Price: $10 * Buy At: Walmart * Size: 0.69 oz / 19.5 g The Hard Candy Look Pro Matte Eyeshadow Pro Palette is a 15 pan palette of matte shadows in a variety of shades. The Look Pro Matte Eyeshadow Palette has a clear lid with a little studded portion on the bottom. The palette comes with two dual ended brushes, that actually don’t seem like crappy throw-aways. I’m not saying they are amazing, but they are soft and silky and they are brushes that you would actually use in a daily eye look. The size and shape of the pans reminded me of the super pricy Viseart palettes, as well as the fact that the shades are all matte. Hard Candy is super underrated, so I had high hopes for this guy. The palette is mostly neutral, but it has the pops of muted color like the red, purple and dusty blue. All the shadows have a smooth, soft texture but they aren’t buttery. This helps avoid any fallout from application. Swatching the shadows don’t quite do this palette justice. They don’t swatch super intense, but they all are very even to apply. Since I have fair skin, it can be difficult at times to work with intensely opaque matte shadows, so a palette like this is great for daily use. I think pretty much any skintone would benefit from the wide selection of tones in this palette. I would definitely suggest this palette to beginners or people that just struggle with blending out super pigmented shadows. The shadows blend out easily and are still easy to build up. With the three browns in the center of the palette, I often use a fluffy brush to apply them as a transition shade and follow up with a more dense brush to build up the color directly into the crease. XOX ♥
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Price: $36 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 3 x 0.07 oz & 6 x 0.03 oz The Too Faced Peanut Butter and Honey Palette is a nine pan shadow palette following their popular Peanut Butter and Jelly Palette which I reviewed HERE. I bought this palette on the exclusive day for Ulta Platinum members, but it will be on Ulta's website March 1st and in-store March 19th. The Too Faced Peanut Butter and Honey Palette is in the same format and packaging as Too Faced's other tin 9-pan palettes. Like the PB&J Palette, I think that the PB & Honey Palette is kind of gimmicky. I think it's targeted towards makeup collectors and people (like me) that love the idea of the palette. I love peanut butter a ton, so naturally this palette would interest me. I'm not saying it's gimmicky because of the shadow quality, but because of the color selection. I just don't see it as being a palette that someone would use everyday, or a palette to be used alone. Any way you use this palette, you're going to get a warm, orangey eye, so there's just not a ton of variety. Going Nuts is the darkest shade, but it's not the easiest to blend, so it's not a shade that I would use to add definition to the eyes. All three of the light shades (Creamed Honey, Bee Sweet & Queen Bee) are a bit chalky and not super pigmented, but they may show up better on someone with darker skin. Negatives aside, Feelin' Nutty and Peanut Butter are gorgeous warm crease shades, which I know are a favorite to a lot of people. Honey Brittle and Bee's Knees also look nice in the crease. Bee's Knees has some glitter, which is super noticeable int he pan, but it blends out on the eyes. Honey Buns is the most unique shade, and it is also one of the best formulated shadows in the palette, as you can see the color payoff in the swatches. If you are a fan of these warm browns (which a lot of people are) then you may want to look into this palette. But, if you are looking for a compact palette to use everyday, this may not be the best option. XOX ♥
Price: $30 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 6 g / 0.21 oz x2 The Tarte Don't Be Afraid to Dazzle Highlight & Contour Palette is a contour and highlight powder duo. The duo isn’t too large, but it does have a decent sized mirror, so it makes for a pretty good travel companion. The packaging is pretty simple, it's just gold with a rather boring purple title on the lid. What drew me in to the duo was the contour shade--it’s not warm toned at all and it is a good color for my fair skintone. It is sort of interesting, however, because the highlight is a bit dark in comparison...so while the contour shade is perfect for my light skin, the highlight doesn’t show up as much as I would like. So in all honestly, while the contour is great for my skintone, I'd say the overall duo is designed for a medium skintone. One of my favorite highlights is in Tarte's Showstopper Palette (which is super underrated and I use it all the time), so if the highlight in this duo was the same as the one in that palette, this duo would be the best thing for me. Don't get me wrong, I do still like this duo. The contour shade is pigmented, but easy to blend out and the highlight also has a soft texture and applies evenly. Yes the contour and highlight shade are both full sized, but at $30 for two shades, it is honestly not the best deal. If you don't have a ton of contour or highlight shades, I would recommend putting in an extra $10 or so to just get a larger contour/highlight palette over this duo. XOX ♥
Price: $38 * Buy At: Sephora * Size: 8 x 0.06 oz The Kat Von D Pastel Goth Eyeshadow Palette is an eight-pan palette with a rainbow of matte, pastel shades. As always, Kat Von D has created gorgeous packaging for her Pastel Goth palette. This palette is pretty small and compact compared to her other palettes. Kat Von D tends to have large pan sizes, and the Pastel Goth palette is no exception. Normal full sized shadows (in singles and in palettes) are 0.05 oz, whereas the shadows in this palette are each 0.06 oz. Kat Von D is definitely one of my favorite brands; I have yet to try anything from her that I don’t love. I’ve seen that this palette has gotten some mixed reviews, but I really can’t see why! The shadows are soft and smooth, and they apply so effortlessly with full color payoff. I only used one swipe to get the pigmentation in the photos, which can’t always be said for matte, colorful shadows. So keep in mind that this palette is limited edition, so if you love pastel shades, or if you just love Kat Von D like I do, then don't hesitate to snatch this palette up before it's gone. XOX ♥
