Browsing Tag

Eyeshadow

Review: Ultimo Cosmetics Eye Shimmer Pigments

I’m always on the search for quality affordable pigments to add to my makeup collection! Pigments are so versatile and can be used for eye shadow, eye liner, blush, highlighter, mascara, even lipstick! So I really had nothing to lose when I ordered these Ultimo Cosmetics pigment samples for only $1. Want to know how they performed? Keep reading!

I was more than impressed when I unboxed these 13 pigments today! These are samples, only .2g of product, but the company packaged these beautifully! They come in small little twist-top containers with a clear bottom so you can see the colors if you store the containers upside down. They are also labeled on the bottom with the name of the shadow, the sample size, and the company brand.

I purchased these from the company’s eBay store and received my package four business days later. Shipping was a little steep for just one sample ($3 shipping for a $1 sample), but for every additional sample, 25 cents is tacked on to the shipping price. So I ended up with 13 samples and shipping was between $5-6 if I remember correctly. The company’s eBay store also sells full sizes of these sample products as well as foundation, concealer, blush, bronzing, and highlighting mineral pigments. Quite a selection for a smaller brand!

Moving on to the color selection! Two words: AWESOME SAUCE! Ultimo Cosmetics has Eye Shadow and Eye Shimmer pigments available with the shadow being a matte pigment and the shimmer being, well a shimmer! However, what is unique about the Ultimo Cosmetics shimmers is that these are shade shifting duochromes! These are the first affordable duochrome pigments I have encountered and I was pleasantly surprised. Colors like “Pay Dirt” and “Live Lobsters” change as the light shifts or you make even the slightest movement.

I only have one other duochrome shadow which is Kat Von D’s Shade Shifter Eyeshadow in “On The Road” and when comparing it to Ultimo Cosmetics’ “Pay Dirt” found that the KvD shadow was more pigmented with just a single swipe. But with just two or three swipes of “Pay Dirt”, I was able to build up the same coverage. The KvD shadow is also pressed so it is designed to be intensely pigmented with a small amount of product. The KvD shadow was also $16 which is quite a bit more than Ultimo Cosmetics prices.

Below you can find swatches of all the pigments I purchased from my first purchase! I may or may not have a second purchase already in the works =). If anyone wants to see swatches of my next purchase, let me know in the comments below!

Review: NARS Christopher Kane Limited Edition Collection 2015 – Single Eyeshadow “Outer Limits”

NARS and Christopher Kane definitely picked a color and formula for “Outer Limits” that are “kind of out of this world” for a solo shadow! But are fans of the brand ready for this futuristic shade? Read on for a sneak peek of the upcoming NARS x Christopher Kane collaboration!

Continuing on with my NARS x Christopher Kane collection review, here is the only single eyeshadow in the bunch “Outer Limits”! If you want to read my review of the two Illuminating Multiples in this collection, click here.

I’m going to be completely honest with you guys straight from the jump here: I was not impressed by this shadow! I swatched the shadow bare on my arm and over primer. When swatched bare, there wasn’t really any pigment to the shadow it was pure pink and gold shade-shifting glitter! It appeared patchy and really didn’t complement my skin tone in any way. This would be too light for me to wear as an all-over shadow, but it might be very illuminating for my inner corner. I was even thinking of the posibility of using this as a highlighter on my cheeks, but it is far too glittery for my taste. I like more of a subtle shimmer where you cannot identify each particle of glitter on the cheeks. I might try mixing it with a bit of foundation to see if diffuses the glitter explosion.

I also swatched it over a primer I have from Ultimo Cosmetics which did help with the pigmentation a little. I could see the pink shimmer pigment underneath all the glitter that made the color seem a bit more wearable for my skin tone. However, I still wouldn’t wear it as an all-over shadow, but I would be more inclined to use it as an inner corner highlight since the primer intensified that pink shade-shifting base color.

It was actually pretty hard to capture this color on camera, but I tried my best! You can see those swatches if you keep scrolling.

I guess those geniuses at NARS thought they would make a ultra bright shimmer/glitter hybrid color, but this “Outer Limits” shadow is a little too out there for my taste. If I am going to wear glitter, I wear glitter. If I am going to wear a shimmery shadow, I will wear a shimmery shadow. But “Outer Limits” is having an identity crisis and can’t figure out which one it is and I don’t blame it, because I don’t know which one it is either!

This eyeshadow, along with the rest of the NARS x Christopher Kane collaboration, will be available April 15th at narscosmetics.com and at NARS boutiques. It will be available at other retailers such as Sephora on May 1st. This single shadow will retail for $25. For a list and pictures of the rest of the items in this collection, check out my post here. 

Get The Look: Valentine’s Day Eyes feat. Morphe Brushes 35N Eyeshadow Palette

I know I sound like a broken record saying this, but I ADORE the Morphe Brushes 35N Palette! I’ve been slowly rediscovering all the wonderful shades since December and I absolutely can’t get enough. So it totally makes sense that I used my latest eye obsession this past weekend for my Valentine’s Day look!

