One Palette, One Month - Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow Couture World Traveller Palette - July 2016

The last two months or so, I have really gotten into makeup decluttering and project pan type videos. I have started doing a Project 10 Pan, and you can read my introduction post here. I've now decided to embark on the One Palette, One Month challenge. The premise for this challenge is quite simple - only use one palette for the entire month. I am an avid palette collector, I have many more in my collection than I could ever hope to actually use up. I am doing the Project 10 Pan as previously mentioned, but have only included an eye base in that challenge, so doing the One Palette, One Month challenge will not slow down my progress in the Project 10 Pan. For now, I will only be focusing on eye shadow palettes (only because I have included a cheek product to use up in my Project 10 Pan).

For the first palette of this challenge, I have decided to go with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow Couture World Traveller Palette.

Unfortunately I never did a review of this palette, but this is one of my favourite palettes. It has a variety of lovely neutral shades, and a few pops of colour. I think Pink Champagne is the champion shadow in this palette, which can be purchased as a single here.

When this post goes up, I will be on a cruise, but I have taken this palette with me, so I have been using it since the last week of June. I will continue to use this palette until the end of July, and then will have a post up showing my progress in this palette.

As I hope you can see, this palette has had some love previously. I think this palette is such a well rounded palette, and hope to explore many more eyeshadow looks over the next month. My hopes with this palette is to hit pan on at least one shadow. I would like to do this with every palette I pull out for this challenge. 

Thanks for reading,

X

Lime Crime Teddy Bear Velvetine - review and swatches

I purchased the Lime Crime Velvetine in Teddy Bear when it was first released on Makeupnet a couple of months ago. This product retails for $29AUD on Makeupnet and can be purchased here.

Lime Crime describes this shade as a "lilac brown". When this shade first started popping up on social media, I was instantly drawn to it. I have really been loving brown lips lately, and this shade is no exception. 

Lime Crime Velvetines were the first liquid lipstick I tried, and they do have a special place in my heart. The formulation of these liquid lipsticks is one of my favourite. In saying that, I do find the formulation of Teddy Bear to be a little different to others that I own. While other Velvetines will stay in place, even when I have something to eat or drink, this one definitely does move and fade away, especially in the centre. This formula does not layer as well as the others I own. While this is somewhat displeasing as I own quite a few Lime Crime Velvetines and this has not happened with any of the others, I am just conscious when I wear this product that I will have to take reapply if I am eating or drinking. The shade is beautiful, so this is a little sacrifice I am willing to make. If this shade is interesting to you, I would definitely recommend picking it up! I do not find the formula of Lime Crime Velvetines drying at all.

Thanks for reading,

X

MAC Whirl Lipstick - review and swatches

I picked up this lipstick a couple of months ago, and from the second I used it, it instantly became my go-to nude (I also feel like I love it more than I love MAC Velvet Teddy!). MAC Whirl is described as a "dirty rose" with a matte finish, and retails for $36AUD. This can be purchased in store at MAC counters and online.

On my light complexion, this lipstick definitely appears more brown than rose. MAC matte finish lipsticks are my favourite type of traditional lipsticks, and once the lipstick dries down completely, it doesn't budge for hours. I find this lipstick is very work appropriate, and this is the lipstick I have used the most this year. If you are thinking about purchasing this lipstick, I would highly recommend it. 

Thanks for reading,

X

ColourPop x KathleenLights Where The Night Is - review and swatches

I picked this quad up when it came out a few months ago, but unfortunately I have been quite behind on my blogging this year. This quad is still available from ColourPop for $20USD, so I thought it would be worthwhile putting my review up, should anyone be interested. 

(L to R: Weenie, Porter, Telepathy, Midnight)

Weenie is described as "a pinky rose gold with a pearlised finish". 

Porter is described as "a warm burgundy with multi-dimensional gold glitter on top in a metallic finish". 

