Colorful shimmer shades for mermaids

My birthday was recently, and I received a lovely present from my best friend Whitney. She sent me a lot of cute make up things, including the Wild & Alluring baked eyeshadow and highlighter palette by BH Cosmetics. Since I just received it, I haven't had a chance to properly get acquainted with it yet. I've been playing around with the shadows, though, and wanted to share my first impressions.

The Wild & Alluring palette comes with nine shimmery marbled eyeshadows, a pink blush and a bronze highlighter. I absolutely love the bright color selection! All the shades are very pigmented and glide on smoothly. They're not overpoweringly glittery, but they do have fine shimmer in them. I've noticed a little bit of fall out with some shades (like the teal in the second row), but not more than I would generally expect. Because it's all shimmers, I'd probably need to reach for another palette to create actual looks.

I've included some finger and brush swatches below. My apartment's pretty cold at the moment, so I apologize for my goosebumps. 😅

I applied the shadows on bare skin. For the brush swatches I used a flat synthetic eyeshadow brush. The pink shade looks a bit patchy in this picture, because it blends into my skin tone, but in person it seems to be as pigmented as the rest of the bunch. I really like the purple in the middle. 

The peachy shade in the very center of the palette might just be my favorite! 

Because the shadows are marbled, they have a bit of interesting dimension to them. 

I'm pretty fair, so the highlighter comes off more like a light bronzer on me. I think the color itself is gorgeous, though.

I probably wouldn't have thought to pick this palette up for myself, but I think it's completely delightful! If you are on the market for some pretty shimmery and colorful eyeshadows, I recommend checking this guy out. 

Glowing up with Zoeva

Summer weather has been pretty underwhelming where I live. There's been some rain and lot's of cloudy days. I haven't had many chances to wear my summer clothes! In fact, my most worn article of clothing in June was a long sleeved knit sweater. I've been trying to compensate the lack of sun with my makeup: a touch of bronzer, a pop of bright color on the lip, glowy cheeks and cupid's bow. I've been using Zoeva's Spring Strobe Spectrum palette for highlighting recently. I purchased it at the beginning of last month and I've been very into it so far! I'm in the process of replacing my old face brushes, so I also got their 105 Luxe Highlight brush too.

The palette comes with four highlighters with a kind of a metallic/pearlescent finish in pastel green, violet, pink and yellow. They are definitely the kind of mermaid or unicorn colors that have been trending recently. Not going to lie, I think the powders look pretty odd in the pan: they seem kind of chalky and washed out in pictures. When applied, however, they are absolutely lovely! The formula has a velvety texture and it feels pretty buildable. The highlighters are a bit powdery and kick up a little when I pick them up with a brush, but they apply and blend out well. I'm not sure if you can achieve a blinding tin man -level highlight with these, but you can definitely create a beautiful glow-from-within look.

From left: SP010, SP020, SP030, SP040. Finger swatches on bare skin.

SP010 is my very favorite of the four. It's a duochrome green with a slightly teal-ish shift. It kind of reminds me of shiny insects. SP020 is an interesting blue-violet shift. It almost has a blacklight-effect kind of a look to it, it's pretty fluorescent. SP030 is a light pastel pink. I don't think it works the best as a highlight on my skin tone, but I like to wear it over my blusher for some extra glow. SP040 is a very wearable light yellow with a golden reflect, and my second favorite of the bunch.

If I have one complaint about the palette, it's the packaging. The design itself nice enough. I like the holographic detail and metallic lettering against the dark background. The (very satisfying) magnetic closure feels pretty secure too. But the surface of the cardboard palette has some sort of a waxy treatment that sucks up all and any oil that touches it, so it gets easily covered in fingerprints. It starts to look really messy really fast. I had to wipe the cover of my palette down with a damp microfiber cloth several times before it looked presentable.

As for the brush, it's a very soft blend of natural and synthetic hair. I haven't had problems with picking up powder or blending with it. I really like the size and tapered shape. The very tip of the brush is great for highlighting my cupid's bow and the bridge of my nose and the sides are a nice fit for the tops of my cheeks. I haven't noticed it disturbing the makeup underneath when I use it, but it does gradually build up on foundation/blusher. It might just be the nature of the beast, or maybe I need to use a lighter hand when I'm blending. In any case, it's definitely a step up from the old EcoTools eyeshadow brush I was using to apply highlighter before, haha.

