LOTD: Smoky and sultry

Lately, I've been loving simplistic but sexy looks. And by "looks," I am really just referring to the one look I've been wearing non-stop recently.

I've never been a "black" makeup girl - I never really wore black mascara or black shadow. I felt like it looked too unnatural on my eyeballs. And then I discovered this combo...

I even cracked this baby out for my work Christmas party - and I have to say, I am in love with this combo.

Eyes:

I primed my lids with Urban Decay's Primer Potion. I break out my NYX single eyeshadow in White and use an all-over fluffy brush to apply a light dusting of the powder under my brow bone. Then I used NYX's single eyeshadow in Black with my Quo smudger brush to apply the black shadow along my lashline, and then I fade it out in an exaggerated wing. I really buff the lines out to create a gradual fade to the wing, it allows me to have a more exaggerated wing without looking gothic and overdramatic. A new edition to my makeup routine includes curling my lashes, after which I proceed to pile on the mascara - my newest obsession is the Prestige My Blackest Lashes mascara. I finish off with a shimmery white/gold shadow in the inner corner to brighten up and draw attention to my eyes.

Face:

For my work Christmas party, I primed my face with Urban Decay Primer Potion (yes, I know it's a eyeshadow primer, but I needed something to hold my foundation in place and I was out of options...) and used my Revlon Whipped Creme Foundation with the foundation brush from Real Techniques all over my face and blended it out. I used Maybelline's Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Radiant (310) under my eyes to cover up my dark circles, and I set everything with Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder. For bronzer and contour, I utilized what remains of my MAC Matte Bronze Bronzing Powder, and for blush I applied a light wash of MAC's powder blush in Mocha, then a little bit of Benefit's Coralista, and finally a few dabs of Essence's Renesmee Red powder blush.

Lips:

I kept the lips quick and simple with Strawberry Parfait gloss from Bonne Bell's lipLITES line.

I feel that this look draws a lot of attention to the eyes. The intense black mascara especially draws attention to my green eyes. The smudgy black shadow creates the illusion of thicker lashes, and the winged shape creates the appearance that my eyes are more almond-shaped and lifted up towards my eyebrows. By keeping the blush and the lipgloss simple and muted, it allows all the focus to be on my beauteous green eyeballs.

Don't you wish your eyeballs were as hot as mine? Tee hee.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Gel Shadow (Part 1)

These spiffy little cream/gel shadows retail for approximately $5-$9 CDN a pop. They are sold wherever Maybelline cosmetics are available for purchase. The Color Tattoo eyeshadows are available in 10 funtabulous shades: Tenacious Teal, Fierce and Tangy, Too Cool, Audacious Asphalt, Painted Purple, Bad to the Bronze, Pomegranate Punk, Tough as Taupe, Bold Gold, and Edgy Emerald.
Of the 10, I have 2 in Tough as Taupe and Bad to the Bronze.
*Note: Since moving, I haven't been able to photograph pictures of Bad to the Bronze, as we've run out of AA batteries. I will post a second part to this review detailing my experience with Bad to the Bronze as soon as I can find me some batteries for my camera...*


As far as color selection goes, there's not a whole lot to chose from - in fact, only one of the shades is matte. I'd love to see Maybelline expand this line and bring out some more matte shades - like a nude, a white, and a black.


According to Maybelline.com, these shadows have 24-hour intensity with a tattoo-esque tenacity. Their 'ink technology' yields an intense, long-lasting cream eyeshadow. Maybelline claims that the cream formula will glide on without creasing, as well as prolonging the vividness of the color. They are ophthalmologist tested and safe for both contact-lens wearers and those with sensitive eyes. 

These come packaged in glass pots with twist-on black caps. The base is made of a transparent, heavy glass through which you can see the color of the product. The name of the product is located on the lid, which can prove to be problematic if you're using more than one of these babies at a time - you could potentially get the lids with the names and their colors mixed up. I don't think it would be a super huge deal, but that's just me...


There is a considerable amount of product in these little pots, so I'm sure that one will last you forever.


For the record, I've never tried the MAC Paint Pots, which the Maybelline Color Tattoo shadows have been compared to.

Of the 10, Tough as Taupe is the only matte shade. It's a purple-y, gray-ish taupe shade. 

With flash.

No flash - natural sunlight.

