What it is: Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Shimmer Stix are 6 newly released shades expanding the line of the original Gloss Bomb Stix. They are sheer to medium buildable color payoff lipsticks with a glossy, sparkly finish, a balmy, moisturizing feel, and the same sweet tropical scent as the originals.

Price/Quantity:  $25 for 0.12 oz / 3.6 g

Availability: Fenty Beauty, Sephora, Ulta, Kohl’s

Shade Range: 6 shimmery shades (the original line comes in 11 non-shimmer shades)

Packaging: Plastic pentagonal lipstick case with a snap-shut cap. I like that the shape of the packaging makes it so the lipstick cannot just roll off the counter. The lipstick inside is a standard size (not a slim lipstick) and it twists all the way up and back down with no issues. They match the packaging of the original shade range but there is noticeable sparkle embedded in the plastic of these new shades.

Smell/Fragrance: These have a noticeable sweet, tropical, fruity scent with an almost “sharp” or “tart” quality. I can’t put my finger on what type of fruit I think it smells like. To me, it seems this is all scent as I do not actually taste anything in these.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 12 months after opening

Ingredients:

These are the ingredients listed for the shade Shimmering Fenty Glow. Most shades have their own ingredients list on the Fenty Beauty website with the majority of the ingredients being the same from shade to shade except for variations lower down on each list.

BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2, DIISOSTEARYL MALATE, HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE, SQUALANE, BIS-BEHENYL/ISOSTEARYL/PHYTOSTERYL DIMER DILINOLEYL DIMER DILINOLEATE, POLYBUTENE, CERA ALBA/BEESWAX/CIRE D’ABEILLE, SYNTHETIC WAX, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER, CALCIUM ALUMINUM BOROSILICATE, CALCIUM SODIUM  BOROSILICATE, AROMA/FLAVOR, PARFUM/FRAGRANCE, POLYGLYCERYL-2 TRIISOSTEARATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, TIN OXIDE, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, TOCOPHEROL, POLYHYDROXYSTEARIC ACID, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, ACTINIDIA CHINENSIS (KIWI) SEED OIL, BENZYL BENZOATE, LIMONENE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), IRON OXIDES (CI 77492, CI 77499), RED 6 LAKE (CI 15850)

Source: Fenty Beauty

Performance

Application: I am able to swipe these on straight from the tube without the help of extra brushes. I can apply a single layer for a more subtle hint of color or build it up 3-4 layers thick if I want. It’s not hard to get decently clean edges and, while I don’t typically use lip liners, I don’t feel the need to add one in to make these work for me.

Pigmentation/Color Payoff: For the most part these are all sheer but can be built up to a semi-sheer/medium coverage. None of them look completely opaque on me even applied heavily. Icy Amethy$t is the sheerest one, offering more sparkle and shine than color payoff. The rest offer noticeable color payoff in addition to the sparkle and shine and require less building for more intense color.

Texture/Consistency/Finish: These have a somewhat thicker/balmy texture when cold in the tube, but they melt and thin out easily against the warmth of my lip. They are similar in texture to the Elf Pout Clout Lip Plumping Pens (my review) and the NYX Fat Oil Slick Clicks (my review) but these have an ever so slightly thinner consistency and glide on with a little more ease. They feel like they have a little more slip than those. They are not as melty or thick as something like the Tarte Lip Vinyls (my review). Those ones can easily get heavy and goopy if I apply too many layers, whereas I don’t have that problem with the Fenty ones. They do not leave my lips sticky at all and the color doesn’t gather in spots or become patchy even applied more heavily.

The finish is quite shiny, almost as shiny as a gloss, but not as thick. I feel they are a little more reflective than the original non-shimmer shades, though it could be an illusion due to the sparkle. The sparkles are LARGE, glittery even. If you like a subtle shimmer, this is not it. The sparkles stand out but they don’t feel all that noticeable when I press my lips together. When I remove the shade, the color and balmy finish come off easily but a lot of the sparkle is left behind on my lips and I feel the need to use a makeup remover to help get the last bits off.

Longevity: I haven’t worn these all that long yet. At the most, I’ve tried wearing them for about an hour at a time without disturbing them by drinking water or coffee. I felt during those times, they stayed put pretty well and faded gracefully if I did manage to transfer a good bit of the color off my lip. They are balmy and they transfer easily at the slightest touch. They likely will need to be reapplied several times throughout the day. The few times I have reapplied them, I didn’t have any problems with the older layer making the new layer look bad.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• For being glossy, they feel lightweight
• Really nice amount of shine for a stick product
• I can press my lips together and they don’t feel sticky/goopy
• Color stays evenly distributed on the lip
• I can barely feel the glitter on my lips (not gritty)

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• I’m not a huge fan of large sparkle/glitter personally
• Glitter really clings to lips even after removing and gets on my face and anything I touch

Do I Recommend Them?

Yes but only if you LOVE sparkle. If glitter straying from where you intended to put is even a little annoying to you, maybe take a pause. The base of this formula is fantastic. I love the thinner balmy slip these have. They feel comfortable, hydrating, protective and they look very nice too. I’d love to see Fenty release an in-between finish in this formula that offers just a hint of fine shimmer but with the same type of glossy, transparent color payoff these have. 

Swatches

Icy Amethy$t

Icy Amethy$t is a pale, sheer lavender with blue and pink sparkle. There is more blue sparkle in this than pink. If I apply this one lightly, the base color isn’t too far off from my natural lip color. If I build it up, it begins to look closer to a cool mauve on me.

Flamingo Fling

Flamingo Fling is a pale, cooler pink with silver and pink sparkle. The silver sparkle is much more noticeable than the pink. The shimmer seems more densely packed in this shade than in Icy Amethy$t but there is still a good balance of base color and sparkle if I build it up in layers.

Fu$$y

Fu$$y is a medium, cooler, mauve pink with silver, gold, pink and blue sparkle. The blue sparkles stand out the most against the base color but from a distance, the sheen is more “neutral” and not distractingly blue. It seems the base color is slightly more opaque in this shade than the previous two.

Fenty Glow

Fenty Glow is a light, warmer, peachy pink with large yellow gold, greenish gold, blue and pink sparkles. The gold is the most prominent and the sparkles seem a little larger in this shade. The opacity of this shade is similar to Fu$$y. It’s still transparent but the color builds up much more quickly than Icy Amethy$t or Flamingo Fling.

C U In Maui

C U In Maui is a bright coral with large gold and pink sparkle. I can see both colors of sparkle closer up but from a distance, the gold sheen stands out more. This one seems to have more sparkle packed into it than some of the other shades but there’s still a good balance of base color to glitter when I build it up.

Hot Chocolit

Hot Chocolit is a true brown with slight reddish tones and gold, green, blue, and pink sparkle. Up close and even from a slight distance, I can see the various different colors in the sparkle but as with all the other shades, it doesn’t take away from the base color. Even though this shade is deeper (and more noticeable on me) the opacity is not too different than most of the other medium-depth shades. One thin layer immediately shows up on me (though still transparent) and I am able to add 3-4 more passes to build it up without it looking streaky. I feel it still looks good around the edges and I don’t need a brush or lip liner to make it look decent on me.

What they are: Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oils are sheer, lightweight lip oils with a thinner but still very smooth and glide-y consistency and a slight minty tingle. 

Price/Quantity: $26 for 4.5 ml / 0.15 fl oz

Availability: Summer Fridays, Sephora, Kohl’s

Shade Range: 4 shades

Packaging: The product comes in a heftier plastic container with a soft frosted finish and feel. The lid twists open and closed easily, feels secure, and seems sturdy enough to not break easily. The stopper inside the bottle is sized well so that I am able to remove the wand without excessive effort. The doe foot applicator has a nice soft, plush feel.

Smell/Fragrance: It has super faint minty scent and taste. They are not sweet or fragranced and what little chemical scent I do pick up on is ultra subtle.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 6 months after opening.

Ingredients: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olefin), Octyldodecanol, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Squalane, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Cocoyl Hydrolyzed Collagen, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Siraitia Grosvenorii Fruit Extract, Menthoxypropanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Butylene/Ethylene/Styrene Copolymer, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, May Contain/Peut Contenir (+/-) Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090). Source: Sephora.com

Performance

Shade Selection: The shade selection is a little sparse for me. The two midtone options are a bit too similar for it to be worth having both. I like that there’s at least one very light and one somewhat deeper option. It would be nice to see some brighter shades because the way they impart color noticeably but evenly is really nice for a gloss/oil type of formula.

Application: The applicator holds a bit too much product for me, so I wipe some of it off into the neck of the bottle. I don’t feel like I need a very thick layer for color to show up, but applying it more heavily does definitely amp up color payoff.

Texture/Consistency/Finish: This has a thinner, more slippery, but also somehow more plush and moisturizing feel than some other recent lip oils/glosses I’ve tried. It feels like it has a plumping ingredient in it and gives the slightest hint of tingle (not burning/hot or painful, more in line with a minty feel but not really cooling). Not sticky and really nice feel. 

Pigmentation/Color Payoff: Depends on the shade. The lightest one has barely-there color payoff but the three deeper ones give me a noticeable tint. I can see my lips through the color but they add some life to my naturally very pale lips. They definitely have more color payoff than the Elf Lip Oils.

Longevity: These wear off pretty easily. If I don’t eat or drink anything, they will stay on for a couple hours. But they seem a little more easy to sheer down with any type of touch than other glosses/oils.

Pros and Cons:

Things I like:

• The texture feels really nice.
• The amount of color payoff and the smoothness of the way that color looks on the lips.
• Gives a slight smoothing effect to lip lines.
• Very little scent.
• More of a light minty tingle (prefer this over the hot/burning ones).
• Impressed with all the nice oils in the ingredients list.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• Not a cheap option.
• Wears off easily.

Do I Recommend Them?

It’s going to be up to you to decide if it’s worth buying a $26 lip oil/gloss. I think it’s a nice product and I enjoy it but I’m not sure it’s THAT much different than cheaper options. There are things about them I prefer to other similar products I have and I’ve found myself reaching for these over those. The texture and color payoff are the main things for me. Personally, I’m on the side where I prefer the thinner/lighter formula but if you like a thicker feeling product, it’s possible these might not do it for you.

Pink Cloud

Pink Cloud is a very sheer, pale, cool pink. This gives my lips a hint of pink color, where they would otherwise blend in with my face with nothing on them.

Blush Dreams

Blush Dreams is a warm pinky nude with a little bit more color payoff than Pink Cloud. This shade is similar to the next one in depth and color but is just a tiny bit warmer.

Soft Mauve

Soft Mauve is a cooler toned pinky nude that leans more in the purple direction than the previous shade.

Rosewood Nights

Rosewood Nights is a deep but quite sheer purply brown. This one has the most impact color-wise on me but when I consider the depth, it seems sheerer than the two midtone shades.

The Ensley Reign Cold Moon Palette is a colorful cool toned palette with a mixture of sparkling multichromes, a couple of metallics and a wide selection of mattes to pair them with. There are 21 shades in total with a good 50/50 matte to shimmer split. It is available to preorder for $72 plus shipping.

There are 10 mattes and 11 shimmers. The mattes are all very similar in consistency across all the colors but the shimmers come in a few different finishes. 7 of them are flakier duochrome/multichrome shimmers with large sparkles and sheerer, topper-like opacity, 2 are metallic with silver reflects, 1 is a metallic multichrome with holographic sparkles, and one is just a regular metallic (but still beautiful). Something this palette has that I have nowhere else in my collection are shades with holographic sparkles. I’m not really sure if this has been done before (probably it has ). 5 of the shades have them and they really show up well on the eye.

This is my first purchase from this brand and from what I understand most (if not all) items purchased from them have a longer processing time than what you might be used to. I preordered this in late December and received it close to 4 weeks later. It came packaged well with plenty of padding to protect the palette and the shipping company I went with (UPS) did a good job. As of the publish date, I see that there is currently an 8-10 week wait if you were to buy it now. Personally, I had a good experience ordering from them but I’d recommend really familiarizing yourself with how they ship, their wait times, and their return policy. They explain it throughout their website.

Snow Drop

Snow Drop is a flaky/sparkly shimmer with holographic sparkles. Pale warm pink to gold to green shift.

Winter Rose

Winter Rose is a light warm pink with a matte finish.

Aurora

Aurora is a flaky/sparkly shimmer with holographic sparkles. Berry to orange to green shift.

Orithyia

Orithyia is a light warm violet with a matte finish.

Snow Faeries

Snow Faeries is a flaky/sparkly shimmer, no holographic sparkles in this one. Light green to light blue to purple shift. I don’t think it has much of a base color but if I layer it heavily and look from an extreme angle, the entire swatch has a light purple hue that resembles a base color.

Garnet

Garnet is a deep brown with strong red tones when it is sheered out along the edges, making it look a little like a burgundy. It’s not showing up here but I could see this more in a look when I tried it (looks are coming soon).

Forbidding

Forbidding is a different type of shimmer that has more opacity than the flakier ones. It has a strong pink base color with lots of silver sparkle as well as some fine shimmer. I can very easily get this to look like an opaque metallic but I am also able to sheer it out to see more of the base color. It has a firmer/denser feel to the touch than the flaky shimmers as well. It’s not a shifty shade, though it may look like it because the light I have at the bottom of the swatch is slightly warmer.

Mauja

Mauja is a pale greenish nude with a matte finish. I can’t really see the green tone once I place this on the skin, it just kind of blends out to look like a matte highlight on me.

Saturnalia

Saturnalia is a flaky/sparkly shimmer with holographic sparkles. Light gold to green to blue shift with a pink base color that stains the skin a bit. The blue is the hardest color to see unless I’m looking at it almost sideways.

Catmint

Catmint is a medium cool dusty purple with a matte finish.

Khion

Khion is more of a metallic shimmer, similar to Forbidding, but this one is a multichrome with holographic sparkles. Red-violet to gold to green shift and a light blue base color. I’ve used this one several times on the eye so far and what is most visible to me in the mirror is the red-violet shimmer against a subtle blue backdrop. Very interesting shade.

Transformation

Transformation is a medium matte grey with subtle purple tones.

