Late to the party with Make Up For Ever’s campaign for self-expression

Wow, some days I’m just so amazed at how out of touch you become when you’re a new mom (or maybe this doesn’t go away…? O_o). I thought for SURE I’d already posted about this palette, but NOPE. My bad, guys. Soooo…I should probably do that now, eh? Considering these palettes ($56CAD) appear to be no longer available online at Sephora. Oops. The good news: The shades in both this palette and the other palette promoted for the “Be Bold. Be Unexpected. Be You.” campaign are not limited edition and are available for individual purchase. So, not all is lost!

Since I’m way late to this party, I’m not going to go into great detail about the campaign since a) it wrapped up August 26th, and b) I’m sure you’ve read/heard all about it already*. But the eyeshadow shades themselves deserve a mention because they’re rather lovely!

*If you somehow missed the hubbub surrounding this campaign, it’s intention was to promote individuality and authenticity, celebrate the freedom of self-expression and encourage us all to redefine what beauty truly means. The faces of the campaign – Jamie Chung, an actress and fashion blogger; and transgender fashion model Andreja Pejić – both curated a palette of four eyeshadows that they would use to create their signature look. Hollywood makeup artist Mélanie Inglessis – who is also Make Up For Ever’s Pro Consulting Artist – created four unique looks each for Chung & Pejić, from the wearable to the avant-garde, to bring the brand’s transformative nature to life and inspire everyone to express who they are.

I chose the Jamie Chung palette because I felt like it had shades that weren’t strongly represented in my existing collection (though after seeing Tracy’s post I feel a bit of regret, as those shades look MAGNIFICENT). They’re more neutral-to-cool in tone, and they have a really chic, sophisticated vibe:

Clockwise from top left: M532 (Sugar Coated Candy), S642 (Sahara), ME108 (Steel) and D320 (Golden Khaki)

Each of the four shadows (which are full size, BTW) are smooth and super creamy-feeling (due to their gel-powder formula), and the color payoff is excellent. The palest shade, M532, packs a lot of pigment, so it looks a bit garish against my darker skin, but the formula is top-notch. S642 is kind of a nude tone on my skin, but due to it’s satin finish it’s eye brightening on me in a subtle kind of way. I own maybe only one other gunmetal shade, so ME108 was a welcome edition to my collection – I feel like it will make for a great cool weather smoky eye (and greyish tones make my brown eyes pop).

Left to right: M532 (Sugar Coated Candy), S642 (Sahara), D320 (Golden Khaki) and ME108 (Steel)

Finally, I had a hunch that D320 was going to be the spitting image of another MUFE shadow I own, I628 Reptile from the Fifty Shades of Grey palette, and I wasn’t far off. D320 is more shimmery (given that it’s has a Diamond finish vs I628’s Iridescent finish), and warmer, but for all intents and purposes they’re quite similar.

Left to right: I628 Reptile, D320 Golden Khaki

Below, I’m wearing just S642 Sahara on my eyes just past the crease. Buuuut you guys probably can’t really see it haha, so these pics aren’t terribly useful, except to point out how closely it matches my skintone. I’m quite happy with that actually, I don’t have anything like it and all too often ‘skintone’ shades others use for a base color are far too light on me, so this is great. It’s also an awesome no makeup-makeup product, eh??

In these next shots, I’m wearing S642 as my base, and then I used an eyeliner brush to sweep a thick line of ME108 Steel across my upper lash line, which I buffed out a bit to diffuse the color. I used another MUFE shadow on my lower lash line, ME612 Silver Brown, just for contrast. It’s a pretty subtle look but I liked the effect and LOVED that it took me all of 2 minutes to do.

So far, every single MUFE shadow that’s crossed my path has been crazy wearable with a gorgeous texture that almost looks like a second skin when applied (like you naturally woke up with shimmering grey lids…oh YEA, baby), and these are no exception. I plan on trying out several different looks with these shades when the weather cools, as I feel like the color combination is better suited for fall/winter than summer (though S642 will be a go-to for me all year round!). Just one more reason to look forward to fall (sorry guys…I know you love your summer & sunshine, but bring on the season change!)!

