NEW BUY: Drugstore Eyeshadow Palette

~AG~

A late post on two drugstore eyeshadow palettes that I purchased a few months ago in the USA. While browsing through my favourite Target, I saw this Almay Shadow Squad. The neutral colors of 120 Never Settle look perfect for everyday use. For work, I usually use a single swipe of shade for the whole eyelid. I prefer neutral shades such as shimmery peach, gold, light brown or any brightening shade.The great thing about this eyeshadow palette is that there are 4 finishes: matte, satin, metallic and glitter. The best part of all is that is only costs US$6.99 (S$9.60)

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette is a popular drugstore product. MG bought a Wet n Wild eyeshadow palette many years ago and she mentioned that it was pretty good. This eyeshadow palette comes in 10 shades and costs only US$4.99 (S$6.90). Wet n Wild Eyeshadows are known for their pigmentation. The palette I chose is 759 Comfort Zone.  For this palette, I chose darker shades (green, blue and browns) that would be suitable for night look. 

REVIEW: NARS Narsissist Hardwired Eye Kit

~AG~

Sleek mirror packaging

Comes with 6 eyeshadow shades

~AG~
This eyeshadow palette contains six neutral shades, and comes with a travel-sized brush and brown eyeliner. This purchase was a steal! It typically retails for S$80. But during Shiseido Warehouse Sale in December 2016, this NARS Narsissist Hardwired Eye Kit was selling for only S$40. So, why not try it? I have not tried NARS eyeshadow before, but have used NARS's eyeliner and lip pencil. The makeup artist that is doing my makeup for my wedding day has several NARS eyeshadow palette in his 

This eyeshadow palette works well for day and nighttime looks. So far, I have only used the three shades - the two shades on the right side (IV and I) , and the light grey shade (V) on the middle top.

What can I say about NARS Narsissist Hardwired Eye Kit?
The eyeshadow is not as pigmented as other brands such as Urban Decay and Visee Nudy Rich Eyeshadow. Since I prefer a natural eye makeup, the darker colors in this eyeshadow palette will be untouched. The shimmers on the eyeshadow is finely milled, and does not irritate my eyes. The texture of these eyeshadow is not powdery and there is no fallout. It is a decent makeup. The only downside is that the eyeshadows are not pigmented enough, you have to apply several layers for the color to show up. So if you are looking splurge on some eyeshadows, I would not recommend NARS eyeshadow.

I and IV does not show up well on my skin tone

Mini Eyeliner in Via De'Martelli

For the mini Larger than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Via De'Martelli, it is a dark brown pencil eyeliner. Pencil eyeliner does not work well for my monolids, and tends to smudge. It especially, does not work well in Singapore's humid condition. This kit also includes a travel-size #43 Wide Contour Eyeshadow Brush. This densely packed angled brush blends and sweeps eyeshadow with ease. 

Wide Contour Eyeshadow Brush

Overall, this was a great buy because I bought it at a discounted price. Though, I would not splurge for a NARS eyeshadow palette at full price. In terms of pigmentation, NARS eyeshadows are not up to standard. I would rather splurge on Urban Decay or MAC eyeshadows. 

REVIEW: Too Faced Peanut Butter & Jelly Eyeshadow Palette

  ~AG~

This is my second Too Faced eyeshadow palette in my collection. Many years ago, like in 2009, I bought a Too Faced eyeshadow palette. It was around the time when they were popular for their Natural Eye Neutral Eyeshadow that came in a boxed packaging. 

 

This Peanut Butter & Jelly Eyeshadow palette was a birthday gift from a friend. First thing I noticed was the familiar scent of eye shadows. It really smells like PBJ! This palette contains 9 matte and shimmer shades that are inspired by peanut butter & jelly. The shades: Spread the Love, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Cup, Bananas, Peanut Brittle, Jammin, Extra Creamy, Jelly and Nuts About You. The eye shadows are infused with antioxidant rich cocoa powder. The palette comes with a handy booklet that shows you how to combine the shades.

