palette

Marc Jacobs Beauty Color Eye-Con Palette in 204 The Starlet

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After hearing the trusted Christine from Temptalia’s shining review of Marc Jacobs Color Eye-Con Palette in 204 The Starlet (and I recommend reading her review for superior shade descriptions and comparisons to other shades and more of a succint review), I had to see the beauty in person and upon seeing it, I decided that I had to have it and luckily my mother listened to my ravings and she gave it to me for Christmas despite her reservations about giving her clearly makeup-obsessive daughter yet another neutral palette – we do not share the same love of makeup, sigh. I’ve used this a great deal since finding it underneath the tree and I feel compelled to talk about the metallic oft-neglected palette.

I seem to have this tendency to forget to talk about the basics so I’ll begin with such details. The sleek black rounded and compact contains five shades with 0.24 oz (0.035 oz each so slightly smaller than the average full-sized shades) of product and luxurious packaging featuring a moderately sized mirror and a secure clasp closure. At Sephora, the palette retails for $59 US/$71 CDN. In line with the description of the palette, all shades are metallic but I must say they are refined shimmery shadows, more in line with Dior’s shimmery shades than Urban Decay’s and I don’t have a particular problem with the lack of matte shades but this won’t necessarily be an all-in-all palette. However, I wear this alone but also like to use alongside my staple matte shadows.

The shadows are among the best that I’ve ever tried – very longlasting, pigmented, iridescent, smooth, buttery and blendable – and they are technically neutral shades but they are very interesting for neutral shades and differ from the average neutral palette. Overall, the palette seems to be warm-toned (although there are one or two cool shades) and if you’re a fan of the Naked 1, I see you really being wowed by this offering. For some semblance of clarity, I’ll talk about the shades from left to right in the palette.

the shades minus the grey
the shades minus the grey

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the grey in all of it's glory
the grey in all of it’s glory

Shade One is a medium-toned purply taupe that reminds me of MAC Satin Taupe with more purple and lighter in colour and is similar but more purple-toned than the second shade in NARS Kalahari. 

Shade Two is a peachy-pink champagne shade that has warm undertones, lighter than MAC All That Glitters but darker than Urban Decay Sin.

Shade Three is a warm bronzy darkened chocolate brown that is similar to Urban Decay Darkhorse but is less green-based and more bronze.

Shade Four is a light-medium true copper shade that I don’t own any shades that are similar to but I would describe this shade as being halfway between the uber-dramatic MAC Coppering and the more subdued MAC Woodwinked. It’s a wearable copper.

Shade Five is a relatively light silver with a noticable blue lean to it. It reminds me of the “eyelid” shade on the left hand side of Wet n Wild’s Blue Had Me At Hello.

Shade Six is a medium-toned antiqued gold that I don’t own anything similar to and is much less warm-toned than say Urban Decay Half-Baked. 

Shade Seven is deceptive in the pan, as the shade pulls much more neutral and taupe in tone when applied onto the lids; it’s a medium-dark taupe-grey shade that to me looks like a darkened and greyed version of MAC Satin Taupe and reminds me of Urban Decay Mushroom.

The shades are all consistent in quality and this is one of those palettes that I wear all the shades on a regular basis – the metallic palette is surprisingly versatile in my experience. The champagne is one of those lid shades that I adore and the copper is subtle enough to be worn with more dramatic lips while still looking striking. The purply taupe is lovely in the crease.  The gold is a stunning one and it seems wearable because it’s an antiqued tone. The silver is beautiful for a smoky eye – I wore it on New Years! – but can be difficult to wear on the regular because of its blue lean. The grey-taupe seems to be the perfect shade to smoke out the eye without creating much mess or fallout and the dark bronze is dark enough to use to define the outer corner and lashes. I think the palette was rather well thought out but I would only recommend if you’re a fan of shimmery shadows. This is a palette that I find myself reaching for both when I want to wear a bolder lip and need to tone it down on the eyes and when I want to go for some smoulder.

