First Impression Review: Hourglass Modernist Palette in Infinity

First my two-month-delivery boots, and now this. I really should know better than to order things that aren’t in stock and ready to ship – I get all antsy and impatient. Or maybe I just need to work on my expectations for instant makeup gratification (that seems more do-able). What am I even talking about? Back in October I caught wind of a new eyeshadow palette from Hourglass, and being the fangirl that I am, I hopped right on that train. The Hourglass Modernist Palette in Infinity was released first at Barneys to celebrate their 10-year anniversary together (awww, how adorable), and it was estimated to be delivered ‘in November’. After an interminable wait, and a quick chat with Barneys customer service just to make sure they didn’t forget about me, it finally showed up at my house on November 29th. So their delivery timeframe was accurate, but they cut it pretty close!

It’s back up on the Barneys website for pre-order with delivery expected ‘in December’, so I thought I should hurry up and show you all so you can decide whether it deserves a spot on your holiday shopping list/wishlist.

Before I saw the palette in real life, I was a little afraid it would be the same size as the ALP and blush palettes, which would be a completely unmanageable amount of eyeshadow. Luckily it’s considerably smaller in footprint and product weight. The cute little compact holds .17oz/5g of eyeshadow, 1g per color. What that means, oddly, is that it’s massively more expensive (per ounce) than the old eyeshadow duos, which were $38 for .2oz/5.7g. Still, the product weight and price of the eyeshadow palette are on par with other high end eyeshadow quads/quints.

Aside from being miniature and having the updated font, the compact is nearly identical to the ALP palette. Right down to having a small factory-issued scratch on the lid, in fact. That doesn’t bother me a bit, but if you like things to be totally pristine, just know that they apparently haven’t resolved this manufacturing/packaging issue. Whatever. Otherwise – it’s compact, light and snaps shut firmly so I’m nearly positive it’ll be fine to travel with.

The colors in the palette are some gorgeous neutrals. Side note – the fact that they gave it a shade name (Infinity) makes me think that they’ll be releasing additional eyeshadow palettes with different color stories, which would only make sense. I’ve heard absolutely nothing that would confirm that, by the way, just totally shameless speculation. But back to the colors in this one. There are four mattes and one shimmer, and for once you get actual neutral neutrals – no huge lean toward warm or cool shades here. From left to right you’ve got:

Light creamy white – this one actually reminds me a bit of Laura Mercier Vanilla Nuts, but maybe a tiny bit lighter and less yellow
Light rosy beige – the light beige has just a hint of a pinky tone to it, and it will make a great lid color, or crease contour
Medium plummy brown – this is the only shimmer of the bunch, and it has a very slight purple-y undertone to it
Medium khaki – this shade alllllmost heads off into warm territory, but not quite; it’s tan with a slight olive cast
Dark coffee brown – not the darkest of dark browns, but it’s a rich shade that works really well on the outer corner and lash lines

All the colors in the palette work really well together to make a cohesive look. At first I wasn’t sure how well this would fare on darker skin since the colors do trend fairly light, but one of the ladies of Specktra posted swatches, and they’re lovely on her. As gorgeous as they are, there’s a big thing worth mentioning about these shades – I don’t really think any of them are undupeable. I’ll go through and do comparison swatches at a later date to see what other colors I have that are similar. In the meantime, if you already have a big eyeshadow collection you’re pretty likely to have something close to these already.

One thing that isn’t dupeable is the texture. These are the most velvety damn eyeshadows I’ve ever touched. As in literally, they feel like velvet. The powder is very dense and soft, which of course can be a double-edged sword. A light tap with your brush will pick up plenty of product, but it’s definitely possible to kick up some extra powder. As long as you proceed carefully and don’t load up your brush too much, there’s no fallout and the shadow glides right onto the skin. All the colors blend easily and have great pigmentation, though the shimmer color in the center goes on a tiny bit more opaque than the others – I think it clings to the brush slightly better, so it looks more pigmented. I haven’t had a chance to do a full wear test yet, so I’ll update this once I do. Update: The shadows wear beautifully all day with no fading or creasing. That’s over primer of course, since literally no eyeshadow has ever fully survived my primer-less lids. Also, I’ve noticed that a lot of people disagree strongly with me about the texture of the shadows. It’s definitely a fact that they’re extremely soft and it’s easy to kick up powder if you’re not gentle with your brush; if you’re not into that, you’ll hate these. But – it’s not the type of powdery that won’t stick to skin or even adhere to itself (which can make things really difficult to blend). I also haven’t tried these with synthetic bristle brushes, which I’m guessing might affect the user experience pretty significantly.

In Short: The colors aren’t necessarily the most unique, but the texture is fantastic and possibly one-of-a-kind. I’ve got my fingers crossed for more palettes in this range.

The Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette ($58) is available for pre-order at barneys.com now, and should be available at other Hourglass retailers in January.

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Eye Primer Round-up

December 10, 2014, 6:00 am

≫ Next: Review: Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Bone

≪ Previous: First Impression Review: Hourglass Modernist Palette in Infinity

During a mass reorganization of my makeup drawers recently, I realized that I’m up to a whopping four eye primers. For someone who used to think primers of all sorts were snake oil and marketing BS (I’ve since seen the error of my ways), that’s kind of a lot. I realized I’ve never seen a side-by-side test of these, so yeah, I decided to make that happen. It’s probably a futile effort because eye primer performance is highly individual, and sort of a divisive topic – the one I swear by might do absolutely nothing for you, and vice-versa. Still, a comparison might be helpful for someone out there (probably someone with oily, hooded eyelids since that’s what I have) so I might as well let it float around the internet just in case.

Fair warning, this wasn’t constructed to be a highly scientific comparison, but I did make at least a small attempt to even the playing field. I tested them over the course of two days (since I only have two eyes at a time to work with, obvs). I used shimmer colors from the Lorac Pro Palette 2 both days so there wouldn’t be big differences in eyeshadow formula to foul things up. In all cases I used just enough primer to cover my lid and gave it about five minutes to set before I added eyeshadow. The pictures were taken after 12 hours of wear. Please pardon the weird raised eyebrows in the photos – it was necessary in order to get rid of the natural fold in my lids.

Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer ($21/.53oz)

The Lorac primer looked great when I checked my eyeshadow around 5 hours into the experiment. However, by the time I took this photo, there was some creasing and the colors had faded. A lot. And whatever mascara I was wearing that day was apparently pretty flaky, but that’s beside the point. Of all of them, the Lorac eye had the most fading. The texture of this primer is very pleasant to use – it’s somewhat thin and spreads easily with a colorless finish.

Dior Backstage Eye Prime ($28/.21oz)

When I first applied the Dior primer, there was a noticeable difference in my eyeshadow versus the eye that was wearing the Lorac primer. The Dior is a light nude color, and my shadows on that eye were a little more opaque and true to the color in the pan. Unfortunately I started to see some minor creasing by lunchtime, and after twelve hours I got this. This primer was the worst as far as creasing goes, but the color didn’t fade in the spots where the shadows actually stayed put. This one also has the trickiest application, because it’s very thick and dry-feeling, so you need to warm it up first. That doesn’t bother me much, but it’s probably not for everyone.

Smashbox Photo Finish 24-Hour Shadow Primer ($20/.41oz)

I acquired the Smashbox primer fairly recently, as a deluxe sample from Sephora. I’ve had sort of mixed experiences with Smashbox products in the past, but I was very pleased with how this primer performed. At mid-day my eyeshadow was flawless. Even by hour twelve the creasing was pretty minor, and fading was non-existent. The formula is thicker than most eye primers that have tube packaging, but it’s still fairly easy to spread over the lid.

NARS Smudgeproof Eye Shadow Base ($25/.26oz)

I’ve been using this eye primer for a fairly long time now, so of course you knew it would be in here. The NARS eye also looked freshly-applied by the middle of the day, and there was pretty minimal creasing by the time its twelve hours were up. There may have been a tiny bit of fading (or the lighting is slightly different in the photos?) but at the time I didn’t notice any difference from the Smashbox side. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m not a huge fan of the wand packaging for this primer because when you start running low it’s pretty hard to get the product out. Otherwise the formula is nice, thin and silky-feeling.

Overall

This test was very… educational. I’ve used the Lorac and Dior primers in the past and not been unhappy with them, but they certainly were in the bottom half of the class here. I do enjoy the color boost that I get from the Dior primer though, so I’ve actually been using that over another primer as a type of cream base. I wouldn’t recommend buying it for that purpose, but I have it so I might as well use it. The NARS and Smashbox primers passed with flying colors though, and the difference between them at the end of the day was pretty negligible. I’d recommend either one for oily lids. I might even recommend the Smashbox primer over the NARS one, just because it’s five bucks cheaper and you get more product (.41oz with Smashbox vs .26oz with NARS). For performance and price, Smashbox gets you the most for your money.

Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer is available at ulta.com and the rest are available at sephora.com

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Review: Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Bone

January 29, 2015, 6:00 am

≫ Next: Review: Dior Diorshow Mascara

≪ Previous: Eye Primer Round-up

Packaging

The cream eyeshadow comes in small glass pot that has a square base and a round lid. I think that’s sort of an odd choice aesthetically, but it does give you something to grab onto so it’s easier to open. All the pieces are sturdy so it doesn’t feel like the lid will crack if you tighten it down too much in an effort to keep it from drying out. I unintentionally did a drop test with this one and it passed with flying colors (no, literally, it flew about halfway across the room before it landed). The one thing I’m not so thrilled about is the mouth of the jar. I think the best tool for applying this shadow is a standard-issue finger (more on that in a minute), and that’ll work just fine – until the product starts getting used up. The opening isn’t very wide, so after a certain point you’ll need to use either a brush or the tip of your finger to get the product out. That’ll be a tricky prospect if I ever manage to get my nails to grow out again, but I guess I’ll deal with that problem when I come to it. I suppose they were trying to minimize the surface area that could get exposed to air, but anything that makes accessing the product more difficult is a bad design move, in my humble opinion. Aside from that, the jar is just the tiniest hair too thick for a slim Muji drawer. Technically it fits, but the lid can catch on the bottom of the next drawer and cause both to pull out when you open one. End result here being that I have to store this in a deeper drawer, separate from my other cream shadows (#FWP).

Color

Bone is a nice color for an eyeshadow base. It’s described as an off-white, which is pretty accurate if you build it up. It goes on a bit sheer but builds up pretty easily – see the first photo in this section for an example of one layer vs three layers. Depending on how much of your own skin color you let show through, I think this shade could look good on a lot of people. It would be close to invisible on very light skin, though, and I can easily imagine it looking chalky on very dark skin. Just as I was hoping, the finish is totally matte. It’s a really nice lid color for a natural look, if you’re wearing it on its own.

I rummaged through my collection to see if I had similar shades in powder shadows and surprisingly, I didn’t see much that was all that close. I sometimes use Buff from Lorac Pro 2 and Laura Mercier Vanilla Nuts as powder base colors though, so I pulled them out to compare. Against those two, Bone looks almost pink. Buff is more yellow, and Vanilla Nuts has more of a beige cast.

Application, Texture & Wear

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Bone

Bone used on the lid, Laura Mercier Greay Pearl in the crease, Charlotte Tilbury Dark Pearl on the outer corner

This. This is where it all goes wrong. A tricksy beast, this one is. The shadow feels nice and creamy in the pot, but it starts to set so fast that it’s difficult to apply evenly. I started off with a flat synthetic brush for it (same as I do with my other cream shadows) but it was very hard to get an even layer. Using my fingertip and patting the shadow on works much better. Even then, it’s a good thing this is so close to my skin color, because the edges are literally impossible to blend with a brush – I have to sort of feather it out with my finger, if that makes any sense. When used over primer it looks fairly dry and chalky, but lasts all day with no problems. It looks much smoother on unprimed lids, but the one time I tried that it creased so badly that by lunchtime the only part of it left was what’s on my visible lid when my eyes are open. That probably has more to do with my oily lids than the shadow, but the point is it’s difficult for me to wear on its own.

But, I got this with no intention to use it as a standalone eyeshadow color, so how about as a base? Nope. True, it does make most powder shadows show up with a more intense, true-to-pan color, but functionally it makes them a huge pain in the ass to work with. Matte powder shadows will hardly stick to my lids at all when I’m using this as a base – shadows that I normally love for their pigmentation. Every powder shadow I’ve tried over this also magically became nearly impossible to blend unless I used a stiff domed brush.

