A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

The second piece from this year’s Lancome Fall collection that I wanted to show you was the new eyeshadow palette, Les Oeillades in Blondette Fatale, featuring an array of wearable neutrals and multi-tasking eyeliner/brow shades.

This beautifully designed brown and taupe palette can be used to create a beautiful smoky eye effect.  It can also be used for subtle shading and for softer, more natural definition, you can use the metallic shades to illuminate the lids and the matte shades to define and sculpt the eye area.

Shown top left, is the dark liner/brow shade which is an ash-toned dark brown matte with a firm texture.  Next along is a mid-toned brown matte shade which leans slightly warm and can also be used for filling in fair brows.  The two bottom spaces are taken up by a pair of metallic shadows, one cool and one warm.  The bottom left works beautifully toward the inner corner to inject a hint of light without being ‘highlighter-y’.  The bronzier shade (bottom right) is nice to wear dabbed over the base in the centre of the lid.

Aaron de Mey, Lancome’s Global Make-Up Director suggests…

The eye shadow can also be used wet with a small brush on the eye area if you wish a more intense result or dry with small soft brushes to shade and sculpt, always remembering that darkness makes areas recede and lighter shades bring features ‘forward’.

The pigmentation on these is nicely build-able, with the mattes requiring a couple of swipes to achieve the payoff shown above.  The metallics are, as usual, the most strongly pigmented in the palette.  The colour-combination and texture shows this palette to be a more grown-up version of a neutral work palette.  The build-ability ensures that Les Oeillades in Blondette Fatale can be put to use in both day and night-time situations depending on the intensity required.

I tend to wear these higher-end shadows without primer and these held up very well indeed.  I’m sure using the mattes as a base increases the longevity of the shimmers successfully.  I also want to mention the little ‘tools’ included with the palette which I would usually either ignore (at best) or ridicule.  The ones included with this palette are actually brilliant for travel.  A completely useable angled brush for brows, the usual application sponge (ignore that one) and a pointy, thin sponge that works brilliantly to line the eyes.  Colour me impressed.

Overall, I would describe Les Oeillades in Blondette Fatale as an incredibly versatile palette.  It may well be that you, like me, already have 101 neutrals in your collection in which case, I’d say this is great for travel thanks to the inclusion of genuinely useful brow/liners shades and tools but is otherwise a non-essential.

Lancome’s Les Oeillades in Blondette Fatale is priced at £33.00 and available at Lancome counters nationwide from 1st September 2011

* press sample

I promised both a day and evening look with the new Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary palette, so here’s the more work-friendly version.  I couldn’t bring myself to *just* the neutrals, so I threw a bit of smoke into the mix with the inclusion of Half Truth.

I used: Flow (on the lid), Half Truth (in the crease and under the eye), Vanilla (browbone and inner corner)

The rest of the FOTD is helped along by…

MAC Face & Body Foundation in N1

Benefit Dallas Bronzer / Dandelion Blush

Bourjois Rose Exclusif Lip Gloss

And just because I know you’ll feel my pain, I’ve managed to gouge a chunk out of Half Truth with the sharp tip of my brush, my favourite shade!  Distraught!  Bah.  Have a lovely weekend people xx

Fifty quid is a lot of money to spend on an eyeshadow palette when you’ve got brands like Urban Decay banging ’em out for under £40 but I came across some photos of this Smashbox palette from a press day when I was archiving some pictures and thought I’d tell you a bit about this rather pretty offering from Smashbox.

The potential to be a neutral lovers dream, the Smashbox Softbox Nude Eyeshadow Palette is a good choice for everyday looks with a few matte inclusions to encourage a broad appeal.  It features nine muted eyeshadow shades and two cream liners (one on each end).  Also included is a double ended brush making it an attractive proposition for those who are looking for a single set of wearable shadows in one compact package.

At fifty pounds, it’s not cheap but that is also one of the reasons I’m posting about it today.  The Smashbox Softbox Nude Eyeshadow Palette was released as a limited edition Summer launch so if it is catching your eye, keep an eye out for potential bargains on this palette across the web or perhaps even instore at Debenhams as the Autumn/Winter products supercede.

Kirstie at Beaut.ie has a great, indepth review on the palette here.

The Smashbox Softbox Nude Eyeshadow Palette is available to purchase online at Debenhams.com priced at £50.00

EDIT: £30 online at QVC – what did I tell ya?! (thanks for the spot Joanne!)

I’ve posted about the packaging and I’ve posted individual close ups of the eyeshadows alongside their official descriptions.  This post will document the swatches from the new Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection* alongside my thoughts on each eyeshadow.