the champagne on the inner lid, copper on the outer lid and grey in the outer corner
the champagne on the inner lid, copper on the outer lid and grey in the outer corner – ignore the fact that it looks like my foundation doesn’t match… winter lighting is ridiculous
ditto
ditto
the champagne on the lid, the taupe in the crease and the bronze in the outer corner
the champagne on the lid, the taupe in the crease and the bronze in the outer corner
the gold on the lid and the grey in the outer-corner and crease with a little bit of MAC Charcoal Brown in the crease to blend
the gold on the lid and the grey in the outer-corner and crease with a little bit of MAC Charcoal Brown in the crease to blend

The Rating Breakdown

Pigmentation – 10/10

Longevity – 9.5/10

Packaging – 10/10

Value – 9.5/10

Overall Quality – 10/10

Total Grade – 49/50= 98%/ A+

x,

Maggie.

Have you tried any products from Marc Jacobs Beauty? What do you think?

Dior 609 Earth Reflection Quint

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Dior palettes are the kind of makeup item I find myself gazing at longingly but never seem to purchase as they seem to extravagant and pricy but I have to say I’m glad I took the plunge and picked up this one.

The eyeshadow quint retails for $61 CDN for 0.21 oz of product and I picked mine up at Sephora. The shades are the typical size of a full prices shadow pretty much (0.042 oz each) and the cost breaks down to $12.20 per shadow which is not too bad granted all the shadows are to your liking – and luckily in this case they were for me.

Obviously this palette contains five shades. The darker shades do tend to be more pigmented but all the shades are impressively long wearing with a buttery, smooth and blendable texture with a beautiful finish. Like all of the palettes in this series, the shades are iridescent but manage to have that sheen without being overwhelmingly shiny or glittery which can be a difficult feat. The texture is so soft and amazing. There is slight fall out but I don’t believe it’s escapable.

This palette seems to me to have a taupe theme and is neither overwhelmingly cool or warm. The palette features a shimmery pale pink that is sheer in consistency and quite brightening, a pale gold champagne shimmery shade with the same consistency, a light gold-beige shade with more pigmentation, A silvery taupe with a hint of purpliness to it (sort of similar to Satin Taupe but a touch lighter and more golden) and a darker taupe shade that is slightly warmer and plummy.

Even the dark colours have that soft texture and blendability, which is tough to come by. Although I don’t own it, the overall colour scheme of the palette seems to be along the lines of Urban Decay Naked 2 but obviously with less selection. The lack of selection doesn’t bother me. I find myself enjoying this palette for its simplicity. Just using this palette I can create subtle day looks to a dramatic smoky eye and that’s hard to come by for me. It’s a nice palette to create entire looks from.

The lightest two shades are grey highlight shades for me, the pale gold looks great on the lid, the silvery taupe I either wear on the crease and the darkest shade I like to wear in the outer-v for more subtle eye makeup or in the crease for darker looks and it’s dark enough to be used as liner. I like having a palette that I use every shade in!

I would have to give this product an A rating because the only downside of the product is the lack of different finishes and the price. These shadows have really impressed me because of their buttery texture, pigmentation, texture and longevity. I decided that I was going to create actual categories for review purposes to make my perceptions of products less arbitrary:

Pigmentation – 9/10

Longevity – 9.5/10

Packaging – 9.5/10

Value – 9/10

Overall Quality – 10/10

Total Grade – 47/50= 94%/A

Far too expensive for your wallet? Although they are not quite as longlasting, buttery and pigmented, Physicians Formula Nude Eyes palette struck me as similar. It features the same taupe shades and beautiful iridescence. Those shadows are generally impressively soft.

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Top - Bottom: golden shade on upper left, pinky shade in center, light taupe on upper right, dark taupe on bottom left, highlight shade on bottom right
Top – Bottom: golden shade on upper left, pinky shade in center, light taupe on upper right, dark taupe on bottom left, highlight shade on bottom right

Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips Eye Enchancing Shadow and Liner Palette in Nude Eyes Review and Swatches

