Must Haves: Coastal Scents 26 Shadow Blush Palette!

Must Have Palette!

Happy New Year everyone!! I'm so excited for this new chapter in life!! 

Here's my first review of the year :-)

Who said quality has to be expensive? ;-) Today I have a super affordable palette from the Coastal Scents that is high up there in quality but not in price! It's called the 26 Shadow Blush Palette and it retails for only $14.95... amazing price! I've had it for about a month now and I love it! For days that I don't want to think about my makeup too much I reach for this because the colors are so wearable! It's a great everyday palette full of gorgeous warm shades.

The packaging is very simplistic yet sleek. It doesn't have a mirror which is a bummer but other than that it's great!

Let's talk about the color selection, simply amazing! I tend to gravitate towards warmer shades and this palette is perfect for me. All the golden shades and those cranberries... to die for. The shadows are so smooth and pigmented with no fall out. The blushes are so pretty too, easy to blend and the shades are stunning. Here are the swatches by row :-)

That copper shade has my name written all over it haha. I love the mauve shade to the left of it to place in the crease.

The last two shades in this row are great in the outer corner!

Another amazing rose-copper metallic that I melt for! The plum shade is also gorgeous for a smokey eye! The taupe at the end is also really pretty all over the lid!

The range of blushes is great, no complaints! The colors are so versatile and the most ideal colors for these shadows. My favorite has to be the shimmer rose-gold one towards the end, it looks amazing on the cheeks and makes them pop! I also really enjoy how universal this palette is! I'm more light-medium skintone... currently pale because it's winter haha. I used this palette on one of my best friends that has a darker skintone than me and it looked outstanding on her! Here's what it looked like:

PS: I wish my friends would visit me more often (or move...lol) so I could do their makeup everyday! haha. 

Bottom line: I'm sure you can tell how much I adore this palette so I definitely recommend it! The price is awesome plus Coastal Scents tends to have sales every now and then so make sure to sign up for their email alerts to catch it on sale. The combo of shadows and blushes was well selected and it's such a great idea to have them together in a palette. They made it easy for us when creating this palette and I'm a huge fan! :-)

Must Haves: Coastal Scents Hot Pots!

Be Creative!

Hey everyone! I wanted to share a great deal that Coastal Scents is having until 10/03/2014! All their shadow pots are $0.99 and normally they retail for $1.95 so this is the best time to create your own palette! This is my second palette, they recently launch empty palettes with clear lids that I wanted to try out. It's great quality and I'm really enjoying seeing the colors without having to open each palette. The 12 count empty palette retails for $5.95 and the 28 count retails for $9.95. 

They have so many colors to choose from and a variety of finishes too! My palette was inspired by my wedding colors and I'm so in love with it. All the colors turned out to be amazing, richly pigmented and so buttery smooth! From my experience the metallic/shimmers are the best to invest in. But for the price and the chance to create your own awesome palette... you cant go wrong! ;-)

I wanted to share some of my favorites because I know it can be overwhelming when you see the huge selection Coastal Scents has to offer haha. Here we go:

*Caramelized

*Oktoberfest

*Raspberry Tart

*Boca Mocha

*Rich Walnut

Bottom line: I love these hot pots! They are affordable and amazing quality shadows. The possibilities are endless and you can make as many combinations as you want! As if this wasn't a great deal on its own you can also use the coupon code blush25off for an extra 25% off your order until 10/06/2014! Take advantage of this as well because they do get you on shipping. I believe the cheapest is about $8 for standard shipping but even all together it's way cheaper than other palettes sold in store! :-)

Review: Wet n Wild Fall 2014 Limited Edition Eyeshadow Palettes!

Must Haves!

I'm starting to lose track of all the NEW limited edition collections Wet n Wild has been releasing, haha. I purchased a few items from the Halloween collection so expect a review on those pretty soon. But the spotlight is on these three limited edition palettes for fall which are amazing! There's a total of four palettes in the line but the one I didn't pick up was more of a smokey-dramatic palette which I never use. Now, lately the palettes that were being released were lacking in pigmentation so I've skipped on a few recent collections because of that. But these palettes (specially the neutrals!) are must haves! They are formulated just like the Wet n Wild palettes we all know and love so I highly recommend picking them up! :-)

Here's a close up of the palettes:

Even though these palettes have an imprint of where you should put the shadow when creating a look I say there's no rules in makeup! ;-) Besides...some of the imprints just don't make sense haha. These retail for $3.99 each plus I managed to get them on sale for just $2 each at Walgreens, such a great deal! I'm super impressed with the quality of these shadows. They are pigmented, creamy and blend so easily. I've heard the first two palettes has colors that are similar to a few in the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette which is awesome. I don't own that palette but I can confirm that some of the colors are very similar to the ones in the Lorac Unzipped palette.