I’ve got a lot of pinks, corals, and purples going on here (and some stray eyebrow hairs that I could just not be bothered with)! I loved this way this looked turned out and I couldn’t wait to share it! On the eyes, I used all Morphe Brushes eyeshadows from the 35N palette. I mixed and matched them to create something special just for me. Brows are Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Dark Brown. I might be getting a little tired of the harsh brow, so be on the lookout for a change in brow products coming soon! No liner for this look, just some really wispy, flirty lashes from Red Cherry. A little bit of Maybelline Great Lash to top off the look! Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day too! Did you go for flirty, bold, or full on sultry? Let me know in the comments =)

Get The Look: Fun, Smokey Blue Eyes! + First Ever Video Step-By-Step

So this was super fun! Cool blue tones replace my usual warm summer looks. Step out of my comfort zone with me!

I learned a lot from the purple smokey eye I did earlier. I didn’t really like how it turned out so I went all out on this look! This smokey look ended up more grunge, probably because of all the cool tones and I totally went with it in my pictures. No fluffy curls this time! I totally embraced my messy bun. The cool tones on the eyes means I didn’t add too much color anywhere else on the face. For a full step-by-step, I filmed a Get Ready With Me video for you to see! Please give me your feedback on the video! I wanted to add some more fun into the mix of the written blog. Thanks in advance =)


Products used in this look:

On the brows – Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow & Brow Wiz in ‘Dark Brown’, Benefit Gimme Brow ‘Brunette’

On the eyes – NYX HD Eyeshadow Base, MAC Prep and Prime Eye Base ‘Medium Deep’, Maybelline Great Lash, NYC Liquid Liner, Dollar False lashes

Eyeshadow – Morphe Brushes 35N Palette, Raving Beauty Cosmetics ‘Voyage’, Milani Cosmetics ‘Bella Navy’

On the face – ELF Mineral Face Primer, Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation, NYX HD Studio Concealer, Ben Nye Mojave Luxury Powder, Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, City Color Intense Blush Quad

On the lips – Lime Crime Salem Velvetine

First Impression: ColourPop Cosmetics Haul feat. Shaaanxo Limted Edition Collection

I’ve been hearing some amazing things about ColourPop in the past year! They have teamed up with some pretty big names in the beauty blogging world to bring us some quality eyeshadows and lipsticks at very affordable prices. ColourPop’s newest collaboration with New Zealand YouTube sensation, Shaaanxo, is bound to be one of their best yet!

I am a massive fan of Shaaanxo’s YouTube channel! I love her filming style and her fearless sense of color! She goes for the bright and bold and everytime I watch her I think, “Wow, that’s so pretty. Let me try!” And then I try and I look like a clown =) Bur that will never stop me from being a devoted fan!

The minute I saw the eyeshadow collection announcement on Instagram, I knew I was going to be purchasing this kit. I have never purchased anything form ColourPop despite having filmed my online shopping cart to the brim with all my wish list items. I cleared those items out to make room for Shannon’s goodies!

The colors and the shadows were absolutely beautiful! The four in this set were more flattering to my skin that the three I bought separately. I was especially hesitant about the hunter green shade, ‘Rebel’, but it swatched beautifully on my wrist. Also, the shimmery dark brown shade, ‘Deluxe’, was my favorite shade out of all seven of the shades I opened up today. It was extremely pigmented even after I blended it out on my wrist and, again, it just complemented my skin tone perfectly!

In addition to the Shaaanxo x ColourPop Collection, I purchased three new eyesahdows from ColourPop’s new matte eyeshadow line. I prefer matte shadows and have been curious about how these perform since this is the company’s first foray into the world of mattes. This is my first impression of the product as I have not yet used dem on mah face! I hope to play with them a little more and I will definitely get a look up soon, promise!

The pigmentation of these eyesahdows was out of this world. I mean all of the colors were great, but I was especially pleased with some of the lighter shades. Generally, the lighter the color, the less likely it is to show up on my skin tone. However, I found that ‘Cop A Feel’ was really the most pigmented of the three matte shadows I purchased. You can see how it pops in the wrist swatch below. Even though the pigmentation of ‘Cop A Feel’ was great, it came across ashy on my skin tone. But I’m not giving up hope quite yet! I still have to test it out on my eyes and then I will give the final verdict.

I really hope to get a new look up using these new products this week. I am anxious to see how they perform on my oily eyelids! Have you ever bought anything from ColourPop Cosmetics before? Let me know your thoughts about ColourPop below in the comments!

Get The Look: Dramatic, Purple Smokey Eyes

I have really been loving my Morphe Brushes 35N palette lately so it was just a matter of time before I started using all the gorgeous purples scattered throughout! I used a very neutral, matte taupe all over the eye to help all my shadows blend better. Then, I added some of the deepest purple color in the palette on the inner and outer corners. Once that was blended out, I used the color ‘Garnet’ from the Lorac Pro Palette in the center of the lid. I applied this with my finger and just patted it down into the taupe-y color that was already underneath. Lastly, I used a deeper brown color to blend out the crease and transition area so the purple wasn’t so harsh.