Telepathy is "a bright gold with a green undertone in an ultra-metallic finish". Telepathy is my favourite shadow out of the bunch, due to it being a very unique shade in my collection. 

Midnight is described as "a black undertone with a tonne of gold glitter on top in a metallic finish". 

I'm really happy that this set did not come with any matte shadows. This quad is aimed at night time looks, which explains the shimmery and fun shades. The ColourPop matte shadows are good, but because of the formulation of ColourPop shadows (an almost mousse/cream type texture that drys to a powdery finish), I find they are easier to use as allover lid shades, and not transition/crease shades (which a lot of matte shades tend to be used as). 

One great thing about the release of this collection, is now you have the option of purchasing shades individually, as opposed to the whole set. This goes for both this quad, and the Where The Light Is quad (see my review here). This meant I was able to pick up a second Blaze, which is one of my all time favourite bronze eyeshadows. The shadows retail singularly for $5USD, and the quad is $20USD, so the price has not been amped up should you just want to purchase one shade on its own. 

If you haven't tried ColourPop shadows, I would definitely recommend them. They really make an eye look pop, especially those shadows with a metallic or ultra-metallic finish.

Thanks for reading,

X

Project 10 Pan - Introduction

I have wanted to do a Project 10 Pan for quite a while. I have previously attempt one a few years ago, but that did not go down too well. I will not buy any products (unless they are limited edition), until these ten products are used up. Can I just say, it is so ridiculously hard to come up with ten products you want to use up? I have been going over the products I own for weeks and finally have come up with 10 products.

So these are the ten products I've come up with...

1. L'Oreal Nude Magique Foundation in 120 Ivory 
I do really like this foundation, but I haven't reached for it for a while. This is actually the second bottle I have purchased of this foundation, so there is not much progress with this one so far.

2. NYX HD Concealer in Fair
I like this concealer, but find it hard to wear with glasses. I will try use a little bit daily on top of my MAC Prolongwear (or underneath), and hopefully I will be able to use it up.

3. Rimmel Soft Khol Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in 011 Sable Brown 
This is an older eye liner pencil in my collection, and because it is a brown, I figure it will be less harsh than black for day-time, work appropriate looks.

4. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
I actually own three of these, so I've decided to try and use one up. Before I discovered MAC Painterly Paint Pot, this was my go to eye base. I'm sure if I start wearing eyeshadow to work more frequently, I will be able to use this one up.

5. Sleek Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette - Fair
As you can see from the photo below, I have used up a significant amount of the contour shade and hit pan on it. I believe this will be the hardest product in this Project 10 Pan to conquer. I would like to hit pan on both the highlight and blush shade. I've hardly made a dent in either product, so it will be great to monitor my progress on this one. This was actually one of the first products I reviewed on my blog, and if you are interested, you can see the post here.

6. bareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lipstick in Make Your Move 
I received a sample of this lipstick in a Mecca Beauty Loop Box. It is a nice, neutral everyday colour, so I don't think it will be too hard to use up.

7. ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in 'Glow' 
This shadow is matte, light beige, so think it will be a good base on top of the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. If I don't want to wear much eyeshadow, I could just use this as an allover eye colour with some shadow in the crease.

8. Lady Gaga 'Fame' EDP
I actually own a small bottle of this perfume that I keep in my handbag, so I would like to use this one up. I have had this bottle for about two years, so I'd like to use this up before the perfume goes off.

9. Maybelline Brow Drama in Dark Brown
I've had this brow gel for a while, and would just like to use it up. The brush is in a weird ball shape, which I probably will cut, but I do quite like this brow gel. There are a few more brow gels I want to trial out, so I'd like to use this one up before doing so.

10. ELF Cream Eyeliner in Coffee 
This is a matte brown cream eyeliner. I thought a brown would be easier to use up than a black, as I could apply this lightly as a brown base, or as an eyeliner.

I have marked on the L'Oreal Nude Magique Foundation, NYX HD Concealer and Lady Gaga Fame my starting point for reference photos in future posts.