Midnight Rodeo is as Anitacska has been warning me, the love-child of MC/MCRA.  A beautiful base colour, spoiled by chunky glitter that will be ALL over your face in minutes if you’re not very careful about tapping off as much glitter as possible.  Urgh.

Tainted is a disappointment to me too.  A slightly amped up lilac yet it looks more dirty mauvey in the pan, less… prissy and simply more exciting!  Still, the texture is nice, the gold shimmer is a pretty touch and it could well be a grower.  No glitter.

Deeper is a ridiculously well-pigmented shade of awesomeness.  Copper with a firey gold sparkle (not glitter), it’s like a big beasty teddy bear and will make a fantastic liner on green eyes.  It looks a touch ‘grainy’ in my swatch (like Mignight Rodeo) – it’s not… that’s my bad.

Midnight 15 is a velvet-smooth, pale silver taupe.  A great inner corner highlight or an allover wash to brighten the area.  It has some (not too many) silver glitter particles.

Junkshow is a shocking pink with violet flashes.  Smooth shimmer with no glitter, I can see this one getting a lot of use on days when I’m feeling a little brave!

M.I.A is one of the most buttery eye shadows I’ve ever swatched.  It’s a deep chocolate shimmer with no glitter.  Hugely versatile.

Vanilla, the obvious highlighter is a smooth pale gold.  No glitter.

Omen is a violet with strong blue flashes.  Clearly, it’s stunning and builds up with great intensity though you’ll find a dupe (albeit a more greasy version) for a £1 in MUA’s eyeshadows.  Glitter free.

Ace is a graphite that is a good shade lighter than my swatch suggests (sorry).  A nice alternative to black for darkening the crease colour with a good texture.  No glitter.

Flow is a beautiful, neutral lid shade.  A shimmery peach that doesn’t pull too warm for cool skin tones.  Very pretty if not hugely exciting.  No glitter.

Evidence is a cracking midnight blue with some great vivid flashes.  It benefits from some building up and has a slightly hard texture.  No glitter.

Blackout, it’s matte black.  Move along.

Chase almost looks foiled right?  Another ridiculously buttery eyeshadow with a high-metallic finish.  Very pretty and glitter-free.

Deep End is a beautiful green/blue mix that leans slightly more green to my eye.  It’s a pretty shimmer with impressive pigmentation.  No glitter.

Half Truth is a smoky purple with multi-coloured shimmer.  Probably the most unique shade in the palette and my favourite!  Tres jolie!

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My top 5 shades:  Half Truth, Deeper, Chase, Evidence, M.I.A

The Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection is available to buy online at Debenhams.com, priced at £39.00

Have your favourites changed now you’ve seen the swatches?

* press sample

The new Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection* offers fifteen new shades, that’s one for each year they’ve been around.  Fifteen years huh?  I wonder when they launched the brand to the UK market?  I can probably remember back to around 2005/6 but don’t quote me on that… as I think I’ve said before, it was their nail polishes that used to catch my attention back then.

Anyway, 15 years… 15 new shades.  Let’s take a closer look at them.

Midnight Rodeo (medium metallic brown w/silver and gold glitter)

Tainted (pale matte purple with golden shimmer)

Deeper (deep shimmery golden brown)

Midnight 15 (oyster pearl w/silver glitter)

Junkshow (bright pink w/fuchsia shift)

M.I.A. (soft shimmery dark brown)

Vanilla (shimmery white gold)

Omen (shimmery metallic bright purple w/blue shift)

Ace (dark gunmetal shimmer)

Flow (soft peach shimmer)

Evidence (deep metallic blue)

Blackout (darkest, most saturated black)

Chase (metallic bright bronze)

Deep End (bright teal shimmer)

Half Truth (shimmery smoky purple)

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As far as the range of shades go, I think Urban Decay have taken a good line with this palette.  They seem to have placed a focus on the usable, a term which shouldn’t be confused with neutral.

However it may suffer from being a little non-commital, I’ve already heard grumbles from neutral-lovers saying that it reminds them too much of the Naked Palette (I guess there’s only so many variations of Bronze out there) whilst the brights fans may feel a little ignored with this release.

I’ve also read a couple of grumbles that there are no mattes in this palette which I have to agree is a real shame as Urban Decay have released some incredible and under-rated matte shades over the years.

Before swatching (my opinion may change!), the initial stand-out beauties for me are: Tainted, Midnight 15, Ace, Evidence and Half Truth.  I hope they don’t disappoint.

