SauceBox Batalash Palette - review and swatches

If you have been a reader of my blog for some time, you could probably guess that eye shadow palettes are my absolute favourite type of makeup item. Whenever new items/collections are released, I go straight to the eye palettes. I'm sure I own more than I will ever use, but that won't stop me from purchasing more. Enter the Batalash Palette. This was released earlier this year, and at first I convinced myself I didn't need it. SauceBox shadows are definitely up there in terms of quality and pigmentation. Then it was sold out with the Australian online retailer Lipstick Republic, and I saw myself heading over to the American site. With the current exchange rate and shipping, the cost would have been over $100. I couldn't justify spending $100. Then about two months ago, the SauceBox website was having a sale on this palette, which was the perfect opportunity for me. With the discount, the price was the same as if I had purchased it from the Australian retailer. You can obviously see my train of thought here. Only once the palette was sold out, did I realise I "needed" this in my collection. After much rambling, on to my review of the SauceBox Batalash Palette!

This palette contains eight eyeshadows - four mattes and four shimmer/metallics

Vanilla is a matte white. This shadow is probably the least pigmented and the only disappointing shadow I find in the palette. This one is not opaque which is disappointing. However, I do like mixing it with the next shadow, Winter Brown, to blend out eyeshadows in the crease and I find it works great like this. Winter Brown is a cool-toned light-medium brown. The name is very fitting for this shade and this works great as a transition shade.  This shadow has great pigmentation. Cinnamon is a matte warm orange brown.  Another great transition shade for those who love warm shades in the crease. Lace Noir is a matte black. This isn't the most pigmented matte black in my collection, but the inclusion of a matte black is essential, in my opinion, to a great all-round palette. 

Pigmentation and blendability with the matte shadows is better with Winter Brown and Cinnamon, but the inclusion of Vanilla, a white, and Lace Noir, a black, is a great inclusion in this palette and I definitely appreciate it. 

Enigma is a burnt orange shimmer. This shadow is definitely the main shadow that appealed to me in this palette - I don't have anything like it in my collection. Electro is a chartreuse, almost mustard toned, yellow shimmer. Like Enigma, this shadow isn't something I really have in my collection and a great addition in this palette. Popper is an aqua blue/teal shimmer. This shadow is not as metallic/shimmery as the others in this palette, but still a beautiful shade. Nova is a burgundy/purple with shimmer. I have shades like this in my collection, but not this pigmented. It looks more purple in the pan but once swatched and applied on the lids, the red undertone definitely comes out. This shadow is also a great shadow to apply to the bottom lash line. 

The pigmentation in all four of these shadows is consistent, with Popper being the only shadow that is not as metallic as the other three. The pigmentation is great, however, so this doesn't bother me.  

SauceBox shadow pans are huge and contain 4g of product each - highly unlikely I will ever actually finish a pan. The consistency of the shadows is similar to the other two palettes I own - Temptation and Creme De La Creme. The palette has a cardboard packaging and a nice sized mirror is included, which is always a plus. The pans can also be removed and are magnetic, making it a great palette for travel. Should you only want to take 3 out of the 8 shadows with you, you can easily do this with a Z-Palette. 

Even if you have never heard of Batalash, I would still suggest considering picking up this palette if the shadows appeal to you. The combination of neutral mattes and colourful shimmers means you can create a variety of look, and some of the shadows are unique, meaning even if you are an avid eyeshadow lover and hoarder, you won't have some of these shadows in your collection. 

This palette is no longer available on the SauceBox website, but can still be purchased through Lipstick Republic. From Lipstick Republic, this palette can be purchased for $79AUD. 

Thanks for reading,

X

SauceBox Temptation Palette - review and swatches

For today's review, we have this very summer appropriate palette from SauceBox. SauceBox describes this palette as a "crazy colour packed palette... essential to any tropical-summery look!"

The palette contains three shimmers and one matte shadow. 

Orange Sun is a vibrant orange with gold shimmer. Aquarama is a vibrant mid-tone blue and has a matte finish. Mermaid is a bright turqoise with a sheen. Yell-Oh! is a bright mid-tone yellow with a sheen. This shade also has a shimmer in it. 

(L to R: Orange Sun, Aquarama, Mermaid, Yell-Oh!)

Look at that pigmentation! The swatches are without a primer or base. The shades scream summer. The palette also has a mirror which is great for travel. 

This is the second SauceBox palette I have added to my collection. To see my review of the SauceBox Creme De La Creme palette, click here. I love SauceBox palettes as they come with removable pans, that make it so easy to customise your own palette, or chuck it into a Z palette.