Here is my starting point with the Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal in Sable Brown, bareMinerals Marvellous Moxie Lipstick in Make Your Move and NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk:

The rules of the Project 10 Pan challenge are simple - no buying makeup until you've used up (or hit pan on) the ten products. I will say that if there is anything limited edition that comes out that I want, I will allow myself to buy it - and if I run out of anything that I don't have a replacement or back up for, I can repurchase. I do think the Sleek Face Form palette will be the hardest to hit pan on - and it might take quite a few months- but I hope I am able to do so (I might even try use up the contour shade completely).

Wish me luck! (and thanks for reading),
X

Kat Von D Monarch Palette - review and swatches

This is the first Kat Von D product I have tried. This was purchased in store at Sephora for $65 AUD. Out of all the Kat Von D palettes, this one is the warm-toned palette. 

The palette features twelve shades in a variety of finishes. 

(L to R: Entomology, Wrath, Papilio, Summerfly)

Entomology is a matte, yellow cream shade. From the swatch, you can see the shadow is a bit chalky, but does have good pigmentation. I tend to use this shadow to set my base before applying any other shadow. 

Wrath is a satin burnt orange. This shadow has slight shimmer in it, but I would describe the finish as a satin-matte. I find this shadow is great to warm up the crease - even though it has a slight shimmer, this does not transfer all too much when used like this. 

Papilla is a pearl bronze. This shadow is lovely and super pigmented, and has a frosted finish.

Summerfly is a gold. It is one of the more chunky shades in the palette, because it does have glitter. The shadow does have great pigmentation. 

(L to R: Telepathy, Killing Jar, Delaney, Vanish)

Telepathy is a light, "pearl gold". This shade has a frosty, metallic finish, and is one of the best performing shadows in the palette. This shadow is a lovely all-over lid colour. 

Killing Jar is described as a "pearl copper". To me, this shadow comes off as a rose gold - but it is definitely beautiful. The pigmentation on this shadow is great.

Delaney is a "pearl silver". This is another shadow, like Summerfly, that is more on the chunky side. It is quite a unique silver to my collection, and more wearable than a traditional silver. The pigmentation on this shadow is good, and it is quite blendable. 

Vanish is a medium, warm taupe. To me, this shade is quite interesting - and I can't say I have anything quite like this in my collection. This does work well as a crease shade.   

(L to R: Tiny Death, Disintegration, Shadow Box, Deadhead)

Tiny Death is a "glitter cream". In all honesty, this is the most disappointing shadow in the palette. There is glitter in this shadow when you look at it in the pan, but this does not transfer much on the eye. The shadow does not swatch cohesively. 

Disintegration is a "pearl brown". It is a dark bronze with a shimmer finish. This shadow reminds me a bit of Urban Decay Smog (which is my all time favourite eyeshadow), so this shadow is on my favourite list. This shadow swatches quite pigmented, and applies nicely on the lid.  

Shadow Box is a matte chocolate brown. This shadow, and the following, Deadhead, are not super pigmented, but for dark shadows like this - I don't think it is a bad thing at all. It does swatch and feel a bit dry, but works well for deepening eye shadow looks. 

Deadhead is a "matte black". The shadow is dry and not super pigmented. As it is a black shadow - this isn't the most disappointing thing. This shadow works well for deepening eye shadow looks, and setting liner. 

Overall, I am really impressed with this palette. The shimmery shades are the most impressive - Summerfly, Telepathy and Delaney are my personal favourites. From what I have read, the Kat Von D palettes are set up as three quads in a bigger palette - like I have swatched the shadows in three lots. Each swatch post is one quad. But of course, the shadows all work well together. 

I have read on beauty blogs that this palette has been discontinued, so if you were interested - and love warm tones - I would recommend picking this up while you still can. I'm happy I gave this palette a go (and am excited to try other Kat Von D Palettes). 

Thanks for reading,

X