Aether Beauty Rose Quartz Crystal Gemstone Palette

I don’t remember what article led me to stumble upon Aether Beauty, but I’m happy it did. Aether Beauty, a small but growing company, developed the most gorgeous eyeshadow palette, and yes we are going to talk about it right now. Aether Beauty’s Rose Quartz Crystal Gemstone Palette is vegan and cruelty-free. It is also has zero-waste packaging. More on that later.

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The Rose Quartz Palette contains twelve eye shadows. Within these twelve shades, you have mattes, shimmers, metallics and even duo-chromes. The product is formulated with recognizable ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, and rose hip oil which contribute to the quality of the shadows as well provide benefits for the skin.

Now, here’s the really cool part. With the removal of the shadow pans and the elastic, the palette is fully recyclable. I guess it never occurred to me that my other eyeshadow palettes weren’t recyclable thanks to their mirrors and magnets. Live and learn, right?

The Swatches

Beauty connoisseurs will be most interested in the shades themselves. Don’t worry- I’ve got you covered!

As you can see, the shadows have a softer vibe to them. They are pigmented but in a buildable, blendable way. The Aether Beauty Rose Quartz Palette is one of the few I own where I feel like any combination of shades contained within would result in success. It’s just that good. I especially love the shades Aphrodite and Crystalline for a smokey but not overly dramatic look.

The shadows are soft but not excessively dusty. I have experienced some fallout with Reawakening because it does have glitters, but this is by no means a dealbreaker. The matte shades are especially impressive in that they blend easily and without being “muddied.”

Let’s recap, shall we? We have Aether Beauty- small, conscientious, soon-to-be very popular brand. They have the Rose Quartz Crystal Gemstone Palette – twelve wearable shades made with 70% naturally-derived ingredients. The vegan shades are housed in a fully recyclable palette. You can repeat all of these facts in your head if you need a reason to buy more eye shadow. You’re welcome.

By the way, if you need even more incentive to take a peak, Aether Beauty frequently has amazing sales and deals. Be sure to check out their website , which is both beautiful and incredibly informative.

SHOP MORE AETHER BEAUTY:

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LORAC Mega PRO 4

Hello, all! This will be another short and sweet post, because it’s all about the swatches. Today we focus on the LORAC Mega PRO 4 eyeshadow palette, the fourth (duh) installment in a series of giant LORAC palettes. As with the previous three LORAC Mega PRO palettes, the Mega PRO 4 contains 32 shades. Half of the shadows are matte, while half are a shimmer formula. This year’s palette has a light pink packaging.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Mega PRO tradition, these palettes are awesome (in my opinion, of course). And, while they were originally Limited Edition, it seems that they are frequently being re-released. I applaud LORAC for that decision.

Swatches

As you can see below, the shadows in the LORAC Mega Pro 4 are pigmented and smooth to apply. This palette leans cooler than the Mega Pros 1 and 3, for sure. It leans more pastel than the Mega Pro 2. As always, these are swatched with a flat eyeshadow brush. This was over lightly primed skin. My skin tone is MAC NC15, for reference.

Thoughts

I will always be a Mega PRO fan. However, I find that out of all four palettes, I am least inspired by this newest addition. I have also read that the shades do not flatter deeper skin tones. However, it is a beautiful palette and worth purchasing if you are a collector like me, or genuinely are drawn to the shade selection. The LORAC Mega PRO 4 is available at ULTA and on the LORAC website!

Shop LORAC:

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Hello, class! I’m very excited to talk to you today about a brand that I’ve only recently discovered. They are Clionadh Cosmetics, an Toronto-based small beauty company. Two sisters own and run Clionadh Cosmetics, a vegan and cruelty-free brand.

From snooping around the Clionadh Cosmetics website, it’s no secret that they make some amazing blush toppers and highlighters. You can also use many of these on the eyes, making them incredibly versatile. Clionadh Cosmetics also do custom orders.

Paleo Palette

I snatched up the Paleo Palette when it was on pre-order in July. At this time, the palette is Out-of-Stock, but according to their Instagram, a restock will happen one last time this autumn.

Clionadh Cosmetics describes their Paleo Palette better than I ever could:

The Paleo Palette is a 12-well eyeshadow palette inspired by Prehistory. With a row of warm shadows and a row of cool shadows, the possible eye looks you can create are numerous. The entire palette is painted and created by hand to mimic the archaeic aesthetic of our theme.

The concept originated from the idea of a cataclysmic event where an ice age and a meteor storm collide, this is reflected in the package design and the shadow choices.

As far as eye shadow palettes go, this is one of my favorites in its texture and pigmentation. Additionally, the handmade palette is sturdy and beautiful.

