Make Up For Ever - 15 Artist Shadow Palette (Holiday 2015)

If you've been following my blog or Instagram for any amount of time you probably already know what a huge fan I am of the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow formula. These are a permanent formula which is available at Sephora and the full range includes over 250 shades! 

The holiday release for this year is a compilation palette of some shades which are organized into trios to create looks from. The trios are positioned in rows. The cost of this palette at Sephora is $58 and I think it's well worth the money even if you're only thinking about getting one palette this holiday season.

Personally I'm a big fan of the color selection, the only improvement I can conceive of is the addition of either a true pink or a light violet shade. The color selection is varied and contains neutrals as well as pops of color, and even some deeper unique shades (D-830, S-228)

Here is the back of the palette which shows the exact shades (this is useful to see if you have any of the singles and are worries about repeats). I also own the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow Palette 2 which contains vibrant colors and was released in Spring 2015 and there don't appear to be any duplicates. 

Swatches of the palette can be seen above. On the left are the most neutral shades with the more vibrant shades on the right. I love the rightmost shade as a highlighter, of course it appears much more blendable when applied with a brush! 

If you aren't familiar with the formula of these shadows, they are somewhat cool and gel-like to the touch but they blend like a smooth, creamy powder and immediately blend out like a finely milled powder. In my opinion, although many companies have tried to create this sort of eyeshadow, Make Up For Ever is the most successful! 

I love this palette and I received it as a gift but I was already sure I wanted it! ❤️

Lorac Mega Pro 2 Palette Review & Swatches

Lorac Mega Pro 2 for Holiday 2015, Ulta Exclusive ($59)

For Holiday 2015, Lorac Cosmetics decided to give fans a second chance at purchasing a Mega Pro. No, they did not re-promote the same palette that was notoriously hard to purchase last year because of its very limited quantity - instead they compromised on making a second one. Behold, the Lorac Mega Pro 2 Palette is here! The good news is that it appears this palette has even more color range and is a nice mix of cool and warm-toned shades than last years. I give you the full scoop in my detailed review.

The palette costs $59 and is an ULTA exclusive. The packaging has that powdered cardboard feel (reminiscent of NARS, the powerhouse company that pioneered it) which is nice and sleek but can get dirty with fingerprints and stains. The palette has the same size as last year's (it's exactly twice the size of the Lorac Pro 1 or 2 palettes).

However, it is of note that Lorac reduced the quantity of eyeshadow housed in each pan to 2/3 of last year's palette! WOW that's a lot! You're getting 1/3rd less product for the same price ($59). The total net weight of product in the Mega Pro 1 palette was 0.62 OZ and for the Mega Pro 2 palette  it is 0.45 OZ. The pans must be more shallow because they *appear* to be the same size when placed side by side.

Now onto the shade selection:

Lorac Mega Pro 2 Shade Range

In good ol' Lorac fashion, we are getting half the palette as matte shades (16 eyeshadows) and the other half are a mixture of finishes including shimmer, metallic and some have just a slight sheen (16 eyeshadows).

The colors range from many versions of light colors (mostly yellow based and a couple of pinker tones), to a variety of transition shades (mostly browns), a couple of color accents (Purple, Tangerine, Goji). There are also a variety of smokier shades (namely Forest, Black Ivy, Ash, etc). You'll also find some very unique shades in this palette - such as Goji, Olivine, Prosecco, Forest, Ash which I can't easily find dupes for in my vast collection.

First Row L to R: Porcelain, Custard, Tawny, Burlap (double swatch!), Melon, Tangerine, Saddle, Forest
Second Row L to R: Bisque, Lavender, Purple, Sorbet, Goji, Cabernet, Ash, Black
Third Row L to R: Sugar, Chiffon, Prosecco, Soft Plum, Cinnamon, Sandstone, Gunmetal, Blue Quartz
Fourth Row L to R: Moonlight, Seashell, Peony, DK. Sienna, Penny, Olivine, Gold Leaf, Black Ivy

After swatching the colors, I was as usual very impressed with their smoothness and pigmentation. They pack a big punch and you only need to dab your brush in very lightly to pick  up plenty of product for your eye look. However, some have complained that they are crumbly - in my opinion this is more a review of Lorac Pro shadows in general rather than it being representative of just this palette. I have no problem working with any of the other Lorac Pro or Mega Pro palettes, and if you are the same, you won't have an issue with Lorac Mega Pro 2! I was almost afraid to purchase this due to the negative YouTube reviews on it - I'm here to tell you that it'll be just fine as long as you don't dig your brush into the colors or smash your palette around.

