New Release: Anastasia Beverly Hills Maya Mia Palette (Limited Edition)

This week, a brand new palette was released from Anastasia Beverly Hills, and it is a collaboration between them and the Tanzanian makeup artist Maya Mia (maya_mia_y on Instagram), this is right on the heels of their Amrezy Palette Release last month. I notice familiar names between their latest palettes so let me delve right into my review of this palette.

The outer packaging and the cover of the palette itself are identical on top, the color choice is vibrant and frankly my favorite to date from Anastasia. I feel like their packaging has gotten more attractive and complex as their palettes have progressed over time.

The palette itself comes with the same dual-ended brush that was seen in the Amrezy palette and it is a very handy, usable brush (one side is a shadow packing brush and the other is a fine crease brush).

The back of the outer packaging includes a small preview, short explanation of the style of the palette, and details ingredients used.

Repeat colors from the Amrezy palette: Glisten, Vanilla and Caramel. 

Repeat colors from the Lavish palette: Sienna.

Unique colors: Nude, Deep Brown, Warm Taupe, Aqua, Fresh Peach, Gold Bar.

Out of the unique colors, the ones which performed best were Deep Brown, Warm Taupe, Gold Bar and Fresh Peach. I found that Aqua had to be packed on in multiple layers to get decent pigmentation, otherwise it just seems like a sheer wash of light blue. I really liked the impact of Deep Brown, it's a great shade to cut your crease with and darken your outer corner. I like that although there are repeats of colors in this palette range, the pops of color are unique, since those are probably the colors used least.

This palette included something extra special: 5 free look cards which detail how to achieve each look on the back - this is a great inclusion to inspire your daily makeup, especially if you want to do something extra special.

I used the first look card, it consisted of 4 shades: Vanilla, Warm Taupe, Sienna and Deep Brown. I chose to go with a less dramatic black winged liner, and this is the look I achieved:

Overall, I really thoroughly enjoyed this palette and I was able to pick it up from the Anastasia Beverly Hills flagship salon and store in Beverly Hills, close to Rodeo Dr. - which made it an even better experience for me! I also picked up a Contour Kit and am excited to review that for you soon (I have used it every day since purchasing it!)

Sleek Arabian Nights Palette

The packaging on the Sleek Arabian Nights Palette is absolutely breathtaking, it gives you a smokey, mysterious vibe, which is exactly what this Limited Edition palette is all about. It features 12 shades so you can create a versatile Arabic eye, whether it be vibrant, smokey or neutral.

The packaging of the palette itself is a sleek, thin, black plastic design with the name of the palette printed for clarity. This palette is ideal for travel, with each color being about the size of a nickel. 

There is an overlay which has all of the shade names printed on top, this isn't my favorite feature but a majority of palettes are made this way - I much prefer having the names printed on the actual packaging. However, seeing as this palette retails for about $12, this is definitely not a big deal if it keeps the retail price low. 

The variety of colors is what really drew me to purchase this particular palette as my first Sleek palette. I really like that there are shades of beige, yellow, taupe, green, teal, blue, bronze, brown, gray, plum and black - wow what a selection! One thing to note, however, is that almost all of the colors have micro-glitter, glitter, or a metallic sheen with the exception of Stallion which appears to be mostly matte.

I'm really impressed with the pigmentation of the Sleek eyeshadows - they have really great color payoff. They're easy to blend and really do pack a punch when you use them on your eyes. However, I have noticed that it's easiest to get the color I want by packing it on with my finger than with a brush, especially on my lid. I also think they're chalkier than the shadows I'm typically used to (but I am comparing them to much more expensive, high end makeup). Simbad's Seas is a shadow that is so pigmented and beautifully unique, as a mix between blue and purple, that it's worth the entire purchase of this palette just to get it.

I am a huge fan of the brown-leaning shades, I think they're hits in this palette (see Genie, Stallion, Aladdin's Lamp). The one with the least color payoff is Valley of Diamonds but it is such a beautiful blush pink with gold glitter that I would work with this shade just to use it - I personally adore this color and it can soften an otherwise fairly severe color palette. 

I only have 1 other smokey eye palette and this really fills a need I had in my makeup collection, so I'm very happy with this purchase. I really am very surprised with the great quality of these shadows (specifically for the price point) and I recommend that everyone purchase at least 1 palette from Sleek to try out (they have a huge selection of options). I got my palette from Amazon, since it's not readily available in the US, but the delivery only took a couple of days!

