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Nov 13, 2012

Laura Mercier Artist’s Eye Palette Swatches, Review, and Video

November 13, 2012 By Carleenp Leave a Comment

The new Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes is also my new favorite eyeshadow set. In fact, it will be near the top of my list of my favorite products of 2012 (watch for the the last week of December). This palette is simply amazing. If you love pretty, muted, feminine eyeshadow shades and demand quality in your makeup, you owe it to yourself to check this one out!

This is the store photo of the palette. The case is soft, with a magnetic closure. The palette as a whole is very portable.

Here is my photo of it. There is a mirror inside and the top row is shimmers, while the bottom row are matte shades.

Here are swatches of the top row of the Laura Mercier Artist’s Eye Palette. The shades are: Chocolate, African Violet, Sable, Guava, Cameo, and Sunlit.

Next are swatches of the second row of the Artist’s Eye Palette with the shades Vanilla Nuts, Plum Smoke, Cafe Au Lait, Coffee Ground, Deep Night, and Rich Coffee.

All of the shades in the set have good pigment. They are soft and buttery, but do not have excess fall out. They wear incredibly well. Simply put this is a premier set of quality and beautiful eyeshadows. I will be wearing these shades quit a bit through the next few months! I highly recommend this one. It is $48 through the link below.

Shop for the Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes

Here is also my video review of the Laura Mercier palette.

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Filed Under: Eyeshadow, Makeup, Palettes and Collections, Video Tagged With: Eyeshadow, Laura Mercier, Palettes, Swatches, Video

Nov 9, 2012

Disney Cinderella Storylook Eyeshadow Palette Swatches, Review, and Video

November 9, 2012 By Carleenp Leave a Comment

When I was browsing Sephora, I came across the Disney Cinderella Storylook Eyeshdaow Palette and, after checking a few reviews, I decided to pick it up to review and swatch. This palette really surprised me. I got it for the gorgeous shades, but had low expectations for quality. Well, it turned out to have excellent quality as well. That is also reflected in the Sephora reviews of it. At $55 for 20 awesome shades, I consider it a good value.

First off, here is the stock photo of the palette, followed my my photo of it. I love the variety of shades. It has everything from brights to neutrals, to shimmers, to mattes. Several of the matte shades are rather unique as well.

When I swatched the Storylook palette, I was surprised by the color quality. The shadows have very good pigment to them - much more than I expected. My only complaint is that they are on the soft side, so there is some fall out. But boy are they pretty shades!

The box itself slides out of the casing and the palette can be removed, leaving the box suitable for use as a jewelry box or other storage container. That is a very nice touch, but it doesn't slide super easy, and that makes it bulkier as a palette as well. So, it is not super portable, but it is perfect for a home kit. The packaging is tasteful enough to please adults as well as younger people.

Below are swatches of the first row of the Cinderella Eyeshadow Set with the shades, Maiden, All Aglow, Destined, Cinderelly, and Pumpkin Coach.

Row two of the palette has the shades Ball Gown, Kill Joy, Fairy Godmother, Glass Slipper, and Royal. I am wearing those last three blue shades in my look below and in the video.

The third row shades are Gus Gus, Charming, Chateau, Palace, and Drizella.

Finally, here are swatches of the fourth row of the Cinderella Palette with the eye shadow shades Cinders, Jaq, Midnight, A Wish, and Rococo.

I did an eye look with the blue shades. I don’t normally wear shades quite this bright since, at my age, it accentuates wrinkles, but I liked that the bright blue was matte. So I gave it a try.

Here is the Disney Cinderella Palette look from a bit of distance.

I really was happy with this item overall. It is one of the better palettes I have tested all year, and it would make a great gift for just about any age. The Disney theme makes it appropriate for older girls and teens, but the packaging and sophistication also make it appropriate for adults of all all ages. I give it a huge a thumbs up!

Shop for the Disney Cinderella Storylook Eyeshadow Palette

Finally, here is my video review:

Filed Under: Collections and Looks, Eyeshadow, Holiday Gifts, Holiday Items, Makeup, Palettes and Collections, Video Tagged With: Cinderella, Disney, Eyeshadow, Sephora, Swatches, Video

Nov 6, 2012

Fyrinnae Eye Shadow Swatches, Review and Video

November 6, 2012 By Carleenp 3 Comments

Recently, I have been exploring indie makeup companies. My interest came about in part over a desire for more pigmented and more interesting shades of makeup, and in part because I started making some of my own eyeshadows as a hobby. Today, I am looking at Fyrinnae, which is one the highest rated indie companies.

Fyrinnae specializes in complex custom blends of color, all of which are very pigmented and some of which are very bright and/or very glittery. The products are not heavy on base ingredients, and since many have extra sparkle, the company recommends that they be patted on over being swiped or brushed on. Be sure to use a primer with these or apply them wet for the best results and staying power. For high glitter items, Fyrinnae amkes a product called Pixie Epoxy that provides a slightly sticky surface for the glitter to stick to.

Something I love about the indie companies is that many will let you order sample sizes for just a few dollars each. I picked up 20 shadow samples (Fyrinnae’s limit for one order) plus two blush samples, and I think they added a freebie sample because I ended up with 21 shadow shades.

Below are swatches. These were all applied wet.

First up are the shades from the top three rows of the photo. Sorry for the goose bumps, it was cold outside!

The shades in the swatches are: Are You My Mummy, Bitter Boi, Knickers in a Twist, Hypercool, Lorem Ipsum, Otherworld, Digital Faerie, Freya, Mephisto, Alchemists Curse, and Koala.

I had some issues with Mephisto applied wet. It didn’t want to go on smoothly and then it dried blue with some purple in it, while it looked purple in the pan. I then redid on my hand, which you can see in the video, and it came out better. It dries to a right royal blue with just a few purple flecks. It was as brilliant shade, but I didn't like how it applied doing it wet. When applied dry over pixie epoxy is retained its purple look more (see swatch and look below).

Here are Fyrinnae swatches of the shades Bitey Tyrannosaur, Aye Captain, Tyr, Otherworld, Dakkalfar, Kurisumasu, Rapunzel Had Extensions, Crimson Ghost, Nijiro, Book of the Dead, Sake and Sashimi and the blushes in Enrapture (blush) and Enchant (blush). The video shows the blushes applied dry and blended a bit too.

These are the same swatches inside. I somehow failed to get photos of the other set inside. The inside light shows how shimmery and luminous the shades can get.

The below look was done with the shades Aye Captain, Crimson Ghost and Mephisto applied dry over pixie epoxy. Mephisto worked much better for me that way. It is an interesting shade since it is bright blue after being applied wet yet it stays more purple when applied dry. Below are dry swatches of the three shades.