MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Smoky Mauve

The MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Smoky Mauve ($24CAD/$20USD) deserves boatloads of praise. After the 2013 release of the MAC In Extra Dimension Collection (limited edition), it's easy to understand why MAC has re-released the In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows as a permanent range. With 18 shades of eyeshadow, the Prep and Prime 24HR Extend Eye Base, the 233 Split Fibre Eye Shadow Brush and the 234 Split Fibre Eye Blending Brush, this collection is sure to please any eye makeup lover. 

MAC says that the In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows come in sheer crystallized finishes to stunning metallic. It's clear that Smoky Mauve is most certainly classified as a stunning metallic, as it looks almost liquid-like. Below, I've swatched Smoky Mauve without foiling it. When wet, the shadow tends to sheer out. 

Left - heavily swatched; Right - blended 

Smoky Mauve is a cool, medium purple with tons of silver glitter that gives the shadow a ton of dimension. It's actually a great shade for wearing all over the lid because when blended, the colour mysteriously appears slightly brown. 

I could use all the beauty blogger buzz words to describe the texture of this eyeshadow. It's smooth, buttery, soft to the touch, silky and blends like a dream. For such a shimmery shadow, it's a bit startling that Smoky Mauve has little no fallout. Further, I have slightly oily eyelids and the shadow lasts all day without primer. Perhaps it's what MAC describes as a "modern hybrid formula" which pairs the smoothness of a cream, blendability of a liquid and the long-wear and dimension of a powder. 

All in all, well done on this re-release, MAC. A+. Beyond Smoky Mauve, there's quite a number of shades that are piquing my interest... (Silver Dawn, Legendary Lure, Stolen Moment...and more). 

What do you think of the MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows? Will you be picking any up? 

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Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios in Out of the Blue, Neapolitan & Purple Eclipse

The Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios ($14 each) are nothing new but May 16th, 2015, Mary Kay is putting out three new colour variations. I remember testing one of these out but I guess I never ended up reviewing them. All I have to say is they're AMAZING.

Out of the Blue // satin finish blue, shimmery warm brown, shimmery gold

Neapolitan // satin finish pearl, satin finish medium brown, shimmery finish light pink

Purple Eclipse // matte pastel pink, matte black, matte purple

The Mary Kay At Play Baked Eye Trios are three eyeshadows with varying finishes in each set. The shadows are ridiculously pigmented (all of them) with both neutral and slightly more "fun" colours like blues and purples. Out of the three, my favourite is a toss up between Out of the Blue and Neapolitan. I find Purple Eclipse to be unique but quite hard to wear.

There's some fallout but this is curbed with careful patting of a flat brush instead of using a bendy fluffy one. The shadows are soft, smooth, and blendable (aka *beauty blogger eyeshadow buzz words*). The shadows look fresh from first application to 7 hours later when worn with primer. I couldn't really ask for much more in terms of formulation. 

What do you think of the swatches? Which is your favourite? 

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Mary Kay At Play Shadow & Liner in Iced Lilac, Mint to Be, Rebel Rose & Caramellow

Ain’t nothing like a dual-ended eye product. 2-in-1 things always get me because the more portable and multi-tasking my makeup is… the better. New from Mary Kay At Play are the Shadow & Liners ($15 each). The Mary Kay At Play Shadow & Liners come in 4 shades – Mint to Be, Iced Lilac, Rebel Rose and Caramellow. They’re dual ended shadow and liner sticks that are meant to make eye makeup easier. 

Mary Kay says that these are ultra-creamy and smooth with rich colour payoff, smudge-proof, fade-proof, and buildable. For the most part, I would agree. All four eyeshadow shades are rich in colour with a pearlized finish. The shadows don’t crease or smudge on me throughout the entirety of a 8 hour work day. As for the eyeliners, they’re smooth, creamy and pigmented but for some reason transfer like crazy onto the wrong parts of my eyelid in less than an hour of wearing them. Furthermore, the eyeliners have no sharpening mechanism and get thicker at the base (I had a similar problem with The Body Shop Matte Kajals). 

