eye shadow | | The Gloss Menagerie

Brief Impressions – Sigma Bare, Dare, and Flare Palettes

Recently I’ve been ranting a lot about Sigma. I’m sorry if that seems obnoxious or too repetitive to some of you, but I just have some major issues with this company. But, I was interested in seeing what they would be doing with their booth at IMATS. As far as I know it’s their first time at IMATS (right??). I know it’s their first one at IMATS LA… anyone know if they’ve been at the past shows in other locations?

Anyway. The booth really wasn’t that exciting. They weren’t selling anything – just had some samples of their products out to look at, and information about their affiliate program (eyeroll). I guess Tiffany D was doing some makeovers or demos or something but I wasn’t there when she was (which is unfortunate because I think Tiffany is lovely and would have liked to meet her).

Towards the end of the show, I finally made my way over to the Sigma booth to check out the eye palettes. I swatched some of the colors, and I wanted to give you my brief impression of the palettes from playing with them at the show. I didn’t talk to anyone at the Sigma booth and frankly I felt awkward being there because the girls were all too busy taking pictures with the bronzed hunk from the South Seas Skincare booth instead of, you know, talking to me. No, seriously. I mean you’d think they’d want to talk to someone wearing a press badge? So I didn’t stay in the booth very long because I was annoyed.

I tried to be as unbiased as possible even though I don’t care for them overall as a company. I actually like some of the shades quite a bit. I was surprised to see that the majority of them have very nice pigmentation. Here are the quick swatches I was able to get:

Please note that you can click that image to make it larger. I felt like these swatches were a pretty good cross section of colors from all three of the palettes. That deep dark black is from the Bare palette. I believe it’s called Shine, and it has glitter in it. That shadow was actually really lovely with excellent pigmentation. A truly good black is often hard to come by from budget brands so I was happy about that.

The brighter colors (the lime green, the teal, and the purple under the teal) are all from the Flare palette, and I liked those, too. Their names are Oversee (teal), Define (lime) and Allure (purple). The orange (Grasp from the Dare palette) was also pretty pigmented. Some of the lighter, more matte colors can barely be seen on my hand and would need a lot more packing on to get much impact on someone of my skintone and shade, but I think it could be done.

As you can see, some of the more matte colors don’t have quite as much impact. But matte colors are tricky and often don’t swatch well. Without playing them more like actually using them in an eye look I couldn’t say for certain if they were much good.

Overall I’d say if you usually use drugstore shadows you probably will be happy as a clam with these. They’re on par with brands like NYX, in my opinion. For $35 you get the shadows and one double-ended brush, which is a decent deal. However if you’re used to using products from higher end makeup brands you will probably find these lacking. They take a little more finessing to get high performance out of (stickier bases, maybe even a colored base to get more impact). If you’re a pro or a product snob (hey I say that with love!) go ahead and skip these.

Urban Decay Fun Palette Review

You can always count on Urban Decay to bring it when it comes to bright, fun, exciting eye shadow colors. The Fun Palette for Summer is no exception!

Click to view full size!

The Fun Palette invites you to try out your wild side with some bold, daring colors mixed with some can’t-go-wrong neutrals. The shades included are:

Woodstock – bright pink shimmer

Baked – bronze shimmer

Uzi – metallic silver with silver sparkles

Sin – champagne shimmer

Flipside – electric teal with blue sheen

Psychedelic Sister – bright purple

The palette also includes a mini 24/7 eyeliner in Oil Slick (black with glitter) and a mini primer potion (the original). I haven’t seen it online anywhere yet but other palettes in the series of Feminine, Dangerous, and Fun retail for $34 each, which I think is a great deal for 6 shadows, a liner, and a primer!

For me, this palette is almost a complete love connection. Here’s what I think, more in-depth:

Packaging – Perfect. It’s funky, fun, and very Urban Decay. The palette isn’t too huge and chunky (I hate it when packaging is too needlessly HUGE), and very sturdy.