Wolf Moon

Wolf Moon is a metallic silver shimmer with large silver sparkles. This has that firmer, denser, more opaque quality that Forbidding has. It’s also not a shifty shade. The color at the top of the swatch is more accurate to what I see in real life.

Mothers’ Night

Mothers’ Night is a deep cool brown with a matte finish.

Snow Crystal

Snow Crystal is a flaky/sparkly shimmer with holographic sparkles. Light pinky purple to blue-green shift with a sheer blue base color.

Cold Moon

Cold Moon is a medium muted sky blue with a matte finish.

Borealis

Borealis is a flaky/sparkly shimmer, no holographic sparkles in this one. Purple to warm pink to greenish bronze shift.

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice is a pale muted green with a matte finish. In playing with this shade so far, it is hard to see the green tone against my complexion. It looks very muted and almost greyish.

Kallikantzaros

Kallikantzaros is the lone regular metallic. It looks a bit chunky in the swatch but when I smooth this out, it looks like it’s all small particles, giving more of a smooth shimmer finish that is less topper-like. It is a pale bluish silver with no shifts.

Rebirth

Rebirth is a deep matte grey.

Storm Faerie

Storm Faerie is a flaky/sparkly shimmer that shifts from teal to blue to purple. With the little bit I played with this one, it doesn’t seem to have much of a visible base color on the eye.

What they are: Saie Dew Blushes are semi sheer liquid blushes with a dewy finish. They have a very hydrating feel and never fully set down, remaining dewy looking throughout the day. A few shades have some fine shimmer up close in swatches but I don’t notice any sparkle or shimmer once they are on the cheek.

Price/Quantity: $25 for 12 mL / 0.4 oz

Availability: Saie, Sephora, Kohl’s

Shade Range: 9 Shades

Packaging: Plastic container a bit larger than a lipgloss with a large doe foot applicator. The shade names are printed on a label on the bottom of each container.

Smell/Fragrance: These are fragrance free but they do have a mineral/chemical scent. I don’t find it to smell paint-like or offensive and it’s not something I notice with normal use but it is strong enough to easily detect when looking for a scent.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 12 months after opening.

Ingredients:

ISOCETYL STEAROYL STEARATE GLYCERIN TRIBEHENIN SAMBUCUS NIGRA (ELDERBERRY) FRUIT EXTRACT MICA GLYCERYL STEARATE GLYCYRRHIZA GLABRA (LICORICE) ROOT EXTRACT SILICA MORUS ALBA (WHITE MULBERRY) ROOT EXTRACT SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE (COMFREY) LEAF EXTRACT OENOTHERA BIENNIS (EVENING PRIMROSE) ROOT EXTRACT [+/- MAY CONTAIN/ PEUT CONTENIR TITANIUM DIOXIDE CI77891 IRON OXIDES (CI77492, CI77491, CI77499) YELLOW 6 LAKE RED 7 LAKE RED 22 LAKE FERRIC FERROCYANIDE

saiehello.com

Performance

Shade Selection: I originally was just going to pick up the shade Baby to give this formula a try. That shade is pretty straightforward and I had a good idea of what I was going to get with it. But I had a harder time visualizing what the rest of the shade range might look like on me, which is why I thought doing a post on this would be helpful. There are groupings of pinks, peaches, corals, a berry shade, and a brown shade. I think because of the color payoff these are generally suited better to lighter/medium skin tones, though the shades Poppy and Dreamy may show up on deeper complexions.

Application: I dot the product straight onto the cheek and blend it out mostly with my fingers and may do a final light blend with a brush, especially around the edges. Saie recommends adding a few dots to the cheek. Personally, I find one not-too-tiny-dot to gives me plenty of color payoff. Once I blend that out, I may add one more layer right in the center to build up the color. So far I’ve tried them over KVD Good Apple Serum Foundation, Too Faced Born This Way Multi Use Sculpting Concealer, and Laura Mercier Real Flawless Weightless Perfecting Foundation and it has gotten along well with all of them without lifting the foundation (much). They can slightly sheer out my coverage but not to an amount that I feel is a problem. The cooler/pinker shades kind of emphasize old acne scarring when I don’t wear a high enough coverage base underneath but the warmer shades are a bit more forgiving. I think someone that has pretty even skin without much need for coverage will probably like the cooler shades better.

Texture/Consistency/Finish: These have a lightweight gel serum texture that feels super hydrating upon application and remains tacky unless set with a power. There is enough tack that my hair can stick to my cheek which is a tiny bit annoying. They give the skin a wet (kind of sweaty) look, in a good way, without visible shimmer or sparkle.

Pigmentation/Color Payoff: Semi sheer. They show up better than some drugstore options I’ve tried and are easier to avoid over applying than the Elf Camo Liquid Blushes I tried recently. When applying with fingers, I find it more difficult to layer and build up the color but using a brush makes building up color or applying it more heavily from the get-go easier. Because they are so dewy/hydrating, they move super easily if touched, so it’s not hard to move or pick up color from a previous layer as I’m trying to add more.

Longevity: So far I’ve tried Baby and Chilly for wear time. Baby seemed to fade by the end of the day one of the times I wore it (set with powder) but not on a second test without powder. Chilly did not fade after wearing it all day. They can be sheered out and transfer easily if touched, though, and that can shorten wear time.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• I don’t have to be too careful about application. With most of the shades, it’s hard to overdo or apply too much.
• Pretty much every color works for me.
• Depending on the shade, these can look very natural. Oddly the warmer ones look more natural on me.
• Part of Saie’s brand image/mission is to be environmentally conscious.
• I think the dewy finish without relying on shimmer is unique.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• The tackiness is a bit much but I can tolerate it for the effect.
• There are a couple options that may work for deeper skin tones but these are probably going to be most suited to lighter/medium skin tones.

Worth Buying?

Liquid blushes are not a thing I have loads of experience with but of the ones I have tried, these are the dewiest. Most I’ve used have been the kind that set down completely and I never did love that kind of formula. If you really want the wet-skin look, these will definitely give you that and I’m not really sure of a good alternative option. If you think sticky skin will get on your nerves, they probably won’t be the best bet for you.

Swatches

Peachy

Peachy is one of the lightest options aside from Baby but has more color payoff than I was expecting. This is one of my favorite shades out of them all.

Rosy

Rosy is similar to Peachy but a bit more pink and also a bit more pigmented. I can use a little less of this one for the same level of color payoff.

Cutie

Cutie is like a deeper version of Peachy. I really like this shade as well and think I could use this one to get a pretty similar effect as Peachy by just using less of it.

Spicy

Spicy is a deeper reddish brown. This one didn’t swatch the same as the others but ended up applying to face about the same. The color ended up looking not too different from Cutie once it was all blended out.

Baby

Baby is a light cool pink. It was the first shade of this I tried which led me down a rabbit hole of trying to find the rest of the shades. This is the lightest/sheerest out of them all and requires the most building to show up well on me. When swatching this, this one left a very faint stain on my arm but I didn’t notice the same issue on my face with regular use.

Chilly

Chilly is cool-ish medium mauve. I’d probably grab for this one for an “everyday” color if I wanted something cooler.

Dreamy

Dreamy is a like a deeper version of Chilly. I can use this one to get a similar look if I use it more lightly. This is one of the few that I feel I could apply too heavily by accident.

Sweetie

Sweetie is a medium pinky coral. This one also stained my arm when swatching a bit more heavily than the shade Baby did.

Poppy

Poppy is a bright orangey-coral. This looks more orange in a heavy swatch but when sheered out, ends up looking more pink. This one left the heaviest staining on my arm during swatching and the stain was noticeably pinker and cooler than the orange in the photo above. I would avoid using this one with brushes that have light hairs/bristles to avoid staining them. This is the other shade I feel the need to be careful to not apply too much of.

What they are: Elf Pout Clout Lip Plumping Pens are sheer balmy lip products that lie somewhere between a lip balm and a lip gloss. None of them have any shimmer or glitter and they have a lightly minty tingle. They are supposed to plump but I don’t get much of a plumping effect. They are hydrating and I feel that helps to give the lips a smoother appearance.

Price/Quantity: $8 for 0.07 oz / 2.0 grams

Availability: Elf, Walmart

Shade Range: 8 shades

Packaging: Slim, plastic click up pen. It has a button on the bottom of the pen in a color matching the shade inside. I have to press the button 3 or 4 times to push the product up enough to swipe over the lips.  Once I push product up, it cannot be retracted back into the pen like with a twist-up style lip product. The lip product itself is very soft and melts easily so this kind of packaging works well. The lid snaps off and on with a good amount of tension. It doesn’t feel like it will fall off easily but isn’t too difficult to remove either. The names of each shade are on the pens on the bottom of the button but the lettering is so tiny and so thin, it’s nearly impossible to see without the help of a magnifying glass. The white label I’m showing on the lid below is just how I decided to make my life easier so I know the name of each shade as I grab for them.

Smell/Fragrance: These have a light scent that reminds me of coconut oil (which is not listed in the ingredients) and a very faint sweetness. It doesn’t seem to me that these were made to smell intentionally fragranced as the scent I do pick up on is barely there. They do have a cooling minty sensation that is a bit more noticeable than the mintiness that was in the Elf Glow Reviver Lip Oils (review). There is no minty scent though. 

Expiration/Shelf Life: 12 months after opening.

Ingredients:

These are the ingredients for the shade In The Clear. The other shades have very similar ingredients listed and the “MAY CONTAIN” section varies a bit for each shade.

Bis-Behenyl/Isostearyl/Phytosteryl Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Diisostearyl Malate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Synthetic Wax, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Menthone Glycerin Acetal, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Microcrystalline Wax (Cera Microcristallina), Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Tocopherol, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol; MAY CONTAIN: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)

elfcosmetics.com

Performance

Shade Selection: None of the shades contain any shimmer or glitter and I LOVE that there is a completely clear option in a formula like this. I often apply a lip balm or lip mask when I start doing my makeup so that if I feel like wearing a lipstick at the end, my lips are all prepped. The clear one is perfect for this. 

The shades are all different enough from each other to tell them apart once they are on the lips. Just Peachy and Pinky Out look too similar when swatched but Just Peachy is noticeably much lighter on the lips. Bust A Mauve and Wicked Cherry are pretty close but Wicked Cherry is more red.

Application: These apply about as one would expect — just swipe across the lips like a lipstick. A couple of passes very easily transfers product and color. For some of the deeper shades, I found it helpful to have a lip brush nearby to smooth out the edges of my lips. Because the product is so melty it’s not hard to lose precision. That meltiness also makes me feel like I’m using a lot product each time I apply one of the shades, and could quickly run through an entire pen. 

Texture/Consistency/Finish: These melt easily when they come in contact with the skin. They feel like a cross between very thick lip gloss and a very melty lip balm. Pressing my lips together, the product doesn’t feel like it is too thick or heavy and it is not sticky or goopy at all. They feel soothing and protective like a nice lip balm. Swatching these wasn’t the easiest thing because a lot of product would come off in patches as I moved it over my skin, leaving a thick uneven looking swatch. I smoothed over pretty much every swatch with a brush but here is how it swatches without me messing with them and how the product looks in the tube afterward.

Pigmentation/Color Payoff: I can get sheer but noticeable color from these. They can be applied a bit more lightly for a pretty natural look or I can layer them up to get the color to pop more. I feel like I have a good amount of wiggle room for layering these before they start to look too thick or uneven on the lips, but they do have a limit. The midtone and deeper shades are easier to apply more heavily but the lighter shades like Just Peachy and Pinky Out start to look goopy on me if I apply too much.

Longevity: These are thick enough and stay on for a few hours if not touched. They don’t absorb or evaporate or seem to disappear on their own. If I eat or drink they do easily transfer but even then, they still hold on pretty well. I wore one to work and drank water throughout my shift. After a couple of hours, I could tell the product had worn away from the center of my lips but was still holding on around the edges of my lips. Where it was still holding on, it maintained its comfortable balmy feel.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• The clear one is nice as a lip balm alternative or lip treatment before makeup.
• Minty feel.
• No shimmer.
• Feels really comfortable and smooth. More moisturizing and soothing than a waxy lip balm and thicker than a lip gloss or lip oil.
• Good price.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• It seems like I could use them up quickly.
• The lighter shades don’t build up as well as the deeper ones and can easily look goopy.
• I don’t really see plumping from these. They help fight dryness and keep my lips moisturized which helps them to look a little more smooth.

Do I Recommend Them?

I definitely recommend the clear one for anyone as an alternative to a lip balm. For the ones with color, maybe go for shades that are a bit deeper than your natural lip color (just based on how the lighter ones applied on me). If you actually want them for plumping though, you’ll probably not get what you’re hoping for.

Swatches

In The Clear

In The Clear is a totally clear, shimmer and sparkle free shade with shine nearly like that of a lip gloss. It doesn’t have the same wet, glassy effect of a gloss, but has more reflect than a lip balm.

Just Peachy

Just Peachy is a super pale peach. This one is surprisingly too light for me. The arm swatch is heavier than the lip swatch. I can see this one settling into my lip lines and it become more obvious the more I build it up. Out of all the shades, I enjoyed this one the least.

Pinky Out

Pinky Out is a light warm pink. This one is a bit better for me than Just Peachy for a natural/neutral looking color but can also look heavy/goopy if I apply it too heavily on the lips. I don’t notice it settling into my lip lines as much probably because it’s just deep enough of a color.

Toasted

Toasted is a light peachy caramel. It’s not too orange and not too brown and not too light lol. If you’re into brownish shades, this is an interesting one. On my lips, it pulls a bit more pink because of the shade is sheer and my natural lip color kind of skews the overall effect. I can go a little more heavy handed with application starting with this shade as well as the rest below without it looking bad on the lips.

Bust A Mauve

Bust A Mauve is a medium coolish mauve. This one is a little deeper and cooler toned than I usually think of mauve being.

Wicked Cherry

Wicked Cherry is a medium-deep brownish red. It’s is somewhat similar to Bust A Mauve but more red and warmer.

Red My Mind

Red My Mind is a medium-deep pinky red.

Plum On Over

Plum On Over is a deeper reddish berry.

The Huda Beauty Pretty Grunge Palette is a neutral palette with a mix of warmer and cooler tones and a nice range of depth. The left side is generally more neutral and peachy while the right side leans cooler and more pink/purple. There are 11 mattes, 6 shimmers, and 1 glossy cream.

