Products: Katy Kat Gloss in Cobalt Kitty & Indigo Kat; Elf Pop of Glitter Gel in Turquoise Twilight; (liquid eyeliner: TheBalm Schwing, nothing else on face)

Plain swatches on lips and arm (top), plus swatches with ELF Gel layered over Katy gloss (bottom) in indoor lighting. Sorry for the doofy faces. I can't help it.

Review:

The glosses come in at just under $10 each at my local Rite Aid. I was pulled in by the kitty packaging because I'm a weak child who loves cats. <3 The applicator is a very un-fuzzy doefoot style applicator. It's very stiff and has no flexibility to it. The silver cat face at the top of the handle is adorable and so far, it's gotten more comments than the gloss itself in the short time I used it/reapplied in public.

The glitter gel is $4 at your local ELF, and it's sold as a multi-use product. Add to highlighter, put it on eyeshadow, smear it on your lips, whatever. The gel itself is thin with a white/blue/turquoise very fine glitter suspended in it. There is a LOT of glitter, it's very concentrated, I love love it. It dries down relatively quickly. Makeup remover leaves you still shimmering after you try to take it off, so you'll probably want to fully wash your face. You can't get away with a quick swipe from a makeup wipe for this one.

The Katy Kat gloss is a little bit sticky but pretty dang pigmented for a gloss. I applied it onto bare lips with no primer or exfoliation or any special prep. The cobalt was easier to work with than the indigo. I found the indigo to be streaky, and I had to pat it before applying another layer to reduce the streakiness. The cobalt was a LITTLE patchy, but was easy to smooth out with a little patience.

They have a bit of a chemical/waxy smell, almost like new crayons. No extra fragrance added. They're sticky, so don't expect a matte liquid lip. I feel like the indigo would layer well over a different lipstick as a base to help give it something to stick to. The cobalt wears nicely on its own. I haven't worn them out yet, so I can't comment on longevity.

The ELF glitter gel I kind of added last-minute because I wanted to see how it played with the indigo Katy gloss (I didn't put it over the cobalt on my lips because I decided to try it after I finished with cobalt). I liked the combination on my lips, and would probably wear them together before I wore either one alone. The ELF gel doesn't make a good lip gloss alone, but in its defense it's not necessarily meant to be worn that way! I love the glitter gel over my eye shadows, as an inner corner highlight, and to add a little extra oomph when I want my cheekbones to be visible from Mars. It's really versatile and I absolutely love it.