Light up the night with Make Up For Ever’s Midnight Glow Palette

Hiiii guys!  Is everyone making it through the holidays ok so far???  It is FLYING by for me, every year I seem to be busier than the last!  This is the first time in a week that I have sat down in front of my MacBook at all…and work has been so busy that I can’t get any personal stuff done there like I used to (LOL!).  I just realized that I hadn’t shared with you the new position I’ve been in for the past two months – I’m working with our Communications team on an acting assignment, and it was SO. GREAT.  My main task is to write and/or upload articles to our internal webpage, and the set up is just like WordPress, so I took to it pretty quickly – uh, hello, I like to write and I have a blog; what a PERFECT position for me!  I think I’ve found my niche, guys!  It’s only a short-term position, but it’s given me some much needed career direction, so I’m feeling really great work-wise lately 🙂

However, due to the mega-busy factor in all areas of my life, I have fallen behind on my blog posts – and one item in particular that I have been wanting to review for several weeks now: Make Up For Ever’s new Midnight Glow palette!

If ever there was a palette that captured the essence of winter, this would be it.  Inspired by the glistening effect of the winter moonlight, the Midnight Glow palette ($48CAD) contains icy shades of white, blue, grey, and pink; a shimmering violet; and two grounding shades of black and soft brown.  Honestly, it’s one of the prettier palettes I’ve come across, and it’s just the perfect size – the shadows are large enough to actually get right in their with your brush (and conveniently, the palette comes with two of it’s own!), but it’s small and thin enough that you could stash it in your clutch for touch-ups with ease.  The case is black with splashes of rose gold and silver design – in a word, I love it!

The shadows in the palette are relatively smooth even though the majority contain small bits of glitter throughout their frosty finishes.  Now, everyone knows that high frost shadows can be tricky to wear – particularly on aging eyes, but still difficult for those of us without too many fine lines yet.  I was a bit nervous about this palette, despite how much I love how it looks, that it would be a shimmering disaster once worn.  However, the shadows are all on the sheer side – a fact that initially I was frustrated over (the swatches required many passes to get strong colour), but to which I came to realize allows them to be more easily worn as a wash of shimmer and sparkle on the lid, versus intense frost that could easily veer into the danger zone.  Also, I really appreciate the inclusion of the two matte shades, the black and brown, which allow for blending and grounding of such sparkling shades.  Both shadows are also quite sheer, which may not be ideal for certain looks – especially with the black – but I think it follows the theme of the palette which seems to be more ethereal in nature, rather than disco ball.

Indirect light

Direct sunlight

Though the sheerness does mean that many of the shades look similar once worn, I do appreciate that nevertheless the palette is made much more wearable by this trait.  It may come as a disappointment to those of you looking for a more intensely frosty look, but overall I think that it’s not a bad thing.  I don’t have many frosty, glittering shadows, and I think it will add the perfect touch of sparkle to my nighttime looks over the holiday season (and beyond!).

What kind of makeup looks do you favour during the holiday season?  Are you comfortable wearing frosty shades? 

*Product was provided by the PR company/brand for my unbiased consideration.

Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes: Review & Swatches

So, despite the fact that of all the sets I received last month for review, I was MOST excited for Laura Mercier’s Artist’s Palette for Eyes ($60CAD) – it’s taken me ages to post about because I really wanted to do it justice.  But DAMN guys, this palette is hard to photograph!

No…this wasn’t the hard shot to get.  LOL

The light shades looked far too bright and almost glowing.  The medium shades came out too light and washed out.  The glorious sparkling shade, African Violet (which, by the way, I’ve been drooling over forEVER) didn’t come out quite sparkly enough.  The dark shades…well, you get the picture.  I did 4 different photo sessions with this palette, and suffice to say, I just had to get on with it already.  But unfortunately for you, the ‘good’ shots came after I uh, already played around with the palette a bit.  You think I could hold off for that long!?! Pfffft.

One of the few ‘ok’ shots I took before marring the beautiful pans

You’ll just have to deal with it.

In the shot above, the shades Guava and Primrose on the left are lighter and a bit less pink than in they appear.  Plum Smoke (SO hard to capture that shade) is a touch warmer and lighter…the rest are fairly accurate.  Let’s see a close-up!