I usually apply these shadows with my fingers, though I've used synthetic brushes too. I feel that if you were packing on the color in a very specific area - the brush method would be more appropriate for application; however, for general purposes and application - your finger works just fine. Additionally, the warmth from your fingers will help create a smoother application, and will improve the blendability of the product.


For work, I tend to sweep the color across my eyelid with my ring finger, and then I use my pinky or middle fingers to blend out the color in my crease. I pop on a little eyeliner and mascara and run out the door for work. It's a fun, easy, and gorgeous look to obtain in a short amount of time.

No flash - natural sunlight.

With flash.

I find these cream shadows incredibly easy to work with. They're smooth and pigmented, so one swipe gives you great color payoff which easily blends into a wash of color, or an on-the-go smokey-esque eye.


These cream shadows don't dry too quickly, which gives you a generous window of opportunity for blending and evening out the application. I find that they dry in just the 'right' amount of time. 


As for longevity, I find that these babies last 'all day' on me. I have tried these with and without an eyeshadow primer underneath. Personally, I found that these last an entire workday (about 8 hours) without creasing, though fading is somewhat noticeable without using a powder shadow to set the cream. I let my best friend try these when she was visiting, and she really enjoyed them too, though she felt that with her extremely oily eyelids, they did not stand the test of time quite like they do on my skin. She noticed slight creasing and fading as the day wore on, but nothing too terrible looking. After trying them for a couple of days, she determined that she'd have to use an eyeshadow primer BEFORE using the Color Tattoo shadows, just to help with creasing and fading.


As far as color selection goes, there aren't a lot of options for 'work appropriate' use. I feel that Bad to the Bronze and Tough as Taupe are about as good as you're going to get on that front. A lot of the colors are shimmery, which is sort of a bummer. 


Overall, I'd say these are a fantastic product and well worth your money. Perhaps if you're the owner of some seriously oily eyelids, you'll want to invest in an eyeshadow primer to prep your eyes before applying these cream shadows, but on the whole I'd say they have a very respectable longevity - especially for work wear. If for nothing else, you could use these as colored bases for your eye looks. On the whole, I'm thinking that if you buy one and decide you hate it - you're not out that much money in the first place. In my opinion, they've definitely lived up to all the hype they've been getting.


4 out of 5 stars.
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What's your favorite cream/gel shadow!?

Depotting your NYX Trio Eyeshadows

Hola my beauty lovin' babes!


This blog post is going to be up a little late today because it's based on a project I've been working all morning on.


I received my first Z-palette from Makeup Geek in the mail today! I purchased a large Z-palette in leopard print (ooh la la!) I was thoroughly impressed with my first shipment from makeupgeek.com. I placed my order on March 19th, and received the shipping confirmation on March 20th. My package showed up on March 30th, via First Class Mail International Parcel. It was carefully packed in a cardboard box filled with pink packing peanuts - the palette was individually wrapped in a protective plastic bag, and further wrapped in bubble wrap. Included were 20 metal adhesive disks to adhere to the bottom of your depotted shadows.


I purchased this palette with a depotting spree in mind. I was tired of keeping my NYX trios hidden in the back of a drawer. I wanted them to be in a more convenient and accessible format so that I would actually use them. I'd watched a few different videos on how to depot eyeshadows, with and without heat. I determined that the heat method would be best suited for me. So I'm going to walk you guys through my journey!! Buckle yourselves in for a fun Friday ride!


What you need:

- A towel

- A paring knife

- Wax paper

- Rubbing alcohol

- Q-tips, cotton pads or balls

- A straightener/flat iron

- Magnets

- Labels

- Pen

- Empty palette

Here are a couple of video recommendations if you're looking into depotting your own eyeshadows.
Hello Vanilla Snow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o23Q2sheAFI
EnKore Makeup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hswbVxijJ1A
FrmHeadtoToe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnHzR0Un30I

I started by extracting the plastic lining out of the trios. You have to (carefully) wedge a paring knife into the corner, and pop the four clasps inside. If you're gentle and patient, you won't have a problem and the tray will come out with a little persistence and no nicked shadows.

After I had repeated this step on all of my trios, I heated up my straightener to 420 degrees. 