This post is meant to show closer up, more detailed swatches of this palette. My review for this palette is here.

Liberty

Liberty is a medium pinky peach with a matte finish.

Heroine

Heroine is a pale matte yellowy peach.

Avant-Garde

Avant-Garde has a deep brown base with lots of silver and gold sparkles.

Renegade

Renegade is a soft black with a matte finish.

Brave

Brave is a medium reddish mauve.

Beauty Chaos

Beauty Chaos is a light-medium dusty lavender.

Rise Up

Rise Up is a light matte brown with ever so slight peachy undertones.

Stand Up

Stand Up is a light rose gold shimmer with all fine particles.

Strong AF

Strong AF is a greyish purple shimmer with larger silver and gold sparkles.

Nirvana

Nirvana is a deep muted purple with a matte finish.

Haphazard

Haphazard has a deep grey base color with red-to-purple-shifting fine shimmer.

Fearless

Fearless is a deep reddish brown with a matte finish.

Hope

Hope is a deep neutral matte brown.

Luv Anarchy

Luv Anarchy is a light matte mauve.

Maverick

Maverick is a metallic white gold with a mixture of fine shimmer and larger sparkle. This has a creamier feel to it and is easier to pick up with a finger than with a brush.

Rebelle

Rebelle is a dimensional gold and lavender shimmer. It has lots of larger gold particles and as well as some finer lavender shimmer. This one also has a creamier feel to it but is a bit easier to pick up with a brush.

Freedom

Freedom is a light matte pink.

Grunge

Grunge is a black glossy cream.

Maybelline Lifter Plump Lip Plumping Glosses are a new spicy version of their original Lifter Glosses. They come in 8 shades and retail for $12.99. The key ingredient to thank for the heat is capsicum frutescens fruit extract, or chili pepper extract.

You know how every once in a while orange chicken from Panda Express somehow ends up a little extra spicy than usual? That’s what these are like, that’s the heat level I get from them. It’s mild, maybe approaching medium if you’re sensitive to spicy stuff. I think it’s totally tolerable and it comes on slowly. Once the heat takes hold, it stays spicy for quite some time. After a little bit, my mouth starts to feel the heat as well, like I ate something hot. 45 minutes after application, I can still feel it but at this point it is starting to fade.

They don’t seem to be fragranced and hardly smell like anything except a very faint chemical scent. The only detectable flavoring is just the heat. I get a barely noticeable plumping effect that just looks like my lips are very well hydrated but not any larger than they normally are. After consecutively lip swatching about 3 of them, I started noticing my lips getting red. One single application doesn’t seem to do that though.

I’m not a huge lip plumper person so I don’t have a whole lot to compare these to. I have tried the Too Faced Lip Injection and I would say these are more intense than that but it is a different feeling. That one has a unique sensation that is closer to stinging/pinpricks (a very toned down version of that description though). These are definitely just like spicy food lol.

Texture-wise, they feel similar to the original Maybelline Lifter Glosses with a substantial, almost balmy texture, but are still very comfortable and not sticky at all. They hang on and stay glossy for at least a few hours without disappearing from the lips or changing texture.

Blush Blaze

Blush Blaze a sheer light pink with very subtle and very fine micro shimmer. It is mostly a neutral pink and leans ever so slightly warm. On the lips, this is so sheer and so close to my lip color that it hardly looks like anything but a clear gloss on me. The micro shimmer in this is too fine to be able to actually see on the lips either.

Mauve Bite

Mauve Bite is a sheer light purplish pink with a scattering of larger golden sparkle. This looks almost identical to Blush Blaze when actually applied and the sparkle in this is hardly noticeable and somewhat sparse.

Pink Sting

Pink Sting is a sheer light bubblegum pink. This one is the lightest pink and is on the cooler side as well. It has no sparkle or shimmer in it at all and actually stains a tiny bit as well. It is the only shade that I found causes staining. 

Red Flag

Red Flag is an ultra sheer neutral red without any shimmer or sparkle. It is MUCH lighter on the lips that it appears in the container but does add a tiny bit of color to my lips.

Peach Fever

Peach Fever is a warmer creamy peach without any shimmer or sparkle. This one was noticeably more pigmented than all the previous shades and had a slightly thicker texture as well.

Hot Chili

Hot Chili is a medium brownish red without any shimmer or sparkle. This was like Peach Fever in that it had more color payoff than most of the other shades and a slightly thicker texture.

Cocoa Zing

Cocoa Zing is a sheer purplish brown with purple and gold sparkle. In the container, it looks deeper and the sparkle is more noticeable than it actually looks on the lips. The color of this is very similar to Fenty Hot Chocolit. Both have about the same level of color payoff and the sparkles in both are even the same color but the Fenty one has more visible sparkle and I can feel it more as well if I press my lips together.

Hot Honey

Hot Honey has a transparent yellow-orange base with lots of pinky-gold sparkle. It ends up looking clear and colorless on the lips but has much more noticeable sparkle payoff than any of the other sparkly shades. I can’t feel the sparkle if I press my lips together.

Ingredients as listed on Maybelline’s website:

C18-36 ACID TRIGLYCERIDE • BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2 • POLYBUTENE • PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRAISOSTEARATE • TRIDECYL TRIMELLITATE • DIISOSTEARYL MALATE • SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE [NANO] / SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE • ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE • TRIBEHENIN • PENTYLENE GLYCOL • PHENOXYETHANOL • SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE • PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE • CAPSICUM FRUTESCENS FRUIT EXTRACT • ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN • SORBIC ACID • VANILLYL BUTYL ETHER • CALCIUM SODIUM BOROSILICATE • TOCOPHERYL ACETATE • SODIUM SACCHARIN • LACTIC ACID • MENTHA PIPERITA OIL / PEPPERMINT OIL • CALCIUM ALUMINUM BOROSILICATE • SILICA • TRIHYDROXYSTEARIN • COCOS NUCIFERA OIL / COCONUT OIL • PALMITOYL TRIPEPTIDE-1 • ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE • TIN OXIDE • SODIUM HYALURONATE • LIMONENE • TOCOPHEROL • SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE • ALUMINA • MAGNESIUM SILICATE • GLUCOMANNAN [+/- MAY CONTAIN: CI 77891 / TITANIUM DIOXIDE • CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 / IRON OXIDES • CI 15985 / YELLOW 6 LAKE • MICA • CI 15850 / RED 7 • CI 45410 / RED 28 LAKE • CI 19140 / YELLOW 5 LAKE • CI 42090 / BLUE 1 LAKE • CI 45380 / RED 22 LAKE]. (F.I.L. N70033269/1).

The Natasha Denona Yucca Palette came out around 2 months ago and I almost picked it up at launch but held off for a bit. I’m kind of a sucker for green-themed palettes and this one looked right up my alley and not too similar to other palettes I already had in my collection. There isn’t actually all that much overt green in here besides the emerald on the bottom right and the sparkling shimmer called Makia. There are shades in here that veer far enough toward the edges of what I consider green that I consider it more of a neutral palette with hints of green.

It has 15 shades that I would categorize into 4 formulas. There are 8 powder mattes, 2 creamy powders, 4 sparkly metallics, and 1 high-shine standard shimmer. 

After several days playing with the palette and trying every shade, I am happy overall with the quality, the shade selection, and ease of application. I haven’t used my older Natasha Denona palettes in months but from memory they weren’t as easy to use mainly because of the intense level of pigment and how well the shadows adhered to the skin. It seems to me that some of the formulas in this palette are slightly different/updated, especially the powder mattes and one of the creamy powders.

Plantasia

Plantasia has a sheer bronze base with a lot of highly reflective sparkle that gives off a metallic sheen when applied heavily. The sheen shifts from greenish gold in direct light to pinkish purple in angled light. It is pretty easy to see the shift in person but not as much in photos and as far as shifty shades go in general, this one is on the more subtle side.

Calathea

Calathea is a cool-toned medium olive and is one of two creamy powders in the palette. In the pan, this looks like a deep grey. I had no idea it was green till I put it on the eye. It is lighter/sheerer than you might expect but can be built up to a decent amount of depth and it blends out very nicely.

Komorebi

Komorebi is a sparkly metallic, bright greenish gold. There are a few specks of shifty sparkles that are vaguely noticeable and they go from pink to blue depending on the angle of the light. They are easier to see in real life than in photos but can be seen when they are not perfectly in focus. The metallic sheen is a bit more opaque in this shade than in Plantasia.

Acacia

Acacia is a warm khaki brown with a subtle greenish tinge. It is nearly identical to Tipu in the second row but that one is ever so slightly more golden. Easy to blend with buildable color payoff. This and all the other powder mattes in this palette have a similar, less pigmented quality than mattes in older palettes. I find this to be a good thing because it makes them easier and faster to work with.

Camu Camu

Camu Camu is a yellowy lime green somewhere between a neon and a pastel. Not too sheer, shows up quickly without too much layering.

Tipu

Tipu is a light golden khaki. It has a strong warm tone once blended but stays true to color as it is sheered out.

Elysian

Elysian is a medium silvery taupe with a sparkly metallic finish. It looks like a subtle deep grey base color and a lot of fine shimmer form the majority of the shade with fewer larger sparkles than some of the other shimmers.

Valley

Valley is a medium brown with strong orange tones. Works as a warm neutral without becoming too orange.

Citrine

Citrine is a mustard that leans very green.

Ray

Ray is a light gold with subtle green tones and is the only shimmer of its type in the palette. Compared to the rest, it has a smoother finish and is slightly less reflective with finer particles and much less fallout. It is similar in color to Komorebi but is a bit deeper and more yellow.

Flax

Flax is a medium-deep neutral brown. This shade and the other deep one, Willow, are where the pigmentation difference is really noticeable compared to older Natasha Denona palettes.

Fushi

Fushi is a light yellowy orange. This is the second creamy powder shade but it applies a bit differently than Calathea. This one feels (and smells) waxier and it builds up much more quickly. The blend is just as smooth along the edges though.

Makia

Makia is a sparkly metallic similar in finish to Plantasia. It has sheer but deep grey base color with a lot of golden olive sparkles. The lighting in the photos makes it looks like a shifty duo chrome but it isn’t. The second photo is just darker. This one looks like the same color at all angles.

Ixia

Ixia is a medium-deep orange. Buildable and blendable. Has good color payoff but doesn’t immediately go on the lid the way it looks in the pan, which I like. Easy to work with.

Willow

Willow is a deep bluish green. This is the one shade I wish was a bit more like the older, more intense mattes. It shows up fine but it is quite dark and the color doesn’t go on as evenly as I would like. I have to apply several layers for very even-looking color.

I picked up the Too Faced Italian Spritz Palette when it came out and have been giving it a go for the past couple weeks. Here are swatches of all of the shades along with descriptions and some of my thoughts on how they perform.

The Too Faced Italian Spritz Palette combines colorful, summery shades and warm neutrals in their classic tin packaging. There are 18 shades in here with a good balance of mattes and shimmers. Roughly half of the shades are colorful while the other half are more neutral. It is available for $54 from Ulta and Too Faced.

The mattes are generally fairly consistent in quality except for a couple that needed some extra help from a primer in order to prevent fading and stay adhered to the lid for a reasonable amount of time. They don’t feel particularly dry and they are also not exceptionally silky. They just feel like decent standard matte eyeshadows with satisfying, smooth color payoff that sit smoothly on the lid.

The shimmers come a variety of formulas. Many of them have a thicker, waxy feel to the touch that swatch well with fingers but don’t pick up as easily on a brush. A few have a comparably drier but still silky feel to them. All of them have a mixture of fine shimmer and large sparkle and fallout from them was generally far less than I was expecting, which was a nice surprise.

Holy Cannoli

Holy Cannoli is a light matte peach. I have used this one as a lid shade and along the lower lashline and found that it has enough brightness and depth to show up easily against my skin tone. It had good, quick color payoff, adhered well to the skin and didn’t brush away too easily.

Ciao, Bellini!

Ciao, Bellini! is a mixture of fine peachy shimmer and large gold sparkles. This is one of the thicker-feeling shimmers. It swatches more heavily than it goes on to the lid and is much easier to apply with fingers than with brushes.

When In Rome…

When In Rome… is very vibrant hot pink. It didn’t stain my lids and I was able to use it in a sheered out way or build it up to near full opacity. It applied and blended out smoothly.

Take Me To Church

Take Me To Church is a lot like Ciao, Bellini! two swatches ago. Same type of formula and applies very similarly, just with a more of a pinky tint.

Feelin’ Saucy

Feelin’ Saucy is a deeper matte orange. This was one of the best quality mattes with excellent color payoff but was also super easy to blend out.

Lake Como

Lake Como is one of the silkier-feeling shimmers. It picks up more easily on a brush than the thicker shimmers do but still only gives me a sheer wash of color (similar to the way the lighter swatch looks). In order to get it to look more like the heavy swatch on the eye, I need to use a dampened brush or apply it over a sticky primer to help it pop more.

Toasted In Tuscany

Toasted In Tuscany is a light warm brown with neutral undertones. This is the most natural-looking shade on me to use as a transition and doesn’t lean too yellow/orange and not too pink. Adheres and builds up well, blends and sheers out well too.

Cin Cin!

Cin Cin! is a metallic medium bronze. It is one of the thicker shimmers like Ciao, Bellini! and Take Me To Church, but unlike those, it has more intense color payoff so I am able to apply it with a brush and still have it show up well.

Spritz & Glitz

Spritz & Glitz has a base of sheer fine lavender shimmer and along with plenty of larger blue sparkle. It is the same type of formula as Lake Como, with a silkier feel to it that picks up more easily on a brush. Applying this with a dry brush, I get something that resembles the lighter swatch, and using it with a damp brush or sticky primer gives me more bold color payoff, like the heavier swatch.

Spaghett About It

Spaghett About It is a light pinky/peachy brown that I can use in a similar way as Toasted In Tuscany. This one looks less natural and more rosy on me but performs just as well as that one.

Grappa Don’t Preach

Grappa Don’t Preach was one of the most difficult to use shimmers. It is one of the thicker feeling shimmers and using a dry brush required MANY layers to get it look anywhere near the heavier swatch. Using a damp brush really helped to get this one to build up more quickly.

