All posts tagged: eyeshadow

Sample Stash Sunday: Femme Fatale Sampler Pack

One of my resolutions this year (that I seem to be following to a ‘T’…) is to try and discover more indie and local cosmetics companies. They are usually cruelty-free (sometimes even vegan!) which ties in to my whole transition to CF cosmetics. One of the more prominent brands I’ve been seeing around is Femme Fatale. I think this operation might be bigger than most indie companies, but I still wanted to try them since they seem to be quite popular in the indie cosmetics realm. Luckily, they had a 10-Sampler Pack, which I snatched up immediately. My order came a few weeks later in a simple letter envelope from Australia. I got my 10 samples (8 eyeshadows, 2 blushes) and a free eyeshadow sample.

Crossed Out Shopping List: NARS Duo in Charade & Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned

You know sometimes how you keep on putting off buying certain things, but then can’t get them out of your head that you eventually cave? Yep, that’s the situation right here. These are two NARS makeup items that I finally got around to “crossing off” my imaginary shopping list—the Eyeshadow Duo in Charade and the Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned. The eyeshadow duo is, I admit, very much an influence of Ingrid/Missglamorazzi on YouTube. When she started her channel, she was pretty much a NARS loyalist, so I knew I could count on her opinion when it comes to eyeshadow duos. I actually went into NARS to buy this, but was unimpressed and left with both Grand Palais and Dogon instead. Well, I couldn’t forget about Charade.

NARS Spring 2014 High Seize Eyeshadow Duo: China Seas

So I ended up with both the eyeshadow duos released with the High Seize collection for NARS’ Spring 2014 offerings. I mean, it was bound to happen. First up is the more coveted of the two—Kauai. It’s easily the more wearable of the two, with a gold lamé and dirty orchid instead of a blue and pink. I still haven’t gotten it, since it’s extremely backordered (what up with that, Nordstrom?), but I couldn’t wait to post China Seas. Both duos are permanent additions to NARS beautiful lineup of eyeshadow duos. I didn’t expect to pick up the other duo—China Seas—but I ended up doing so, and boy am I glad. NARS describes this duo as an “Iridescent turquoise with gold infusion” and an “Iridescent plum.” Judging from this description, I expected to be absolutely floored by the blue shade, alas I was not. It’s a pretty turquoise, but I don’t see much gold in it. The plum, on the other hand, has a smattering of cool blue/violet sparks in it. It’s so freaking pretty, …

Swatchfest and First Impressions: Oslo Cosmetics

No joke. Every time I see a new purchase I receive in the mail, The National plays in my head: “Oh you’ve done it again, Virginia…” Except my name is Carina but I think I get the point. Anyway. This is a second order I placed for Oslo Cosmetics mid-December. It got shipped out on the 31st and I only got it today. Welcome to International Shipping! This time, my order is much smaller. I got 5 eyeshadows, a lip slick, an eye primer thing, and a blush sampler. I got a sample of a blush for free. Here us everything, swatched, but of course, I’ll talk a bit about each thing I bought. As you can see, I am the world champion at sucking at swatches. Swatched, L-R: Voltanis, Winter is Coming, Lux, Andromeda, Asterism eyeshadows, Hibiscus Lip Slick, Sextens, Equillus, Caille, Indi, Gemini, and Pictor blushes. Voltanis is a kind of a patina’d gold that’s pretty frosty as a finish. It’s described as a “Smoldering, metallic, deep primal gold.” It’s quite pretty and …

Recent Acquisitions: Rouge Bunny Rouge

Oh look, a haul this early in the year. Typical. I bought a couple of Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadows because a couple of places, namely Luxola and the RBR site itself, had them on sale. I ended up buying one of the primers also (???) and a few items not on sale. Agh. Let’s begin? I only have one other RBR shadow (Solstice Halcyon), which I wasn’t super crazy about, but I knew that Belly, Sunny, Teri, and Shari all love the formula, so this purchase was pretty much a long time in the making.

Go for the Nude: Le Métier de Beauté True Colour Eye Shadows in Naked and Tamarack

I bought these Le Métier de Beauté True Colour Eye Shadows in Naked and Tamarack when they were having the Gravité Kaleidoscope on promo as a Gift With Purchase. One of the sets had these two shadows that I would never have normally picked from the LMdB range, especially at such a high price point. They are pretty standard matte colors that are actually pretty awesome and great for everyday, office-appropriate looks, and I would have loved these to bits if I wasn’t already drowning in neutrals. Which I am. Naked is just a light, matte base color that’s probably skin-tone if you are Snow White. It’s not a pure white, though, maybe an off-white/pale cream. Luckily for me, it’s the perfect color to put on the entirety of my lid space, up to the browbone, since it’s such a great base and it’s light enough for a subtle highlight. Tamarack is a matte midtone brown that I want to say is cool-toned. It’s a couple of shades darker than my skintone, which makes it …

Swatches: Sigma Créme de Couture Palette

Hey guys, just a quick swatch post of one of my Christmas gifts to my sister—the Sigma Crème de Couture Palette. I had such a strong urge to buy this for myself, but let’s face it. I’m not going to get a lot of mileage out of this one. It’s a beautiful collection of pastel-y matte eyeshadows heavily inspired by French macarons. There are sixteen shades in all—each corresponding to a macaron flavor. The packaging is quite nice; a slim cardboard box reminiscent of macaron and pastry boxes. Here are the shades from the first two rows: L-R, swatched on bare skin: Redberry Rose, Apricot Flower, Passion Fruit, Cherry Blossom, Meyer Lemon, Ginger Pumpkin, Café Au Lait, Blueberry Cream Here are the shades from the last two rows: L-R, swatched on bare skin: Violet Whip, Lavender Honey, Cassis, Elderberry, Crème de Menthe, Blue Chocolat, Almond Pear, Citron Pistachio Overall, it’s an alright palette, the biggest pro being that they have the weirdest colors ever that are still somewhat dainty, and they’re all matte. They’re not …