Iced Lilac

Lilac Shadow/Purple Liner

Mint To Be 

Froggy Green Shadow/Forest Green Liner

Rebel Rose

Rose Shadow/Black Liner

Caramellow

Caramel Shadow/Brown Liner

The colours are super pretty! My favourite combo is Iced Lilac. Caramellow is the most wearable but I find the caramel-gold eyeshadow to be a bit too warm for my preferences. Unfortunately, the liner doesn’t work well with my lids but the cream eyeshadows are gorgeous!

What do you think of these shadows and liners? Which one is your favourite? 

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Hard Candy Eye Def Glitter Eyeshadow in Sequin & Walk the Line Eyeliner in Black Light

Pretty swatches, not so great products. Lately, I've been pretty on board with Hard Candy products but these are two purple products that I was very disappointed with - the Hard Candy Eye Def Glitter Eyeshadow in 327 Sequin and the Walk the Line Eyeliner in 790 Black Light ($5.98 each, exclusively at Walmart). 

Hard Candy Eye Def Glitter Cream Eyeshadow in 327 Sequin 

The glittery deep purple hue of Sequin looks like it will make the perfect addition to a purple smokey eye. It's not. For one, the texture is hard to blend. While the doe foot applicator is handy, every time I attempted to layer the product (be it with the doe foot or my fingertips), it would wipe away the layer before leaving a "bald" patch on my eyelid. This made it impossible to build colour. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Furthermore, Hard Candy says this is a long-wearing product. Well, it most certainly is...to the point that it stained my lids. 

Hard Candy Walk the Line Eyeliner in 790 Black Light

This bright purple liner looks so wonderful in the tube. The colour isn't the issue - it's slightly sheer when applied but a second layer makes it fully opaque. The brush tip is flared and it's almost impossible to create a sharp line. It's almost fixable. I could dip a finer brush into the tube, but the tube is too small... 

Not surprisingly, every brand has great, so-so, and not so great products. That being said, if you're at your local Walmart and think these look cool, I suggest you skip them. There are much better products available from Hard Candy. Keep in mind that I've only tested out a single colour for each of these products, so other colours may differ. 

 Is there anything you've tried lately that you weren't happy with? 

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Hard Candy Top Ten Trendsetter Eyeshadow Palette in 890 Birthday Suit

A few months ago, I reviewed the Hard Candy Top Ten Classics Eyeshadow Palettes in Smoke Out and Feelin' Blue. Hard Candy also has a Top Ten Trendsetters Eyeshadow Palettes Line which features "fashion forward colours with matte, shimmer, glitter and metallic finishes. What might seem to be the most boring to some is the most interesting for me - the Top Ten Trendsetters Eyeshadow Palette in 890 Birthday Suit ($5.98, exclusively at Walmart). It's all matte, mostly neutrals with a few pops of colour... not something you see often at the drugstore. 

Swatched over Hard Candy Eye's the Limit Smokey Eyeshadow Primer

On a daily basis, I don't work with mattes because I haven't found a formula that I love. While I don't love the Hard Candy matte eyeshadow formula, they're not bad. The lighter shades are a little chalky but nothing but the medium-toned and darker shades are quite nice. With the help of a little primer, all the shades look pretty great. In terms of workability, the mattes in 890 Birthday Suit are fairly easy to blend and build and stay on my lids for 6-7 hours before fading away. 

Overall, not the best or the worst eyeshadows but this palette is great if you're looking for some affordable mattes. 

Do you have a favourite drugstore matte palette? 

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Hard Candy Smokey Eyes Look Pro! Tin Palette

The Hard Candy Smokey Eyes Look Pro! Tin Palette ($7.98, exclusively at Walmart) is a new, fun little number for your eyes. The one stop eye look shop includes nine of the eyeshadows, Eyes the Limit Eye Shadow Primer, a dual ended foam applicator, a mini Take Me Out Eyeliner in Soy, and an instructional card for three looks. 

The Look Pro! Tin palettes are also available in 927 Natural Eyes and 926 Sassy Eyes - which include the same primer and eyeliner but different variations of eyeshadows. 

Seem familiar? If you haven't already guessed, the tin packaging seems to be an affordable take on the Too Faced eyeshadow palettes. While the Hard Candy Eyeshadow formula isn't quite on par with the buttery, softness of Too Faced, Hard Candy's offerings are of decent quality if you can handle a little fallout. 

