rude cosmetics: holiday cheer eyeliner and blush set

 I love holiday sets. Not only are they wonderfully themed...but they also give you the chance to test out different beauty products. This season, leaving my house was a rare occurrence. Even for holiday shopping! I only went out a handful of times in early December to purchase some extra Christmas gifts. One of those little excursions included a stop off at one of my favourite places: Winners. This is essentially a discounted store that has lots of beauty products, clothing, accessories, and home goods. You never know what you will find there. While I did purchase some items for loved ones, there was also a holiday set from Rude Cosmetics that caught my eye. I'd never heard of the brand before, but the packaging was cute and the price point was affordable. Let's take a closer look at the Holiday Cheer Eyeliner & Blush Set....

The Holiday Cheer Eyeliner & Blush Set from Rude Cosmetics included two different products: the Police Eyeliner Up Eyeliner Pen and the Blush Crush 9 Color Blush Palette - Match Three! It was especially exciting that a liquid eyeliner pen was included in the set, because my NYX Epic Ink Liner recently dried out. The timing was perfect to try something new. How did the Police Eyeliner Up Eyeliner Pen perform? Pretty well. The product itself is cruelty free, paraben free, and vegan, which is good to know...and the actual liner works nicely. It is a rich black, glides on smoothly, and has incredible longevity. The liner doesn't smudge or move around throughout the day. In terms of the quality? It is very impressive. The only difficulty for me is the fact that there is a lot of flexibility on the pen applicator itself. This makes it easy to apply the product along the lash line, but makes it tricky to create a winged effect. I find that the felt-tip applicator moves a bit too much. It is a lot easier to create that perfect liner when there is a little less flexibility. That being said, it definitely comes down to personal preference. 

Now to take a look inside the Blush Crush 9 Color Blush Palette - Match Three! As you can see from the photograph above, this is a bold and colourful blush palette. As someone who absolutely adores blush (and tends to be a little heavy handed with it)...this was my kind of product. To start with, the outer packaging is adorable and I love the game theme as well as the holiday cartoon on the front. It is cute and colourful. Then on the inside, there is such a wonderful range of blush shades. Prize is the lightest in colour and has a glowing finish. Then there is a soft peach blush (Sweet) and a bold shimmery coral (Delicious) to complete the top row. The second row is all about the pink blush shades, and there is a deep rose (Blast), a warm shimmery pink (Candy), and a bright matte pink (Sugar Crush). Then on the last row, there is a warm berry blush (Match 3), warm bronze (Divine), and a matte purple-pink (Jelly). In terms of the shade selection, there is an awful lot to choose from.

As for the pigmentation? Wow. Just...wow. I cannot believe how bold and colourful these are. A little really goes a long way. If you are new to makeup, this is likely not going to be the best blush palette for you, because it is very easy to overapply. However, if you are someone with a little more experience, this is likely going to be a new favourite. The sheer range of colours and finishes, combined with the bold pigmentation, means that you can create a number of breathtaking blush looks. 

To create the look, shown above, I used the Police Eyeliner Up Eyeliner Pen to finish off a simple eye makeup look. On the cheeks? It was the Blush Crush 9 Color Blush Palette - Match Three! The shade Blast was used on the cheeks and just a hint of Candy on the apples of the cheeks. It created a really bold blush look (it looked much brighter in person) that made me ridiculously happy. This was my first experience with Rude Cosmetics. I have to say...it was a pretty positive one. The blush palette is so pigmented, colourful, and fun to use. The liner is not perfect, but it has great staying power. Rude Cosmetics is a brand that I intend to keep an eye on. Fingers crossed I will be able to find more from them in future! 

Have you tried anything from Rude Cosmetics? What is your favourite blush?