I backed in to the Essence Cosmetics display today at my local Ulta and my eyes were immediately drawn to the most shimmery, glittery eyeshadows tucked away at the bottom! There were eight on display, but only four in stock (bummer). You better believe I snatched all four! Check out my thoughts below!
I got some more eyeshadows and some brand new highlighter shades to share with you guys from my newest brand obsession, Looxi Beauty! Looxi has some of the best quality shadows for only $5 each! And there may or may not be a dupe for Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop in here somewhere too! So I suggest you keep reading ; )
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I was the runner-up in a giveaway a few weeks ago sponsored by Black Radiance Beauty! I was so excited to win you would have thought I just won the NYX Face Awards or something (LOL)! I am truly grateful to all my followers who voted for me and to Black Radiance for sending me a prize. I can’t wait to show you all the fun stuff that was in it!
If you want to get the facts straight, you need to hear the story straight from the horse’s mouth, right? Well, how about “If you want the purest form of an eyeshadow pigment, head straight to TKB Trading.” I’ve got swatches of some jaw dropping colors for you guys that I just got in from cosmetics supplier TKB Trading. Plus I’ve got tips for wearing these gorgeous shades!
Unfortunately, I don’t have the corresponding colors in the Anastasia Beverly Hills formula so I can’t tell you if these are exact dupes or not, but I can say I was more than pleased with the colors and the initial performance test. ‘Lara Croft’ (alleged dupe for ABH ‘Sepia’) is my favorite because I love the Tomb Raider video game series. The name really made me purchase the entire set, that’s how obsessed with Lara Croft I am! I’ve got all the games and movies that have come out since the early 2000’s so this had to join my collection. ‘Jane Smith’ (alleged dupe for ABH ‘Veronica’) is a gorgeous fall nude for brown skin. I would compare it to ‘Bumble’ Ultra Matte Lip from ColourPop, maybe a little darker. Not quite as dark as ‘Tulle’, but a cross between the two. ‘Evelyn Salt’ is darker than ‘Tulle’, but lighter than some of the deep burgundy shades we tend to see a lot during the winter (like ‘Wicked’ from Lime Crime’ or ‘Heathers’ from ABH).
All the shades were highly pigmented and I’m happy to report that I only needed one layer to cover my lips completely. The final product wasn’t heavy on the lips and it didn’t sink too deeply into the fine lines or crack after it dried. The formula was lightweight and comfortable during normal wear. I’m sure these shades will get some use this fall/winter!
I grabbed some cool tones blues and greens and a gorgeous purple-ish burgundy. The shade names were Sakura (green shimmer), Speak Easy (burgundy), Skywalker (royal blue), Tchoupitoulas (deep teal). These colors are very fall appropriate and I was thinking about that when I grabbed them. I’ve got several pigments from Maybelline, MAC, Ultimo Cosmetics, etc. in my collection, but NONE of them perform like the ones from Magnolia Makeup.
I have never seen such smooth and full coverage in one swipe. Especially from the matte shades. They were jam packed with color and swatched great without primer. With primer, the color was unmatched among my collection. I did my swatches without primer just so you could see them in their natural state.
I only purchased one glitter because I thought the price was kind of steep! It was $12 (on sale) for 3g of product. There wasn’t a label on the packaging, but it’s the black and gold combo glitter. I can get the same amount for less about $5 from Glitter Elixirs Cosmetics. I was thinking about this price difference while I was looking, but I thought maybe this was some type of magical glitter so I picked up one just to test.
It wasn’t magical glitter! HA! My advice, Glitter Elixirs Cosmetics is still my favorite glitter for the price and quality. Just stick with them!
The two liquid lipsticks I purchased were suggestions from one of the makeup artists at the booth and they are gorgeous! I got ‘Bam!’ and ‘Hot Girl’. These are metallic shades like the old Kat Von D colors (she is bringing them back this winter). In fact, Kat Von D ‘Adora’ is a near match to ‘Hot Girl’ from Magnolia. I’ve got a side-by-side comparison below if you are interested. ‘Adora’ is now discontinued, but I found mine at TJMaxx a few months ago so they might still be floating around there.