Each row of three represents a look - day (warm neutrals), evening (cool neutrals), and drama (purples). For all three rows, there's a definite pattern. the first shade is shimmery, the second is a satin shimmer, and the third is a deep matte. As aforementioned, there's a bit of fallout with all of the shades. Furthermore, the lightest shades seem to be a little chalky and hard to work with. For the most part, everything else in the palette is pigmented yet easy to work with. 

The primer is good but a little silicone-feeling and slippy for my liking. I prefer a primer that's more tacky. As for the eyeliner, it's pretty standard - ultra-black and creamy, fairly long-wearing (5-6 hours).

I was slightly disappointed to see that all three looks in the instruction card were variations on the exactly the same look - the lightest shade up to the brow, the medium shade all over the lid, and the darkest shade in the outer corner and the crease. The instructions are good for a beginner but pretty useless otherwise. Here's how the looks turned out: 

Day Look

Evening Look

Drama Look

Overall, I'd say that this is a really, really good beginner neutral palette. It's got some neutrals, darks, and a little colour - with the addition of a primer and liner. My favourite look is definitely the Day Look, as this is what's most similar to my daily makeup. 

Have you tried the Hard Candy Look Pro! Tins?  What's your favourite smokey look - day, evening, or drama? 

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New York Color Cityproof 24HR Waterproof Eyeshadows in Brooklyn Mocha, Tribeca Taupe, New York at Night, Central Park Tulips & East River Romance and Primer

Color in your eyes with the new New York Color CityProof 24HR Primer and Waterproof Eyeshadows ($2.99 each). There's 12 shades, a variety of your everyday neutrals with some vibrant pops of colour like purple, blue, and green. While I like the user-friendly colour in your eyes and go concept, the packaging isn't of the highest quality. The clear plastic caps are ughhh and the purple crayon already broke. 

Pictured above are the New York Color Cityproof 24HR Primer and Waterproof Eyeshadow Crayons in 605 Brooklyn Mocha, 610 Tribeca Taupe, 635 New York at Night, 640 Central Park Tulips, 650 East River Romance. 

There's 12 shades in the line. Not pictured are 600 Wall Street Bronze, 615 5th Ave Gold Rush, 620 Murray Hill Champagne, 625 Rockefeller Center Snowflakes (White), 630 Empire State Building (Gray), 645 Long Island Blue, 655 Madison Square Park (Green).

The primer (far left) is like a flesh-toned NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil. It's similarly creamy and a touch less sticky. It's a good primer (enhances coloured shadows) but nothing noteworthy on the staying-power front. 

Blended

There's no doubt that the shadows are vibrant and pigmented. However, the important thing to note here is that they're not all consistent. The bronze, purple, and blue have some glitter running through them, which makes them drag on the lids and a bit harder to blend out than the taupe and black. The taupe is slightly creamier and easier to work with than the black due to the pigment. 

Across all 5 shades is creasing. These are by no means 24 hour wear. The colours set quickly on the lids but by the third or fourth hour, these cream eyeshadows begin to crease if you don't set with a powder. When set with a powder, the New York Color Cityproof Waterproof Eyeshadows pass the all-day-long test. 

Overall, nothing to write home about but for $2.99, Tribeca Taupe is a stellar neutral matte base. 

Have you seen these at your drugstore yet? 

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Mary Kay Paradise Calling Whipped Eye Colors in Tiki Hut & Seafoam // Spring 2015

...and these are the last makeup products but certainly not the least in the Mary Kay Paradise Calling collection for Spring 2015. The Mary Kay Paradise Calling Whipped Eye Colors ($18) in Tiki Hut and Seafoam are lightweight cream eyeshadows. Not quite as bright or bold as the Nail Lacquers or Lacquered Lip Shines but pretty easy on the eyes. 

Mary Kay Paradise Calling Whipped Eye Colors in Seafoam and Tiki Hut

The texture of the Mary Kay Paradise Calling Whipped Eye Colors is not different from that of the Lise Watier Ombre Souffle Supremes. The formula is soft and airy. It feels smooth to the touch and, put simply, a dream to blend over the eyelids. 

One swipe yields sheer yet buildable color. The whipped eye colors can be layered up to something a bit more vibrant without looking cakey or patchy. Seafoam is a light green with golden-green shimmer and Tiki Hut is a medium brown with bronze shimmer. I love the pearly finish for a sheer wash of colour. The product dries to a powder finish and lasts all day without creasing (I've been wearing it for the last 10 hours as I write this up). 

