The holidays are among us and it’s a perfect time to add a little extra glam to your look. It might sound a bit silly – but even to this day I still get a bit excited about planning my holiday makeup. Granted, my look isn’t anything too glamorous, but I am wearing a selection of new products that I’ve been loving. These days I’ve been really drawn to rose-golds and blush tones and this is a nod to that.
Jane Iredale’s Summer Collection 2016* kisses your complexion with a bronzed radiance of epic proportions. This collection features three redesigned fan-favorite bronzers with a multi-purpose function that deposits luminous shades of bronze across the face, and a Lipdrink Lip Balm SPF 15 that protects your pout with a sheer wash of color. “The Good Glow” collection encapsulates the tan glow of summer, without the sun.
Continue reading “Jane Iredale ‘The Good Glow’ Summer Collection 2016*”
The Lorac PRO Palette contains 16 intensely pigmented shadows each infused with soothing botanicals. Featuring eight matte and eight shimmering shades it is designed to shade, shadow, line and define your eyes in one easy palette. In addition it contains a mini Behind The Scenes Eye Primer.
The packaging is straight and to the point with a rubberized finish and bold silver lettering. The palette flips open with great ease and stays shut with a magnetic closure. The top row contains the eight matte shades and on the bottom, the eight shimmering shades. Marked underneath each shadow is their name, again, straight to the point and free of any misconceptions. Cream is cream, light pink is a light pink, gold is gold and so on.
My personal introduction to the Lorac Brand began when I picked up this much hyped about palette. I love a neutral palette and this selection of 16 shades had me swooning. This wonderful assortment of both matte and shimmering shades can create a variety of looks for both day and night. What has me the most impressed is the exceptional quality of these eye shadows. They are among the best that I have tried.
The left side contains the lighter shades for highlighting or base. The colors deepen as you move to the right side of the palette. White, cream, light pink, nude and champagne are all great for highlighting. Taupe is a gorgeous shade that I will wear alone for everyday. The gold is intense and I will layer it over taupe. Light bronze is a gorgeous shimmery shade for day.
While the palette features mostly neutral shades, deep purple is an exception and a lovely addition. Mauve and sable are two other shades that I love for everyday. Pewter layered on top of mauve is simply stunning. Garnet mixed along with gold creates a bold metallic gold finish that makes my green eyes pop. Espresso and black are perfect for lining and work exceptionally well when wet. Slate creates a dramatic smokey eye when mixed with black. Deep purple is a shade I have yet to familiarize myself with.
The mattes are highly pigmented, easy to apply and a dream to blend. The velvety texture lends the matte shadows a gleaming quality. They appear to have an almost creamy finish. All shades have zero fallout and lasts me all day. White contains some amount of shimmer and along with light pink, these two are a bit more powdery. One layer provides an exceptional amount of pigmentation alone. The matte shadows are definitely a highlight of this palette.
The shimmering shadows are more metallic and free of any glitter. Like the matte shades these are exceptionally pigmented and velvety smooth. They are a dream to blend and the effects are positively dazzling. One swipe provides ample coverage, when layered the look is intense. Gold and garnet are definitely two of my favorites. I will post a look to follow.
Lorac’s Behind the Scenes Eye Shadow Primer is a wonderful product as well. It is transparent and pretty much undetectable on. It intensifies the shadow in both finish and wear. While I am not a big fan of eye primers, this one has me seriously considering purchasing a full size.
This palette was an absolute winner in so many ways. In my opinion it easily trumps some of the more popular neutral palettes out there. At $42 for 16 shades it’s an incredible value. If you only need one palette, this is it!
You can pick one up here!
I picked up this sweet little Dior set from Sephora recently. A great value at $28.50, the price of the New Look Mascara alone. It features a full-sized Mascara in black and a mini 5 Couture Colour Eyeshadow palette in 734 Grège. Please note that on the Sephora website it says that the palette is Royal Khaki, but in the end I did receive Grège. The image of the palette on the website does seem to be the Grege palette.
The Diorshow New Look Mascara is formulated with a “Lash Amplifier ingredient, for instant lash-multiplying action and exclusive pigments that create a deeper, more dramatic color that won’t smudge.” What I loved about the mascara personally is the “nano-brush”, a smaller brush which makes it easier to coat every lash and get into the corners of eyes. The brush is also great for applying mascara to lower lashes by giving you more control and preventing smudges.
The formula is thick and quickly leads to clumping. I personally recommend using a lighter hand when applying. I curled my lashes before applying the mascara. I found, which I often find with non-waterproof formulas, is that the mascara failed to hold the curl on me. It did however add lots of length and volume, but ultimately left me with that “spider-leg” look. While the New Look Mascara is not really my formula, I think that there are a ton of people out there that might just love it. I suggest taking a look and the photos and judging for yourself.
On a higher note, I loved the palette. While the shades look quite ordinary in the compact they are a very lovely selection of neutrals. When applied they came together creating a lovely look with lots of dimension. I loved how the color played off each other. The shadows themselves are fairly pigmented and velvety rather than powdery. They applied with great ease and blended perfectly. They lasted all day one me. While this is officially my first time playing in the world of Dior eyeshadow palettes, I don’t see it as my last.
The shadows are swatched by first shadow on the top left, clockwise, ending in the center. Most shades contained shimmer except for the third which was more satin. The shimmer was mostly subtle and more apparent in the two lightest shades.
(left to right)
*also wearing YSL Teint Radiance Foundation in #7, It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye concealer, NYX blush in Taupe as a contour, Burberry blush in Peony, and YSL Rouge Volupte in #1
Have your tried Diorshow New Look Mascara or Dior 5 Colour Palettes?