What's your favorite highlighter?

Duochromes from Looxi

I'm staying at my parents' for a couple of weeks, so no empties post for this month. I think I'll combine them with next month's batch. Instead, I have a short review for two duochrome eyeshadow pans from Looxi Beauty!

Looxi Beauty is an independent brand founded by Jessica D., and it appears to be based in Illinois, USA (or at least their Facebook lists an address in Illinois). I first heard about the brand through Lauren Mae Beauty's YouTube-channel. She swatched some of Looxi's shadows on one of her palette dupe-videos, and they looked so pretty that I wanted to try them too! She also recently did a spotlight/brand review on Looxi, which I recommend checking out.

From the left: Duperstar, Omega.

Looxi Beauty's duochrome shadows, or Auroras, as they call them, are 5 USD a pop. I'm not sure about their domestic shipping, but they charge $10.99 for shipping to Canada and $19.99 for all other international destinations. I think they use USPS First Class for all of their delivery options. Their international shipping price was kind of steep for me, so I asked my best friend, who's an American, to act as my personal shopper in order to save a couple of bucks. Thanks for the favor, Whitney! 

From the left: Omega applied with a damp brush and a finger, Duperstar applied with a damp brush and a finger-

Omega is a green with a gorgeous teal and purple shift. Duperstar, on the other hand, is a light purple that shifts pink and blue. These guys don't swatch all that well, even though the colors themselves are lovely. Or maybe I just don't know how to apply them properly. For the above photo, I applied them on top of Urban Decay's Primer Potion first with a damp flat synthetic brush, and then with my finger. I tapped my brush in the pan once, and swirled my finger in the pan once.

Like Lauren says in her video, the formula is pretty dry. It kind of threw me for a loop, because I was expecting something with a bit of a smoother texture. I also noticed that the shadows seem to crumble a bit in the pan when I pick them up with a brush. Tiny crumbs sometimes come off the surface, and I need to smooth them back in. I feel like I have to put in some work and really pack them on my lids to get them to look opaque. The end result is very nice, though. For me, they work best when I first apply them on with a damp brush and then gently tap the shadow on with my finger tip, focusing on areas that I want to pop out more.

From the left: Omega applied on top of black eye shadow and then just primer, same with Duperstar.

For this picture, I tried applying the colors on top of some black eye shadow and then on just the Primer Potion again, this time really packing on the product. I have hooded eyes, so Omega might be a bit too dark for me to wear all over the lid. I like to wear it on the outer corners of my eyes, though. Duperstar is my favorite of the two. I think it looks beautiful applied on the center of the lid, on top of a matte beige worn in a dome shape or as a contour shade near the crease. I love to combine it with Buon Fresco from the ABH Modern Renaissance Palette!

If you are looking for a super creamy formula that applies super opaquely with just one swipe, these might not be the eye shadows for you. The colors are beautiful, so I don't mind having to play around with them. I think I might want to check out more of Looxi's shades sometime in the future, but I really want to try Makeup Geek's duochromes next.

Do you have a favorite duochrome formula?

Two Sun Screens

From the left: The Saem's Eco Earth Power Tone Up Sun Cream, A'Pieu's Pure Block Natural Daily Sun Cream

Since July is fast approaching, I thought it would be fitting to do a little review of the two facial sun screens I've been using recently: The Saem's Eco Earth Power Tone Up Sun Cream (SPF 50+ PA+++) and A'Pieu's Pure Block Natural Daily Sun Cream (SPF 45 PA+++). This isn't really a comparison of the two, since they have pretty different formulas. The former is an inorganic (meaning that it contains zinc oxide and titanium oxide) and the latter an organic sun screen. I'm just too lazy to make a dedicated post for each, lol.

I have to say right off the bat that I'm not a fan of The Saem one. I tried to make it work, but I just don't think it's right for my skin. I wore it every day for two or three weeks - and probably looked like a hot mess. To be fair, this wasn't a carefully researched purchase. I bought it on a whim from a holiday sale at the beginning of this year. I had been using The Saem's Eco Earth Power Perfection Waterproof sun screen and I thought it was alright, so I wanted to try another product in their line. Plus it was discounted on top of having a very affordable price in the first place. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a bargain!

