of Gorgeous Kajal Supreme Eyeliner Duo (C$7.98), which features a soft kajal liner on one end and a ultra-black long-wearing liquid liner on the other. In the photos, I used the eyeshadow kit with the liquid liner and was quite impressed with how smooth and dark this applied. The liner also lasted all day (and I’m kinda obsessed with the packaging, it looks like a Crayola crayon and it’s bright pink!).

If you suffer from redness, dullness, or dark circles, they also have some colour correcting products to combat all of these concerns. I’m obsessed with the Sheer Envy Color Correct Cushion Wonder (C$6.98), which is available in four shades depending on your skin concern. I received the peach shade (there’s also green, purple, and yellow), and this product comes housed in a squeeze tube with a cushion tip.  By squeezing the product, you’ll get the coloured serum dispensed in the cushion, which you apply to the area you’re trying to correct (I like using a peach shade under my eyes to combat dark circles). They say you can just use the cushion to blend in the product, but since it’s full of the stuff, I just used a blending sponge to pat it into my skin before my foundation and concealer.

Also as part of the Sheer Envy Color Correct collection is their powder (C$7.98), which features a woven pattern of purple, green and yellow ribbons, which you can use to set and mattify your makeup.  The pigments are designed to correct any skin concerns you have.

I did use this product as a setting powder, and although I don’t think it necessarily corrected anything on my face, I did like the idea of it. I don’t really suffer from many skin concerns, so I may not be the best person to try this out on, but it did leave me with a nice matte finish, so that’s always a plus.

To finish up the face I applied the Sheer Envy Prismatic Highlighter (C$7.98), a prismatic highlighter that you use to highlight the high points of the face and cheek bones. The colour is pearl with purple undertones in a powder formula, so I found that I really had to dig deep with my brush for some colour payoff. I would recommend using this product overtop of a cream highlight.

Finally, for the lips, I tried out the Wetever Bold Hold Lip Lacquer (C$7.98) in Selfish, a peachy-pink shade.  There are seven shades total and these give you major colour payoff with a glossy finish. The colour is very bold and long wearing and definitely feels like a gloss (i.e. it’s a little tacky). It did last a while on my lips before I had to reapply and when the glossiness faded away the colour still lasted.

Hard Candy has a few other products also new for this season, but these were the ones I was most excited to try. Anytime I get the chance to try out a drugstore colour correcting powder or a highlighter, I always jump at the chance since these are products that I associate more with higher end makeup lines.

Which Hard Candy product are you most excited to try?

Please note, these products were sent by PR.  All opinions are my own.

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