For reference, I've included some photos of the Lorac Mega Pro 1

Lorac Mega Pro 1 for Holiday 2014 (Amazon and Lorac exclusive)

Do you need this palette?

If you like some of the unique colors offered by the Lorac Mega Pro 2 and you know that you're already happy with the Lorac Pro eyeshadow formula, then I suggest you purchase it. If you're looking for something to create a wide variety of colorful looks, then this palette shouldn't even be a consideration because all of the shades will have a somewhat subdued look once applied and blended out on your eye. This is a very work-appropriate eyeshadow color range and you can give it some punch if you're going out for the night but it's not going to really do the trick for bold colors like Urban Decay or Kat Von D eyeshadow would.

If you have the Lorac Mega Pro 1 Palette from last year, like I do, then you should examine the shade range and decide if there is enough difference between the two palettes to justify the purchase. I personally did not find any dupes between the two Mega Pro palettes, although the lighter shades can be blended to look very similar.

I'm a collector of eyeshadow palettes but because I have so many, I pick and choose the ones which contain the formulas of eyeshadows I prefer working with. The Lorac Pro eyeshadows are ones I prefer over their regular formulation (as seen in the Unzipped palettes), I also gravitate towards Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadows (which have a similar powdery texture and lots of color payoff), and Kat Von D eyeshadows (again, similar texture). If you're like me and enjoy those products, then get this one as a holiday treat for yourself!

Upcoming Holiday 2015 Product Preview - Standouts!

Kat Von D - Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette - Sephora Exclusive ($59) available now

For me, this is the most exciting release of the whole year. Not for the faint of heart but definitely a hardcore makeup junkie's dream.

Arranged like a color wheel, this beautiful palette and accompanying sleeve are truly the work of a talented artist. I'm inspired just looking at the photo and it helps you keep in color theory in mind when pairing colored eyeshadows. For me this palette is an absolute must-have and I'm ordering it for myself! Kat Von D and Sephora have outdone themselves this time, especially during the holidays when almost every other company plays it safe with color selection.

With 17 vivid bright eyeshadow shades and 7 nudes & neutrals, you get 24 full-sized eyeshadow pans so this is a whopper of a palette. It's a great bang for your buck at just $2.46/eyeshadow. The quality has been reported thus far to be buttery-smooth with great color payoff.

Lorac - Mega Pro 2 - Ulta Exclusive ($59) available mid-October

Since last year, the world has been anticipating another Mega Pro Palette from Lorac and they did not disappoint. This year's Ulta exclusive palette promises to be in larger quantities than last so hopefully more makeup lovers can get their hands on it. Buyer beware, once these sell out, they're gone!

This year's Lorac Mega Pro 2 Palette boasts some cooler shadow selections than last year and is arranged in a similar fashion with 16 eyeshadows being matte (the top half of the palette) and 16 eyeshadows being satin or shimmery (the bottom half of the palette). The pan size has gotten significantly smaller than last year but it is not noticeable in the packaging (last year's contained 0.62 oz vs this year's 0.45 oz of product).

Like last year's palette and most Lorac Pro products, the shadows kick up a lot of powder and it is advised that you tap off your brush before applying the color directly to your eyes to avoid significant fallout. With that being said, Lorac eyeshadows are notoriously some of the best blending shades on the market so if you're a fan, it's definitely worth the money!

Too Faced - Le Grand Palais - Sephora Exclusive ($58) available now

This year's Too Faced palette contains 3 highlighting eyeshadow shades, 15 eyeshadows, 2 blushes (Stardust and Skyline), a Flush highlighter and a Sun Bunny bronzer. As extra goodies, Too Faced also included a deluxe-sized Melted Peony liquid lipstick, a deluxe mini Better Than Sex Mascara, and a deluxe sized Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer.

This set is a good value (the website claims it is a $378 value) but if you were to choose the products yourself you probably would not have come up with this exact configuration, so take those values with a grain of salt!

Preliminary reviews of this palette have claimed that there are some very chunky glittery shades prone to fallout and the eyeshadow formulation is not as good as is usually typical of Too Faced powders. Most, if not all, of the colors, are fairly easily dupe-able and even seem repeated in Too Faced's own holiday palettes - since I have the one from last year, I'll be skipping it this year.