The lipsticks were $15 each which puts them in the price range of Dose of Colors and Jeffree Star so I will compare them to these mid-level indie brands. The formula was definitely more liquid than cream. I like liquid formulas because they tend to dry down faster and stay longer. The Magnolia formula was no different. I was pleased with the staying power, but don’t expect it to be completely touchproof. There was a little transfer when something touches your lips.
Overall, I’m happy I got a chance to check out Magnolia Makeup this weekend and I know I am going to have SO much fun with these pigments! The glitter was a skip, but now you know! And definitely check out the metallic liquid lipsticks if you are having Kat Von D withdrawal.
Questions? Let me know in the comments below!
So I had to buy it, DUH!
The product itself is consistent with other liquid lipsticks from the brand. I love the formula and the texture of the product. It doesn’t sink into lines in the lips and it stays put through an afternoon of eating and drinking (which is what I did yesterday while wearing ‘Ayesha’). The liquid lipsticks from Kat Von D are my second favorite formula (first being Lime Crime) so my greatest hope when I purchased this was that it would be consistent with the other items I have from KVD and this met my expectations.
If you know and like the Kat Von D brand, you won’t be disappointed with this purchase. If you are worried that it might be a little too pale on brown skin, it can easily be darkened with a liner. I used ‘Nightangale’ by MAC yesterday. ‘Ayesha’, along with a bunch of other new Kat Von D products, can be purchased at Sephora.
I typically try to read a few reviews on products before I purchase them, but I could only find a handful of reviews period on this item. Most of the reviews mentioned the same pros/cons so I didn’t have much to go on before I hit “Buy It Now”. I purchased this nearly blind because it was so cheap that I thought, “Hey, what the heck!”. If I lost $10 on a shadow palette, the world wouldn’t end. But if I lost/messed up one of my limited edition or expensive palettes on vacation, I *might* have had a panic attack.
Pati Dubroff, the creator of this Spotlight Palette, is a celebrity makeup artist. And I mean, like, real celebrities! She’s done Charlize Theron and Julianne Moore for the red carpet; Kirsten Dunst and Jessica Alba for the covers of major magazines; Kerry Washington and Eva Mendes for some sick editorial shoots – I mean this woman does it all! After doing a bit of research on this incredible artist while waiting for my package to arrive, I felt a little more comfortable with my purchase and began to eagerly await its arrival.
When it came, I could hardly contain myself and had to swatch it before I even managed to turn my camera on. The shades feel like you have just rubbed your finger across a piece of velvet. I was sold in .2 seconds.
This was the only palette of eyeshadows I took with my on my 8-night vacation so it got some pretty good wear on the trip. I’ve also been using it sporadically since I got back, but I have dipped my brush in all the colors at least once so I can attest the performance of each shadow and not just the palette in general. The palette also comes with a felt-tipped eyeliner, but I found it hard to work with so I don’t use that. But you will see it in the pictures below.
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I wouldn’t say the palette is broken up into quads, but I am going to review it by 4’s so it’s easier for you guys to digest! Let’s start with the quad on the far left!
Cashmere was definitely not my favorite on my skin tone. The shade is pretty, the pigmentation is there, but it is lost on my skin. It’s too chalky and really just leaves me looking ashy! However, I think this would be a flattering color on fairer skin to set concealer on or around the eyelid. Oleander is like the shimmery cousin to Cashmere. Again, not a great lid color for me, but when it hits that inner corner as a highlight, magic happens! Prosecco is a sheer, shimmery champagne color. I tried it as a highlight one night and it was a tad too light, but keep that in mind if you have fairer skin than me. Amberglow is one of my favorite colors in the palette! It is a rich, true gold shade and boy is it pigmented. As you can tell by the dent in the pan, I use this shade quite often. Most of the time, I use this as my lid color, but I have also used just a little of it as an inner corner highlight. It pairs beautifully with the green shade ‘Boa’ which I will talk about in the next quad. |
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Goldenleaf is the most BEAUTIFUL mossy green color! It reminds me of Looxi Beauty Urbane, but in a palette. They have similar consistencies so I can’t say I favor one over the other. This shade makes for the most incredible smokey green eye! I used this with the colors ‘Boa’ and ‘Licorice’ one formal night on my cruise and I was blown away by how it reflected in the dim lights of the dining room.
