Tag Archives: Sephora

2015 Gift Guide: Eyeshadow Palettes

Makeup, , , , ,

Gift Guide: Eyeshadow Palettes

Having bought more eyeshadow palettes this past year than I ever even previously owned, I feel like I’m in decent shape to provide recommendations for a gift guide. The focus of this post will be on palettes that I’ve tried, price points, and why I think they’d be a good gift. Since eyeshadow palettes are more of a big ticket item, I personally would consider these as someone’s “main present” rather than a stocking stuffer. Keep that in mind when you’re looking at the prices!

Here are my recommendations:

Kat Von D - Mi Vida Loca Remix
Kat Von D – Mi Vida Loca Remix

Brand: Kat Von D
Palette: Mi Vida Loca Remix
Price: $71 CAD

Let’s start this off with an absolute bombshell of a palette. If you decide you would like to get this (for yourself or otherwise), you’re going to have to get your butt to a Sephora store asap because this has been sold out for a few weeks online (the problem with releasing holiday palettes in September!!!).

Kat Von D - Mi Vida Loca Remix
Kat Von D – Mi Vida Loca Remix

This would be my absolute number one recommendation for an eyeshadow palette present. While the rainbow wheel aspect of it is undeniable and undoubtedly makes this one of the most visually appealing palettes I own, what makes this stand out even more is that inner ring of neutral shadows. This is perfect for colour lovers who need blending and deepening shades alongside their brights. While there are a few misses in pigmentation in the shades (maybe two shades), the overall quality of the Mi Vida Loca Remix palette is off the charts. If you can get your hands on it, you absolutely need to purchase it.

Further reading:

Too Faced Chocolate Bars
Too Faced Chocolate Bars

Brand: Too Faced
Palette: Chocolate Bar or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar
Price: $59 CAD each

Too Faced Chocolate Bars (original on top, Semi-Sweet on the bottom)
Too Faced Chocolate Bars (original on top, Semi-Sweet on the bottom)

While the Urban Decay Naked palettes may own most peoples’ hearts, my true love lies amongst the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palettes. I’ve become obsessed with the scent of chocolate that wafts up from these palettes as soon as I open them. The shade selection is neutral enough for most people to love them, but there are pops of colour to make things interesting. My personal preference is the Semi-Sweet palette, but you can’t go wrong with either of them. The pigmentation and blendability are excellent in both palettes and either one would make lovely gifts.

Further reading:

Laura Mercier Eye Art Artist's Palette
Laura Mercier Eye Art Artist’s Palette

Brand: Laura Mercier
Palette: Eye Art Artist’s Palette
Price: $70 CAD

This palette was originally a holiday 2013 exclusive, but they wisely decided to bring it back within the last year. Although the outer packaging is slightly different now (I have the 2013 version), the shades inside are still the same. I have nothing bad to say about this palette – Laura Mercier has some of the smoothest, easiest to play with shadows I have ever encountered. These are an absolute pleasure to apply to my eyelids and I would recommend this palette to every single person out there! Personally, I consider Laura Mercier a bit more of a “grown up” brand since their average price point is very, very steep (a single eyeshadow is $29 CAD!), but that further reinforces that this palette is a great value.

Sephora Wonderful Dreams
Sephora Wonderful Dreams

Brand: Sephora
Palette: Wonderful Dreams
Price: $13 CAD

Sephora Wonderful Dreams
Sephora Wonderful Dreams

My first look at Sephora’s shadows have been a good one with this little palette. The Wonderful Dreams 8-pan palette slides out to reveal four matte and four shimmery shades. (In particular, the silver is to freaking die for!) I cannot find it on Sephora Canada’s site anymore, but I’ve seen it in stores.  This is a perfect travel palette since it’ll cover all your neutral basics, and it would also make a great stocking stuffer since the price is quite low!

Makeup Geek shadows
Makeup Geek shadows

Brand: Makeup Geek
Palette: N/A
Price: Regular shadows are $6 USD, foiled shadows are $9.99 USD each

I would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention Makeup Geek somewhere in this post! While this isn’t a pre-made palette, you can purchase the shades you desire and create your own perfect gifting palette. Makeup Geek is unbeatable in terms of quality and price tag – they could easily charge double that price and still be considered one of the best shadows on the market. For a holiday-themed palette, I chose the shades Vanilla Bean, Shimma Shimma, Grandstand, Creme Brulee, Cocoa Bear, Bitten, Magic Act, Jester and Flamethrower.

