Showing posts with label palettes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label palettes. Show all posts

Thursday, 28 April 2016

SEVENTEEN Easy on the Eye Palettes in Birthday Suit and The Big Smoke



Birthday Suit
Birthday Suit
Birthday Suit - eyeshadows
Birthday Suit - eyeshadows
Birthday Suit - metallic creams
The Big Smoke
The Big Smoke
The Big Smoke - eyeshadows
The Big Smoke - eyeshadows
The Big Smoke - metallic creams
The Big Smoke - on my eyes
Whew, that was a lot of photos.  And indeed, SEVENTEEN's Easy on the Eye palettes are a whole lot of palette for a mere £7.99 a pop.  There are two variations - Birthday Suit, a selection of soft nudes, and The Big Smoke, made up of smoky shades with a bent towards blue/purple tones.

Each palette contains eight eyeshadows in a mix of matte, pearl and shimmer finishes; three metallic creams, and one eye primer.  The primer is good but not quite as hardcore as UD's Primer Potion or Too Faced's Shadow Insurance, and if your lids aren't too oily you might find you can get by with it.  For me, I needed a stronger primer to get the colours to stick without creasing.

The shadows are, as you can see in the swatches, a bit of a mix when it comes to pigmentation - the mattes are a little chalky and sheer, with the shimmer finish shadows being the most pigmented.  Despite this, they're all easily layered, so you can build up the colour - something that's generally a good idea with a smoky eye to avoid looking like you've got a black eye rather than an artfully blended smoky one.  The surprise standout for me was the metallic creams - they're densely pigmented, with a ton of shimmer which gives them a beautifully metallic finish which looks a lot more expensive than the product actually is.  Granted, they're a little too creamy to work all over the eye, but dabbed into the inner corners, or onto the centre of the lid, or even applied sheerly onto the cheekbones, they do a great job of catching the light and adding a touch of colour.

All in all then, a reasonably priced palette with reasonably good quality eyeshadows inside to match - you'll need to work a bit to get the most out of them, but for the teeny tiny price, I can't complain!

Disclosure:  PR samples


This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Wednesday, 17 February 2016

BUY THIS NOW: GOSH 9 Shades... Cool in Copenhagen Mattes








You guys, this palette is amazing.  AMAZING.  You should go buy one, right now.  Here's the link.  Go buy it.

OK, now I can tell you why it's so damn good.  Firstly, it's an all-matte palette, something which is a bit unusual on the high street, particularly in a palette with 9 shades of eyeshadow.  This is because matte eyeshadow is harder to do well cheaply compared to sparkly or shimmery eyeshadow - mica is a key component of high street eyeshadow because it's sparkly, abundantly cheap, and easy to colour.  Matte shades are really hard to pull off cheaply without ending up with a slightly chalky, low pigment finish.  With this palette, GOSH have pulled off matte finish shadows which are medium pigment, blendable, not at all chalky, and easily layerable for an intense finish.

Secondly, not only is it a matte palette, but it's a matte palette of grey toned neutrals which are SO wearable, without leaning brown.  Which is interesting.  More interesting than the plethora of brown based neutral palettes we've been bombarded with since someone at Urban Decay made the connection between neutral and Naked.  Oh, and it goes really really well with a red or berry lip, which you know I just love.

Thirdly, it's cheap.  Cheap!  Just £10.99 for nine shades of matte, grey-toned neutral eyeshadow, in a no-nonsense plastic palette with a decent sized mirror.  Can't go wrong, eh?

So, now you've heard why this is probably my favourite eyeshadow palette in quite some time, go buy it.  Here's the link again.  And tell me what you think.  I'm off to buy a couple of backups...

Disclosure:  PR sample

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Thursday, 11 February 2016

Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Blush Palette






Cherry, Easy, Angel
Lo-fi, Hush, OC

I'm not quite sure what Urban Decay are doing with the launch of this collection - the eyeshadow palette has been available for a while now, but the blush palette, the lipsticks and the brow box have only just been released.   Still, the blush palette is definitely worth waiting for - as are the lipsticks, but we'll talk about those later.

