Illamasqua Neutrals Palette

I had a little Illamasqua haul recently and the Neutrals palette caught my eye. I love neutral eyeshadows and was in the market for a smaller palette to take with me to my wedding later this year. I’ve never been fussed on the Naked palettes, my Inglot palettes are too damn big to travel with and I’m worried my trusty MUA Undress Me Too wouldn’t stand being bashed around in a suitcase – for all it’s awesomeness, that is some flimsy packaging right there. I read amazing reviews of this palette from Illamasqua, so thought I’d take a chance.

 

 

 

Isn’t it a handsome looking little palette? A very simple but chic combination of colours, all wrapped up in that glamorous Illamasqua shape. You get 6g of shadow in this palette, so the shadows aren’t full sized – the single Illamasqua shadows contain 2g each.

 

 

 

L-R, Stealth, Vintage, Wolf and Obsidian. Applied on bare skin on top and NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow in Milk on the bottom. 

According to Illamasqua, Stealth is a ‘creamy buttermilk, matt finish.’ Wolf is a ‘rich chocolate brown, matt finish.’ I find Wolf to be quite cool-toned.  Obsidian is a ‘rich black.’ Vintage is an ‘antique gold’ with a satiny finish and is exclusive to this set – the rest you can buy on their own. This is both great because Stealth, Wolf and Obsidian are such great staple colours, and sucky because Vintage is really gorgeous and richly pigmented and I’m sure would sell well as a single! The pigmentation on the matte shades is good too – Stealth looks a little weaker because it’s closer to my skin tone than the rest, but it performs well. Obsidian isn’t the blackest of blacks, but I find that a plus as  really rich blacks can be harder to work with. I have some from some older Sleek palettes for example that are black as sin, but are awful to apply and blend!

 

Vintage on the lid, Wolf in the crease, Obsidian and Wolf together on the outer V and lower lashline, Stealth as inner corner and brow highlights.

 

 

Stealth all over the lid over a light layer of NYX Milk pencil, with Wolf blended softly into the crease and on the lower lashline, with Wolf pressed onto the upper lashline.

 

 

I’ve really been enjoying this palette – Vintage in particular is really gorgeous and looks great with my eye colour, and the rest of the colours are so handy to have. I’m not sure if this is the one for me for my wedding – I think I’ll still take it, but supplement it with a warmer brown more along the lines of MAC Swiss Chocolate. But it’s six months away, so we shall see! If Wolf were warmer, this would probably be my favourite quad of all time. I do still really like it, but it’s not my 100% perfect neutral set.

Do I think this is a nice palette? Yes indeed I do, a very nice palette! Do I think you can get equally nice neutrals for a lot cheaper? Yes. It’s not the cheapest palette in the world – but it is better value to get a quad where your eyeshadows will run you £5.60 per gram as opposed to £7.75 per gram. If you’re a fan of Illamasqua’s eyeshadows, want to try a palette from them, or simply love the classics, this is a really nice quality item and you can’t go wrong with the colours. You can pick it up for £34* on the Illamasqua site.

 

What’s your favourite neutral palette?


*I bought this item myself, but I am eligible for Illamasqua’s pro discount scheme.

Quickie Review and LOTD: Loreal Paris Colour Riche eyeshadow quad in Trésors Cachés

Curiosity killed the cat… Having misplaced a lovely khaki eyeshadow my friend Wendy sent me, I went searching in Boots for something similar and picked up this little quad. I’ve barely tried any L’oreal products at all but somehow this found its way into my grubby mitts.

 

 

 

The quad is slim and compact – it’ll fit easily in your makeup bag. It feels very light – no heft to it at all really - and doesn't have a mirror, but I always carry one with me regardless so not a problem in my opinion.

 

The khaki colour was pretty much what I was looking for!  It didn’t have the olive sheen of the one I’d lost and was looking to replace, but I liked the shade and I  thought I could probably get away with it for work. The blackened cranberry colour looked interestingly vampy too. The black and gold colours I was less impressed with, but as this little quad was so compact I didn’t mind two colours I wasn’t overly impressed with.

Eyes: Loreal Trésors Cachés quad, just over primer.
Cheeks: Borjouis Delice de Poudre bronzer. Sleek Suede
Lips: L’Oreal Colour RIche Collection Privee Lipstick in Cheryl: Barely Greige

 

 

 

I don’t really know what to say about this quad… I kind of don’t have any strong feelings about it either way. The khaki and gold colours look lovely layered together, and the cranberry shade either has the bonus or the downside of blending out to a reddish brown, depending on your preference. Applied over a black base or brown base it retains its cranberry-ness, and is a decent colour to put in the crease if you're wearing a rosy shade on your lids. The charcoal colour is nothing to write home about at all. The texture of the whole set is pretty decent but again, nothing to write home about. "Trésors Cachés" translates into "Hidden Treasures" and for me that's not really true. "Alright for Work, Not The Worst" isn't such a catchy name really though, is it?