Eyeliner – Oil Slick is not the blackest black in the world, but the sparkle shows up. I’m fair, so the fact that it isn’t super duper black is okay with me. 24/7 liners have excellent staying power. I wouldn’t use this on the waterline though, because of the glitter.

Primer – What can I say about primer potion? There’s a reason I haven’t been without this product for literally years. It’s a failsafe primer that keeps me creaseless. The. End.

Shadows – Here’s where I have a little tiny, tiny beef. With Uzi. The rest of the colors are glorious. They shimmer, but aren’t obnoxious. Sorry to say though, Uzi is obnoxious. Two words: GLITTER. FALLOUT. The base color itself is quite pretty but there is chunky glitter that wound up all over my cheeks. If you are using Uzi, you may want to apply something like Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy under it to keep it in place better. I have yet to try this myself, but it stands to reason since Pixie Epoxy gets more adhesion from loose powders, maybe it’d get the glitter to stick better. The rest of the shadows though, are really really really nice.

If you don’t have the colors in this palette, I’d definitely say go for it. Not sure what to use Woodstock shadow for? I know a lot of people are shrugging at a bright pink shadow like that. Well, if you get really stuck, there’s no reason why you can’t use it as a fun blush. The color is buildable though, nothing to be afraid of! ;)

So would you give the Fun Palette a try?

Palette was a gift from Urban Decay.

2 Comments

My Mom The Purple Princess

My mom loves purple. It is her faaaaavorite color. Sure, pink is nice, but this lady is serious about her purple stuff. Someday when I’m rich and famous (lol) I will buy her dream car and have it painted purple for her. So, inspired by my dear mommyloves, here are a bunch of awesome purple things, and where to buy them.

1. Makeup Cleansing Tissues w/ Lavender Extract – $2.80 / Forever 21
Okay so these aren’t exactly purple…but they smell purple. And my mom loves face wipes. These are great, by the way. I have the cucumber variety on my bedside table right now. I’m fairly certain these are the exact same wipes sold by Beauty Treats too.

2. Ruffled Silk Dress – $27.80 / Forever 21
How cute is this springy ruffled dress? I like that it is obviously a warm weather, daytime dress without being really revealing. I’m of the mind that with a great jacket or sweater and some tights, this dress could transition into cooler seasons as well.

3. French Connection Bow Back Knit Sweater – $50.20 / ASOS
Now that is how to show a little skin while still being classy. It’s sexy, not trashy at all, and the bows keep things feminine and pretty.

4. Benefit Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in “Kiss You” – $18 / Sephora
These lovely lip shines give a pop of color without any stickiness. If you’re timid about rocking a purple lip this spring and summer, a gloss is a great way to start.

5. Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder – $32 / Sephora
This powder is ever so slightly lavender-tinged in color, and comes in an absolutely gorgeous purple compact. I’ve used up a lot of my De-Slick and it has never let me down. It doesn’t cake, doesn’t look chalky, and keeps oilies and shine at bay.

6. Tweezerman Hot For Dots Matchbox Itty Bitty Files – $4 / Sephora, drugstores
I’ve been trying these out recently, and as soon as they came in the mail mom was hooked. “Can I have one?” she asked while opening the box, hahaha. Anything miniature is cute, and miniature with polka dots? Sold.

And for more purpley goodness…

Best Purple Eye Shadows

Make Up For Ever 92 (Sephora)
MAC Satellite Dreams, Vibrant Grape, Plum Dressing, Fig. 1, and Shale (MAC)
Wet ‘n Wild Color Icon Palette in Lust (Drugstores)
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Shadow Pencils in Delinquent and Morphine (Urban Decay)
NYX Single Eye Shadows in Sensual and Beauty Queen (NYX)
Stila Cassis (Stila Cosmetics) it looks blue online but trust me it’s a gorgeous purple!

