Category Archives: Swatches

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights (Reviews & Swatches)

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights

Alongside the BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection release, BECCA released a new addition to their highlighting range: the Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights.

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights

With the highlighter craze having no end in sight, the beauty world’s insatiable demand for more highlighters means we’re getting a lot more options to make us shine up to the heavens. And I, for one, hope this craze never ends!

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights

So far the Slimlights have been release in three shades that match their predecessors that are also available: Pearl, Champagne Pop and Topaz.

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights in Pearl, Champagne Pop and Topaz
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights in Pearl, Champagne Pop and Topaz

The Slimlights are a twist up tube highlighter that makes for quick and easy application.  I’ll be honest, the first time I tried this, I applied it straight from the tube onto my cheekbone and tried to blend it out with my finger. The shine and finish I was accustomed to with BECCA‘s highlighters was just not there and I was more than a little confused. How could my favourite highlighter brand let me down like this??

….and then I read the packaging and Sephora’s site. The Slimlights are intended to create added dimension in targeted areas – down the bridge of your nose, on your brow bone, the top of your lip and the inner corners of your eye. Suddenly this product made a heck of a lot more sense to me!

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights come with a sharpener in the base of the wand.
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights come with a sharpener in the base of the wand.

The Slimlights come with a sharpener in the base of the tube which you can pull out and use to sharpen the crease product if you so desire. Personally, I don’t see the point in that since I’m  not likely to use this as a liner.

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlight in Pearl, Champagne Pop and Topaz - swatches
BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlight in Pearl, Champagne Pop and Topaz – swatches

Swatched out, you can see the Slimlights deliver a punch of pigment as well as a lovely sheen. I was especially impressed with Topaz because the bronze-gold coming off on that shade is beautiful! It’s not quite for my skintone, but it is a STUNNING shade.

BECCA Slimlight vs Pressed - Pearl & Champagne Pop
BECCA Slimlight vs Pressed – Pearl & Champagne Pop

Since I had pressed versions of both Pearl and Champagne Pop, I wanted to compare them for my own sake. Pearl is a dead ringer in both the Slimlight and Pressed formulas, but you can clearly see that Champagne Pop is a much different shade. The Champagne Pop Slimlight is more of a pale yellow-gold (it looks a lot like Moonstone I think, although I don’t own that shade), whereas the Pressed version has far more peach in it.

Wearing Pearl on my brow bone and Champagne Pop on my inner corner.e
Wearing Pearl on my brow bone and Champagne Pop on my inner corner.

With my knowledge of how to wear these now intact, I found I preferred to wear the Slimlights on my eyes. Champagne Pop makes the most beautiful inner corner highlight. I like that the shade is slightly paler than the pressed version because I think it works well on me. I also liked adding a bit of Pearl to underside of my brow to add a hint of shine. I did find Pearl was a bit more difficult to blend out than Champagne Pop, but nothing that would deter me from using the products.

Final Thoughts

If there’s one thing I can highlight about this product is the fact that it’s meant as a targeted highlight for smaller areas of your face. I remember reading the tear sheet I had after I’d used the product the first time (on my cheek) and I was like “well aren’t you dumb, Chelle!”.

After figuring out how to properly use the Slimlights, I am pleased to report that I love what they do. I have often struggled with inner corner highlights for my eyes because I feel like when I use a pencil brush to apply powder it goes freaking everywhere, including getting directly in my eye. With the Slimlight, I was able to target the inner corner directly and blend it out with my finger. It’s a small thing to be relieved about, but it definitely made me feel better about applying product there. Not to mention that it definitely felt quick, easy and foolproof! (Sidenote, I have tried Topaz on my eye as a lid colour on a whim, and I found it creased pretty quickly. So while the product says nothing about using it on your eyes, I thought I’d just give you the heads up that I tried it and it didn’t work out for me.)

Do I recommend these cheekbone highlighting? Absolutely not  – but they’re also not meant for it! Do I recommend these for specific highlighting needs on smaller areas of your face? 100% percent. My personal shade preference? Champagne Pop – but get the one that you feel would suit you best!

The BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Slimlights can be purchased on sephora.ca for $34 CAD each or on sephora.com for $28 USD each.

The products featured in this review were sent to me for consideration.

Swatch Sunday: Urban Decay Naked 3

Urban Decay Naked 3

We’re digging into the very ends of my palette collection guys! According to my Google Spreadsheet, this is the 87th Swatch Sunday that I’ve done. I’m actually a little bit taken aback by that because it doesn’t feel like that many! (You can look back at all of them here!)

