Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow

I never did do a full review on these eyeshadows that I picked up when I was in DC!  I have used each of these a few times and here's my first impression.

I was hoping these would really have a gel consistency like the Colour Pop Cosmetics eyeshadows, but they were not.  While these do have a softer consistency and texture, I was not fully impressed with the color pay off of these.

The swatches on the left were done with a sponge tip applicator and the ones on the right were done with my fingertip.  The fingertip swatches have more opacity, but not by much.  Bella Chiffon I use on the inner corner of my eye or as a brow highlight.  Bella Cappuccino I sweep in my crease for a very natural look.

Cost: $3.99 @ CVS (you can find these at Walgreen's and Rite Aid as well)

Pros:
-Decent color pay off when applied with fingers

Cons:
-Too light of color pay off when applied with a brush

Would I recommend these to a friend?  Nope.  Skip out on these and head to Colour Pop for some gel shadows that perform well and are a good deal.

Unboxing: ColourPop Cosmetics Super Shock Shadows, Lippie Pencil & Lippie Stix

My first ColourPop Super quick shipping from LaLa Land!  Have heard so much good stuff about their Super Shock Shadows from other bloggers and to now they have lip pencils and lip sticks.  Eeee!

Queen For A Day Foursome

From the website:

FOURSOME INCLUDES: SHAMELESS / BAE – A duo of shameless black drizzled with multiple shades of green and subtle hints of blue and gold glitter leaving a metallic finish paired with a rich eggplant purple with an emerald, and turquoise, glittery duo chrome metallic finish. GIRLY - Creamy vanilla with a flash of pink and gold duo chrome finish. Girly, the perfect way to class up your stripper heels. SMASH - Neutral medium warm beige with a soft golden satin finish, from beach parties to dancing on tables with your girl gang, Smash is step one to busting out your A- game. SEQUIN - A copper penny like shade with silver and gold glitter. Find a boy, pick him up, all day long you’ll get good…..

Sequin

Girly

Smash

Shameless on the left, Bae on the right

Swatches done with my finger

Swatches done with a sponge tip applicator

LBB - rich plum wine in a matte finish created by one of ColourPop's favorite bloggers LittleBlackBoots.  This color reminds me of MAC Vino lip liner.  I'll have to do a a swatch comparison.  I love Fall & Winter for dark lippies!  I'm lemming Creature and Grind next!

Cost:
Foursomes - $20
Super Shock Shadows & Pigments $5 each
Lippie Stix and Pencils $5 each

Pros:
-Super pigmented
-Lots of colors to choose from
-Not tested on animals!

Cons:
-NONE!

Would I recommend these to a friend?  YAS!  I loooooove these shadows and lippies!  These are a great affordable option for a collection at $5 each, these are a steal.  The consistency of these shadows are really soft, pigmented and buildable.  I am not fond of dipping my finger into product, so using a sponge tip applicator is a more hygienic way to apply without losing the vibrancy.

Currently, they offer free shipping for orders of $30 or more.  They may discontinue this deal, so check them out and order soon!  

Quick EOTD : Metallic Blue

Don't mind the ungroomed brows in this EOTD. This was done prior to the use of my beloved Anastasia Brow Kit! Haha! I think I have another EOTD that was pre-Anastasia. Anywho...I needed to do a quick look and wanted to use some new products that I have been sitting on for awhile. I was on my way out to a jewelry party and was rushing! I didn't buy any jewelry, but I did manage to consume 5 glasses of wine! Lush...

Nothing too dramatic! It was during the day and I didn't want to really put too much effort into it.