Seafoam

Tiki Hut 

Overall, a the whipped eye colors are a hit. The buildable feature of this cream eyeshadow makes for a one-product eyeshadow look, perfectly paired with any bold lip or blush combo. 

What do you think of the Paradise Calling Whipped Eye Colors? 

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Make Up For Ever x Fifty Shades of Grey Give In To Me Set // Valentine's Day 2015

Sexy. Sultry. Romantic. Alluring. Sounds like my attraction for makeup. But it's actually a collaboration between Fifty Shades of Grey and Make Up For Ever. MUFE has partnered with Universal Pictures and Fifty Shades of Grey to bring limited edition sets to help fans of the acclaimed novel recreate beauty looks from the movie. One of the limited edition sets is the Make Up For Ever Give in To Me - Alluring Color for Eyes and Lips ($90 CAD) - 5 pretty Make Up For Ever products inspired by Ana, the main character in the movie, to encapture here transformation from an innocent college student to a passionate woman. 

The set is available now at Sephora for a limited time only and the Fifty Shades of Grey movie will be released Valentine's Day 2015 (February 13). 

In the set: 4 Artist Shadow Palette (I-514, ME-612, S-556, I-628), Graphic Liner, Travel Smoky Extravagant Mascara, Rouge Artist Natural N4, Lab Shine D14, Exclusive Keepsake Box 

The keepsake box is a textured patent leather with light pink finishings. Atop the pink is embossed silver text - quotes from the Fifty Shades of Grey novel. I'm not sure how I feel about the quotes. It's great for a Fifty Shades fan, but the box would look more refined without the quotes. 

Open the box, and there's a large mirror. To the left, a large storage space and to the right, a *secret* covered compartment. The key/knob doesn't serve any purpose other than embellishment. 

The set also comes with a pamphlet outlining the secrets of Fifty Shades of Grey Head of Makeup Department, Victoria Down. Step-by-step, it describes three looks - Ana's Natural, Sultry, and Empowered looks. *A post with the 3 looks is coming up soon!*

// Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow Quad ($96) in: 

• I-514 (pink ivory iridescent)
• ME-612 (silver brown metallic) 
• S-556 (taupe grey satin) 
• I-628 (reptile iridescent) 

I love the MUFE Artist Shadows. There are 210 shades available and I'm happy that Make Up For Ever took the liberty of cutting it down to 4 wearable yet unique neutrals, all of which I would wear. 

// Make Up For Ever Graphic Liner ($29)

The recently launched MUFE Graphic Liner is a stunner. The tip is ultra-fine and the colour is ultra-black. It may be overly long-wearing for some, as I had the hardest time removing a swatch off my hand. I tried the MUFE Sens'Eyes Waterproof Make Up Remover, Annabelle Makeup Remover Lotion and the Biotherm Cleansing Oil...and there's still a soft black line on the back of my hand. 

// Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara Travel Size ($14)

Previously reviewed, the Smoky Extravagant Mascara is pretty great on the counts of volume, length and curl. The cone-shaped brush is both interesting and useful for catching the baby lashes at the corners of my eyes. My only issue with this mascara is that it smudges on me. This is easily fixed with a coat of another smudge-proof mascara over the top but a little of a hassle. 

// Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural in N4 (pink beige) ($23)

I've tried the MUFE Rouge Artist Natural in N9 and am just as much as happy with N4. The lipsticks are soft and creamy, sheer and with a shiny finish, and comfortable to wear on the lips. 

// Make Up For Ever Lab Shine Diamond Collection D14 (shimmering Indian pink) ($22)

Looks natural on the lips. It's a sheer pink with a silver shimmer running through. There's a really satisfying fruity aroma. For the first couple hours, the lip gloss is comfortable but after the shine wears away all that's left is glitter... and unfortunately, it ain't pretty. 

 Make Up For Ever Graphic Liner, Make Up For Ever Artist Shadows in I-514, ME-612, S-556, I-628, Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural in N4, Make Up For Ever Lab Shine Diamond in D14

Overall, this set is a winner and at a $204 value you can't go wrong. The quality of some of my Make Up For Ever favourites in hand-selected shades that can be worn in a natural look and built up to something more sultry. For any Fifty Shades fanatic or your partner or any woman in your life that you love, this set would make the perfect Valentine's Day gift. 