Long story short, I’m really grasping for ways I can successfully use this. Maybe it would work as a waterline brightener if I use a teeny-tiny brush? Haven’t tried that yet.

Tech Specs

Price: $26

Product Weight: .12oz/3.5g

Formula: Cream

Packaging: Pot

In Short: I was really excited about this and prepared to love it, but it just doesn’t do any of the things I wanted it to. I’m pretty sure it’s getting returned.

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow ($26) is available at nordstrom.com

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Review: Dior Diorshow Mascara

July 7, 2015, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Review: Guerlain Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara

≪ Previous: Review: Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Bone

Wand

This wand is one of the bigger ones I’ve seen, for sure. At least, big enough so it’s a little bit of a chore maneuvering it around my small eyes. Aside from that I like it pretty well. It’s a pretty traditional shape – densely packed bristles in a spiral, narrowing toward the end. It pulls up quite a bit of product but not so much that I need to wipe the brush off, other than knocking off a tiny bit of excess from the very tip.

Texture, application & wear

If you’re looking for a deep, dark, black mascara, this is for you. There’s no charcoal or brown tone to it, just black. Period. It also comes in brown, blue and purple, if you’re so inclined. I have to admit I don’t really understand the attraction of bright-colored mascara, but you gotta give the people what they want!

The texture is a bit wet, but fairly thick. When you combine that with the wand shape, just swiping it over my lashes can make some of the hairs clump together. But never fear, I’ve found a way around that! If I hold it at the base of my lashes, blink, then wiggle it a bit as I pull it up it gives much better separation. To be fair, that method usually gives me better results with just about any mascara, but this is a case that needs it. It creates a good amount of volume and a little bit of extra length. I wouldn’t really say it adds curl, but if I curl my lashes it doesn’t pull them flat as the day wears on. After 8-10 hours there’s just a teeny tiny bit of flaking, but not enough to irritate my eyes or look raccoon-y. Also noteworthy: I don’t think it claims to be waterproof, but it does hold up pretty well as long it’s had time to dry initially. But if you poke yourself in the eye with a tightlining brush immediately after applying it, it will run. Learn from my mistakes.

Once I’m done with makeup for the day, this mascara is pretty easy to remove with my regular eye makeup remover (the Neutrogena one). It doesn’t melt right off, but it also doesn’t require heavy duty scrubbing.

In Short: It’s not the most effortless mascara I’ve ever used, but I love the way it makes my lashes look.

Dior Diorshow Mascara ($27.50) is available at sephora.com and nordstrom.com

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Review: Guerlain Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara

August 4, 2015, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Swatch This: Black Eyeliner

≪ Previous: Review: Dior Diorshow Mascara

(Jump to the summary)

Wand

To be as diplomatic as possible, there’s not a whole lot going on with this wand. It’s the standard shape. Not too thick, with a spiral of short-ish bristles that are the same length all the way down. I really just can’t make myself have any strong feelings about it one way or the other. It picks up a little too much product (even a few weeks after I opened it), so I guess I fall slightly on the “not a fan” side of the fence.

Color

In my opinion, the color is the best thing about this mascara. It’s approximately the same color as the charcoal briquettes that go in the grill – no hints of brown or grey here. I don’t speak French so I put “cils d’enfer” into google translate and it came back with “eyelashes hell”. So the name is fitting.

Application & wear

I like the effect Maxi Lash has when I first put it on. It adds a lot of thickness and volume, so it gives a heavy, sultry look. It has two issues though. Issue the first: the mudslide of mascara that comes out with the wand makes it difficult to apply without getting very spidery. Applying it involves wiping off some of the product, which hurts me – it feels like such a waste! Lots of combing with a clean spoolie too. The second big issue is curl. I’m lucky enough to have 100% average lashes – average length, average density, average curl. Unfortunately by the end of the day with this, my lashes droop like cut flowers that are a little past their prime. Instead of framing my eyes, they just make me look kind of tired. Not exactly the look I’m going for. Ever.

Summary:

Wand: The completely average shape and size is sort of boring.
Color: Deep inky black, which gets a big thumbs up from me.
Application & Wear: It looks great at first, but it’s fussy to apply and the curl doesn’t last.

Overall: Meh. I don’t hate it, but I’m not planning on getting a full size.

Guerlain Maxi Lash Mascara ($30) is available at nordstrom.com and sephora.com

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Swatch This: Black Eyeliner

September 15, 2015, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Ulta Artistry Kit & The Myth Of The Dupe

≪ Previous: Review: Guerlain Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara

I’m not a huge eyeliner person anyway, but I mostly use it one of two ways: wings, or slightly smudged out. So, that’s what I tested. Here’s a quick comparison of the results:

(btw – swatches above are in the same order as the first photo, and the same order listed below)

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes, Matte Black -The MUFE liner is quite black, very matte and goes on easily. The budgeproof application makes it pretty difficult to smoke out though – you can see above that I was barely able to move it. On the other hand, I haven’t seen any movement or flaking over a whole day of wear.

Marc Jacobs Highliner, Blacquer – Out of all the pencil liners, Blacquer glides on and smokes out the easiest. The deep matte black is also a plus. The soft texture does run the hazard of getting an uneven line so using a light hand is a must.

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Eye Pencil, Jet – Bobbi Brown’s Long Wear Eye Pencil sits right in between the MUFE and Marc Jacobs ones. It goes on easily, stays put throughout the day and offers a little bit of leeway if you don’t want a really precise line.

Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl, Black – I’ve loved Rimmel’s nude eyeliner for dealing with red-rimmed eyes during allergy season, but I’m not as crazy about the black one. It skips, gets crumbly and really tugs at the lid. I don’t have a better drugstore option to recommend, but I don’t recommend this one.

Lorac Front of the Line Pro, Black – One of my all-time favorites, reviewed here. I love this one because it lays down color easily, doesn’t dry out quickly and you can get a nice sharp wing with it. The brush tip stays in shape, which is vital for me since I’m not exactly an eyeliner wizard. It sets incredibly fast and doesn’t move, run, smudge or flake. I don’t mind the very slight gloss finish, but it may not be for everyone.