Eyes of the Day: Mrs. Mia Wallace Look

Since this year is the 20th anniversary of the cult classic Pulp Fiction and Urban Decay has released a Limited Edition Pulp Fiction eyeshadow palette  (based on the iconic character Mrs. Mia Wallace), I decided to do an Eyes of the Day post about her iconic look using the new palette.


In case you've been living under a rock for the past 20 years, this is what Mia Wallace (aka Uma Thurman) looked like in the movie, she was the quintessential babe of the 90s (1994 to be exact). She is subtle and natural and yet so dramatic with her severe lips, haircut and perfectly groomed brows.

The eyeshadow look tends to be quite wearable and natural, the guide for this look are on an insert inside the Pulp Fiction palette packaging. You can add more drama by using a black liquid or cream eyeliner, but I opted for the original with the eyeshadow "Furious" from the palette.

How to get the look:

This is what the shadows look like (you can re-create this look even if you don't own the palette, something similar like the Naked Basics or Physicians Formula Matte Eyeshadow Quad in Canyon Classics would do the trick).

I absolutely love this palette, it's so cute and reminds me of the 90's, I'll do a review very soon on it!

Most Loved: Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

Welcome to all of your childhood dreams of Willy Wonka chocolate bars. This Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette is something I *really* tried my hardest to avoid purchasing. At first, when it came out, the packaging was rather bulky and the tester in my local Sephora was so beaten up and abused by fellow beauty swatchers, that I really had no interest. Even when I saw the HSN promo for it, I was tempted but I held back... they even had an insane deal for the palette (regular retail is $49 at Ulta or Sephora). Alas, the packaging was too bulky and it would have taken too much space in my already over-flowing collection.

Cue the new, updated, summer packaging:

This packaging is literally half the thickness (girth?) of the previous one. My husband insisted on purchasing it for me when we were away on our summer vacation... and how could a girl resist, am I right?

And let me tell you... the scent... oh the smell is far better than you read or hear about. It's almost like a freshly opened truffle doused in cocoa powder. It's desirable and infectious, it makes opening this palette an absolute delight in the morning when I'm groggy, it wakes me right up in the most pleasant of ways!

The names of the colors are unique and ingenious, Too Faced is always very creative with their branding. I really did think that there would be duds in this palette in terms of pigmentation since I had heard from various blog/vloggers that Candied Violet and a few of the lighter shades were rather chalky or lacking pigmentation. I haven't noticed any product kick-up (though I don't typically go beast-mode hard into my shadows with my brushes) or patchiness upon application. I like that Too Faced decided to give us more of the highlight shades White Chocolate (matte finish) and Champagne Truffle (metallic finish), since these get used most frequently when creating looks.

You can really achieve a very subdued look or a more glamorous night-time look... you can even do a dark, goth look if you're feeling in the mood! So whether you're a bronze goddess or a child of the night, this palette really does have it all covered, the only caveat is that the shades are mostly warm-toned with the exception of Gilded Ganache, Triple Fudge, and Candied Violet.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette Swatches (No Primer, Ambient Lighting)

Matte: White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Triple Fudge, Salted Caramel, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon
Matte with Fine Glitter: Gilded Ganache, Black Forest Truffle, Cherry Cordial
Pearl with Fine Glitter: Candied Violet
Metallic: Marzipan, Amaretto, Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Champagne Truffle

I'm so happy with the pigmentation of these shadows, they perform very well, have great color payoff and I don't feel that I need to pack on too much of the shadow to get full opacity. There's such a good variety of matte, satin/shimmer (metallic) and more glittery shades. Salted Caramel is an absolute brilliant color for warming up the crease and transitioning darker shades. Candied Violet performs a lot better than I expected, and I really find that the glitter isn't too intense once you blend the shadow out. I think the most unique shade of the bunch is Cherry Cordial and I don't have anything else in my collection that looks similar to it (that's saying a lot!)

I highly recommend purchasing this if you apply eyeshadow on a daily basis and need to come up with wearable daytime or nighttime looks. This palette will be your best friend if you want a neutral palette with a little extra oomph. I reach for this palette more than I do my LORAC Pro, Kat Von D Saint palette, or my Urban Decay Naked 1, 2 and 3 combined because it's fun and I get the added bonus of a unique color selection and a waft of cocoa when using it!

Kawaii Chocolate Bar by Rooshoo, Click here.

First Look: Anastasia Amrezy Palette (Limited Edition)

For those of us that are avid fans of Anastasia Beverly Hills, whether it be for their brow products or eyeshadows, there is an exciting newly released palette created by a very popular Instagram makeup artist named Amrezy. Since this collection was formulated through a collaboration between Anastasia's own daughter (who is responsible for the buttery texture and pigmentation of the company's eyeshadows) and a makeup artist who clearly has great taste, since her own Instagram photos are breathtaking, this palette is a huge win. You can purchase the palette on the Anastasia website or through ULTA.

