Is H&M makeup worth it?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I have some great clothes from H&M that were cheap and still look good years later. I've also bought some stuff that looked like shit after a few months. That's the fast fashion gamble. So what category does their makeup fall into?

A while back when they had a free shipping sale on their website, I decided to pick up a few makeup items to see what they were like. I don't get to the mall much, and the makeup section in my local H&M store is kind of a mess anyway, so online shopping seemed like the way to do it. There was also a sale, so I got an additional 25-30% off the prices listed below. (I bought a pair of basic leggings at the same time. Major pilling in the crotch/inner thigh area after the first couple of wears. Sticking with Old Navy in the future.) I couldn't find many reviews of H&M cosmetics online at the point, so I just chose some things that looked interesting.

H&M makeup (taken with camera setting that distorted the shapes (oops) - they are all straight).

I got a liquid eyeliner, a lip crayon, and an eyeshadow brush, so that I could try out a few different things. Unfortunately I took a while to get this review up and it seems like the liquid liner isn't listed on the website anymore. You might see it in a store? Here are quick reviews of the three items I bought.

Swatches of H&M Lip Pencil in Red/Million Dollar Smile and Liquid Eyeliner in Purple

Lip Pencil in Red/Million Dollar Smile ($4.95): I posted a swatch of this one a while back when I was comparing all of my sheer red lip products. You can check that out if you'd like to see how it compares to other things you might already own. It's a good one. Not too sheer, goes on smoothly and easily, a little moisturizing, no scent or flavor, wears off evenly. It's more in the glossy lip crayon category than the lipstick/stain crayon one. I might pass it along to someone else, just because it's not a lot different from some other things I own and I need to downsize. Here's how it looks on my lips:

H&M Lip Pencil in Red/Million Dollar Smile.

Liquid Eyeliner in Purple (about $3.95): When my order arrived at my house, and I looked at this eyeliner, I thought, "Why the fuck did I buy this? What am I going to do with it?" It's not really the kind of thing I would normally use. Then I remembered this eye brightening tip (although I already have an eyeliner that works for that, so it's not a great excuse for buying it). It works for that, since it's a shimmery, pale lavender color. Unfortunately it's the style of liquid eyeliner that I despise, but you can see in the photo above that the wand doesn't get all gooey, and since it's so pale it doesn't make a huge mess when it splatters on my eyelashes. It applies well, and it wears well. It's a good product. No real complaints.

Eyeshadow Brush ($3.95): This definitely stands out as the best of the things I bought. It's soft and fluffy and picks up a lot of eyeshadow. I like the wide, flat shape, which is versatile. You can use it to apply shadow to large areas, just to the crease, or to blend. This is a better brush than most of the e.l.f. Studio ones, for only a dollar more.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with this stuff. It's on par with very good drugstore makeup. It's doesn't seem like crap that was added to the inventory just for the sake of selling makeup. I have too many makeup brushes at the moment, but if I were looking to buy some more, I would certainly consider trying some others from H&M.

Anyone else tried H&M makeup? Are there other things worth checking out?

Glossy/sheer red lip comparisons

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

I wanted to swatch all of my red lip products that are on the sheer side to see if I had any dupes that I could eliminate. I figured I might as well take a photo and post it, in case that sort of thing is useful to anyone else.

From left to right above:

Revlon ColorStay Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Candy Apple
Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Cherry Tart
H&M Lip Pencil in Million Dollar Lips (Red)
Sephora Gloss Lipstick (unknown shade name)*
Stila Lip Glaze in Persimmon
Be a Bombshell Lip Gloss in Hot Mess
e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shine in New York City*

* These ones seem to be discontinued.

In the end, the only ones that are really very close are the Stila and Be a Bombshell glosses. I prefer the BAB formula. It's thinner, and so it will bleed slightly more, but it's easier to apply, feels better, and lasts really well. So bye bye Stila.

Here's a lip swatch of Hot Mess:

You can see lip swatches of a couple of the Revlon ones here. The color of the Revlon Balm Stain in Romantic and the Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple look pretty similar, but the formula is totally different, so they can both stay. I fail at eliminating things! Sheer reds with some sheen are just so fucking pretty, though.

30% off plus another 30% off from H&M

You get 30% your entire order with the code 0901 and then an additional 30% off the highest priced item in the order with the code 8964. You have to enter them in that order. (I found out about this from Slickdeals.)

H&M has some things on their website that can be difficult to find in stores, like beauty products and home decorating shit. The downside is that you can't return anything you buy online to a store, so you have to pay for return shipping. Also, they don't have reviews, so it's kind of a crapshoot. But if there's something you know you want, now is a good time.

H&M U.S. online store now finally fucking open

Holy shit. Remember how for the past 70 years, it seems, they've been saying they'd have online sales next spring, then next fall, then next summer, then early next year, etc.? Well . . . it's for real this time. Have at it.