Marc Jacobs Magic Marc’er, Blacquer – I have mixed feelings on this one. It’s more matte than Lorac’s liquid liner, which I like, but the applicator leaves a lot to be desired. The felt tip tugs at my not-perfectly-smooth lids so it has a tendency to skip. After just a few uses the very end of the felt applicator is starting to bend out of shape, so it’s tough to get a good point. I’ve also had problems with it crumbling a little at the corners of my eyes later in the afternoon/evening. So actually, I don’t think my feelings are very mixed. I just want to like it, but I don’t.

Laura Mercier Creme Eye Liner, Noir – Ah, creme liner, the versatile beast that can be used for sharp wings OR smoky looks. The Laura Mercier creme liner is the blackest of them all, and goes on easily and smoothly. It smokes out beautifully, as long as you do it before it sets completely (which takes maybe 5-10 seconds). The dry time is slightly longer than some of the others, but that gives you time to smudge it if you want to, or a few extra seconds to clean up any mistakes. The only caveat here is it isn’t universally foolproof. The end result depends a lot on your skill (picking up just enough product, etc) and the brush you use with it. Once you get it perfect, it stays all day.

If I had to pick a favorite, I probably couldn’t pick just one. But picking one for each category is easy:

Dark smoky eye – Marc Jacobs Highliner
Quick, flawless wings – Lorac Front of the Line Pro
Most versatile – Laura Mercier Creme Eye Liner

Obviously these are only a few of the gazillion eyeliner options out there. What’s your favorite?

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Ulta Artistry Kit & The Myth Of The Dupe

November 12, 2015, 11:41 am

≫ Next: Review: YSL Couture Variation Palette #1 Nu

≪ Previous: Swatch This: Black Eyeliner

For those uninitiated into the internet makeup community: a ‘dupe’ is a product that is similar enough to replace another (usually more expensive) item. The problem you run into if you’re searching for a dupe of such-and-such thing is that rarely is the ‘dupe’ actually a really good replacement. A lot of the time the conversation stops at color, which is fine if color is really all you care about. If you throw in similar packaging (or in this case, palette layout) or ingredient lists on top of that, suddenly people are passionately proclaiming that they’re exactly the same thing and the makeup companies are trying to pull one over on us by slapping a brand label on it and charging four times as much. Note: I’m not saying that the brand’s image is never a factor in price or that high-end cosmetics are inherently superior, just that similar color and packaging do not a dupe make. So let’s talk a little bit about the differences between these and the Hourglass palettes (and sneak in a review of the Artistry Kit in the process).

Packaging

The most obvious dupe-y-ness (and the most obvious differences) are in the palette layout and packaging. Each one has all the shades pressed into one pan in a sort of sand-dune pattern. The cases they come in are hugely different though – Hourglass has their typical sleek compact and the Ulta palettes are in a smaller, lighter-weight plastic compact with a clear window on the lid. The Ulta version also comes with sponge-tip applicators.

Packaging is one of the biggest sacrifices with less expensive dupes, and probably the most worthwhile cost-saving measure. After all, if the product inside is just as good, who cares if the packaging isn’t as pretty? At least, as long as it’s still functional – with cheaper materials there’s more risk of defects & non-user-error breakage. The Ulta compacts don’t have that luxurious look and feel that Hourglass does, but they feel sturdy and the clear window is helpful when you’re rummaging through drawers for the one you want.

Colors

If Ulta was trying to mimic the colors in the Hourglass Modernist palettes (particularly Graphite, Color Field and Exposure) then I’m pretty sure they’ve succeeded – the Artistry Kit is practically a dead-on copy. If you just wanted a color dupe of the Modernist palettes, this is pretty much all you need.

But is it, really? Sadly I don’t own these three Hourglass palettes to do side-by-side swatches, but there are two things I always try to keep in mind when I’m looking for a replacement: complexity and color payoff. I’m talking things like, does one have shimmer that matches the eyeshadow color while the other has generic silver? Are the undertones similar? Small differences like that can change the effect once you actually get it on your skin. Add in the issue of pigmentation (is one opaque and the other is sheer?) and you can wind up with two similar products that look completely different as worn.

I can’t really talk about the different nuances in color, but there’s a pretty big gap in pigmentation between the Ulta and Hourglass palettes. When I was doing swatches I had an extremely hard time getting some of them to show up, even ones that aren’t close to my skin tone. On a couple of them I added swipes of nude eyeliner around the lightest swatch to show where I put the powder, because it’s practically invisible. The color payoff was wildly inconsistent (except the mattes, they’re all pretty bad) so I labeled each swatch with the number of swipes it took to make the color visible. These are all over bare skin.

And then compare that to the Hourglass palette (Infinity). The top row is one swipe of each Hourglass color (the first shade is very close to my skin tone and a bit sheer, so it’s hard to see); the bottom is the Ulta purple palette. To get the about the same intensity I had to work much harder:

The Ulta palette falls short on the color front, if only because it’s going to take a lot more time and effort to get the same effect.

Texture, application & wear

But for me, the real test of a dupe – and this is the part that makes or breaks it – is the formula. Getting the same(ish) color in a more basic version of the packaging is all good and well, but what’s it like when you actually go to use the dupe? When I posted swatches of this kit on instagram, Avery Mae described some of them as tragic (I totally agree) and that’s really the only word I can use for the texture on some of these.

For what it’s worth, I know a lot of people really dislike the Modernist eyeshadows and while I disagree wholeheartedly (at least about the one I have), I do understand why. The Hourglass shadows are extremely soft, so they can kick up a lot of powder as you use them and I’ve noticed some fallout with certain brushes. But on the flip side of that, you only need a little bit of product and they almost blend themselves. I consider that a fair trade-off and I really like them.

The Ulta shadows, on the other hand. Remember how I said the pigmentation was wildly inconsistent? It’s got nothing on the formula. I don’t usually go through and talk about palettes shade by shade because it feels redundant, but this one time when I just have to.