Too Faced X Vegas Nay - Stardust Palette - $45 - Ulta Exclusive, Now Available 

 My holiday purchase choice from Too Faced for this year was the Too Faced X Vegas Nay Stardust Eyeshadow Palette.

This kit comes with 12 eyeshadows (with phenomenal formulation across the board, I have not been disappointed by these) in slim travel and vanity friendly packaging, Nude Glamour Dust sample, deluxe mini Better Than Sex mascara, deluxe mini Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer.

There is a good but wearable variety of color in this palette and I was drawn to it because of the inclusion of mauve/violet shades and burgundies which are a little harder to come across in palettes of this size. This is overall a warm-toned palette lovers dream and I highly recommend it - the quality seems far superior to other Too Faced Holiday 2015 releases.

Tarte - Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette - $44 - Sephora Exclusive, Now Available

For the third year in a row, Tarte has come out with an Amazonian Clay Blush Palette which is available at Sephora.

If these colors appeal to you, it is a great value considering each Amazonian Clay Blush single costs $28 at 0.2oz of product and each blush in this palette is 3/4 of that size at 0.15oz but you get 5 of them!!! You're only paying $8.80 per blush shade even though you get 75% of product in each blush. I don't know about you but I've never finished an entire blush shade so these would last me literally forever. I may cave and get this palette this year because the colors are beautiful and the packaging is slim (that's really what held me back last year).

The colors of blushes included are: Fetching, Dollface (light pink), Prim, Smashing, Beaming 

Make Up Forever Artist Shadows - Singles

The other day at Sephora, as usual, I was absolutely mesmerized by the artist shadows from Make Up For Ever so I decided to pick up 3 colors for $44 (they regularly sell for $22 each). I am on vacation right now so please excuse the poor quality iPhone photos!! 

Alas, I was too excited to show you D-200 (very light pale shimmery ice blue), D-868 (peachy pink finely glittered overshadow), and I-544 (amber brown with a maroon purple shift - perfect satin crease color).

Below I have taken a photo of the singles compared to my Artist Palette 2 which I also got a few weeks back from Make Up For Ever. 

The swatches and all photos were taken in indoor yellowish light. The true beauty of these needs to be experienced in person at your local Sephora. There are over 200 shades which can be purchased online - the selection in stores is not that big.

These shadows wear all day and look beautiful throughout wear time. They are highly pigmented but I feel as though the lighter shades are better applied with your finger or a very dense brush. 

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) Review & Swatches!!

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - Packaging

First and foremost a disclaimer that I have not tried any of the individual Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Artist Eyeshadows before this review so it will also include my first impressions on the overall formula. 

This new palette from MUFE immediately caught my attention because of the bold colors inside and the beautiful artistic packaging. I have to add that even though the palette itself is made of a very finely constructed cardboard - it feels even more substantial than new Z-Palettes I purchased a few days ago. The price is $42, which is a steal considering each palette is 9 eyeshadows which are each 0.06g and the singles retail for $22 each for 0.08g of product (only a quarter of the quantity more per color). You can essentially buy this palette for less than the price of 2 Artist Shadow singles. 

This palette is Limited Edition and Sephora-exclusive so get it while you can if you're interested! It is available both online and in stores.

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - Colors

The texture of the eyeshadows is described as a gel-powder formula blended with ultrafine pigments. The eyeshadows in general are all extremely smooth and creamy. 

They feel a little bit like the L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows when they are pressed and packed really tightly in their container but they do not crumble the same way. The powder is very finely milled and each finish 

The shadows do not pop out of the palette since I know this is a feature MUFE has included in past, bulkier palettes - this palette fits in my hand.

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - Color Names & Close-Up

I made a quick chart to show you which color each name corresponds to. Each name is indicative of a specific finish since these shadows have a wide variety of finishes in the complete line:

I = Iridescent
M = Matte - there are no Matte shades in the palette
ME = Metal
S = Satin
D = Diamond

This palette even includes a little look book which orders the shades in columns from left to right, with the looks called "Playful", "Bold" and "Sultry" respectively with step-by-step instructions to achieve the look.

