Review: Kylie Cosmetics Halloween 2018

A Review of the Kylie Cosmetics Halloween 2018 Collection

Words and Image by Gretchen Gales
QuailBellMagazine.com

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​I’m a big fan of makeup. I have reward accounts with both Sephora and Ulta and have a wide range of products and brands on my vanity. I initially resisted buying anything from Kylie Cosmetics out of stubbornness – I never watched the Kardashians and didn’t really want to give millionaires even more money. It was pretty easy to avoid with the high shipping costs towards the beginning of the launch as well as a few unfavorable reviews. 

Despite ignoring the brand for several years, my curiosity got the best of me after I was in the market for a new liquid lipstick and noticed there were some lovely colors available on the website. Since the brand finally offered reasonable shipping, I ordered two lip kits and fell in love. The lip liners were the best I ever used and the liquid lip formula was comfortable and smelled like vanilla frosting. Needless to say, I absolutely fell in love with the lip kits, despite my initial resistance to trying them.
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I’m always curious when a new collection comes out, but I normally only want one or two things, if that. I can typically survive without buying the bulk of the collection, settling for new lip kits and moving on from there. I can’t say the same about the Halloween collection.

I’m a sucker for this holiday; as Executive Editor of a publication that values all things spooky and quirky, it drew me in from the first Instagram story sneak peek. A full collection dedicated to one of my favorite holidays wasn’t going to be glossed over. Heck, a pair of 3D glasses with bats was included with the bundle, as the entire collection was made with fun 3D Halloween themed illustrations. So I gave into temptation and decided to share my thoughts about the collection with you!

This review is divided by each product in the collection and was not sponsored by anything other than my pitiful willpower.

Halloween 2018 Palette
The pressed pigment palette comes with nine Halloween-themed shades, mostly the standard nude colors that are often included in Kylie’s palettes. The packaging features a mummy design on the front with skulls in the inner box. As for the actual shades, there are five different shades of browns as well as a deep purple and a fiery orange. It is a good mix. The pigment in all of the shades hold up well; I wore the shades during Black Friday shopping this year and they did not budge until I wiped it off with my makeup remover.

However, Kylie’s eyeshadow palettes tend to be on the pricier end. Her larger palettes are sometimes only a few dollars more than the smaller ones, so if you’re interested in the palette, wait until she has a sale and swipe it then for a reduced price.

Halloween Glitter Eyes
If you’re looking for a subtle daytime look, look no further than anything but these bold beauties. They come in two colors: “Hello Ghordeous” (a gold) and “Witch and Famous” (an orange). They are great for creating a glimmering fall look.
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Keep in mind that after a few hours, the formula tends to crack on your eyelids and does not work if you also want eyeliner to go over it. (I learned that the hard way!) It also feels weird if you put it over the entire eyelid, because the formula cracks. They are best used as thick-lined eyeliners to pull off those more daring looks.

Handsome Devil Gloss
I never tried a Kylie Cosmetics brand lip gloss before this one. I’m very picky about glosses, considering I always somehow get my hair stuck in the glimmery goo. So if I’m going to suffer through ensuring I don’t have to pluck it from my lips, it better look good.

The formula is filled with glitter and is extremely pigmented. If you are looking for a gloss that compliments and enhances your lipstick, this could be for you. If you’re not a fan of dramatic glosses, I would stay away from this. The gloss formula is not nearly as sticky as other brands I have tried, both drugstore and more expensive brands. This gloss can be worn on its own for an autumn holographic look or over lipstick for a dramatic effect. I would recommend a terra cotta or more orange lip color to pair with it.

Lipsticks
Kylie always loves to come out with four lipsticks for big collections. This time, she came out with a mixture of mattes and metallic with a bizarre range of colors. All of the cartons have vampire lips covering the packaging and pop out with the 3D glasses. Here are the four different shades and my thoughts on them:

Creep It Real
This is a creamy (light toned) nude matte. It goes on very smoothly, but honestly looks a little odd on me since I am pale. I would personally wear this with a gloss to offset the similarities between the color and my skin tone.

Haunt It
This is a bright, metallic orange, and I  do mean BRIGHT. This is a more daring color that is probably meant for costumes, but I adore how well it applies and how fun of a shade it is. Again, “Haunt It” is not an orange like a terra cotta – it is a traffic cone color.

Monster
I get why a lot of people did not like this shade. According to the description, it is supposed to be a “metallic deep olive”, which it is.

However, it is not a shade that many people could pull off on the regular and as one Instagram comment pointed out, it very frankly looks like the shade of diarrhea. When I applied it, I adored the way it looked with my own complexion. My paleness brought out more of the green as opposed to the brown tones, eliminating the diarrhea hue.

Keep in mind I am pretty biased, as green is my favorite color. But I do acknowledge that it just isn’t going to be a shade we will see beyond this collection.

Spider Bite
This one is my personal favorite. “Spider Bite” is a sharp, vampy burgundy in her matte formula. While it is still a very creamy and easy to apply formula, this is the only shade that goes on patchy without a second coat. It is also helpful to use gloss over this color to help smooth out the color.

Overall, all four of the lipsticks were a decent introduction to her stick lipstick formula and a really fun addition to my collection.

Go Ghost “Kylighter” (Highlighter)
Kylie has two different types of highlighters: loose powder and pressed palettes. In the pan, the highlighter looks like a bright white. But when applied, it has a green shift. I love unique highlighter colors, so this worked out well for me. If you want a plain, white highlighter, then this is not quite what you are looking for, I’m afraid. If you love looking like an ethereal spirit, this will take you to other realms.

Bite Me Lip Kit
Ah yes, the infamous lip kits. Each lip kit includes a liquid lipstick as well as a matching lip liner. To celebrate Halloween, the packaging still includes the iconic lips with dripping lipstick, but this time, the lips have fangs and are covered with a glitter black color. The actual color is a matte blood red and is a vampire-like take on a blue-based red. If you are a fan of red lipsticks, this is a nice addition to your collection and is darker than the traditional bright, apple red.

In my opinion, Kylie’s matte formulas are not as good as her velvet lip formulas. The velvet formulas are creamier and have more consistent coverage. That being said, I still enjoy the matte formulas, but I highly recommend putting a coat of Chapstick beneath your lips before applying it, as it can be drying.

It is recommended that you fill in your lips with the lip liner before applying a single coat of the liquid lip, but with the matte formulas, I tend to need a coat and some touch ups in some areas.

A Few Things to Remember…
For full disclosure, I’m a very pale person with sensitive, acne prone, oily skin. I am also the kind of person who loves to alternate between subtle and bold looks, leaning more towards bold.

If you are not sure her products will work for you, I highly recommend looking up other reviews online and on Youtube before investing your money.

If you want to share your own experiences with makeup products, especially if you are a person of color, please reach out to us so we can create more inclusive beauty content for you to enjoy!