on any given day, you can change the direction of your life.

The way I used to describe myself? Fangirl. From a young age, I worshiped music, musicians, and bands. I dreamed of the rock star lifestyle, the tour buses, the concerts, and the glamour. There was something so....untouchable about it all. That only seemed to add to the mystique. Over the years, I have managed to create an identity totally separate from the things I love. I learned to describe who I am rather than what I enjoy. But even today, I get excited when I see band merchandise. Silly? Maybe. Fun? Definitely.

That is exactly how I felt when I came across this One Direction makeup set. Going in, I knew to keep my expectations low. This wasn't going to be high-end quality - and was designed with young girls in mind. Despite it all, there was something exhilarating about opening the makeup set. The cute details, the 1D doodles, and the logo on every single product? It took me back to another time. So, memories and nostalgic aside.....how was the actual makeup?

Let's start by taking a closer look at what is inside. It includes six eyeshadow shades, one eyeliner, four lip glosses, one glittery top coat, and two nail polish shades. This is what the limited edition set looks like on the inside:

Let me just say, in terms of packaging, this was a total winner. It comes in a cute tin and you get to choose which One Direction member is on the cover. (I chose Liam. What can I say? We all have our favourites....) Inside the tin are some cute designs and all of the makeup. Each product has a One Direction related song name, which was a really adorable idea. I loved the attention to detail absolutely everywhere in this set. So cute! The attention to detail definitely made this worth the money. As for the price tag? That was quite low. I think the whole thing was about $12 CDN. Not too bad for a bunch of new items to try out - and the One Direction themed makeup.

Where to begin? This is a closer look at the eyeshadow shades the kit included. It had a silver, a champagne, turquoise, brown, purple-ish blue, and a deep grey. Each one appeared very shimmery and bold in colour in the packaging: 

How did they swatch? Not badly and not fantastically either. There were a few shades that I instantly loved. In fact, my first impression of this set was quite different to my view of it now. This is because they applied a glitter coating over all of the eyeshadow shades. So, the first time you use them, they look absolutely gorgeous. The next time? They are no longer shimmery and lack the same level of pigmentation. That was awfully disappointing, especially since I had fallen in love with that pretty turquoise shade and the silver. Such a shame! 

As for the lip glosses included? Personally, I hate when sets have glosses laid out in this way. Mostly because I cannot touch up my makeup on the go. That means once the colour and shine fades, you are out of luck. In terms of the glosses themselves though, I was pleasantly surprised. They had a fair amount of pigmentation to them. Especially that bright pink shade! They look gorgeous on the lips and are very wearable. Below are the eyeshadow and lip gloss swatches so you can get a better idea of what I am talking about: 

As for the other items in this set? It was a hit or miss. I found the lip gloss top coat to be a waste. While it looks super glittery in the tube, it provides little to no glitter on your actual lips. The eyeliner pencil on the other hand, is not bad. It was surprisingly creamy and did a good job of adding some subtle definition to the eyes. This is great for a comfy night in or to wear to work. The liner isn't super dramatic but it looks really pretty.

Last up? The nail polish shades. I actually thought it was quite nice that they included a couple of nail polishes in this set. Often, makeup sets like this are limited to eyes and lips. The nail polish was a really nice bonus. It came with a bright pink and a polish with large chunks of glitter. How did I wear them? I painted my toe nails pink and put two coats of the glitter on top. It was fun and pretty. More suited to the summer weather, but lovely nonetheless! 

After all is said and done, there were some good and bad things about this One Direction makeup set. I loved the shadows until the glitter top coat was gone. Then they were just okay. The glosses were a pleasant surprise as was the eyeliner pencil. The top coat was a waste of time and the nail polishes were quite nice. So, I guess it was not all sunshine and roses.....but it sure was fun trying everything out. This is the makeup look I created using the purple-ish blue shade and the dark brown. Be sure to let me know what you think.

Overall, the packaging was a plus and the products were so-so. Even though I was not over the moon with some elements, I am still happy with my decision to splurge on this One Direction makeup set. There are a few things I can make use of - and hey - the tin looks great on display.

Have you tried this set? What did you think of it?

xo Shannon