A very generous former co-worker of mine recently handed the this palette off to me since it wasn’t working for her. I was pretty excited since the Kat Von DShade + Light Eye palette had been on my radar for a while but, as with many things, I hadn’t picked it up!
Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye
Wearing a full array of mattes eyeshadows ranging from neutral, cool and warm so there’s something for everyone.
Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye
Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Swatches
Kat Von D – LaetusKat Von D – SamaelKat Von D – SolasKat Von D – LuciusKat Von D – LazarusKat Von D – SaleosKat Von D – ShaxKat Von D – LiberatusKat Von D – LudwinKat Von D – SuccubusKat Von D – SytryKat Von D – Latinus
Clinique has got a good thing going on with their gorgeously embossed powder “Pop” line! When the blushes came out a few years ago, everyone was in total awe. I mean, how could you not fall in love with the beautiful clear acrylic containers alongside the beautifully embossed daisy imprint? I mean, the whole thing is basically a makeup lover’s dream!
Clinique Lid Pops
More recently, they’ve extended that line up with their Lid Pop eyeshadows (and really, who didn’t see that one coming??). These eyeshadows contain as absolutely astounding 6 grams (well, almost! They have 5.95 grams each.) of product. When you compare them to a normal eyeshadow pan which usually contains about 1.3-1.5g, you realize just how much product you’re actually getting in one of these!
Clinique Lid Pops
Clinique describes these eyeshadows as “a modern wash of silky, long-wearing eye shadow”. I do feel they pack more colour punch than a “sheer wash”, but there is some variety in intensity between all four shades I tried.
Clinique Lid Pop in Willow Pop
Easily the most unique shade out of the whole bunch, Willow Pop, is a gorgeous burnt gold with some kind of green shading in there. I really don’t think I have any other colour like it in my entire makeup collection!
Clinique Lid Pop in Cream Pop
Although this is called Cream Pop, there is a soft hint of orange to the shadow. Maybe a bit champagne?
Clinique Lid Pop in Petal Pop
Petal Pop is the soft pink of the lot. It’s predominantly a baby pink, but it does have soft gold reflects in it.
Clinique Lid Pop in Grape Pop
The last shade I have is Grape Pop, a beautiful purple that fits the “colourful, but not too colourful” eyeshadow look that most people are looking for!
Wearing Willow and Cream
In the shot above, I’m wearing Willow Pop all over the lid with Cream Pop in the inner corner. Willow Pop is seriously such a unique shade. I love how it looks green, gold and bronze on my lid! Cream Pop was a lovely accent colour to the whole look and I applied it to the inner corner of my eye.
Wearing Petal and Grape
Above, I’m wearing Petal Pop all over the lid with Grape Pop through the outer corner and crease. I was able to build Grape Pop up, but it wasn’t as dark as I expected it to be right off the bat.
Final Thoughts
The CliniqueLid Pops breathe a breath of fresh air into Clinique‘s lineup of eyeshadows. They’re the perfect complement to the Cheek Pops and I’m so glad they decided to keep going with the “Pop” idea. The eyeshadows are soft to the touch and easy to work with, although some may need more building up than others. You will find that the daisy pattern will start to wear off pretty quickly once you start dipping into the pans regularly. Of the four I tried, Willow Pop was easily my favourite just because it’s so unlike anything else I’ve ever owned.
Although the eyeshadow price tag is a bit up there in price point, pound for pound, these are infinitely cheaper just because you’re getting so much product in each compact. (This is less important for makeup obsessors since we’re unlikely to go through a full eyeshadow any time soon, but rather this is a great point of interest for people who don’t tend to wear a ton of eyeshadow and instead stick to the basics – this eyeshadow, if used daily, will last you an INCREDIBLY long time!). My recommendation? Get a few shades you know you’ll love!
The hype for the Too FacedSweet Peach palette has been absolutely unreal!
Too Faced Sweet Peach palette
This launch hasn’t been as smooth as I think they had hoped for (this has been the craziest Too Faced launch to date) as I have never seen the demand so high for one of their palettes! The TooFaced.com site sold out FAST and indicated they wouldn’t restock. Then Ulta sold out. Then Sephora sold out and had rolling restocks. Canada got it the day after the US online release and at something like 3 am… then it sold out by 6 am. Anyway, you get the idea… there’s a LOT of people after this palette! I was personally going to wait till it went in stores, but I started panicking over the idea of not getting my hands on it (hyyyyype) that I ended up ordering it during one of the restocks on the Canadian site!