Swatches tomorrow but in the mean-time… Best shade there?  How about the worst?

The Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection is available to buy online at Debenhams.com, priced at £39.00

* press sample

Well, it’s reached our shores… the Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection* has arrived in the UK and is currently available online at Debenhams on a limited edition run.

Released in celebration of Urban Decay’s 15th Anniversary, the eyeshadow collection features 15 never-seen-before full size shades.  These aren’t re-releases of older shades in palette form, you’ll find no MCRA in this palette.

It’s gonna get a bit picture heavy…

demonstrating the reflective finish, not flipping a ‘V’ – promise!

You can’t really hold an Urban Decay palette in your hands without having some thoughts on the way it’s been presented.  The 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection waves goodbye to the cardboard packaging of old in favour of plastic.  It’s better than it sounds, I promise!  The high shine finish, jewelled UD logo and beautiful filigree edging ensures that this is one hunk of plastic that is definitely dressing-table worthy.

Invert the lid and you’ll find a large mirror that stretches from corner to corner.  Lift the platform that the eyeshadows rest upon and you’ll find a ‘velvet’ lined (shallow) compartment below which will give some extra life to the packaging even after the shadows have long been used or even depotted.

Is any of this necessary?  Of course not and I hope the addition of things like the ‘secret’ compartment didn’t bump the price, especially when the packaging of the relatively austere Naked Palette had been so well received.  However, with an extra three shadows on the Naked Palette and only a £4 difference (the price of the NP has risen), it doesn’t seem too out of line from a pricing point of view.

Tomorrow I’ll be focusing on the eye shadows and on Wednesday, those all important swatches.

The Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection is available to buy online at Debenhams.com, priced at £39.00

So, come on lovely people… you never hold back opinions on the UD Palettes.  First impressions?

oh… and here’s a bonus picture for the OCD among us… FINGERPRINTS! *throws arms up and acts like world is ending*

* press sample

The final Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Trio palette!  Don’t forget, I’ll be giving you an opportunity to win all of the ones featured.  For a quick reminder of the other palettes, read on…

I’m Feeling Retro
I Got Good Jeans
Silent Treatment
I’m Getting Sunburned

But today is the turn of a proper party-looking palette, Spoiled Brat.  I may have ‘eeked’ a bit when I saw this.  Silver, black and hot pink…

…really not a combination of colours I’d normally attempt.  Some of you ladies are like ‘pfff, what’s the big deal?’.  And quite rightly… I’m just an unimaginative wimp to be fair.

But what I lack in imagination, I try to make up for in ‘not afraid to put myself out there for guidance’.  So let me have it and give it to me straight.  Just don’t tell me you hate my site layout again.  We’re talking about the makeups today right? 😉

I think I would have preferred the flash of pink on my lids… just a peek when I looked down.  I fear I’ve gone a bit retro-futuristic weird with this one.  Still, truth be told, I’m not sure my application skills are up to the job of keeping a vibrant pop on my lid without muddying the crap out of it.

So… Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Trio Eyeshadow in Spoiled Brat… another win?  (not on me… just in general!)

I feel like a big fat cam whore with these FOTDs… I don’t think I’ve done as many FOTDs this entire year as I have this/last week.  I’m nearly through with all the trios now, I think there’s one more after this one… and then I’ve only got a bloomin’ awesome GIVEAWAY of all the ones I’ve featured so far.  Get in!

So today’s is the Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Trio Eyeshadow palette in I’m Feeling Retro.  On paper, it’s my least favourite… at least half of you will agree when you see the shades and the swatches.  Check it out.

Knowing that it was slightly sheerer than the rest, I did the usual thing of packing it on… if I’d had a trowel to hand, I would have happily used it.  The pink/purple needed more persuasion than the blue which went on surprising pigmented.  The highlight is very sheer and adds more of a luminescence than anything else.

Here’s the FOTD alongside Accessorize Merged Blush in Starlet and Lanolips Lip Ointment in Dark Honey.

For something that I was honestly expecting to hate… I, well…. don’t hate it!  Yeah, it’s a bit out of my comfort zone but it’s less clashy, clashy than I anticipated and certainly not too fancy dress.  At least, I hope not seeing as I did leave the house looking like this.  Application is a bit rubbish because I really thought I’d be scrubbing it from my face once I’d applied it!

So, come on… did you hate it then like it?  Like it and then hate it once you saw it on me?  Hate/Hate?  Like/Like?  I neeeeed to overanalyse the makeups!