Products Used -

Face:
Silk Naturals Date Bait Finishing Powder
NARS Blush in Deep Throat

Eyes:
UDPP
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Cottage Cheese as a base in the crease
Ooh la la! Eyeshadow in Midnight Madness
Metallic Blue Piggy from Ms. B - another one from the haul she sent a few months back
MAC Browshader in Soft Charcoal/Maple
Rimmel Glam'Eyes Mascara in Midnight Black x2 coats

Lips:
NARS Lipgloss in Orgasm

I spotted these Ooh la la! Eyeshadows a few months back at Rite Aid and had to get them because of the GRRRR! design on them! And for only $2.99, why not? I kept the blue one for me and sent Ms. B the green one, Emerald Escape, during one of our Seattle-Thailand swaps. She actually did a beautiful EOTD with it along with some other products I sent.

The shadow is pretty light which is why I paired it with the NYX Eyeshadow Pencil and the darker metallic blue pigment from Ms. B.

**Edit 10/4/08

I went back to Rite Aid to check and see what they had for the Ooh la la! selection and found out the names of the colors as well. There was one pink eyeshadow called Fuschia Frenzy which wasn't that great so I didn't grab it. The blushes they had were Sunkissed, Pink Panther and Bronzed Medallion. I grabbed the latter 2 of the blushes - 1 for me and 1 for Ms. B. Reviews on those later. And yes, these were still $2.99 a pop! There were 2 palettes, 1 eyeshadow & 1 lipgloss, but I wasn't impressed with those either.

I wish the spots were incorported in the actual pressed shadow, rather than just on the surface. Once you swipe the beautiful blue and silver cheetah design, its gone. :(

I know some of you ask about my contacts - Geo's Angel Circle Lens in Green. Ms. B - I found a green lense that doesn't look too scary! Too bad the Kiwi ones didn't look like this. I like to change up my eyecolor every now and then and love the doll eye look that circle lenses give. They appear more natural and are a far cry from the Fresh Looks I used to rock years ago that were just too opaque and didn't blend well.

I swiped the NYX Eyeshadow pencil on 2/3s of my lid before layering Midnight Madness over that. I then dabbed the metallic blue pigment on my outer-v and contour and blended. Gawd, my brows look horrible in this shot!

Overdue MAC Haul

And now I'm overdue for 3 more color story releases! Accck! Thanks to some wonderful friends for this great haul. I received a MAC gc for my grad/bday back in August and decided to purchase from previous colorstories that I had not indulged in yet - Electroflash, Starflash and Cult of Cherry. I picked up 1 eyeshadow in Love Connection from Electroflash, 2 eyeshadows from Starflash in Bold & Brazen and Glamour Check, Blonde’s Gold pigment from the Overrich collection and Liqueur Lip Glass from Cult of Cherry. While I wanted to grab more items from each line, I kept it pretty much to 1 product from 3 colorstories. Excluding the Starflash collection because I loved two of the shadows and did not have any similar colors.


All the colors are pretty tame. Nothing wild out of this bunch. I wanted to transition to Fall make up with more muted browns and pinks. But I didn't want to lose my love for shimmer!


I swatched the shadows with no base. Just as they are! (L-R/Top/Bottom) Blondes Gold Pigment, Glamour Check e/s, Bold and Brazen e/s, Love Connection e/s duo and Liqueur Lipglass on the bottom.

Blondes Gold pigment is a beautiful sheer wash of gold that I love to use all over my crease and layer color on top of that. Like some other bloggers out there, I was disappointed by the appeareance of less product in the container. These are supposed to be more finely milled and while it looks as the jar is not full, the weight should be correct.

I love the shadows from the Starflash collection! They go on so smoothly and blend beautifully. Very pigmented and they offer just that bit of shimmer without appearing too metallic. I used Glamour Check and Bold & Brazen to a wedding last Sunday and it was absolutely goregeous!

The Love Connection duo from the Electroflash collection is quite shimmery with more distinct flecks of glitter. I have had a few lazy days this week and would just do a quick wash of each color over my crease. Just a hint of color!

I think out of all of the products, the Liqueur Lipglass from the Cult of Cherry color story is my fave! I used to be a big fan of a really bold lip, but over the past few years, I have opted for more a more sheer & shinier look with gloss. This color is a good compromise for the Fall, allowing me to have more color on my lips without heading back to my Revlon Blackberry or Colorstay Sienna days. LoL!