The product in question
The product in question

I talked about this before in my monthly favourites but I figured a more detailed review would be a good idea. I have seen this palette at Canadian Drugstores for 13-14 dollars, although I picked mine up when Physician’s Formula was one Buy One Get One Free at Lawton’s (not that it matters to anyone). The palette contains 0.26 ounces of shadows, divided into 9 shades. Like its namesake, there is no separation between the colours in the palette (all nine shades reside in a single pan). According to Physician’s Formula, the nine shades are divided into three looks, “natural” (the lightest three shades), “playful” (the three shades in the middle) and “dramatic” (the darkest three shades residing on the left side of the palette) and each look includes a highlight shade, lid colour and crease-colour. The darkest shade in each look is made slightly narrower in each of the looks for some reason. The palette comes with a sponge-tip applicator with an angled top with the intent that it could be used to apply a shade as liner as well as shadows. The packaging is pink plastic covered by sheer black lace with a nice pink bow on the front and “Nude” written on pink written. It is smaller than the size of my hand and opens from the side to the right. The palette is magnetic.

The brush is alright; I have used it to apply the shadows and I think it is better than some other sponge-tip applicators but I much prefer to use my own brushes.

Swatches on bare skin taken without flash
Swatches on bare skin taken without flash
Swatches on bare skin, taken with flash
Swatches on bare skin, taken with flash

I’m going to describe each shade and my thoughts on it from the left to right as to provide clarity because they are not named. The first shade is a matte black with some silver micro-glitter running through it. The pigmentation of this shade is not phenomenal (it is not the blackest black by any means) and it is a bit chalky, however it is definitely a usable black shade for lining the eyes, darkening the outer-v and the like. The next shade is a shimmery medium-dark taupe-brown with purple undertones. I would say it is a close match for Urban Decay Hustle in both colour and quality. It is nicely pigmented and has a smooth texture that is easy to work with. The following shade is a light shimmery taupe with golden undertones. The texture is nice and smooth, pigmented and a really great shade that in my opinion is fairly unique. The crease-colour for the “playful” trio is another medium-dark taupe shade with the same sheen to it but with grey-undertones. Because it is so similar to the other medium-dark taupe shade, I also find it similar to Hustle – but I think it is not as close as the other shade but a picture will be included below. I think it is almost a darker version of MAC Satin Taupe. The middle shade in the palette is a shimmery light taupe with grey-undertones. It is very similar to the third shade from the left. It has good pigmentation and a nice texture to work with. The lightest shades in the palette are sheerer than the rest. It would be redundant for me to say it with each shade so I’m mentioning it now. They all have the same smooth texture. There is a baby-pink with golden sheen running through it. The adjacent colour is an outlier, however; it is a light warm brown with warm undertones and good pigmentation.The next shade is a shimmery warm light gold and the lightest shade is a golden-toned white. All of the shades have good longevity (the darker half a bit better than the lighter half) and they have a really impressive texture. I do have an issue with the shade range, however; I find too many of the shades to be similar and all of the shades have the same shimmery finish and due to these issues, this palette has limited ability to be an all-inclusive palette. Also, I would not agree with the claim that these eye shadows can be used as liner – the only shade dark enough IMO is the black.

Top to Bottom: Physician's Formula Nude second to farthest left, Urban Decay Hustle, Physician's Formula Nudefourth from left, MAC Satin taupe - taken without flash
Top to Bottom: Physician’s Formula Nude second to farthest left, Urban Decay Hustle, Physician’s Formula Nude fourth from left, MAC Satin taupe – taken without flash
Same as above but taken with flash :)
Same as above but taken with flash 🙂

I really like the packaging. It does not look cheap by any means and I think it is aesthetically pleasing. I also like how compact it is. It holds nine 0.03 oz (appx) eye shadows while being very small – 0.05 oz are the full-size of a MAC or Urban Decay shadow for reference.

Final Verdict– Not that I have any sort of grading scale or anything of the sort, I would say that this is a “B” product”. I think it is a nice palette but its downfall is how similar the shades are, the lack of different finishes and the sheerness of some of the lighter shadows (and chalkiness of the black). However, I think the shades are fairly unique. I quite like that the shades are taupey. In this sense, the shades are along the same lines as the ones in Naked 2 (which I don’t own). I would recommend this palette to anyone who likes shimmery shades, is looking for taupes and is of a light to medium skin tone (because they lack the pigmentation to easily work for those with darker skin tones) and frequently wears natural-coloured looks. This is a great, portable “toss it in your makeup bag” kind of palette.