Purple palette

1 – Pale, shimmery cream. The color itself shows up nicely, but it’s sort of gritty and doesn’t adhere well to the lid. I used this one on the mobile part of my lid, and by the time I finished my makeup most of it had faded off.
2 – Matte mauve. It feels very stiff and it’s a little tough to build up to the color in the pan. It’s better than most of the other matte shades as far as blending goes.
3 – Plummy brown. The powder isn’t what I’d call finely-milled, and the large-ish shimmer particles had quite a bit of fallout. The pigmentation is nice though.
4 – Aubergine shimmer. The shimmers are a bit finer, but the powder is still fairly coarse.
5 – Brownish mauve with a few shimmers. This shade is so close to #2 on the skin that I don’t actually understand why it’s there. Application is very patchy.

Overall this palette is ok. The blendability (is that a word? it is now) isn’t awful, but nothing special either. It looked really good freshly applied, but faded very quickly.

Green palette

1 – Matte cream. The color should be something along the lines of Laura Mercier Vanilla Nuts, but I couldn’t get a heavy enough swatch to tell, even by scraping some out of the pan. It’s a very hard texture so I wasn’t able to pick up much product (with fingers or a brush) and what little there is doesn’t apply evenly. Unusable.
2 – Yellow gold shimmer. It’s fairly soft and applies smoothly.
3 – Bronze shimmer. Like the gold, the texture is soft and smooth, and the pigmentation is good. Blending is also pretty easy.
4 – I like to call this ‘ninja turtle green’. It has a yellow base that shows up when the light hits it in certain ways. Definitely the most interesting shade in this set, and easy to use.
5 – Deep moss green with gold shimmer. It goes on a little bit patchy but blends well.

The green palette is far and away the best one in the set in terms of pigmentation and texture, even considering the useless matte base color. Putting it on didn’t provoke any swearing, and it didn’t fade much over the course of the day.

Blue palette

1 – Pinkish matte. See the description for #1 in the green palette above – the base color in the blue palette is equally terrible.
2 – Coppery gold. OMFG, glitter bomb everywhere. I was glad I did my eyes first when I used this one, because I had to re-wash my whole face (and even then there were a few specks left). The color shows up well, but it’s gritty and not at all worth the trouble.
3 – Matte chocolate. It looks really amazing in the pan, but it’s so hard and so unpigmented that it doesn’t show up at all on my skin if I try to use it with a brush. Even the swatch above was five passes of me grinding my finger into it before I eventually gave up.
4 – Slate blue shimmer. The color payoff is good, but the powder itself is gritty, patchy and impossible to blend.
5 – Pale champagne shimmer. Again, a pretty color but it disappeared from my eyes almost instantly.

I didn’t test this one for a full day because it is bar none the worst eyeshadow palette I’ve ever used. I blended until my skin was irritated, and the picture above is what I ended up with. I took it off and wore something different that day.

Dupe Verdict

Not even close. On the surface the Ulta Artistry Kit palettes look like they could actually be the exact same product in a different compact, but the difference in quality is night and day. This one is going straight back to Ulta.

The Ulta Artistry Eye Shadow Kit ($20) is available at ulta.com

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Review: YSL Couture Variation Palette #1 Nu

December 9, 2015, 8:47 am

≫ Next: Swatch This: Viseart Paris Nudes & Bridal Satin

≪ Previous: Ulta Artistry Kit & The Myth Of The Dupe

Anyway, if you’re worried that I may have mis-titled this post, don’t. I tell you all that to tell you this: the YSL Couture Variation palette in #1 Nu is the neutrals palette that I wanted Naked to be for me.

Packaging

I was really surprised when I opened up my Sephora order, because this thing is tiiiiiiny. Lorac Pro palette for comparison. I took this with me to my conference, and it is very travel friendly, which is in its favor. Small enough to fit in my makeup bag easily, and flat for space efficiency (packing oddly-shaped compacts frustrates me). The versatility-to-size ratio gets a thumbs up – ten colors that would totally fit in my pocket if lady jeans had real pockets. On the other hand, the pans are pretty narrow and close together. That isn’t too much of an issue for the most part but the brush I use to put down the matte base color (Hakuhodo J532) is too big to really get into the pan well. Along with the size comes a fairly astronomical price-per-ounce cost – for your $95 you get a total .22oz/6.24g. Hence the reason I held off so long on getting this, so I could use my Sephora 20% off. Size aside, it’s a good compact – sturdy plastic, secure closure, decent size mirror, yada yada.

The palette also comes with a double-ended brush which, as usual, I wish they would have just left out. It’s synthetic hair and soft enough, I guess, but the bristles just do not pick up and hold onto the eyeshadow well. Seriously, if you try this palette, please use a different brush for your first test. When I tried using the included brush there was a lot of fallout and it looked very sheer on my lids, which was not the case with my usual brushes. Seriously YSL, you’re so much better than this.

Colors

Review: YSL Couture Variation Palette #1 Nu Swatches

The colors in this palette run pretty heavily to warm, light shades. You can get a dramatic smoky eye out of it, but this is going to be more of a go-to for office-appropriate looks, I think. In other words, me every day. I don’t use up darker shades in palettes nearly as fast as the lighter ones, so I’m happy with the color selection.

Lemon cream matte – I use this as an all over base since it blends into my skin tone unless it’s applied really heavily. It’s also great for blending out the edges.
Peach shimmer – This is a good one for all over the lid.
Pale pink metallic – The finish is a little more metallic than some of the others so I’ve been saving it for an inner corner/lower lash highlight. The finish isn’t super-forgiving if you have any lines.
Wheat gold shimmer – This one is a little more toned down in the shimmer department, and leans more brown or gold depending on the light.
Warm gold shimmer – True gold, but more like a brushed gold if that even makes sense.
Pink taupe shimmer – This might be my favorite out of the bunch! It’s light enough to use as an all-over lid color, but works in the crease too when it’s paired with the lighter shades. It kind of reminds me of UD YDK, which was my favorite shade from the Naked 2 palette.
Bright copper metallic – This copper doesn’t come off as frosty as the palepink, and looks great with the gold shimmer (#5) and the chocolatey shade next to it.
Chocolate matte – Getting it confused with cocoa powder doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.
Taupe with silver glitter – This is really the only one that has actual glitter particles. They’re very fine, so it ends up being a taupe with some dimension instead of a glitterbomb.
Espresso matte – Of the dark roast variety.

