EYE SHADOW

PAT McGRATH Mothership V Bronze Seduction Eye Palette Review and Swatch

October 10, 2018

Since I have been a big fan of Pat McGrath lipsticks (see my review here and more reviews to come!), I was itching to try out her eyeshadows as I knew the quality would also blow me away. Her previous releases didn’t interest me as much until the latest Pat McGrath Mothership V Bronze Seduction Palette was out. The variations of the warm and bronzy shades just instantly captured my heart and I ordered it straight away. If you are outside of the US, you can only buy the palette on her website and they have recently halved the international shipping fee (which is a bonus for me because I hate to pay for shipping and I would only do it for Pat McGrath lol)! Otherwise, you can also find her collection on Sephora US. This palette is extremely high in demand so it sells out as soon as they restock it.

The Mothership V Bronze Seduction palette did not fail to impress me – I literally stared at it for days before I broke into it. The palette has 10 richly-pigmented eyeshadows with a mixture of matte, shimmer and sparkly finishes that are absolutely gorgeous and also wear beautifully on the eyes for all skin tones. The color combination is modern, glam yet wearable in warm neutrals and they will instantly elevate your day and night neutral eye makeup to a different level. Pat McGrath is best known for her sparkly and glittery shades and to me, this is what sets her palette apart from the others.

All shades have intense color pay off with creamy and soft texture and there is no fall out from the glittery shades when applied (I normally just pat them on with my fingers).

under natural lighting

closer look with indoor lighting

All shades are swatched with 1 stroke.

Upper Row (from left to right): Skinshow Divine Glow (shimmer); Gilty Pleasure (matte); Entrapment (metallic); Rose Gold 005 (glitter); VR Fire Opal (glitter)

Bottom Row: Astral Luna Gold (matte); Blitz Flame (shimmer); Bronze Blaze (matte); Disobedient (shimmer); Xtreme Aubergine (glitter)

Verdict: Must have eye shadow palette of the year!

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Labels: EYE SHADOW • PAT MCGRATH

Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Eyeshadow Palette and Stylo Sourcils Waterproof Longwear Eyebrow Pencil Review and Swatch

October 7, 2017

So, I haven’t bought any Chanel eyeshadows for a very long time, until I saw the Les Beiges Healthy Glow Eyeshadow Palette (bought here) which was released more than a month ago in Australia. I picked it up before my holiday to Japan, and I finally started breaking into this beautiful palette. Along with the eyeshadow, I also picked up their latest Stylo Sourcils Waterproof Longwear Eyebrow Pencil (available here in Australia). Chanel’s eyebrow products are quite under the radar until you have personally used it. I got hooked onto Chanel’s brow products from a celeb recommendation, and their latest brow pencil is the best I have used so far (yep it’s officially my HG pencil)!!

The Les Beiges eyeshadow inherits the highly popular Les Beiges packaging which I absolutely adore with 3 applicators and a large mirror. This palette has the same concept as the entire Les Beiges line – they represent a new simple and intuitive makeup approach with five harmonious neutral shades that are easy to wear for a variety of looks. There is nothing bold and dramatic about it, but it’s one of those fool-proof palettes that you will always reach out to on a daily basis and you will never look overdone with your eye makeup. I don’t wear heavy eye makeup so this palette is right up my alley, and both the finish and the effect reminded me of the iconic Lunasol Beige Beige.

The texture is buttery to the touch (even for the matte shades!) and they are easy to blend without being powdery. One to 2 swipes with a fluffy eyeshadow brush gives the perfect color payoff. The powder applies without looking cakey.

Indoor lighting

Natural lighting

Shade Description:

Top: Semi-matte ivory color that serves as a great base color. It evens out the eyelid color and makes the eye makeup look fresh and clean.

Second Left: Medium taupe brown in satin finish

Second Right: Medium soft brown in satin finish

Bottom Left: Semi-matte charcoal

Bottom Right: Shimmer ivory

Swatch:

I did a post about my favorite brow products a while back, and I definitely need to update my HG list because the Chanel Stylo Sourcils Longwear Eyebrow Pencil has made it to the top which I will repurchase over and over! Love the sleek and retractable twist-up pencil packaging (as opposed to the conventional pencil type), as it just feels very sturdy and expensive in the hand.

It has a medium to hard formula that glides on smoothly with just the right amount of pigments with a single stroke. I particularly love the slanted tapered tip that allows for an adjustable thin or thick line. You can draw a super thin and sharp line with this pencil which makes a big difference for defining the brow shape. The color is also near perfection – I picked up 808 Brun Clair which is medium brown ash tone without looking too red, warm and harsh.