Under the eye, I used that same deep purple all over the last line. With a detailing brush, I picked up some more of that ‘Garnet’ on the inner half of the lower lash line. To finish that area off, I used the color ‘Gold’, also from the Lorac Pro Palette, in the inner corner.

I was just “meh’ about the outcome of this look. I definitely think there are some things I could have done better and I am glad I finished it because I learned a lot for next time! Practice makes perfect (eventually, LOL)!

Get The Look: MELT COSMETICS Eyeshadow Stack ‘Dark Matter’

** I’m not a pro makeup artist. But I like to dabble.= ) But practice makes perfect and I plan on practicing a lot more in the future!

Transition: Unseen (Dark Matter stack)
Lid: Enigma (Dark Matter stack)
Inner Corner: gold (Sephora + Pantone Marsala palette)
Bottom lash line (middle): Enigma
Bottom lash line (outer corner): dark purple (Sephora + Pantone Marsala palette)

MELT COSMETICS Eyeshadow Stack ‘Dark Matter’ Review With Pictures + Swatches on Chocolate Skin

I have just recently gotten into Melt Cosmetics (read: this was my first purchase), but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been enthusiastic about the brand for months. When I heard about the release of their new eyeshadow stacks, I figured it was time to get my hands on something that said ‘melt.’

I ordered the ‘Dark Matter’ eyeshadow stack on Sunday evening and it came Wednesday afternoon. Talk about fast! Especially for a smaller cosmetics company. I was really impressed. There were two stacks released earlier this month, but I decided to only purchase the more neutral stack because I like to play it safe!

Like a lot of other people, I was impressed by the pan size. Each stack is $48 so that works out to $12 per pan. To put that into perspective, the Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow singles are $12 (not in a compact) and the MAC singles are $15 (in a compact). The packaging is … innovative. I’m not sure how comfortable I would feel traveling with these. The magnets seem very strong, but one small slip and your entire eyeshadow could be exposed to whatever else is in your makeup bag.

Surprisingly, my favorite color was ‘Enigma’ (the red shade). Of course the red was my favorite color when I said I bought this stack for the neutrals LOL. It blended nicely with my skin tone and didn’t seem as bright/clownish on me as other reds. I loved this and will probably use this up first. It would be great if Melt could sell these separately in the future for repurchasing. However, the black shade, ‘Dark Matter’, was the smoothest of the four. It blended beautifully and if you have a heavy hand on the first swipe, you can really work with it to get it how you want it. But it is really pigmented so you don’t need a lot!

Overall, I feel that this stack would be better suited towards the light to medium skinned ladies. Unseen is literally “unseen” on me. You can’t see it at all! Blurr is a little too light/pigmented to use as a brow highlight. When I tried to use it other places on the lid, it made me look a bit ghostly. Enigma and Dark Matter are the only two shades that I can actually utilize and I don’t think I would pay $48 for two shadows. That’s just not in my budget for this year.

What are your thoughts? Will you be purchasing? Have you already purchased?

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year Palette 2015

It took me three of four tries to type ‘2015’ in the title! My brain is still stuck saying ‘2014’! Anyways, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am truly excited to see what the new year will bring. I can’t wait bring some innovative content this blog! My first beauty purchase of 2015 was the Sephora + Pantone Universe Facets of Marsala Multi-Finish Eye Palette. I walked into Sephora today with intentions of buying the Kat Von D Monarch Palette, but came out with this instead. Why?

Well for starters, the Kat Von D Monarch Palette has 12 different shades. The Pantone Universe Eye Palette has 24. I’ll take the 24. The pans on the Kat Von D palette are much bigger, but sometimes bigger isn’t better. Today I wanted a little more color variety and so I didn’t care too much about the pan sizes. Also, let’s briefly talk about the price. The Monarch Palette comes in at $46 and the Marsala Palette is $39. Again, the latter wins the battle for my cash!

Now I will probably go back another day for the Kat Von D palette. I own practically everything she puts out. The items last forever and the pigmentation never fades. I know the quality of her work. I have never used a Sephora + Pantone Universe product, so I am gambling on the quality and longevity of today’s purchase. I did do some swatches in store and was impressed by most of the colors (ESPECIALLY the shimmers and the duo-chrome colors). The matte ones were just ‘ehhh’. But again, there were just so many colors, I was prepared for a few duds!

For now, I am excited to began using my palette and I hope I don’t regret my purchase!

ColourPop Cosmetics To Drop New $5 Matte Eyeshadows

You can’t deny that ColourPop Cosmetics has had a GREAT year. Their “Lippie Stix” (an innovative new name for lipsticks) and Color Shock Eyeshadows have been popping up in loads of Instagram posts and YouTube tutorials. What’s next for the fun-filled company? A collection of matte eyeshadows.

ColourPop Cosmetics made a Christmas morning announcement that puts Santa to shame. Fans of the brand will be clammoring for a collection of 14 all new matte eyeshadows dropping TONIGHT at 12AM PST (3AM EST). Known for their unique “is it gel? is it powder” consistency, ColourPop has made huge strides in the beauty world this year. These affordable, high-quality products are a must for your post-Christmas shopping list. What will you be buying?