hard candy holiday makeup haul

Hard Candy and I have a long and beautiful history. I can't recall the first time I used a product from this brand, but I wrote about their products on the creation of beauty is art. way back in 2013! (You can read that very very old post here, if you are interested.) Since then, I have tried an awful lot of products. From blushes to eyeliners, foundations, lip products, and everything in between. Hard Candy is a massive part of my makeup collection. Though I enjoy high-end beauty items...drugstore products never fail to make me smile. Over the last month or so, several new Hard Candy products have entered my life. Some were gifts to myself and others were gifts from friends. Today, I wanted to go through some of the Hard Candy holiday items and share my thoughts.

Hard Candy: Candy Cane Kisses Lip Gloss Set

The Candy Cane Kisses set, shown above, immediately made me smile. It's not hard to figure out why! As someone who absolutely adores all things Christmas....from obscure holiday specials to decorations, lights, time with family, and classic carols....the candy cane shape sold this. Yes, the packaging sold this cute little set. It contains three holiday themed lip glosses and they come in a purple candy cane shape. This was the perfect way to add a little festive flair to some seasonal items. Putting aside the oh-so-cute shape, I was also impressed with the products inside. It contained three flavoured lip glosses: Berries n Cream, Strawberry Smoothie, and Vanilla Dream.

At first, I was a little unsure of how these would perform. Not only was this set very inexpensive but generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of lip gloss. Most of the time, it feels sticky and uncomfortable. Thankfully these did not! These glosses leave a smooth finish and wear naturally throughout the day. They also have different levels of pigmentation. Berries n Cream has a soft berry colour, Strawberry Smoothie has a soft rose-pink shade, and Vanilla Dream is sheer but sparkly. The two deeper shades can easily be worn on their own or layered on top of another shade for extra dimension. As for that Vanilla shade (my personal favourite), it is a quick and easy way to add on shine and shimmer. These perform well, smell amazing, and were a great price. Hard Candy definitely did a great job with this holiday release. 

Hard Candy Holiday Items (Bronzers, Blush, Lip Products)

There were quite a few smaller Hard Candy items that were available around the holiday season. In fact, there are several more that I still plan to review in the weeks and months to come. For now! Here are my thoughts on the following products:

• Hard Candy Smokin' Duo's Lip Kit. This specific lip set came in a variety of colours. Since I already know that I love the Velvet Mousse formula (I have tons of them floating around in my makeup collection. They are definitely favourites of mine) it came down to shade selection. I absolutely loved these warm, romantic, and easy to wear colours. Though that lighter shade didn't actually look all that great on me....the deeper berry colour is stunning.
• Hard Candy Bronzer + Highlight. Highlights are my weakness. Especially when they come from Hard Candy! Their cheek products almost always make me happy because they are super shimmery and flattering. That bronzer and highlight trio features a white highlight, a gold highlight, and a deeper shimmery bronzer. They can be worn separately (though given the compact size of the product this might be tricky) but can also be blended together to create a beautiful bronzer and highlight in one. It looks fabulous as a bronzed blush worn on the cheeks.
• Hard Candy Strawberry Scented Baked Blush. This little baked blush is super cute. The packaging is adorable and it smells great. (Both of which are important, if you ask me.) How does it perform? To be honest, the colour payoff of this product is a little weak. I wouldn't call this a blush as much as I would call it a lightly pigmented highlight. This is more of an add on rather than a standalone item. It looks beautiful layered on top of a more pigmented blush and adds a beautiful glow to the skin. 

This is always a great time to try out new makeup products. Whether they are given or purchased....it is exciting to see what works, what doesn't, and what falls somewhere in the middle. I have really been enjoying these Hard Candy products lately. And I can't wait to continue incorporating them into future makeup looks.

Are you a fan of Hard Candy? Were you given any makeup over the holidays?