Anastasia Beverly Hills - Master Palette by Mario

I bought the Anastasia Beverly Hills Master Palette by Mario after waffling back and forth about it. I haven't purchased any palettes since the Nordstrom sale a few months ago, and to be honest, have been having a bit of palette fatigue (if that can be a thing). It just feels like every brand is making these huge palettes all the time now, and I am getting a bit tired of the constant barrage.

I was drawn to the Mario palette for a few reasons. It is a slightly more edited palette. There are twelve shades, but Lorac just released a palette that has 32 shades, so this does feel smaller in comparison to some of the others out there. I like that the collaboration is with a real professional, working makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic. It seems like so many collaborations recently have been with Youtube sensations that hold themselves out to be makeup artists, but many really only do makeup on themselves. I may not really like some of Mario's clients, who shall remain nameless, but I do like his overall aesthetic and appreciate that the brand reached out to someone actually working in the industry. The more neutral color scheme was probably the biggest draw for me. The colors are ones that are actually wearable in real life. As much as I might think a palette with all sorts of bright colors is pretty, I will not get use from something like that.  

I have heard good things about the products from Anastasia Beverly Hills. Prior to this, I only have purchased one item from the brand, Brow Wiz. The shadows themselves are nicely pigmented. I have noticed that there is a lot of kickup in the pans when you place brushes in them. You really have to try to not move the brush around a ton because the powders are really soft. The only one that is problematic is Kim. When I went to swatch it with my finger, I sort of smashed the powder, even though I did not really push very hard (at all). The overall softness of the shadows isn't awful and is somewhat forgivable given how well the shades blend, but they really shouldn't crumble like that. Fortunately, that shade seemed to be the only one that is overly soft.

The brush that is included is decent. I like the fluffier side better and find that it works well for blending the shades into the crease. The colors are very blendable and lasted all day on me when tested. I got 6 hours of wear time without using primer and 13 hours using primer. Please keep in mind I have oily lids, so nothing lasts that very on me without primer. 

Swatches:

Top Row:



Bottom Row:



Other than some small issues with the softness of the shades, I really am very happy with this purchase. I like the neutral colors and the blendability of the shades. This does have me interested in other Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadows. I know you can build your own quads and that may be something that I try in the future. I purchased the palette from Anastasia's website (for some reason it is not showing up on their site now - not sure if it is sold out), but it is also now available at Sephora. The cost of the palette is $45.  The shadows are made in the US according to the package and the brand is cruelty-free. How do you feel about the deluge of palettes being released?

CHANEL Fall 2016: Le Rouge Collection No1 - Les 4 Ombres Candeur et Experience

The Chanel Fall 2016 Collection is the first with new Creative Director Lucia Pica. If you follow her Instagram, you can see so many reds that were part of the inspiration for this new collection. I purchased the eyeshadow palette in store, but am ordering a couple other items online. The collection is so beautiful to me and I want to grab a few more items before they sell out. 

The Candeur et Experience palette comes in the typical Chanel quad format. There are three neutral colors and then there is the red. The amazingly beautiful red. When I was in the store staring at the display, I thought it looked so pretty, but that I would seem totally crazy trying to wear it in real life. A Chanel artist saw me eyeing the palette and talked to me about it. I told her my concerns with the color and she said there are definitely ways to make it look more natural. I still honestly thought she was wrong, until she did my makeup. I wish I could have taken a picture of what the artist did, but it was in the evening and the lighting was not the best. I was blown away by how blendable the red color is. It is an accent that is different than what I am used to (I do not own a single other red shadow), but it really makes my eyes pop. It blends beautifully into the other colors and is almost coppery.

The artist used a few other colors from the collection, as well as some other new-to-me products, on me when she did my makeup and I had to do some deliberating on how much to buy budget wise. I received a sample of the new foundation and am testing that, as well.

Close up of the pans:

The eyeshadows wear beautifully and lasted a full day with no creasing or migration. There was no fallout when I blended. One thing to note, the colors swatch much more sheer on the arms and also look very similar. I was actually concerned about the level of pigmentation when I was in the store, but on the eyes the pigmentation level is higher and the colors are more noticeably different from each other. Below are swatches. All swatches are counterclockwise from top right of palette:

Outdoors in sunlight:



Outdoors in shade:



Indoors (no flash):

Overall,  I am very impressed by this collection. I like that it got me out of comfort zone a bit without being too much for me to wear realistically in my everyday life. This is something that I will get actual use out of, not a collectors item that I purchased because I thought it was pretty. I am definitely looking forward to the next collection from Lucia Pica, as I really like a lot of the items in this one. Did you purchase anything from the fall collection? 

Metallic Eyes

One of the bigger trends right now is metallic eye looks. Sephora has a whole page dedicated to the "Rebel Eyes" look in their Trending at Sephora section. I pulled some of my favorite metallic eye shadows to share with you. Some are tried and true favorites and others are fairly new to me.

Here are my picks:

Kat Von D Metal Crush Eyeshadow in Synergy. This is one of the highest color payoff eyeshadows that I have. The color is a beautiful coppery bronze and a little goes a very long way. As long as you do not use too much of the product, there is minimal fallout when blending. It is ultra long lasting and I have not had any creasing or fading issues.