Further reading:

Smashbox Double Exposure
Smashbox Double Exposure

Brand: Smashbox
Palette: Double Exposure
Price: $45 CAD

The Double Exposure palette came out of nowhere in the last few months and smacked me upside the head. I could not believe the quality of the shadows in this palette! I’m a relative newbie to Smashbox so I don’t have a ton of exposure to most of their products, but this one completely blew me out of the water. Pigmentation and bendability are incredible, and there’s enough variety of colour in this palette to make it a liiiittle bit different from all the other neutral palettes out there.

Further reading:

That’s it for this makeup palette gift guide! If you were looking for what to give a friend or family member, I hope this was of some use to you. 🙂

Certain palettes in this review were sent to me for consideration (Sephora - Wonderful Dreams & Smashbox Double Exposure).

Swatch Sunday: Sephora Wonderful Dreams

Makeup, Swatches

Sephora Wonderful Dreams palette

An often overlooked brand, the Sephora house brand (also called Sephora) regularly puts out new palettes every few seasons. Holiday 2015 was no different, and they released the Wonderful Dreams palette – an 8-pan, travel friendly palette.

Sephora Wonderful Dreams
Sephora Wonderful Dreams

The palette contains four mattes and four shimmers. This is an absolute god-send in a palette this small as I often feel mattes are overlooked far too frequently. (For example, even the legendary Urban Decay Naked palettes only have two matte shades in a 12-pan palette!)

Sephora Wonderful Dreams
Sephora Wonderful Dreams

Sephora Wonderful Dreams  Swatches

Sephora - Chantilly Lace
Sephora – Chantilly Lace
Sephora - Marron glace
Sephora – Marron glace
Sephora - Crystal ball
Sephora – Crystal ball
Sephora - Midnight swim
Sephora – Midnight swim
Sephora - Soft cookie
Sephora – Soft cookie
Sephora - Toasted almond
Sephora – Toasted almond
Sephora - Pretty sunrise
Sephora – Pretty sunrise
Sephora - Hot cocoa
Sephora – Hot cocoa
The product featured in this post was provided by PR for consideration.

What I Bought This Month – July 2015 Haul

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Another month, another roundup of beauty goodies. I have to say, I’ve been spending a lot less, but my makeup intake has been insane because the CBB keeps doing swap after swap after swap and I keep walking away with more and more products to try out!

Becca - Champagne Pop ($46 CAD)
Becca – Champagne Pop ($46 CAD)

Let’s start with the one item I did purchase this past month: Becca‘s collaboration with Jaclyn Hill resulted in Champagne Pop. Quite possibly the most beautiful highlighting shade I own. (Full review here.) This was expensive – there’s no doubt about that. But as a regular viewer of Jaclyn Hill’s videos I wanted to support her latest creation since I’d also been meaning to try out Becca‘s stuff too!

Estee Lauder - Courreges - Black Silver (free - gift)
Estee Lauder – Courreges – Black Silver (free – gift)

My first Estee Lauder product, I think. This was from a limited edition collection called Courreges a few months ago. The shade is Black Silver and there’s a LOT of it in the that pot!

The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes in Pink Poppy (free - gift)
The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes in Pink Poppy (free – gift)

A quad cast off from a friend. This is The Body Shop‘s Shimmer Cubes in Pink Poppy. They’re in truly bizarre packaging. There’s the outer layer that holds all four of them, and then each individual shade is in its’ OWN little plastic tin with a cap. Super weird.

The texture is a bit powdery, but the colours are lovely. I didn’t take any decent photos of my makeup with it on, but I did snag a shot for Instagram while wearing them:

Quite pretty!

Avon - Anew Vitale (free - swap)
Avon – Anew Vitale (free – swap)

A brand new tube of Avon‘s Anew Vitale Day Lotion. I’ve had no experience with it, but as someone without sensitive skin, I’m always up for free skincare!

Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue - Escape to Panarea (free - swap)
Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue – Escape to Panarea (free – swap)

I got this at the swap because it seems like nobody wanted it! I’ve been a fan D&G‘s Light Blue for a while… but as it turns out, I’m not so much of a fan of this version called Escape to Panarea. Ah well.

Fantasy Makers - Feather Fetish - Hypnotise
Fantasy Makers – Feather Fetish – Hypnotise

Okay yeah. I have no idea when or where I’ll wear these – maybe for a Halloween look? But they were awesome and no one else wanted them!