Sparkling Dew and Vanilla Nuts (WTF?) are a bit lighter in the pan and are great for highlighting the eyes – the former having a satin finish and the latter being matte.  Guava and Primrose would be excellent neutral shades to brighten up the eye, Primrose being a bit more beige-y – both have a satin finish with itty bits of glitter in each (not a fan usually but they pretty much blow away the instant to put brush to pan).  African Violet (swoon) is a gorgeous light-medium violet with golden shimmer…I’ve had my eye on this baby for years so I’m pretty stoked to finally get to try it out!  Fresco is a perfect matte nude on my lid that is a touch warm to keep it from looking flat – sort of a mix of light brown and peachy-pink (if that makes sense).

Swatchies!

Left to right: Sparkling Dew, Vanilla Nuts, Guava, Primrose, African Violet, Fresco

See those bits of glitter in Sparkling Dew and Guava?  Weird, right?  They’re less noticeable in Primrose.  Still, odd inclusion – but they aren’t problematic when worn.

Next 6 shades:

Plum Smoke is my fave shade next to African Violet in terms of color – such a beautiful, sultry yet subtle soft matte plum; the name is perfect.   Bamboo is a shimmering taupe-y shade that personally falls kinda flat for me – it’s too washed out for my skintone – but I can see others LOVING it.  It also contains that strange hint of glitter here and there.  Kir Royal is a medium-deep plum with reddish tones – this requires appropriate use an execution to avoid that mega-tired or punched-out look.  It has a mostly matte finish but not flat.  Truffle is a great matte warm brown that works well as a crease shade to blend out smoky looks.  It’s going to be a workhorse for me I can tell.  Violet Ink is a deep indigo that would be awesome as a liner shade or smoked out in the crease/outer edge of the eye.  Same goes for Espresso Bean, a dark cool brown with a hint of grey. Both are matte.

And again, swatches:

Left to right: Plum Smoke, Bamboo, Kir Royal, Truffle, Violet Ink, Espresso Bean

This half of the palette is my JAM.  Love the soft smokiness of all the shades, and I think even though Bamboo isn’t the most complimentary tone on my skin, I can make it work.

Ok, so you’ve seen the pretty – how about the formula?  Well, each and every shade is super soft and lovely, though this does mean they kick up powder a little bit.  They’re more on the sheer side though pigmentation can be built up if so desired.  All the shades meld seamlessly with one another and for this palette-phobic girl, they pretty much hit the mark dead-on.

Here’s the thing.  I read Karen’s review of the palette and couldn’t quite get what she meant about the shades blending into one another and being a bit aggravating that way.  I tend to be a one to two shadow girl, and I didn’t have any previous issues in using them.  But when I tried to pull a more intricate look together, I totally got what she meant – it’s like they just muddy together to make one shade; there’s no gradient or definition, and the more I tried to add to the look to build up certain colors, the worse it got.  It was almost like they were repelling one another…totally bizarre.  So it’s something to keep in mind if you do, in fact, want to be a bit of an artist with this palette.  You might have a little bit of trouble on your hands!

Quite honestly though, I wouldn’t let this oddity deter you from at least checking out the palette in store.  The shades are all quite nice and it’s extremely wearable.  And, hello with that fabulous faux croc case!!!  LOVE it.  And it fits right into the palm of my hand – perfect for travel or for just storing with your other products, as a few of you mentioned those bulky palettes can be the WORST.  Overall, Laura Mercier gets my vote, bizarre shadows be damned.  Maybe the ‘artist’ part is that you’ll gain MAD skill at application after using this palette a few times! 😛

OK, what say you?  Yay or nay to THIS palette!?

*Product was provided by the PR company/brand for my unbiased consideration.

 

 

Sephora + Pantone Universe Full Spectra Eyeshadow Palettes in Day Break and Night Fall

Last month I received a surprise delivery of treats from Sephora, which included the new Pantone collaboration Full Spectra eyeshadow palettes ($46CAD).  I was pretty stoked, truth be told – the design of the palettes are right up my alley (aka a minimalist aesthetic with sleek lines, and neat magnetic detachable covers), and the colors looked super-fun and interesting.