The Gwen Stefani blush palette, £35, contains six shades of pigmented blush, all of which are extremely well suited to pale, cool toned skin.  Packaging wise, it follows a similar white-and-gold theme to the eyeshadow palette, although the little coin shaped accents in the lid are white, not black.  It's heavy, made of sturdy plastic, with a hinged lid and a good large mirror - I like the 'Magic's in the Makeup' accent in the corner of the lid, which is the same on the eyeshadow palette, and references an old No Doubt song.

Urban Decay say the palette contains everything you need for Gwen-like bronzing, blush and highlighting, and indeed, there's a matte bronzer, Lo-Fi, in there - it's pretty light, and on deeper skintones wouldn't really provide much bronzing action.  Highlighter wise, though, I'm less convinced - Hush is a peachy, coppery blush which has enough shimmer to be a bit of a highligher, and Angel could definitely qualify if you like your highlighters to be very golden, but both are pigmented blushers more than they are highlighters, which usually bring just a bit of glow.

Cherry brings a pop of clean, Barbie pink with shimmer, and Easy, which is easily my favourite, has a glorious berry rose tone combined has a good shot of sparkle.  OC is a bit unusual - it's a sunny peach blush with a slight pink duochrome to it, although you really need to pack on the colour to spot it on the skin.

Overall, then, this palette is lovely, particularly if you're pale and cool toned.  For my tastes, though, it's a little too sparkly, and a little too golden, but if you like your cheeks glowing, bronzed and sunny, this could well be a great blush palette for you.

Disclosure:  PR sample

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Monday, 4 January 2016

NARSissist Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette



Top row: Europa, Himalia, Ursa Major, Subra
Bottom row: Andromeda, Lysithea, Glove, Sycorax
Europa, Himalia, Ursa Major, Subra
Andromeda, Lysithea, Glove, Sycorax

I tried out one of NARS' Dual Intensity eyeshadows in Callisto a while ago and really liked the buttery soft texture, the pigmentation, and the insanely metallic finish.  When ASOS offered 20% off the NARSissit palette, containing eight shades of Dual Intensity eyeshadow, I couldn't resist.

The palette is no disappointment - the packaging is sleek, black and shiny, very typical NARS.  The colour selection within the palette is surprisingly wearable given how bold and jewel-like they look in the pan.  Swatched, bright jewel tones like Glove (sapphire blue) and Subra (described as black orchid) are deeper, richer, with a glint of jewel-toned colour flash, but less intense colour off the bat.

My favourite shades are Lysithea, described as a sharkskin grey; Himalia, shimmering topaz; and Subra, black orchid.  They all look stunning on their own, and just as stunning blended together.  I particularly like the slightly metallic sheen to Sycorax - it makes for a smudgy liner with lots of depth, or a very dimensional outer v colour.

Overall, then, I'm very glad I bought this palette - I paid £38 for it, which is a lot, but not that much compared than a single Dual Intensity eyeshadow, which costs £21.  Even at a full retail price of £45, this palette is still a more reasonably priced way to build a collection of Dual Intensity eyeshadows if you know you like them.  You can find it at Selfridges, as ASOS are unsurprisingly out of stock.

Disclosure:  Bought by me.

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Tuesday, 17 November 2015

BUY THIS NOW: UD x Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette







Blonde, Bathwater, Skimp, Steady, Punk

Baby, Anaheim, Stark, Zone, Serious

Pop, Harajuku, Danger, 1987, Blackout

Not even one week has passed, and I'm already in love with another UD eyeshadow palette.  Last week, it was Vice 4, and this week, it's the UD x Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette, a collaboration which just feels right - Gwen Stefani is a makeup icon for many, and I for one have always admired her style.  The sturdy, chunky plastic palette is a simple yet striking affair, all gold and monochrome, with a lovely big mirror accented with a very relevant No Doubt song name - The Magic's In The Makeup.