Glitter Gal - Copper (free - gift)
Glitter Gal – Copper (free – gift)

Shawna of Spill The Beauty accidentally ordered two of these halographic polishes and I was the lucky recipient of the extra one! I’ve not applied it yet, but damn can I ever not wait. Holographic anything? Yes PLEASE! (This is Glitter Gal’s Copper shade.)

Variety of lip products courtesy of the CBB swap
Variety of lip products courtesy of the CBB swap

I don’t know all the shade names (because I’m currently writing this while on vacation in Montreal – follow our blogging hash tag for the past weekend with #CBBroadtrip – we’ve been having a blast!) but I got some lovely lip products to try out. There’s a Maybelline lipstick in there, a Revlon lip butter in Peach Parfait (I’ve actually finished an entire one of these before – true story!), a Australis Velourlips (if Sharon Farrell loves them, then *I* must love them!), a mini from Tarte, a lipstick from the Sephora brand and a red lip paint from a brand I’m not familiar with.

Lise Watier - Eden Tropical Bronzing Powder (free - gift)
Lise Watier – Eden Tropical Bronzing Powder (free – gift)

The imprint on this compact is gorgeous. And I love me a humongous bronzer. But the sad news is that Lise Watier‘s Eden Tropical Bronzing Powder is oompa loompa orange and I just cannot wear it. 🙁

Make Up For Ever - Cream Blush in 210 (free - gift)
Make Up For Ever – Cream Blush in 210 (free – gift)

Another cast off from a friend. This is the kind of shade I hate to love. Make Up For Ever‘s 210 cream blush is a bubble gum pink that has the unfortunate habit of looking lovely on me. It’s not the kind of shade I like looking at as it’s far too girly for my tastes, but the reality is that it looks really good on me, and therefore I love it.

Make Up For Ever Plexig Gloss in 101, 402P & 403 (free - swap)
Make Up For Ever Plexig Gloss in 101, 402P & 403 (free – swap)

The Make Up For Ever Plexi Glosses are something I had passed on entirely because I don’t feel I’m a gloss person. I had several of them very nearly thrown at me during the swap, so I figured I’d try them out. End result? I can confirm they’re not for me. They fade off quickly (as to be expected of a gloss) and I just can’t be bothered with the constant reapplication.

Milani blushes in Tea Rose & Love Potion (free - gift)
Milani blushes in Tea Rose & Love Potion (free – gift)

More cast offs! I already owned Coral Cove, and I was happy to add Tea Rose and Love Potion to the collection.

Miracle 10 Light Serum (free - swap)
Miracle 10 Light Serum (free – swap)

A full tube of Miracle 10‘s Light Serum was left on the table after the swap. I’m not a huge fan of the scent of this thing, and it’s really only decent for hydrating in the summer time since it is VERY light. But I did run through a whole tube of it before, so I mean… I like it enough to use it all up again!

NARS Rated R duo and Revlon 501 Meotropolitan (free - swap)
NARS Rated R duo and Revlon 501 Meotropolitan (free – swap)

Ohhh yes.  NARS Rated R and Revlon Metropolitan.  Both items I’ve been wanting to try and thankfully totally free!

Olay Fresh Effects - BB Cream in Light to Medium (free - swap)
Olay Fresh Effects – BB Cream in Light to Medium (free – swap)

Another item I’ve been wanting to try because the Olay Fresh Effects packaging ALWAYS pulls me in. I need another foundation like I need a hole in the head, but hey… this one is a BB CREAM, so therefore it’s totally different…

Random assortment of eye and cheek products (free - swap)
Random assortment of eye and cheek products (free – swap)

A bunch of cast offs! A MAC paint pot, an Australis plush, a Laura Geller blush (it’s GORGEOUS!), an essence mineralize eyeshadow that is really, really good quality, a Kryolan blush (also stunning) and some gold eyeshadow cream/pigment type thing.

Red Cherry lashes (free - swap)
Red Cherry lashes (free – swap)

I don’t know why I insist on trying out different kinds of lashes when I *know* that House of Lashes make the ones that work for me the best. But I keep trying others… mostly because I hear about how everyone likes other brands. I’ve heard plenty of good things about Red Cherry so I’ll happily give these a shot!

Smashbox SantiGold - Earth As We Know It (free - gift)
Smashbox SantiGold – Earth As We Know It (free – gift)

I wasn’t sure what to think of Smashbox‘s Earth As We Know It palette at first. But then I created this:

and I was like… oh okay. I like you.

The Body Shop - Mango Sorbet (free - swap)
The Body Shop – Mango Sorbet (free – swap)

I absolutely love the texture of The Body Shop‘s sorbet moisturizers. It has this frothy, foamy like consistency and is soooo much fun to play with… uhhh I mean fun to put on. Mango‘s a new scent to me and I quite liked the few sniffs I had of it.

