Let’s start off summer with the bronze palette to end all bronze palettes. The Natasha Denona Bronze Palette was released on June 23rd, and since I received mine incredibly quickly (thanks Beautylish!) I thought I’d push out my swatches super fast in case anyone is looking for more information prior to purchasing.

With all that in mind, I’ll keep the writing here brief. This is a good palette. The shimmers are solid and not at all “crumbly.” The mattes are pigmented and blendable. The color story is versatile enough for any type of look. I can easily see the Bronze Palette becoming a mainstay of my vast collection. I believe this palette is of similar quality to previous Natasha Denona releases.

The swatches below were done with a stiff, synthetic brush over bare skin (no primer). I do use a stencil because I have a very unsteady hand!

As you can see, this is a palette for the lover of warm tones. However, it is not overly red like so many warm palettes tend to be. Given the moderate price, I believe the Natasha Denona Bronze Palette is a fantastic option for anyone looking to spruce up their collection this summer.

The Natasha Denona Bronze Palette is available at mutliple places, including Sephora, Beautylish and Natasha Denona’s site.

The post Natasha Denona Bronze Palette appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

Natasha Denona has been non-stop with the new releases (like the Gold Palette, Safari Palette, Mini Star Palette, etc.) At least this holiday release is her 5 pan size, making it significantly less pricey than one of the giant palettes! Let’s talk about the Natasha Denona Cranberry Palette, shall we? It features four new shades, and one repeat from last year’s Aeris Palette. I am always excited to see reds and cranberries, so those shades definitely drew me in.

As I’m sure you can imagine, the Natasha Denona Cranberry Palette is not your everyday neutral go-to. The three lighter shades are packed with shimmer and glitter. This is a palette you pick up if you want to make a statement. That statement is “look at me!”

As you can see, the Natasha Denona Cranberry Palette has some gorgeous shade options. But here’s the rub- while the shimmery shades literally shine, the red and the cranberry leave a lot to be desired. Using a brush will require a lot of building up. How about your finger? While your fingertip will be packed with color, the payoff on your lid will, for some reason, be mediocre. This can actually be a good thing if the deep shades intimidate you and you want a light wash of color. But I personally expect more from Natasha Denona’s shadows.

So do you need this palette? Not at all. But you might still want it if you are into the color scheme and are willing to work with it.  It would also make a lovely gift for a makeup-loving friend.

more Natasha Denona

The post Natasha Denona Cranberry Palette appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

Bite Beauty Prismatic Pearl Multisticks

Well, I’m home for the first snow day of 2018 so I thought it would be a good time to share some swatches with you! I had the pleasure of swatching three of the new Bite Beauty Prismatic Pearl Multisticks. These newest additions to the classic Bite Multistick line add an element of sparkle and shimmer that seems to be in line with the “unicorn” aesthetic that many cosmetics companies are embracing. The Prismatic Pearl Multisticks are available at Sephora. 

I swatched the shades Blush Pearl, Oyster Pearl and Peacock Pearl. As with the matte formula, the Prismatic Pearl Multisticks can be used on the eyes, cheeks and lips. I prefer to apply with my finger and blend out with a brush or beauty blender.

For the swatches here, I simply swiped each Prismatic Pearl Multistick across my arm:

Unfortunately, my camera doesn’t do justice to these colors. Each shade has a lovely shift that catches the light when you move. Peacock Pearl, especially, is a unique eye-catching shade that is very similar to MAC’s Blue-Brown pigment.

Oyster Pearl on the lid with Peacock Pear in the outer corners. Blush Pearl on the lower lash line, dragged down.

Since I’ve only just begun experimenting with these shades, I cannot give you a full review. However, my first impression is that they are fun and easy to use. I did have some creasing issues when applied to heavily on the eyes, especially with the darker shade. I did not experience any glitter fallout.

While I’m not a huge fan of posting my own face on the internet, I want to share a look I did using the three Prismatic Pearl Multisticks:

Obviously, there are many looks you can create beyond “snow princess!”

Will you be picking up any of these new Multisticks? Let me know!

Shop Bite Beauty:

The post Swatches: Bite Beauty Prismatic Pearl Multisticks appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

[may contain affiliate links]
Hello, all! I am excited to talk to you today about what has possibly been the most controversial cosmetic product released this summer: the Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Eye Shadow Palette.

The Drama

If you are very much up-to-date on the Subculture Palette rants and raves, skip this paragraph as I am going to review the drama. The Subculture Palette is meant to be a muted-color companion to the beloved Modern Renaissance palette. However, reviewers pointed out that this new palette in particular tends to have extraordinary amounts of kick-up, is difficult to blend well and was, in general, disappointing.

My Thoughts

Now that we have that out of the way, let me get to my thoughts on the Subculture Palette. First of all, I love the colors. This palette, with its tones ranging from deep teal to bright mustard, is a beautiful addition to one’s autumn makeup routine. Next, as expected, the shades are all pigmented and soft.

