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Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye

I love eyeshadow palettes.  Singles are fun because you you can get the exact colors you want.  Palettes let you explore.  Sometimes you'll find shades you never thought you'd like.  When the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Palette came out, I was torn.  Warm tones aren't my thing, but they do have their place, like as a transition color.  I knew at least four colors would be warm.  Also, the color names.  There are a couple that make me cringe.

Front of box
I let my inhibitions fly, because what this had was a good base of colors.  I really wanted some mattes I could have as my bread and butter sort of shades.  Basic, dependable colors.

Back of the box
The Shade and Light Eye Palette has twelve colors.  Three of them are 2.3 grams and the other nine are 1.1 grams.  It is not tested on animals and is made in the USA.  They are all matte, which was the draw for this.  Good mattes are like black eyeliner, they're an essential to a beauty wardrobe. See, I can talk myself into anything.  It sells for $46.00.


The packaging is cardboard, but feels substantial.  It is a flat black with shiny raised lettering and silver highlighting.  It has a magnetic closure.


The color names are listed on the back of the package.  I prefer them listed on the inside, but at least it is something that stays with the package.

Matte attack
The colors are arranged with the neutral quad on the left, the cool in the middle, and the warm is on the right.  Now, onto the part you actually care about!

Neutral Quad

Laetus is a matte vanilla.  It is finely milled, has okay pigmentation and the color can be little patchy and powdery.  It leans a little warm.




Samael is one of the names I cringed at.  I seriously refused to buy this for a long time because of this color name.  It is a fawn color that even though is a neutral does lean a little warm.  It is fine as well, has good pigmentation, but can be tough to layer at times.





Solas is a dark brown with reddish tones.  It has decent pigmentation and can be a little patchy.  However it does blend easily.  This neutral also leans a little warm.




Lucius has a satin matte finish in a creamy beige color.  It has good pigmentation, feels creamy, and blends well.






Cool Quad
Lazarus is one of my favorite shades in this palette.  It is a cool toned matte taupe.  The texture is creamy, it has good pigmentation, and blends beautifully.  This color is wonderful as a transition color for pale cool toned people.  It could also be used as a contour color or even a brow color.  I adore this shade.


Saleos is a cool toned deep taupey brown.  It has good pigmentation, can be a tad powdery, and blends decently.  This is another of my favorite colors.  I love this as a crease color.  But I feel it could be used in similar ways to Lazarus.



Shax is a wonderful black with cool tones.  I like the name as it reminds me of Charmed.  It has good pigmentation, a silky texture, but can be a little tough to blend out.  It still is a good black and very useful in any palette.



Liberatus is another staple shade in this palette for me.  It is an ivory with pink tones.  It has good pigmentation, is creamy, and blends well.  It actually works as a brow highlight for me.  It may turn chalky on deeper skin tones.




Warm Quad
Ludwin is a satin matte peach.  It has decent pigmentation but sheers out well.  It blends nicely and is a wonderful warm transition color that can be quite useful.




Succubus is a rusty brown that has decent pigmentation but can blend out to a sheer color.  Others might not like that about this color, but I found that because of this it made it very wearable for my pale, cool toned skin.



Sytry is a chocolate brown with yellow undertones.  It has good pigmentation, blends well, but can be a little powdery.





Latinus is a satin matte in a buttery beige color.  It has good pigmentation, creamy, and blends well.






I have had this palette for about two months now.  I had mostly wanted it for the cool tones.  I had feared the warm shades, but thought the neutrals might have their uses.  Honestly, I reach for the cool shades nearly every day.  But I do enjoy incorporating the warm colors as well.  Especially, Ludwin and Succubus.

The neutral shades, while the majority lean warm, have been very useful as well.  I wouldn't say this palette will knock your socks off or contains revolutionary colors.  It does however, contain very useful colors that might have you reaching for it more than others because you can form the base for any look with this palette.

I would recommend using a primer with these colors.  I haven't really thought of it for eye contouring, that idea seems gimmicky.  It is very useful for transition colors, crease, and highlight.  You can do a full eye look with this palette for a more neutral look.

You will find this useful if you do get it.  Aging eyes will find it even more useful as mattes tend to be more flattering.  It does the matte look quite successfully.  I can see why this palette has gained popularity.

* I bought this palette with my hard earned money.  No one sent this to me or thought I should review it.  I purchased this at Sephora and I used Ebates, this is my referral link.

ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip Lyin' King

When I originally saw the swatches of the new ColourPop formula (I wasn't cool enough to get one of the big boxes o' pretty colors), I loved the name of this lip color.  I mean how could you not?

This formula is not to be confused the Ultra Matte formula which is not to transfer.  The Ultra Satin formula will transfer.  It's nothing that will slide down your face or join your teeth in an illicit relationship, but it will "kiss off."

Many of the Ultra Satin Lips do not come with matching pencils.  However, ColourPop does have shades that it recommends with each color.  Lyin' King does have a matching lip liner.  In addition to the Lyin' King Lippie Pencil, ColourPop also recommends the Ellarie Pencil.


This product is made in the USA, not tested on animals, gluten free, and is vegan.  They ship to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands and APOs.


The Lyin' King Ultra Satin Lip sells for $6.00 for the full size 3.2 grams of product and the Lyin' King Lippie Pencil is $5.00 for the 1.0 gram full size.  The pencil is a pencil and does require sharpening.  


The applicator is a  doe foot.  The size makes it fairly easy to apply your lipstick.  However, you can use a lip brush for a cleaner application.  For even more impact you can use a concealer to clean up the edges and have a super crisp look.


Lyin' King is a gorgeous raspberry color.  It is quite flattering on my sheet white skin and from the swatches I looked at, it is perfection on nearly every skin tone that deigns to grace their lips with this ravishing color.


Now, my lips could have used a better exfoliation, but this color goes on wet and dries down to an almost matte finish.  It will transfer.  However, it is very comfortable and lasts about 7+ hours.  It may bleed a little, so if it does, you might want to use a lip liner.  I didn't find it to settle into lines or crack.

You won't really feel this on your lips, except when you press your lips together, then you will feel a slight tackiness.  It won't feel like a lip balm or regular lipstick, so you can't really slide your lips against one another.  That might feel tugging.  It will leave behind a slight staining, which is nice.  You can reapply later and it won't gunk up on your lips.

I love this shade.  It is very wearable, comfortable, and long lasting.

* No lyin' I bought this for myself and paid for it with my limited funds.

ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip Mess Around

As I promised with the review of The Rabbit, there is more of the Ultra Satin Lip to come.  It's actually here, right now.  ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in Mess Around is part of the recently released Ultra Satin Lip formula.


This product is made in the USA, not tested on animals, gluten free, and is vegan.  They ship to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands and APOs.

It sells for $6.00 for the full size 3.2 grams of product.


The package is simple with a silver toned lid and holographic lettering.  The lettering does fade rather quickly. 


The applicator is a regular doe foot.  It is on the smaller side that makes it fairly easy to apply your lipstick with.  However, you can use a lip brush for a cleaner application.  For even more wham! you can use a concealer to clean up the edges and have a super crisp lip.


Mess Around is a milk chocolate brown.  There have been more brown lip looks featured on YouTube lately, so this may be a color that is about to become popular.  Such as in this look by Jaclyn Hill, NikkieTutorials, and N1kk1sSecr3t.  This may have to do with the Kylie Lip Kit (tried on by DollFaceBeautyx) and looks with Rihanna, who is so pretty she can make green lips look good.



When initially applied, this lippie is wet looking.  After a minute it will dry down and look almost matte.  It is quite opaque. It will "kiss off" but it does last a long time.  It is also very comfortable and other than a slight tackiness when you press your lips together, you may forget you are wearing this stuff.  It will last a good six hours, depending on what you eat, and more can be applied over it without becoming a goop factory.

It is recommended with the Wet Lip Pencil or the Pitch Lip Pencil.

Pale skin may be a little intimidated to wear a color like this, but it can be a fun alternative color, especially in the autumn.  Darker skin tones can totally rock this color.

I am loving this formula and I definitely want more.

* I didn't mess around in purchasing this.  I bought it by myself and no one sent me anything to mess around with.

ColourPop/Kathleen Lights Lippie Stix and Pencil in Aquarius

Once upon a time ColourPop made a decidedly brilliant decision to do a collaboration with popular YouTube personality KathleenLights.  They created the incredibly sought-after color Lumière and then later recreated in the color in the liquid lip form under the name Lumière 2.  They have also created more lippies as part of the Where the Night Is Collection, which follows the Where the Light Is Collection.


This is the very brief story of one of those new lippies.  ColourPop's Lippie Stix and Pencil in Aquarius is a creme formula.  The 1 gram pencil sells for $5.00 and the Lippie Stix is $5.00 for 1 gram as well.  It was named Aquarius because Kathleen was born in January and is an Aquarius.