Urban Decay Naked 3
Urban Decay Naked 3

So this is my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. I remember staying up till midnight on launch day to get this palette (in December 2013!)! It’s right around this time that I realized I was a eyeshadow palette junkie.

Urban Decay Naked 3
Urban Decay Naked 3

Although I don’t reach for this palette as much as I used to, it’s quite a lovely palette. I like that even though it was a pink-themed palette, the entire right side of the palette is mostly taupes/neutrals. And that Blackheart shade? Perfection!

Urban Decay Naked 3 Swatches

Urban Decay - Strange
Urban Decay – Strange
Urban Decay - Dust
Urban Decay – Dust
Urban Decay - Burnout
Urban Decay – Burnout
Urban Decay - Limit
Urban Decay – Limit
Urban Decay - Buzz
Urban Decay – Buzz
Urban Decay - Trick
Urban Decay – Trick
Urban Decay - Nooner
Urban Decay – Nooner
Urban Decay - Liar
Urban Decay – Liar
Urban Decay - Factory
Urban Decay – Factory
Urban Decay - Mugshot
Urban Decay – Mugshot
Urban Decay - Darkside
Urban Decay – Darkside
Urban Decay - Blackheart
Urban Decay – Blackheart

The Urban Decay Naked 3 palette is a permanent product and can be purchased on sephora.ca for $66 CAD or on sephora.com for $52 USD. (Total side note, I pulled up my original online order for this palette on Sephora to double check when I bought it and the price tag was $52 CAD back in December 2013. It’s had a FOURTEEN DOLLAR PRICE HIKE in three years! What the HELL.)

Kat Von D Metal Crush (Review & Swatches)

Kat Von D Metal Crush

I am laaaate to the party with the Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows! They were really hard to get my hands on when they first launched (and some of the shades are continuously out of stock because they’re so popular!) and the price point was a bit jarring ($25 CAD per shadow!).

Kat Von D Metal Crush
Kat Von D Metal Crush

However, I was at IMATS earlier this month and they had reduced prices so I decided to pick up two shades I’d had sitting in my Sephora cart for a VERY long time! It worked out kind of well because I’d also been sent one shade from PR (although it had arrived completely shattered and I had to repress it) so I was able to try out a few more shades and speak to the formula a bit more.

Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows in Raw Power, Thunderstruck and Synergy
Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows in Raw Power, Thunderstruck and Synergy

Oddly, I didn’t pick up the more vibrant shades (for once in my life) – I was sent Synergy (the bronze metallic) and I bought Raw Power (red/mahogany) and Thunderstruck (white duochrome/pearl). Thunderstruck is the shade everyone seems to rave about and it is ALWAYS out of stock on Sephora’s web site!

Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows swatched: Raw Power, Synergy and Thunderstruck
Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows swatched: Raw Power, Synergy and Thunderstruck

Swatched, you can see just how intense the pigmentation is. All of these shadows are metallic (hence the name Metal Crush), so you’ll need to pull in some mattes to complete your look.

Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows swatched: Raw Power, Synergy and Thunderstruck
Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows swatched: Raw Power, Synergy and Thunderstruck

This is a semi-out of focus shot (and unedited) to show you the colour dimension in Thunderstruck. It can look pure white straight on, but from an angle it reflects pink and orange and occasionally some tinges of blue (it’s quite opalescent). It’s a great shadow to put all over the lid and then pair it with other colours on the outer corner because it can shape itself to fit a lot of different colours. I know a lot of people also wear it as a highlighter on their cheekbones, but I was oddly not as keen on it that way.

Eye Looks Using Metal Crush

Wearing Synergy on the lid, Raw Power on the outer half of the lid and through the crease.
Wearing Synergy on the lid, Raw Power on the outer half of the lid and through the crease.
Wearing Synergy on the lid, Raw Power on the outer half of the lid and through the crease.
Wearing Synergy on the lid, Raw Power on the outer half of the lid and through the crease.
Wearing Thunderstruck on the inner half of the lid.
Wearing Thunderstruck on the inner half of the lid.
Wearing Thunderstruck on the inner half of the lid.
Wearing Thunderstruck on the inner half of the lid.