Espresso Yourself

Espresso Yourself was one of my least favorite mattes. It has good color payoff and looks decent when first applied but quickly fades in the crease if not used over an eyeshadow primer. This is the type of matte that grabs onto the skin and isn’t the easiest to move and blend around the edges once it is placed. I got better results using a flat shader to apply it and blend upward as there was gradually less color on the brush. It was not easy to apply initially with a fluffy brush.

Lake & Bake

Lake & Bake is a warmer ocean blue with somewhat of a sheer blue base and a whole lot of blue shimmer and sparkle. This is similar in texture to the shade Cin Cin!, where it feels thicker to the touch but has enough pigmentation to be able to apply it with a dry brush.

Capri Fun

Capri Fun is a very warm, almost orange-leaning yellow. It is another one of the better mattes in the palette. Excellent color payoff that can easily go from sheer to nearly opaque with smooth blending.

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! is another one of my least favorite shades. It is similar in quality and performance to Espresso Yourself. It applies fine initially with good color payoff but requires a good primer to stay in place. This one is a bit more easily dusted away if I blend over it too much.

Como After Dark

Como After Dark is a deep grey shimmer with lots of silver sparkle. Shades like this usually scare and disappoint me but I think this one is really well done. The formula of this is not like the thicker, waxy shades, and is closer to the two silkier feeling shimmers but I am able to use a dry brush to pick up and apply this without any issues. Good color payoff with a surprisingly small amount of fallout for how sparkly it is. Impressed with this one.

Impasta-ble

Impasta-ble is the last medium-depth transition shade with a very obvious honey-yellow tone. It was just as easy to use as the other midtone neutrals in the palette.

Gelat-ohh!

Gelat-ohh! is a reliable matte highlight with neutral undertones. This one is light enough on me to actually be a highlight. I often use shades like this to add coverage to the inner corner and brow bone and I find color payoff is very good for that purpose. It sits smoothly on the skin without look heavy or dry.

I picked up the ABH Rose Metals Palette after giving it a good long eyeing. It is probably already long past the optimal time to post swatches but I am just getting around to it now. What drew me to this? I liked that the shimmers are all sort of in the neutral range without looking too similar to each other and two of the four mattes looked like shades that could be go-to’s for me. It just seemed like something I could get lots of “wearable” looks out of without getting too bored of the shade selection.

This palette is the same format as the ABH Nouveau Palette, where pan sizes are larger and contain more product (about twice as much) than older ABH palettes. I like the look and feel of the metallic outer packaging but I find it hard to read wording over it, especially the shade names inside. It feels well made and like it will last a good amount of time with constant use.

I’ve used this quite a bit now and I very much like the quality of the eyeshadows inside. If you have tried the Nouveau palette, the quality is just about the same. All of the shades have good color payoff and pick up easily on brushes. Nothing in here feels dry. There is a good balance where the powders feel almost creamy/emollient without impacting wear time too much or causing colors to be altered by blending or building. I get a very reasonable amount of fallout from some of the shades. It’s not enough to be bothered by it and it doesn’t adhere to the skin much so I can easily clean it up.

The 12 shades roughly break down into:

• 4 mattes (and 2 of them have a bit of fine shimmer in them)
• 3 standard shimmers (all fine particles)
• 2 shimmer/sparkle mixtures
• 3 sparkly metallics

I’ll be a little more specific about the finish of each shade below.

Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz is a pinky taupe with a satin finish. This is one of the least reflective shimmers in the palette and is subtle enough in its finish that I can get away with using it as a transition shade.

Royal

Royal is a deep burgundy shimmer with some larger golden sparkle. Good color payoff without having to layer much. I do get some shimmer and sparkle fallout from this even when tapping off my brush but it isn’t that bad and brushes away easily.

Haze

Haze is a metallic bright olive with lots of large sparkle. This reflects more light than the previous two shimmers and requires a tiny bit more layering to get the same opacity. It isn’t sheer though. It is easy to pick up plenty of color and build up very quickly. I find this looks darker in the pan than it does once applied to the eye.

Rose Fire

Rose Fire is a metallic orange with a very similar texture to the previous shade. I get sparkle fallout from both of these shades but it doesn’t stick too badly to the face. This one requires a bit more building to get the same color payoff as the previous shade.

Sunrose

Sunrose is a matte light orange with tiny flecks of shimmer. The shimmer in this isn’t large enough to cause sparkle fallout and generally adheres well to the lid. When applied in a way that is more sheer, this shade mostly looks like a matte from a normal distance. If it is layered heavily, the finish begins to resemble a satin finish. Good, even color payoff and easy to blend.

Nova

Nova is a warmer olive with a very obvious golden sheen. This one has a mixture of fine shimmer and large sparkle.

Heavenly

Heavenly is a pale gold made up mainly of larger sparkles. It reflects light like a metallic shade but goes on more sheer than most of the other shimmers. The said, it is easy to build up opacity.

Element

Element is an orangey bronze with a standard shimmer finish. There are only fine particles in this and it gives of a smooth sheen.

Ashes

Ashes is a matte taupe with a tiny bit of fine shimmer mixed in. This is the same finish as Sunrose above. When applied in a more sheer way, it looks a bit warmer than it does in the pan and the shimmer is barely noticeable. As I build up layers, the shimmer also builds up and creates more of a satin finish and the color generally starts to look cooler-toned.

Dune

Dune is reddish brown with a true matte finish. I can use this shade alone without the help of a transition shade because it is so easy to sheer out without becoming patchy.

Nocturne

Nocturne is a deeper taupe with a shimmer finish. This one is mainly made up of fine shimmer but there does seem to be a mixture of particle sizes and colors. It has a more dimensional look to it, almost like a sparkly shimmer.

Noble

Noble is warm dark brown with a true matte finish. This one performs about the same as Dune. That one is slightly more even when sheered out than this one, but I can still get away without using a transition shade.

ColourPop Not A Box Of Chocolates is an all brown-toned neutral eyeshadow palette containing 8 mattes, 6 shimmers, 1 matte with sparkle, and 1 pressed glitter. The shades come in a square cardboard palette (no mirror) with magnetic pans that can be removed from the packaging if desired. None of the shades are marked as pressed pigments. The pressed glitter shade looks and feels like a cross between a shimmery eyeshadow and their regular pressed glitters that have a clear base. It retails for $24 and can be purchased from ColourPop and Ulta.

I have done 6 looks with this and thought the quality was nice, very workable. The shades were pigmented, went on the eye evenly, blending was easy. Some (not all) of the shimmers had more fallout than I would’ve liked, but I generally liked how they performed. They mostly adhered well, didn’t require too much building to show up well, had good shine and sparkle. I wear-tested this twice and got between 7-8 hours of solid wear over primer before seeing mild creasing.

The overall range of colors leans dark on me so I tend to get deeper looks in general from this palette. There aren’t too many lighter shades to go to for more of a natural, barely-there neutral look. It’s also all warm toned, though not terribly warm. So far, I have used this twice as a pairing palette and very much enjoyed it that way. It is very functional as a standalone palette but lacks a pale matte and contains several similar midtone and deep brown shades that could have been reduced to fewer shades.

If you’re looking for a good neutral palette but prefer cooler tones or lighter looks, you might want to consider other options first. Quality-wise I think it’s a safe buy for the price.

Champagne Truffle

Champagne Truffle is a sheer golden beige shimmer. This has a mixture of fine shimmer and large sparkle. When applied to the lid, it mostly just looks like a regular fine shimmer and I don’t see a whole lot of sparkle come through in the finish. Reasonable amount of sparkle fallout, nothing crazy. Using a setting spray to dampen your brush after picking up color is helpful to get this to pop more and reduce the sparkle fallout.

Lil’ Nougat

Lil’ Nougat is a light peachy matte. Shows up well against my skin tone and works nicely as a transition shade to add extra warmth when using deeper mattes in the crease.

Honeycomb Crunch

Honeycomb Crunch is a light golden bronze shimmer with a similar mixture of fine shimmer and large sparkle as Champagne Truffle. This one seems to have a little bit more fallout and the sparkle is a little bit more noticeable on the eye (could be the color is just easier to see). Has a silky feel to the touch and easily spreads onto the skin. Not a thick-feeling formula.

Praline

Praline is a matte caramel brown. This shade is very powdery when my brush touches the surface. Good color payoff, blends easily/smoothly. Not patchy.

On Chip

On Chip is slightly darker and less orange than Praline. It has the same amount of kickup in the pan and applies and blends the same as well.

PB Brittle

PB Brittle is a pressed glitter. Most of the pressed glitters I have tried from ColourPop have had clear bases. This one has an orangey-bronze shimmer behind the larger gold and copper glitter. I kind of like that they went this route to at least have something different. I don’t feel this is a super dramatic-looking glitter, it’s not particularly bright and reflective, but it does add some extra sparkly texture to the palette.

Amaretto

Amaretto is the coolest midtone matte in the palette. It is still warm though, and leans more in the direction of a red-brown than an orange-brown. I was able to apply this in a way that was soft and sheered out over a tinted primer and the color went on evenly that way. I helped it out by blending excess color on the back of my hand first.

Still Bitter

Still Bitter is a shimmery copper with all fine particles. Doesn’t feel particularly thick/waxy nor dry. Right in the middle. Picks up easily on a brush. No noticeable fallout. The first time I used this, I used it over bare lids and it didn’t apply that evenly, like it didn’t want to adhere evenly on my lid, though it did have good color payoff where it did adhere. The second time I used it over NYX Glitter Primer and it looked so much better.

Drizzle Me This

Drizzle Me This has a deep brown base color with lots of gold sparkle. I used this once on the lower lashline and once on the upper lid over NYX Glitter Primer. Both times I got sparkle and pigment fallout but it wasn’t bad the way I applied it. The sparkles are on the smaller side, nowhere near as large as glitter.

Tiramisu

Tiramisu is a medium brown with strong red undertones.

Vibe Choc

Vibe Choc has lots of large sparkle fallout. It’s not bad if I’m careful to tap/press the shade into place, but once I attempt to blend at all, it falls down. This is similar to Drizzle Me This but has more of a reddish brown shimmer in the base color.

Crazy 4 Cocoa

Crazy 4 Cocoa is deeper than Tiramisu but with the same kind of reddish tone to it. Not much kickup in the pan when my brush touches the surface. Not as easy to blend as the lighter mattes, but not terrible either.

That’s Rich

That’s Rich is another deep red-brown that almost wants to look purple. I used this to create a small winged liner and thought it was plenty pigmented to that easily.

Cherry Cordial

Cherry Cordial is a brownish burgundy shimmer with larger gold sparkles. I’m impressed with how little sparkle fallout there is from this shade. It has good color payoff and really adheres to the lid well. Even when blending around the edges (carefully), the sparkles tend to stay put. A few fall but only very few.

In Truffle

In Truffle has a deep neutral brown base with gold sparkles.

90% Cacao

90% Cacao is a mostly neutral deep brown. It warms up only slightly as it’s sheered out. Used all over the lid, there was only a tiny bit of fallout. It darkened a little in areas over primer, but it wasn’t very noticeable. It had about as much kickup as Praline… part of me thinks it could be due to the heart-shaped embossing on these shades because not all of the mattes do this.

The Natasha Denona My Dream Palette contains 15 neutral eyeshadows in several finishes in their midi-sized palette. As has been true for previous midi palettes, the shades are magnetic and removable. The palette is generally the same as older versions – same size plastic case, same type of mirror, etc. There are 8 mattes and 7 shimmers. Two of the mattes, Instinct and Edgy, are their cream powder formula. The shimmers come in both smooth, uniform finishes and sparkly shimmer finishes. There are two shifty shades, one being Vision with quite a visible color shift from different angles, and Thrill with a more subtle shift. The palette retails for $69 and can be purchased from Natasha Denona, Sephora, Beautylish, and Kohl’s.

Blackest Black

Blackest Black (powder matte) is not actually that dark of a black but I like how smoothly and evenly this shades goes on. I have used this smudged into the lashline and found it had plenty of color payoff and no fallout used that way.

Aspiration

Aspiration (powder matte) is a dark grey with a plummy brown tone to it. This one swatched terribly but went on the lid way better than it looks here, as you’ll see in looks coming up. It seemed to adhere so well to my finger that it didn’t want to transfer to my skin when swatching.

Serenity

Serenity is a medium bronze shimmer with all fine shimmer particles. I wore this one on the lid and had a very easy time getting it to pick up and transfer to the lid with very good color payoff.

Carpe-Diem

Carpe-Diem (powder matte) is a medium muted orange. This one looks darker in the swatches and on the lid than it looks in the pan. The same has been my experience with a lot of the lighter mattes in this palette.

Babies

Babies is a little more of a sparkly/flakey type of shimmer with a firmer, waxier feel to the touch.

Instinct

Instinct in a cream powder. It is a darker pinky red with a hint of a satin finish to it. On the eye, this mostly looks matte. This is one of the drier cream powders I’ve tried from Natasha Denona, so much so that I didn’t even realize it wasn’t just a regular matte powder shadow until I read the shade descriptions. Color payoff was very good though and I thought it blended out easily.

Thrill

Thrill is a light gold to light pink shifting shade with a sparkling shimmer finish. The particles are larger but they are numerous so it can easily be applied to look opaque or sheered out for a sparking effect. The shift in this is pretty subtle and I didn’t realize it was there at first, even after using it on the eye.

Unity

Unity (powder matte) is a light cantaloupe orange.

Risk

Risk is a brownish burgundy with a satin-shimmer finish. It has a matte base color and some fine shimmer mixed in, resulting in a low level of light reflectance. This one swatches fine but I wasn’t super satisfied with the color payoff on the eye. It seemed to need extra building to get it to show up as well as some of the other shimmers.

Invention

Invention has a sheer pinky base color and lots of larger, flakier gold shimmer. The particles are smaller than I typically think of glitter but noticeably larger than regular shimmers and they reflect light well. The base color is ultra sheer so I really don’t notice it when I use this on the eye.

