We all love affordable makeup, and Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics is definitely one of the more affordable lines available at some drugstores. If you’re lucky enough to have a Rite Aid near you, than you’ve probably seen them in stores, too. I had the opportunity to try a wide variety of their products recently and while there were several amazing products within the line…I definitely discovered a few products that totally did not work for me! 🙁
Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics: Hits & Misses
Eye Shadow Primer | $5.99
I was really skeptical of this primer because I’ve never had much luck with drugstore eyeshadow primers. I have extremely oily eyelids and the only primers that work to keep my eyeshadows from creasing are the LORAC and Smashbox ones. But this Jesse’s Girl primer totally surprised me! It didn’t help my eyeshadows show up any more vibrantly, like my highend primers do, but it easily kept it from creasing for 12-14 hours. If your on a budget and have issues with creasing, this might just do the trick for you!
Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner | $6.99
I’d purchased (and used up) two previous pens of the black liquid liners in the past, so I already knew this was a winner. It gives you a glossy finish to your wing (which isn’t my favorite) but it applies easily, dries down quick, and does not budge throughout the day.
The three other liners were different from the black one — they were felt tip and not quiet as pigmented as the black. But! They did dry down to a matte finish, which was nice. If you are looking for colored liners that show up the same intense color as their packaging…I didn’t find these to be the case. But it gives a nice wash of color, as you can see in my instagram tutorial here. So, to sum up, I highly recommend the black liquid liner (especially if you are a beginner) and I just found the colored liners to be okay.
Fluid Shadow | $4.99
I was so excited when these arrived in the mail. You know I’m all about the eyes and these looked so pretty and sparkly when swatched. But no. I just couldn’t with these. I tried using them all over the center of the eye, as a liner, and just as an inner corner highlight. All three struck out. They are somewhat thick, and when they dry they feel so hard and uncomfortable on the lids. Almost like you used a glue and your eyelid can’t “open” properly.
After they’ve dried and I’ve blinked a few times, it does feel more comfortable…but then they just made my eyelid look so wrinkly and…well, old! I hate to be so negative about a product, but I just couldn’t make these work! As an eyeliner they felt just as hard and uncomfortable, and throughout the day they flaked off weirdly. The only way they ‘somewhat’ work is if I used it as an inner corner highlight and then blended most of it away. That way it didn’t feel as thick. But then most of the sparkle went away, too. So, over all, these are just a big fail and pass for me.
Back Stage Collection: Sounds of the City | $6.99
You know I love cool toned eyeshadows so I got excited when I opened this palette. The shadows are very decent. They feel dry and dusty, but they swatch nicely. The matte shades are the best in this palette — the top row all have some amount of “shimmer” in them, but only the first shadow on the left really performs well on the eyes. All the other shimmers pretty much matte on the eyes.
I think the swatches sum this palette up well. It’s a decent palette — if you can get it on sale, it will be worth the money. You can get several different looks with this. It blends well and will build up, so it’s definitely a palette you can work with. Just don’t expect a big punch of intense color in your eye looks with this palette.
Back Stage Collection: Natural Nudes Collection | $6.99
The quality of this eyeshadow palette is pretty similar to the other one. The shimmer ones stand out a bit more, and look like shimmers, on the eyelid more than the first palette. They’re still very soft shimmers, but they are there. This palette really doesn’t have any deep mattes, which is unfortunate.
I feel like they could’ve widen the variety of the bottom row a bit to include at least one deep matte shade instead of two light skintone shades and two crease colors. The two dark shimmers in the palette, the brown and purple, are pretty disappointing and show up muddy when I use it. Overall, this is an okay palette. I think if you like shimmer shades you’ll enjoy this one more than the Sound of the City one. But if you like mattes…go for the first.
Eye Color Collection in Dream Girl
I tried to find this palette on the Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics website and on Amazon, but can’t find it anywhere. I have seen it in stores, but I don’t recall the price. I’m going to bet it’s only $3 or so dollars. Regardless, I wouldn’t worry about this palette because it was a dude in my book.
The swatches didn’t look very promising (all my swatches I always go over the area twice) and it got even worse when I tried to use them on my eyes. They colors just blended away or muddied together, very powdery. The other two palettes, while having their pros and cons, are way better than this palette and worth the few extra dollars.
Glow Stix Lip Gloss | $4.99
The concept of these lip glosses was really neat, especially since they came out right as the whole “holographic lipgloss” trend emerged on Instagram. I was sent all three from the line, but the only one that looked “unique” and “different” on the lips was the greenish shade, Wicked. The other two gave you the faintest look of being iridescent, but it didn’t translate tat all on video. It just looked like any other lipgloss, as you can see in this instagram tutorial. They’re not expensive, and if you are wanting a fun gloss I say go for it, but don’t expect it to be a holographic-shifting-party on your lips when you use it. And also, the product itself is very thick — I think it took me 4-5 dips back into the container to get enough to coat my lips.