So, what’s your purple preference? Comment and tell me! :)

5 Comments

Bobbi Brown & Tibi Join Forces To Create the Peony & Python Palette!

If you thought purple eyeshadow was a color only your grandmother was allowed to even attempt to wear, think again! Makeup mastermind Bobbi Brown uses cult fashion label Tibi as inspiration for her latest eyeshadow set, the Peony & Python palette, which boasts a cool combo of lilacs, lavenders, and grays for an overall look that’s part classy and part edgy, just like Tibi itself. It’s subtly sparkly and feminine, yet offset with richer, moodier hues that can make for a cool purple take on the smoky eye. The six shades — Cool Cashmere, Angora, Lavender Metallic, Silver Chain Shimmer Wash, Plum Orchid, and Eclipse — are the perfect balance of sheer shimmery washes and more concentrated liner shades, and the set includes a mini eyeshadow and smudge brush for touch-ups on the go. Encompassed in a cool peony and python printed case, designed by Tibi exclusively for Bobbi Brown, it’s equal parts girly and rocker-chic, definitely making it one of my favorite cohesively-themed palettes I’ve seen lately!

– Alex Gambardella for The Find

This is a guest post by our partners at The Find. I received no compensation for this post.

1 Comment

Inglot Eyeshadows

I finally got off my lazy ass and went over to Fashion Island to explore the Inglot store. I know, I know, what was taking me so long? I don’t know either. :) I did haul a bit, but that was kinda to be expected since HELLO it’s Inglot. But you know what? You can haul on Inglot now too! If you’re in the U.S., they now have e-commerce. YAY. Check it out at http://www.inglotusa.com!

I ended up getting a filled 10-palette of eyeshadows, which might sound like it cost me a fortune but I assure you Inglot shadows are very affordable. The 10-pan palette is $20 if you buy it by itself, but if you buy it filled it drops to $5. And the more shadows you buy, the cheaper they are. I got square pans. If you get 1 or 2, they’re $7 each. Already way cheaper than a MAC shadow…but it gets even better! If you buy 3 to 9, they’re $5 each. Then finally if you get 10 or more, they’re just $4.50 each. So for $50, you get 10 eye shadows in the palette. Not too bad considering for 10 eyeshadows plus a 15-pan palette at MAC you’re looking at well over $100.

Inglot shadows come packaged in little plastic clamshells like Stila and mark. pans do.

Adding even more to the value of Inglot shadows, they’re 2.7g or .09 oz of product. If you’re wondering how that compares to other shadows, MAC pans are 1.5g or .05 oz. MUFE singles are .08 oz, but will set you back $19 each. So basically, you are getting a lot of eye shadow for your money.

Plus, these palettes are better made. They’re extremely sturdy plastic, and held together with VERY strong magnets. They’re also stackable! So if you wanted to put 3 or 4 palettes on top of one another and just one lid on top, you could do that. Except honestly I do not recommend it because that would be HEAVY. These have some definite heft to them. They are much thicker and stronger than MAC palettes. If you are a makeup artist wanting to exclusively use the Inglot system, you might want to invest in a case that has wheels! ;)

Empty Inglot 10-shadow palette

See what I mean? These have some thickness! Rawr.

I love how the lid is translucent so I can see what shadows are in the palette. For now I just have one, but in the future when I have others this will be awesome.

And now for the shadows themselves. I purchased 10 shadows that represent 3 of the 5 finishes (DS or Double Sparkle, AMC, Pearl, AMC Shine, and Matte). I got DS, AMC, and Pearl shadows. I tested tons of shadows though, and there weren’t really any stinkers in the bunch, texture-wise. The Double Sparkle formula is actually really awesome as far as glitter goes.

I tried to pick a good representative of cool, neutral, and warmish shades. I’m happy with every single one!

Top Row L to R: AMC Shine 35 (white), AMC Shine 36 (cool silver with reflects), and Pearl 444 (TAUPE!)