Vision

Vision is a sparkling shimmer multichrome that starts out as a warm purple in direct light and moves through bronze, olive green, and finally true green when seen from an angle. The shimmers are somewhat larger than the smooth shimmers in this palette so moving this shade through the light will result in more visible dancing pinpoints of light rather than a smooth metallic finish. It has a dark grey base color that is noticeable when the shade is sheered out but I didn’t find it looked muddy. The color shift is very easy to see in real life and I thought the matte shades in the palette compliment the colors in this shade well.

Edgy

Edgy is another cream powder and is similar in tone but slightly darker than Instinct. I think this shade also feels and behaves more like a cream than Instinct. Impressive color payoff when I compare to past experiences with other cream powders I have used from Natasha Denona. Still, less pigmented overall than the powders.

Spontaneous

Spontaneous is a light golden beige. It is a smooth shimmer with all fine particles and punchier color payoff than I was expecting.

Nurture

Nurture (powder matte) is a warm taupe with a matte finish. This goes on the eye darker than it looks in the pan. It can be blended out to look more sheer but I think this formula lends itself more to intense applications of color and looks more even when applied that way.

Familia

Familia (powder matte) is a warm orangey brown with a matte finish.

Danessa Myricks Lightwork 4 is a limited edition, 14-pan palette containing several formulas of high impact color that can be used on the face and eyes. Formulas include:

• Velvet Chromes: These are smooth metallic shades with high shine and fine, uniform shimmer particles and an ultra buttery feel. There are 8 of them and they are all in the smaller pans.
• Glass Metallics: Two of the smaller pans (Divinity and Angels) are this formula. They have larger sparkle particles and a clear base. They go on more dispersed and with less opacity than the Velvet Chromes but can be built up to nearly the same coverage if desired.
• Pressed Chrome Flakes: These include Heaven and Paradise in the center of the palette. They have a somewhat waxy, squishy feel to them. The pigment comes off in scattered flakes of varying sizes and doesn’t have much of a base color. It is easier to pick them up with the warmth of a fingertip but a brush can be used with some time and patience.
• Aqua Chromes: Intuition and Aura in the larger pans are this formula. These are kind of like water color paints. To use them, you must first add a few drops of water to the pan and swirl with a brush to develop a paste-like consistency. Simply dipping a brush in some water before going into the pan works too. From the little bit that I’ve played with this formula, I haven’t been able to get as much color payoff as easily from them as with the Velvet Chromes unless I allow them to dry and add more layers.

Most of the shades have some sort of color shift to them, some more obvious than others. The Velvet Chromes have the most intense and obvious shift. All of the shades in the larger pans have a more subtle shift, and the two Glass Metallics (Divinity and Angels) don’t shift at all.

Trance

Trance (Velvet Chrome) is a royal blue when seen from straight-on and shifts to purple and then red-violet as the angle of the light becomes more extreme. This one has one of the less obvious shifts in real life. The depth of the red-violet makes it more shadowy and just generally harder to see. It has a sheer, deep grey base color that isn’t too obvious against the color of the shimmer.

Nirvana

Nirvana (Velvet Chrome) goes from reddish bronze to golden yellow to nearly an olive green. The reddish bronze is the easiest to see in the mirror and in photos but the golden shift is pretty obvious in the right lighting. The base color is a sheer deep grey just like Trance and is a little bit more obvious against the shimmer but not distracting.

Divinity

Divinity (Glass Metallic) is a bright yellow gold with larger, chunkier sparkles and a clear base. A swipe of a finger across the pan will give off a heavily sparkling finish that isn’t opaque so whatever color is underneath will show through. It can easily be built up to have more solid coverage.

Sixth Sense

Sixth Sense (Velvet Chrome) has a lighter, beetle green shine from straight on and shifts to blue-green, to periwinkle, to violet in extreme side lighting. It has a subtle, sheer, warm brown base color

Out of Body

Out of Body (Velvet Chrome) starts from a true vibrant green and fades down the spectrum to teal and finally a deeper violet. Green and blue-green are most obvious at most angles with this shade.

Intuition

Intuition (Aqua Chrome) is a warm greenish-blue and shifts subtly to a light periwinkle and finally to lavender. The way I swatched this, it didn’t have as much opacity as the Velvet Chrome shades. When mixing this with water in the pan, if there is too much water, it will thin out the color so it will look more transparent. The more paste-like and less water there is mixed in with the pigment, the more opaque it will look. You can allow it to dry and add another layer as well.

I find this and the other Aqua Chrome in this palette to not have very obvious changes in color in real life. It could be that its mainly blue-to-purple and to maybe my eyes are not as sensitive to those color changes as something like a purple-to-green or orange-to-green.

Heaven

Heaven (Pressed Chrome Flake) sparkles light yellowish green, then goes to an intense almost neon green, and fades into a pale blue when seen at an angle. The yellowish green and bright green are what I see most easily in the mirror and in photos. This sticks well to the eye and doesn’t move once it is placed but the waxy texture causes powder shadows underneath to crease. It is probably best used away from the crease, like maybe on the brow bone, inner corner, or lower lashline.

Paradise

Paradise (Pressed Chrome Flake) starts off as a deep purple, flows to a reddish plum, then a bronzey green and stops at a true bight green when seen from a sideways angle. This one has a much more obvious color shift than the other one of the same formula. On the eye, I see purple most, ranging from a cooler, bluer purple to a warmer, redder purple the most. Because this formula is generally sheerer, it isn’t as easy to see the shift all the way to green on the eye as it is with something that gives off more of a solid layer of color.

Aura

Aura (Aqua Chrome) is a cooler tone blue that fades slightly to a subtle lavender at an angle. This one is similar to Intuition but cooler overall and has an even less noticeable shift in color.

Zen

Zen (Velvet Chrome) very briefly looks orange, then goes to a greenish bronze and progressively becomes a cooler toned green as I see it more and more from the side. At the widest possible angle I can see the tiniest hint of blue but it is very difficult to catch. A range of bronze to warm green is easiest to see with this shade.

Angels

Angels (Glass Metallic) is a sparkling white shimmer with larger particles than the Velvet Chrome shades. The sparkles are smaller and less chunky than the ones in the other Glass Metallic though. This shade reminds me of the Fenty Diamond Bomb Highlighter but with more opacity.

Trippy

Trippy (Velvet Chrome) looks purple from straight on, becomes more reddish orange in the middle, and finally green. This shift is this one is much easier for me to see than with a lot of the other shades.

Escapism

Escapism (Velvet Chrome) is yellowish green in direct light, then looks like a grass green as I begin to turn to the side, and gradually fades down the spectrum to an ocean blue.

Awakening

Awakening (Velvet Chrome) begins as a peacock blue-green, goes to purple, and ends at a reddish plum at the most extreme angle.

The ABH Nouveau Palette is one of the most recent releases from Anastasia Beverly Hills. It is supposed to be somewhat green themed, containing 3 green-hued shades and one green-blue shade along with complimentary colors to go along with them. There are 5 mattes and 7 shimmers. Of the 5 mattes, 3 of them are pressed pigments and aren’t intended to be used near the eyes. Those are the shades Paloma, Wisteria, and Metro. I have done several looks already and used those shades on my own eyes without any negative effects, not even staining. From the use I’ve gotten out of this palette so far, I am enjoying the quality of the shades. The mattes are generally highly pigmented and apply and blend smoothly. Liberty is the only one that requires a bit of extra love to get the smoothest application. The shimmers aren’t thin or dry and give off a good amount of shine with a little bit of fallout from some of them.

Wings

Wings is a pale golden green. There are no large chunky particles in this shimmer but they do vary in size so the reflect sparkles in the light and has a little bit of dimension. In the pan, next to the other shades, this looks more green than it does by itself. It can look more like a neutral if used alone or with other neutrals. If paired with some opposing colors, it will help to bring out the green a little more.

Isle

Isle has a very warm yellow gold sheen when swatched or placed on the eye. In the pan, this shade looks like it has a pinky coral base, but I don’t notice that at all once it’s on the skin. The shimmer consists of uniform size, fine particle and creates a tamped down metallic look.

Belle

Belle is a light bronze with a smooth, nearly metallic finish. Small particles, uniform in size.

Wisteria

Wisteria (pressed pigment) is a mostly matte warm lavender. It has the tiniest amount of shimmer in it but it mostly looks like a matte on the skin. This is probably one of the best, if not the best quality pastel lavender I have tried. Super smooth, highly pigmented, not dry looking on the skin.

Lili

Lili is one of those shades that you look at in the pan and go “what color is this?”. It has a warm pink shimmery base with larger specks of shimmer that reflect light blue, green, and purple. Of all the shimmers, this is the one with the largest particles. Still, they aren’t so big that I get tons of fallout or that they look like glitter.

Hope

Hope is an olive green shimmer. Like the shade Wings, the shimmer particles vary in size and create more of a sparkling shimmer finish.

Paloma

Paloma (pressed pigment) is a pale, pink-leaning nude with a nearly matte finish, similar to the finish of Wisteria. There is a little bit of super fine shimmer but it doesn’t show up much at all on the eye and ends up looking matte. This shade is highly pigmented so I reach for it a lot to give me some extra coverage on the inner corner where my concealer doesn’t fully cover the blue/green of my under eye circles. There is something a little bit chunky about this shade though. It’s not terrible but it’s noticeably different in texture from many of my other pale nude matte shades.

Fleur

Fleur is a matte light brownish pink. Good color payoff and blends out easily and smoothly. 

Liberty

Liberty is a greyish green with a matte finish. The color payoff is good but it doesn’t blend out as easily as the other matte shades. Needs a little bit of extra time blending and layering to get it to look smooth. When blended out, it stays mostly true to color only warming up a tiny bit as I sheer it out.

Peacock

Peacock has a warm reddish brown base with a subtle blue sheen. It has a sparkling shimmer finish like Wings and Hope with larger bits of sparkle that look reddish purple in the light. Based on the way this looked in the pan, I was expecting the blue sheen to be a little more obvious than it is on the eye.

Metro

Metro (pressed pigment) is a reddish orange. Good color payoff, blends easily and smoothly even without the help of a transition shade.

Muse

Muse is a deep brown with a satin finish. So far this is the shade that has the most fallout. Definitely need to be careful to tap excess off the brush and use plenty of powder under the eyes so it doesn’t stick.

Finally getting around to posting swatches of the Natasha Denona Pastel Palette. Out of the 15 shades, 8 of them are matte (with half being creams and the other half being powders) and 7 of them are shimmers. Some shimmers are nothing but fine particles and a some have larger sparkles mixed in. 

The creamy mattes are sheerer than the powder mattes and the shimmers have a somewhat thicker texture to them that requires some building up. 

I’ve had this for like (maybe?) a month or so and I’ve worn it about 10 times but I’m still unsure how I feel about the quality and shade selection. This has been a very distracting month and that has gotten in the way of putting the time and attention into this palette that I’ve wanted to.

Tulle (creamy powder) is a warm light pink with a finish that is lies somewhere between a matte and a satin. On the lid, it might as well be used as a matte but it has the slightest sheen to it. It is slightly warmer than Feather but the two aren’t all that different from each other. This one looks a bit dry on the lid. Seems a bit more pigmented than the other creamy powders.

Illusion has a clear base with a pinkish red sheen. The way it reflects light isn’t very shiny but more flat/deadened giving the feel of a warm misty glow. Similar to Red Giant from Terra Moons Cosmetics, which has a much stronger, warmer, and more obvious red tone and reflection to it. All small particles, feels pretty creamy and smooth to the touch. Picks up easily, no noticeable shimmer fallout.

Mint Frost is a light teal shimmer with lots of larger silver sparkles. Somewhat thicker creamy feel to it. Swatches with good color payoff but doesn’t pick up super heavily on a brush. Needs a few layers if using a brush to apply. Good amount of visible sparkle and shine on the lid and shows up well when used over or next to deeper shades. Not too much sparkle fallout for the type of shade that it is.

Bora (creamy powder) is a medium matte orchid. This looks way lighter and more pink on the skin than it does in the pan. Takes a while to apply because I have to build it up, going into the pan MANY times to pick up color. It looks nice once applied, sits nicely on the skin, blends out smoothly and you really don’t need a transition with it at all, but it does take longer to use these creamy shadows than it does with the regular powder formula.

Dainty has a pale, icy pink base with large gold sparkles. This looks darker in the pan than it does on the eye. Very similar in texture and feel to Mint Frost. Applied with a brush, I don’t get that much fallout but if I apply with my finger I get a LOT of sparkle fallout. Adheres easily both over the creamy powders and regular powder mattes.

Brisk (regular powder matte) is a pale mint green. It applies better and more evenly over a primer than over bare lids. I wore this prominently all over the lid one day but did not take photos. I remember it not adhering well to just my skin alone. Builds up well though.

Adriatic is similar to Mint Frost but has no larger sparkle in it. It has a little bit of a brighter green hue and a subtle golden sheen in some lighting conditions. Similar formula as Illusion. Good color payoff, applies and builds up easily with a brush.

Starlet has a bright coral base with lots of large gold sparkle. Sparkle fallout is a bit heavier with this shade than the other sparkly shimmers, especially if I use my finger to apply it. Using a brush, I get much less fallout.

Bellini (regular powder matte) is a very bright, bordering neon, peach. It applies the same way that the other powder mattes do, working better when applied over a primer. But it does have better color payoff than similar shades I’ve tried in other palettes.

Bubble (creamy powder) is one of the sheerest shades in the palette, requiring lots of building to get the same level of opacity as most of the other shades. It is similar to Airy but more purple toned and a different formula (that one is a powder matte). This one also sits nicely on the skin without looking dry or patchy. 

Limoncello is a pale yellow shimmer with larger blue sparkles. Applied by itself or over another light warm matte shade, it appears more yellow and the blue sparkles are less noticeable. If I apply this over one of the cooler toned shades (like Bubble or Airy) or over a deep shade from another palette, the blue sparkles stand out more. Fallout is reasonable.

Duet has a light pink base with a fairly strong blue sheen. It is sheer enough and light enough that I can use this as a brow bone highlight but it also works very well to top deeper shades on the center of the lid. All small particles, smooth finish.

Airy (regular powder matte) is slightly warmer than Bubble. The two probably didn’t need to both be in this palette but they are different enough depending on what you want to use them for.

