New Kat Von D Innerstellar Palette, Limited Edition (Sephora Exclusive) - Swatches Inside

Kat Von D's makeup line has long been a staple of Sephora's powerhouse collaborations with various brands and companies to bring you the latest, trendiest collections. 

Earlier this year Kat Von D & Sephora released the Monarch and Chrysalis palettes, the latter being a warm-toned monarch butterfly inspired curation and the latter being a blue and purple cool-toned and more adventurous color palette.

The Innerstellar palette is a Limited Edition, VIB Rouge/VIB exclusive palette offered on the Sephora website for members only. I have heard rumors of these popping up in stores sometime mid January (the 15th I believe). However, I happen to think that this would make a very appropriate holiday gift since it contains some beautiful shimmer shades). 

This palette is rather a misnomer since it has nothing to do with the actual movie "Interstellar" which was released a couple of weeks ago - it's more of a self-empowering name because we can all show our "inner stellar" with it! 

I found some swatches below:

I'm very happy with the color curation, clearly this tends to be a cooler-toned palette featuring many varieties of taupes. I really like this palette, specifically for the winter-time since it is suitably themed. 

Each set of 4 shadows (the highlighter shade on top and then the 3 corresponding underneath it) are combined in such a way that you can create one "look". Obviously, you can just mix and match them however you'd like, the makeup police won't come after you - but I do like the option if you're feeling uninspired. 

There's a nice sprinkle of warm shades specifically 2, 4, 9 and 10 (Vast, Night Crawler, Orion and 3 AM) so this palette will be able to create a good variety of looks.

Are you going to be picking up this palette? I ordered mine already and it's on the way! I think it's the perfect palette to get your first taste of the Kat Von D set if some of her other ones are too bold for your tastes.

Review & Swatches: Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette

Outer Packaging of Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette 

The ULTA-exclusive Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette retails for $42 and contains a limited edition eye shadow collection of 28 party-perfect shades! There are a variety of finishes from mattes to glitters in lush neutrals to dazzling jewel-inspired tones. 

Exterior of Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette

The exterior of the palette has beautiful diamonds which reflect light wonderfully and would make for a delightfully glamorous gift. The palette itself feels a little pillow-esque when you push down on the top and it seems ideal for traveling, even though it is slightly larger than a typical travel palette. 

My only qualm with the Smashbox On The Rocks Luxe Palette is that there is an overlay that has the color names which I'm never a fan of, I would rather that they were printed next to the shade names (though I can see how that can be difficult with the diamond arrangement). The layout of the shadows saves a decent amount of space and you have 28 full sized eye shadows in a medium-sized palette. I love the diamond in the center, I don't know why but it makes me giddy with delight when I open the palette!

Names of Eye Shadows in Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette

The palette seems to be set up from left to right as follows: leftmost there are nudes transitioning to earthtones and greens, in the center region above the diamond there are purples and below there are blue tones, on the rightmost side of the palette there's a mixture of smokey eye bold shades (grays, deep burgundy, dark brown). I appreciate that this isn't a random assortment of shadows because I find that some palettes can be too overwhelming to look at when there is no rhyme or reason to their placement.

Swatches of Nudes/Earthtones (Left side of Smashbox On The Rocks Luxe Palette)

From the left side of the palette, you can see that the shades are neutrals and earth-tones. Most of these shades are buttery, creamy and swatch absolutely perfectly but I found Midas to be weakly pigmented on the secondary swatch and it doesn't transfer well out of the pan. I was very pleasantly surprised with Zoom (mint green with gold shimmer) and Roast (dark brown with sparse gold sparkles). Ambient is a good dupe for Amber Lights from MAC, I own both and there isn't a major difference between them when worn on the lid.

Swatches of Shades around Diamond (Center of Smashbox On The Rocks Luxe Palette)

The shades in the middle of the palette perform fairly similarly, with Purple Mist not being very pigmented at all and easily brushing off the skin while pastel is rather dusty and too similar to my skin tone for me to wear as a unique shadow. Sapphires needs to be built up for maximum intensity which can be great for beginners or those who are afraid to go overboard with a dark shadow. Navy is slightly darker and a little less blue-toned. The standouts are really Lavender, Juniper, Peacock and Lilac, all of which are very smooth, easily blended and quickly reach full opacity.

