Inglot Freedom System 10 Pan Palette Review, Swatches

I did want a basic palette of browns and neutrals, and being short on cash at the moment, I decided to save on basics but splurge later on prettier cosmetics (which you'll see in a month or two ;) ). I've heard raves for Inglot, and some negative feedback on it as well, but I decided to check it out for myself at the Times Square location, and I liked some of them enough to pay for a $50 10-pan palette. (There has been no price increase in the US, which is something that I had been worried about since I do not think it is worth paying $80 for.. you'll see in a moment). But overall, I'm quite pleased with what I got, and I'll just let you see the pictures of it first :)

Okay, so now for my thoughts on it... Well, as I said above, I'm pleased with my palette. They are nicely pigmented and feel smooth to the touch. However, it's not smooth in the sense that many luxury brand eyeshadows are smooth, which makes sense considering these are $5 each when you buy them in a 10 pan palette. When you press on the shadows, perhaps to swatch them or whatever, the surface may feel smooth but the eyeshadow underneath it will feel hard. Whereas with a Le Metier eyeshadow, you will feel a bit of "bounce" or softness under what you are touching. Does that make sense? Or am I just crazy? Well at least to me, that's how you can feel a difference between cheap eyeshadows and quality eyeshadows.

They do give off a nice amount of pigment if you rub the eyeshadow slightly though, and that does appeal to many people. The one shade I regret having gotten is the supposedly matte black. I needed a basic black since I dropped my NYX one (in the toilet) and I thought I swatched a creamy matte black but I'm not very impressed with it now. It doesn't seem as pigmented as I remember the NYX was, and one swatch is a thin blackish gray color. Perhaps I got an old one. I do think that among the low to mid end brands, Inglot makes some of the best eyeshadows and it's worth it for those who can't afford to buy $30 eyeshadow singles but still want many colors to work with.

Overall, I would rather buy, i.e. LMdB or shu or RBR eyeshadows rather than Inglot, but I think this is worth it for what you're paying and I feel good having not spent a ton on neutral shades so I can have fun hauling Rouge Bunny Rouge this summer.

I do apologize for not having the shade numbers to list here, since I forgot to write them down or take note of them but I do know that the last shade of the first row is P434, because I saw a swatch by Pink Sith of that shade and I loved it. I do think part of the fun is going to the store and getting to play around with the shades though, and I'm sure you'll enjoy your palette, whatever you end up choosing.

Edit: After seeing the Pink Sith's swatches and comparing ours, I'm pretty sure that my top row, middle shade is DS460 and that my top row, 4th shade to the right, is P423.

Rouge d'Armani 401 Swatches, Review

Armani's Rouge d'Armani = love. These glide on my lips so smoothly, never emphasize dryness, and have great lasting power. What's not to love? Okay, on to today's color: 401, a very vibrant warm red orange color. I bought this to wear this summer since I've been loving the orange lip trend on others. Case in point, here's Rihanna rocking RdA 401 two years ago:

Here are some pictures of the beauty that is RdA 401... I love the bright red-orange color paired with the sleek black packaging :) 

And comparison pics; left to right: MAC Russian Red, RdA 401, NYC Retro Red
I know the other two lipsticks aren't very close to 401 with the other two being much less warm toned, but I don't have any warm reds to compare, so you'll have to bear with me for the time being ;)

 l-r: MAC Brick l/l, MAC Russian Red, Rouge d'Armani 401, NYC Retro Red in flash

same order as above, natural light

RdA 401 by itself

Brick l/l + RdA 401

A very knowledgeable birdie told me to pair this with brick l/l when I once expressed concern that I wouldn't be able to pull off orange. It's definitely not a color to be afraid of, and if you feel it doesn't quite work for you, it's a very wearable warm red with a lipliner like brick underneath it.

thanks for reading :)

Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo in Prism Review

Hi everyone! :)

This is going to be quite a short review since the pictures will speak for themselves. I normally don't go for dark eyeshadows, especially at this price and volume ($40.00 for 0.10oz - expensive but cheaper than MAC eyeshadows for the amount you get) since I rarely go out to special events and parties and such. Yes, I'm a happy little recluse ;) But when I swatched it in Sephora, I just had to go ahead and buy it because the colors were gorgeous. This is my go-to duo when I do have events to go to and want dark dramatic eyes.

