Eyeshadow | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Philosophy The Supernatural Makeup Collection

I tend to think of Philosophy for skin care, but the company has a new makeup collection out that focuses on skin friendly products for a natural look. All products are formulated with antioxidants and are free of Parabens, Phthalates, Talcs, and Sulfates. On the whole, it is a pretty impressive collection. One of the best items is the Philosophy The Supernatural Coloring Book™ . This adorable palette comes in a cute magnetic case and includes two neutral/natural eye shadow shades, two lip shades, a blush/bronzer, and two blushes–one powder and one cream. The items wear pretty well, and the shadows have pretty good pigment. The case and swatches are below.

Perhaps my favorite item in the collection is the Philosophy The Supernatural Lit From Within™ Healthy Cream Blush. I tend to love cream blushes and this one, shown below in the shade Feel Warm All Over, is a nice peachy pink shade. It is high pigment, so if you are fair like me, a little goes a long way. If you are darker skinned and need extra pigment, this one should also hold up well for you.

The collection also includes an illuminating powder that I adore: Philosophy The Supernatural Moonlight™ Natural Illuminating Powder is a light finish powder with light reflectors and enhancers for an illuminating glow. It doesn’t look too shiny and does a nice job of providing an overall glowing look. My only complaint about it is that it has a sponge applicator, which isn’t my favorite way to apply powder.

Overall, this is an impressive collection. For a look that Philosophy The Supernatural Lipgloss from the collection take a look at my review on Girl Gloss!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Guest Post: Milani Runway Eyes Collection

Today brings a guest post from Samantha Radakovitz, who I asked to try out some items from Milani Cosmetics. Samantha is studying journalism, with the hope to be a fashion journalist. Here is Samantha’s review, with swatches:

I am in love with Milani Runway Eyes Collection.There are twelve shades total and all include shimmer. I’ve gotten a chance to try them all but I’ve grown attached to two specific colors that include white lily and black out, mostly because they are two basic colors that go with anything.

The White Lily is a shimmery white that I love to use as a highlighter on top of any of my matte eyeshadows. Black Out is perfect for anyone trying to accomplish smokey eyes plus an addition of shimmer. The little compact comes with an applicator with a brush on one end and a sponge on the other. All the colors are fun and vibrant.

You can check out Milani.com to see the colors and find out more information as well as other products.

Popularity: 2% [?]

DHC Eye Shadow Palette and Eye Shadow Brush

DHC is a Japanese skin care and cosmetics company. I am a long time fan of DHC skin care products, especially their Olive Oil cleanser (read review) and White Sunscreen (Read Review), but I had not tried any of the DHC makeup. Having read some good things about various DHC makeup items, I decided to change that by ordering some.

My first review is of the DHC Eye Shadow Perfect Pro Palette in topaz, and the DHC Eye Shadow Brush . I am impressed with both. Below is a photo I took of the palette.

The first thing that struck me about the DHC Eyeshadow palette was the packaging. A little door opens up over the applicator, and then a mirrored door opens over the eye shadow. It is unique and attractive. The shadow itself is fine. The shades are rather light, and sort of remind of some of the Clinque light neutral shades. That is also fine with me, but if you like really dramatic eye shadow, this might not be for you. The shadow also generally wore well for me. I also like how it is packaged, with the largest pan being the base shade and the liner as the smallest. It balances out the use better that way!

DHC also makes a line of synthetic brushes and sells them at a pretty good price, so I added an eye shadow brush to my purchase. This turned out to be one of the best synthetic brushes I have ever used. Most cheap brushes will have some initial hair loss and might not feel all that soft. But the DHS brush that I bought was quite soft and not a single hair fell out of it. So I was left quite impressed with it, especially considering its $9 price tag.

DHC items are only available online and through mail order. You also get your choice of four samples with every purchase and each mail catalog comes with a sample or two (or sometime three or four) in it. So it is a good mailing list to be on!

Popularity: 3% [?]

Fall Trends: Dior Five Colour Eyeshadow Palette in Earth Tones.

My cosmetic splurge this fall was the Christian Dior Five Colour Eyeshadow Palette in Earth Tones, and boy am I glad that I bought it! It is also a lesson in why you should step outside of your normal range of colors once in awhile. You might just find something perfect for you!