Ready for some swatches? Of course you are!

swatches in the shade

swatches in direct sunlight

My favorite colors by far are Crystalline, Tectonic and Pangea. I love combining warm and cool tones to create unique eye looks.

While you’re waiting for the Paleo Palette to restock, be sure to check out Clionadh Cosmetics’ new releases (hint: some of them look like little fruits!) Let me know if you say anything else you’d like me to review!

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Hello there, everyone! Did anyone else do a little dance when they saw the announcement that Kat Von D Beauty would be releasing a follow-up to their Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette? Just me? That’s fine. Anyway, you might say the new Shade + Light Glimmer Eye Contour Palette is the flashy younger sister to the practical original.

According to Sephora:

Shade + Light Glimmer Eye Contour Palette allows you to seamlessly build a look within the palette by layering different levels of dimension to achieve eye-opening effects, or pair glimmer shades with the original matte eye contour palette for endless possibilities. Each velvety powder is blendable and buildable, and features Kat Von D’s signature high-performance, long-wear eyeshadow formula—for glimmering looks that shift and sparkle with every movement.

The Shade + Light Glimmer Eye Contour Palette actually contains 4 different eye shadow formulas. Porcelain, Dusk and Dune are satin base shades. Copper, Cinder and Rust are metallic contour shades. Bronze, Onyx and Jasper are glittery defining colors. Sterling, Glacier and Quartz are glimmer top -coats.

I think it’s really important to note that this is a “glimmer,” rather than glitter, palette. Not all the shades are shimmery in the pan, but they are not matte like the original Shade + Light.

The palette is housed in a sturdy-feeling plastic casing with a large mirror. The back of the palette shows the shade names, however, I forgot to take a photo of the back!

The Swatches

As always, I’ve swatched for you using a short, synthetic hair eye shadow brush over primer. Photos were taken in overcast, natural light.

As you can see, the shades are subtle but pigmented. They all fall in the realm of “neutral” but with slightly more visual interest than the original Shade + Light Palette. I think it is pretty easy to see how the palettes would complement each other.

Here are both palettes together:

The Kat Von D Shade + Light Glimmer Eye Contour Palette is available at Sephora and at the Kat Von D website for $49. Also take a peak at the Glimmer Effect Eye Brush which was designed to work well with the Shade + Light Glimmer palette.

Don’t need a huge palette? Maybe the Kat Von D Eye Contour Quads are more your style!

Shop Kat Von D Beauty:

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Hello, everyone! I’m excited to talk about Jouer Cosmetics’ newest launch: their Skinny Dip collection. In particular, I’ve been able to play with the Jouer Skinny Dip Palette, which features six “ultra foil shimmer shadows.” Right off the bat, this palette looked amazing and perfect for the warmer seasons.

The shades in the Jouer Skinny Dip Palette range from pale silver to deep cocoa bronze. They sit in a thin, gold cardboard frame that flips open to reveal a nice long mirror. The palette retails for $40 and can be found on jouercosmetics.com and beautylish.

The only somewhat disappointing shade in the Jouer Skinny Dip Palette is “Bikini,” a pale pink. This shade requires a few passes to really build up. It also a bit drier to the touch. The other shades are “buttery” and pigmented.

You can use Jouer Skinny Dip Palette on its own or in conjunction with other palettes if you prefer some neutral mattes. When used on its own, sticking with the lighter shades will give you a natural, beachy look. The darker shades lend themselves to a sultrier, dramatic look.

I recommend the Jouer Skinny Dip Palette if you are in the market for some shimmer. That being said, $40 is on the high end for six shadows, so be sure to shop around if you’re “on the fence” about spending the money.

Shop Jouer (affiliate links):

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Hello, friends! Today’s swatchfest will be brief, but exciting! We are looking at the new Anastasia Beverly Hills palette, titled the Master Palette By Mario. This palette is:

A special-edition eye shadow collection created with celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic. –Sephora.com

The Master Palette By Mario contains 12 buttery smooth eyeshadows of varying shades ranging from neutral to mossy green (every palette needs a weird green shade, amiright?)

A lot of reviews are mixed on this palette. Some are not a fan of the pricepoint ($45) while others cite a lack of good brow bone shade. I would agree that these are factors to consider, however, if you happen to already have the Modern Renaissance palette then you really have all the shades you will ever need (minus a purple, if you like purple.)

The Master Palette By Mario is currently available at Sephora  and Ulta. This is a limited edition item, so if you want it, now is the time!

All of the shades are pigmented, with the shimmers performing just slightly better than the mattes.

I’m sure you can see that this is a beautiful palette for the fall season. Yes, many of the shades are dupe-able, but there’s something wonderful about having them all in one pre-made palette.

