Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette Review and Swatch

I am a huge fan of Urban Decay eyeshadows. The colors are always unique and highly pigmented. That's why I'm so excited to get this Vice 2 palette for the holiday season! Let's take a look!

The packaging is big, probably not very good for travelling. However, it does come with a huge mirror and you can do all your make up with it. The cover is purple with crystalized UD on the it (so PRETTY!) 

Here is a overview of all colors in the pan! (GORGEOUS!)

Swatches on my arm under daylight :)

Swatches for the first two rows (from left to right) : smokeout, lovesick, shellshock, coax, x rated
      prank,madness, strike, stash, poison

Swatches for the last two rows : radar, damaged, voodoo, betrayal, derailed
dope, toxic, habit, ambush, rewind

My favorite shades are:
Shellshock ( bright true silver, perfect for the holiday)
Toxic ( peachy champagne)
Stash (shimmering olive green)
Betrayal (blue/purple duo chrome eyeshadow, this is my FAV!)
Derailed ( Intense taupe)

The 20 eyeshadow colors are exclusive to the palette. Almost all eyeshadows in this palette are creamy and nicely pigmented with the exception of lovesick. Lovesick feels very dry and the glitters are very chunky :( The value of palette is amazing too! One single eyeshadow retails for $22 CDN for 0.05 oz, the palette worths about $264 CDN and it only retails for $68 CDN which is a steal ( it is even better when purchased during sephora vib sale ;) So as long as long you love more than 6 of the shades, I will highly recommend you to get it! Remember it is limited edition and will sell out!

Laura Mercier Artist's palette for eyes 2013 review and swatch

I wasn't going to get this palette at the beginning and then I saw this palette was on a lot of people's wishlist for sephora's VIB sale. People were raving about it and I want to know what the hype is all about. So I decided to go to store to check it out last friday and OMG! I love it! So I took an advantage of the vib sale and brought one home :p When I went to the store, they have at least 6 palettes in stock and apparently this palette was sold out later that day and it was out of stock online as well. Therefore, I am not sure if you can still get one of these from sephora :( Let's just hope they produce more because it is exclusively sold in sephora.

The colors in this palette are fairly neutral. The first row has 6 purple based shades and the second row is more brown based.Here are the 12 colors in the pan.

Here are the swatches for each color, 

swatches for first row ( from left to right, top to bottom) : sparkling dew, guava, african violet, plum smoke, kir royal and violet ink

swatches for second row: vanilla nuts, primrose, fresco, bamboo, truffle, espresso beans

 This palette consists of six matte shades and six shimmering shades. My favorite colors are fresco,african violet, bamboo and truffle. Fresco is perfect on the crease, african violet and bamboo would be great colors on the lid. My least favorite ones would be vanilla nuts ( It is not bad, but it is just not unique to me).
The bottom line: If you do find them in your local store, I do recommend you to pick it up. This palette is just so versatile, you can do a day or night look with it. All colors are nicely pigmented and last all day.

PS. I also picked up a Urban Decay Vice 2 palette during the sale (guilty!) will review it for another day :)

My blush collection review part 2 ( all about coral)

I love coral/orange/peach shade blushers! It is perfect for summer (or reminds you of summer especially when you are going through a tough winter in Toronto :(

Here are a few of my favourite coral blushers <3

Shu uemura glow on in M soft apricot 521: This shade is a matte milky peach color with a hint of pink. The texture is creamy, but not pigmented. It would be great with smokey eyes or  if you just you feel like a "no makeup" makeup day.

Bobbi Brown pot rouge in fresh melon: I'm not a fan of Bobbi brown in general. The foundation is too yellow and famous gel liner smudges on me :( However, this shade is my everyday go-to blush. It is creamy and moisturizing when applying on the cheek. This cream blush gives you a subtle glow because of the creamy texture.The peach color is perfect for every season and can be built up to a more intense color.

Illamasqua powder blusher in lover: My HG blush. The shade can be described as a matte apricot color. I think it is very unique as most of blushers have a hint of pink  and this one does not. Therefore, it is probably a great shade for summer.

Becca beach tint in grapefruit: Beach tint is a liquid cheek color and dries on the skin in a few seconds. This tint smells like grapefruit!! However, if you are sensitive to strong scent, this one might not be the one for you. I do love the finish of this product, but it does seem to separate in the tube. So do remember to shake it before use.

Smashbox warm apricot: I have never tried smashbox's products before and I recently purchased the master palette II (which is a great value set btw). This color looks very orange in the pan and shows up like pink on my hand (I'm not sure why). The texture is very soft, I might want to some more of smashbox's products in the future :)

Overall, I think all of the blushers are very great. It really depends on what kind of texture/color you like. I will try to post the last two parts later and thanks for reading!

Love,

Ivy

My blush,highlight and bronzer collection part 1 ( the perfect pink blush)

I am so excited to post my very first review and swatch on my make up collection after being makeup junkies for years:)

In part 1 of this review, I'm gonna show you guys and gals some of my pink blushers. Who doesn't love pink ;)
Here are the swatches of five pink blushes that I own at the moment, I will discuss them individually below,

Benefit Bella Bamba: it is described as a 3D brightening pink face powder. The color is watermelon pink with lots of gold shimmer in it. The texture is very soft and will give you a radiant glow on the cheeks. However, I'm not very into shimmering blush, so I don't really use this product that much. Overall, it's a nice blend of pink and red, if you enjoy shimmer, you are gonna love it!

Giorgio Armani Blush 02: This color can be described as a soft neutral pink. It is perfect for everyday use and very easy-to-use blush for beginners as well. I layered the blush three times to achieve the color in the photo. Having said that, you don't have to worry if you are too heavy-handed with this blush ;)

Tom Ford Blush in Flush: I love tom ford blush! They are very soft and pigmented, the shimmers are so fine so it doesn't look glittery on the skin at all. When you apply Flush light-handed, you get a healthy red color on your cheek. But be careful! You might end up looking like a clown if you apply too much cuz this shade is VERY pigmented!

Illamasqua powder blusher in tremble: When it comes to powder blusher, Illamasqua is my HG brand. The texture of their blushers are so creamy and buttery. It applies like a dream and stays till you take it off.Tremble is a warm tone pink. It is a universal flattering color in my opinion. If you have not tried Illamasqua, definitely give it a try!

Jill Stuart 01 Baby Blush: This blush consists of four colors. When you mix them together, it shows as a cool pink on the skin. I love the texture of the product and did I mention the packaging is to die for ?? Unfortunately, it is exclusively sold in Asia. So it's very hard to get in North America :( thats so sad.

These are the five pink blusher I have on hand, hope you find it useful when you try to decide on which blusher to buy and put in your holiday shopping list :D I will post part 2,3 and 4 later.  You are more than welcome to leave a comment here and thank you for reading!

Love,
Ivy