This product is made in the USA, not tested on animals, gluten free, and is vegan.  They ship to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands and APOs.  I have heard you can use courier services to get these to other countries, although the shipping will most likely be more than you pay for the products :(  The packaging is simple white with holographic lettering.  The pencil does have to be sharpened.  

Left to Right: Aquarius Pencil and Lippie Stix
Aquarius is a neutral leaning warm nude with the pencil having a little more pink and brown tones.  The creme formula is very comfortable and does last about five to six hours.  It can last through food but this can depend on what you eat.  Oils will break down the formula.


The formula is semi opaque and has a nice sheen.  This color may have been released in December but it is a good nude for any time of the year.

This color does lean a little warm but is still wearable by those with cool toned skin.  It is a fairly universally flattering shade, but may be a little more brown than some expect.  I do like it, but it is a little too peach for my tastes on my skin and I probably wouldn't buy it again.

* I bought into the age of Aquarius by myself.  No one got the rage of Aquarius on me to force me to review.

ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip and Lip Pencil in Chi with Karrueche

ColourPop has some wonderful matte lipsticks.  They are my favorite brand for that as they perform as well in the majority of cases as much more expensive brands.  It makes it hard to purchase those more expensive brands, as I know I could pay $6.00 or $18.00 and let me tell you what my frugal budget prefers!

These products are made in the USA, not tested on animals, and Vegan.  The lip liner sells for $5.00 for the 1 g pencil and the Ultra Matte Lip sells for $6.00 for the 3.2 g full size.


ColourPop also does many wonderful collaborations.  The ColorPop Ultra Matte Lip and Lip Pencil are an example of this.  They come from the KaePop Collection, in which they worked with actress and model Karrueche.  Karrueche Tran is a very lovely young lady and it's wonderful that ColourPop is collaborating with people of different skin tones as their creations may reach demographics that other colors may miss.  I'm personally hoping for a collaboration with a ghost with cool undertones.


One thing that will jump out at you as different in this collection is the subtle coloring difference in this product vs the normal coloring.  In this collaboration, touches of rose gold are added.  I love this addition.  It is so pretty.  The pencil also feels slightly more substantial and the printing a little more bold.  This may be in my head, but I have noticed this difference in the new pencils.

Left to Right: Chi Liner and Lip
This color is described as "a cool tone nude beige."  I think it has a tad too much yellow to be called cool toned.  It is a lovely color and I think this would be perfect for people with olive skin.


As you can tell, this color has opaque pigmentation.  It is like most liquid lipsticks and you want to exfoliate better than I did and moisturize.  It will dry out your lips.  I found this one to be slightly more drying than others by ColourPop.  It does last for many hours.

I probably wouldn't buy this again.  It wasn't the cool beige I thought it would be.  However, I think it's a decent formula and a nice color, just not what I wanted.

* I got my own Chi.  No one thought to send me Chi.

March 2016 Boxycharm First Look

I always look forward to getting my subscription boxes, but I have to admit, Boxycharm is one of the more exciting boxes.  If you want, this is my referral link.  When you refer a friend you receive 500 points.  You also receive points just for getting a box delivered!



For $21.00 a month you get four to five full size products. The points earned take off money in the store.  The store isn't as extensive as Birchbox, but it's still pretty good.  1000 points will take off $10.00, 2000 takes off $20.00, and so on.  It also contains a card that lists the prices and information on the products you receive.  Well, usually.  This month the card didn't give us that information.  It may have been because everyone received slightly different things.  I missed my card.


The theme this month was Sweet Treats and it was rather cute.

Catherine Malandrino
I like receiving perfumes as reviews aren't usually helpful with them because body chemistry can change the scent on a person.  Sure it's nice to know if it have lavender, which would tell me to run, but it won't tell me how it smells unless I tried it on.  The Catherine Malandrino Style de Paris is Catherine's first perfume and opens with grapefruit, pear, and mandarin.  It also has orange blossom, gardenia, and violet.  The small .3 oz size spray of this is $20.00.

Clark's Botanicals
I'm not sure how this fits with the sweet treats theme, but I still like getting eye creams.  The Clark's Botanicals Anti-Puff Eye Cream is a full size .5 product and sells for $87.00.  Yes, $87.00.  It is gluten free, does not test on animals, and has no sulfates or parabens.  It has Vitamin K to help with dark circles and is supposed to smooth and soften skin.  Clark's has a rather sad beginning that turned into something beautiful.  Francesco Clark had an accident that left him paralyzed and without the ability to sweat.  This lead to skin issues and he turned to his father for help and they began building what would be Clark's Botanicals after others began loving the products as well.  I really hope I don't love this product, because it's not exactly cheap.

