Sonia Kashuk Jewel of an Eye Palette Swatches

I thought I'd do a quick swatch post of this palette since it is supposedly on clearance in Target stores (which most likely means it will be disappearing soon).

The shadows are soft, nicely pigmented, and rich looking.  Perfect if you love jewel tones!  I experience a tiny bit of fall out using these, but nothing a quick swipe of a clean powder brush can't clean up (I do like to put my foundation on after using these shadows).  All of the shades have shimmer.

Swatches were performed without primer or wetting the shadows.

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I hope these swatches prove useful!

Current Eyeshadow Palette Wish List

I have a wish list as long as all four of my limbs put together right now.  I also have a serious weakness for eyeshadow palettes.  These are the palettes I have been drooling over.


Marc Jacobs Beauty Style Eye-Con No.7 Plush Shadow in The Starlet  $59
The packaging is elegant and sleek (yes, I'm a sucker for pretty packaging).  More importantly, the colors look so rich and awesomely metallic.



bhcosmetics Galaxy Chic Eyeshadow Palette  $14
I saw this on xsparkage a couple of weeks ago, and now I can't stop thinking about it.  (Leesha's post with swatches is here.)  I own maybe one baked eyeshadow and would like to try some others.  The colors in this look amazing--so bright and shimmery!

Kat Von D Ladybird True Romance Eyeshadow Palette  $36
On the other end of the spectrum is a matte palette with mostly neutral colors.  I prefer shimmery shadows to matte, but once in a while it's nice to be able to do a matte, sort of moody look.  The colors in this palette range from nude to warm toned but with couple of cool toned, dark colors.  I've also never tried anything form the Kat Von D line, but have heard really good things about it.

Too Faced Pretty Rebel Eyeshadow Palette  $46

This seems to have a fantastic selection of neutral, brights, and darks.  I can imagine creating so many different kinds of looks with this one.  Plus, every blog post I've read about it says the texture and quality of the shadows are amazing.

LORAC PRO Palette  $42

I've had this one on my wish list for ages.  One row of mattes, and one row of shimmers.  Colors for nude/neutral looks, colors for smokey looks.  LORAC quality shadows.  Brilliant!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Lavish Set  $38
This has beautiful shimmery colors that look perfect for fall and winter, as well as some neutral mattes.  It also has an eyeliner, brow pencil, tweezers, and dual ended eyeshadow brush hidden underneath the shadows.  Clever!

I have a birthday coming up and I think I'll be asking for one of these.  Now I have to decide which.  

Pür Minerals Mineral Shea Butter Lipstick in Golden Zincite Swatches

Pür Minerals Mineral Shea Butter Lipstick in Golden Zincite is a warm coppery rose with silver shimmer.  It feels nicely moisturizing on the lips, is semi-sheer, and has a fairly glossy finish.

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One of my favorite lipsticks for autumn!

Look of the Day Gemstone Series: Opal

I thought it would be fun to do a makeup challenge involving look of the day posts inspired by gemstones.  I thought I'd start off by featuring October's birthstone: opal!

Quoting the American Gem Society page on opals: "Opal is a formation of non-crystalline silica gel that seeped into crevices in the sedimentary strata.... The opal is composed of particles closely packed in spherical arrangements.  When packed together in a regular pattern, a three-dimensional array of spaces are created that give opal its radiance."  Opals are soft gemstones and need to be handled with a certain amount of care.

I tried to capture the flashes of color in an opal.  Fiery opals have varying shades of blue, green, gold, copper, and sometimes red.

photo:  American Gem Society

Some opals have a more milky appearance overall than the one in the above photograph, but still contain flashes of color.

photo: gemstones-guide.com

I used turquoise, green, gold, and copper eyeshadows.

Eyes:  Urban Decay eyeshadows --
               Peace (turquoise) on inner 1/2 of lid
               Graffiti (green) on outer 1/2 of lid
               Shattered (turquoise with gold shimmer) middle of lid
               Mildew (moss green with gold shimmer) outer corner
         Smashbox Smashing Mirror Image eyeshadow trio -- copper in crease
                                                                                     gold in inner corner
         Fyrinnae Velvet Vampire (sparkling red) -- liner on upper lashes
         Too Faced Eyeshadow Luxe in Socialite (copper with silver glitter) -- liner
         Bare Minerals Eyeshadow in Opal (shimmery cream) -- all over lid (gives sheen)
         Milani Liquif'Eye Liner in Gold -- lower lash line
         Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Copper Glow -- lower lash line
         Benefit They're Real Mascara