Swatches of Smokey Shades (Right side of Smashbox On The Rocks Luxe Palette)

On the right side of the palette you can see from the swatches that the shades become darker and more smokey, even featuring some great highlight shades (Snow, Babycakes and Moonlight). The most bold colors are Frambroise, Asteroid, Royal, Smoke and Cabernet, all of which perform as expected. I was a little bit disappointed by Mink and Babycakes because the colors were just too soft and the shadow's pigment lacked a "stickiness" which keeps it adhered to your lid so it's harder to build up. Mostly, the shadows perform beautifully and are better than expected!

Smashbox Photo Op Luxe Palette "Get The Looks" Booklet

Included in this palette is a booklet with 6 looks that you can create from the shades, they are listed underneath and you can use them as a guide for your holiday parties this year! 

If you find that this palette is too big for you there is a smaller, original version of the palette called the Smashbox Photo Op palette. However, I would strongly suggest for you to pick this up, if not for yourself, then at least to gift to the makeup lover in your life!

The quality of the eye shadows is consistent and there is such a wide variety of unique shades that aren't usually found in palettes that pushes this palette to a must-buy!

Happy shopping and Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!!

Review & Swatches: Wet n Wild Halloween 2014 Megaslicks Balm Stain - Limited Edition

Wet n Wild has released a whole new Halloween 2014 Collection and it can be found at Walgreens and Duane Reade. I have purchased "2AM Call Time" and "Senorita" and wanted to compare them to two colors from the permanent collection of Megaslicks Balm Stains. I only skipped out on one of these from the Halloween collection, it was a gold color called "You're Golden" but it just wasn't my cup of tea!

Now as you may already know the Megaslicks Balm Stains are a moisturizing formula combining both color and nourishment for your lips. They are an easy alternative to the lipstick and they go on smooth and wear comfortably. They stain the lips, specifically leaving a color if they are darker or brighter-toned (the nudes don't do this as much). The Balm Stains also have a minty refreshing feeling which perks your lips up and even has a slight plumping effect in my experience.

You may be able to tell from the swatch that "Senorita" was by far the most glossy of the Balm Stains, and the new shades ("2AM Call Time" and "Senorita") seemed to apply even more smoothly than "Rico Mauve" and "Pinky Promise" form the permanent collection.

Lip Swatch of Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain in "Senorita", ambient lighting

"Senorita" is a true red in every sense of the word, it seems to be a mid-tone red that doesn't lean orange or plum. I really love this shade for a night out or a bold lip with a muted eyeshadow look. It made my lips look full, didn't settle into any creases and the shine left a healthy glow.

Lip Swatch of Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain in "2AM Call Time", with flash

"2AM Call Time" is a bold color, not for the faint of heart! It is a bright purple shade, not cranberry-like in the slightest. It reminds me of more expensive lipsticks such as LimeCrime's which specialize in bold colors. I'm so happy I bought this color, it's truly unique! I can see myself lightly patting this on my lips for a hint of color for daytime.

I was so intrigued by 2AM Call Time and I just had to compare it to other similar colors from the drugstore from my collection. I have the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in "Shameless" and the Jordana Twist & Shine in "Cranberry Crush" for comparison.

Wet N Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain "2AM Call Time" Comparison

You can see from the swatches above that the Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in "Cranberry Crush" is the most wearable of the bunch, applying more as a cranberry than a purple. The Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in "Shameless" is a more matte, blue-toned purple, slightly deeper in saturation than the Wet N Wild Balm Stain in "2AM Call Time". I actually thought the Revlon Balm in "Shameless" was much patchier (you can even tell in the swatch) and it settles into the fine lines of my lips, something that the Wet N Wild Balm Stain does not. The biggest difference between the Revlon and Wet N Wild products is that the latter has a good amount of moisturizing and shine, while the former can be described as drying on the lips and is best worn with another balm underneath.

Do you own any of the Wet N Wild Megaslicks Balm Stains? Which color is your favorite and why? Let me know in the comments below!