Here's swatches of both sun creams. The Saem's Tone up Sun Cream on the left and A'Pieu's Pure Block on the right.

I was expecting the Tone Up Sun Cream to have a thick texture and some sort of a white cast. I wasn't expecting it to leave me looking ghostly, though. Which it does. I think this sun screen might look really weird on someone with a darker skin tone. Once applied, it settles into a matte finish with a bit of an adhesive feeling. I wouldn't call it sticky, but it kind of feels like a makeup primer. But it still leaves behind a powdery residue on top of the skin? I don't understand how, but it makes the surface of my skin feel a bit tight as the day goes on, yet somehow it also makes my makeup break down faster. It's almost like whatever base I'm wearing on top of it shrinks and goes all patchy after a while.

Here are the swatches after a little bit of blending. You can definitely get the Tone Up Sun Cream less white if you keep patting it; this is just to give you an idea of the texture.

The sun cream seems very waterproof to me. In fact, I've had difficulties removing it properly, which might have contributed to some small break outs I've had recently. I've been trying to use the cream up by applying it all over before going out running. It's really not ideal for that either, because it leaves white powdery marks on my clothes. I definitely can't see myself buying it again. It's a bummer, because the actual sun blocking properties seem to work well. I just personally can't handle the consistency. That said, I really like a lot of The Saem's other products. Their concealers are the bomb.com and I love their Green Tea cleansing water!

The A'Pieu Pure Block is a lot nicer to my skin. I've used it much longer, so it might just be a case of my skin being more accustomed to it. It doesn't leave a heavy white cast and applies very smoothly. The consistency is more on the lighter, runnier side. The finish is definitely shiny, but it doesn't bother me. I like my base makeup dewy, plus I can always knock it back a bit with some loose powder. The Pure Block is not waterproof and it will probably come off pretty easily if you sweat a lot. I'm not sure how well this would work in a more hot and humid climate. Luckily the weather is pretty cool for most of the year where I live. I've already purchased this product again four or five times already, so I think I'm going to stick to it from now on. I actually don't have much to say about this product, even though I like it! I just think it's a nice staple in my morning routine. It's A-OK.

Which sun screens are you using this summer? 

Upgrading my brushes!

My old make up brushes had started to fall apart, so at the end of April, I finally took the plunge and bought a new set. My last brush set was from EcoTools, and while I liked them a lot, I wanted to try cruelty-free natural hair brushes next. I considered a lot of different options. At first I thought about getting individuals, but it seemed kind of time consuming. Plus I figured that in the end it might be cheaper to just buy a full set. I decided to go with Zoeva's Complete Rose Golden Eye Set vol. 2, because of all the good things I read about them. They were pretty pricey for me, but I think they have been worth it. I've been using them almost every day for the past month, and so far I've really loved them! There are 12 brushes in total: four of them are synthetic taklon and the rest are a blend of synthetic fibers and goat hair. 

The brushes are not only beautiful to look at, but they feel really lovely and soft against the skin. I love the shiny rose gold ferrule and the tiny engraved decorative detail it has. I smile every time I get them out for use! I even feel like I manage blend my eye shadow a bit better than before (but that might just be my imagination).

Here are my favorites from the set, from top to bottom:

227 Luxe Crease is a soft blending brush that tapers toward the tip. It's perfect for blending everything together to create smooth transitions between shades.

227 Luxe Soft Definer is a fluffy flat brush. I like to use it to apply a dome-shaped wash of color on the whole mobile lid for a simple and easy eye shadow look. I reach for it a lot when I do my daily make up.

The 235 Contour Shader is one of the reasons why I decided to purchase this set. I think a brush like this is a must have for anyone with hooded eyes. The shape really makes lid-contouring easy.

231 Luxe Petit Crease brush is great for precise application and blending. I don't have a lot of visible lid-space, which can make eye shadow a bit tricky. I need to be really careful about how I place the colors. This brush is really helpful, when I want to blend small areas and keep the color contained.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the pouch that came with the set. Usually these sort of things look and feel kind of cheap, but this one is made of a pretty nice material. I like the dangly puller on the zipper. It's very pretty! I've been very pleased with my new brush set and I want to add some of their face brushes to my collection too.

Have you used any of Zoeva's brushes? Do you have any favorites/recommendations?