Mystic, unfortunately, was a miss for me. It looks like a brown in the pan, but comes off with a grey undertone on my skin. Matte grey eyeshadow doesn’t really flow with my brown skin. The pigmentation is also a little chalky on this one too! As you can see from the picture, it has barely been touched. Boa is like heaven to the touch. I mean angles must have created it! I included this in my favorite eyeshadows for fall so you know it is a must have! I probably would have paid about $10 just for this shadow alone. Pop this over a black eyeshadow base and you have got an easy eye look perfect for this time of year! Phantom is a silver metallic that I like, but it isn’t super special to me! It reminds me of ‘Saints & Sinners’ by Looxi Beauty, but I wear that one more. |
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Cognac is a killer transition shade for brown skin! It is a matte reddish brown with amazing pigmentation and buildable coverage so you can make that transition as invisible or as bold as you want. Sometimes I pull out this palette just to use this color if I just want to do an easy eye look for the day.
Onyx is so lacking in pigmentation it physically hurts me to swatch it! Literally – it has huge chunks of glitter that catch when you run your finger through it! Unfortunately, it’s a dud. Acai is a purple shimmer shade and it has all the qualities I was hoping for from ‘Heirloom’ from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow Couture Palette. It is a pretty straightforward shade; it doesn’t have any shifts or any hidden chunks of giant glitter in the pan. The magic happens in the way you apply it. I’ve used a brush dampened with MAC Fix+ to make the color more vibrant. I’ve used a black eyeshadow base to darken the color. I’ve used it over a purple eyeshadow base. Basically, I’ve used this every way I could think of and it looks great all the time! Licorice looked so promising, but unfortunately it lacks the pigmentation of some of my favorite black eyeshadows. It works in a pinch (like when you are on vacation with no other options and you desperately want to do a smokey eye). |
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For the quality of the palette, I would have paid at least double what I actually paid for it. It had far more superior shadows than duds and after realizing what a disappointment the Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow Couture Palette ($30) was, I am even more impressed with this one. This palette is also perfect for fall, so if you don’t want to go through the hassle of buying my top 8 fall shadows separately, this is a superb alternative. You can scour the web for a deal (definitely look for this on eBay) or you can purchase it from Amazon for $20. Pati Dubroff Cosmetics are sold at Costco and I have even seen other bloggers say they found their palette at TJMaxx for around $15.
To me, nothing says fall quite like pumpkins. The idea of pumpkin farms, Halloween pumpkin carving, pumpkin pie, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks make my little heart flutter! My first eyeshadow pick for fall screams ‘PUMPKIN’! This shade has some shimmer in it so it would be great as a lid or inner corner color. Coastal Scents, $1.95
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This matte navy blue shade will up your smokey eye game to a 1000! Instead of black, which can still be a bit harsh for balmy autumn nights, try a dark blue lid color instead. You can always add a bit of black on the outer colors to further deepen the color. Or try a black eyeshadow base to make the color pop. My personal favorite is also from NYX.