REVIEW: MAC Cosmetics Pro Long Wear Paint Pot in Vintage Selection

MAC Paint Pot in Vintage Selection

It comes in a glass packaging 

~AG~

Discovered this cream eye shadow by MAC Cosmetics when I was in university. This long-lasting cream shadow comes in an array of colors. MAC Cosmetics offers matte as well as shimmery finish. This MAC Paint Pot costs US$22 (S$30) for 5 g of product. MAC Paint Pot claims to last for 15 hours without flaking or caking. MAC also claims that Paint Pot is water-resistant.

I would describe the color as a bronze pink

This cream shadow is simple to use. For a fuss-free way, simply use your fingers. You can also use a brush to apply the cream shadow. The texture of the cream shadow is smooth and not too soft. It does not crease even in Singapore's humid climate. It is highly pigmented and does not fade away throughout the day. Vintage Selection (A33) is described as a frosted dirty peach. But I would describe it as a bronze with pink undertones. The color is beautiful and flatters my medium skin tone. This shade is great for everyday day use. It brightens my eye area with its fine shimmers. The shimmers in Vintage Selection did not irritate my eyes.  Yay! Some shimmery Korean eyeshadows such as Etude House or Espoir for some reason irritate my eyes.

I would totally recommend MAC Cosmetics Paint Pot to anyone that is looking for a long-lasting eyeshadow for everyday use. It is so easy to use, and great for on-the-go! I would not hesitate to check out the other selections from MAC Paint Pot. 

After wiping the area with tissue, there was still an ample amount of cream eyeshadow

REVIEW: Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Chopper

~AG~

Always been a big fan of Urban Decay's eyeshadow. The textures of UD eyeshadows are ultra smooth. The pigmentation is great, and the eyeshadow is long-lasting. Having own Naked Eyeshadow Palette, Naked 3 Eyeshadow Palette and the Naked Basics Eyeshadow Palette, I felt that I could not go wrong with any Urban Decay eyeshadow. Chopper is a shimmery copper tone. This eyeshadow was initially for my mother, she wanted a neutral everyday eyeshadow. When I first swatched it in store, the color was nice. My mother tend to lean towards brown tones so I thought this eyeshadow would be suitable for her. It would be a nice shade to brighten the eyes area. This UD single eyeshadow retails at Shilla Duty Free Changi Aiport for S$24.20. That is a steep price for a single eyeshadow. However, I thought the quality of Urban Decay warrants that price. 

So what did I think about Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Chopper?

My mother returned the eyeshadow to me as she said it was too shimmery. I was puzzled with her feedback because I have never found Urban Decay eyeshadows overly shimmery. Decided to try this eyeshadow for myself. Chopper is a nice cooper shade. It is not too orange or too brown for my medium skin tone. However, when I applied the eyeshadow with my ring fingers, I noticed fallouts to my lower eyes area. Furthermore, the shimmers are not as fine as other UD eyeshadows. The shimmer bits were rather visible. Towards the end of the day, the shimmers transferred to my lower eyelids and irritated my eyes. So so disappointed with this Urban Decay eyeshadow. Chopper is a black sheep of the Urban Decay eyeshadow lineup. They have screwed up with the production of this eyeshadow. *thumbs down*

REVIEW: Visée Nudy Rich Eyes in BE-3

Visee Nudy Rich Eyes

~AG~
Prior to my trip to Tokyo, I have not heard about the Visee brand. From what I know, this brand is only available in Japan. Visee is the more affordable sub-brand of Kose. Visee's products can be found in drugstores around Japan.

This Visee Nudy Rich Eyes palette retailed at JPY 1,512 (S$18). Pretty steep for a drugstore eyeshadow palette. But what convinced me to buy this eyeshadow palette was the pretty colors. The five shades on this palette are all flattering for my medium skin tone. At first, I was unsure whether the lightest shades (the white and pink) will work on my skin tone, but it does! I LOVE the texture of this eyeshadows! It is so creamy and glides on easily. There was little to no fallout from the eyeshadows!  I was super amazed by it! 
The highly-rated Urban Decay Naked palette still have some falling out of eyeshadows during application, but Visee eyeshadows had none of that problem. Even though it is a powdered eyeshadow, it feels more like a cream eyeshadow. The shimmers on this eyeshadow are so finely milled, and does not irritate the eyes. Korean glittery eyeshadows from brands such as Etude House and Espoir tend to irritate my eyes. I am sorry to say, but Japanese eyeshadow > Korean eyeshadow. The only bad thing that I can say about this product is the brush/sponge applicator that comes with it. The brush side, especially, is too small to do anything. I prefer to apply my eyeshadows using my fingers. 