The Master Palette By Mario can take you from classic to grunge, and is a worthy investment if you’re in the market for a new palette. I’d love to hear your thoughts- leave them in the comments!

more Fall palettes to love:

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originally posted 7/16/15

Yep, I’m a sucker for customizing palettes. So I was really excited to see my Sephora finally stocked up on most of the colors I liked. I wanted to create a palette that I could travel with this summer, and use for day and night, subtle and crazy. Here’s what I came up with.

All of the shades are quite pigmented. Party Girl was a bit powdery, but still can be worked with. Patent Leather has the potential for some fallout because of the sparkle. The rest are buttery and delightful to touch.
Buxom also came out with some pre-made palettes that look phenomenal. I highly recommend checking out your nearest Sephora to play with the shades and come up with something to suit your needs.

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Hello dear class! Have you had enough sparkle today? Let me add some more for you! Today we are looking at Urban Decay’s newest release- the Moondust Eyeshadow Palette. The Moondust Palette boasts shadows that are:

dazzlingly sparkly, but with a super-refined, incredibly sophisticated feel (and not a single speck of chunky glitter). Laced with microfine bits of iridescent sparkle and lush 3-D metallics, these shadows create a gorgeous, diamond-like effect. (Ulta website)

First, let me say that I am in love with the packaging. The case is sturdy, closes securely, and is sparkly!

Are you excited yet? Well, the Moondust Palette has eight shades. They are:

• Specter (soft pink w/tonal sparkle)
• Element (peach w/pink shift and sparkle)
• Magnetic (purple w/blue sparkle)
• Lightyear (vibrant green w/tonal sparkle)
• Granite (black w/multicolored sparkle)
• Lithium (brown w/iridescent 3-D sparkle)
• Vega (bright blue w/tonal sparkle)
• Galaxy (smoky blue-gray w/iridescent 3-D sparkle)

I swatched the palette quickly so you might have a look. The shades apply nicely for glittery shadows, but there is some fallout.

I think the most unique shades in the Moondust Palette are Element,  Magnetic and Galaxy.

So you can see the glitter in action, I took a short video. Enjoy!

Well, what do you think? Do you need the palette? The Moondust Palette is available at Ulta, Sephora and on Urban Decay’s Website.

More Urban Decay favorites:

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I’m not usually into blue eye shadow. I tend to look like a 3 year old playing with mommy’s makeup. However, when I saw “Pool Shark” from NARS’ Summer 2016 collection in the store, I almost died. Its periwinkle hue called to me. It said “buy me.” But I didn’t. Not then, anyway.

Cut to about 2 months later, and I have something to show you! Pool Shark is the most perfect blue eyeshadow. It is NARS’ dual intensity formula which means you can use it wet or dry. Additionally, because it has a hint of purple, it is a very versatile blue.

As you can see, NARS Pool Shark is quite pigmented and has a metallic sheen.

I tried out Pool Shark on a particularly humid and gross night and it performed beautifully. First, I applied it with a damp brush to my lid (over primer). Then, I blended out the edges into the crease with a fluffy dry brush. I also brought a bit of color down along the lower lash line.

With this method, the shadow lasted all night without creasing.

I absolutely adore Pool Shark as a “one shadow look” eye shadow. As you can see, the blue is not overwhelming:

pre-lipstick. don’t judge

Since NARS Pool Shark is a summer 2016 collection item, I would recommend getting your hands on it soon!

How do you feel about blue eye shadows? Tell me!

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Good morning, class! I’m so excited to share my January Favorites with you today. I hope you will share links to your January Favorites in the comments!

Let’s start with eye shadow! This month I’m featuring two palettes, both very different but equally fun.

The Natasha Denona 5 Pan Eyeshadow Palette #10 has an amazing assortment of golds and purples. I swatched them all for you here.

I’ve also been quite obsessed with the Lime Crime Venus 2 Palette. It has such unique shades (swatched here) that I keep gravitating to, especially “Fly” and “Poison.”

I really like the BECCA Backlight Priming Filter as my winter primer. It adds a subtle glow that shines through any foundation, but does not exacerbate oiliness. Another BECCA product made the cut this month – the Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Moonstone. This is an old favorite for me, but I’ve been reaching for it recently due to my current lack of tan.

For my brows, I’ve had a lot of success with the It Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil. It has that nice wedge shape that allows for easy drawing and more natural strokes. The color is fine for matching my brown brows to my blonde hair.

Finally, I’ve been loving the new MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour, especially in the shade Lady Be Good. Many nude lipsticks lean either too peachy or too dead on me, but this one is perfect. It lasts forever and luckily does not feel super drying on.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you will share a link to you January Favorites in the comments!

Shop January Favorites:

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