 

I have nothing negative to say about this palette, but I can’t find anything overly positive to say about it either. Do you ever feel that way?

L’Oreal Colour Riche Quads are £7.99 from Boots.

Quickie Review and LOTD: Vivo Colour Block Eye Palette in Dreamy

Another palette from Vivo today! A contrast to the Show Me The Money! palette, Dreamy is full of lovely neutrals. I believe this is the same as the MUA Undress Me palette, which handily I don’t have! One of many alternatives to the Urban Decay Naked palettes that have popped up over the last year or so, I was really keen to try this one out.

All swatches over bare skin.

Top Row: Starry, Clay, Neutral, Eternity
Middle Row: Night, Dreamy, Luxe, Dove
Bottom Row: Stone, Tease, Sand, Twinkle

Again, not bad for bare skin, hey? Lovely pigmentation! My favourite here is definitely Clay, which I know I will use up right away as I always do when I have this type of colour in a palette – its just a perfect crease colour and I love to use this type of shade to blend out blacks and darker brows. It’s really nice quality for a matte, too! Stone is a very beautiful, cool pale taupe colour which I’ve been loving as a wash all over the lid for work. I love how rich Twinkle looks as well - a pretty damn nice selection of neutrals here, I must say!

Eye: VIVO Clay in crease, Tease all over lid and lower lashline with Stone in the centre, Night in the crease and Neutral to highlight inner corner and browbone.
Cheeks: Bourjois Delice de Poudre no 52, Boots No 7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter.
Lips: VIVO matte lipstick in Pucker Red

Eyes: VIVO Twinkle and Starry on the lid, Tease and Night on outer corner and lower lashline, Sand on brow and inner corner.
Cheeks: Bourjois Rose D’Or
Lips: VIVO Colour Stain in Sweet Dreams (sheerly applied)

What else can I say other than this is a really nice neutral palette?  Two lovely highlight shades, some pretty taupes, a good matte black and a good blending colour for £3.99? If you don’t have a good neutral palette in your life, go and get this one. You won’t be sorry. I know a lot of people are ‘allergic’ to neutrals, and I used to be one of them, but seriously, if you don’t have a neutral palette, I’d pick this up as it’s also going to be a lovely accompaniment to the brights in your collection – Twinkle with a bright blue perhaps? Stone with a deep mossy green? Clay to blend out a bright purple?

What’s your favourite neutral palette or shade?

Quickie Review: Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit

Man, I haven’t bought a Benefit product for about five years until this one. When I got my first student loan I went nuts on Benefit, and then I realised that I was horrible at makeup and I think that put me off buying from them for a long time. I still think they have a fair few gimmicky items but a recent trip to their new store on Carnaby Street had me lusting after a few things. I picked up one of the Creaseless Cream Shadows to wear at work and I went for the blogger favourite Birthday Suit while my lovely shopping companion picked up another favourite, Skinny Jeans.

The packaging is absolutely beautiful. This is the newer packaging for these products and it kicks the arse of the old black screw-top ones. It’s like a modern Art Deco look and very reminiscent of a lot of Paul and Joe products and the box it comes in is just lovely – I don’t want to throw it away so I’ve been keeping my stud earrings in it on my bedside table (I don’t like to sleep in earrings.) There are a few other things with this packaging in – a little clunky on the lipsticks but I prefer it to much of Benefits other packaging. More of this please Benefit!

This is a really interesting shade – it’s a taupey chrome sort of colour with warmer sparkle, so when you apply it sheerly, it’s a nice cool wash, and when you layer it, it becomes a little warmer. I don’t really know what drew me in to this colour but personally I think it’s very beautiful. I’ve been wearing it alone with a flick of liner for work and I’m really, really impressed with it’s longevity. The first time I wore this, I wore a sheer layer – I left for work at 6.30pm and when I got back around 7pm, I had just a tiny bit of creasing in the deepest part of the crease of my eye which I blended out with my finger, seeing me through until I went to bed. I wore a thicker layer the next day and noticed a little more creasing around 4pm, but nothing horrific. The colour itself is also one that doesn’t look horrific when it does crease, like a starker colour would. I only have a couple of MAC Paint Pots but I have a fair few Color Tattoos and I have to wear a primer with all of them if I want to wear them alone all day, and I’ve not felt the need to with this, so I’m very impressed! If the rest are this good, I would put them above the Color Tattoos easily.