Speaking of soft, let’s talk about the main issue everyone is having: the kick-up. I will not deny that the majority of this palette is powdery as hell if you swirl your brush in it. I find that it helps to think about this palette as containing pressed pigments, rather than shadows. In other words, a little goes a long way. The exception to this rule are the two duo-chromes: Cube and Electric. These are not nearly as pigmented as the others and are best to use on top of other shades.

As for blending, yeah some of the shades will look muddy if you mix them together. What do you expect to happen if you combine dirt brown and moss green? I have had no issues with my color combinations, but I go in with the expectation that my look will be fairly grungy.

So, do I think you need the Subculture Palette? No, not if finicky shadows are going to frustrate you. It’s not worth it. However, if you can deal with a learning curve and care for the overall vibe of the palette, take a chance!

Shop Anastasia Beverly Hills:

The post Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

[Contains affiliate links]
Hello all, and happy June! I was lucky enough to be able to attend the recent Sephora VIB Rouge “Fall Preview” event. I won’t even get started on how it’s June and we’re already having Fall events. Nevertheless, I was able to get my hands on some items that are very new. One of these was the Too Faced Glitter Bomb Palette.

The Too Faced Glitter Bomb Palette (which is in reality called the Too Faced Glitter Bomb Eyeshadow Collection) contains eight glitter shadows as well as two base shadows.  The product can be used wet or dry to vary the intensity of the pigmentation.

I found the glitter shadows to be soft, though gritty, to the touch. This is different than some other glitter palettes I own where the shadows are drier and a bit dusty.

Below you will find the shadows swatched over primer only, then over the white brightening base, then over the black intensifying base.

Too Faced Glitter Bomb will be available at Sephora soon for $45 US. It’s a worthy palette if you enjoy the glitter/foil scene.

P.S. Here’s a comparison to Urban Decay Moondust!

Shop Too Faced:

The post Too Faced Glitter Bomb appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

[may contain affiliate links]
Hello, class! I will teach today’s lesson mostly through pictures, for the following reasons:

1. because a picture is worth a thousand words (or something like that)
2. because I’m “differentiating” this lesson for our more “visual learners”
3. because I’m just a little bit lazy

Let’s get back to the point. Today we are looking at Urban Decay’s new Naked Ultimate Basics Eye Shadow Palette. According to the description on Sephora:

Urban Decay introduces Naked Ultimate Basics—the matte eye shadow palette loaded into a sleek, square case with matte shades that have been requested time and time again. Each shade is exclusive to this palette and completely different from the shades in Naked Basics and Naked2 Basics. This palette offers a true range of neutral mattes, from cool to warm—all with a little edge. Create contoured all-matte looks, or pair these neutrals with your favorite bold hues.

The shades in Naked Ultimate Basics are neutral enough for everything from cool skin tones to olive complexions to darker skin. They feature Urban Decay’s proprietary Pigment Infusion System, which gives the formula its velvety texture, rich color, serious staying power, and blendability. Achieve the perfect application every time for a matte look that radiates.

OK, so now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s take a look.

I’m sure you wanted to see swatches too…

Overall, you can probably see that most of the shades are well-pigmented. The second shade, “Nudie,” gave me the most problems, but as this one is the closest to my skintone, I did not expect it to show up well. “Extra Bitter” is basically my reason for getting this palette and it doesn’t disappoint. Last thing – I’m not convinced the lightest shade, “Blow,” is actually matte. It shimmered on my arm.

Final thoughts

If you have another matte neutral palette, like the Kat Von D Shade and Light, you probably have a lot of dupes for these colors. However, there’s something about the shape and packaging of this palette that makes me think it will be better to travel with. I do want to hear your thoughts, though, so please share in the comments!

More Naked palettes:

The post Swatches: Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

[may contain affiliate links]
Hello, class! I hope everyone has been having a wonderful September! Today I want to talk about a new product from MAC, their Liptensity lipstick line.

According to MAC, Liptensity is:

A brilliant formula that pushes the boundaries of colour. Each Lipstick holds intense amounts of pigment, resulting in extreme colour intensity, clarity and vibrancy. This luxurious gelled base melts on contact, providing fully saturated colour with a satin finish in one stroke.

So I wasn’t initially interested in the Liptensity line. It seemed gimmicky, and I was unsure of the balm-like shape of the lipstick. But then I saw some amazing swatches on Beauty Products Are My Cardio and my mind was changed.

I’ve played with three colors-

Driftwood – Soft lilac beige
Toast and Butter – Peachy cinnamon
Galaxy Grey – Light bluish grey

The Liptensity lipsticks come in a matte tube that matches the color of the product. Win! (Does anyone else HATE having to turn over every single standard MAC lipstick to see what shade it is?)

