Eyeshadow

Make-up

W7 Rock ‘n’ Roll Eye Shadow Review

June 23, 2014

These were picked up from Poundland on my recent “Accidental May Haul”. I’m a sucker for green and blue shadows, as they really suit my hazel eye colour. A quick swatch in the shop and I knew that these were coming home with me.

Sage is actually more of a gold infused green, which is actually Okay with me, since I like to add a bit of sparkle when I’m wearing my hilarious gold Manowar t-shirt. Envy is a greeny blue and is just as gorgeous. I think the two will probably also work quite well together. Once I had a good play with these at home, I was hooked and instantly set about scouring the net to find out if there were any more shades. Thankfully there are, including a gorgeous grey/black colour called “sixpence” here which I may just have to invest in at a later date. I love the pigment of most loose shadows but I find applying them can be such a nuisance, Having a whole tube full of pigmented loose powder applied with a roller ball is an such a brilliant idea and makes application a dream.

Both of these were only £1 but online they vary from £0.99 to over £2.50 but I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for other colours in my local Poundland.

Have you tried these yet?

Totally hellbent for surprising finds during accidental hauls

-Pants

Make-up

Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette Au Naturel Review & Swatches

March 11, 2014

I’ve been tempted by Au Naturel for the longest time, but couldn’t really justify it when I already have so many neutral palettes. Luckily for me I spotted this in the Superdrug reduced basket for only £3.50 and absolutely jumped on it! The only damage was to a chip of plastic in the upper right corner and the eye-shadow Taupe beneath, and even so there’s plenty left in the pan.

Au Naturel contains twelve colours, eight mattes and four shimmers, all unsurprisingly in neutral tones. There’s some definite similarities to a certain cult Urban Decay palette, but as I don’t own any of the Naked sets I can’t comment on how close other than the theme and shade choices!

All the colours have good pigmentation and a dreamily smooth and creamy texture that blends amazingly. There’s fallout with every shade but not enough to risk contaminating the other colours so it’s not really a bother.

The shimmers are of course my favourites, but really I can see myself making use of every single shade. The surprise hit for me though was Noir, the matte black – it is SO heavily pigmented yet blends so easily. Conker and Mineral Earth come very close seconds for favourite, both have a gorgeous rich texture and shimmer but are very wearable.

Taupe and Nougat both make excellent highlights, I really like that they included both a matte and shimmer in suitable colours, it makes the palette so versatile that you really could pop this in your make-up bag and not need anything else in a neutral shade at all.

The packaging is very sturdy and stylish with a matte finish, and I love the huge mirror that fills the whole of the lid. As with most palettes it comes with a dual ended sponge applicator that will do in a pinch (but really if I’m ever caught without my brushes I’d rather use my fingers than those rubbish things!)

Onto the swatches!

I’m definitely going to get a lot of use from Au Naturel and can’t recommend it enough if you’re looking for a natural palette at a reasonable price!

Have you tried out any Sleek palettes? I definitely think I might add a few more to the collection on the basis of this one!

Available for £7.99 from Boots.com.

Totally hellbent for going au naturel!

– Gem

Make-up

MUA Starry Night Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

November 22, 2013

MUA have a great range of eyeshadow palettes, but I always seem to have trouble with their matte shades. This gorgeous silver toned collection however is all shimmer finish, making every single shade a winner.

Starry Night has twelve shades in total, but as with all the older MUA lines they are not named (or even numbered – a big gripe of mine!).

As with all cheaper eyeshadows a primer is an absolute necessity, and for these swatches I’ve used the MUA Professional Primer for some brand continuity!

There’s enough variation in this relativly colour restricted palette to create a number of looks, and with the right blending I reckon there are some amazing smoky silver looks coming my way.

Available for £4.00 from Superdrug.com

Totally hellbent for an all shimmer MUA palette!

– Gem

Make-up

MUA Luxe London Glitter Eye Palettes in Rock Chick and Diva

November 21, 2013

My transition from occasional glitter lover to full on magpie seems to be reaching an all time climax and I nearly did myself some damage when I saw these little boxes of sparkle!

There are four palettes on offer, Rock Chick, Diva, Burlesque and Twilight, ranging from cool blues to fiery reds. I of course went for the two blue toned palettes Rock Chick and Diva and I’ve been pretty mesmerized with them since.

The glitter is suspended in a gel, which I thought would be poorly pigmented and difficult to build up, but actually it’s the complete opposite! Unfortunately all eight shades are liable to crease purely from the nature of the product, but I for one am happy to overlook this for the sake of such gorgeous colours!

The sponge applicator that comes with each palette is actually pretty good for applying the gel, with a thick and thin end for more precision.

Diva consists of a bright emerald green, a black/silver, a grey holo silver and a white holo silver.

Rock Chick has a deep turquoise blue, a black/multi holo, a light blue and a pure silver.

If you’re a fan of warmer tones I suggest you go take a look at the other two palettes on offer, as they are just as gorgeous and will no doubt make their way into my possession soon!

Available for £4 from Superdrug.com

Totally hellbent for all things sparkly and shiny!

– Gem

Make-up

Me Me Me Eye Inspire Pressed Eyeshadow in 01 Ebony

October 16, 2013

I’m always on the hunt for a great black eyeshadow, it’s a pretty big staple in the “rock chic make-up supplies list” yet I’ve never found one that I really got on with. This however is looking like it ticks nearly all the boxes!

Top: Swatched over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
Bottom: Swatched over Elf Eyelid Primer in sheer

Ebony is a pressed matte black with micro glitter. It is very heavily pigmented and even more so when swatched over primer. It has a lovely soft texture and blends really nicely so would be great for both a smoky and a bold eye.

The only thing I can find to it’s detriment is that personally I’m on the hunt for a completely black shade, and with the micro glitter there is a sheen of very very dark bluey-green to it under bright light. However it IS still gorgeous and I’m sure I’ll get lots of use out of it – especially on stage!

The packaging is very sturdy and sleek and looks far more expensive than it’s price tag in my opinion.

Available from Me Me Me for £4.99

Totally hellbent for my new favourite pressed eyeshadow

– Gem