These definitely weren't all of my trios - I was about halfway done here :)

I folded a single sheet of wax paper in half, and gently placed it on the bottom plate. I set the eyeshadow tray on the hot plate (on top of the wax paper) and let it sit there for about a minute. I would check it periodically to make sure it wasn't over-melting, burning, or attaching itself to the wax paper. Sometimes it would take more or less time - the key is to keep checking. 

When you can see a slight change in the bottom of the tray (sweating of the plastic, buckling, etc.) you know it's ready. Turn the tray bottom-side-up overtop of a towel. Use the knife to gently push on the back of the plastic to push through the soft plastic and push the eyeshadow pan out of the case. 

Let it fall upside down on top of the towel and let it sit for a while to cool down - trust me, these things are HOT.

After the pans cool down, you will need rubbing alcohol and Q-tips and/or cotton pads or balls. Dip them into the rubbing alcohol and starting working at the glue on the back of the pans. Rub in circular motions to gently lift and work the glue off the back. This is the most time-consuming part of the entire process. You've been warned!!!

Next you need to adhere magnets and label your eyeshadows. Labelling your eyeshadows is key. You don't want to forget which is which, so after adhering the magnets, you can apply a label with the eyeshadow name attached on the very bottom. Mine don't have labels on the bottom of them yet, but I have a list of where each shadow is in my palette and what their names are, so I don't have pictures of this step.


And voila! Here's the finished product!!

And that's all there is to it. I apologize that the picture quality is less than stellar. I had to take these pictures with my (new) phone, and the quality isn't as great as my last phone... But, que sera sera. Some crappy pictures are better than no pictures, eh? :)


Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed! I'm looking forward to using my new palette, and you can bet your bottom dollar a review on my new Z-palette will be coming soon!!


In the meantime, have a great weekend!!
xoxo


Have any of you tried the Z-palettes? What do you think of them?

Annabelle Mono Eyeshadows

*Keep in mind that my shadows have been VERY loved and used, and aren't looking in the best condition. In addition, after my first palette got dropped, my pans shattered and I had to fix my broken shadows - hence the reason they look very beat up... my apologies for the less than stellar pictures...*


These mono eyeshadows are available for purchase wherever Annabelle Cosmetics are sold. They retail for around $3-$6 CDN, depending on where you buy them and whether or not they're on sale at the time. There are 12 permanent shades available in various finishes.


The mono eyeshadows should not be confused with the single eyeshadows available from Annabelle. The mono eyeshadows are a relatively new concept, releasing sometime in the last couple of years. They are sold individually in pans, which can then be inserted in eyeshadow quads (each palette holds 4 shadows) which are available for separate purchase. The single eyeshadows, on the other hand, are sold in pots - similar to the MAC eyeshadows (not the pro pans). The single eyeshadows are pretty much impossible to depot - trust me, I've tried.... but that's another story for another time.


The palette that is marketed alongside the mono eyeshadows is very functional if you're just starting out in makeup. It holds four shadows perfectly, so you can create a very respectable palette for yourself. The shadows pop easily in and out of the pan, as it is magnetized, which makes it easy to swap and replace shadows as you see fit. While the magnet is strong, it isn't nearly strong enough to survive a fall. I have dropped this palette before and broken my shadows as they flew out of their slots. They were easily repaired with rubbing alcohol, kleenex, and a quarter, but I am definitely more careful when transporting this particular case.

The palette is also very large. It is neither sleek nor compact, and it's ridiculously heavy for an eyeshadow palette of its size. Rasilla writes that the case "stands at 16mm," which is pretty freaking hefty. It appears sturdy, but I have replaced my palette once already as the plastic hinge broke (this was before I dropped it), disconnecting the lid from the base. At $5-$6 a pop, it doesn't break the bank, but I'm definitely not in the mood to keep replacing such a brittle palette. It also has a semi-transparent top (aside from the grafitti-esque designs gracing the lid) which allows you to see some of the colors inside at a glance.


I have noticed that Shopper's Drug Mart will typically give you a deal - if you buy the palette and 4 mono eyeshadows, you get a discounted price all together. I have never personally tried this, but it's worth looking into.


I own 4 of the mono eyeshadows: Divine Diva, Vanilla Chilla, So Foxy, and Nymphet. 

No flash, natural light.