NYX Cosmetics, $4.50 |
Make them green with envy when you walk by in this shimmery moss green shadow! This color is from one of my favorite eyeshadow palettes from celebrity makeup artist Pati Dubroff. This shade is especially gorgeous on hazel or dark brown eyes. Pair this with a bit of gold shadow in your inner corner and you are set for the night! Amazon, $19.75
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Of course I was going to add a copper shadow to this list, DUH! I absolutely love this one by MAC which I got a few months ago. Not only is the formula super smooth, but it is buildable. You can apply a little bit of product for a subtle glow on your lid, or you can pack it on for an intense bright copper finish. MAC Cosmetics, $16
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If you are looking for the most bang for your buck, look no further than Looxi Beauty ‘Urbane’! The pigmentation of this shadow is out of this world amazing. It is a dusty gold with a bit of a green undertone. You don’t have to use much to make a statement. This shade is especially beautiful in dim light so pull it out for date night! Looxi Beauty, $5
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My love for mineral pigments knows no bounds! Pure pigments like ‘Tempura’ from Ultimo Cosmetics offer the most intense color payoff out of all the shades on this list. I’ve worn this shade over a black eyeshadow base to a concert and it didn’t budge during a night filled with dancing and singing along at the top of my lungs. ‘Tempura’ can hang, honey! Jenny’s Mineral Shack, $4.88
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If you aren’t as comfortable with colorful eyeshadow as I am, you will look beautiful (and still be in your comfort zone) with this peachy, golden shimmer from ColourPop Cosmetics and YouTube beauty vlogger KathleenLights. You really can’t go wrong with a shade like this during any time of the year, but there is something about gold in fall that makes it feel more appropriate. This shadow is sold in a set of four colors developed by KathleenLights for ColourPop. ColourPop, $20
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There is no way this list would be complete without a smokey matte black! I’ve picked one of my go-to black shades that will add another layer of sultriness to any of the other shadows on this list. Of course you can hit the town with a traditional smokey eye, but you can also add a tiny bit of this to the outer corner of your eye look to take it from day to night. This black has medium pigmentation so you can build up the darkness of your lid to your comfort level. Milani Cosmetics, $3.99
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Never, you say? I’m totally with you on that one!
I have NEVER purchased a shadow more than $25 (NARS ‘Outer Limits’) and I cringe at the thought of that number creeping closer and closer to $30. Shelling out OVER $30 is basically unheard of in this Beauty Depot!
But I felt that the exception had to be be made to test out this new Dior formula. After all, it isn’t everyday you see a liquid eyeshadow!
My first thought post application was “These dry really fast!”
Like ” Lime Crime liquid lipstick” fast. Almost too fast for an eyeshadow if you were planning on blending it out. They do blend out after they dry, but it might be a good idea to apply a small amount at a time and blend it out before it fully dries to avoid demarcation lines.
The applicator is more like a tiny lip gloss wand so I would suggest using it to dab some on your finger and then taking your finger to apply it to your eye lid. That way you can cover more area with a dab instead of trying to slide it all over your eye with the small applicator.
The first layer went on semi sheer, but the second layer (after the first one dried) was nearly opaque. Magnetic was the only color I had problems with. Even with a second layer, the application was streaky and you could see patches of my natural skin color coming through.
I ended up purchasing the color Cosmic because it was too beautiful to pass up. But after I paid, walked back to my car, and drove home, I began to feel a tad bit of buyer’s remorse. There were so many other things I could think of that I could have spent that $32 on!
When I got home to my makeup collection, I grabbed some purples that I thought might pass for the Dior shadow. I was surprised to find that none really compared to the metallic vibrancy that I paid so dearly for. The closest I could get to replicating the color was to put Looxi Beauty Saints & Sinners ($5) on top of my Estee Lauder Pure Color Base in Neon Fuchsia ($14 at the CCO), but even then, it was just shimmery, not metallic. However, if you are OK with just something similar, this was the closest I could find and the price for the two products combined is just over half of what I paid at Dior. I threw in a swatch of MAC Cosmetics Trax shadow as well because it looked similar to Saints & Sinners in the pan, but it is clearly different on the skin.
But if you want that vibrant metallic color, you had better head on over to that Dior website and say a prayer for your wallet because it is truly one of a kind!