From Top Clockwise: Beige, Light Pink, Cocoa, Light Brown and Peachy Pink

I will definitely recommend Visee Nudy Rich Eyes to anyone who is looking for a great everyday eyeshadow palette! I will love to try the other shades available from Visee.

NEW BUY: Visée Nudy Rich Eyes in BE-3

Visée Nudy Rich Brown

Five beautiful shades 

~AG~

Bought this eyeshadow for JPY 1,512 (S$18) during my trip to Tokyo. While traveling on the subway, I noticed the flattering brown hues that Japanese ladies put on their eyelids. I realized that the Japanese ladies love natural warm eyeshadows for everyday use. Instead of using black eyeliners to line their eyes, they prefer using brown eyeshadows to line the eyes. It gives a nice soft makeup look. This convinced me to find a beautiful brown eyeshadow palette in Japan. Happened to see this brand, Visèe, at the drugstore. It is one of the brands under the Kose group. Actually, I have never heard about Visèe before. I'm not that familiar with Japanese beauty products as I am with Korean beauty brands. But decided to try this because the colors were lovely, and the price was quite reasonable. It is pricier than regular drugstore eyeshadow such as Maybelline, L'oreal and such. On a side note: Gosh, it has been a long time since I purchased drugstore eyeshadow. The last one I purchased was  L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadow about three years ago. Ever since that, I have been sticking to higher-end eyeshadows such as my favourite Urban Decay Naked Palette.

Shimmery eyeshadows

 The palette comes with five shades - white, pink, peachy pink, brown and cocoa. When I swatched the colours in the drugstore, it was pigmented and not too glittery. It does have shimmer but not overdone. This will be a great eyeshadow palette for everyday use. The colors are soft and un-intimidating. Too bad that the descriptions are all in Japanese. I cannot wait to try these pretty shades. I will let you all know how well this eyeshadow works for my medium skin tone, and also comment on its staying power. Stay tuned!

REVIEW: Espoir Eyeshadow in Hibiscus

Espoir Eyeshadow in Hibiscus

Shimmery peach 

The shade is very light and flattering on my light-medium skin tone

You can see the shimmers

 

~AG~

Bought this at the Espoir store in Myeongdong, Seoul, Korea. The Espoir brand is not as popular as Etude House, Innisfree or Nature Republic. You do not see as much Espoir stores in Myeongdong, where all Korean beauty stores populate. I only found one Espoir store while I was there. The products from this brand is not as well-known. But I seen their products on Get It Beauty and other Korean beauty websites.

 

Hibiscus is a shimmery peach pink eye shadow. My intent was to use it as an everyday eye shadow to brighten the eye area. I decided to try a Korean beauty habit - Koreans actress and singers love wearing shimmery eye shadows. I forgot to note down the price of this single eye shadow. The price should be under USD $10. It is a great shade for those that loves shimmery eyeshadow. Even though the color looks light, it does show up on my light-to-medium skin tone. I usually use my ring finger to tap a little eye shadow across my eyelids. I find that it helps illuminate the eye area. The staying power is decent. It does not crease or fade away throughout the day. Nor did the shimmers run off to my lower eyelids.

Overall, I will not hesitate to buy another Espoir eye shadow. The pigment and staying power of their eye shadows are pretty good. Though for those that prefer matte eye shadow, they will not appreciate it as much.

REVIEW: Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

 

~AG~

A year after I bought Urban Decay Naked Basic Palette, I finally have the chance to try it out. The durable packaging makes it a good eyeshadow palette to travel with. It is light and fits nicely onto my travel makeup bag. It fits on the  palm of my hand. The rubberised packaging makes the surface less prone to scratches or eyeshadow residues. 

In the past, I always brought the original Naked palette when travelling. But I found that the packaging is too long to fit comfortably into my smaller travel makeup bag, it takes too much space. Plus, on short trips, I do not need all the eyeshadows that are available on the Naked Palette.