Birthday Suit on the lid with a matte brown from MUA’s Undress Me Too palette in the crease.

I’m really pleased I bought this product and I’m pretty darn interested in getting some more. Skinny Jeans and No Pressure have got my name on them!

Creaseless Cream Shadows cost £15.50 and you can buy them from Benefit stores as well as the Debenhams and House of Fraser websites.

Ginger Drag

I had a wig and nothing to do, you know how it goes.

Eyes: MUA Undress Me Too Palette, Jesses Girl gold pigment, Maybelline gel liners in Black and Brown (brows), cheap lashes from discount shop.
Foundation: Illamasqua and Avon Concealers, Revlon Nearly Naked to blend, Jessies girl pigment to highlight, MUA blush, stage powder to set.
Lips: Brown from MUA Undress Me Too Palette, Sleek Eau La La Liner in Melba, L.A Colours lipliner in red, Rimmel Apocalips in Siren
Wig: Anabelles Wigs. Earrings, Primark.

 

I still can’t get the hang of using Pears soap to cover brows, I just feel like if I want to add more it messes it up underneath and I can’t get it to look smooth. Anyway, I did this really quickly because I was bored and probably could have done a much much better job, especially on the eyes, but whatever. Do what I want. I like the fact everything is pretty neutral and still looks really out there!

Wet N Wild Sparkle ‘Til Morning Coloricon Eyeshadow Palette: Swatches and Looks

Recently I got a banging parcel from Wendy full of lovely US goodies including two Wet N Wild 8 pan palettes!

Sparkle ‘Til Morning is a slightly oddly named affair, being a mostly neutral palette. It’s not a palette that immediately conjures up images of dancing the night away as the name would suggest. It’s not the first time I’ve been bemused by WnW’s choice of names, but that’s not really the important part anyway! I didn’t take a picture of the palette because I are impatients, so let’s jump right in with the swatches!


Right-hand side, on bare skin above and MUA primer below. (Highlight, lid, crease, definer.)


Left-hand side, on bare skin above and MUA primer below. (Highlight, lid, crease, definer.)

A pretty nice mix, huh? This is a pretty warm palette, which I really like with my eye colour. The pinky highlight and the blue definer shade really make this palette stand out from the millions of neutral palettes that have popped up this year. All are satin/sparkly, which is good as they’re all so pretty, but a matte brown or taupe would have been really fabulous, although the darker definer shade can be buffed out so there is very little sparkle.

I’ve been reaching for this all week and it’s great for both a more polished look or if you’re in a panicked, sweaty rush in the morning (and let’s be honest, it’s normally the latter.) When I don’t know what to do with my makeup I always revert to a neutral eye with thick winged liner and have done since my teens, so I’m always happy when I find a palette that will fit in nicely with that.

Nothing special perhaps, but sometimes that’s just what you need!

A pop of blue with your neutral eye? Be still, my beating heart. Another favourite look of mine, the blue in the palette really make it a winner.

Not the best looks I’ve done of late with these two, but there you are!

I couldn’t choose between this and Comfort Zone as my favourite Wet N Wild palette, but if you’re in the States and you’ve not picked this up, you’re mad. It’s certainly going to be a workhorse!

 

This will probably be my last post until after Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you all for sticking with me through 2012 :)

Oldie but goodie: Sleek Storm Palette

I’m thinking of doing a few posts like this to honour the bits of slap in our collections that we always come back to – I’m sure a lot of bloggers will agree with me when I say that we focus on our new shinies and don’t give our workhorses the kudos they deserve!

The Sleek Storm palette was my first foray into more neutral shadows and I still think of it fondly whenever anyone brings up something like the Naked Palette or MUA Undressed/Heaven and Earth.

 

As you can see, this is a well loved palette! I’ve not repurchased this palette, but if you’re a makeup junkie, you know that dents in all of your shadows and three with pan showing equals a well loved bit of kit indeed! The pan that’s gone, I used to use for brows and a general soft neutral, and now I use the darker shade for my brows often.

Compared to the neutral palettes that are around these days, it’s actually very mixed! There are a few metallics, some blues, a black, a light highlight and two matte colours, which as you can see have been thoroughly abused. All in all, this is a great palette and you’ll get a variety of looks out of it:

So yeah… I felt this deserved a shout out, because I still love it! What are some of your oldies but goodies? Do you reach for one product on a regular basis? Is there anything you’ve repurchased more than once?

Miscellaneous weekendness… (LOTD, OOTD, Makeover etc!)