The palette comes with four samples of the Gwen Stefani lipstick collection - which seems to be coming later than the eyeshadow palette, because I can find no information on it whatsoever.  Still, that dot of 714 looks pretty striking, as does the richness of Rock Steady.  I can only imagine that the lipstick range will incorporate plenty of rich, striking reds - right up my street.

One of the things I love about this palette is the number of matte shades included in it.  Five out of the fifteen shades are matte, ranging from Stark, a peachy pink matte, to Blackout, the ever-present matte black shade UD include in most of their palettes.  Anaheim, a cool taupe brown; Zone, a basic medium brown; and Punk, a deep reddish brown complete the set - perfect for a matte contoured eye.  Serious, a smoky brown-toned grey, isn't listed as a matte shade - it's apparently got iridescent floating pearl, whatever that means - but it looks like a matte to me, so I'm counting it as a bonus sixth matte shade.

Alongside the matte-ness is the usual UD selection of satin, metallic, and glittery shades.  The highlights for me are Steady, a pretty rose gold metallic; Skimp, a pale champagne satin; and Danger, a deep sapphire blue which, alongside Harajuku's clean, cool pink, provides a pop of colour in an otherwise very neutral palette.

As you'd expect from UD, every shade is buttery soft and super blendable, as well as carrying a good amount of pigment.  Whilst you probably don't need this palette if you're a die hard UD fan - there are many shades which are close to others in the range, regardless of what UD say about most being unique - you'll quite probably want it.  And why not?  It's a well curated palette of very usable nude shades, with a few pops of colour thrown in for good measure.  Find it from the 22nd November on the Urban Decay website, where it costs £40.

Disclosure:  PR sample

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Thursday, 12 November 2015

BUY THIS NOW: Urban Decay Vice 4







Bones, Grip, Deadbeat, Beat Down, Pandemonium

Framed, Fast-Ball, 1985, Underhand, Harlot

Discreet, Grasshopper, C-Note, Arctic, Robbery

Bitter, Flame, Low, Crowbar, Delete
Urban Decay's Christmas offering this year is the pretty epic Vice 4 palette, which is modelled on the shades you'll find in an oil slick, and contains twenty shadows in a variety of shades and finishes.  The packaging is part gorgeous, part pointless - pointless because the palette itself is in a fabric sleeve, then in a box, and the fabric sleeve isn't really that necessary; and gorgeous because the palette itself is beautiful, all jewel tones, interesting angles, and matte black background.  I spent just as long staring at the palette as I did the eyeshadows inside when it first arrived.

The shadows are UD's usual mix of gloriously blendable shades which lean towards metallic and glittery finishes over mattes.  The palette is very well laid out - matching colours along either the row or the column will inspire you, even if the sheer number of shades is a bit intimidating to start.  It also treads the line between neutrals, brights and darks very well - there's a mix of everything, and nothing is too dark, too bright, or too dull.

I'd love to see UD do a completely matte palette one day, because the mattes are gorgeous - Bitter, a true matte reddish brown, is insanely pigmented, and Framed, a pale pink-champagne colour, blends matte and satin to beautiful effect.  Both are gloriously buttery, something you don't often find in a matte texture.

Outside of the mattes, there are some real standout metallic and glitter shades, particularly on the neutral or deep'n'smoky side.  Pandemonium is a beautiful deep plum with a metallic finish, Robbery is a metallic taupe of the kind that makes me automatically weak at the knees, and Flame has the most unusual pink and gold microglitter on top of an orange base which really, really pops.

On the weaker side, Grip is a matte taupe with microglitter which is a bit wishy washy - neither flat enough for a contoured eye or to use as a base, nor sparkly enough to really stand alone.  Low, a brown matte with microglitter, is somewhat similar - UD could do with amping up these matte-with-microglitter shades to be a bit more POW.

At £43, Vice 4 is expensive - but you are getting 20 shadows, working out at just over £2 each, not even including the very nice double ended brush, bumper sized mirror, and beautiful palette.  Any makeup lover would be thrilled to get this as a gift, although given that it's out now, I imagine many makeup lovers will own it well before Christmas!  Find it now at the Urban Decay website.

Disclosure:  PR sample

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.
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