holiday highlights: hard candy fiercely festive makeup set

It just wouldn't be the holidays without a little Hard Candy. Over the years, I've gotten used to seasonal releases from this drugstore brand. Last year, it was The Secret Stash Set and the year before it was the Blushing On You Set. One year, there were even Hard Candy Christmas crackers! And another year, there was an advent calendar! Hard Candy always goes above and beyond around the holidays...and I love that. It's wonderful that there are special seasonal releases available at a drugstore price. That means everyone can enjoy something fun and festive around the holidays. This year, there were a few different Hard Candy holiday options. For instance, there were sets with three mini eyeshadow palettes. I almost added one of those sets to my shopping cart, but then I noticed the Fiercely Festive Set. It had a nice variety of products and seemed to be both fun and practical. Ready to find out what was included? Here is everything you need to know about the Fiercely Festive Set.

The Fiercely Festive Set from Hard Candy came with six different makeup items: a metallic makeup bag, Matte-aholic Velvet Mousse Lip Color, Glosstopia Ultimate Lip Shine, Plumping Serum Volumizing Lip Gloss, Eyes The Limit Eye Shadow Primer, and the Lap of Luxury Eyeshadow Palette. There is a nice assortment of items and the colours are all really warm and wearable. As for the makeup bag, this is a decent size and it comes in a gorgeous metallic pink. Not only does it look beautiful (and kind of 80s inspired) but this is surprisingly sturdy. Given that the set was only about $10 CDN...it is pretty impressive that it came with such a nice quality makeup bag in addition to the actual makeup items. There is a silver zipper with the Hard Candy logo printed on the pull, the makeup bag is lined on the inside so it can be easily cleaned if product spills, and the size of the actual makeup bag is large enough that it can hold much more than what is included in the Fiercely Festive Makeup Set. 

Something that I really loved about this set in particular was the fact that it came with practical items and fun items. In addition to the makeup bag, there was another practical item in the Eyes The Limit Eye Shadow Primer. Since I actually needed a new eyeshadow primer, the timing was ideal. As for the fun stuff? This set came with the Matte-aholic Velvet Mousse Lip Color in Spider Orchid, Glosstopia Ultimate Lip Shine in Opal Tease, and Plumping Serum Volumizing Lip Gloss in Pink Cadillac. The Matte-aholic is the standout here. I am obsessed with this warm neutral shade. It is essentially a "your lips but better" kind of colour. It pairs well with a lot of different makeup looks and feels really comfortable on the lips. This formula is impressive. The Glosstopia is decent and looks nice layered on top of Spider Orchid. That being said, it is not an extraordinary lip gloss. It works well enough and does the job, but it is not one of my all-time favourite formulas. The last lip product in the set is the Plumping Serum, which has a sting to it that I do not love. Though I always like the idea of the plumping serums, these kinds of items tend to be uncomfortable to wear. This is certainly true with the Hard Candy version. 

Now for the star of the set. The Lap of Luxury Eyeshadow Palette has some pros and cons. The con? This palette has cheap plastic packaging and a sponge-tip applicator. Nothing exciting or luxurious there, despite the name! On the plus side, there are super cute silver snowflakes printed on the clear plastic lid. I like that there was an attempt to make the actual makeup items look holiday themed. The eyeshadow shades are also impressive considering the price point and previous Hard Candy releases. Their eyeshadow formula tends to be somewhat hit and miss, but this palette is far more hit than miss. The matte shades build nicely and the shimmer shades have a really creamy texture. It is possible to create a lot of really beautiful looks.

Though there were some wins in the Fiercely Festive Makeup Set, including the eyeshadow palette, eyeshadow primer, Matte-aholic, and makeup bag, this set struggled on the details. For instance, the sticker on the back of the Lap of Luxury Eyeshadow Palette was placed tilted and off-center. It looks sloppy. In addition, the Matt-aholic Velvet Mousse Lip Color actually says, "Velvet Mousse Lip Lolor" on the tube. This is a typographical error that should have been noticed before the sets were produced. It is true that the Fiercely Festive Makeup Set was ultra affordable and had a lot to offer...but it is also true that there was not enough attention to detail. On another note. It is time to see how the products perform. Ready to see it all in action? Below is a recent makeup look that I created using the items in the Fiercely Festive Makeup Set from Hard Candy.

Have you tried any Hard Candy products lately? What do you think of this holiday makeup set?