That being said, I have NOT read the Fifty Shades of Grey novel. However, this Make Up For Ever set is kind of turning me on. I'll probably give in and watch the movie. Stay tuned for Victoria Down's Natural, Sultry & Empowered looks on the blog next! 

Have you read Fifty Shades of Grey? What do you think of this set? 

PS: If you're not into eye makeup, there's also some stunning lip and blush trios!! Check out the Sephora website for more deets. 

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CoverGirl Eyeshadow Quad in Notice Me Nudes

Who doesn't love a good ol' neutral palette? The last CoverGirl nude eyeshadow palette that I tried was a total dud (CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Quad in Sheerly Nudes) and I had lost all hope in CoverGirl pressed eyeshadows. Newly launched at the drugstore is the CoverGirl Eye Shadow Quad in 700 Notice Me Nudes (~$7.99). These reformulated eyeshadows bear striking resemblance to the Maybelline Eye Studio Palettes and boast smooth, even application with rich, buildable color pigments. My only hope in testing out this palette was that CoverGirl could redeem itself in the eyeshadow department. 

The new CoverGirl Eye Shadow Quads are available in hues of gold, purple, silver, pink and blue - 705 Go for the Golds, 710 Va-Va Violets, 715 Stunning Smokeys, 720 Blooming Blushes, 725 Breathtaking Blues. 

... And I was thoroughly impressed. Smooth, blendable shadows with rich pigmentation. Notice Me Nudes is 1,000-fold better than Sheerly Nudes. While this isn't a particularly groundbreaking drugstore eyeshadow quad, it's quite good. There's a little fallout but shades pair well together, there's a nice range of finishes, and the shadows are easy to work with. 

There's no sort of names or instructions for each of the shades in the palette. From the left, 'd describe the first shade as a pearly champagne, the second as a rich shimmering cocoa, the third as a matte neutral brown and the last as a matte deep brown with gold shimmer.  

A quick glance at the CoverGirl website explains what the whole "1, 2, 3, 4" on the packaging means in the "how to apply" section. The numbers are 4 steps to create an eyeshadow look using the quad. 

1. Illuminate. Cover the base of your eye from lash line to brow bone
2. Enrich. Sweep your eyelid gently with a pop of rich color
3. Frame. Blend each shade into the crease along the outer half of the eyelid. 
4. Intensify. Contour by Apply Shadow along your eye line emphasizing the outer corner. 

These steps are a no-brainer for me, quite representative of how I normally apply neutral eyeshadows. Following the "how-to" yields the above look. 

Overall, CoverGirl has put out a very viable option for an everyday neutral palette. 110%, go for the new Eye Shadow Quads instead of the Eye Enhancers ones and you won't be disappointed. 

Have you tried the new CoverGirl Eye Shadow Quads? 

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Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color Quads in Sandstorm and Autumn Leaves

There is zero doubt in my mind that the Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colors are some of the most beautiful shadows. This holiday season, Mary Kay has launched two limited edition Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color Quads ($19 CAD each) and they don't disappoint. I've previously reviewed this eye shadow formula, see a review of a few of the singles here!

The two limited edition quads available until February 15th are Autumn Leaves and Sandstorm. Autumn Leaves contains four gorgeous coloured shadows while Sandstorm contains more neutral shades. In general, Sandstorm is easier to work with, as Autumn Leaves doesn't contain a suitable blending shade. Also, it's important to note that neither of the quads contain true mattes - all seem to have a satin sheen. 

Autumn Leaves features a mossy green, yellowy gold, dark purple, and a rich plum. 

Sandstorm features a warm brown, pink champagne, light brown, and a purple brown. Despite the typical bores of neutral palettes, Sandstorm leans quite browny-beige-purple which makes it a bit different from the others. 

The shadows in the Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color Quads are (uhhh... I hate saying this) buttery smooth, super pigmented, and blend quite easily into one another. I don't find that these crease (eyeshadows don't typically crease on me) and these colours wear all day. Sandstorm is the perfect neutral palette for everyday while Autumn Leaves is a great jewel-toned addition to any shadow collection. 

What do you think of these quads? 

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