120 Eyeshadow palette + free gift!

Here is yet another eyeshadow palette that I have been sitting on for awhile. Sheesh. I have about 3 pages of reviews written, waiting for posting. I gotta catch up! I bought this palette on eBay from the seller Chic Gallery, based on some different reviews I have seen comparing this palette and ones found on Coastal Scents. After peeping the CS palettes for a long time, I went ahead with this one because of the color selection. Some gals have said the CS palettes had too many green based colors and I did notice that too. This palette has more variety of colors - deep & dark to bright & light! For about $24 for the palette and shipping, it was a great deal! The manufacturer Beauties Factory, has also recently opened a website! http://www.beauties-factory.com/unlimitshop/index.php Now you have the option of either ordering via website or on eBay.


They also included a travel size brush set with my order. Nothing spectacular, but great to have for travel or while on gigs.



The palettes are housed in a plastic case and each tray is removeable. This makes it easier to use since you're not holding a huge palette while working with the colors. I love the vibrant selection of colors and for once, I kind of wanted more neutral colors! It would have been great to include maybe more dark browns since the neutrals included were more sand/beige. Other than that, the colors are great! The pans are dime size - small, but the color pay out is awesome, so you don't really need that much product.


And of course, since the brushes are made in Asia, there had to be a bit of Engrish. Its a "Trip Conrenience Load" Haha!

I got it! Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box

I blame LRB for the pressure to purchase the Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box. :p Oh whatever, I would have purchased it anyway, who am I to blame? I got that email about the preview sale and got giddy. Shipping was fast! I received my palette in less than a week! I just stared at it for the first few days, not wanting to ruin the perfectly pressed shadows. The image above is from the UD website and what you see is what you get. The bamboo swing case houses 10 eyeshadows and a brush. UD's Eyeshadow Primer Potion in a travel size is also included - sending this to Ms. B! :p For $36, this is a great deal!


Swatched on my hand with, of course, UDPP! (Top-Bottom/L-R) YDK, Flipside, Grifter, Uzi, Twice Baked Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Flash, Oil Slick, Kiddie Pool, Half Baked

I love these shadows! UD shadows have great color payout! Mainly those without a ton of glitter. The ones with glitter have a more chunky texture, so beware of fallout! Pick up color on your brush and pat the color on. The smoother textured eyeshadows are more blendable. So far, I have used Twice Baked, Midnight Cowboy Rides again and Oil Slick. I will need to do upcoming EOTDs with this palette!

FOTD - Featuring Covergirl's Tropical Fusion Quad

I saw this quad on (g)'s blog awhile back and had to have it! I picked up one for me and one for Miss B in BKK since we have been doing make-up swaps and some of the US drugstore brands are difficult to find in Thailand or they are really expensive. For CG? Really!? o_O I snagged these at Ulta for about $5. Well, I love bright colors for summer or evening and thought this quad would do great for a daytime look.



















The colors swatched here are without a base and done dry. They are quite light and have a light powder texture. I was hoping these would have more pigmentation, but they didn't. I do not think I will be purchasing any other CG eyeshadows anytime soon. These do show up well with a primer and base used, which I did do below, but the flash slightly washed them out and they appear more muted than they really were.


Products used:

Face:
Silk Natural's Date Bait Finishing Powder - I hate using foundation when its hot!
Too Faced Sunny Bunny Bronzer
NARS Blush in Deep Throat

Eyes:
Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion
MAC Pigment in Provence - all over lid
CG Tropical Fusion Quad - peach color in the crease, teal in outer-v with royal blue layered on top and chartreuse in the inner corner.
MAC Browshader in Maple/Charcoal on the brows
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack on upper lid
MAC Technakohl in Graphblack on the waterline
L'Oreal Telescopic Clean Definition Mascara x2 coats on upper and lower lashes

Lips:
NYX Lip Spa in Sake