The formula is touted as being ‘color-shifting’ and have a ‘pearlescent-matte’ finish, which is sort of a contradictory term but also somehow correct.  Of course, I jumped right in and got to swatching!

First up is the Day Break palette, which consists of somewhat neutral, soft shades typically more suitable for day wear.

Top row, left to right: Navajo, Dew, Jet Stream, Fairest Jade / Bottom row, left to right: Shrimp, Atmosphere, Cloud Pink, Peach Melba

Cloud Pink…huh.  It does not look pink at all, much more like a copper/bronze to me, but clouds aren’t pink anyway so the naming here is just all sorts of messed up.  Anyway.  On to the swatches!

Left to right: Shrimp, Navajo, Atmosphere, Dew, Cloud Pink, Jet Stream, Peach Melba, Fairest Jade

You can see a bit of the duochrome-y-ness in a few of the shades, which is apparently more pronounced when swatched wet.  I tried it out and I did notice a slight difference, but not enough to be a game-changer.  All of the shades of Day Break are pearlescent except for Jet Stream and Peach Melba, which are just matte.

Next, we have the Night Fall palette, which still retains several neutral shades but adds a handful of punchy colors to spice things up for the evening.

Top row, left to right: Gravel, Eggnogg, Coral Pink, Crystal Pink / Bottom row, left to right: Ocean Wave, Yellow Iris, Persian Jewel, Pink Lavender

Again with the strange pink reference to a shade that is clearly not pink (Coral Pink).  Maybe they know something I don’t????

Ah well.  Swatchy time!

Left to right: Ocean Wave, Gravel, Yellow Iris, Eggnog, Persian Jewel, Coral Pink, Pink Lavender, Crystal Pink

The shade combination in Night Fall really intrigues me – you could come up with some super-interesting looks here I think!  Obviously Persian Jewel is the standout shade here, with Ocean Wave a close second (especially for lighter skintones than mine).  The bottom shades are all matte as well as Eggnog (top, 2nd from left), while the remaining three are pearlescent.

As you can see, both palettes swatch semi-sheerly – and they had to be built up to get this level of pigmentation.  The shadows are soft though stiff, but not necessarily hard to blend.  All will yield a pretty wash of color to the lids – but if you’re looking to go bold (especially with shades like Persian Jewel), you will be disappointed.  Particularly on my darker skin, these shadows are mostly a miss for me – I tried using Persian Jewel wet, on top of a primer, and while it was visible it did not yield the impact I desired.  I recognize that some shadows are designed that way intentionally, but I do not think that was the case here.  So, while there are some pretty shades and these look gorgeous, unless you’re going for subtletly, I’d pass on these.

As a note, both palettes contain talc if you have a sensitivity to it, but do NOT contain parabens.

What are your thoughts on sheer shadows – yea or nay?

*Products were provided by the PR company/brand for my unbiased consideration.

My First Foray Into Japanese Cosmetics – KATE Real Create Eyes Palette

While I was in NZ (how many times have I said that on the blog now?  A billion?), I was for the first time in as long as I can remember, totally unfocused on makeup and skincare and generally all the pretty things I consume myself with in a normal day here at home.  However, while killing time in Auckland one day, I was browsing a Japanese cosmetics store in a mall there and happened to see these cute little shadow palettes for sale.  The line was KATE, a drugstore-level sub-brand by Kanebo (the same company that produces the lines LUNASOL and SENSAI).  Not having tried any Japanese brands before (and hearing so many great things about them), I figured I’d pick one up to try.

Debuting in 1997, KATE’s brand motto is ‘No More Rules,’ forgoing conventional makeup trends to adopt a more contemporary and urban take on beauty products.  It turns out that eye makeup is a hallmark of the brand, so I’m pleased that I seemed to make a good choice.  The product I purchased is one of the Real Create Eyes eyeshadow palettes, which are designed to create ‘naturally contoured large eyes‘ and do so with ‘clear, soft-transmitting colors and a deep monotone colors.’  I purchased mine for $35NZ (about $29CAD), and it contains 5 eyeshadow shades in similar tones and varying finishes.

