NYC Spring 2014 Limited Edition City Bloom Collection: Swatches and First Impressions

Purchased by Me

I purchased a few of the NYC Spring 2014 Limited Edition City Bloom Collection products the other day at Rite Aid, so I thought I would share some initial thoughts and also some swatches with you today!

NOTE: I added lots of additional photos and info to my post HERE of the entire collection, if you want a better look at everything this collection has to offer (everything in this collection is limited edition with the exception of the mascara, which is from the permanent line).

Some products from the NYC Spring 2014 Limited Edition City Bloom Collection

NYC Limited Edition IndividualEyes Palette in Blue Skies

(retail: $4.99)

I was surprised to see that, instead of the cream highlighter that usually comes in these palettes (next to the primer), there's a black Gel Liner in that spot instead. I don't know if this is going to be a permanent change for all IndividualEyes palettes, or if that's just for these limited edition palettes. But if you go on the NYC website, you'll see that the permanent, core palettes all have the cream highlighter in that spot. 

Since this is a new item for NYC, I won't be swatching the gel liner below--I would rather give that its own review at a later date after I've had time to test it thoroughly. 

The thing about NYC eyeshadows, generally speaking, is that they appear a bit hard in texture at first when you're swiping them with your brush. You need to "break them in" by brushing several times (it's almost like a hard, colorless top layer that needs to be removed), but then once you break through that top layer, there are some nice shadows underneath. Yes, they are a bit powdery, but the swatches you see above were done with a standard shadow brush over Wet n Wild Fergie Primer and only 2-3 swipes per swatch. I think this pigmentation level is pretty nice on these when worn over primer.

The teal shade has a lovely golden flash to it that I hope you can see in the photo above.

The lavender shade has a pretty, metallic finish to it.

The pale blue shade is more frosty than metallic.

The cream shade really surprised me. At first I thought it was going to be a flat cream color, but then when I swatched it over primer I discovered that it has a beautiful golden sheen to it. It would be lovely as a highlight shade (which is what it's labeled as).  I think you can see that lovely golden sheen a bit better if you look to the bottom of this photo:

NYC Limited Edition Appleicious Glossy Lip Balm in Cherry on the Cake

(retail: $2.99)

After two swipes

You can see that the white part of this balm does show up when you swipe this but once you apply it to your lips and blend a bit, the white color isn't visible--it just ends up diluting the inner red shade. This balm doesn't look white on the lips; it ends up colorless on me (which is why I didn't show you a photo of it on my lips--there was nothing to see). I tried putting on a very generous amount in the hopes that some color would appear, but in the end I only got a TINY hit of color that probably wouldn't be noticeable to anyone but me.

I think this would be an appropriate shade for very young girls since it delivers on the tiniest hint of color, and also for those of you who are only looking for a VERY subtle look or no color at all. The balm itself has a fun apple fragrance and flavor, and it feels nice on the lips (a bit creamy, but also slick).

NYC Limited Edition Shimmer Blast Sparkle Top Coat in Sweet Candy

(retail: $1.99)

I need to tell you that I misspoke in my original post when I said that this was the ORIGINAL, limited edition Shimmer Blast Sparkle Top Coat from the Spring 2013 Let's Paint The Town Collection, which I thought was being repromoted again in this new collection. This is actually a complete different Shimmer Blast from last year's version. 

I own last year's version and was hoping to do a comparison swatch for you, but it turns out that I gave it to my mom to borrow and I couldn't get over to her house in time to grab it (sorry). BUT, you can see HERE that the the original Shimmer Blast Sparkle Top Coat imparts blue sparkle on the nail, whereas the new Sweet Candy imparts violet-lavender-pink sparkle (which you will see in a moment).

As you can see by the macro photos above, this polish is packed with tiny iridescent flakies in a clear base.

These swatches were taken after applying one coat of Sweet Candy on top of a black creme polish (no top coat).

I also wanted to show you what Sweet Candy looks like over a lighter shade, so I swatched it over Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Ballet Rouges, which is a salmon-pink creme.

Have you spotted the Limited Edition City Bloom Collection in your area yet? If so, did you pick up anything from this collection? If not, do you have your eye on anything here? So far I have only heard from readers who have spotted this collection at Kmart and Rite Aid (I spotted it myself at Rite Aid) but hopefully it will start popping up elsewhere too!

PS: Again, for a better look at the ENTIRE collection, click here.

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