Bottom Row L to R: DS 482 (Blurple with pink/blue shimmer), Pearl 434 (cool plummy taupe), Pearl 423 (reddened plum brown)

Top Row L to R: Pearl 419 (khaki but not too golden with pearl), Pearl 397 (the top picture of the whole palette is more color-accurate; it’s a pinked beige with pearl that looks way prettier swatched than in the pan)

Bottom Row L to R: DS 457 (warm rich chocolaty brown with gold sparkle), DS 461 (neutral beige with gold sparkle)

Today for work I just did a quick look with P397, DS457, and DS461, and I am extremely happy to report not one fleck of fallout. No, really. I applied the shadows mostly with a MAC 239 brush. No. Fallout. And very pigmented! I will do swatch photos soon, but I wanted to get this up right away because I’m just so excited to share the pretties with you! I checked back over the Inglot website and I must say the product swatches on their site are pretty accurate. In the past if I ever saw a shadow that had a matte base but lots of added glitter, I’d RUN. But these are very nice. I used a slightly tacky base (Urban Decay Primer Potion) and not one speck of glitter fell onto my cheeks. AWESOME.

So far I’m definitely on the Inglot bandwagon. I can’t wait to play with these more and give you a full report on the colors soon. If you have any questions that I haven’t covered here please don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I’ll do my best. :)

16 Comments

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Pop – Green Eyes

I know these have been out for a while, but don’t we all love swatches? :) There are some things I like about this palette and some things I don’t. Anyway, I won’t babble… here is the Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips Pop in Green Eyes. Of course, you can use these colors on any eye color… but yeah. You can click the photos to view them much, much bigger.

So here you go. You get 9 eye shadows. PF suggests these are three trios in one palette, and if you get intimidated by palettes with tons of colors this is a good way to think about it. The skinniest ones are meant to be liners. The palette comes with a kinda unique-shaped applicator that I haven’t seen elsewhere. It could be used for lining or for applying shadow. Nifty! It’s not particularly soft but not too terrible either. I used it to do my swatches.

At the top of this picture there’s the best example I got of the duochrome in the “white”. It’s a white shadow that flashes green. Pretty cool looking.

That last liner in the palette is really disappointing (bottom of the photo). It is quite sheer and went on a little patchy. I’d suggest using that one wet, maybe? The two kinda yellow-greeny colors are very similar. They’re not identical, but to me they feel kind of redundant.

My overall feeling is that this palette is fair. You get a lot of colors. A couple aren’t that great, but there are some really pretty ones too. That turquoise is gorgeous, and the white/green duochrome is really unique. There are some colors that you don’t typically see in drugstore palettes these days. Some disappointment for me is that all of the colors have the same finish and depth. Same finish isn’t that big of a deal but there’s very little contrast, since the “dark” liner is essentially useless.

Do you need it? I am not saying no, but I’m not saying rush out and buy 6 either. They are a little on the pricey said for drugstore brands at $10.95 apiece, but if you have coupons or there’s a BOGO, you might enjoy this palette for some new colors.

Sample provided for editorial purposes.

1 Comment

Light & Bright Eye Look with Urban Decay

This is a look I created with my Urban Decay Book of Shadows III palette. Since some of the shadows are exclusive only to that palette, if you know of any dupes for the colors, please feel free to pipe up in the comments!

Since this was just a running around day look, I skipped mascara on the bottom lashes, and also did not add any eyeliner. I have large eyes, so I can get away with doing this often and not risk losing definition of my eyes. However if you are not so lucky, you may find adding a little liner to the look will help. I’d suggest a plum (like Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in 1999) or taupe (Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Underground) to keep the look light and bright. :)

To get the look:

“Base Shade”: First I took a fluffy eyeshadow brush (I used the MAC 217, but the Sigma E35 or any similar brush would be fine) and used Urban Decay shadow in Midnight Cowboy Rides Again. I made sure to tap the excess off of the brush. This helps greatly in reducing the glitteryness of the shadow, which is the one complaint I ever hear about it. I applied that with a sweeping, almost buffing motion all over the lid all the way up to the brow. I took my time to really buff the shadow and work with the color. This also helped reduce chunky glitteryness. I did experience some fallout, but it was minimal compared to past times I’ve used this particular shadow.