On my recent business trip, I decided to try out this palette. My everyday makeup look for work is usually a wash of shimmery eyeshadow and then some mascara. On some days, I use a contour shadow when I don't have time to put on liquid eyeliner. And when I really feel like dressing up, it is a shimmery eyeshadow, liquid eyeliner and mascara. 

 

       

 It retails for US$29. My sister bought it for me during the Sephora Family & Friends Sale, which entitles VIB insiders with an additional 15% off purchase. 

   

The Naked Basics Palette comes in six neutral shades.

 Left to Right: Venus, Foxy, W.O.S, Naked 2, Faint, Crave

All the eyeshadows are matte except for Venus which some shimmers. 

I was attracted to the four lightest shades on the palette. I find that those are shades that I would wear everyday. The two darkest shades are more for contouring and creating a neutral smoky eyes. 

The compact packaging of the Naked Basic Palette. It is very thin. 

This is the eye makeup look that I tried with this palette. I used Foxy all over my eyelids and then used Faint as a contour color. On the center of my eyelids, I applied Venus to highlight and brighten the area. This is an easy makeup look. You can use the darker eyeshadow as eyeliner. An easy way to define the eyes without the use of eyeliner. It creates a softer definition, which works great for a neutral work makeup look. 

Urban Decay Naked Basic palette is a great eyeshadow palette to have for natural makeup looks. The compact packaging makes it handy to have for travelling. As always, the pigmentations of Urban Decay eyeshadows are superb and stays on very well! I truly recommend this palette to those who want a simple neutral makeup look. 

 

My first post regarding the Urban Decay Naked Basic Palette.http://beautyloverssisters.blogspot.sg/2013/12/urban-decay-naked-basics-palette.html

NEW: NARS Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow in Cassiopeia

~AG~

It has been a while since I have browsed through Sephora.com. In the past, I used to visit the Sephora website every other day or so. While browsing the Editor's Pick section, I saw this new product by Nars. According to Sephora.com, Nars Dual Intensity Eyeshadow is a creaseless, eight-hour wear eyeshadow with a transformative texture for wet or day application. I was especially attracted to the shade Cassiopeia which they describe as a iridescent electric pink. It looks so beautiful. I SO want to get my hands on it. It retails for USD$29. I really wish that Sephora.com ship worldwide. 

Dear Sephora, please make international shipping available. Your faithful Sephora fan xoxo

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

~AG~
My sister brought back from the States my Sephora beauty haul. The Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. I can't wait to try it out. The neutral colors are great for everyday use. The packaging is light and compact. It will be a good eyeshadow palette to travel with.

Arriving Soon! Urban Decay Naked 3

~AG~
Arriving soon at Urban Decay official website! The Naked 3 Palette! 
I saw some swatches of the colors on some blogs. 
The colors look so beautiful! Very flattering. 
It's more soft-toned and natural compared to the original Naked palette and Naked 2 palette.
I want to get my hands on it!

Tarte Call of the Wild

A fearless and sophisticated eye shadow palette featuring nature’s most perfect ingredient: Amazonian clay. Each Amazonian clay eye shadow delivers the perfect amount of creamy matte perfection or subtle shimmer while Amazonian clay works to nourish lids, reduce surface oil, and improve overall texture for easy application and better, longer, truer wear. Everything you need to create a complete eye look that is sleek, sexy, wild, or mild is inside including a full-size mirror for flawless application.The palette includes:

- 6 x 0.09 oz Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow in Meow, Jungle, Instinct, Wild, Primal, Roar- 2 x 0.1 oz Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow in Call, Lynx

Price: USD $38

~AG~

I was checking out Sephora for new products when I saw this palette by Tarte. I've always been a big fan of Tarte since I tried a few of their products - Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes mascara and Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush. But have never tried any of their eyeshadows, so I cannot comment much about the pigmentation and staying power. However, if it is similar to the Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush, which has great pigmentation and staying power, I will definitely go out to buy it now.

There is a great selection of colours on this palette. The eyeshadows on this palette is more neutral with warm undertones. I think it will be a great everyday palette. You can use the lighter colours for daytime use, and the darker colours for night time use.

I'm thinking of getting this in the next Sephora Family & Friends Sale.