Next up is a familiar brand to the beauty subscription box/bag world.  Chella Tantalizing Taupe Eyebrow Color Pencil is $18.00 for the full size.  It has a small tip and is a neutral taupe color.  It feels rather smooth.  You can control the pigmentation by the pressure you put on it.  The pencil comes in more colors other than taupe, including a auburn that seems rather popular.  Chella is supposed to be Cruelty Free.



Mistura
As much as I love receiving brushes the Mistura Retractable Brush which retails for $15.32 might seem inexpensive, however I don't think it's worth even that much.  It's not dense enough for blush or fluffy enough for powder.  It's just kind of eh.




 When I saw that Makeup Geek was coming, I was happy.  I was concerned that I might have the shades that were coming.  It wouldn't have been the end of the world, I could have given it away or saved it for backup if it was a color I'm in love with.

Luckily, I received two colors I didn't have yet.  I received the ever popular Cocoa Bear, which I thought about purchasing but wasn't sure I would like because I know it's on the warm side.  It's a matte ruddy brown. This sells for $6.00.  I also got I'm Peachless which is one of the duochrome shades.  This is a peachy pink and is definitely warm.  This also sells for $6.00.

I paid $21.00 for this box and if I had bought everything it would have been $152.32.  I think I got quite the bang for my buck.  This was a very good box, even if the brush wasn't very good.

* I paid for my own Boxycharm.


March 2016 Ipsy First Look

Next up in the box/bag arrivals was Ipsy!  Ipsy is a $10.00 per month subscription service.  You get points for referring friends.  However, the points system hasn't been that great.  They do seem to be listening and I'm seeing more and more 250 and 500 point items, so that's pretty hopeful.



This month the theme for Ipsy was Hello Spring.  It think that's a lovely theme as I know I am definitely ready for Spring!  It appears as though there were three varieties of the colors and patterns, but heck, it could be that one dress all over again.

Temptu
First up was the Temptu Warm Glow Bronzer.  Temptu is an airbrush makeup company.  It has been used in films like Tattoo, on Mystique in X-Men, The Stepford Wives, it was used in Lady Gaga's Born This Way video, and much more.

It does blend out well, but it is too much for my skin in this liquid form and did go a little orange.  It might be better with an airbrush application,  If I could afford it, I would love to try airbrush make up, however, it won't be in my budget anytime soon.



This color screams spring, in an almost offensively pink way.  It's the Nyx Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Pink Lust.  It is opaque and very pigmented.  It seems we received the full size of  the product which sells for $7.00.  It is comfortable but the formula is odd.  It remains sticky for a while.  It doesn't last very long, about four hours and may benefit from a lip liner to prolong its longevity.  A little powder may help it set faster.  I think the price is fair for the quality of these.

Beau Gâchis
These bags are starting to fill up my eye brush collection.  I'm not complaining even a little.  I have received a brush from this brand before and it was comparable to the MAC 217.  This one is the Beau Gâchis Eyeshadow Brush and is good for patting color onto the entire lids and sells for a fairly reasonable $12.00.  Beau Gâchis is a family owned business.

Marc Anthony
This next item has a bit of a novel for a name.  So, here we go!  It's the Marc Anthony Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco 3 Day Smooth Perfect Blow Dry Cream, whew.  It sells for $8.99 for a full size 200 ml bottle.  Right now Ulta is having a sale on it. It has a slight herbal scent and seems to work best with just blow drying and not adding a flat iron.  This will be nice to try.

Essence


I have been thinking about trying the Benefit Give Me Brow as I have rather fine eyebrows.  I have always wanted something to make them appear fuller.  When I saw that I was getting this, I was interested in trying it.  This is the Essence Make Me Brow (gee that name is familiar) and sells for $2.99 for .13 oz.  I received it in the color Brownie Brows, which is a nice brown shade without too much warmth, which made it entirely wearable.  It has little fibers that seem to help fill in my brows.

It was a decent bag, I really liked the brow product and the brush.  I'm not happy with the bronzer, I hate that I keep getting them, even if I keep saying I don't like them in my bags.  The lip product was a little iffy.

I think that Birchbox gets the win this month, making it 7 to 5.

 * I purchase my own bags/brushes, no one sends me them out of the goodness of their hearts.