Price: $3.49 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 4 mL The Essence I ♥ Stage Eyeshadow Base is a liquid eyeshadow primer with a peachy tint. The I ♥ Stage Eyeshadow Base has a sponge applicator, which I much prefer over eye primers that come in a squeeze tube. For a shadow primer, it has very full coverage. I usually use a concealer to cover the veins and discoloration on my lids, but this product is killing two birds with one stone. I don’t typically have a problem with my eyeshadow creasing, but it does fade throughout the day. So while I mainly love this shadow primer for creating an even base on my lids, I also appreciate the difference it makes in a makeup look’s wear time. The consistency of the primer is great; it is not thin or runny, but it isn't thick either. It is super easy to blend out on the eyes, using a brush or just your finger. I have been using this a ton since I got it and don't feel the need to use any of my other lid primers and bases any longer! XOX ♥
Price: $7.49 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 0.13 fl oz The Nyx Electromagnetic Cosmic Metals Lip Cream is a shimmery, metallic teal. See my review and swatches of the Cosmic Metals in Extraterrestrial, Dark Nebula and Galactic HERE. The Cosmic Metals come in the same packaging as Nyx’s Liquid Suede Lip Creams: a clear tube with a black, faceted lid and a long, flat applicator. Just like the three shades I originally purchased, Electromagnetic has great color payoff. The more product you apply, the less chrome it looks and the more shimmery it appears. The product is not uncomfortable on the lips, but tends to be a bit sticky, definitely more so than a typical liquid lipstick. The wear becomes more comfortable after a little while, and it does not leave behind any gritty pieces of glitter, which is a good thing. The Cosmic Metals are not the easiest to remove, they tend to leave behind a slight tint and some shimmer. I recommend using an oil (I like coconut oil) to remove the lip color, to avoid any unnecessary scrubbing. I love unique, bold lip colors, and I have been getting behind the metallic lip trend. Electromagnetic is definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea or their go-to lip color on a daily basis, but I think it's a gorgeous shade. It also matches my eyes pretty well so I think that looks cool as an added bonus. XOX ♥
Price: $4.99 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 0.33 oz The Essence All About Nudes Eyeshadow Palette is neutral toned 8-shadow palette. The All About Nudes Palette has a clear lid to easily see the colors inside. The palette is quite small, despite each shadow containing about 0.04 oz of product (0.05 is standard). Only one of the shades I would consider to be completely matte: the ivory on the top left. The rest of the top row has a bit of a satin finish, although blended in the crease they look pretty matte. The bottom row has a little bit more shimmer than the top row, but I'd still consider them satin. The only shade that is truly shimmery is the brown in the bottom right corner. The shadows are all smooth and soft; they have a bit of powder kickup because of the softness, but it has no effect on the pigmentation or application. These little Essence palettes are great for travel since they are so small and compact, but still contain plenty of product. This palette could easily provide the highlight, transition and crease shades for an everyday look in combination with other shadows, or on its own for a simple look. XOX ♥
Price: $4.99 * Buy At: Walgreens * Size: 0.23 oz / 6.5 g The Jordana Sculpt N' Go Creamy Contour Stick in Light is a light taupe shade. Many affordable cream contours have a balmy texture, but this one does not! The product still applies smoothly and evenly, but it is not too thin or dewy. The Sculpt N' Go Contour Stick has a natural matte finish, making it easy to achieve a natural contour. Another thing about this formula that makes a natural looking contour easy, is that it is super easy to blend! It's actually pretty foolproof, maybe even more so than a contour powder. In addition to its pigmentation and ease of blending, the contour stick is very buildable. When I use this product, I like to apply it under my cheekbones, blend it out, and then apply a bit more for some extra definition. It goes without saying that I really am a fan of this product! It is foolproof and super affordable, so I would recommend it to anyone! XOX ♥
Price: $4.50 * Buy At: Ulta * Size: 5 mL The Nyx Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Gold is a semi-metallic yellow gold liner. The Studio Liquid Liners come in a small, clear package so that you can see the color inside. It has a long, thin brush applicator that can easy create a thin, subtle line. Despite Extreme Gold being a gold, it is not glittery or really metallic in its finish. I consider the finish to be semi-metallic, or just reflective. The product applies smoothly onto the lids, but is not completely opaque in one pass, as you can see in my swatches. However, since the liner dries quickly, building it up a bit is not a big deal. Nyx is my go to brand for colored liners, as they have a large color selection and they are super affordable. So no, Extreme Gold is not the most crazy pigmented liner you'll come across, but I still find myself using it all of the time. XOX ♥
Price: $42 * Buy At: Kohls * Size: 9 x 0.084 oz The Balm Meet Matt(e) Trimony is a nine shadow palette of mattes. It's the sequel of the infamous Meet Matt(e) Nude, and its a play on the word matrimony. Although the shadows appear to be the same size as the original Meet Matt(e) palette, they are 0.016 oz smaller. They are still bigger than an average full sized eyeshadow of 0.05 oz. There are two shadows in Meet Matt(e) Trimony that are a bit dry, Matt Kumar and Matt Moskowitz, this is typical of red-based shadows, but it is still a bit of a let down. The palette has two shades that are good for transitioning in the crease and four darker shades that work well to darken up the crease. The black is great for adding more dimension or for use as a liner, and the two pale shades work nicely for a highlight. The Meet Matt(e) Trimony and Meet Matt(e) Nude palettes are very different, and do not have any similar shades, so I would not recommend one over the other. The Balm is on sale frequently on their website and on Hautelook, so I personally would not have purchased this palette at the full price. XOX ♥
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