Hello Waffle Cosmetics September 2016 Visage - Robin Hood Swatches and Review

Happy October, everyone!  Today, I have swatches of Hello Waffle's September 2016 Visage box!  Their current TAT is 10-15 business days, though the Visages operate under their own schedule.  September's box is inspired by the legend of Robin Hood.  This month includes three full sized eyeshadows, one mini blush/highlighter, and a full sized lipstick from Howl Cosmetics.

Now, Howl Cosmetics had closed up shop a bit earlier, but Hello Waffle acquired the recipe for their lipsticks and will continue to produce and sell them in their shop.  I've really liked Howl's lipstick formula as well as their packaging, so I was happy to know someone else will be carrying them.  This month's Visage is the first Howl lipstick to be released through Hello Waffle.  Unfortunately, I have a lot of gripes about the lipstick and hope Hello Waffle will produce better ones in the future after learning about the mistakes from this round.  I will expand more on it later on.

UPDATE 10/6/16: The owner, Christine, has made an announcement on Hello Waffle's Facebook page regarding the lipsticks and is offering a replacement or refund for those affected.  Please email her if you've had a problem with your lipstick.  I've chosen to get a replacement because I really like the color and would love to wear it throughout the season.

Pictures taken under LED bulb and swatched over ELF Glitter Primer (top/left half) and ELF Essential Primer (bottom/right half)

From the Rich to the Poor

From the Rich to the Poor: shimmery champagne with green duochrome.  The duochrome doesn't show up too much in the swatch, but it's pretty obvious in real life.

A Band of Merry Men

A Band of Merry Men:  tawny with green duochrome and gold sparkles

A Good Outlaw

A Good Outlaw:  matte brown

Marion

Marion:  satin champagne pink blush

Will Scarlet

Will Scarlet:  brown red lipstick.  This was the first lipstick that Hello Waffle made using Howl's formula.  Howl's lipstick formula is known for being a bit stiff, but the stiffness worked well as it was secure in the base and lasted awhile on the lips.  Hello Waffle ended up incorporating more butters into the formula, probably to make it softer and more comfortable.  However, it did not work well at all with Howl's original lipstick bullet packaging.  

The picture you see above is how I received the lipstick, bumpy, with an insecure base, resulting in the lipstick leaning to one side.  The bumpiness was most likely due to the lipstick not coming cleanly out of the lipstick mold, which I usually don't mind as long as the product is still usable.  The lipstick bullet itself was pretty wobbly in the tube and I suspected it would not hold up to any sort of application.  I was right.  As soon as I swatched the lipstick on my hand, the bullet moved at the base and smashed into the side of the tube.  I also knew applying it straight to my lips would be almost impossible as well, because the formula is still stiff enough to require a bit of pressure on the lips, enough force to move the lipstick bullet from the base.  I finally tried applying it with a lip brush, which I don't usually like doing.  Using a lip brush still produced the same results and made the bullet wobble around the base and smash onto the sides of the tube.

I've come to the conclusion that this lipstick is unusable in the original Howl packaging.  I said before that the stiffness worked with the packaging.  The inclusion of more butters made the lipstick too soft and movable, yet it was still stiff enough to require pressure for application.  Any amount of pressure on this lipstick results in movement.  If Hello Waffle wants to continue producing Howl lipsticks, then either the formula or the packaging has to change.  I've already reached out to the owner about the situation and sent her pictures.  She's said she will work on the formula.

From the Rich to the Poor, A Band of Merry Men, A Good Oulaw, Marion, Will Scarlet

Overall, I did like the colors in the September subscription.  All of the eyeshadows were beautiful and cohesive and the blush/highlighter was gorgeous.  The lipstick, Will Scarlet, is such a beautiful color and something I would wear extremely often if it weren't for it being unusable.  I think the only way I can save it is to depot and melt it into another container (probably a jar), which is time consuming.  One thing to note is that this is the second Visage in a row where I've been unhappy with the lipstick.  Last month's lipstick fell apart and resulted in clumps on the lips whereas this month's lipstick can't apply without breaking.  The lipstick in the Visage is one of the main things I look forward to receiving and to not be able to use them makes me sad.  I'm crossing my fingers and hoping next month is different.

- Jolie ♥