Here are the swatches by palette:

Smoke and Melrose:

The first shade makes the best crease color, perfect for fall!

Melrose at Night:

The last shade is beautiful all over the lid!

High Waisted Jeans:

All the tones in this palette are very wearable (for blues!) You can create the perfect night look with this one!

Bottom line: These palettes are definite must haves! I'm loving the neutral colors the most because they mix and match so well. I've used them nonstop for the past 2 weeks and the looks come out gorgeous each time. They really suite brown eyes... not to toot my own horn or anything but TOOT TOOT haha. They're so easy to use and everything you need is in one tiny palette. A+! :-)

Must Haves: L'Oreal Infallible 24 HR Eye Shadows!

Best Pressed Pigment!

If you haven't tried these L'Oreal Infallible 24 HR Eye shadows then you must stop what you're doing and run to your nearest drugstore! These are the best pressed pigments in the market! They last all day and the color range is great. They retail for about $8 depending on where you go which is a reasonable price. I would personally wait for a sale to pick them up, like the one Ulta recently had; 40% off the entire line! They can be worn wet or dry and either way you get an effortless look. These are must haves!

These come with a plastic stopper that you can use to keep the pigment compact and stop it from drying out. These feel like cream but on the eyes they set like a powder. I haven't worn them for 24 hours haha but I can say that they are long wearing. They don't fade throughout the day and that's a huge plus!

These are the only shades I have... right now at least! haha. I've worn the magenta and rose gold as lid colors and it looks gorgeous! Here are the swatches:

*Burst into Bloom- a light lilac-purple, really pretty!

*Glistening Garnet- a reddish pink-magenta color, love this one!

*Amber Rush- a rose gold and the most wearable of the bunch. If you could only pick one I would recommend this one!

 

Bottom line: These are the best pressed pigments! I've tried some other ones that are good but not great like these. Nothing really compares so I highly recommend you pick some up! They're not too messy and since its not a loose formula you wont have any fall out. L'Oreal knocked it out of the park with these so don't overlook them next time you're at the drugstore! :-)





Review: Lorac Pro Palette 2 + Swatches!

The Cool Toned Palette!

I love when companies release palettes that are unexpected! Lorac did this when they came out with the Lorac Pro Palette 2. They slowly got us excited with sneak peaks and then BOOM! it was released at Ulta! The palette retails for $42 just like the first Lorac Pro Palette and comes with a mini Behind The Scenes Eye Primer which is pretty good! This is a more cool toned palette with more jewel tones when compared to the first palette. I was pretty excited when I started playing with it and here are my thoughts:

The top row is all mattes and the bottom is all shimmer/metallics. The left half is more on the neutral side and then you have all the darker, jewel tones on the right side. I was so intrigued by the plum and navy shades, specially now that fall is sneaking up on us!

The left side is full of a bunch of beautiful neutral colors, perfect for everyday use. The light brown shade looks amazing in the crease, so does cool gray. Rose and Mocha looks really pretty all over the lid. I found myself using that side of the palette more than the right side because sadly... the darker mattes are very difficult to blend.

I've tried using plum to add dimension but it's really difficult to work with. Plus, when you try to blend it you just end up blending it away with all the work you have to do. The same goes for the navy shade. Those colors are suppose to be the stars of the palette, in my opinion, and they aren't as good as the rest. It's a bit disappointing because without those you just have a regular neutral palette which you can find elsewhere for less. Granted, the Lorac shadows are an amazing formula as far as pigmentation! So the colors are buttery smooth and gorgeous but... some colors work better than others. Here are the swatches:

This is just one swipe over primer so the color payoff is great! But as far as performance there's an inconsistency.

 Bottom line: If compared to the first Lorac Pro Palette I would prefer it over this one. I don't have any problems with the first one and all the colors are consistently good! I was really excited about the color selection is this one but it just didn't WOW me. I won't return it because the neutral colors are stunning and different from the first one. But the palette as a whole is just lacking a tiny bit. At the end of the day I don't feel inspired to use it because of the outcome. Do you have the Lorac Pro Palette 2? If so leave your thoughts down below! :-)



Swatches: Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows! Part 3

Bright Pinks & Purples!