Formula

The texture of these shadows is fantastic. They’re softer and less dry than the YSL 5-color Couture Palettes, and all the shades have good color payoff. The mattes are a bit more powdery and sheer than the others, but that’s par for the course. Blending them is a dream, and they last well with minimum fading – the photos above were taken about 11 hours after I did my makeup (yay for office jobs :-P).

In Short: I had trouble getting over the sticker shock, but considering the quality and how much use I’ll get out of it, I’d be happy even if I didn’t get it during a sale.

The YSL Couture Variation Palette ($95) is available at sephora.com and nordstrom.com

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Swatch This: Viseart Paris Nudes & Bridal Satin

December 16, 2015, 6:33 am

≫ Next: MAKE Beauty Review

≪ Previous: Review: YSL Couture Variation Palette #1 Nu

Affiliate Links No time for a full review yet since these showed up at my house literally yesterday – at 7pm too, I guess it’s that time of year for FedEx. I wanted to go ahead and put up swatches though, in case anyone’s debating a last minute grab for the Parisian Eyes set from Muse Beauty. That’s where these came from; it has two Viseart eyeshadow palettes and three Esum brushes for $128(!). Hell of a deal right there. Everyone’s been raving about these palettes so much that I needed to try them, and who doesn’t love a discount?

At first I was having trouble picking between Bridal Satin, Sultry Muse and Paris Nudes because they all look gorgeous. Then Sultry Muse went out of stock and the decision was made for me – thanks, I guess? It’ll be a while before I really get to dig into them (eyeball lasering is scheduled for Saturday so I’ll be banned from eye makeup for at least a week) but based on swatching and a bit of messing around I’m already thrilled.

Paris Nudes

Paris Nudes is a muted color palette heavy on gold/orange, pink and purples. Not a ton of true neutrals, but all shades that would fit in well with a natural look. The swatches are of each row, the same order they are in the palette.

Bridal Satin

I usually steer more toward neutral eyeshadow but I’m actually a little more excited about the Bridal Satin palette because it has some non-neutrals in it. I don’t have nearly enough color eyeshadow, and the purples/blues in this one are amazing. The only sad part is one of the pans came loose during shipping (second shadow on the middle row) and got a little chip in it. Not a big enough deal to bother returning it, that would just be wasteful. I am pretty impressed that the whole pan didn’t shatter though! I glued it back in and cleaned up some loose powder, practically good as new. Again, the swatches are in the same order as the palette.

Like I said, no review, but my first impression is that these are really, really nice shadows. The only ones that aren’t totally smooth are the top right in Paris Nudes, and top left in Bridal Satin. Both of those are a little more glittery, so it makes sense that the texture isn’t quite the same (still very good). I’m already plotting to buy Sultry Muse when Sephora does their 15% off sale in the spring, and debating if I also need the Neutral Mattes…..

Viseart Eyeshadow Palettes ($80) are available at musebeauty.pro, beautylish.com, frendsbeauty.com and sephora.com

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MAKE Beauty Review

April 13, 2016, 7:26 am

≫ Next: Review: Viseart Eyeshadow Palettes

≪ Previous: Swatch This: Viseart Paris Nudes & Bridal Satin

PR Sample

You guys, I think I have a neutral-makeup problem.

Seriously though. Every time I check the makeup subs on reddit or look at my social media feed, it’s full of colorful eyeshadows, dramatic contouring, ‘instagram brows’ and generally just tons of things that could have come straight out of the NYX Face Awards. I love seeing those kinds of looks, but it’s not something I really do on myself (though I’ve been trying to branch out a little, see my instagram for proof). For one thing I feel like my skill level isn’t quite there yet (I didn’t really get into makeup until I was about 27 or so) and my life just isn’t one that demands a lot of high-impact makeup. Sort of the opposite, actually. I have a full time office job (luckily one where nobody minds purple hair and bright pink lipstick!) and my social activities are pretty low-key – trivia night at the bar, dinner with friends, an occasional concert.

The end result of all that is, well, my everyday makeup look is pretty tame. Lots of neutral eyeshadow, pink lipstick, etc, etc. You’d think I’d be bored with that by now, but nope! I’m always excited when I find products that help enable my roll-out-of-bed-and-go ways, and recently I added a couple more to my stash. I was recently sent a couple of adorable samples from MAKE Beauty which are perfect for no-makeup makeup.

MAKE is a brand that’s been on my radar for a while, but kind of out on the edges. I’ve seen it mentioned now and again online (mostly by those lucky ducks who have easy access to Barneys) but I hadn’t ever actually, y’know, gone and bought any of it myself because I like to try things out first if I can. Well that, and there are limits to how much makeup I can actually buy. So my point is, these are the first products I’ve tried from the brand and I was excited to get my hands on them.

So which ones showed up in my mailbox? I got samples of MAKE’s Matte Finish Eyeshadow in Alabaster, and their Silk Cream Lipstick in Taffy. Both are ultimate nude-palette colors on my light-medium skin.

Alabaster is an example of matte eyeshadows done right. I’m not a cosmetic formulator or anything, but matte formulas seem to be the trickiest ones to produce, at least judging by how many disappointing ones are out there. Not the case with this one! It glides right onto my eyelid with a silky texture, and is great for blending out the edges of my crease color. Alabaster is really close to my actual skin tone, so I’ve been using it as a base for my other powder shadows. On days when I’m too rushed for the full eye makeup deal, it has enough color payoff to neutralize the discoloration on my lids from allergies & Careprost use.

Taffy is the perfect lipstick pairing to go along with Alabaster. It’s a sheer, cool pink that brightens up my lips just enough. It applies evenly straight from the bullet and feels lightweight and moisturizing. Like most moisturizing lipsticks, it sacrifices a little bit in the wear-time department – I find myself reapplying every 3 hours or so. Other than that there’s no fuss to it. No migrating or feathering, and it seems to wear off evenly (though honestly it’s so close to my natural color that it’s a little hard to tell). My only minor nit-pick about it is the smell; it isn’t strong but it reminds me of crayons. The Birchbox site lists the primary ingredients as lanolin & various waxes (oddly the MAKE Beauty site doesn’t have an ingredient list – I’ll list those at the bottom), so that hint of eau de crayola isn’t too surprising. On the bright side, if you hate lipsticks with strong artificial fragrances, this is a really solid option.