Playful Look: I-872 Pearly Pink, ME-910 Electric Magenta, S-924 Purple
Bold Look: D-552 Crystalline Gray Beige, ME-232 Turquoise Blue, ME-302 Peacock
Sultry Look: ME-512 Golden Beige, ME-700 Amber, ME-930 Black Purple

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - Trio Swatches

My swatches revealed that the pigments travel quite far - which means that the shadows are strongly pigmented. The shadows are smooth and creamy, after wearing them I find that you can achieve better color pick-up using a more dense, coarse brush than a soft and fluffy one or alternatively the best way I found was to use my fingers and swipe the color where desired.

I also had some trouble when I was wiping off the pink and purple shades, it took quite a bit of scrubbing to get the staining off - an important note is that these two shades are considered "blush" and not designated eyeshadows. Obviously you can use these shades at your own discretion but they may be harder to remove on the sensitive skin of your eyes and usually red pigments are not approved for the eye area by the FDA. To avoid any problems I suggest just wearing them in the crease or as a blush and avoiding the lash line or eyelid area.

All of the colors are impressively pigmented, with the best performers being I-872 (Pearly Pink), D-552 (Crystalline Gray Beige), ME-302 (Peacock), ME-700 (Amber) and ME-930 (Black Purple). I was least impressed with ME-910 (Electric Magenta) and S-924 (Purple) as they were chalkier and even skipped on the skin a little at the bottom of my swatch (this could be remedied by blending though).

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - From Left to Right Highlight Comparison: I-872, D-552, ME-512 

For a close-up look at the highlight shades (or the lightest color in each trio) I swatched I-872 (Pearly Pink), D-552 (Crystalline Gray Beige), and ME-512 (Golden Beige).

I-872 on the left is an icy pink tone, followed by D-552 which is a cool-toned beige and then ME-512 is a light warm golden tone.

As soon as I get a chance, I will create some looks with this palette and post them for reference!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everybody! Let me know what your thoughts on this palette are.

Review: Kat Von D Innerstellar Palette - Limited Editition Sephora Exclusive

Sorry for what feels like a lifetime since I have last posted but I had many other issues to deal with and now I'm back baby! I hope you all had a happy holiday season and are looking forward to all good things in the New Year.

I was able to get my hands on the retro-futuristic Innerstellar palette (which I posted about before in this preview - Sephora's swatches of it really convinced me to pick it up!) and I'm reporting back with an in-depth review.

Should you get this palette or should you skip it? Read below to find out!

First of all, the packaging is absolute amaze-balls. It's psychedelic and reminiscent of the name it shares a homonym with "Interstellar" - it's kind of what space would look like if it was illustrated by a graphic artist in the 1960's and I'm all about that sort of thing. On the back you can see a detailed photo depicting the finishes of the shades (ie. the shimmer shades have little glittery-looking chunks in the graphic).

The external packaging and the outside of the palette itself look identical so I won't bother you with more photos of it. The inside reveals a cool-toned palette with some definite neutrals and even warm-ish shades thrown in. Right off the bat I'm impressed by the mahogany browns and lilac purple shades (my absolute favs for amber/brown eyes).

I've heard some complaints about this palette because although the size appears similar to the Monarch and Chrysalis permanent-collection palettes, this one is 0.6 oz of product compared to the 0.73oz of the older palettes. The price of the palette has remained the same. I still think that for the amount of color and the large size of the palette, the Innerstellar palette is a good deal for the retail price of $46.

 Swatches were broken up into quads since I believe that each highlight shade (the large ones at the top) were meant to be coordinated with the 3 vertically-placed shades underneath. The looks seem to range in intensity going from left to right, with the brightest and most metallic shades being at the right of the spectrum. With that being said, each "quad" coordinated look contains some mattes and some shimmer shades.

Gravitron is a white-based pink with a hint of lilac shimmer
Night Crawler is a cool toned taupe satin shade
Dios is a medium gray satin shade with silver shimmer
Lunacy is a dark mid-tone purple with slightly poor color payoff than most other in this palette

Vast is a frosty warm taupe brown
Astrological is a bright lilac with golden shimmer - has some powdery kick-up after swatching
Darkstar is a cool-toned dark purple shade with phenomenal pigmentation - a little goes a very long way
Orion is a satin warm medium to dark brown

Lycan is a matte yellow-toned white shade

3AM is a bright metallic warm taupe with a satin finish

Moonshine is a metallic bright silver shade - this shade was fairly powdery

Killing Moon is a matte black that seems to be the driest and has good pigmentation but skips on the skin, so it requires some extra blending

Overall, this palette performed very well, I only had slight issues with the shades Lunacy and Killing Moon, otherwise I was happy with the performance of all of them on my fair skin.