Wet n Wild - 911D Stoplight Red & 969 Carrot Gold (free - swap)
Wet n Wild – 911D Stoplight Red & 969 Carrot Gold (free – swap)

Man, everyone keeps ditching their Wet n Wild Megalast lipsticks, whereas I just LOVE them! Here’s Stoplight Red and, one I’ve been meaning to find, Carrot Gold. It’s way more orange than I thought it would be – we’ll have to see how it looks on my lips!

Wet n Wild - Petal Pusher (free - gift)
Wet n Wild – Petal Pusher (free – gift)

And finally (phew!) an eight pan shadow palette from Wet n Wild – Petal Pusher. I’d always glanced at it but never bought it. I know the quality will be on parr with The Comfort Zone palette so I’m looking forward to playing with the shadows.

PHEW! GOOD GRIEF THAT WAS A LOT OF STUFF! I hope the swap stuff is interesting for you – please let me know whether or not it is. It’s all gently used makeup and stuff I’m adding into my collection so I think it’s relevant. But I’m not sure if people like seeing the swap stuff, or if they’d rather just see the brand new stuff I purchased.

What’s On My Face – Volume 38

Makeup, Tutorials, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My makeup’s been getting more and more vibrant as we’re getting into the warmer months – there isn’t neutral look in this whole post! Enjoy. 🙂

201506_womf38_look3-1

Um yes. So much yes. Not dissimilar to another look I’ve done recently (also using Makeup Geek shadows) but I love the extra pop of reddish orange shadow through the crease.

201506_womf38_look3-2

Eyes
(all Makeup Geek)

  1. Untamed on inner half of the lid.
  2. Masquerade on the outer half of the lid.
  3. Poppy through the crease.
  4. Vanilla Bean on the brow bone.
  5. Rapunzel on the inner corner.

I tightlined my upper and lower lashlines with Urban Decay‘s Black Velvet liner, created the wing with MAC‘s Blacktrack fluidline and applied Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretchmascara to my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Blush: I have no idea, I didn’t write it down 🙁 At a guess… maybe Tarte’s Charisma because I’m not sure what else I’d try to pair with this look.
  • Lips: Revlon Papaya gloss

 

201506_womf38_look1-1

Playing around with one of Wet n Wild‘s Silverlake palettes. I’m not a massive fan of frosty blue-green shades, but this turned out decently enough.

201506_womf38_look1-2

Eyes
(all Wet n Wild shades from the Vegan Culture palette)

  1. Light green on the inner half of the lid.
  2. Bright teal shade on the center of the lid.
  3. Dark green through the crease.
  4. Frosty white shade (lightly!) on the brow bone.

I used the silver shade to line the lower lash line. I created the wing with MAC‘s Blacktrackfluidline and applied Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch mascara to my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Blush: MAC Ripe Peach
  • Highlighter: MAC Soft & Gentle
  • Lips: Rimmel Apocalips in Nude Eclipse

 

201506_womf38_look5-1

Holy CRAP. I wasn’t expecting this Lise Watier Aurora shadow in Violet to come out this intensely. I’m not sure the photographs show it, but there’s a slight reddish tinge to the shade too which adds a lovely dimension.201506_womf38_look5-2

Eyes
I first covered my lid in NYX‘s Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Black Bean, blended it out, then applied:

  1. Lise Watier Aurora shadow in Violet over the entire lid and blended through the crease. I first applied it dry, then dunked my brush in water and applied it wet on top.
  2. MAC Dazzlelight on the browbone.
  3. Naked Cosmetics IV-03 on the inner corner.

I used Marc Jacobs‘ Highliner gel crayon in Blaquer to tightline my upper waterline. On my lashes is Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla
  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Blush: Hourglass Diffused Heat
  • Highlighter: Make Up For Ever Pro Sculpting Duo #1
  • Lips: Rimmel Apocalips in Celestial

 

201506_womf38_look2-1

Another Wet n Wild Silverlake palette! I wasn’t expecting this one to cause such a bang on my lids. It looks like such a soft, innocuous palette but I really managed to make it pop!

201506_womf38_look2-2

Eyes
(all Wet n Wild Thrift Store Chic palette)

  1. Hot pink shade all over the lid.
  2. Burgundy/pink shade in the outer corner and crease.
  3. Pale cream shade on the browbone.
  4. Sparkly beige-pink shade on the inner corner.