Sunlight

With flash

The palette I chose was in ‘shade’ BR-2, which I guess stands for Brown and the 2nd of three different brown-toned palettes (out of five – there is also a green-toned and blue-toned one too).  As you can see, there is a pearly shade on the top left (which has a cream formula – all the rest are powder); a dark, cool brown in the top right; a creamy white-gold in the bottom right; a warm champagne shade bottom left; and a beige-taupe shade in the middle.

Sunlight (See how gorgeous the white-gold shade is? [last swatch on right])

With flash

Artificial light

I’ve had this palette now for two months, and have just started to use it now.  And boy, what I was missing!!  I am generally not a fan of palettes because usually one or two (or more, depending on the size) shades don’t get used, and I feel like it’s just taking up space.  But this one is small and compact, the shades aren’t terribly large (which might be a drawback for some, but not for me!), and I find each shade extremely wearable.  The formula of the powders are soft but not powdery, terribly smooth, and apply easily with medium pigmentation.  They are ‘sheer’ colors: as in, they look very natural when worn, and though they all contain shimmer it is not glaringly obvious or metallic in any way, so quite office-appropriate if that is a concern.  The most densely pigmented shade is the white-gold, which happens to be my favorite and I’ve been wearing it as my inner eye highlight almost every day now.  It’s got a slight duochrome-y-ness to it that I LOVE, and it’s just so smooth and shimmery without being too sparkly.

It gives the most wonderful glow to the eye and is just the right balance of cool and warm, so that I can wear it with pretty much any eye makeup.  Above, aside from the white-gold, I’m wearing the champagne from lash line to crease, the deep brown in the crease and on the bottom lash line, and the taupe to blend.  You can see how naturally it all wears and blends together.  I’ve worn these shadows twice now without primer and experienced excellent staying power with only slight fading over the course of the day.

I have yet to use the cream formula, though I’m intrigued to see how it will work.  Here is a closer swatch:

I don’t know if it’ll apply so ‘sheen-y’ to the eye and with such a whitish-pink hue.  I did swatch it heavily to show the tone so I suspect it will be subtle.  I plan on trying it tonight so we’ll see how it goes!  It feels smooth, not gritty at all, and is slightly tacky but not gummy in the least.

Indications on the back of the plastic packaging box on where each shade should be placed on the eye. ‘A’ which is the cream ‘glow’ color, doesn’t have a specific area noted but I’m sure it explains it in the text…which of course I cannot read 😦

I’m super-enamoured with this palette overall, I love how the tones and finishes provide an eye-opening effect so easily.  For the white-gold alone I would buy this palette; it’s like nothing I own and I often find frustration with pale colors that others can use in the inner corners because they often run too cool or frosty on me.  I can see myself already gravitating toward these shadows on a daily basis, which is highly unusual for this fickle gal.  The only issue I have is the packaging, which I actually like the look of, but which feels quite flimsy.  However, I did drop this the other day (argh!  I hate when I do that!), and the top of the case came off, but was able to just snap back in place without incident, and none of the shades were broken.  So maybe it’s not such a bad setup after all…?

Unfortunately, when I looked up online where to buy KATE aside from Asia (where it’s sold in most countries), there did not seem to be any other locations available and no online option.  However, I suspect that if you are in a store like the one I was in, that specializes in Asian cosmetics,  you might get lucky.  I would highly recommend taking a look if you have that option, as these shadows/palettes are absolutely lovely and at an entirely reasonable price given the quality.

Update: Lovely reader Mimi let me know that you can purchase KATE online at adambeauty, among other Japanese cosmetics brands!  I just did a ‘trial run’ to see how it would all work, and it looks like you could buy this palette for $15US plus $2US shipping (international).  CRAZY!!!  I’m  half-tempted to pick up a few other palettes myself!  She notes that sometimes products are out of stock, but for the prices I don’t know that I’d be all that bothered to just keep checking back.  Another site she’s checked out (but not shopped from yet) is gooddealer, which appears to have brands like Shiseido and Kose, as well as KATE – though it doesn’t seem exceptionally user-friendly.  Anyway, so not all is lost if you’d like to get your hands on this or other Japanese brands!

Have you tried KATE before?  What has been your experience with Japanese brands?  Do you have any to recommend?