Swatch – one stroke in 808 Brun Clair

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Labels: CHANEL • EYE SHADOW • EYEBROW • eyebrow pencil

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette Review and Swatch

May 10, 2017

PS: So excited to finally have my Shop My Instagram Page launched on the site (as you can see in the menu bar). As I am updating my instagram with pictures of what I buy, love and wear on a more frequent basis, you can now find all the details and product links on the page!

Back to the topic of the day, I had been eyeing on this super popular Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette (aka the world’s most wanted palette!) which had been sold out for a very long time – yep I was one of those girls who stopped by the counter and drooled over the buttery texture and the gorgeous color combination with the tester on display. I am so glad that it finally came back in stock so I snatched one up at lightning speed! It took me a while to dip my fingers into the beautiful eye shadows. They completely lived up to my expectations as they apply flawlessly and every single shade is flattering and easy to wear for every day.

The palette is housed in a plush dusty pink velvet case, and retails for AUD$75/USD$42 (available here in Australia but it’s not in stock yet) which comes in 14 shades. I personally think it is very reasonably priced as it equates to only $5 per eye shadow for such high quality! The color theme of the palette is wearable all year round, as there is a good balance between the warm and cool tones shades. What I love about this palette is that it offers an abundant choice of the most flattering neutral colors from ivory, light brown to taupes in different finishes varying from matte to shimmer. The pop of a few berry shades makes it more interesting and gives the palette an edge. Unlike the blues and greens, I always find that a touch of plummy red mixed with other neutral colors really compliments my brown eyes and skin tone.

All of the eye shadows feel buttery soft and silky smooth to apply without any fallout, and they all have good pigmentation and blend nicely even for the matte shades.

Closer look at the colors

Shade Description

Tempera: velvety beige with an ultra-matte finish.
Golden Ochre: earthy yellow with an ultra-matte finish.
Vermeer: iridescent shell with a metallic finish.
Buon Fresco: antique lavender with an ultra-matte finish:
Antique Bronze: metallic sable with a satin finish.
Love Letter: raspberry with an ultra-matte finish.
Cyprus Umber: dark coffee with an ultra-matte finish.
Raw Sienna: neutral amber with an ultra-matte finish.
Burnt Orange: deep orange with an ultra-matte finish.
Primavera: shimmery gold with an ultra-matte finish.
Red Ochre: sienna with an ultra-matte finish.
Venetian Red: crimson with an ultra-matte finish.
Warm Taupe: earthy gray with an ultra-matte finish.
Realgar: brick with an ultra-matte finish.

I break the swatches into 2 parts. Part 1 features the 6 eye shadow colors on the left, and part 2 features the 8 colors on the right. All of the colors are swatched with 1 swipe only!

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette is currently available here and here with free worldwide shipping. Get it fast before it’s gone again!

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Labels: ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS • EYE SHADOW

Tom Ford Soleil Eye and Cheek Palettes Warm and Cool Review and Swatches

January 26, 2017

The most anticipated collection of Tom Ford Soleil Eye and Cheek Palettes has finally landed in Australia. Being his loyal fan, I bought both colors on a whim. The cool palette was purchased in Neiman Marcus while I was in the US, and the warm palette was recently purchased back home. Both palettes are still available online in the US, and they are also available online in Australia but the trick is to select ‘store pickup from a store where it has Tom Ford’ otherwise it shows ‘out of stock’ if you choose for home delivery.

I struggle to find words to describe how stunning these two palettes are. As usual, they are on the expensive side, but my justification is that you get a lot of products in one palette (4 eyeshadows, 1 blush, and 1 highlighter in the finest buttery texture) so it is not too bad given how pricey of each individual product is from the brand. The signature limited edition packaging of the glossy white packaging case with golden trim is also to-die-for and it looks and feels even better in real life.

Both palettes contain beautiful neutral colors that I would wear every day, and there is not a single color that I do not like. To me, Tom ford is one of the very few brands that offer many colors in a palette in such a complementary harmony but are not too boring nor too over the top. Apart from the colors, the difference between the two palettes is that the cool has 2 sparkly and 2 satin eyeshadows, whereas the warm has only 1 sparkly and 3 satin eye colors. So if you are not too big on sparkly, I would suggest to go for the warm palette.

Closer look at the Cool Palette