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a great day! :-) As promised here's the third post regarding the NEW Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows, brights edition! I can't stress enough how amazing these shadows are! I've been ignoring my palettes a bit and strictly using these shadows and I'm still in love! Just as a reminder, these are only $3.99 each so make sure to pick some up at your local drugstore or order directly from milanicosmetics.com. Make sure to also check out my previous posts on these for more swatches on a bunch of other gorgeous colors! :-)

There's a bunch of beautiful bright shades in this line from blues to greens but I knew I wanted some of the purples and pinks as soon as I saw them! They pair really well together or with the neutrals I featured on my previous post. The dark purple shade on the top was the only one that needed some building up, the rest worked amazingly!

The top left shade is Bella Purple which is a satin matte finish. The one next to it is called Bella Fuchsia which is also a satin matte. My favorite one of the bunch is the bottom shade called Bella Rouge which is described as a metallic red but it's more of a magenta. It looks amazing all over the lid or mixed with a bit of Bella Copper... love it!! Here are the swatches over primer:

 

I can truly say that this eyeshadow line is addicting! I'm slowly adding more and more colors to my collection, I just cant get enough haha. I guess it's not too bad since they're so inexpensive. I recently picked up 3 more colors that I've been using non stop. Stay tuned for a possible part 4 of swatches! :-)





Swatches: Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows! Part 2

Everyday Neutrals!

Hello everyone! I'm super excited about today's post! I recently reviewed the Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows and included swatches of the three colors that I first found at CVS. Since then I placed an order on the Milani website and picked up a few more colors. These shadows are amazing, specially when worn wet! I wanted to swatch a few more to make your decision process easier if you're looking into picking some up. Today I have the neutrals edition and the color edition will be coming up soon so stay tuned! :-) Here are the ones I chose:

After trying some more of these shadows I'm convinced that the Satin Mattes are my favorite! They blend so easily! The Metallics are gorgeous when worn wet but when dry they don't show up too well. Here are the names and finishes of these four:

I created a look for my engagement photo shoot using these and it was breathtaking! I used Bella Copper all over the lid with a wet brush for a more foiled look, Bella Bronze on the outer corner also with a wet brush, Bella Cappuccino as my transition color and Bella Taupe blended into the crease. I was so happy with how it turned out, these colors pair so well together!



Here are the swatches over primer:

On the left is Bella Cappuccino and on the right is Bella Taupe, both Satin Mattes and really pretty! :-)

On the left is Bella Copper and on the right is Bella Bronze, both Metallics and look amazing when used wet!

 

Out of all the Bella Shadows I own these are my favorites, neutrals always have a special place in my heart. haha! I highly recommend these four because you can easily incorporate all of these colors into your everyday eye look. They're so inexpensive at $3.99 each so I'm really enjoying these shadows! :-)

Make sure to check out my previous post if you're interested in seeing Bella Navy, Bella Teal and Bella Espresso!

Review: The Suede Shadow Palette By NYX! ( Limited Edition!)

Limited Edition Palette!

I'm a huge fan of the NYX Cosmetics shadows! While looking around on their site I noticed they had a new palette called The Suede Shadow Palette and the colors seemed so beautiful...kinda reminded me of fall which is my favorite season. I then noticed it was limited edition so I placed my order immediately haha. I love how affordable it was at $12, plus I used the coupon code Welcome25 for 25% off! Here's a close up of the colors:

The colors are simply gorgeous! Lots of jewel tones and cool toned neutrals, a great mix of colors! Now most of these colors are metallic and a few have some flecks of shimmer in them, so no mattes which is a con. Its not a complete palette in that sense but the colors are worth it! Another con is the packaging... is a super lightweight cardboard that honestly feels cheap. But... the product is great so I guess I can overlook that haha. All the shades are smooth and highly pigmented. Here are the swatches:

I wished the colors were named to make it easier to pick it up in single form so that's a bummer. My favorite colors are the 2nd and 4th one on the top row and the 3rd one on the bottom row. They would all make amazing lid shades! There wasn't much fallout and the colors didn't fade throughout the day.

Here's a look that I came up with! It's wearable smokey eye for the daytime. 