This palette can be purchased through SauceBox directly, for $15US (they ship to Australia), or through Lipstick Republic, which is where my friend purchase this palette for me. From Lipstick Republic, the palette currently retails for $25 AUD. I purchased the Batalash palette through the SauceBox website directly, and shipping took about a week and a half, which is pretty standard for shipping from America to Australia. The SauceBox website does say this palette is "TO BE DISCONTINUED", so if you were interested, I would recommend picking this up before it is gone. This is a great addition to any eyeshadow lovers collection, the eyeshadows are smooth and buttery but not chalky. The combination of colours would compliment many neutral eyeshadow palettes.

Thanks for reading,
X

SauceBox Creme De La Creme Palette - review and swatches

 

I picked up the SauceBox Creme De La Creme Palette from IMATS last year (see blogpost here). I have seen SauceBox cosmetics featured on many Australian beauty blogs, but had never tried anything from them. It had always been on my to-do list. I am so glad I picked up this palette, however. 

The palette consists of 6 neutral eyeshadows, each a massive 4 gram of product! The pans are huge and if I ever hit pan on any of the shadows, that'll be a massive accomplishment! 

(Top - L to R Sea Shell, Inception, Future; Bottom - L to R Rain, Secrecy, Black Widow)

All shadows in this palette are shimmery, which I think is the only downfall. The pans in the palette are interchangeable, which means you can change it up and put six different SauceBox shadows in the palette - this would be great for travel. The only downside is the shadows don't have the name on the back (I'll probably add this with a marker at a later date).

Sea Shell is a pink champagne with shimmer, and is a great highlight and allover lid colour. I have even used this eyeshadow as a highlight on my cheekbones.

Inception is a bronzey shimmer and absolutely gorgeous as an allover lid shade.

Future is a silver shimmer.

Rain is another highlight shade, and is more neutral-yellow than Sea Shell. 

Secrecy is a taupe shimmery shade and will definitely be a go-to for the cooler months.

Black Widow is a black with slight shimmer. The shimmer in this shadow does not transfer much to the eye and this black is super pigmented and intense.

(L to R: Sea Shell, Inception, Future, Rain, Secrecy, Black Widow)

Although the palette is all shimmer, there is a combination of cool tone and warm tone shadows, which does add to the versatility of the palette. I would recommend this palette to anyone who is a neutral lover. The shadows are gorgeous and I don't think you need to worry about ever replacing the shadows. The consistency of the shadows is buttery, and they blend beautifully. If this is paired with something like the Naked Basics 1 or 2, endless looks can be created.

Overall, I love this palette and am glad I picked it up. If anyone is contemplating purchasing this palette, I would definitely recommend it.

Thanks for reading,
X

IMATS 2014 Haul

Last Saturday, myself and two friends went to IMATS Sydney (a little too early in the morning, if you ask me). With the thought of not spending too much money, I purchased items I can't necessarily find on the shelves in Australia. In this post, I wish to show you the items I purchased and received. In the coming weeks, I will have reviews of individual products as well. On to the haul!

(I absolutely adore the Lime Crime bag, fyi)

I was really excited to take a look at the Ben Nye products. I ended up picking up the Neutral Set Colorless Powder, which I believe worked out to be $15.

I also had a look at the Lipstick Republic booth and the SauceBox Creme de la Creme Palette that I have been eyeing out for a while was available so I decided to pick it up - this one was $35. 

An item I have been dying to try out for a while is the Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow, which I got in the shade 30. I have used it a few times and so far I love it - but I will have a review up of it shortly. From Make Up Store, I picked up two Eyedusts (for only $13.50 each!) - in Umber and Extravagance. They are pigments from what I have gathered, and the shades are gorgeous. A review of these two will also be coming up!

The Lime Crime booth was very exciting! I picked up two Velvetines - Pink Velvet and Wicked.

I've tried out both colours the past week and absolutely love them - I'll probably end up buying all the Velvetines. 

I also picked up a few tools - a Precision Duo Foundation brush, a spatula, and a metal pan. I also picked up empty stackable containers, which I thought would be good to put some pigments in and include in my kit. 

I also picked up a Royal and Langnickel Black Patent 26-Compartment Brush Belt - and it was only $10! This will definitely make doing makeup on other people easier with the brushes all in one place around my waste with this brush belt. Super excited to use this!

And lastly, Karissa Pukas crashed IMATS and was handing out $3000 worth of lashes from her brand, Socialeyes Lashes! I got the Alluring and Minx lashes - and am super excited to try them out! 

Now that I know what to expect, I think next year I will seriously be stocking up on brushes for my kit! IMATS was such a fun experience, and there were so many great brands available that aren't readily available in Australia. Were you at IMATS Sydney or attended any IMATS over the world this year? What did you pick up?

Thanks for reading, 

x