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill in 6 Khaki Pulse. This is another formula specifically created to be long lasting. It advertises 24 hour wear and a waterproof finish. I have not tested either of those claims (mostly because I do not go to bed with makeup on). I will say that I have worn this on some particularly hot and humid days and I have not had any fading or creasing.

NARS Dual Intensity in Dione. This shadow advertises 8 hour wear. Honestly, as much as I love the color and other NARS products, I do find that it creases before that. I have oily lids and always wear primer, but this product does tend to fade and crease on me prior to the 8 hour promise. I am a big fan of the color and tend to wear it on days when I know I will be out for a shorter period of time.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Suspect. This is one of my favorite metallic shades for day and I wear it to work all of the time. It is a nice neutral, but with a little edge. Urban Decay shadows are some of my favorites (the Naked Palettes, especially). This color is available on its own and is also in the Naked 2 palette if you already own that.

Maybelline Color Tattoo Eye Chrome in Beige Luster. I am a fan of the Maybelline Color Tattoo range and have a few of the shadows. The Eye Chrome is a newer formulation for the line and I purchased two of the colors recently. The formula is a cream housed in a tube with a doe-foot applicator. Beige Luster is my favorite of the two. Once it sets, this formulation really lasts. It takes a lot of waterproof makeup remover to get this off.

See swatches below. All swatches in order of first photo.

In direct sunlight:



Outdoors in shade:



Indoors (no flash):



What are some of your favorite metallic eye shades? Are there any trends you are into right now?

tarte tartelette tease palette

The tarte tartlette tease palette was an impulse buy for me in the checkout line. It is super cute and compact and I thought it would be useful to take with me on an upcoming trip. The palette has six colors inside, a mirror, and the pans are decent size.



I really like the neutral color scheme of the palette and the mix of shimmer and matte shades. The two lighter shades on the left perform really well as eyeshadow bases. My main issue with the palette are the shimmer shades in the middle. I had a lot of fallout with those. If you are someone who does eye makeup first, this may not be an issue for you. For me, I like to do eyes after foundation and had to do a ton of cleanup from the shimmer going everywhere. I did note that reviews of this palette have been pretty mixed and I think a lot of that is dependent upon when you do your shadow - before or after foundation. The mattes perform well and have good color saturation. The shadows lasted about 8 hours on me before they started to migrate (keep in mind I used primer).

Below swatches in direct sun:



Swatches in shade:




Overall, the palette did not work for me, as one third of it (the shimmers) will not be useful for me at all. I do not like shadows with a lot of fallout and the shimmers have way too much for me. The lighter shades are a nice base, but the issues with the shimmer shades and the mattes being just average makes this something that I am disappointed in. I really love a lot of tarte's other products, the Amazonian lip butters especially, so I was sad to see that the palette was not really up to standard.

The palette retails for $21 and is available at Sephora, tarte, and Ulta. Have you tried this palette? If so, what are your thoughts?

Smashbox Double Exposure Eyeshadow Palette

The Smashbox Double Exposure palette is something I recently bought. It has 14 shadows inside the palette, which also holds a brush. The palette comes with a tester size of Full Exposure mascara. The Double Exposure name comes from the fact that the shadows can be used wet or dry. The box contains a packet for how to use the palette based on desired look and eye shape. I do wish they specified different shadow colors that could be used in creating the looks. I think it would be more helpful that way, especially for people needing some extra guidance. There is a sheet that details the color names and the manner in which the shades change when applied with a dampened brush. 

The colors swatch and apply beautifully, with no fallout. I definitely prefer shadows with no fallout, as I am someone who tends to do my eye makeup last and hate having try to clean up after. The only shadow I am not particularly crazy about in this palette is the white, which is called Blanc. It is the only one that, for me, was a bit chalky and harder to apply. Other than that, I am very impressed by these and love the application both wet and dry.

Staying power is great with the shadows and they lasted throughout the work day and evening without migrating or caking in the crease. Please note that I do always use primer because I have oily eyelids, so keep that in mind.

Below are swatched dry:

In direct sunlight:



In shade:



Below are swatched wet:

In direct sunlight:



In shade (with flash):

I saw some comments on the Sephora site regarding people not loving the brush and I do partially agree with that, particularly concerning the angled side. I find that the domed side is the more functional of the two and performs much better when wet vs. dry. It is not the best brush I have come across, but not really the worst either. I do feel the brushes in the Urban Decay Naked palettes are much better. I have had some Smashbox brushes in the past and know that they are usually better quality, so I am kind of surprised that this one was not better. Definitely do not take the quality of this brush and dismiss the rest of the Smashbox brushes as a whole - I assure you they are normally great brushes.

Overall, I think this is a really great palette. It has good color saturation, especially when wet, and no fallout. The texture of the shadows is nice and on par with other high end brands. True to the claim, the palette worked wonderfully after using the shadows when wet. This is definitely a purchase I am happy with and will use often.

The Smashbox Double Exposure retails for $39, although when I purchased it was on sale for $29. I purchased mine at Sephora, but it looks like it is also available at Smashbox. Have you tried this yet? What are some of your favorite palettes?