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.

Too Faced La Creme Lipstick

Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lip Cream in Taffy (Outer Packaging)

Today I bring you a review and photos of the new (to me) Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lip Cream in the color Taffy (Retail price: $22, sold at Sephora, ULTA, and other Too Faced retailers). This present was actually given to me by a friend for my birthday last week and he chose the color, personally I think he did a great job! 

These color drenched lip creams are filled with lip-conditioning hydrators such as lotus flower which help to keep your lips moisturized (especially during the cooler months) while giving a plump appearance. 

Too Faced La Creme Lipstick Packaging

First let's talk about the packaging, everything about it from the heavy metallic feel to the embossed writing absolutely screams luxury product. On the cap, there is a monogrammed "TF" to add to the dramatic upscale flare of the packaging.

Too Faced La Creme Lipstick in "Taffy"

Taffy is described by Too Faced as a "pink marshmallow nude" and I think they're spot on, except that the color does not correlate with their "melted marshmallow" color in the Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick line (that one is a more blue-based and pale, similar to a Barbie pink) - that's where the "nude" comes in which differentiates the two shades.

This color is perfect for someone who is unwilling to take many lipstick risks or a daytime appropriate look (office, school, etc). I adore this color as it's really easy to put on in the morning and then go about a daily routine without worrying about using a lip liner or cleaning up with concealer after application around the lip line.

Even though this lipstick is considered a creme, it isn't sheer the way that might suggest. There is a good amount of buildable pigment in the formula and super moisture which almost feels glossy on the lips and has the staying power of 4+ hours (obviously not through eating or drinking as this isn't a staining product). The lipstick smells like a faint vanilla cupcake, it's extremely pleasant and easy to wear, it's not an overpowering or unpleasant scent.

Overall, I think the Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lip Cream is another great product from the Too Faced line and I can say that they are quickly becoming my favorite brand in the market for consistent pigmentation across products, great packaging and unique concepts, I also appreciate their efforts to use more "natural" and "good for you" ingredients in their products.

For the holidays, you can find the La Creme Lipsticks in a gift set,
Too Faced Under The Mistletoe La Creme Limited Edition Lipstick Trio and Glitter Bag: Shimmering Marshmallow Bunny, Shimmering Spice Spice Baby & Shimmering Naked Dolly which retails for cheaper than purchasing all 3 of the colors at $22 each.

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!!!

IPSY November 2014 Glam Bag: Girl Meets Glitter (Review & Swatches)

November brings about fall and all things related to apple cider, scarves and pumpkin spiced latte (obviously, autumn is very related to warm drinks in my mental association). However, to IPSY, the $10/month beauty subscription, November means glitz, glam and glitter! I'm surprised this theme didn't make it to December for the holidays but hey, I'll take the festivities a little early. 

This was probably one of the best bags I have received in months, but it's coupled with the sadness that I couldn't bring you last month's bag since my neighbor ripped it open and stole its contents (IPSY was nice enough to send me a new one but it's still in transit for at least a week).

If you don't already have your own Glam Bag, go git you one ASAP! This also makes a wonderful gift for the holidays!

Be a Bombshell Eye Base in Submissive

This Be a Bombshell Eye Base claims to be a concealer and base in one but I would consider it more of a cream eyeshadow in a pot, similar to the Maybelline Color Tattoos but it feels more jelly-like to the touch. This product isn't opaque enough to be a concealer or to cover up the appearance of discoloration and pigmentation on the lids. I received the color Submissive (which was sent to all Ipsters) which is an intense creamy bronze with gold shimmer. I enjoyed that this was a full size item but did not particularly love the slightly chemical scent. I do not enjoy the products by Be a Bombshell but this is the best one Ipsy has sent out even though I really wish they would stop working with this brand.

Retail Price: $14 (Full size)

Elizabeth Mott - You're So FINE Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Glitterati

Elizabeth Mott is a fairly expensive indie brand that I've heard very little about outside of the IPSY subscription, but I'm so glad they have introduced me to them since I have loved their eyeliner pencils and eyeshadows so much thus far! This month, I received the You're SO Fine Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner and it is full sized and in the shade Glitterati (black with shimmer in it). The brush tip allows you to achieve a precise and very fine line but you need steady hands, I always find that liquid eyeliners in brush form are a lot less forgiving during application than sponge-tipped pen eyeliners. That being said the color is very opaque and the glitter is not gaudy, this is a good product that is well suited for the holidays!