Liquid Glass Lip Gloss in Idyllic | $4.99
If you like glitter and lip gloss, than this product was made for you. It’s got an intense glittery/shimmer to it on the lips and it feels very comfortable. The formula is a bit thinner than the glow sticks, making it easier and quicker to apply. There is a definite strong sweet scent to it — reminds me of vanilla cupcakes. I don’t mind it at all. 🙂 This lip gloss will leave glitter residue on your lips as it fades away, which I didn’t personally care for. Overall it’s a decent lip gloss, but I am not a big fan of lip gloss to begin with so this product was just ‘okay’ to me.
Matte Finish Lip Color | $3.99
You guys know I love my liquid lipsticks, so I was definitely excited to try out one from Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics! The formula is very moussy and smooth, very easy to apply and is not streaky at all. You can see me apply this shade live, on camera, in this Instagram tutorial. It wears very nicely, too. I would say I get a good 4-5 hours of wear before I start to see wear in the center of my lips. I can drink or eat lightly with this on, too. It’s not 100% transfer proof, but it stays put for the most part. Overall, for $4, I really like these. They definitely perform better and feel nicer than the Wet n Wild Ones!
Highlight and Contour Kit | $12.99
I wasn’t sure what to expect with such an affordable contour palette, but I’ve got to say I was blown away by this palette. While not all of the shades feel the creamiest, they definitely apply on the face very well. And considering that I am not a makeup artist, so am just using these on my own complexion, I use practically all of the shades in this palette! The only one I don’t use so often is the deepest contour shade, but everything else I switch up using. I think that’s awesome and makes this well worth buying!
All the shades swatch and perform nicely. The two highlight shades on the top row give you a very natural-looking highlight, but with a little Fix+ they ramp up a few notches and your highlight is GLOWING. If there is any downside to this palette it’s that the contour shades are pretty pigmented so you have to be careful not to get a streak of color. But they blend very easily, so even then it’s fixable. See a demo of this palette in THIS Instagram Tutorial!
Julie G Nails | $3.99
Last, but certainly not least, are Jesse’s Girl “Julie G” nail polishes. I was sent the colors Sunset Kiss and Dolled Up Dorothy in my box, along with their topcoat Jet Set. I actually already won a few colors from the Julie G line, so I know that they are really nice polishes. They do not last the longest on me, but then again no polish really does. I would say I get a solid 24 hours of perfect wear before I notice a chip. If you don’t have difficult nails like I do — or aren’t a klutz like I am — these would probably perform a lot better for you. The JetSet top coat is also really nice. I love how glossy of a finish it gives my manicure. I didn’t notice it lengthening wear over any other top coat I own, but it is nice and affordable. Definitely worth checking out!
And there you have it — all my hits and misses for Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics! Have you tried any of these products? I’d love to hear how they worked for you!
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The products were sent to me for editorial consideration. Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning I get a tiny payment if you click through my links. Any questions about my disclosure, read here. Thank you for your support!
MarciaF says
I really like the Julie G polishes, they last well on me for 5 days before I see any nail. They don’t chip on me luckily.
The liquid eyeshadows are tricky for sure but there are a few I like on my lower lid.
I bought their brown liquid eyeliner and love the way it works for me.
Judy says
I love the Julie G polish line and the contour kit! I also love their shadow palettes!
Erika says
Astonishingly enough, I like that liquid lippie. I like the colour and finish and I can wear it, now and again without it murdering my lips. A feat, indeed for a mate liquid lipstick.
Anastasia says
Thank you for this! I love the hits and missed posts. I personally adore their liquid eyeliner, it’s as good as high end ones from the department store.
Polarbelle says
I must have dried out pastel liners…I can’t get color out of them, not like I’ve seen in people’s blog posts…..also, bae, i think you forgot to edit in the names of the polishes. Aren’t they stunning??!
Claire says
Too bad that the fluid shadows did not perform well ! They look pretty !
clairetalksbeauty.com
Di from says
I’ve never heard of this brand before, but loved reading your thoughts on the different makeup items. The Highlight and Contour Kit looks great, pity about the eyeshadow palettes, as the Nudes one does look nice!
Di from Max The Unicorn
katshepsutt says
Hi Katie, great post with honest comments which I really appreciate! I’ve yet to find a cosmetic company that makes products that are ALL good – glad you scored some wins as these are so affordable x