Note: If you are not quite as pale as I am, and MCRA is quite a bit lighter than your skin tone, you probably want to limit the color to the lid, crease, and maybe slightly above the crease.

“Lid Shade”: Using eyeshadow brush #7 from Stila (any small shader will do, such as the Sigma E55) I applied Urban Decay shadow in Bordello to just the middle of my lid. I just wanted to create a little interest/depth to the color that was already on there. Bordello is a pinky mauve shade. For the purposes of the look I was trying to create, any sort of mauve shade will do. I didn’t use very much and used a light hand. Something tells me there’s a Fyrinnae color that is a good substitute for Bordello, but I don’t remember which one. Help me out guys which is it?

“Contour Shade”: After wiping off my Stila #7 brush I took a small amount of Urban Decay shadow in Rockstar just on the tip of the brush and applied it to my outer V/crease. Now here’s where I’ve switched up my technique lately and I want to be clear to share that with you. Most of us learn to blend with a back and forth or windshield wiper motion. When I had my makeup lesson with MUFE, MUA Cat taught me to just place the color where I wanted it and blend in one direction only. If any of you have ever sketched something, it’s kinda like how you shade. In fact, it’s pretty much exactly like shading a sketch. This small tip was like a total “a-ha” moment for me. It really saves your color saturation from being blended to oblivion, and if you’ve ever had trouble with colors getting too muddied when blending, try it this way. See if maybe it will help.

Would anyone be interested in a quick little video demo of this technique? Please leave a comment!

Here’s the finished face and the complete breakdown…

My brows are sort of haggard and in dire need of some clean-up on the outer edges, so please forgive me if you click these to view full size and are aghast. :P Here’s some pictures taken in brighter light:

Complete breakdown…

Eyes:

– Urban Decay Primer Potion
– Urban Decay Eye Shadows in Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Bordello, and Rockstar

– Billion Dollar Brows brow powder in Taupe

– Shu Uemura eyelash curler

– Maybelline The Falsies mascara (top lashes only)

Face:

– Make Up For Ever HD foundation in shade #110

– Purely Cosmetics Diamond Perfect Finish Powder

– TooFaced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

– Rock & Republic blush in Spank

Note… the camera makes it look like my blush is way brighter than it really was in the last 2 photos. It’s much more like the first one. The light in my house is odd. When the blush looks true to life the eye shadow looks dark and murky, but when the eye shadow looks true to life my blush looks neon. <3 Cameras.

Lips:

– MAC Dazzleglass in Date Night

Gabrielle Faust Eyeshadow – First Impressions

These eye shadows are the first collection inspired by (and created for) vampire story author Gabrielle Faust by Overall Beauty. They are mineral pigments/eye shadows. Vegan makeup junkies will be excited to know that none of these shades contain carmine, and they are completely vegan. There are eight shades, and Overall Beauty says this is just the first of many product endeavors by Ms. Faust.

Color descriptions are as follows:

Hourglass Sand – golden cream
Sanctified Snow – opalescent white
Vampire’s Kiss – sangria red
Love Lost – deep rose
Aftermath – burnt umber brown
Misanthrope – ashen violet
Indiscretion – charcoal grey
Karmic Knight – dark eggplant purple

All of the shades except Sanctified Snow are matte. Check out my swatches! (Click for full size)

They’re swatched top to bottom in the same order my color descriptions above. :)

They are nice colors in general, but I have a couple of qualms. The first being that Karmic Knight and Misanthrope look exactly the same on my skin. These swatches are done on NW10 skin with no base. If I stare and scrutinize I can see that Karmic Knight is a bit cooler/ashier than Misanthrope, but the difference to my eye on my skin is so slight they might as well be the same color. Vampire’s Kiss is similar to those two as well, but has definite pronounced red undertones that the other two lack. The color Indiscretion is a tiny bit chalky just upon first swatch, but working with a brush will probably help me build up the color better.