My Thoughts

I found that the Metal Crush shadows were extremely pigmented and beautiful. The shade range is gorgeous and exciting, and I do wish I had some of the brighter shades because they look absolutely incredible. The major stickler for people may be the price point ($25 CAD/$21 USD). Sure, the pans are much larger than your average eyeshadow (you’re getting about 1 gram more than normal), but if you want to pick up a handful of shades, you’re pushing close to $100 which can be a bit of a punch to the wallet. I am INCREDIBLY happy that Kat Von D released her Metal Matte palette for the holiday season which is an amazing value since you get not only a huge variety of her Metal Crush shadows, but you also get a ton of her matte shadows. While I don’t own this palette (yet) myself, the reviews have all said that the quality is amazing and on par for the brand. The Metal Matte palette is limited edition, so make sure you pick it up while you can!

To sum up my feelings on these shadows… I like the packaging, I think the shadow quality is excellent, the colours are beautiful (they’ve got some GORGEOUS vibrant shades!) and you’re getting quite a bit of product in the pans.

The Kat Von D Metal Crush eyeshadows can be purchased on Sephora.ca for $25 CAD each or on sephora.com for $21 USD each. Or, get a bit more bang for your buck by grabbing the Metal Matte holiday palette ($74 CAD/$60 USD).

The shade "Synergy" was sent to me for consideration.

Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks (Review & Swatches of C211 & M401)

Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks

As with all of their launches, Make Up For Ever has gone all out with their lipstick line re-launch. With a range of 45 shades in matte and cream finishes, you’re sure to find a colour that works for you! (And they’ve got a single shade that they claim works for everyone!)

Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks
Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks

The new lipsticks are called Artist Rouge (the line before was called Rouge Artist, so they’ve really just flipped the words around) and all come in similar packaging: a sleek black tube with a silver rim. That silver rim actually helps you get a grip on the tube which means an easy open/close mechanism.

Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks
Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks

Once you yank the top off, the brand’s logo is embossed on the side of the brushed-metal insert wrapped around the tube. It’s a simple and yet interesting design because it keeps the brand name completely obscured until you pull that top off!

Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks in C211 and M401
Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks in C211 and M401

The two shades I got to try out were a M401 (a matte red shade that is apparently limited edition) and C211 (rose wood – this is the shade they say works for everyone). Their method of identification is fairly easy to follow: M for matte and C for a cream finish (errr… okay maybe not. I’m looking at Sephora’s web site and it says it’s not a cream finish but a satin one. I completely disagree with that though. These are definitely creams).

Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick with a very angular tip
Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick with a very angular tip

The Artist Rouge bullets are unlike any other shape I’ve ever seen. They come to a very angular-pointed tip which can help with initial application of the lipstick. Of course, as you wear the bullet down, that shape will disappear, but since the slant is quite sharp, you will have that shape for a long time.

Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick Swatches - C211 and M401
Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick Swatches – C211 and M401

 

Swatched out, you can see that C211 is definitely a cream with a glorious soft sheen to it. M401 is definitely matte, but there is an edge to it that keeps the lipstick from being completely flat matte.

Wearing Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge M401
Wearing Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge M401
Wearing Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge C211
Wearing Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge C211

My Thoughts

Before I get on to the amazingness that is this range of Artist Rouge lipsticks, I need to make one very small point in regards to this formula that some people may find helpful. As I have mentioned before, I am *exceptionally* sensitive to scented lipsticks. With Make Up For Ever‘s previous range of lipsticks I was so completely turned off by the scent of them that I found them utterly impossible to wear. With the new Artist Rouge lipsticks, the scent of them is definitely diminished in comparison to the old formula, but there is still a hint of some kind of plastic scent. My cream finish definitely smells a bit more in comparison to the matte. That isn’t to say it’s overpowering – it’s not – but I know some people are as sensitive as I am to this, so I just wanted to mention it.

With that out of the way, let’s get on to the good stuff! The Artist Rouge lipsticks pack an incredible amount of pigment punch. The colours I tried are luxurious and easy to wear. Obviously, the cream has more slip to it than the matte shade does, but they are both easy to apply and wear well. The matte doesn’t feel dehydrating on the lips (always a bonus), but it also doesn’t feel like those silicone-y matte formulas (which I do love, but I’m just saying that this feels different).

While Make Up For Ever does have your standard reds, pinks and nudes in this range, they also have some exciting random shades such as a midnight blue, a pale lavender, an electric pale blue and an aqua shade. Oh and a BLACK!

Let me know if you’ve tried the Artist Rouge line out! I’d also be curious to hear if you’re sensitive to scents in your lipsticks as well. 🙂

The Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipsticks can be purchased on sephora.ca for $27 CAD or on sephora.com for $22 USD.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.