It might sound a bit pretentious, but I think that the eyeshadow palettes are the one high-end product I really, really find worth the money. With a few exceptions, I find the drugstore palettes to be of poor quality which also explains the lack of posts about new palettes that some other bloggers rave about in their posts. When I first started to really enjoy make-up, I bought a couple of high-end palettes and learned to appreciate their quality.
With that being said, I do find that you can come upon a hidden jewel once in a while and this little Chocolate Nudes palette by Catrice is most definitely one of those. You can get it in most drugstores for about 5,5 €.
The packaging alone is where I feel a lot of money was saved on this palette – it’s a simple, small plastic black case with a (in my opinion) useless brush. There is also no mirror in sight.
The back of the palette gives you a little tutorial in how to create a glamorous smokey eye, if you would feel the want to wear something like that. It is true that there are only six shades in the palette, but the color combinations that you can play around with are practically endless.
But now, let’s talk about the good stuff – the actual shades. They are incredibly soft, almost buttery, which can cause a bit of a fallout if you’re being too aggressive, so I would suggest using good quality brushes with it.
As you are reading this, this palette is vacationing with me as the only palette I took along, since I didn’t really feel the need to bring anything else. The palette has a good white base, a highlighter, two nice crease/transition colors (in the middle) and two highly pigmented, absolutely stunning shades at the very right end. I swoon over the dark gold (almost rose-gold) shade that comes second to last in the palette – and I would not hand over this palette to anyone because of this shade alone.
If you’re on the hunt for a natural palette for a bargain price, I would definitely recommend you go out and get yourself one of these. Besides being a perfect traveling companion, this would also be a good palette for younger girls that are just starting to play around with make-up and with Christmas around the corner, there’s no time like the present to be that perfect friend/mother/aunt.
Until next time, stay beautiful!
I heart makeup Black Velvet palette
I noticed that my Blogvember was strangely lacking in make-up reviews, so I decided to switch posts around a little bit and show you the newest addition to my palette collection, the I heart makeup Black Velvet palette.
This palette was also a gift I received at the Beauty Bloggers Meetup from the online store Licila.si which you all know I am a big fan of and their regular customer. You can get the palette here for 10,95 €. And, you know, feel free to look around, they always have great offers and promotions!
Anyway, back to the palette. This is not my first I heart makeup palette and although I am a bit ashamed of the photos in the post about the last one, you can read about my I heart passion palette here.
This palette is very much one I can see myself using each day, since it contains so many different shades, but very few are so bold that I’d skip on them for my everyday look.
I believe that each palette in this world should comply to a few rules: have a couple of shimmers, a couple of mattes or satin shades, a matte black shade and a matte highlighting/base shade. If it fails to meet those rules, I find that I can’t really create a whole look with it and that automatically puts me off.
This palette does all that and more. The 16 eyeshadows offer a lot of variety and remind me a lot of my Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette in terms of versatility. View Post
I Heart Makeup – I Heart passion palette review
I received this I Heart Makeup – I Heart passion palette a while ago from Licila.si but I was sort of saving it for when I had more time and more opportunities to create a bolder look. Some photos were taken a while back, so I must say that the palette doesn’t look as nice anymore, but considering the pigmentation and the number of different shadows I could probably use this for years to come, if it doesn’t go bad on me.
The packaging is gorgeous – I have no other word for it despite the fact that I hate this particular description for just about anything. It’s a shiny black palette with a single pink heart on top. BTW, the photo is from the internet, since it’s impossible to shoot a good one without reflections.
From the inside, the palette is absolutely fabulous and offers so many different options. The shades are very different from one another, but I am sad to report that as much as this variation is true for the colors, it is also true for the pigmentation. There are a couple of shadows in here that could as well be missing and as far as I am concerned, I wouldn’t shed a single tear about it. On the other hand, we have quite a few colors that are crazy pigmented and quite unique: Dangerous Liaisons looks like something one could perhaps find a Naked 3 palette, and I also love the We are going home, Never Never and Catch your eye. By the way, I also like the names quite a lot, although many of them imply an unhappy romance.
Anyway, this palette consists of 2 highlight shadows, 5 matte shadows and a whole bunch of shimmers, 10 to be exact. Here are the swatches, first the upper row.
The first few colors are really nice and most are of reasonable pigmentation. Love is the drug is obviously a highlighter and I love the fact that it is bigger than the other shadows (as is also true for Easier Affair below) since we probably all use those highlighting shades up a bit faster than the others. The only shadow I am not too impressed about is the Rumba Down – it’s a must-have shadow for many of us, but it is not pigmented at all – this swatch took about 5 swipes up and down. I appreciate the matte black shadow though -this one is missing from many palettes I own. View Post
Wet n Wild – Comfort Zone Palette
This is one of the many reviews that were promised so long ago when I first went through the USA haul. I picked up several palettes overseas and this is one of them – the first one that I actually started to use during the trip. It was also the least expensive of all the palettes that I bought – I picked it up for about $5 at Walgreens.