Overall I’m really pleased with these two products. The colors definitely aren’t ones to draw attention from everyone you pass in the street, but they’ve both become basic staples for me.

MAKE Beauty Matte Finish Eyeshadow ($25) and Silk Cream Lipstick ($25) are available at makebeauty.com. You can also get 20% off with the promo code MAKEYOURSELF through 5/31/2016.

Silk Cream Lipstick Ingredients: Lanolin Oil Polybutene Cetyl Ricinoleate Glyceryl Triacetyl Hydroxystearate Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax Glyceryl Triacetyl Ricinoleate Synthetic Wax Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax Wheat Germ Glycerides Rosa Canina Fruit Oil Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract Allantoin Retinyl Palmitate Tocopheryl Acetate Tocopherol Ascorbyl Palmitate Silica Tin Oxide Phenoxyethanol Hexylene Glycol Caprylyl Glycol Fragrance (Parfum) May Contain Mica Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) Iron Oxides (CI 77491 CI 77492 CI 77499) Red 7 Lake (CI 15850) Red 6 (CI 15850) Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140)

Matte Finish Eyeshadow Ingredients: Talc Polyethylene Zinc Stearate Tricaprylin Tocopherol Ascorbyl Palmitate Chlorphenesin Tetrasodium EDTA Potassium Sorbate May Contain (+/-) Mica Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499) Ultramarines (CI 77007) Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) Manganese Violet (CI 77742) Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI 77289) Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288) Carmine (CI 75470) Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510) Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163) Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140) Red 40 Lake (CI 16035) Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090)

This post was created in collaboration with MAKE Beauty & BrandBacker. I received the products for review.

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Review: Viseart Eyeshadow Palettes

January 10, 2017, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Review: Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Bone

≪ Previous: MAKE Beauty Review

Viseart Eyeshadow Palette Review

Well, I wanted to give these a good thorough testing before I reviewed them, and I think it’s safe to say I’ve had plenty of time – after all, I originally posted swatches of the Bridal Satin & Paris Nudes palettes a little over a year ago (yikes!). In the meantime I’ve also picked up their Theory palette in Cashmere and decided that no really, it is time. And after 12 months of using them I still have mixed feelings. Packaging Urban Decay Naked 3 for scale Viseart is a brand geared toward professional makeup artists, so it’s not a bad thing when I say the packaging for these palettes is very no frills. The 12-pan palettes come lightweight plastic palettes that don’t waste any space. Normally I like packaging that has some weight behind it – so I don’t accidentally brush it off the table, if nothing else – but of course if you’re toting a massive makeup collection on site with you, you want that stuff to be light as it can. The layout doesn’t leave much separation between the colors, but the pans are big enough to fit even my biggest eyeshadow brushes. The covers are clear so it’s easy to grab the right one. While I’m sure the flat rectangle layout is perfect for stacking in professional kit, the palettes are a little wide to easily fit in my travel bag. Between that and the color selections (more on that below), these are a strictly […]

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Review: Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Bone

January 29, 2015, 6:00 am

≫ Next: Review: Dior Diorshow Mascara

≪ Previous: Review: Viseart Eyeshadow Palettes

One day not so long ago, I decided that I desperately needed a white/nude cream base for my eyeshadows. There was a reason for it at the time but at this point I have no freaking clue why I wanted one so badly. I’ve already tried NYX Milk and the white NYX eyeshadow base without much success (crease city with both of them, no matter how little I used) so I ventured out into the online wilderness to see if there were any options from higher-end brands. And I tell you what, there’s not a lot top pick from if you want something with no shimmer in it. After much hemming and hawing, I settled on Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Bone. Packaging The cream eyeshadow comes in small glass pot that has a square base and a round lid. I think that’s sort of an odd choice aesthetically, but it does give you something to grab onto so it’s easier to open. All the pieces are sturdy so it doesn’t feel like the lid will crack if you tighten it down too much in an effort to keep it from drying out. I unintentionally did a drop test with this one and it passed with flying colors (no, literally, it flew about halfway across the room before it landed). The one thing I’m not so thrilled about is the mouth of the jar. I think the best tool for applying this shadow is a standard-issue finger […]

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Review: Dior Diorshow Mascara

July 7, 2015, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Review: Guerlain Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara

≪ Previous: Review: Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Bone

When I did my Mascara Madness shopping list, I wasn’t sure what my wildcard mascara was going to be. The whole buy two get one free thing is the perfect chance to throw caution to the wind and get something I’ve done exactly zero research on. I’m living on the edge, here. So this year the lucky winner was the reformulated Diorshow mascara. Let’s ignore the fact that I haven’t used the original formulation – I have a mini rolling around in my makeup drawers, I just haven’t gotten around to using it. So what I’m saying is I can’t really give a good comparison between the old & new formulas at the moment. Sounds like I need to break open the original formula and do that pretty soon though. Wand This wand is one of the bigger ones I’ve seen, for sure. At least, big enough so it’s a little bit of a chore maneuvering it around my small eyes. Aside from that I like it pretty well. It’s a pretty traditional shape – densely packed bristles in a spiral, narrowing toward the end. It pulls up quite a bit of product but not so much that I need to wipe the brush off, other than knocking off a tiny bit of excess from the very tip. Texture, application & wear If you’re looking for a deep, dark, black mascara, this is for you. There’s no charcoal or brown tone to it, just black. Period. It also comes […]

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Review: Guerlain Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara

August 4, 2015, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Swatch This: Black Eyeliner

≪ Previous: Review: Dior Diorshow Mascara

You know you have a problem when your mascara drawer is full. I don’t mean “has plenty of options” – I mean literally can’t put any more in there. The free travel size mascaras accumulate faster than I can use them, so I’ve been trying to work through the backlog. Observe: Guerlain Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash. (Jump to the summary) Wand To be as diplomatic as possible, there’s not a whole lot going on with this wand. It’s the standard shape. Not too thick, with a spiral of short-ish bristles that are the same length all the way down. I really just can’t make myself have any strong feelings about it one way or the other. It picks up a little too much product (even a few weeks after I opened it), so I guess I fall slightly on the “not a fan” side of the fence. Color In my opinion, the color is the best thing about this mascara. It’s approximately the same color as the charcoal briquettes that go in the grill – no hints of brown or grey here. I don’t speak French so I put “cils d’enfer” into google translate and it came back with “eyelashes hell”. So the name is fitting. Application & wear I like the effect Maxi Lash has when I first put it on. It adds a lot of thickness and volume, so it gives a heavy, sultry look. It has two issues though. Issue the first: the mudslide of mascara that comes out […]