Zest (creamy powder) is a very light greenish yellow. This is the driest looking on the skin of all the creamy powder shades and to me this looks much more yellow on the skin than it does in the pan.

Feather (regular powder matte) is a pale pinky purple. This looks more pink the pan. On the lid, it looks more purple and isn’t all that far off in depth from Bora if they are both used together.

It has been a while since I’ve purchased new lip products and I haven’t tried a whole lot from ColourPop in general. The ColourPop Glowing Lip range seemed like the kind of lip product I tend to go for though, being sheer and moisturizing. There are 8 shades (currently, at least) and I’ve swatched and demo’d all of them below. None of them have any kind of shimmer or sparkle, just a balmy tint of color. For the individual arm swatches, I swiped each shade a single time so you can see the general opacity and how evenly they apply. For the demo pics and group swatches, some shades have been built up a bit more.

I am able to build up the lighter shades without them looking uneven but I have to be careful with the deeper shades. For those, I used a brush to help get a more even application. So far I’ve worn a few of them over the course of a day. They feel comfortable, fairly thin, and not at all sticky. The moisture in these dries down after a couple of hours but most of the color is left behind. The ones I have worn have faded pretty evenly and weren’t staining, either on my lips or on my skin when swatching.

The scent reminds of Twizzlers candy and is noticeable as soon as I get the lipstick near my face. It is kind of strong but I don’t personally find it to be offensive or bothersome. The taste is barely there compared to the scent.

In case it isn’t obvious, these are slim lipsticks. The caps require some force to remove but they do stay on securely. I have noticed with a few of them, if I look very closely, the plastic lid is cracked just a bit where it snaps together onto the tube. Over time, and with repeated use, this might cause the caps to come off more easily. In one of the photos above, I fully extended one of the lipsticks to show how much product is inside. They twist up and down very smoothly.

On first impression, I’m not disappointed in this purchase. Most of my lip collection is getting quite old so these can take the place of some of the oldest ones that need to be decluttered.

Cockatoo

Cockatoo is a light pink. Looks like it might have some purple tones but it just looks mostly pink on me.

Indulge Me

Indulge Me is a light warm peach.

La Cienega

La Cienega is a light peachy pink. More pink than Indulge Me and lighter than Let’s Jet.

Let’s Jet

Let’s Jet is a light pinky coral.

Museum Date

Museum Date is a medium reddish brown.

Status

Status is a deeper reddish brown. It looks more red on my lips than it does in a swatch. This shade is the trickiest of them all to apply evenly to my lips. I feel like it’s a little easier to go very sheer with this shade. Building it up evenly is a little more difficult. I used a brush for the demo photo. Those with more pigmented lips may not have as much of an issue with it.

Girl, Please

Girl, Please is a medium berry. This shade is also trickier than the lighter ones to apply evenly but not as difficult as Status.

Get Right

Get Right is a pinky red. There isn’t too much pink in this but it is there. A teensy bit harder to apply evenly but not bad at all.

Here are swatches of the ColourPop Rock Candy Palette. I have only played with this a few times and am still getting to know all the shades. The shade descriptions include my initial thoughts on the ones I have tried so far.

This is one of their large 30 pan palettes and it seems to lie somewhere between the Bare Necessities Palette (warmer neutrals overall) and the Stone Cold Fox Palette (mainly cooler neutrals) and have a nice range of textures. I have Bare Necessities and have long been eyeing Stone Cold Fox but have held off because it seems to have too many similar shades in it (a pet peeve for me). This one as well has shades that are too similar but the range of textures and tones kind of makes up for it.

There are true mattes, mattes with sparkle, smoother shimmers (that have only small particles), sparkly shimmers (small + large particles), and pressed glitters. I like that the neutral shades are not just one note. It’s handy to have neutrals in a variety of different tones (browns, greys, oranges, purples) and depths to work with. The 3 pressed glitters are the only shades marked as not safe for the eye area.

Solid

Solid is a bright silver shimmer. It has a highly reflective finish that is just short of being metallic. All of the particles are small in size and it has a very smooth, almost creamy texture. Good color payoff with little effort.

Chemistry

Chemistry is a pale pink shimmer with larger light blue sparkles. The blue sparkles aren’t really all that noticeable unless I look super close up in direct light. Slightly less opaque than Solid but still has good color payoff. Not quite as smooth feeling, likely because of the larger sparkles.

True North

True North is a pale peach with more of a satiny shimmer finish and no large sparkles. It is sheerer than the other shimmers in the top row but does build up to medium opacity fairly easily. Smooth to the touch but drier and less creamy feeling than Solid.

Volcanic

Volcanic is a bright rose gold with a highly reflective, nearly metallic finish and some large silver sparkles. Smooth and creamy texture like Solid. One of the most opaque shades in the top row.

Quarry Queen

Quarry Queen is a neutral light bronze shimmer. All small particles. It is less reflective than Volcanic and Solid, and more opaque than True North. Smooth but not super creamy feeling.

Friction

Friction is a white golden shimmer with large sparkles. ColourPop used the word “pearl” to describe this shade and I think that sounds just right. Feels about the same as Quarry Queen and True North to the touch. Similar level of color payoff as Quarry Queen.

This Ore That

This Ore That is a pale matte grey with larger silver and blue/purple sparkles. The blue sparkles are really hard to notice even in person, much less capture on camera. Good color payoff (more than I was expecting) but lots of sparkle fallout.

Lava You

Lava You is a slightly muted pinkish purple. To me this is visibly purple next to the other rosier shades in the palette and on the eye but it also has quite a bit of pink in it. Good color payoff. Will need to try this again but this one seemed to react strangely to moisture on the lid, darkening in the line of my crease and in areas where it was thinner or blended out more. Heavily layering it made it appear lighter.

Sedimental

Sedimental is more of an orangey/peachy transition shade on me. I have tried this only lightly as a transition shade and found it easy to blend and get even color. Not sure yet how it works when applied more heavily on the lid.

Nugget

Nugget is a neutral pale beige. This is just barely dark enough to be a transition shade on me but I don’t have many shades that are just this depth so I’m glad they included it in here. Good color payoff, didn’t seem to have the same issues that Lava You did.

Crushed

Crushed is more of a yellow toned transition shade on me but have not tried this one a whole lot either.

I Dig You

I Dig You is somewhere between a grey and a taupe. A bit warm to be a true grey but not really warm enough that I want to call it a taupe. Have tried just once and seems to have pretty good color payoff and blends decently well. Will need to try a bit more. Don’t remember it having the same issue as Lava You.

Ring Of Fire

Ring Of Fire is a bright silver self adhering pressed glitter. Pretty small particle size. Fairly easy to control how much I pick up on a brush. I can still move it slightly after placing on the skin if I don’t place it just right but it does stick well by itself.

Magma

Magma has a matte dusty rose base with larger gold and blue/purple sparkles. The sparkles are more visible in the pan than they are on the eye. There is some sparkle fallout but not as much as I was expecting. The color of the sparkle doesn’t stand out a whole lot against the matte base color.

Erupt

Erupt is a light rosy brown. Have not tried this yet.

Very Gneiss

Very Gneiss a light yellow toned brown. Very similar to Crushed. This one may have the slightest hint more pink in it. But really, not much of a noticeable difference. Haven’t tried on the eye yet.

Set Shale

Set Shale is another pressed glitter. This one is a mixture of silver, gold, and copper sparkles. There is some variation in the size of the particles but they are all generally pretty small. Have not tried this one yet.

No Pressure

No Pressure is a warm pale taupe shimmer with larger sparkles. Haven’t tried this much yet.

2 Coal 4 U

2 Coal 4 U is a deep grey shimmer with larger silver sparkles. Haven’t tried yet.

Pep Talk

Pep Talk has a reddish purple base with a blueish sheen. It has a mix of particle sizes and quite a few different colors. Blue and purple sparkles are most noticeable but there are some gold ones in there as well. Have only tried this layered over a matte so far and it needed some help to adhere and build up used that way. A brush alone didn’t work well. Will need to try this a different way.

Oh My Geode

Oh My Geode is a reddish peach shimmer with some larger sparkles. Seems to have the same color/type of sparkles as Pep Talk but just far less of it. The reddish shimmer is by far the most noticeable thing about this. There are some pink/blue/gold sparkles but they are super subtle. Using a flat shader, this applies with pretty good color payoff and builds up easily. The sparkles show up better on the lid if I use more of a tacky primer underneath.

Metamorphic

Metamorphic is the last pressed glitter. It is a mixture of silver, gold, and pink glitter and they are all about the same size as far as I can tell. This worked about the same as nearly every ColourPop glitter I’ve tried. It was easy to control the amount I was picking up on the brush and I had a bit of time to move it around or remove some from areas where I didn’t intend to apply it. I had a tiny bit of fallout from this by the end of applying it but for the most part it stays where I put it.

Get The Schist

Get The Schist is a cooler toned medium bronze shimmer with some chunkier silver sparkles. This one had a lot of fallout both during application and during wear. Will need to try this one with a glitter primer. Pretty good color payoff but was helpful to build up with my finger.

So Tuff

So Tuff is a deep matte grey, almost looks a bit blue toned. Used this once applying it with a pencil brush to the crease area. It was pretty easy to work with. Good color payoff, buildable, blendable, didn’t notice any fallout from it.

Hot Spot

Hot Spot is a matte black. This has a different feel to the touch than the other mattes in the palette. I want to use the words “drier” and “rougher” but those are not quite right. It just drags more and doesn’t swatch with very much opacity. When swatched, it needs several layers to be built up, but does apply pretty evenly over the skin instead of sticking on the very first spot it touches. I have used this a couple times as eyeliner and it has plenty of color payoff, adheres easily, and hasn’t had any fallout used that way. Seems very similar if not identical to the matte black in the Bare Necessities palette.

Dynamic

Dynamic is a reddish deep brown. Have only tried this once on the lower lashline but so far seems to have good color payoff and blend decently well. Will need to try this more on the upper lid to get a better feel for how it blends.

Strictly Tectonic

Strictly Tectonic is an orangey deep brown. Have not tried yet.

In The Rough

In The Rough is a very slightly warm deep brown. Have not tried yet.

Concrete Plans

Concrete Plans is a cooler toned deep brown. Very similar to In The Rough. They look more different in these swatches than they do in person if I swatch them side by side. Have not tried on the eye yet.

Stone’s Throw

Stone’s Throw has a matte black base with lots of gold and blue sparkle. There is more sparkle in this than the other two matte/sparkle shades in the palette but once on the eye, it’s much less prominent. Black base color swatches a little more evenly and with more opacity than Hot Spot. I have tried this once on the eye using a flat shader to apply it carefully in tapping motions. I didn’t blend it but used another shade as a transition instead. Used this way I had very minimal sparkle fallout and a small amount of pigment fallout. The color applied evenly and was quick and easy to build up.

The Huda Beauty Rose Quartz Palette contains 18 shades and has a cooler-toned, rosy theme to it. It’s almost like a neutral palette with a little bit more to it. 8 of the shades are matte, 9 are shimmers and there is 1 gloss topper. Of the 9 shimmers, some of them are described as being creams on Sephora’s product page (screenshot below). The info on the Huda website is slightly different and the way they feel isn’t what I think of as true creams. They just don’t have that dry feel that you might expect.

All of the creams in this palette are more emollient than a regular powder shadow and they adhere easily to the skin but they still have shimmer/sparkle fallout like a drier formula would have (maybe just not quite as much). They are not “squishy”. There are also regular powder shimmers in here and between the two different types, there isn’t a whole lot of difference in the way they feel.

All the of mattes swatched easily with hardly any patchiness or streakiness. They had a smooth, fine texture and felt very consistent throughout the palette. 

Quartz is a marbled shade and is described as being a cream. When all the marbling is mixed, it is a light copper with smaller particles and is semi-sheer but can be built up to look more opaque.

Aura is a medium reddish brown with a matte finish.

Gratitude is rosy brown with a matte finish.

Cosmic Love is another marbled cream. It has a lot of large sparkles that have a subtle blue/pink/purple shift and a sheer warm brown base color. It has more sparkles than base color in it, so if I swatch it lightly, it looks mostly sheer with tons of iridescence. I can also build it up to look the way it does in the heavier swatch.

Empowered is a deep grey powder shimmer. This is one of the most pigmented shades in the palette. I got full color payoff in two swipes. It has a thicker, almost waxy-feeling texture to it, picks up easily and adheres quickly to the skin. It’s not super obvious in the swatch but this has some large silver sparkles in it. I thought they showed up more easily when I applied this to the eye.

Joy is a light pink powder shimmer. It has a mixture of small and medium-sized particles. In the swatch, this looks somewhat grey/lavender but in real life this has a warmer golden glow to it with larger purple pinpoints.

Precious is a medium purplish grey with a matte finish.

Energized is a metallic cream. It feels slightly creamier than some of the other “creams” in this palette and is the most metallic looking shade in the palette. It swatches with full opacity but goes on a little more sparkly/sheer with a brush.

Love Stone is a pearly gloss. It has “pebbles” of pigment deeper underneath the surface that took me several swatches and uses to finally get to. It feels like waxy lip balm and doesn’t have a super glossy finish to it.

Cherished is a pale matte pink with a decent amount of color payoff for this type of shade. 

Blissful is a cream. It has large light blue-green sparkles and a sheer warm brown base color. It reminds me a little of Devinah Messier but doesn’t have as strong of a shift.

Happiness is a medium bubble gum pink with a matte finish.

Mantra is a charcoal grey with a matte finish.

Serenity is a muted pinkish lavender with a matte finish.

Abundance has lots of small purplish silver shimmer particles with some larger specks of blue and pink sparkle that don’t show up all that easily. It is similar in texture and finish to Joy and Empowered. You can probably tell in the swatch above, it looks thick and it feels that way too. It is easy to pick up color and applies with plenty of payoff.

Moon Magic is a cream and a lot like Cosmic Love in that it is heavy on the large sparkles with a very sheer warm brown base color. The sparkles shift pink to blue. This one can be built up but its more sheer and I can see my skin or any other shade I put under it more easily than with the other shimmers.

Radiate is a matte dusty rose.

Self Love is a marbled cream with part of the color being more gold and the other being a light pink. The way I swatched this, I can see both colors in the swatch because I didn’t try to really swirl both shades together. I kind of like the ombre effect this shade gives.