Bottom line: If you're a metallic lover than this palette is a must have! I have the Cargo "Let's Meet in Paris" Eye Palette which was released during the holiday season and was also limited edition, this one seems to be dupe for it! It has many similar colors and finishes so if that was a palette you couldn't get before this one would be a great alternative!  If you're interested make sure to pick it up asap before its gone! :-)



Review: Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows!

New From Milani!

Lately I've been expanding my single shadows collection and giving my palettes a rest haha. I've been loving the Essence, NYX and Ulta shadows a lot lately! I was so excited about these new Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows when I saw them at CVS because I had no idea they were being released so it was a nice surprise! The display had about nine different colors but most of them were sold out. They retailed for $4.50ish each so super affordable! I only picked up these three and I've been searching high and low for the rest of them because the colors are amazing!



I just can't stop staring at them! The color and texture of these is stunning. Plus they look like a miniature version of their blushes and bronzers... so adorable! They don't come with any brushes or sponge applicators which is fine with me since I don't really use them. They have an indentation in the center of the shadow, fits my finger perfectly for the swatches haha. When swatching you barely need to swipe your fingers because they are that pigmented! They feel super smooth, almost like a pressed pigment but without fallout or crumbling. With that said I do feel like they swatch a lot better than they apply which is a bit disappointing. The brush doesn't seem to pick up the product too well so I've used my fingers when applying these. I don't mind but it's just a tad annoying for precision purposes. Here are the names/ finishes of the ones I chose:

Here are the swatches:

From left to right: Bella Navy, Bella Teal and Bella Espresso.

The navy color is my favorite! I've been playing around with it a lot lately. Here's one of the looks I came up with using these:

 

Bottom line: Aside from the application issue I would still highly recommend these! I'm sure if used wet using your brushes wont be a problem. Even dry it still applies but it just takes some time to build up the color which gets tedious. I have no problems using my fingers, I actually used them for the look above and just blended the edges with a brush! The formula itself is great and longwearing. For the price its definitely worth a try! :-)

 

Update: These are now available on the Milani website milanicosmetics.com for only $3.99! They offer free shipping over $25 so make sure to order a few... or all! haha ;-)

 

In addition, I used them wet today and they were amazing! That's how they work best! I've picked up some more colors so stay tuned for some more swatches! :-)









Review: Revealed 2 Palette By Coastal Scents! + Lorac Unzipped Dupes!

Rose, Coppers and Golds Oh My!

I immediately fell in love with the Revealed Palette so when I received an email about the release of the Revealed 2 Palette I didn't hesitate to place my order! Just like the original this palette retails for $19.95 but at the time it was on sale for only $9.95! Such an amazing deal, I couldn't pass it up. This palette is full of beautiful bronze and rose shades, similar to the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. I don't own that palette but from comparing swatches I found online... there's so many dupes of the Naked 3 in this palette!

Here's what the palette looks like! It's the same packaging as the first... still no mirror but that's beside the point haha. The color selection is gorgeous! The first row of shades is full of rose golds and coppers. The bottom row is the deeper bronze and plum shades... amazing! There's a nice amount of matte shades to blend out your looks which is a huge plus. The formulation of these shadows is so smooth and rich, very comparable to high end shadows.

When I first glanced at the palette I thought about my Lorac Unzipped palette. I found a few dupes from that palette so this one would make a great alternative! The Unzipped palette retails for $40 while this one has more colors and its less... need I say more? ;-)

Here are the swatches by row:

First row

Second row

Look how pigmented they are! I'm truly impressed with the quality of the palette. I did want to include the dupes that I found and to make it easier I decided to number the shadows so they can be distinguished.

The Lorac shadow will be on the left and the Revealed 2 shadow on the right.

*Lorac Undercover and #2

*Lorac Unbelievable and #9

*Lorac Unattainable and #10

*Lorac Unconditional and #11

*Lorac Unbridled and #13

*Lorac Undiscovered and #3

 

Bottom line: This palette is amazing! If you've been lusting over the Naked 3 or the Unzipped palette you'll definitely love this palette because its the best of both worlds! You can sign up for price alerts on coastalscents.com so you can order it once it's back on sale. The shadows are long wearing and perform very well! I'm so happy I own both the Revealed and Revealed 2, both are A+ palettes! If you want more information on the first Revealed palette (which is comparable to the Naked 1 & 2) make sure to check out my full review by clicking here! :-)