In honour of the hottest day of the year which we ‘enjoyed’ on Monday… I wore the Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Trio Eyeshadow aptly called “I’m Getting Sunburned”.

I wasn’t sure WHAT THE HELL I was gonna do with a frosty pink browbone shade… infact, so far I’ve only worn the suggested browbone shades on the browbone once.  I only ever really wanna wear skintone shades in that area… it’s not Mardi Gras yano?

I ended up packing a little on in the inner corner… it doesn’t work badly.  This is a really nice combo for green eyes.

The crease colour in particular is stunning, it reminds me of MAC’s Teddy Kohl but in powder form… a rich, chocolate brown with copper flecks.  I’ll be wearing this as a liner for sure.

Sorry the photos aren’t so clear on the colours here… I couldn’t take standing around snapping pics in the window for too long, my smile was looking more forced by the second thanks to the greenhouse effect!

Do you like this one?  Next one up has a hawt pink in it – god knows what I’m gonna do with that!

* lipstick is MAC Creme Cup while I remember!

Continuing with my Wet n’ Wild palettes, today’s show is Silent Treatment.  I knew I’d like this one but well, this is just silly beautiful.

The browbone shade is gonna see a lot of use… it’s a lovely match for me to blend out harsh edges.  I applied the crease shade higher than I would normally and left my outer v lighter.

I think I like the effect… I’m not brilliant at applying eyeshadow but this seemed to open my eyes a little more though the overall effect was more dramatic than I’d usually wear during daylight hours!

Weird angles… but it shows the eyeshadow FAR better than my usual attempts!

These palettes are a little dusty with a degree of fall out but boy, am I loving them nonetheless.  We’re missing out on a trick here UK ladies.

Another one of my IMATS purchases from earlier in the year was this Yaby Freestyle palette… ‘freestyle’ because it holds any shape of pan in the same way the more well-known z-palettes do.

Being a Yaby palette, it’s not exactly large… at around 15cm (longest side), it’s smaller than MAC, Z-Palette, Unii and MUFE palettes but as my end goal is to fill it with Yaby products (which are teeny tiny too), I don’t have a problem with the compact sizing.

Mine is currently filled with a few randoms (5 Yaby eyeshadows, a Yaby brow powder, 1 MAC eyeshadow, a Yaby blusher and a Stila eyeshadow to be precise!).

The palette is well-constructed with solid hinges, strong magnets and sturdy housing.  The mirror is large and without any obvious distortions.

It’s pretty much a delight to take away on holiday and I can’t wait to fill it with more baby Yaby goodies!

I bought my Yaby Freestyle Palette from The Makeup Artist Boutique (who were exhibiting at IMATS).  It is priced at £10.99 from their web store.

I love to get my teeth stuck into a new beauty infatuation, not that I need another one… so the fact that it’s an affordable obsession makes it all the more appealing!

I bought an empty 12 pan palette from Cocktail Cosmetics and 4 blush pans to satisfy my initial cravings.

From Left to Right: Mocha, Coral Spice, Pink Velvet & Misty Plum.  The pans are 36mm, each holding a generous 5.5g of product which cost me a measly £2.95 per pan.

These blushes are deeply pigmented and I wouldn’t apply without using a stippling brush for the lightest dusting on my fair skin.  I’ve been tapping the surface gently with the brush before stippling along my cheek and then blending with something a bit fluffier.

Three of the four I own are matte, Coral Spice is the only sparkler of the bunch with just a light dusting of glimmer that’s completely wearable.

L-R: Mocha, Coral Spice, Pink Velvet, Misty Plum

Aren’t they gorgeous?  With the exception of Pink Velvet… the above photo shows a single swatch of each shade.  Pink Velvet is a little less pigmented than the rest and I swatched it twice.

The blush lasts for most of the day, easily equal to the majority of my NARS shades.  The only negative I have is that they suffer from some fallout, they’re a little ‘dusty’ in the pan.  When I tap the surface of Mocha… I need to blow the dust from the surface of the pan before I can close the lid.

If you can see past the bingo wings (I know I can’t), this shows a cheek swatch of Pink Velvet which is the perfect pop of pink.

I also purchased the La Femme Twelve Pan Empty Palette (£10.95) to hold my goodies in which is one of those sturdy cardboard numbers .   It appears to be well constructed with strong magnetism and now scrappy corners.  I’m also pleasantly surprised by how lightweight and slimline the palette is.

I’m so pleased these are finally available to pick up in the UK!  Get your bums over to Cocktail Cosmetics and commence hauling immediately!