I think this palette fits a very important niche, it's not quite as "out there" in shade-selection as the Chrysalis palette but it does incorporate a lot of nice cool toned colors that are very wearable from day to night.

The texture of the shadows is buttery and smooth with the exception of Killing Moon which felt somewhat dry and skipped on the skin when swatching and applying. The application and blendability of these shades makes them ideal for beginners and the overall arrangement of the colors makes it easy to create looks.

I highly recommend this palette and I hope we see even more palettes that are a nice mixture between cool and warm such as this in the future!

Stay tuned, I'll be posting looks using this palette in the days to come.

Anastasia Beverly Hills: Tamanna Palette Holiday 2014 (Review & Swatches)

If you saw my preview post on the Tamanna Palette by Anastasia Beverly Hills right after its release, you'll know that I am such a huge fan of this international makeup artist series by the brand. I own all of the other palettes from this collection (Amrezy and Maya Mia) and I did a pretty in depth comparison of the colors in the Tamanna palette compared to the others (and even to the Lavish palette).

I couldn't help myself and purchased this on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website when I saw it had already sold out at ULTA and Sephora! That was pretty fast considering this is supposed to be the Holiday 2014 palette from the brand. The best part about this palette is that it is so inexpensive at only $29 with free shipping!! YOWZA!

The packaging on the palette was chosen by +DressYourFace aka Tamanna and she chose an Eastern-inspired print, which reminds me of a floral damask, it's really stunning, specifically in the gold and burgundy shades she chose. As a gift, this is absolutely precious and anyone would be thrilled to receive it! The packaging is the same size and shape as the Amrezy and Maya Mia palettes from this same set.

I must admit the colors that jumped out at me and the reasons that I purchased this palette were: Venezia, Gilded, Sangria and China Rose (obviously the most "colorful" and impactful in the pan. 

You also receive the same dual-ended eyeshadow brush that came with all the other palettes. One side is great for packing on eyeshadow (left) and the other side is good for fine detail crease work (right side). This brush is perfectly usable and great for applying makeup on the run.

Anastasia Beverly Hills - Tamanna Palette - Holiday 2014 - Top Row Swatches

After swatching the colors, I was less impressed by the intensity of Venezia, which actually required some building up and was a little bit less pigmented than Aqua from the Maya Mia Palette. Overall, the performance was good and consistent with other ABH eyeshadow palettes. I do think that their eyeshadow formula has improved over time and I was extremely impressed with Blush, Gilded and Custom. Custom was the standout shade and is a nice taupe shimmer, of which I cannot recall owning too many in my vast collection (bonus!).

Anastasia Beverly Hills - Tamanna Palette - Holiday 2014 - Bottom Row Swatches

The second row had two major performers, which were Bengal and China Rose. Bengal achieves full opacity very quickly and doesn't require building up whereas China Rose is a beautiful crease topper that provides just the right amount of sheen to any look. Sangria was a little less pigmented on the eye than it appears in the swatch but it performed well. Chocolate is a strong pigment that stains the skin a little so you have to be careful with placement or you can make your look appear muddy. Noir was the poorest performing shade because I found it a little bit too powdery and when applied in thicker layers it tended to fly off the eye a little (I'm a bigger fan of LBD from the Amrezy palette).

5 Get The Look Cards featuring Tamanna's eyeshadow creations with her palette

It's nice that the set includes five "Get The Look" cards, which is a trend ABH began doing with the Maya Mia palette. These are probably the most thorough look cards that any company produces with very precise instructions and detailed, high-res photographs! You get a nice variety of daytime to evening looks.

The backs of 5 Get The Look Cards from the ABH Tamanna palette

Here are the steps listed on the back of the cards to give you a good idea of the amount of detail that goes into each one.

I absolutely love this palette, it's great for a variety of holiday and even every day looks, I like that there's a nice variety of pops of color as well as basic neutrals mixed in. The palette also consists of various shades ranging from ultra matte to shimmer which allow for even more diversity when used. Overall there are 6 shimmer shades and 4 mattes in the palette.

Do you own this palette? Will you be purchasing it? Let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions about this wonderful holiday gift.