The quality of the colors themselves is very high. Matte shadows in general are often very hard to work with, but these are very smooth and easy to blend. I also appreciate that the shimmer in Sanctified Snow is not overly glittery or frosty. It could definitely be used as a brow highlight without looking ridiculous, even on women of a “certain age” who don’t like to wear shimmer. ;)

My favorites are Love Lost, Vampire’s Kiss, and Aftermath, which is weird since I’m normally a purples person and figured I’d be drawn to them. Love Lost is going to look terrible on my eyes I’m sure (I cannot wear colors like this) but I can’t wait to try it as a blush. It’s SUCH a gorgeous rosey mauve shade. Vampire’s Kiss is a reddened violet shade and so smooth. I have other colors like this in my stash but this one has the most pigment and smoothest texture. Those of you who love experimenting with pigments should totally try mixing Vampire’s Kiss or Love Lost with lipgloss to make custom lipcolors! They’d look great. Aftermath is my third favorite because it is just such a rich, gorgeous brown. It doesn’t have too much red in it, and doesn’t go on ashy or chalky. Just smooth, chocolatey brown. This could also be used as a brow color.

I’m looking forward to playing around with these, as well as trying them over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, which works magic for any eyeshadow.

Gabrielle Faust eyeshadows are available as singles for $8.99 each or as a set for $72 from Overall Beauty. Use code VAMP2112 to get $2 off your order over $25.

Product provided by PR for review.

3 Comments

Free Stila Palette Today Only!

Purchase one of the five Stila Fashion Week Sets and get a FREE Stila Pro Artist palette! The code is NYPRO. The pro artist palette includes six eyeshadows: Kitten, Prize, Sparkle, Grand, Lucky, and Moxie. The latter three shades are exclusive to the palette!

Moxie is such a gorgeous purple!

These fashion week sets are absolutely gorgeous and fabulous deals. Check ’em out!

Betsey Johnson Look

Jenni Kayne Look

Lela Rose Look

Rebecca Minkoff Look

Whitney Eve Look

Each kit is only $40, plus you get the Pro Artist Palette! Want to get in on this great deal? Shop Stila!

Urban Decay Black Palette Swatches

Amidst all of the insanity over the Urban Decay Naked Palette and Book of Shadows III, UD quietly released its new Black Palette as well. It’s not yet available from UD’s website, but UKers can order it from Debenhams and those of us in the USA can order from Sephora. This palette is limited edition.

As you can see the palette contains 6 dark smoky shades of eyeshadow, the ubiquitous (but ever so popular) 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Zero (black) and a mini Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden. Eden is the new matte nude shade. I’ve tested it in a Sephora store and I wasn’t wild about it. If you’re very pale, you’ll need to be very careful about applying this because you’ll be able to see it on your skin, so if you don’t blend around your eyes etc. it’ll show up and look awkward. Personally I prefer the original sheer/invisible UDPP.

Sephora also recently posted a (holiday?) gift set of mini UDPPs including a new UDPP color called “Greed” which is described as “pearly gold”. What I really wish is that they had done a Perversion UDPP. Perversion is their matte black shade. A black eye primer would have been a smashing addition to this palette don’t you think?

But here’s why you’re really here…the swatches! These were graciously provided by perfumesheep at MUA. She swatched them over UDPP (the original) on NC20 skin. As always, you can click to view them full size.

R to L: Sabbath, Black Dog, Cobra, Libertine, Jet, Barracuda

For more fabulous product images and to see swatches over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (they look AMAZING) check out Lipglossping.