Sigma's Crème De Couture Collection

Sigma Crème de Couture Collection includes 1 Eyeshadow Palette (with 16 colors in total) inspired by macaroons with pastel and colorful pigmentation as well as three full-sized blushes (a peachy pink, violet, and pale blush pink color) for $55. This is a great value for these products and would make a wonderful Holiday gift for anyone who loves makeup. The packaging is absolutely delightful, it's reminds me of a high-end candy fantasy, without any of the weight gain and tooth pain!

Sigma Creme de Couture Eyeshadow Palette: These colors pack a really large punch. Costs $44 individually. 

Creme de Couture Eyeshadow Palette Swatches

As you can see, all of the colors were applied without a primer and they swatched very intensely. The lighter pink color an the yellow would pop better with a nude or white primer, but overall, great pigmentation in this set. I especially am a fan of the mint green shade and the blues which are very well done. The color that I would wear the most is the violet purple, which is a shade similar to the violet blush in this collection. For brown eyes, the violets really make them pop, for green eyes, the browns and the violets work well, and for blue eyes, the browns and blues would further accentuate the tone of the eyes.

Creme de Couture Blush Swatches

Blackberry Essence Blush: This color is a velvety lilac, more reminiscent of spring than fall, but it is the ideal color to use purple-based blushes with. This color is not overwhelming, blends beautifully and can be used just as any other blush. Costs $12 individually, or just $4 as part of the collection bundle.

  

Strawberry Ambrosia Blush: Bubble-gum pink is back! Whether you want to use this color as a highlighter above your cheekbones or as a full-on blush for the fair-skinned, it's an absolutely breath-taking color. It gives a matte frosty appearance, perfect for a winter snow bunny. Costs $12 individually, or just $4 as part of the collection bundle.

Cherry Apple Blush: Featuring a matte finish, as with the rest of this collection, this color is a tangerine-infused pink. It's a perfect color for autumn, resembling a plump apricot or leaf turning color. The color is the most flatting for all skintones of the bunch. Costs $12 individually, or just $4 as part of the collection bundle.

I am rarely ever a fan of buying an entire collection, but Sigma did everything right here. All of the colors are matte and wearable, even though they have so much pigmentation, because they are easy to blend and build up or fade out. I am absolutely in love with this set, and the savings is so great if you purchase it all together, that I really do believe buying it all is a must!

Sephora Mini-Haul and Product Reviews

Lately, I find myself drawn to a particular texture of makeup rather than one brand or another: silky. Silky means that if you rub the makeup mixture in between your fingers, you feel as though your fingers are coated in the finest layer of silk with no bulges, imperfections, or obtrusions. I think powders with this texture will give the most airbrushed makeup look that you can achieve without actually using an airbrush (or even better than an airbrush, depending on which one you have). I used the VIBDREAM sale at Sephora for the holiday season (20% off all items purchased for Nov. 11-14th) for Very Important Beauty Insiders (people who have spent $350+ in a calendar year at Sephora). I was part of this program because my husband bought me the TEMPTU airbrush system as a wedding present, although we ended up returning it multiple times because of all the defects it had, but that's a story for another time.

I bought myself a tried, tested and true favorite: Diorskin Shimmer Powder by Dior, and then I decided to replenish my depleting quantity of Urban Decay's Grifter, feeling adventurous I purchased Kat Von D's Saint palette and the elusive Korres' Wild Rose Compact Powder (because Sephora is usually out of these). I'll be posting photos of all the products and swatches, as well as my impressions of all of them.

Diorskin Shimmer Powder
The original retail value of this shimmer block is $44, which is quite a hefty price, but it was definitely worth it with my discount. I personally buy the Rose Diamond set because of my skin's undertones, since it comes in either pinkish hues or beige/tan hues. Photos do not do this product justice, it is extremely stunning and flattering. This is one of those products that you can wear every day, even though it is shimmer, without looking like you belong in a nightclub. When applied to the cheeks as blush and above for a highlighting effect, it allows your cheekbones to stand out and people will wonder how you're so naturally beautiful. The sign of a great face product is that it looks natural when you put it on, and this is exactly that. The texture is soft and the color payoff is amazing, the colors are not too bright, like some of the Tarina Tarantino or MAC colors tend to be, it is the right amount of color and there is no fall-out or waste. The product is a generous size and there are four shades of color to choose from. There is a highlight white tone, a ballet-pink shimmer, a mauve-rose blush and a fuschia pink blush. However, the fact that you can mix them all together in whichever way you want allows for uniqueness and creativity on your part. I highly recommend this product, it's one of those that get 100% from me.

Urban Decay Grifter Eyeshadow
This is one of my favorite eyeshadows. You have to realize the gravity of that statement when I say this about an eyeshadow that is not from MAC. Urban Decay's color payoff in this shade is brilliant, you get exactly what you see, you can wash the color out a little bit by applying it with a light hand or you can increase its potency by using a mixing medium or Visine when you apply it. Regardless, this is a product that looks great on fair skinned girls with brown eyes. It's got a quite a bit of pizzazz, some may not be comfortable wearing it at work because of the glitter inside of it. The glitter speckles can be quite large and if you have sensitive eyes, then I do not recommend this eyeshadow. I'm lucky enough to be able to wear it and I love it. This product isn't quite as silky smooth as the others I bought this haul, but it's not bad either. It's a good product for a good price ($17 retail) that you will get a ton of usage out of (I get hundreds and hundreds of applications from one of these pots). Just because it might not be for everyone and it's not from the best company ever made, I'm giving this product an 85%, but I would definitely recommend this to you.

Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Saint
Not particularly liking Kat Von D's style in general, I was reluctant to purchase her makeup and that's why I've waited until I completed my thorough research and asked as many opinions as I could about her products. Can I just say that I was blown away by the quality of this palette especially when comparing it to the price (it retails for $35). The similar predecessor of this palette is Urban Decay's Naked palette, which I also have, and the difference here is that Kat Von D's formula is a lot softer to wear while the colors are vibrant and beautiful, you probably have to use less of this product to get the color you want than of the Urban Decay one. Don't get me wrong, I love them both, but this palette seems a little more practical to me because it has a lot less glitter-specks (only the color '<3' and 'bookworm' have them) and they are very sheer. The palette also comes with her autograph pencil liner in black and this formula is comparable to the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner. This palette gets a 95% on my scale and it only doesn't achieve perfection because I wish there were even more colors and the palette was a little larger. However, the packaging is darling, the tin is made of metal and not cardboard like most palettes out there. I do wish that 'Pray For Me' was a little darker when swatched and the camera did not pick up the intensity of '<3' but trust me it really does look like the color you see in the palette.

Korres Wild Rose Compact Powder

I have read stellar reviews on Korres products in general but I've never been drawn to them until I randomly was walking through Sephora and touched this powder out of curiosity. Swatching this item feels like you are running your finger through a cloud. It most certainly is a far cry from MAC's studio-finish powders which are a little harsh to the touch. I don't yet know what kind of coverage this gives, but I tend to use my powder after foundations and this will work perfectly for me. Another bonus is that their 02 Golden Fair color is exactly my skin-tone and I rarely find my exact warmish pinkish hue in any makeup brand. I'm thrilled to try this out, you basically can't even see the powder on my skin in the swatch, but I assure you it is there. I give this product an 80% so far because I have yet to try it and I wish it had a little bit of shimmer in it for an even healthier glow (although I realize it's not practical to wear shimmer everywhere, I'm going to try to impress upon you that we should all always be wearing a bit of shimmer). Also, this didn't rate as high on my scale because I just can't get as excited about a powder as I can about eyeshadows, and the packaging was just bland. It opens up to reveal a little sponge underneath the product, which thoroughly annoyed me, because I thought there was going to be a lot more product (as the case would lead to believe) than there truly is. However, this is one of those products that is healthier than the rest because it is formed without parabens, aluminums and other nasty chemicals we shouldn't be putting on our faces, so I guess beauty and quantity suffer for health. It has a pleasant scent, sheer coverage and reduces shine, all bonuses when it comes to powder compacts. It's also $28 which is not quite as much as some of the other powders on the market.

Tarte for True Blood eyeshadow palette review

If you know me you know that I have a very profound love affair with eyeshadow palettes, whether they be Urban Decay, Estee Lauder, Tokidoki, or any other brand under the sun. Just the concept of so many brilliant color combinations with endless customization and room for individuality makes me a giddy girl. I've never purchased anything else from Tarte so I didn't know the quality of their products beforehand, this review is going to be completely unbiased, I don't have stock in the company and I'm not a long-term lover of their products. Truth be told, I bought the Tarte for True Blood palette because it had beautiful shades that I wanted for my wedding day and I'm a huge fan of HBO's hit True Blood!!!

First glamoured impressions
I was thrilled with the packaging, the cutesy miniature drawer that slides out to reveal a miniature mascara, eye primer and black eye liner (which is remarkably amazing and slides on as smooth and easily as butter) and the fact that you're getting 17 eyeshadows for $52. While the mascara and primer are nothing to write home about, they're great filler bonuses that are much appreciated, the company could have just given 17 eyeshadows and not included that adorable drawer with its perks.


Upon further fanged inspection
The colors that you find in this palette are anything but the radical tones you would expect from this goth-inspired packaging. The pigments are surprisingly neutral and very blendable, they are silky in texture and very smooth on the skin. Some have matte finishes, others have a mild sheen, and a few even have sparkles inside!

I have swatched the shadows so you can get a clear view of the color payoff on the skin of my hand, but keep in mind that this is without a primer or base and the photos were taken with a flash on because the lighting was poor. Therefore, the colors are far less saturated in reality. I particularly love the most neutral shades from the top two rows of the first swatch set (such as Fairy, The Light, Dusk, Dawn, and Waitress). 'The True Death' is a medium silver tone that is one of the most accomplished shades of gray I've seen in any makeup line.

The true death-verdict
I would recommend this palette to anyone who is considering starting an eyeshadow collection because it covers a lot of the basics (neutrals, blacks, matte.shimmer... you get base, highlight as well as contour shades). You also won't be making too many mistakes because the formula is very forgiving and easily blendable. If you are a collector, then definitely do not miss out on this limited-edition beauty. It has made me consider Tarte as one of the makeup brands to watch.