 The mini brush it comes with is surprisingly not bad, good for touchups, if you need it.

Overall, I actually prefer my Le Metier eyeshadows to Hourglass, since I do feel like these crease a bit more easily. The pigmentation and color of these are beautiful, though, and I will review the Exhibition duo soon in the near future.

-k

Edward Bess Bronzer in Desert Sun Review

Today, I'm going to be reviewing my favorite bronzer, one by Edward Bess. Now I'll be honest with you, I've never been much of a bronzer person and prior to buying this, I probably only tried 2-3 drugstore ones. I wasn't too happy with them, but I had read raves for the one EB makes. Instead of spending more money on bronzers I didn't like, I decided to just go ahead and buy this one. I hadn't read much into the differences in shades and just decided to buy the darker color, though I'm sure Daydream would have worked well for me too.

The reason why this bronzer is my HG is that it doesn't look fake at all on; not too orange, or matte, or shimmery. I like to use this with a regular paddle blush/bronzer brush and I usually use it either as blush, or lightly over my cheeks, forehead, chin, and nose. And, of course, what's a good makeup review without pictures?

 

Not-so-funny-story: see that mark on the bottom right? That was the result of me nicking my peach lipstick on the edge of the bronzer the first time I used it. It's all good, it works just as wonderfully, I just have to be less of a klutz next time!

In these below swatches, from left to right: 1) Ben Nye Contour Rouge #1; 2) EB Desert Sun swiped; 3) EB Desert Sun blended out. I included a swatch of a contour powder to show the difference in color; Desert Sun has been compared to Daydream as being darker and less warm. In these pictures, you can see that it still has a natural warm tone to it whereas a contour powder is more of a dark, dirty grayish brown color.

Price: $48 for 0.3oz. Purchase again? Definitely! Why bother going through bronzers what will make you look fake and orange if you've found one that gives you a beautiful and natural sun kissed glow? (<--overused term, I know). Plus, I love the sleek and sophisticated thin black compact. Definitely travel friendly to those who want to take it on vacation since it is not unnecessarily heavy.

Thanks for reading,
kaide

Creer Beaute La Rose de Versailles Liquid Eyeliner Review

Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well :)

Today's review is going to be on an eyeliner by a Japanese brand called Creer Beaute, which is not widely available for sale in places outside of Asia. If you happen to live in New York City, this is sold in a few stores in Chinatown and Flushing as one of the cheaper makeup brands. I bought this for $16 which might not sound drugstore cheap, but I'd imagine that this is a drugstore item in Asia. It is also sold on adambeauty.com.

First, some pictures and info about the product itself. This is a liquid eyeliner pen that flows automatically, so you don't have to click or twist anything to get the ink out. It comes in a packaging that looks like this:

 

I apologize for forgetting to take a picture of the pen itself; though the packaging is noticeable enough for you to know which product it is, as you can see. The pen is just black, with a black cap and the words "La Rose de Versailles" in flowy script. Here is what the brush looks like:

 And ingredients:

 Kudos if you can read Japanese! :)

Here are swatches on the back of my hand. From left to right:

1) a single swipe 2) two swipes 3) thin line with the tip 4) using the brush on its side (2 swipes)

 

 I liked that this eyeliner seriously did not smudge, though it is not my holy grail because I would prefer an eyeliner that is very pigmented on the first swipe and very long lasting. I would also prefer my eyeliner to have a firmer tip, as this one is quite lenient. I think I have found a holy grail liner actually, but that's a review for another day. ;)

Comprehensive Le Metier de Beaute eyeshadows and swatches

I will probably review the singles and kaleidoscope separately sometime but I thought it'd be nice to do a comprehensive post; I'll probably do another one after I double my current stash :) Enjoy! (click on pics to see full size)