I’ve been looking forward to using the ColourPop Uh Huh Honey Palette. I like and use yellow eyeshadow in combination with other colors but I haven’t done many all yellow looks in all the time I’ve been a makeup lover.

Stinger

Stinger is a light “creamy” yellow with a matte finish. It’s a little bit muted and reminds me of the color of butter.

Sunburst

Sunburst has a pale shimmery yellow base with larger light blue sparkles. It’s a unique shade and probably the one I’ve used the most in this palette. This is the shade I get the most fallout from.

Sweet Spot

Sweet Spot is a brighter more “pure” yellow with a matte finish. This one is harder to swatch than the other mattes and can look a bit patchy when I’m first applying it. If I build it up, I can get it to look evenly applied.

Dandy

Dandy is a bright yellow gold shimmer. It has a creamy and smooth texture with uniform-sized particles. Not much fallout from this shade.

Palooza

Palooza is a self-adhering pressed glitter. It will shift shades in the light depending on the angle of the light. I can see colors ranging from green to orange. In one of the looks I did, it even looked a bit pink.

Queen B

Queen B is a light yellow bronze with a sparkling metallic finish. The particles vary in size but none of them are large enough that I get significant fallout from this shade. It’s got a nice creamy texture that picks up easily on a brush.

Totally Buggin’

Totally Buggin’ is a light orange with a matte finish. It swatches more easily and quickly than the other mattes.

Oh Beehave

Oh Beehave a slightly deeper, more intense yellow with a a matte finish. This one swatches about as well as Totally Buggin’.

Buzz Kill

Buzz Kill… What is this shade? Taupe? Brown? Khaki? It’s an orangey medium brown but next to the other shades, it’s hard to immediately see where this falls on the spectrum.

I’ve been wanting to spend some more focused time using my monochromatic 9-pan palettes from ColourPop for a very long time. The Blue Moon palette is the one I used most recently so I figured I might as well keep using the same one for a bit. Below, I swatched all the shades both heavily with my finger and more lightly with a brush to make it easier to see what is in each of the shades. It can be hard to see the sizes of particles and undertones when a shade is only seen in a heavy swatch. I’d say I apply shades that heavily on my eyes only about half the time.

So far, I’ve only done 4 looks that incorporate this palette, so any thoughts I wrote about specific shades are based on that.

Lumi

Lumi has a nearly clear base with a mixture of ultra fine light blue shimmer and medium sized sparkles. In the heavier swatch, I can see the “clear” base in the shadow as a slightly darker and more yellow tone than the rest of my skin. I haven’t noticed this effect on the eye.

Da Ba Dee

Da Ba Dee is a matte periwinkle. It is noticeably more purple toned than the rest of the shades in the palette. I had some trouble getting this to adhere to my lid in one of my looks.

Moonlite

Moonlite is a matte sky blue with cooler undertones. It is similar to Starry Eyed but isn’t as “warm” and has less color payoff.

Starry Eyed

Starry Eyed is Moonlite’s more vibrant cousin. I haven’t decided yet, but I think both of these shades were probably not necessary in this palette.

Billie Jean

Billie Jean is a silvery light blue that reminds me of the color of denim. I’m sure the name of this shade influenced the association in my mind. It has both fine shimmer and medium sized sparkles but doesn’t have too much fallout during application. It’s kind of an interesting borderline shade that will look different depending on what other shades it is placed next to. It can range from looking like a true silver to more of a light blue.

Tide Pool

Tide Pool is a nearly metallic warm blue with uniform sized fine shimmer particles.

Mad About U

Mad About U is a satin finish deeper blue shimmer.

Fine China

I guess I would describe Fine China as a matte cobalt blue, maybe a bit lighter than that. It is the most intense shade in the palette and stands out against the two deeper shades in the bottom row when placed on the eye.

Clued In

Clued In is a matte deep blue that fades into a blue-green when sheered out along the edges. It’s very pigmented and works well as eyeliner.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission when you make purchases through them.

The ColourPop So Very Lovely Palette is the first new palette I have purchased since last year. Sometimes when looking at new releases, I’ll mentally go through what I already have and think of what I have that might be similar. What came to mind first was the original ABH Norvina Palette just because of that one pop of cool toned lavender. The shades in that palette are different but the concept is similar.

For a while I started to get annoyed with ColourPop because they would create palettes with redundant shades or textures I was not the biggest fan of (like mattes with sparkles). And while the quality on some of my older ColourPop palettes was always at least usable, I never knew what to expect from shade to shade. The last one I reviewed was the ColourPop So Jaded Palette, which generally had more consistency across the shades, and that is what I see in this palette. Some of the shades are a little more unique and some are fairly common and you probably already have something similar if you are an eyeshadow lover.

If this one caught your eye and you want to know if it’s a safe buy, yes, I think the quality is good.

Most of the shimmers in this palette have some larger sparkly flecks in them along with the finer shimmer particles. Those that don’t are Braided and Tea Time.

• Lace Up – Pale peachy pink shimmer with cool silver undertones and a few larger specks of white gold sparkle.
• Organza – Metallic icy mauve with silver sparkle. Feels creamier than the other shimmers in the palette.
• Craft Works – Matte light peach. This requires some building up to see against my skin tone but it is plenty pigmented.
• Fringed – Somewhere between a light gold and a true taupe. A shimmer with a good amount of shine and larger sparkles but not quite as metallic as Organza.
• Braided – Somewhat sheer yellow gold shimmer. The particles in this are more uniform than most of the other shimmers.
• Macaroon – Matte lavender. This is a bit sheerer than some of the other mattes in the palette but I still think it’s a good shadow when I consider it in comparison other pastel shades I have like this.
• Eyelet – Light coral with a matte finish.
• Rose Ave – Warm toned mauve with a matte finish.
• Dream Catcher – Reddish/orangey brown with a matte finish. Looks a little bit lighter on the eye than how it looks in the pan.
• Tea Time – Light bronze, *almost* leans pink. A good one for someone with cooler undertones that is intimidated by warm shades like this. The shimmer particles are mostly uniform and small like those in Braided but this has more color payoff than that shade.
• Collective – Orchid purple shimmer with larger golden sparkles. The gold is more noticeable if this shade is sheered out a bit. This is pretty unique for my collection.
• Topanga Blvd – A deep, somewhat warmer purple with subtle red undertones and a matte finish. This was more difficult to blend and apply than the other mattes but I still like it for not being patchy. If applied with patience, it can look smooth and well blended.

Dupes and Comparisons

I went through my collection and looked for shades I had that might be similar to what is in this palette. The first swatch in each photo below is from the ColourPop So Very Lovely Palette and the ones to the right of it are things I already had either in other palettes or as single shadows. I focused on looking for dupes within other ColourPop palettes but pulled in other brands to compare to as well.

• So Sirius (ColourPop She’s Got Solstice Palette)
• Ready or Yacht (ColourPop Baby Got Peach Palette)
• The Talk (ColourPop Bare Necessities Palette)
• Sunstone (ColourPop So Jaded Palette)
• Moonstone (ColourPop So Jaded Palette)
• Dazed (Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet Palette)
• Dazzling (Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette)
• Crave (Huda Beauty New Nude Palette)
• Angelic (Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette)

Lace Up is more unique than I thought it would be just by looking at it in the pan. Yes, it’s a light neutral beige-y kind of shade and almost every makeup lover has something like that. What I didn’t capture well here is the complexity of this shade. It has a silvery undertone that is more visible at different angles and a peach and gold shift.

• Mauve on Top (ColourPop Making Mauves Palette)
• Daydream (Huda Beauty New Nude Palette)
• V.R. (Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet Palette)
• Posh (ColourPop Fame Palette)
• Bloomer (ColourPop Super Shock Shadow)
• Third shade in the Elf Rose Water Bite Size Eyeshadow
• First shade, second row (Huda Beauty Purple Haze Palette)
• First shade, second row (Huda Beauty Nude Light Palette)

The closest dupe to Organza that I found on this day was in the Elf Rose Water Bite Size Eyeshadow. Both are very smooth but Organza is just slightly creamier feeling and a tiny bit brighter and shinier. I’d say if you have the Elf one, though, it’s so close I doubt you’d be able to notice the difference visually on the eye.

• Hustler (ColourPop Bare Necessities Palette)
• Darlin’ (ColourPop Baby Got Peach Palette)
• Peaches and Cream (Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes Palette)
• First shade, second row (Huda Beauty Sand Haze Palette)
• Mind Slip (Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet Palette)
• Play (Huda Beauty New Nude Palette)

Craft Works doesn’t seem terribly unique. Hustler from the Bare Necessities Palette looks and feels identical.

• Silk Teddy (ColourPop Bare Necessities Palette)
• Infinity (ColourPop All Things Equinox Palette)
• Bicoastal (ColourPop Making Mauves Palette)
• Second shade in the Elf Cream and Sugar Bite Size Eyeshadow
• Ironic (Essence Melted Chrome Single)

Fringed is a more common type of shade. I have shadows like this in my older Urban Decay and Lorac palettes and even things from the drugstore. The quality of this is very nice, though.

• Dandy (ColourPop Uh Huh Honey Palette)
• Queen B (ColourPop Uh Huh Honey Palette)
• Genie (ColourPop Bare Necessities Palette)
• Golden (Urban Decay naked Honey Palette)
• First shade in the Elf Hot Jalapeño Bite Size Eyeshadow

Out of all the shades in this palette this is probably my least favorite. It’s not bad, it’s just a little bit sheerer and drier than the rest of the shimmers. I use this in Look #1 below and the way it is applied there is a more accurate representation of how this looks than what you see swatched above. All of the shades I picked to compare this to are less dry. This shade almost seems more like a topper.

• Zoned Out (ColourPop Lilac You A Lot Palette)
• Kittenfish (ColourPop It’s My Pleasure Palette)
• Heiress (ColourPop Single Shadow)
• Howlin’ (ColourPop Single Shadow) ***This was soooo hard to swatch***
• Optimized (Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet Palette)
• Lace (Huda Beauty New Nude Palette)
• Soul (Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette)
• First shade in the Elf Acai You Bite Size Eyeshadow
• Jellyfish (Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Palette)
• Iron Grip (Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Palette)
• Belly Slide (Menagerie Cosmetics Pastel Pup Palette)
• Ice Cap (Menagerie Cosmetics Pastel Pup Palette)

I swatched out some shades that are clearly not that similar here because sometimes with these kinds of pastels, if you aren’t that familiar with them, you may not realize how similar or different they are just based on your imagination. Zoned out from the It’s My Pleasure Palette is the closest in terms of color but I think Macaroon has more color payoff. Optimized from the Urban Decay Naked Ultraviolet is another very close comparison both in color and how it feels and applies.

• Centerfold (ColourPop Baby Got Peach Palette, also a single)
• Perky (CP Baby Got Peach Palette)
• Eden (Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette)
• You’re A Gem (ColourPop So Jaded Palette)
• Peach Punch (Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes Palette)
• Peach For The Stars (Makeup Geek Single)

I thought for sure I’d have a dupe within one of my ColourPop palettes for this shade but it is slightly different. It’s brighter and less muted than the shades I swatched next to it. I want to use words like true, pure, and clean to describe this shade. It isn’t faded or made to be more brown/neutral like many of the comparisons I picked out.

• Solitaire (ColourPop Making Mauves Palette)
• All 4 U (ColourPop Bare Necessities Palette)
• Secret (Huda Beauty New Nude Palette)
• Stardom (ColourPop Fame Palette)
• First shade in the Elf Berry Bad Bite Size Eyeshadow

I’m happy this shade is in this palette because I think it complements the others nicely but I have several super similar shades already.

• Haute (ColourPop Bare Necessities Palette)
• Amber (Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette)
• Third shade in the Elf Carnival Candy Bite Size Eyeshadow
• Brick House (Makeup Geek Single)
• Magma (Natasha Denona Bronze Palette)

I found some close matches to Dream Catcher but most weren’t actually that easy to find. Haute from the Bare Necessities palette has some tiny sparkles in it that aren’t visible here whereas Dream Catcher is a true matte. The shade from the Elf Carnival Candy quad looks closer in real life than it does in this photo. Brick House from Makeup Geek is more red and has a drier, flat matte finish.

• Fuzzy (ColourPop Bare Necessities Palette)
• Second shade in the Elf Pumpkin Pie Bite Size Eyeshadow
• Blood Moon (Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette)
• Flame Thrower (Makeup Geek Single)
• High Degree (Natasha Denona Bronze Palette)

I didn’t swatch that many comparisons but I don’t think it is hard to find shades like this. The one in the Elf Pumpkin Pie Bite Size Eyeshadow is a lot like Tea Time.

• Bare Minimum (ColourPop It’s My Pleasure Palette)
• Mystical (Makeup Geek Single)
• Third shade, second row (Huda Beauty Purple Haze Palette)
• Second shade, first row (Huda Beauty Nude Light Palette)
• Cyber Punk (Urban Decay naked Ultraviolet Palette)
• A La Mode (ColourPop Making Mauves Palette) *** This shade has a thicker/waxier texture than your typical powder shadow ***

Collective is probably the most unique shade in this palette. Nothing I picked out is something I would swap out for it. The purple in this is brighter with more pink tones and the gold sheen is strong and noticeable without washing out the purple underneath in direct light.

• Marquee (ColourPop Making Mauves Palette)
• Love Bite (Huda Beauty New Nude Palette)
• Last shade in the Elf Berry Bad Bite Size Eyeshadow
• Sleeper (ColourPop It’s My Pleasure Palette)
• Wine & Dine (Makeup Geek Single)

Sleeper from ColourPop is the closest thing I found to this shade but Topanga Blvd has a smoother texture and is slightly more muted and red toned.

I bought these some time last spring out of curiosity to try a new brand and because each palette had a couple of shades that seemed like things I didn’t already have. Specifically, Venom, Alchemy 2.0, and Bucolic Baby were the shades that caught my eye from Wild Berry. Metropolitan didn’t call to me as much but in that one, Nothing Personal, and Alaska were the shades I thought would be unique to my collection. In this post I included comparison swatches for those shades in an effort to see if they were actually things I didn’t already have.