Cheeks:  Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush

Lips:  Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Lovelight
          Rimmel 3-D Stay Glossy Lipgloss in Lights, Camera, Action

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From left:  Urban Decay shadows in Peace, Graffiti, Shattered, Mildew
                 Smashbox Smashing Mirror Image trio copper and gold colors
                 Fyrinnae Velvet Vampire loose shadow
                 Too Faced Luxe eyeshadow in Socialite
                 Bare Minerals eyeshadow in Opal
                 Pixi Endless Silky Eyeliner in Copper Glow
                 Mialni Liquif'Eye liner in Gold

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From left:  Too Faced Sweethearts blush, Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Lovelight, Rimmel 3-D Stay Glossy lipgloss in Lights, Camera, Action

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If you would like to join me in the gemstone challenge, please link to your posts in the comments!

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for visiting!

NYX Love in Paris Eyeshadow Palette in Pardon My French Swatches and Review

This is a great little palette with all sorts of fall-friendly colors.

Swatches without primer:

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Swatches with Urban Decay Primer Potion:

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The greens and the copper in the bottom row on the right perform the best (the copper is incredible and might be worth the price of the palette alone!).

The matte black, which is the only matte in the palette, is the poorest performing, and the shadows in the top row are somewhat sheer.

The top row of orange, cream (which reads more gold on the lid due to the amount of gold sparkle), and peach, as well as the brown in the middle all have very fine glitter particles.

The yellow gold in the middle row, both greens, and the copper in the lower row are all shimmery.

The non-shimmer colors feel kind of dry to the touch, and the shimmers are buttery, however I find they all apply decently well on the lid, especially when patted on versus swept on.

Without a primer the colors are more subdued but (still show up), and with a primer the colors are richer.

I would recommend Pardon My French if you like warm colors like oranges, golds, and greens!  I'm really glad I picked it up.

NYX Love in Paris palettes retail for $10 (USD).

My First Fyrinnae Eyeshadows!

Fyrinnae is an indie cosmetic company that makes mostly loose powder products (they make a few liquid lip products and an eye primer).  They are known for their complex and unique shades.  I'd seen Fyrinnae reviewed on several beauty blogs over the past few years (Phyrra (at www.phyrra.net) really turned me on to Fyrinnae) and decided I really wanted to try some of the shadows.  They all look so interesting, and so many of them look sparkly and duochrome-y.

You can buy sample sizes (1/3 tsp or .4 -.7 grams) for $2.25 or full sizes (3 grams) for $6.25.  I chose to try a few samples so that I could A) see if I like the color, and B) determine if I am clever enough to use these.

I also ordered a sample size of their eyeshadow base called Pixie Epoxy, which is used to help loose eyeshadows and glitter adhere to the lid better and enhance the color of the shadow.  It is worn over a primer (the primer prevents creasing and Pixie Epoxy doesn't).

On to the colors!

I chose from their regular loose eyeshadows: (color descriptions taken from the Fyrinnae website since I stink at describing colors)
   
     Serendipity -- "glowing iridescent copper highlight (hue may vary due to translucent dark base)"
   

     Immortality -- "a rainbow of sparkle in soft black"
   

     Meerkat -- "vibrant pink-purple with gold shimmer and sparkle highlight"

And from the Arcane Magic eyeshadows collection (shadows with highlights that change color depending on how the light hits it (duochrome effect type thingy)):

     Velvet Vampire -- "complex deep reddish hue... turns to a metallic glittering gold with "underhues" of copper"

     Mystical Hedgehog -- "vibrant, shimmering purple with turquoise-green highlight at a distance, but changes to a warmer purple to pink at an angle or close to light"

The sample I received was:

     Cupcake Frosting -- "a "glowing" soft pink shade"

Swatched dry, no primer or base:

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 From left:  Cupcake Frosting, Mystical Hedgehog, Velvet Vampire, Serendipity, Immortality, Meerkat

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Swatches over Pixie Epoxy:

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 From left:  Cupcake Frosting, Mystical Hedgehog, Velvet Vampire, Serendipity, Immortality, Meerkat

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Cupcake Frosting, Mystical Hedgehog, Velvet Vampire

Serendipity, Immortality, Meerkat

These are all so gorgeous and really unusual!  I'm looking forward to showing off some off the looks I create with them.



More about their loose shadows (from their About Us page): Our rich colours are formulated by us, some of them taking hours to get just right. With so many shades, we need to re-make large batches (not each colour per order as that would be absurd, but each shade is re-made at least twice a month, more often for the biggest sellers) of at least four colours every day, not to mention the other cosmetics, and then each "batch" is tested for both colour and composition.