The palette consists of 8 colors in earth tones. Again, it’s a palette for dummies because every shade has an inscription where it should be used – browbone, eyelid, crease and definer. Generally this means that they should/could be used in quads, but of course every other combination is also possible.
The packaging is nothing special which can be expected for this price, but it is sturdy enough to survive any travel. I also dropped it once already and it survived the experience unharmed.
The left side is the one I have used much more so far, especially since it’s a bit lighter and in my opinion somewhat more appropriate for summer.
The colors in the left side of the palette are absolutely beautiful. I was somewhat afraid of so much shimmer but everything seems to fall into place when using these colors. I don’t always use the definer (bottom) color, depending on the occasion. There is almost no fallout and all the colors are super pigmented – you only need to touch the darker ones with the brush and you’ll get more than enough product.
My only complaint regarding these four shades would be about the browbone color – I personally find this shade of beige it a bit too yellow and would prefer it to be a bit whiter. Still, the left side is getting a lot of use. The color I love the most is the eyelid color – a nice light copper tone.
On the right side, the colors are a bit darker and haven’t gotten that much use yet – these shades seem more appropriate for autumn and winter.
What really fascinates me with these shades is the undertones – you don’t really see them when looking at the palette, but when you swatch it you’re in for a surprise. Just check out the far right swatch (the definer) – while it looks kind of funny brownish-blue in the palette, it gives off a dark red-brown color which is perfect for some added definition.
The color I like the least in this right column is the eyelid – it is much lighter than it seems and also probably the least pigmented from all the colors in the palette. Still, it’s pigmented enough that you can layer it for a stronger look.
Generally, this is one of the best palettes that I’ve seen so far. For such a small amount of money, it’s an absolute bargain. I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the 8-color palettes from Wet n Wild.
Do you own this or any similar palettes? I would love to know your opinion!
Until next time, stay beautiful.
Maybelline The Nudes Palette
Although I spent the weekend working on a lovely post, my camera is still acting up and the photos are not good enough to be allowed into the world. Instead, I opted for a review of the new palette by Maybelline – The Nudes Palette.
I purchased this in the States a couple of months back and haven’t used it much until my last vacation. It’s the perfect travel size and offers many different shades to create different looks. The back of the palette also includes a possibility of combinations in which to use the shadows (in duos, trios or quads, which is a nice touch for such lame make-up users like me). All of these are the reasons why I thought I don’t really need to bring anything else as far as eyeshadows go to my holiday. Was I sorry? Read on…
So basically the palette includes a mix of matte, shimmer and velvety/satin colors.
The upper row is filled with a bunch of lighter shades and two darker ones – the fourth and last shade. These are also the only colors that are a bit more pigmented, while only the fourth shade (from the left in the upper photo, 3rd from top in bottom photo) could claim the prize for being highly pigmented.
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| Upper row – swatches from bottom to top as from left to right in the palette |
If I compare swatching these shadows with the swatches I did for the Chocolate Bar palette a couple of days back, I can easily say that there is no real comparison – I had to pull 3-4 times on each shadow to get a normal swatch. The loser in the upper row in my opinion is the 3rd color from the left (which kind of seems light pink) – I actually made a dent in the palette while trying to get a decent swatch out of it.
I was also disappointment with the last (very dark/black) shade in the upper row. I though it will be the perfect crease color for a neutral look, but it’s far less pigmented as it seems.
As for the row below, things are a bit better but not by much. I really like the middle two colors (shimmery gold and shimmery brown), while the rest are nothing to write home – or to you – about.
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| Bottom row – swatches from left to right as in the palette |
I was especially disappointed with the last shade – I was happy to have a really dark black shadow for the smoky eye, but it was a massive fail as you can see from the swatch. Also not really worth mentioning is the light shimmery color next to the black – it is almost identical to the first shade in the upper row.
If we take a look at the palette as a whole, I can say I was very disappointed. As mentioned, only two of the shades are of decent pigmentation and when swatched the colors are so similar that the palette could easily only be a 6-pan palette instead of the 12 colors. I was also not impressed with the way some of the shades were difficult to blend out – and don’t even get me started on what the outcome was when I used it without eyeshadow primer… 🙁
Although being very compact and therefore useful for everyday make-up purse or travel, I can easily say that I think this was a waste of money, even though it only cost about $10. I will probably keep this palette in my bag in case I need to correct any make-up, but I doubt it will get some serious use.
What are your thoughts on this palette? Do you have it? Use it? Love it or hate it?
Until next time, stay beautiful.