Divine Diva is a medium plum-y purple shade infused with gold glitter throughout. The gold glitter is not an overspray, but is a part of the entire shadow. The pretty gold definitely transfers from the pan to the skin, which is a huge bonus. It is definitely less pigmented than my other shades, and takes more work to build up the intensity, but the color is so beautiful that I find it worth the effort.

No flash, natural light.

With flash.

Vanilla Chilla is a satin-finish paled cream shade. This is very similar to my skin tone, except a little more yellow. In the pan, it looks matte, but on the skin it creates an undeniably sheen that creates the most delicate and natural highlight on the brow bone and in the tearduct. As you can see... I love this shade - I've definitely hit pan and am going to need a backup soon.

No flash, natural light.

With flash.

So Foxy is a matte medium brown. This color is fantastic for deepening the crease, and could be used as a brow powder. It can apply a little patchy at times, but usually it's a matter of creating a smooth base to start with - and applying a primer usually minimizes this greatly. It released with the Spring 2011 DayDream collection, and has since been discontinued (...bring it back, Annabelle!!)

No flash, natural light.

With flash.

Nymphet is a shimmering mint green. It is incredibly shimmery, and I would anticipate that used wet it would look almost metallic. It is my least used shade, but I like having it on hand - just in case. It released with the Summer 2010 Painted Love collection, and was limited edition.

No flash, natural light.

With flash.

These shadows are absolutely fantastic. They're incredibly creamy and smooth feeling. One swipe guarantees you (at least) medium pigmentation, with some shadows being more intensely pigmented than others. They do not kick up a lot of powder or leave a bunch of fall-out on your face, which is nice.

No flash, natural light.

With flash.

In my collection, the Annabelle Mono Eyeshadows rival some of my high end shadows, like Urban Decay. For a drugstore alternative, they are the piece de resistance. The only downside is the selection - there are currently 12 permanent shades available, with additional shades being released periodically throughout the year. My only wish is that the selection were larger. 


All-in-all, they are absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend snatching some up if you get a chance, and by all means, if you pick up a Z-palette and pop them in there, that would work too. You definitely don't need to pick up the Annabelle palette just because they're sold "together." You don't need to spend an arm and a leg on good quality eyeshadows from high-end brands when you've got products like this available right at your fingertips, and for a fraction of the cost.


I will purchase more, but this time I don't want to put them in another Annabelle case. I just need to find and pick up a larger magnetized palette for storage.


Definitely 5 out of 5 stars!
* * * * *


What are your favorite shades in the mono eyeshadow collection? What storage alternatives have you found for your loose shadows in pans???

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original

I have been buying Urban Decay's primer potion for about 4 years now. Back in the day, it cost $18 CDN for a 10 mL bottle - today it costs $22 CDN. I purchase this product from Canadian Sephora stores, but it's also available from www.sephora.com as well as www.urbandecay.com.

The product USED to come packaged in a purple 'genie' bottle, with a doe-foot applicator. In 2011, however, Urban Decay repackaged their beloved primer into a more functional and practical squeeze tube. The product is a thin cream-like consistency, it is 'flesh-colored,' but dries invisible on the eyelids - so it is perfect for anyone of any skin color. The primer is available in colored formats too (Sin and Eden), but I prefer the original.

Using the primer once a day, every day, it lasts me approximately 4 months, before I need to purchase a new bottle.

This is an absolute miracle for eyeshadow wearers. Using this product underneath your eyeshadows not only makes your eyeshadows appear brighter on the eye, but it prevents creasing on the eyelid and fading of eyeshadow colors. It also helps with the blending process, making it easier to create flawless makeup looks. If applied close to the lash lines, it prolongs the wear of your eyeliner, whether liquid, gel, or pencil. It also provides a base for eyeshadows (loose or pressed) to stick to, and prevents excessive fallout.

In my opinion, the only downside to this product WAS its packaging. While the genie bottle was absolutely adorable, it was a pain in the butt. When you start pulling out the wand, and you aren't getting any more product, you would assume that means it's time to throw it out and buy a new bottle. Not so. Because of the shape of the bottle, LOTS of product gets trapped around the bulges, where the wand cannot reach, and so you must 'depot' your primer potion. There are many videos on YouTube for how to do this. Simply put, you cut open your bottle in two places, and scoop out the leftover product and place it in a small container for your use. Over time, the potion dries out and becomes more of a paste-like consistency, and when it becomes too dry and thick to use anymore, I go out and buy myself a new bottle.