I already covered base in my ‘best of beauty’, now moving on to eyes and lips, this list required a bit more thought. Mascara and eyeliner were easy wins. The Bobbi Brown long-wear gel liner is a pot of gold. Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner has been a favorite for years for its lasting ability and ease of application. Nothing beats L’oreal Voluminous for giving my fine, blonde lashes intense definition. The waterproof formula is a must! Becca won me over this year with their eyeshadow palettes and eye tint in Baroque. Giorgio Armani ‘eyes to kill’ formula is a stunner for an intensely shimmering effect.
Eyes
Eyeshadow
Eyeliner (gel)
Eyeliner (liquid)
Mascara
Brows
Selecting lipsticks to include for this post was easy but narrowing them down was very difficult. I have a great love for lipstick and just had to include all of my favorites. Ultimately YSL Rouge Volupte wins for formula and pigment. NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are another favorite, Dragon Girl being the best red. Buxom Big and Healthy Lip glosses are beauties.
Lips
Lipstick
Lip Gloss
Lip Balm
Giorgio Armani ‘eyes to kill’ Intense Eyeshadow in #28 (red platine) is part of the limited edition Acqua Collection. In a variety of six shades these shadows ”unveil a pearl blend that radiates four spellbinding colors. Each of the Eyes to Kill Intense Shades is based on a revolutionary technology that acts like a kaleidoscope, producing multidimensional colors. Neither a cream nor powder, this incredible hybrid formula acts like a colour suspension that delivers a dreamy, ethereal beauty to eyes with a 24-hour hold” (giorgioarmanibeauty.com)
The ‘Eyes to kill’ eye shadows are a cross between a cream and a powder. These shadows saturate the lid with long-lasting, intensely shimmering color. There are two variations of Giorgio Armani ‘Eyes to Kill’. The Intense Silky ‘Eyes to Kill’ Collection which contain a base shade along with a second shade to create contour, and have high-resistance wear. The Acqua Collection of the ‘Eyes to Kill’ shadows are waterproof, have a 24-hr wear time, and contain 4 multidimensional shades. The two colors I have picked up are a part of the second collection mentioned.
I picked up #28 along with #27 (oxidized silver) and found the formula to vary between the two, #28 being slightly less easy to work with. I find it best to use my finger to pull the product and apply it to lid. Once applied the shadows blended rather easily into my crease, having to work a little harder on this one. The shadow has a spongy texture in the pot and also has a slight tendency to drag. I am very impressed with the lasting power and in how, for such a shimmering shade, there is zero fall-out. After trying these I am almost certain that the deeper shades will very easily provide a rich smokey-eye.
Giorgio Armani states that these shadows “radiate four spell-binding colors“, however in this shade I could only locate two, a combination of bronze and burgundy. Red Platine holds larger golden flecks creating a highly shimmering effect. These shadows have a far more multi-dimensional appearance in the pan than when viewed blended out and applied. The shade #28 was not as multi-dimensional and complex in my perception as shade #27. Perhaps it is the visible lack of a third and fourth shade, that made it seem rather ordinary to me. I should mention my expectations were set very high for this product. It was nonetheless a very beautiful shade. If you happen to love bronze-tones and bold shimmer, I am certain you will love this. The look these shadows provide is utterly captivating.
wearing Giorgio Armani ‘Eyes to Kill” in #28 on lids alone
Giorgio Armani “Eyes to Kill” Acqua Collection come in a range of six ‘limited-edition’ shades (here)
Giorgio Armani ‘eyes to kill’ Intense Eyeshadow in #27 (oxidized silver) is part of the limited edition Acqua Collection. In a variety of six shades these shadows “unveil a pearl blend that radiates four spellbinding colors. Each of the Eyes to Kill Intense Shades is based on a revolutionary technology that acts like a kaleidoscope, producing multidimensional colors. Neither a cream nor powder, this incredible hybrid formula acts like a colour suspension that delivers a dreamy, ethereal beauty to eyes with a 24-hour hold” (giorgioarmanibeauty.com)
After having continuously stumbled across these shadows for quite some time now, I finally decided to personally see what all the hype was about. I am so glad I have, because these highly pigmented shadows pack a punch! The ‘eyes to kill’ intense eye shadow from Giorgio Armani are a cross between a cream and a powder.I picked up two of these in shades #27 and #28, and found the formula to vary slightly between the two. This, #27, being the easier to work with.
These shadows provided intense color along with some depth created from the presence of the multi-colored sparkle. The intensity of color is greater than other cream and powder shadows that I am familiar with. The sparkle creates a gorgeous shimmering effect while still remaining tasteful and subtle enough for someone with my tastes, though not for daytime. The texture is spongy, and I found it best to apply the shadow to my lid using my fingertip for a greater intensity of color. I proceeded to apply the shadow outwards and under my eye using a firmer eye shadow brush. The shadow blended beautifully into my crease using a MAC 217. The formula was long-lasting, without fading, and smudge-free. Even after wiping the swatch on my hand away some color still remained. I expected some fall out from this shadow but did not receive any.
In the pan these shadows seem more multi-dimensional than when applied. Oxidized Silver #27 is a mauve shade with some amounts of red, blue, and silver shimmer. I simply adore this shadow and shade and love it for an evening look. The look is sultry with just the right amount of drama. This shade is makes green eyes pop!
#27 (Oxidized Silver)
wearing #27 on eyes
$32 here
(also wearing Fresh Umbrian Clay Foundation in Rio Samba, It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye in Medium, MAC blush in Blushbaby, MAKE UP FOR EVER aqua eyes liquid liner in Mat black, Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bettina, MAC Cremesheen Glass in Fashion Scoop)
Have you tried the Giorgio Armani ‘eyes to kill’?
