Maybelline The Nudes Palette First Impression

Its finally here!!! I am soooooo excited!

I have been waiting to see this in drugstores since I saw a review done by one of my favourite beauty bloggers in May before it was released in stores.

My first look at it I was surprised with how small the packaging is. Its very sleek and compact. I love that you can see the shades with the packaging shut. Im not a big fan of the mirrors in palettes I never use them so the lack of mirror in this does not bother me at all.

I got mine at Shoppers Drug Mart and it retailed for $14.99 CAD. For 12 shadows this is a steal! Some reviews said that this palette has matte shadows. I have found sparkle or flecks of glitter in every colour so I think they have been mistaken. Some of the shadows are more shimmery then others. Theres about 6 shadows that have minimal sparkle. It doesn't say on it how large each shadow is it just says 0.34 oz on the back of the palette.

Maybelline went the extra step with this palette and included a strategic placement of each shadows to either make them a duo, trio, or quad. I love this concept because it takes the guess work out of which colour combinations to use. 

Here are the swatches!

As you can see some of the lighter shades do not show up as pigmented as the darker ones. I feel like they can be build able. I would highly recommend using a shadow primer with these. The very last shade of the palette the Black colour looks extremely dark in the palette but does not swatch as a dark black. I love this because I could use it with a light hand to get a more smokey black instead of an intense black. For drugstore shadows Im loving the quality. I find them to be nice texture but not as buttery as the Maybelline Eye Studio Silk Shadows. I wish that Maybelline would have made them the texture of that line of shadows. These ones feel more like the Expertwear Shadows.

This palette would be great for travel. I always feel super nervous that my high end palettes will break. I actually dropped this palette on my kitchen floor before writing this and none of the shadows broke. It withstood a good fall.

I definitely recommend that everyone have this in their makeup collection. It is a good price for what you are getting and for drugstore shadows they are great quality. Im crossing my fingers Maybelline comes out with more colours in a 12 shadow palette like this.

Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil VS Tarte Park Ave Princess

Bronzer Comparison 

Today I decided to do a comparison between Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer and Tarte's Park Ave Princess Bronzer. Too faced Milk Chocolate Soleil is described as a Light/Medium Matte Bronzer. Tarte Park Ave Princess is described as Matte bronze.

 Down below Milk Chocolate Soleil is shown on the left and Park Ave Princess is on the right.

As you can see the two are very similar in colour. When put next to each other. Both are a matte brown. I will be very clear they do not show any sort of shine on application.

Here are photos of the bronzers separate:
(I do apologize I have Tartes Park Ave Princess in the power couple duo palette so a small amount of the blush is shown in photos.

The Milk Chocolate Soleil appears to be lighter then Park Ave Princess but upon application I personally find that Park Ave Princess goes on lighter.

Below is a swatch left is Too Faced Milk Chcolate Soleil and Right is Tarte Park Ave Princess

A swatch in natural light, again Too Faced on the left and Tarte on the right

When swatched the Park Ave Princess looks more orangy and I have heard this before but I personally don't feel like when it is applied it has any orange tint to it at all. They are both a very nice texture I can't even give a comparison to texture because they are so similar. Too Faced is 0.35 oz and Tarte is 0.32 oz. Milk Chocolate Soleil retails for $38.00 at Sephora and Park Ave Princess retails for $36.00 at Sephora. In terms of cost they are very close you get two less oz for two dollars less in Tarte's Park Ave Princess. The Tarte bronzer is labeled as a waterproof bronzer. Personally I don't think you can jump into a swimming pool and have it stay in place but in terms of it withstanding humidity it is good. I find that Too Faced also withstands humidity as well. One clear difference is that the Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer smells like chocolate.

Winner:

I personally prefer Tarte's Park Ave Princess right now just because it looks slightly better with my fair complexion. I find that when applying the Too Faced bronzer goes on a bit heavier. In terms of recommending one or the other its a honest tie. If you don't want to smell chocolate when applying bronzer I would go with the Tarte Bronzer. If you want a more sheer application I would also recommend Tarte because it goes on a little less pigmented. Packaging wise the Too Faced Bronzer is a harder more sturdy case with a snap closure. Tarte's full size bronzer has more of a soft packaging with a magnetic closure. In that regards Too Faced is the winner because magnetic packaging makes me nervous. If you are more loyal to one brand or another I would stick to the brand you are more familiar with. Both are great Matte Bronzers and are amazing products. Hats off to both companies!

Review: Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel- Caramel

Hello Everyone!

I have been wanting to try this brow gel for a few months but I was not sure what colour matched my hair. I went on a trip and was able to go to a Sephora and found Caramel was best for me. I have red hair and it is always a challenge to find something to fill in my brows. When I say fill in I mean fill in entirely. My eyebrows are very light blonde and do not show up at all. I have used brow powders up until now. I found that brow powders did not have the staying power this gel has and they tend to wear off throughout the day. The Anastasia Brow Gel lasts through my day as long as I don't rub my eyebrows. I read a few reviews on the Anastasia Brow Gel before I purchased it and some people said they found it made their eyebrows crusty. I do not find this at all. I use a light hand when applying it just to get a hint of colour and keep my brows looking natural.

The Anastasia Brow Gel retails for $29.00 CAD at Sephora.

This is a swatch of the Brow Gel on my hand. As you can see it is a bit shiny. There is micro glitters in it but when it is applied you cant even tell. A girl at Sephora said she met Anastasia and she said that there are glitters in it so it doesn't make the eyebrow look so flat when applied.

Here are the before and after photos of my eyebrows. As you can see the Anastasia Brow Gel makes me look like I actually have eyebrows. I love this product. I have not used my brow powders since I purchased the Anastasia Brow Gel.

Left photo below is nothing on my brows. Right is with the brow gel. 

After using this product I now understand why Anastasia is the Queen of brows! Everyone should have this product in their makeup collection.

♥Lysh