However, this is no longer a problem - so it is definitely worth the $22.

By splurging on this product, I would argue that you can purchase cheap, drugstore makeup and use it as opposed to buying more high-quality, expensive makeup, such as MAC, Stila, Urban Decay, etc. This primer potion makes the most of even the cheapest eyeshadow (NYC, Maybelline, CoverGirl, NYX, Annabelle, etc.) and really takes a low-end eyeshadow above and beyond expectations.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in starting to explore and experiment with makeup. You don't need to purchase expensive makeup to get high-quality results. I would argue that you only need UDPP (Urban Decay Primer Potion) and you can use anything and make it look like a million bucks.

Definitely a must-have in everyone's makeup kit.

I can now proudly award it 5 out of 5 sparkling stars.
* * * * *

Have you found a cheaper alternative to the infamous Urban Decay Primer Potion?

Wet N' Wild Walking on Eggshells Eyeshadow Trio

Wet N' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in "Walking on Eggshells" (380B), previously the Mega Eyes trio in "Egyptian Sands." I picked this up from WalMart for about $4-$5 CDN.


Wet N' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in "Walking on Eggshells" (380B)


Previously, Wet N' Wild Mega Eyes trio in "Egyptian Sands"

I don't recall when I first received the Wet N' Wild "Egyptian Sands" palette. All I remember is that it was a gift when I was like 12 or 13 years old. I didn't know anything about makeup and I didn't really wear makeup at all anyways - but I remember finding out that it was 'cool' to highlight your browbone when doing your makeup, so I used the shimmering white-gold color in the palette as my highlight shade - and it worked PERFECTLY. I never really used the other colors in the palette until I turned 18, and by that time, the highlight color in the palette had run out. *sad face* But I soon came to realize what a perfect NEUTRAL palette this was - for cheap!

Recently, Wet N' Wild did a huge repackaging and reformulation of their products. Sadly, my Egyptian Sands palette went with it. Except, not really. Wet N' Wild re-released the Egyptian Sands palette with the Color Icon Eyeshadow trios under the new name of "Walking on Eggshells." Don't be fooled though - they are the EXACT same product (despite looking different in the photos included above).

These eyeshadows are extremely 'creamy' and soft. They are very shimmery - not glittery - almost metallic because of the shimmer factor. They are moderately pigmented - the darker colors are more pigmented than the lighter colors. Each shade is imprinted with the place on the eye they are recommended to go (browbone, crease, eyelid). The browbone shade is a cream color - but shows up as a sheer white gold color. It makes a beautiful browbone, and facial highlighter. It is very shimmery, but almost comes off with sheen as opposed to looking like sparkly particles on your face. The eyelid color is caramel champagne shade, moderately pigmented, and very shimmery. On my skin tone, it adds only a little color - warming up my eyelid area more than anything, but works great as an all-over shadow color. The crease color is a deep bronze shade, also very shimmery. It is extremely pigmented in comparison to the other colors included in the palette.

NO FLASH
Top row: No eyeshadow base
Bottom row: Urban Decay Primer Potion as base

WITH FLASH
Top row: No eyeshadow base
Bottom row: Urban Decay Primer Potion as base

When I want a more dramatic day look, but don't want the hassle of applying more than one shade to my lid, I just sweep the crease color all over my eye and blend the edges with a matte eyeshadow that is close to my skin color.

When used with an eyeshadow base, these colors blend SEAMLESSLY together. They compliment each other perfectly, and give the nicest wash of color over the lid.

I do not recommend using all three shades at the same time in one look - if you use the crease and eyelid shades, use a matte highlighter on the browbone. If you want to use the browbone shade as a highlighter, use more matte shadows on the lid. When used all together, these shades have a tendency to make it look like a shimmer bomb exploded on your eye.

However, if you've invested in a good eyeshadow base, these babies don't budge an inch. They are great quality for the price you pay, and last you FOREVER. They work perfectly for an everyday look - but I wouldn't recommend picking up this palette if you're looking for a deep, smokey evening look. This palette would be great for EVERYONE's skin tone, and really warms up the eye area, and adds shimmer to make the look extra special.

I highly recommend the Wet N' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in "Walking on Eggshells" (380B). Go out and BUY IT :)

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
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