Too Faced Melted Longwear Lipstick in Melted Marshmallow

Too Faced Melted Longwear Lipstick in Melted Marshmallow

For a long time I have resisted getting on the hype train of the Melted Lipsticks from Too Faced because I had swatched them in Sephora and none of the colors were appealing to me. That all changed, however, when I came across Melted Marshmallow a couple of weeks ago. 

Melted Marshmallow is a beautiful blue-based pink shade but it does have some yellow tone to it as well (this may not be a great shade for you if you struggle with anything that makes your teeth appear more yellow). A similar shade of this lipstick is the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Milan, they are even quite similar in consistency and the matte finish they leave on your lips. This lipstick is easy to wear, it is neither drying nor hydrating, but I didn't find that the wear time was quite as long as expected - obviously during drinking and eating, this will fade and disappear off your lips. If you're just going about your day without consuming any foods or playing with your lips too much, it will probably last a good 4-5 hours.

Too Faced Melted Longwear Lipstick in Melted Marshmallow

Can we talk about the packaging for a minute? It feels so luxurious, almost like if a high-end lipgloss and prestige lipstick had a baby. This is a very giftable item and I wouldn't be ashamed to re-apply it in public (not that you'll really have to do that much).

Swatch of Too Faced Melted Longwear Lipstick in Melted Marshmallow

Instead of a doe-foot applicator, Too Faced opted for this puffy sponge tip which has four points through which you can squeeze out the formula. I actually really like this because it seems more hygenic to me than using a doe-foot applicator and then always putting the bacteria from the wand back into the product when you put it away.

This swatch was creating with one swipe, the formula is super opaque and you can easily get the desired amount of coverage, I really didn't feel the need to layer this product on.

Too Faced Melted Longwear Lipstick in Melted Marshmallow

You can see in the lip swatch that there was some settling in the fine lines of my lips and scars (don't judge me, I fell out of a toy truck when I was a baby...), which makes it pretty important that you apply it over moisturize lips (I doubt this particular shade and formula is very attractive on chapped lips). When this lipstick wears off, it does ball up a little bit but it's not something that becomes noticeable except you can feel the texture on your lips. This shade is out of my usual comfort zone of medium reds and plums, but I love it so much that I vow to wear it regularly!

Too Faced Melted Kisses Set

If you're looking for a holiday set to give someone who would absolutely love this product, check out the Too Faced Melted Kisses Set for Holiday 2014, which contains 4 deluxe-sized tubes (Nude, Peony, Berry, and Fuschia) from the permanent collection of the Melted Longwear Lipstick line and retails for just $25. As of the date and time of this post, this set is sold out at Sephora, ULTA, and on the Too Faced website, but you can find it at the link I posted through Amazon.

Product Review & Swatches: Too Faced Everything Nice Palette for Sephora Holiday 2014

The Sephora-exclusive Too Faced Everything Nice (That's What Pretty Girls Are Made Of) Set retails for $56 and is currently available for purchase here. There has been so much hype and speculation over this palette and I spoke about it really briefly in a previous post. UPS just delivered mine so I've put together this review ASAP. Basically, this set is a variation of the Too Faced Few of My Favorite Things Set from last Holiday 2013.

This year the bag is... not as spectacular as last years. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's a bright fuchsia color that doesn't particularly appeal to me and secondly, it has chunky glitter particles adhered to its backside. I'm not sure why Too Faced went this route over, say, a clear window panel, but the glitter catches onto other fabrics and flies off everywhere. The back of the bag does not have a smooth texture, it is rough due to the large pieces of glitter. The cutest part is the zipper which has a round ornament on it, but it does add even more bulkiness to an already large bag.

The next issue I have with the bag is that it was not designed to fit the Everything Nice palette! Deceptively, they come in the box together, next to one another, but the box is much thicker than the bag and the zipper of the bag does not open the whole say, so you could never fit the palette inside. I suppose it's meant as a "bonus" for us to keep other makeup inside.

The inside of the Everything Nice Set is a charming little number. It consists of 20 fairly large (basically full sized) eyeshadows, 2 blushes, a bronzer, a highlighter, a deluxe mascara (Better Than Sex) and a 3-piece mini brush set. You're receiving a great variety of color in multiple textures, including shimmer, matte, satin and glitter. I think some basic math will tell you that this set is worth the price - I can see them selling for double or triple on eBay once stock runs out at Sephora.