I created the wing with MAC‘s Blacktrack fluidline and applied essence Lash Princessmascara to my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla
  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Blush: once again… forgot to write it down… what the hell
  • Highlighter: MAC Soft & Gentle
  • Lips: Wet n Wild Cherry Picking

 

201506_womf38_look4-1

I’ve found myself drawn back to my MAC shadows lately… probably because I feel like I’ve been neglecting them (I blame Makeup Geek).

201506_womf38_look4-2

Eyes

  1. MAC Vellum all over the lid.
  2. MAC Dame’s Desire on the outer corner and through the crease.
  3. MAC Blackberry on the outer corner to deepen it up.
  4. Wet n Wild Brule on the browbone.

On my lashes is Sephora‘s Purple mascara.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Cheeks: It’s like I totally forgot about writing down my blush all week… 😐
  • Lips: Too Faced Melted Fig

What’s On My Face – Volume 26

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I’ve been having “blah” kind of makeup days lately. A lot of neutrals, with brighter lip shades (tis the season?) but it’s actually starting to make me feel a bit depressed. With the darkness in the morning, I have far less desire to get out of bed. And because of that, I spend a lot less time on my makeup, which means not only boring looks (to me), but it also means sometimes I don’t even have enough time to take pictures of my makeup before I dart out the door to work. Sigh. Beauty blogger problems? I don’t know. I’m looking forward to DST ending so I can get an extra hour of that sun in the mornings (uhhh that is how that works right? I think I mess this up every year…), because right now, the only relatively suitable light I have to take pictures is at 7:55-8:05 a.m., which is when I’m supposed to be out the door!

So I tried to spice it up and do some interesting things every now and then. This is a mix of “meh” and “oooo”. I hope you find something you like!

20141027_look2-1

Let’s start out with my favourite! Themed after one of my favourite candies of the Halloween season: candy corn!

20141027_look2-2

Eyes

I first applied NYX‘s Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk all over the lid, blended it out, then:

  1. Makeup Geek White Lies on the inner third of the lid and pulled around the tearduct.
  2. Inglot Matte 370 on the middle third of the lid.
  3. Inglot Matte 383 on the outer third of the lid and on the outer corner of the lower lash line.

Tarte‘s black gel liner to create the wing with Urban Decay Perversion mascara on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla
  • Bronzer: NYC Fire Island Tan
  • Blush: Hard Candy Skinny Dipping
  • Lips: NYX Butter Gloss in Cherry Cheesecake

20141027_look5-1

While I love this shadow, this is what I mean when I say I’m too damn lazy to get out of bed in the morning. This is basically a one eyeshadow look with no liner. Not something I’m fond of, but this colour certainly gets the job done!

20141027_look5-2

Eyes

  1. L’Oreal Infallible in Golden Mahogany all over the lid and blended up through the crease.
  2. MAC Blanc Type to highlight the brow.

On my lashes is Estee Lauder‘s Sumptuous Infinite Daring Length + Volume Mascara.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: NYC Fire Island Tan
  • Blush: MAC Gingerly
  • Highlighter: Too Faced Candlelight
  • Lips: Sephora Color Reveal Balm in Unique Pink

20141027_look1-1

I actually did this in 2012, but never got around to posting it. I believe I wore it to work on Halloween that year.

20141027_look1-2

  1.  MAC Coppering all over the lid.
  2. I then used a piece of tape to create the sharp outer edge, and then blended appliedUrban Decay Blackout to the outer corner.
  3. MAC Brule was used to highlight the brow.

L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara is on my lashes.

20141027_look3-1

These are the kinds of looks I just don’t gravitate towards, but they’re a heck of a lot simpler to put together in the morning!

20141027_look3-2

Eyes

  1. L’Oreal Infallible in Tender Caramel all over the lid.
  2. MAC Copperplate on the outer corner and through the crease.
  3. MAC Shroom on my brow bone.

On my lashes is Urban Decay‘s Perversion mascara.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Cheeks: Hourglass Mood Exposure
  • Lips: NYX  Soft Matte Lip Cream in Istanbul 

20141027_look4-1

Another easy one. Whack on boring eyeshadows, a super bright liner and tada!

20141027_look4-2

Eyes

  1. MAC Blanc Type on the lid and on the brow bone.
  2. MAC Copperplate in the outer corner and crease.

Nicka K Shimmer Eyeliner in Green to create the wing with Dermacol Party Time mascara on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: NYC Fire Island Tan
  • Blush: essence Pinky Flow
  • Lips: Revlon Pink Velvet