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Swatch This: Black Eyeliner

September 15, 2015, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Ulta Artistry Kit & The Myth Of The Dupe

≪ Previous: Review: Guerlain Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara

No in-depth reviews today, no words of makeup wisdom. But in my most recent vanity reorg I realized I have possibly more black eyeliner than strictly necessary. Most of them are free mini samples so I don’t feel bad about it, but I got curious about how they compare to each other. Maybe try to pick the best one for the job instead of just grabbing one at random when I need a black liner. Novel idea, right? I’m not a huge eyeliner person anyway, but I mostly use it one of two ways: wings, or slightly smudged out. So, that’s what I tested. Here’s a quick comparison of the results: (btw – swatches above are in the same order as the first photo, and the same order listed below) Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes, Matte Black -The MUFE liner is quite black, very matte and goes on easily. The budgeproof application makes it pretty difficult to smoke out though – you can see above that I was barely able to move it. On the other hand, I haven’t seen any movement or flaking over a whole day of wear. Marc Jacobs Highliner, Blacquer – Out of all the pencil liners, Blacquer glides on and smokes out the easiest. The deep matte black is also a plus. The soft texture does run the hazard of getting an uneven line so using a light hand is a must. Bobbi Brown Long Wear Eye Pencil, Jet – Bobbi Brown’s Long Wear Eye Pencil sits […]

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Ulta Artistry Kit & The Myth Of The Dupe

November 12, 2015, 11:41 am

≫ Next: Review: YSL Couture Variation Palette #1 Nu

≪ Previous: Swatch This: Black Eyeliner

Dupes are something I’ve wanted to talk about for a while but I was having a lot of difficulty framing the topic beyond ‘yeah, they usually don’t exist’. Not that I don’t want them to – it’s just that most times I’ve heard of a product being a dupe, my hopes were dashed when I actually compared it to the real thing (with one or two exceptions). But then last week I stumbled across the Ulta Artistry Eye Shadow Kit on the interwebz, and if there’s ever been a more blatant attempt to copy another brand’s product, I’m not sure I’ve seen it. The palettes in this set are clearly supposed to be similar to the Hourglass Modernist eyeshadow palettes, so they’ve given me the perfect context for the subject. For those uninitiated into the internet makeup community: a ‘dupe’ is a product that is similar enough to replace another (usually more expensive) item. The problem you run into if you’re searching for a dupe of such-and-such thing is that rarely is the ‘dupe’ actually a really good replacement. A lot of the time the conversation stops at color, which is fine if color is really all you care about. If you throw in similar packaging (or in this case, palette layout) or ingredient lists on top of that, suddenly people are passionately proclaiming that they’re exactly the same thing and the makeup companies are trying to pull one over on us by slapping a brand label on it and […]

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Review: YSL Couture Variation Palette #1 Nu

December 9, 2015, 8:47 am

≫ Next: Swatch This: Viseart Paris Nudes & Bridal Satin

≪ Previous: Ulta Artistry Kit & The Myth Of The Dupe

It’s been a looooong time since I bought an eyeshadow palette! Like pretty much every girl in the world, I started my palette collection with the original Urban Decay Naked, and continued it with Naked 2. The hype about it convinced me that it was the be-all, end-all eyeshadow palette – hey, I was young(er) and impressionable – and accordingly, I loved it. For a while. I still think Urban Decay has a great eyeshadow formula and the Naked palettes are a great value, especially if you don’t own a lot of products. They’re not without their flaws though. I had a few colors that I hit pan on in record time (Virgin, Sin and Foxy <3). Others I loved, but struggled mightily with the fallout (Sidecar, Creep and YDK, whyyyy). Both palettes eventually fell victim to a routine makeup purge. Though now that I’m talking about them I kind of miss them and want to get them again…. Anyway, if you’re worried that I may have mis-titled this post, don’t. I tell you all that to tell you this: the YSL Couture Variation palette in #1 Nu is the neutrals palette that I wanted Naked to be for me. Packaging I was really surprised when I opened up my Sephora order, because this thing is tiiiiiiny. Lorac Pro palette for comparison. I took this with me to my conference, and it is very travel friendly, which is in its favor. Small enough to fit in my makeup bag easily, […]

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Swatch This: Viseart Paris Nudes & Bridal Satin

December 16, 2015, 6:33 am

≫ Next: MAKE Beauty Review

≪ Previous: Review: YSL Couture Variation Palette #1 Nu

No time for a full review yet since these showed up at my house literally yesterday – at 7pm too, I guess it’s that time of year for FedEx. I wanted to go ahead and put up swatches though, in case anyone’s debating a last minute grab for the Parisian Eyes set from Muse Beauty. That’s where these came from; it has two Viseart eyeshadow palettes and three Esum brushes for $128(!). Hell of a deal right there. Everyone’s been raving about these palettes so much that I needed to try them, and who doesn’t love a discount? At first I was having trouble picking between Bridal Satin, Sultry Muse and Paris Nudes because they all look gorgeous. Then Sultry Muse went out of stock and the decision was made for me – thanks, I guess? It’ll be a while before I really get to dig into them (eyeball lasering is scheduled for Saturday so I’ll be banned from eye makeup for at least a week) but based on swatching and a bit of messing around I’m already thrilled. Paris Nudes Paris Nudes is a muted color palette heavy on gold/orange, pink and purples. Not a ton of true neutrals, but all shades that would fit in well with a natural look. The swatches are of each row, the same order they are in the palette. Bridal Satin I usually steer more toward neutral eyeshadow but I’m actually a little more excited about the Bridal Satin palette because it has […]

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MAKE Beauty Review

April 13, 2016, 7:26 am

≫ Next: Review: Viseart Eyeshadow Palettes

≪ Previous: Swatch This: Viseart Paris Nudes & Bridal Satin