Because I have blue eyes, I normally wear pink and brown shades, so two of the shades in the Dior palette were already up my alley, but I normally do not wear greens. I also tend to wear lighter shades over darker ones. Apparently I should wear greens and darker shades more often though, because the earthy greens in the Dior Earth Tones collection really lit up my skin tone. The shades in this palette also are right in line with this fall’s trendy clothing and accessory colors. Below are swatches taken indoors with a spotlight and no flash:

Try the pink/mauve shade as a base and then put the center green tone on the lid and use the darker green in the crease. It looks fabulous! For night or extra effect, line with the plum shade. Another good look with this palette is to do a smoky eye with the green shades and the brown, or for some real drama, use the light green on the lid and brow bone and the plum in the crease.

The Dior Palettes run around $55. That is a bit expensive, but the shadows are high quality with tons of pigment, especially in the darker shades. The value also isn’t all that bad if you buy the Dior Five Colour Eye Shadow Palettes. At that point it is only around $11 per shade. The palette includes a mirror and two sponge applicators.

I adore this one. It is probably the best cosmetic purchase that I have made all year!

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M.A.C. Cosmetics is in the Red This Holiday Season!

M.A.C. Cosmetics has officially released information on its 2008 holiday collections, available beginning October 16. Here is the information sent by M.A.C. :

M.A.C. heats up the holidays with red hot colours, cases and compacts this season. Give jeweled compacts, stylish brush sets, beautiful lip and eye palettes, or gifts that give back.

“RED” SHE SAID

Passion, heat and danger come together to create this simply sparkling holiday collection. Lips are coloured in lusty shades with shimmering Dazzleglass to add resplendent moisture. Two shades of Mineralize Eye Shadows are zipped together by a strip of silver or gold, while shimmery blushes and silky nail lacquers accentuate a radiant holiday look. (pictured below)

PASSIONS OF RED

Decadent and fiery colours for eyes and lips are housed in brilliant jeweled casings. Beautifully embossed, jeweled compacts create the ultimate gift of glamour. Choose from four Eye Shadow palettes (pictured below), with shades ranging from warm, cool, classic and smokey. Polish off the look with three luxurious Lip Palettes, complete with two lipsticks, one lipglass and a mini lip brush. Each compact is a treasured gift.

PASSIONATELY RED

Vivid colour with a passion for giving equals the perfect gift. Warm or cool, each lip palette contains two shades of Viva Glam Lipstick and one Viva Glam Lipglass for a chic lip look. Every cent of the selling price is donated to the M?A?C AIDS Fund to support men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS. Give glam, give hope.

ADORING CARMINE

Holiday gifting is in the bag. Lip colours and brush sets in red satin stocking stuffers with patent trim. Adorn lips with Adoring Carmine Lip Bags, filled with 2 full size Lipsticks and 1 Lipglass in holiday shades. Adoring Carmine Brush Bags feature elegant red-handled M?A?C brushes in a perfectly-sized holiday makeup bag that can be used year-round.

LITTLE DARLINGS

Glamourous goodies, perfectly presented. Dazzle and delight with mini-sets of Lipglass & Lustreglass, Pigments & Glitter, Softsparkle & Eye Pencils in our most cherished shades. Each set is encased in an elegant cylinder, wrapped in shiny, red patent paper (pictured below).

KIDS HELPING KIDS

Holiday cards that help bring joy. Greeting cards, gift tags and pillow packs designed by children living with, or affected by HIV/AIDS. Attractive and heartwarming, an easy way to give back to kids during the holidays. Proceeds go to the M?A?C AIDS Fund to help support pediatric AIDS organizations around the world.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Stila Cosmetics Brown and Taupe Eyeshadows

I have been so happy ever since Stila Cosmetics went into Ulta stores. I went to Ulta a few weeks ago and picked up a trio of eye shadows that have become absolute favorite shades.

Stila Eye Shadow Wheat Grace Barefoot Contessa

As shown above, Stila’s Eye Shadow in Wheat is a neutral light brown. It makes a great light day shade or a good base and highlighter. Grace is one of the best taupe shades I have ever seen. I love it alone on my lids or paired with wheat. Barefoot Contessa is a darker plum brown that is more on the brown side than the plum side. It makes a great crease shade and also works nicely as a liner.

Stila eye shadow is heavy on pigment, finely milled, and silky smooth, making it one of the top quality eye shadows out there.Magnetic containers are available for storing individual pans. Although single pans are a bit pricey, Stila also has duo pans that fit their single pan pots and has various trios, palettes and quads, which make shadow purchases it a bit easier.