Review: NYC Limited Edition Halloween 2013 Super Hero Chic Collection (lipstick and eyeshadow)

Purchased by Me

Since the 40% off NYC sale at Rite Aid runs through tomorrow (8/24), I ran out and bought the two things I wanted most from the Super Hero Chic Collection and I thought I'd review them ASAP so that you can still take advantage of the sale (in case you want anything).

When I saw the nail polishes in person I was a bit underwhelmed, so I decided to just stick with the red lipstick and the black/red/blue/yellow eyeshadow palette. I really, really wanted both, so let's take a look!

NYC Limited Edition Halloween 2013 Super Hero Chic Collection

Ultra Last Lipwear in 002 Villainous Red ($1.99)

IndividualEyes Custom Compact in 003 Super Chica ($4.99)

Let's start with the eyeshadow palette:

 Super Chica

I'm not reviewing the cream highlighter or primer here today, since those come in all of the IndividualEyes palettes. I'm just focusing on the four powder eyeshadows:

Top to bottom:

matte black

matte red

shimmery blue

sparkly golden yellow

Swatched on bare skin:

Swatched on bare skin (above), these are nothing to write home about. However, they do become more vibrant over primer.

Swatched over Milani Eyeshadow Primer:

I decided to try the look suggested in the tutorial on the back of the palette:

And here's how it turned out:

I think that NYC suggested using the white cream highlighter for the browbone area, but I wanted to use the golden yellow shade in this palette instead. Also, I took the liberty of adding the blue eyeshadow to my lower lashline (applied with the accompanying sponge-tip applicator).

Steps: 

• I first applied Milani Eyeshadow Primer from lashline to brow (I also applied primer to my lower lashline area).

• Then I used the sponge-tip applicator that comes with the palette to apply the blue eyeshadow to my lid (to keep matte eyeshadows vibrant, it sometimes helps to apply them by pressing the eyehsadow onto the lid with a sponge-tip applicator instead brushing back and forth with an eyeshadow brush, which can result in the color turning muddy).

• I then applied the red shade to my crease using the e.l.f. Essential eyeshadow brush and followed that with the black eyeshadow applied to the outside corner of my eye (also using the e.l.f. Essential eyeshadow brush).

•  Finally, I applied the golden-yellow shade with the same e.l.f. Essential eyeshadow brush to my browbone area (I cleaned off the brush first, of course, to remove the black/red shadow).

Next up, the lipstick:

 Villainous Red

This color is sort of a cross between berry-wine and brick red. I think I was expecting this to be a bright, primary-color, comic-book-hero red, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's a deeper, more wearable shade.

My camera refused to pick this up but there is actually some fine iridescent glitter in this formula. I don't really see it on my lips until this lipstick starts to fade--then it tends to cling to the lips a bit (as glitters are prone to do). The glitter is not chunky or gritty but again, it's noticeable once the lipstick fades away.

FINAL VERDICT: If you can get these at Rite Aid for 40% off (now through 8/24), they might be worth a shot if you're drawn to the colors. However, I don't think I would have paid full price for either product. The shadows are nice over primer, but not as rich or vibrant as I was hoping they'd be. The lipstick is beautiful (oh how I love NYC reds) but the glitter factor leaves me a bit "meh" since I don't like glitter clinging to my lips once a lipstick fades away. For me, these don't match up to several of the past Limited Edition offerings from NYC. I generally fall in love with at least one thing in each of NYC's Limited Edition collections and I'm just not in love with either of these products.

Have you purchased anything from the NYC Super Hero Chic Collection? If so, I'd love to hear what you have and how you like it!

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.