I am in awe at the color selection. These colors are everything I have ever wanted in a palette... it has a good mix of neutrals for every day wear and some pops of gemstone colors (Iridescent Purple and Emerald) which are flattering for all eye colors. There are 10 shadows in total, with the top row containing shimmery satin finish and the bottom row being matte (a format popularized by the Lorac Pro palette).

The palette also features a double-sided brush with one side suited to deposit color onto the eyelid and the other side is a small crease brush, perfect for creating cut-crease looks or blending out your colors.

You might think that this palette looks familiar to the Lavish Palette but I think that the shades and formulations of the eyeshadows is superior in the Amrezy palette. The reason I say this is that although Sienna performs similarly to Morocco, Pink Sapphire, Ballet and Black Diamond were disappointing (they do not stay on the lid well and need to be packed on heavily). The pigmentation seems to be much more potent with the colors of the Amrezy palette (Iridescent Purple is far superior to Pink Sapphire) and I have not yet noticed any fall out.

All of the swatches below were created with a single swipe:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Palette - Top Row Swatches (Shimmer)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Palette - Bottom Row Swatches (Matte)

If you don't own any Anastasia palette, I think this is an amazing introductory palette for your collection, especially since it is VERY reasonably priced at $29. You will get a lot of wear from these colors and manage to achieve a wide variety of looks. The packaging is absolutely adorable and extremely feminine, this is a product that feels much more luxe than its price tag.

If you have other Anastasia palettes in your collection, you should still pick this one up since I'm 99.9% positive that this is the best eyeshadow formulation so far from the brand.

Product Review: Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette

The Smashbox Full Exposure Palette is one I've constantly looked at in Sephora but have never purchased because the packaging wasn't gimmicky enough to draw me in or there was always something else I was coveting more. However, when I learned that Macy's had a travel sized version of the palette featuring 8 shades from the original 14 of the palette, I was thrilled! This was exactly what I wanted - to dabble in the palette and avoid colors I may not be incredibly fond of (such as some of the repeating nudes and grays).

The travel-sized Smashbox Full Exposure palette is so small it fits in the palm of my hand (and I have small hands) and it retails for $22 (Macy's often has discounts, however so I got mine for $15). The full sized palette features 14 colors and retails for $49. The travel palette features 8 shades at .02625oz each versus the 0.035 oz sized shadows of the original palette. The travel palette is sleek, can fit in any purse and seems quite resilient as it is made out of plastic - it even contains a miniature mirror for any on-the-go touch-ups.

Top Row: Chocolate brown with golden pearl, soft gold with gold and silver pearl, light tan with gold and silver pearl, midtone slate with silver pearl

Bottom Row: Matte warm chocolate brown, soft matte midtone tan, creamy matte beige, ashy dark brown

Here are my swatches of the palette. I'm incredibly happy with this travel-sized palette as I don't think I would have splurged on the full size and this really satisfies my craving for this line. I really think this palette is fairly similar to the Lorac Pro Palette but it is a travel friendly version. The shadows are buttery, perform well and are easy to blend... I find that this would be particularly useful for someone who wants an easy look or is new to eyeshadow combinations.

Monarch & Chrysalis

Monarch & Chrysalis by lethalglam featuring Kat Von D's brand new eyeshadow palettes, exclusively available at Sephora, called Crysalis (purples) and Monarch (oranges)

Butterfly hair pin
etsy.com

Butterfly bangle
amazon.com

Vintage mini dress
ladyvlondon.com

Kat Von D matte palette eyeshadow
sephora.com

Kat Von D matte palette eyeshadow
sephora.com

Stila long wear eyeliner
beauty.com

High heel shoes
etsy.com

Kaiser Craft Enchanted Garden Collection 12"x12" Single Sided Glitter...
franticstamper.com

Product Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Lavish Palette

Woohoo, I'm so excited that I finally got this palette after eyeing it for half a year! It went on sale, as I mentioned in a previous post about offers from cosmetic companies. I was so happy to be able to pick this up for just $24 (shipping was free). I've seen bloggers and vloggers rave about this palette so I needed to see what all the hype was about.

Here's a closer look at the shadows (picture taken in natural light):

I'm happy with the range of colors, this is definitely a gem-toned palette.... I love the inclusion of pink, green, various light shades and even a black (albeit sparkly), plus there's definitely a good range of transition shades.