Too Faced Sweet Peach palette
Although it is peach-centric, there’s a lot of purple shades in here which held round it out! And yes, it really does smell like peaches – but more like the gummy candy kind. Mmmmmm!
Too Faced Sweet Peach Swatches
Too Faced – White PeachToo Faced – NectarToo Faced – Peaches ‘n CreamToo Faced – LusciousToo Faced – CobblerToo Faced – GeorgiaToo Faced – Just PeachyToo Faced – Candied PeachToo Faced – CaramelizedToo Faced – Bless Her HeartToo Faced – BelliniToo Faced – PureeToo Faced – TemptingToo Faced – Peach PitToo Faced – Summer YumToo Faced – Charmed, I’m SureToo Faced – DelectableToo Faced – Talk Derby To Me
The Too FacedSweet Peach palette is limited edition, so get it while you can! It will be available in stores shortly (I believe April 7th for Ulta and April 15th for Sephora). Otherwise, snatch it online when you see it come back: it’s $59 CAD at sephora.ca or $49 USD on sephora.com. (And it’s back in stock now!)
MAC collections are always coming at us fast and furious and this one takes us swiftly into the future with “Future MAC”!
MAC Future MAC
For a full colour story on this launch, please see Swatch and Review’s roundup. I only have a few pieces from this collection but there’s a LOT more where this came from!
MAC Future MAC – Otherearthly Mineralize Skinfinish
Easily the most exciting piece from this collection was the Otherearthly Mineralize Skinfinish (MSF, for short). Shaped unlike any other MSF to date, this one features slivers of bronze, pink and silver. I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of this since the silver and the bronze tones aren’t something I’d ever think to pair together.
MAC Future MAC – Otherearthly swatches
But um… I’m in awe. The colours each standout so strongly as individual shades that I was able to use them as eyeshadows as well (more on that below), and yet, swirled together they create a beautiful rose-gold shimmer. If you’re worried it’s too strong of a colour for fair skin, don’t be! On my cheeks, the mixed colour ended up coming off as a very strong highlighter while only adding a hint of colour (I wore it as both a blush and a highlighter).
MAC Future MAC Mineralize Lipstick in Ionized
The next most intriguing item to me was this luminous grey lipstick.
MAC Future MAC Mineralize Lipstick in Ionized swatch
The texture on Ionized is very slippy and creamy. It feels quite similar to their Cremesheen finish.
MAC Future MAC Mineralize Lipstick in Ionized
I *love* the colour. It’s actually flattering, which is not something one can usually say of a grey lipstick. I will point out though that Ionized would best be used with some kind of similarly-coloured base. I lightly covered my lips with foundation before I applied this, but it’s still not enough to keep the pink of my lips from poking through. The texture was lovely though and very comfortable to wear.
MAC Future MAC Mineralize Glasses in The Zone & Telegenius
Next up are the two Mineralize Glasses.
MAC Future MAC Mineralize Glasses in Telegenius & The Zone swatches
Both shades contain a hint of sparkle, but the colour is one of those “barely there” looks on the lips. I do wish the stopper inside had a little less grip on the wand though as I’d like for more product to actually pull out of the tube when I go to apply it! The Zone was the most unique between the two shades because it has a been of a browny-gold shimmer in it.
Wearing TelegeniusWearing The ZoneMAC Future MAC Studio Eye Gloss in Pearl Varnish
The last item I have is the Studio Eye gloss in Pearl Varnish. I do NOT understand these things. They have an incredibly tacky consistency – to the point where it’s actually painful to apply it to your lid because it’ll cause the folds to stick together every single time you blink your eyes.
MAC Future MAC Studio Eye Gloss in Pearl Varnish swatch
The swatch, however, is pretty darn gorgeous (I’m amazed I managed to capture the shimmer to be honest). It’s a white base with pink and teal sparkles throughout. While beautiful in a swatch, it’s not something that shows up too much on the cheeks. Behold:
MAC Future MAC Pearl Varnish applied to my cheeks
I tapped Pearl Varnish onto the tops of my cheekbones so I could at least demonstrate it somewhere, but it didn’t look much more than “glossy”.
