Review: Revlon Color Stay Shadow Palette in Inspire

Yet another of my spontaneous purchases, I got this on Clearance at my local drugstore. I love blues and greens, so I jumped on the chance to pick this up for a measly $2.

I’m glad that I got it so cheap, though!

 At first glance, the colors are great. Upon swatching, however, the colors are pretty washed out. In fact, I didn’t even bother with a first picture because it was hard to tell there was even anything on my arm. The colors were pale and barely there, which is a shame.

However, and that is a big however, with a primer, these colors suddenly come to life. After applying my base, everything was much more noticeable. The blue was blue, the green was green. The shimmer showed up nicely.

These are nice colors for  starting a collection, I have to say. The colors really pop once there is a base of primer, and they blend really easily.

Wear time on these is pretty standard for a shadow. About ¾ of the way through my day, I had the urge to reapply. By the time I got home, the colors were a little muddied and little wan. Still there, just not as poppy. But after a day of working around hot steam and coffee, that’s pretty good. I’m sure without the primer, I would have gotten zilch for wear time.

These colors look funky together, though, I have to say. I attempted the look on the back of the palette and I looked like I was trying too hard to be from the 80s. They are great when mixed with other palettes, though, and used as accents to darker blues and blacks.

The highlight color is nice, though. It almost perfectly matches the color of my the skin just under my brow bone. It adds a touch of shimmer and smoothes out the primer.

Not a bad deal for $2. I would have paid a little more for it, just for the versatility. By itself, though, it has a little lacking. Especially without a solid foundation.

By all means, snag his palette if you have others that you want to use with it. It’s going to get use from me just on that factor alone.

Thanks for reading!

Review: Coastal Scents Go Palettes

Alright, everyone. I have a new makeup love affair. And it’s the brand Coastal Scents.

I heard about this brand through Eat Your Kimchi, a blog I’ve been following for years about Korea. Martina swears by Coastal Scents, so it’s always been in the back of my mind.

Well, recently I discovered that their products are for sale on Amazon….and they’re super affordable. Especially the ultra portable Go Palettes, each themed after a country. So I was gifted one palette (Cairo) and bought another (Sydney).

And it really is true love. Deep, passionate, heart wrenching love. The love where you hate being apart from the object of your affections.

These palettes are stunning. The colors are rich and dramatic, each one heavily pigmented. They are complimentary and beautiful, unique and yet still harmonizing.

 Cairo is a neutral palette with deep purples, luxurious tans, and earth tones. There are mattes, satins, and shimmers in this palette, so it is exceptionally versatile.

Sydney is a palette of bright pinks, yellows, greens, and blues. These are the happiest of colors, perfect for a warm summer. Again, there are mattes, satins, and shimmers. And again, the pigments are intense without the need for anything extra.

This brand is standing out because the colors are high quality without being expensive.

My only complaint is the lasting time. Even with primer, I got about 6 hours of wear before I noticed some creasing. But still…six hours with no need for reapplication? That’s still pretty amazing. Especially with the richness of these colors. I’ve also noticed that they last longer if I’m careful about touching my eyes. Duh moment, I know, but I have contacts, so I’m always rubbing at my eyes through the day.

Overall, this is a brand I’m going to be coming back to again and again. In fact, I’m longing for the Ultimate Palette with a whopping 252 colors. Soon….Very soon….

Thanks for reading!

Review: Lancome Color Design Shadow Palette

**This product was provided to me by someone on reddit. My review is unaffected.**

This eye shadow is simple and straight forward, and I love that. No fancy pants designs. Just good, pretty color. Trust Lancome to make a great product with simple, elegant packaging. 

The bright metallic pink, Makeover, is fun and funky. The metallic Pink Zinc is flattering and mature. The Pink Pearls is an excellent highlight matte. And It List, the black, is great for matte smoky perfection.

These colors go on super pigmented. Even without primer, I was able to wear Pink Zinc all day without having to reapply. The others are pretty similar to that, although they become even more sturdy when applied over primer (like with any eyeshadow).

These colors go well together, but they also look nice on their own or mixed in with other palettes. Very versatile as far as colors go.

Thanks for reading!

Review: e.l.f. 2-in-1 Eye Primer and Liner Sealer

This is one of the products I picked up on my congratulatory makeup binges.

I already have a primer that came with one of my eye shadow palettes, but I figured that having a dedicated primer couldn’t be a bad idea. I picked up this, the lightest shade available at my Target. Needless to say, my Target was pretty wiped out of e.l.f. products.

However, despite the shade disparity, this is a pretty decent eye primer. It feels pretty thick and stays on for ages. In fact, removing it is a bit of a hassle.

It has completely solved the issues of staying power with my eyeshadows. I can apply an eyeshadow over this and it will stay put for 12 hours. No creasing, no fading, nothing. Just great color that lasts and lasts. No complaints on that end!

Application is a bit…difficult. The consistency is decent, but a little waxy. It makes putting it on just this side of painful. It’s also a little tough to got uniform coverage. Because really, it all depends on how hard you press where. It can also be a bit painful to rub this all over your eyeball.

I discovered that the best way to apply this was to basically outline my eye. Then, I do a line along the crease. Then I blend it all in with my fingertips. That way, I get smooth coverage and it’s not so thick that it feels sticky.

You could also use a sponge eyeshadow applicator to apply this, which is how I apply my other primer.

Overall, this isn’t a terrible product. It does its job to a tee. It’s just the application that makes this a pain. But for the price of $6, I’m super satisfied..

Thanks for reading!

A to Z: R is for Revlon Customeyes

This is a review of a Revlon eye shadow palette.

When I was first getting into makeup, nail polish was my starting point.

But eye shadow was a major stepping stone.

Why? Because in the end, it made a huge difference. It took me from "oh, pretty" to "oh, damn." Now I was (and still am) scared of anything other than neutrals, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a nice, complimentary brown that makes my blue eyes pop.

I started with some nice and simple and cheap from the local drug store: A Revlon Custom Eyes palette, of the Naturally Glamorous variety.

One of the main reasons I purchased it is because of that diagram on the back. I have no idea how to give myself a normal eye, let alone a smokey one. I was lost and confused and didn't know where to start. And it was at that point that I spotted one of these upside down in the makeup section. 

I like the colors on this palette: simple, smokey, natural. It looks excellent with my blue eyes. And it was easy to apply. 

Also, the wear on this is pretty good. It fades a little by the end of the day, but with a little primer, it can last through a whole work day without the need to reapply. 

Here is the (amateurish) application by yours truly.

That's with no eye liner, no mascara, and no primer. Just straight up, rapidly applied eye shadow. 

This really is a palette for beginners, which is awesome. Because the mass amount of options for eye shadow is super intimidating. It's nice to have something simple to start with, or something subtle fall back on. 

Thanks for reading!