Here are my swatches:

Cream: Light peach beige, matte finish (very close to my skintone so you can barely see it) but it had great color payoff

Antique: Grayish taupe, frosted finish, great pigmentation and color payoff

Rum Cake: Copper brown with orange undertone, frost finish, best color payoff in the palette

Moss: Olive green with golden flecks, frosted finish, decent color payoff

Truffle: Reddish brown, pearl finish, so-so color payoff but good pigmentation

Ballet:  Peachy pink with silver sparkles (on the larger side), sheerest of the palette with fairly poor color payoff because it is the second most powdery

Orange Soda: Light orange, matte finish, most powdery shade with the poorest color payoff even though it has good pigmentation - it tends to blend away 

Sienna: Coppery reddish brown, matte finish, decent color payoff

Pink Sapphire: Pinkish coppery  brown, frosted metallic finish, good pigmentation (disappointing, however, because it is a lot less pink than I had hoped)

Black Diamond: Medium to dark brown with copper and gold microglitter, texture is a little dry and it tends to skip so it's more difficult to blend out, but it has good color payoff

I'll have to do a look to let you guys know how I feel about the shadows overall, but from the looks of it you can get very nice brown, copper, or orange-based looks with this palette.... I definitely think it's a great little beginner palette since the colors are very smooth and buttery and none of the pigmentation is too intense (a la Urban Decay Electric Palette) so you won't mess up your look by accidentally applying too much.

I think the value was very good, it came to about $2.40 per eyeshadow (0.031 oz each) compared to a MAC eyeshadow which costs $10 per pan (at 0.05 oz each) - so you're getting shadows for about 2.6X cheaper per quantity. I do have to say that I was hoping the shade Pink Sapphire was going to be more of a saturated pink rather than copper leaning, but it's still very wearable and one of my favorite colors in the palette.

Urban Decay Electric Palette Sneak Peek and Swatches

I managed to get my hands on the new up-coming Urban Decay Electric palette and I wanted to take swatches for everyone to see. My palette isn't complete and didn't come with a brush but I do know it's going to be a dual-ended brush with purple bristles - one end will be for the inner corner/lining and the other will be for packing color onto the lids. I don't know the release date of this palette but I have read on forums that it's slotted for spring/summer 2014 - I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Urban Decay has for many years been one of my favorite makeup brands and the quality of these shadows is up to par with their regular, fantastic formulation. There's a wide range of colors including silver, blues, greens (even a chartreuse!), orange, pinks and purples. For those of you who are makeup lovers, at first glance this palette may be overwhelming in terms of how saturated the colors are, but I think you could wear these on a daily basis, especially when used sparingly to warm up the crease or along your waterline.

Urban Decay Electric Palette - indoor lighting

The colors vary and are in a range of textures/finishes, there are definitely some which tilt more towards matte texture (Savage) and others which are packed with sparkles (Revolt) but for the most part, there is tiny microglitter when you look at the pans. All of the colors are very soft and buttery and easy to load up onto your brush.

Urban Decay Electric Palette - natural lighting

I'm not sure if these colors are new to their line-up or if they are re-releasing some of the vintage or redux colors, so I really can't comment on that - some of them do look very familiar from their previous Book of Shadows.

Here are the swatches (no primer used):

Urban Decay Electric Palette - Top Row Swatches - natural lighting

Revolt is a silver jam packed full of glitter chunks, I love this color in the inner corner of the eye. Gonzo is a bright baby blue which appears to have microglitter in the pan but when swatched it really doesn't appear as much. Slowburn is a medium orange with microglitter. Savage is a mostly-matte Barbie pink. Fringe is a pearl finish teal that swatches between blue and forest green.

Urban Decay Electric Palette - Bottom Row Swatches - natural lighting

Chaos is a cerulean blue with microglitter. Jilted is a shimmery duo-chrome fushcia which reflects ever so slightly purple. Urban is a classic Urban Decay purple which reminds me of Underland from their LE Alice in Wonderland palette. Freak is a beautiful vibrant mint green and Thrash is a Chartreuse (in between a green and a cooler yellow).

All in all, I'm so excited about this palette because I feel like it's a nice return to the company's roots of out-of-the-box color and individuality. While I love the Naked palettes and own all of them (even the Basics collection), so many companies have started following that trend and Urban Decay is making a smart move bringing color back!

UPDATE: Caution, the colors Slowburn, Savage, Jilted and Urban are not indicated for use on the sensitive eye areas. I think the packaging of this palette says that because they probably use a red dye that is not FDA approved for cosmetics. I have personally used these on my eyes and it was fine, but I don't have sensitive skin or eyes, so please be cautious if you do!