Sort of an offload-y post today, y’all….

 

First up, a FOTD which looks nice if you don’t look too closely at it. I bought a white gel liner at Inglot and unlike their others, I don’t rate it as much! It doesn’t seem to like the waterline too well and it’s not as opaque as I’d hoped. Ah well.

 

Eyes: Shadows all Inglot, Inglot Matte Collection AMC Eyeliner Gel in 76, Darling Girl Pixie Sprinkles
Lips: Covergirl Siren
Cheeks: Inglot AMC Cream Blush 81, MUA Blusher Shade 1.
Bone earrings: Topshop

See what I mean about the liner? It’s alright, it’s just not… amazing. Le sigh. I wish I’d done a more dramatic crease as well, but I was pushed for time.

Wanna see my awesome new skirt? Well, tough shit, because here it is…

Skirt, Central Park. Tshirt, Primark. Creeper pumps, Topshop. Necklace, Topshop.

Isn’t it the mostest perfectest skirt ever? It’s faux leather and it’s perfect for wearing to photoshoots because if I get any makeup on it, it just wipes off! I had to show off the awesome necklace as well – I love it so much even though it’s super heavy. If I see Topshop have a sale on, I head straight for the jewellery section!

And lastly here’s a quick look I did on my friend Dolly Donnahue today…



Eyes: All 120 palette shadows, Kikp Long Lasting Stick Liner in 09, Inglot Matte Collection AMC Eyeliner Gel in 76, Avon Super Shock mascara.
Cheeks: BeautyUK Baked Blusher in Peaches and Cream, Illamasqua Lover
Lips: Sleek Mystic, pink from 120 palette.

The new gel liner didn’t like her waterline much either! :( I saw a gorgeous look where the model had white on her lower lash and waterlines, and Dolly had pointed out a green look that she liked in my NARS book, so I put the two together. I love that lip colour on her!


What are you getting up to this weekend?

Colourful, minimal, and smoky…

I realised this morning that lo and behold, I’d actually managed to do different looks every day this week so far! WOAH.

 

Monday was a green look using my new Inglot palette:

 

Eyes: Inglot AMC Shine 44, Matte 333, Matte 240. Highlight from Wet N Wild Cool as Cucumber palette.
Lips: Barry M nameless gloss, Boots No 7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter
Cheeks: MAC Fever (lightly!)

Tuesday I misplaced my eye primer, so I went for the tiniest bit of glitter liner and bright pink lips and cheeks instead of focusing on the eyes, which I normally do.

Eyes: Sleek black eyeshadow, Collection2000 glam crystals in Le Freak.
Lips: MAC Impassioned
Cheeks: MAC Dollymix,
Gotta love Impassioned, right?!

And Wednesday, I figured I hadn’t done a neutral smokey eye in a while:

Eyes: Sleek Bohemian palette.
Cheeks: MAC Coppertone.
Lips: Barry M nameless gloss again.

My lips are stained from wearing Impassioned the day before, argh! I’ve not noticed this happening before! I know this looks really purple toned, but it’s all neutral, promise!

Well, perhaps they’re not as different and exciting as I thought, especially as I used the same gloss twice. Oh well! I have some time this weekend so I’m going to do some fun tutorials, hopefully!

Quick Neutral Darling Girl Looks

I’ve been in a bit of a makeup rut lately, and this week I’ve been reaching for my Darling Girl neutrals as they always look super pretty without much effort.

Lid: Darling Girl Mr Ed. Crease: Brown from Sleek Bohemian. Lower Lashline, Darling Girl Midnight Sea.

If you like blurples, get Midnight Sea. I’ve still yet to use it as a lid colour – I’ll get round to it one day! I also need to pop a mini of Mr Ed into my next order. I love lid colours like this.

Lid: Darling Girl A Horse With No Name. Crease: Darling Girl Prancer (v lightly applied.) Liner: Wet N Wild Color Icon Liner in Green.

A really quick two-minute look. A Horse With No Name is just a really fool-proof natural colour. The All The Pretty Horses collection really does have some kick-ass neutrals. Even though I love brights and glitters and unusual duos, I always judge an indie by its netural colours! If it can do those well, I’m sold. It’s so hard to get nice, cheap neutrals in drugstores here.

Lid: Darling Girl Jeweled Taupe. Crease and Lower Lashline: Darling Girl Smoking Gun.

Sorry I only have one photo of this one, it just didn’t want to photograph. If you don’t have Jeweled Taupe, you’re really missing out. It’s super sparkly with lots of pinky-purple shimmer through it. Big love!

What are your favourite indie neutral colours?