• Incense – Nabla calls this formula “latex matte”. It is almost like a cream but not quite. When I swatch this, it has a chunky texture that I’m guessing is partly because of the sparkles and the emollients in it. The ingredients for this shade lists glass beads… maybe that is what the sparkles are in this. They aren’t as reflective/metallic as what you find in your usual shimmery shadows and any fallout I get is less noticeable. If I apply this over an eye primer that has more of a dry finish to it, the shadow doesn’t adhere as well, and chunks of it will fall into my lashes. It’s not really a big deal because it doesn’t stick to my skin much and brushes away very easily. Used by itself, it does have a somewhat unique texture/look to it. It is similar to a satin finish except what I get is a mostly matte base with what looks like frost. I guess it’s something like what ColourPop tries to achieve with their matte shades that have micro glitter in them but with a different type of texture and less fallout. Adheres best to bare eyelids.
• Venom – VERY easy to blend and blends evenly and smoothly. I can apply this and sheer it out as much as I want without it looking patchy or build it up to the same level of intensity you see in the pan. Works well with all types of brushes. No fallout.
• Bucolic Baby – There is something about this shade that just doesn’t quite do what I was hoping. It’s sheerer than I expected. The effect this has swatched vs on the eye is different. Swatched, it almost looks metallic but on the eye this is more subtle. Whatever you put this on top of will show through. Has an average amount of fallout for a shimmery shade, mostly the larger particles.
• Blackberry – looks much more like a deep brown in the pan but on the eye it is a muted deep purple. Almost like a bruise-y kind of purple. Applies a lot like Venom but, on my skin tone, could benefit from a transition shade. It blends out smoothly, it’s just incredibly dark on me. Almost no fallout.
• Alchemy 2.0 – Very little base color. Mostly blue shimmer. Less fallout than Bucolic Baby.
• Botanic Juice – Applies and blends about the same as the other two mattes. Could benefit from a transition. It is easy to over blend this where you lose whatever shape you’ve tried to create with it and muddy up the the areas where you maybe didn’t intend to apply the color. Looks a tiny bit brighter on the eye than it does in the pan.

• C1 from ABH Norvina Mini Pro Pigment Palette Vol. 2
• Jilted from UD Electric Palette
• Filtered from ColourPop Lilac You A Lot Palette
• Aubergine from Ace Beaute Flair Palette
• Amethyst from Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette
• Poet from Tati Beauty Palette

• A La Mode from ColourPop Making Mauves Palette
• Middle row / left shade Huda Beauty Nude Light Palette
• Bottom row / center shade Huda Beauty Neon Green Palette
• Center shade ABH Norvina Mini Pro Pigment Vol 1 Palette
• Giving from Natasha Denona Love Palette
• A5 from ABH Norvina Pro Pigment Vol. 4 Palette
• B4 from ABH Norvina Pro Pigment Vol. 4 Palette

• Daytrippin’ from ColourPop
• Earthshine from ColourPop
• A2 from ABH Norvina Pro Pigment Palette Vol. 4
• Top row / center shade from Huda Beauty Neon Pink Palette
• Bottom row / center shade from Huda Beauty Neon Pink Palette
• Top row / center shade from Huda Beauty Nude Light Palette
• Wavelength from Terra Moons Cosmetics
• Runts from Devinah Cosmetics
• Kazookles from Devinah Cosmetics
• Marshmallow Pillows from Devinah Cosmetics

• Lord – Performs like the other mattes. Cooler toned brown
• Alaska – Sheerer than expected but very sparkly/glittery. I was expecting maybe a bit more color out of this. It’s supposed to have lilac/pink/aqua in it. I see the pink and what to me looks like blue. I do not see aqua. If it’s there it is very pale, nearly white. Reasonable amount of fallout, not too bad.
• Nothing Personal – Blends about as easily and smoothly as the rest of the mattes but doesn’t have the same problem of being TOO easy to blend. Stays mostly where I want it to. The only shade from both palettes that stains the skin. The stain it leaves behind is very faint though.
• Dissolution – Metallic bronze base with lots of noticeable silver sparkle. More metallic and smoother than most of the other shimmers. Less fallout.  Anomalia is the only other shade that has a similar level of shine and fallout.
• Anomalia – Most metallic shade of all in both palettes. Larger particles than what you usually see in metallic shades but still has nearly full opacity.

• Pearlised from Revolution Pro Night and Day Palette
• Sterling from Kat Von D Shade + Light Glimmer Eye Contour Palette
• Glacier from Kat Von D Shade + Light Glimmer Eye Contour Palette
• Diamond from ColourPop So Jaded Palette
• Daytrippin’ from ColourPop

• Slowburn from UD Electric Palette
• A1 from ABH Norvina Mini Pro Pigment Palette Vol. 1
• Top right shade from Huda Beauty Neon Orange Palette
• Peach Punch from Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes Palette
• Staycation from Makeup Geek

Wild Berry Look:

• Incense – Inner lid, crease
• Botanic Juice – Outer crease
• Blackberry – Outer lid, outer lower lashline
• Venom – Center of lower lashline
• Alchemy 2.0 – Center of lid

Metropolitan Look:

I used two shades from the ColourPop So Jaded Palette (CPSJ) just to start off with some sort of base. I like how light/sheer shimmery shades like Alaska look on the inner corner when applied over a matte skin-tone shade. These kinds of shimmery shades can exaggerate discoloration and dark circles without this step. Everything else is from the Nabla Metropolitan Cutie Palette.

• CPSJ My Precious – Inner corner, brow bone
• CPSJ Rose Quartz – Broadly in the crease
• Nothing Personal – Center of upper lid and lower lashline
• Love Resin – Inner crease
• Lord – Outer lid, outer crease, inner/outer lower lashline
• Anomalia – Center of lid
• Alaska – Center of lid

Wild Berry, Metropolitan + Sigma Bare Palette Look:

The purpose of this look was to use the rest of the shades I hadn’t used in a look from these palettes and also to give my Sigma palette another go before deciding whether to declutter it.

Wild Berry Palette:

• Botanic Juice – Inner lid/crease, outer corner
• Bucolic Baby – Center of lid, layered over black

Metropolitan Palette:

• Dissolution – Inner corner
• Nothing Personal – Used as eyeliner

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The Menagerie Cosmetics Pastel Pup Palette contains 12 shades of eyeshadows and pressed pigments. There is a total of 24 grams of product and it retails for $36.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission when you make purchases through them.

Fenty Beauty Slip Shine Sheer Shiny Lipsticks come in 10 shades, contain 2.8 g / .098 oz, and retail for $22 each. From swatching, these are definitely sheer and feel smooth and not sticky on the lips. They are a little thicker in texture than I imagined they would be but not enough to be uncomfortable. Some shades have larger sparkle/glitter that you can feel on the lips. I will note which ones those are below.

For the lip swatches below, I applied one thin layer only and avoided building up the color as much as possible. This helps to get a more even application with this formula. This isn’t one I would attempt to layer to get more color payoff because for some shade this results in bunching and patchiness.

Quartz Candy

Quartz Candy has a clear base with pink and gold sparkle. The sparkles are pretty small and I don’t feel them very much unless I’m pressing my lips together and really paying attention. They are somewhat noticeable at a normal viewing distance but not as much as I thought they would be considering how noticeable they are when you look directly at the bullet.

$uga Kiss

$uga Kiss is a sheer, pale pink with very subtle satin shimmer. The shimmer is not noticeable on the lips. This shade does settle a bit into my lip lines and can bunch up if applied too heavily.

Tang Thang

Tang Thang is a sheer but bright orangey red with very fine golden shimmer. The shimmer is barely noticeable at all on the lips. I have to be careful to only apply a thin layer of this and not build it up too much or else it can easily bunch up and look uneven.

Makeout Break

Makeout Break is a sheer, pale peach with golden shimmer. I can barely feel the shimmer at all on the lips. The color is very light and clashes a bit with my natural lip color. It isn’t pigmented enough to really keep the natural color of my lips from showing through. As a result, it can look a little bit streaky or patchy on me.

Glazed

Glazed is a sheer peachy beige with golden sparkles. I can feel the sparkles only the slightest bit if I press my lips together but I don’t find it bothersome. They are somewhat noticeable on the lips form a normal viewing distance. The color went on evenly.

Retro Rose

Retro Rose is warm rosy pink with with fine silver micro sparkles. I don’t feel the sparkles and can barely even see them on the lips unless I’m really looking for them. The color applied smoothly and evenly to the lips.

Goji Gang

Goji Gang is a sheer mauve with an ultra subtle satin shimmer. This applied evenly to the lips.

Cookies & Cocoa

Cookies & Cocoa is a sheer rosy brown with fine golden shimmer. This applied smoothly and evenly across the lips.

Bubble Rum

Bubble Rum is a sheer, medium chocolate brown with very fine golden sparkles. I don’t feel the sparkles on my lips. They are not super noticeable against the base color unless you are really looking up close. This shade was not as even on me as I would have liked. I recommend wearing a thin layer for those with fairer skin tones. I think on a deeper skin tone, this would look more even.

Vamps Who Brunch

Vamps Who Brunch is a sheer deep violet with larger blue sparkles. The blue sparkles are very noticeable on the lips, even from a normal viewing distance. I would say they are even more noticeable in person than they are in these photos. I can feel the sparkles in this enough that I’d warn anyone who hates the feeling of glitter in their lip products. This shade could very quickly look bunched up or streaky if I applied too much. Definitely recommend one thin layer and no more for those of you with fairer skin tones. For those with deeper skin tones, I imagine this shade would look more even.

These six shades are Makeup Geek’s most recent addition to their eyeshadow line. They are calling them their “Soft Focus” shades. I thought they would be more pastel when I first saw them online but they are a bit on the brighter side. I’m not mad about it. Looking forward to playing with these.

I threw in a photo comparing Bellini with Peach Smoothie at the bottom of the post in case anyone was wondering how similar they are. They are pretty close but Peach Smoothie is a bit more on the yellow side than Bellini.

• Mint To Be – Light green with yellow undertones and a matte finish.
• Lavender Dreams – Light pinkish purple with a matte finish.
• Code Blue – Bright sky blue with a matte finish. A “warmer” blue.

• Cotton Candy – Light peachy coral with a matte finish.
• Bellini – Light peach with a matte finish.
• Pretty In Pink – Bubble gum pink with a matte finish.

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The ColourPop All Things Equinox Palette is a relatively cool-toned palette featuring some lilac and mauve shades along with a couple of subtle duo-chromes. This is currently exclusive to Ulta, retails for $14 and contains a total of 9 grams / 0.3 oz of product. I didn’t see any eye safety warnings for any of these shades on the packaging.

• Kindred – Pale pinky beige with a standard shimmer finish. No chunky sparkles.
• Infinity – Light bronzey beige with a standard shimmer finish. No large sparkles.
• Sky High – Light greyish taupe with a matte finish.

• Stellar – Matte lilac base with tiny pink sparkles.
• Moonrise – Duochrome purple with a golden sheen. No large sparkles.
• Lil Dipper – Red toned light brown with a matte finish.

• Nebula – Medium reddish mauve with a matte finish.
• Intergalactic – Duochrome reddish brown with a light greenish sheen and some larger golden sparkles.
• Alter Ego – Matte purplish mauve with larger, irregularly sized sparkles.

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The ColourPop She’s Got Solstice Palette is a very warm toned palette containing quite a few peachy coral shades, a pale greenish-gold, two duochromes and a sparkly topper shade. It is exclusive to Ulta, retails for $14, and contains a total 9 grams / 0.3 oz of product. I didn’t see any eye safety warnings on the packaging for this palette.

• So Sirius – Very subtle duochrome. Light peachy gold shimmer with a hint of pink undertone when seen at an angle. No larger sparkles.
• Big Bang – Pale pink with a matte finish.
• Quasar – Coral-orange with a matte finish.

• Nova – Pinky brown with a matte finish.
• Estrella – Rosy pink base color with a golden sheen. Some larger sparkles in this.
• Super Stardust – Mixture of large gold and silver sparkles. Very chunky, flakey texture. This has some emolience/waxiness to it. Applied lightly, this creates a diffused sparkly look but can be built up to be metallic and nearly opaque if applied heavily and buffed over.

• Marz – Light gold with green undertones and standard shimmer finish. No larger sparkles.
• Earth Angel – Bright coral with a matte finish.
• Chromosphere – Rich reddish brown with a matte finish.

Maybelline Lifter Glosses are supposed to hydrate lips with hyaluronic acid and make them look fuller. They come in 10 shades, contain 5.4 ml / 0.18 fl oz of product and retail for around $6.99 each.

Pearl

Pearl is clear with different sizes of silver sparkle. Similar to Fenty Diamond Milk.

Ice

Ice is an ultra sheer light pink with incredibly subtle sparkle particles. Once on the lips this reads as a clear gloss with no sparkles.

Moon

Moon is a light pink shimmer with some larger sparkles mixed in. Similar to Fenty Fussy.

Silk

Silk is a mauve with very tiny pink and gold sparkles.

Petal

Petal is a medium pink with larger golden sparkles.

Amber

Amber is a light peach. No sparkles.

Stone

Stone is a light pinky brown. No sparkles.

Crystal

Crystal looks very gold in the container but on the lips this is a clear gloss with lots of large golden sparkles.

The Ofra Sweet Dreams Signature Palette contains 5 shades inspired by their Pillow Talk Highlighter. There is a total of 10 grams / 0.35 oz of product and it retails for $32.

• Dreamcatcher is a light apricot with a matte finish.
• Snooze is a pinky peach with subtle satin finish.
• Pillow Talk is a pale pink with a shimmer finish.
• Crush has a deepened peach base with a golden shimmery finish.
• Trance is a matte burgundy.

The Ofra Galaxy Signature Palette contains 5 shades that were inspired by Ofra’s Neptune Highlighter. There is a total of 10 grams / 0.35 oz of product and it retails for $32.

• Milky Way has a pale whitish pink base with a muted pink-lavender sheen in direct light.
• Stellar is a bright, almost neon lilac with a matte finish.
• Neptune is a muted, pale lavender with a shimmer finish.
• Eclipse is an intense violet with a matte finish.
• Orion is a sheer indigo with a satin finish.