As advertised, the Liptensity shades stay true to color on the lips. More importantly, they are incredibly comfortable. In fact, they are almost moisturizing. Yet, they do no slip or feather the way many comfortable lipsticks do. Basically I’m in love and I may need more (hello, Fall reds!)

top to bottom: Galaxy Grey, Toast and Butter, Driftwood

Out of the three, Driftwood and Toast and Butter are certainly the more wearable. However, you know I love me some Galaxy Grey. But I’ll be saving that one for the weekends!

Galaxy Grey

Toast and Butter

Driftwood

There are currently 24 shades of Liptensity available, and I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve tried any other colors!

The post MAC Liptensity Lipstick Swatches appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

Hi, class! I hope you will forgive me for the paucity of posts this week; as you probably know, the first days of school are quite busy! Luckily, today I’m here to show you some beautiful new(ish) products from ColourPop. I’m talking about the Ultra Metallic liquid lipsticks. I got my greedy hands on four ColourPop Ultra Metallic lips to swatch for you!

According to ColourPop, the Ultra Metallic lip is:

A super intense metalized liquid lipstick that is dripping with high impact metallic pearls. This non-drying formula was created to be luxurious, smooth and leave a super comfortable feel on the lips. While the formula is not completely transfer resistant, it is extremely long wearing!

ColourPop currently has 11 Ultra Metallic lipsticks available, and the four I have are Lights Out, Flitter, Man Eater and Zebra. These $6 lipsticks come in the same packaging as ColourPop’s Ultra Matte and Ultra Satin lipsticks.

L to R: Zebra, Lights Out, Man Eater, Flitter

Swatched, the ColourPop Ultra Metallic lips offer decent coverage and staying power. I don’t find that they dry down completely- they have more of the Ultra Satin “almost dry” feel. However, they do not transfer excessively when eating or drinking.

I have a feeling that the ColourPop Ultra Metallic lipsticks are going to be a staple in my fall makeup routine. Have you tried them yet? Tell us how you feel about them in the comments, please!

The post Swatches: ColourPop Ultra Metallic Lips appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

[may contain affiliate links] Well, it’s been a pretty MAC-tacular week! First we had the It’s A Strike goodies. Now we have the collection I’ve been waiting for all year: Star Trek. The MAC Star Trek collection is pretty meaningful to me since I’ve been watching the various Star Trek series since I was little. So naturally, I had to acquire all of the lip products to swatch for you.

Let’s start with the lipsticks! There are four MAC Star Trek lipsticks and all are shimmery to some extent.
Where No Man Has Gone Before (Lustre) – pink with gold pearl
Klingiton (Frost) – deep purple with fine pink glitter
LLAP (Frost) – icy rose champagne
The Enemy Within (Frost) – neutral gold shimmer

In my opinion, the lipglasses are the true stars of the MAC Star Trek products (no pun intended!)
KHAAANNN! – berry with red reflect
Set To Stun – light silver with gold pearl
Warp Speed Ahead – plum with blue and pink reflects
Pleasure Plant – muted gold shimmer

There are also three unique-looking powders (Trip The Light Fantastic Powders, to be exact), though I only have one to show you.
Luna Luster – sheer wash of soft rose shimmer

Basically, my arm was a glitter-fest when I was done swatching!

All of the MAC Star Trek products feature the Star Trek logo in metallic silver. I highly recommend picking a few of these items up if you are lacking in the sparkle department!

The post MAC Star Trek Collection appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..

[may contain affiliate links]  Hello beautiful class! Today we’re doing just a quick synopsis of a couple of items from MAC’s new collection. The MAC It’s A Strike features bowling-related items ranging from shadows to lipsticks to nail polish. I hunted down two lipsticks and a powder from this collection to swatch for you.

The pearlmatte face powder contains pearlized and satin shades for both a blush and highlighting effect. Two white bowling pins sit atop a pink background and next to a green ball. All of these shades swatch their respective colors and can be swirled together for a beautiful sheen. Please note that the red on the pins is an overspray and will be gone after your first use.

top to bottom: pink, white, green (look closely!)

on the left: all three swirled together

Babes and Balls is a deep burgundy, matte lipstick. This shade is limited edition and an online exclusive. The other shade of lipstick I have from the MAC It’s A Strike line is Liquid Lurex. This is a a “tarnished golden” dazzle finish (which I think was MAC’s original glitter formula) and it is utterly fantastic.

Sadly, my swatches didn’t pick up that Liquid Lurex has a sort of pink shift to it. It’s beautiful.

Overall, the MAC It’s A Strike collection has some cute items, with the bowling ball and pins powder being the most unique aesthetically. Be sure to get what you want before these items are gone!

Shop the collection:

The post MAC It’s A Strike appeared first on This teacher wears makeup..