Retail Price: $17.99 (Full size)

J. Cat  Beauty Wonder Lip Paint in Red Potion

J. Cat Beauty is another brand that I'm not thrilled about receiving since it's a drugstore brand with more misses than hits but I was intrigued about their Wonder Lip Paint since it seems to be an OCC Lip Tar dupe (specifically of Black Dahlia). I love the intense color of the shade Red Potion but it is best applied with a lip brush and rather slowly so you don't stain your skin. a little bit goes a very long way. This shade also has smile-enhancing properties as it makes your teeth appear brighter and whiter. Now we have to keep it real here on my blog so I have to admit that there is a strong chemical/burnt rubber scent to this product that should not be overlooked, if you are sensitive to smells like I am, I can't recommend it.

Retail Price: $4.99 (Full size)

Temptu S/B Highlighter in Pink Pearl

I'm a long-time fan of the Temptu brand because I own one of their Pro Airbrushes with a ton of their products (thanks to my hubby for getting me that for Valentine's day years ago!) and I was so excited to see one of their products this month! This is a Temptu S/B Highlighter in the shade Pink Pearl but we received a very small sample size which is 1/10th of the size of the product. This can be applied by airbrush or by gently dabbing it onto your cheekbones with your finger (just as you would apply any of the Benetint products). 

As a sidenote, if you were interested, S/B means silicone-based which refers to the base that is used to make the product. Silicone based products tend to have dimethicone which is a substance found in primers that creates the nice slip to the product which allows it to slide on to your face while being a pore filler. Typically if silicone-based products are listed near the beginning of the products used in your foundation, you should try to use "like" products and not mix them with water-based formulas since they will tend to separate.

Retail Price: $2.75 (Sample size)

Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Hairspray

This is a fruity smelling Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Hairspray by Marc Anthony and it is a decent sized item that can be useful for traveling. I liked the hold on this and the fact that it didn't smell the way generic hair products can smell like a mixture of aerosol chemicals. I'm pleased with this addition to my bag since it doesn't leave my hair stiff, sticky but rather soft and clean.

Retail Price: $1.38 (Sample size)

The bag this month was a very flexible vinyl finished bag with a glitter which was deep set inside of the vinyl-like finish so there was no glitter fall-out or catastrophes. It also had a pink zipper, I think this bag is very cute and it was designed by Forever 21 in conjunction with Ipsy (it says so on the tag, sorry I forgot to take a photo of it).

The total value of my bag this month was $41.11 (over 4x what I pay for this subscription)! I was happy with the way the products were curated for me except for brand preferences (I would rather not receive J. Cat Beauty or Be a Bombshell Cosmetics in the future). I hope that I will get lots of use out of some of these items and that IPSY continues to get better at their IPSY Match algorithm which matches individuals to products each month based on a preference quiz.

Sign up for the IPSY monthly subscription or gift it to someone else here!

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.

Blog Sale - Beauty Items for Extremely Cheap (more than 50% off brand new in box Items)

Milani Color Statement Lipsticks, Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Hazel Eyes, Burt's Bees 100% Natural Lip Shine

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to do a quick post informing you of my blog sale. I'm trying to get rid of some excess stuff I have that is brand new and I'm doing so at the MUABS (Makeup Addict Blog Sale) website. Check out the stuff that I have for sale, you may be interested... it's an awesome deal... you can get everything for 50% off or cheaper than you would ever find it elsewhere!

Here are just some of the items I have for sale right now (I'll be updating these all the time, I still have a ton more stuff, don't worry!)

Maybelline Color Tattoo Leathers

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara + Starlooks Amethyst Eye Pencil

Physicians Formula Concealers, Blush and Bronzing Stones

Assorted Nail Polishes

Perfume, Pacifica Body Butter, Nail Treatments & Skin Treatments

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!
- Alex