MAC Future MAC Makeup Look
The theme with this collection was “Charge ahead into the next generation of hyper-luminous“. The imagery wasn’t especially dark, so I wanted to create something luminous while still sticking to that grey futuristic vibe that the collection gives off. I also wanted to make sure I used he bronzes and roses that the collection put out so I used the MSF in as many ways as possible. This makeup tutorial will be live on my YouTube channel tomorrowhere’s the video!, but for now please enjoy pictures!
MAC Future MAC – makeup lookMAC Future MAC – makeup lookMAC Future MAC – makeup look
Wearing Otherearthly MSF on my cheeks and eyes and Ionized lipstick.
MAC Future MAC – makeup look – eye open
I used the Otherearthly MSF on my eyes to create the makeup look. (Eyeliner is MAC‘s Phone Number which is not included in this launch but is part of the permanent lineup.)
MAC Future MAC – makeup look – eye closed
My Picks?
The Otherearthly MSF needs to be on everyone’s list because it’s so freaking stunning. I’m also equally impressed with the Ionized lipstick. If that’s a shade that’s up your alley, look into it. I was impressed with just how wearable and beautiful it looked on me. Not something I ever expected out of a grey lipstick!
Let me know what you’ll be picking up from this collection! I’m eyeballing the mineralize blushes right now….
MAC Cosmetics Future MAC launches in North America online on March 31st, and in stores on April 7th. Get them online at nordstrom.com too!
The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.
Oh BECCA. You put out so many gorgeous products, how am I supposed to resist you?
BECCA Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflés
BECCA‘s Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflés aren’t anything new really. They’ve been around since 2014 and yet people still talk about them because they’re just so darn pretty.
BECCA Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflés in Fig/Opal, Lychee/Opal and Guava/Moonstone
The Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflés are a mix of coloured pigment amid their signature highlighting colours (Opal, Moonstone, etc.). The Shimmer Soufflé formula is intended to brighten your cheeks while also adding colour (and side note, I totally thought they were eyeshadows too, but they are not billed as such!).
These are one of the easiest blushes to wear because they’re so darn easy to blend out. The pigments swirl together to create an illuminated blush that you can either apply with a brush for a soft effect, or with your fingers for even more contrast. (I prefer finger application!)
The texture amongst all three was oddly different, but I’m wondering if I got a few shades where the lid hadn’t been closed tightly. One of the three was incredibly emollient: it was spongy and squishy to the touch. Kind of gelatinous! Another one was so soft and supple, but nowhere near as squishy. And the last one… well it was kinda rock-like. I could apply it to my cheeks, but it was very clear that most of the softening ingredients had been exposed to too much air. All that to say – make SURE you close your containers tightly!
BECCA Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflé in Fig/Opal
Fig/Opal is the rose gold shade that I’m sure everyone is swooning over. It has a deep rose base with a ton of golden sheen.
BECCA Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflé in Lychee/Opal
Lychee/Opal is a fun one. It looks super neon pink in the pot (mixed with gold), but when you blend the two shades together, the colour turns quite a soft pink with a soft golden sheen.
BECCA Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflé in Guava/Moonstone
My favourite of the bunch is Guava/Moonstone – a coral base with golden sheen.
BECCA Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflés on my face
Above is a side-by-side comparison of all three shades. The only thing I’m wearing in the shots above is each blush (no foundation, no concealer, no bronzer, etc.).
Final Thoughts
BECCA‘s Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflés are the kind of product you want to wear all summer long. They’re easy to wear and apply and they have a beautiful sheen to give you that sunkissed healthy look. And even moreso, because of the marbling in the product, they’re also stunners to look at! In addition, the packaging is compact – just make sure you seal them tight after every use.
If you’re looking for something easy going for the cheeks for the warmer months, I don’t think you can go wrong with these. The colours are quite subtle, which makes them a perfect match for many eye looks. I’m already eyeballing these as something to bring on me with vacation just because they’re sooo easy to use.