For me, deluxe sized mascaras are cute for travel, so I'm happy to have received the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. I like the conventional yet slightly bulkier mascara wand, I find that it gives me extra volume and carries a good amount of product so I won't have to re-dip during application.

The synthetic brush trio has cute handles, which have glitter suspended inside a layer of resin (which is what I would have preferred the makeup bag to be) so the glitter is really only aesthetic but won't scratch or fly off. The largest brush might be useful for contouring under your cheekbones, there is a decently sized eyeshadow brush and a liner brush (can also be used as an eyebrow brush). You're getting a nice variety of brushes and they are held securely in the set by a plastic strap so they won't fall out every time you open the palette.

Too Faced Everything Nice - Sephora Holiday 2014
Sweet Pink, Papa Don't Preach, Chocolate Soleil, Inner Light & Synthetic Brush Trio

Swatches of Too Faced Everything Nice - Sephora Holiday 2014

As you can see, these colors all swatch well and are of the quality I always expect from Too Faced's products. All of the face products are smooth and buttery, easy to apply and blend.

• Sweet Pink is a light blue-toned pink with golden finely milled glitter.
• Papa Don't Preach is a shimmery bronze peach color which was exceptionally smooth
• Chocolate Soleil, their cult classic, smells like chocolate and is a warm mid-toned bronzer.
• Inner Light, a re-promote from the Be Bright palette, is a pale golden highlight with fine gold glitter 

Eyeshadows in Too Faced - Everything Nice Set for Sephora Holiday 2014

A quick overview of the shadows will reveal matte, satin, shimmer, metallic, glitter and duochrome shades. This set contains a wide variety to please every taste. Some shades are even multiple finishes, such as metallic shimmers and they are interesting and unique.

Swatches of Row 1 of Too Faced Everything Nice Eyeshadow Palette

• Turtle Dove - pale highlight white matte, will not achieve fully opaque color
• Dream On - neutral nude matte
• After Hours - metallic dark gold, super pigmented and buttery
• Fawned of You - light caramel-toned brown matte, very highly pigmented and smooth
• Knockout - appears dark brown in pan but secondary swatch reveals medium brown matte

Swatches of Row 2 of Too Faced Everything Nice Eyeshadow Palette

• Paper Roses - pale baby pink shimmer
• Kindness is Free - pearlescent pink shimmer satin
• Mauvelous - lilac silver shimmer (re-promote from Too Faced Be Bright Holiday 2013)
• Be You - warm taupe matte, well pigmented
• Secret Lovers - dark chocolate brown shimmer, very pigmented and smooth

Swatches of Row 3 of Too Faced Everything Nice Eyeshadow Palette

• Heaven - light nude matte, fairly weak pigmentation
• Shiny Happy - metallic green-toned gold shimmer
• Honey Pot - metallic yellow gold, very smooth and highly pigmented
• Don't Settle - antique gold metallic shimmer
• Girly - green burnt orange/brown duochrome - the most unique color in the palette, I love this one; re-promote form the Too Faced - Pretty Rebel palette (thanks to reader Selina Alexandria for the info!)

Swatches of Row 4 of Too Faced Everything Nice Eyeshadow Palette

• Totally Fetch - bright fuchsia pink satin, re-promote form the Too Faced - Pretty Rebel palette (thanks to reader Selina Alexandria for the info!)
• Live It Up - purple shimmer with sparse blue, less intense than Totally Fetch and Too Glam
• Too Glam - satin metallic emerald green with fine shimmer, extremely pigmented
• Head Over Heels - dark navy blue with cobalt blue glitter densely packed inside
• Chocolate Moon - dark brown with sparse gold glitter - this color may be an attempt at black, but the opacity just isn't there, so I would say that it comes off much more like a dark brown

I really like this palette, of course there are some misses (Head Over Heels, Chocolate Moon, Heaven) but for the most part, this palette is absolutely fantastic. You will be able to create a wide variety of looks, and even the worst of the palette is still definitely usable, you just have to layer and work with the product. Overall, the consistency of all of the powders is very good, the extra bonuses of the set are a cute addition, and it would make a beautiful holiday gift for any makeup fan. The packaging is cute and sturdy, even though it is made of a condensed and covered cardboard. 

If you are considering purchasing this set, I recommend doing so early, because last year's equivalent sold out in a few weeks and I suspect this will do the same due to its high quality and great value.