Milani Cosmetics Gel Powder Eyeshadows

Introducing the new Bella gel powder eyeshadows from Milani Cosmetics! Saw these at my local CVS store last week however they had a smaller display which only had some of the shades, I then went to Walgreens today and was able to grab a few more as they were on sale for $3.99, whereas CVS was $4.59 each. Since I hear these are permanent, I would wait until they have a BOGO half off or BOGO free sale (which they occasionally do). I believe there are a total of 19 shades.

I skipped on some of the other colors only because I know I would either never use them, or because I have something similar (do I really need another black eyeshadow?!??).

First impression: These are NOT gel, nor are they "gel-like", it's not soft and mushy like a gel, in fact I have actual gel-powder eyeshadows from Colour Pop Cosmetics to compare it to, and those are definitely gel, because as soon as you touch it, your finger feels somewhat wet to the touch, and the slightest touch causes the product to move similar to that of a mousse/gel.

These eyeshadows however, just feel like a soft, baked, finely-milled powder eyeshadow. They don't shift to the touch, and they feel very velvety and smooth. Some shades are highly pigmented, even on their own without a primer, some looked less pigmented with a primer for some odd reason, and some were not pigmented at all (Bella Cappuccino and Bella Caffe were the worst performing, they were so light and I really had to scrape a good amount of color just to swatch them), in all fairness though, it may be a good thing that they go on so light for those of you that have a heavy hand, because it will really give a more natural look then going on too heavy or borderline smoky. Bella Sand was also another one that was very sheer and light, however that was what I expected, and it makes a good highlighting color.

In terms of performance and staying power, I have not tested it myself as of yet since I just got these, from what I know with past Milani eyeshadows, a good eyeshadows primer is a must. They seem to fade very quickly when worn alone.

Below are the shades I bought, there are two swatches in each pic, for each color, the swatch on the left is the eyeshadow by itself, and the swatch on the right is with an eyeshadow primer (I used a Rimmel eyeshadow primer for these).

My favorite shades: Bella Gold, Bella Bronze, Bella Emerald, Bella Navy, and Bella Charcoal
Least favorites: Bella Cappuccino and Bella Caffe

Are you picking up any of these? Have you seen them yet at a store near you? Sound off in the comments below!

 

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Bornprettystore.com

Happy New Year ladies! Sorry i've been slacking this week in posting, everyone's back from vacation so i've been busy catching up at work and because the fiance and I are moving next week (even though I feel like we just moved into our place!), but I am moving to be closer to work since the commute now sorta stinks. So I am sad leaving the home we had so many memories in, but looking forward to making new ones at our new place; which is going to cut my commute from an hour to less than 30 minutes! But I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with loved ones, and toast to the New Year! May 2011 bring lots of luck, happiness, good health, and of course more money wouldn't hurt either! LOL.

Product: 4 out of 5

Packaging: 5 out of 5

Quality: 5 out of 5

Anyway, I had an opportunity to try out a couple of 16 shimmer eyeshadow palettes from www.bornprettystore.com, as well as their sponge bun maker. When I first saw these palettes I was amazed at how colorful they are, and when I swatched them on my hand, they were so pigmented! I've seen random palettes from places that look bright and pigmented, but are far from it when you swatch them, and definitely not the case with these. I wish these palettes came in all neutral colors as well for everyday wear, or even a matte version to switch things up. They also come with sponge-tip applicators.

These are without a base, pretty pigmented!

Product: 4 out of 5

Quality: 4 out of 5

Their sponge bun maker is so nifty and makes nice loose hairstyles in a jiff. My hair is long, thick, and heavy, so usually I can't rock hair 'do clips that make updo's or buns because my hair just weighs it down and my head ends up feeling bruised at the end of the day, but because these are made out of foam, they are pretty comfy to sport and makes it easy to do a messy bun or chignon in seconds. Although I had to use some bobby pins to pin a few pieces since it wouldn't hold all my hair together, it still came out great! It's great for those of you with shorter hair, or fine hair as it will hold up really well, for us ladies with long and thick hair, it takes a bit of work and you may need some pins to keep it in place, but you can still make nice hairstyles.

From their website:

A loose chignon I did for a wedding:

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NYX Eyeshadow Palette in Velvet Rose

***CherryCulture has this listed as "Velvet Rose" but it's really "Velvet Rope" thanks to Galen UK for pointing that out and sorry for any confusion!***

Karen from makeupandbeautyblog.com did a wonderful review on the NYX Velvet Rose eyeshadow palette ($8) and was squealing with delight when CherryCulture.com sent me one for a review. I love purple, it's one of my favorite colors, so imagine my face when I saw this palette that was pretty much all purple!

NYX always has a wide array of colors and they are nicely pigmented not to mention affordable (10 eyeshadows for $8!). Even a MAC eyeshadow refill costs more than that! I love that this eyeshadow palette is compact, has a mirror and a nice range of purples from a lilac to a deep plum, and even some darker shades to add depth and create a smokey look. Also has a nice cream shimmery shade which is great to highlight the brow bone and comes with a duel end sponge-tip applicator. Each shade itself I found to be pretty pigmented, the swatches below were done dry, no primer whatsoever.

For the eye look below, I used the NYX Eyeshadow Base in White to brighten up the light pink (the second light pink color from the left on the bottom row of the swatches) because by itself or even over Painterly paint pot it was so faint and pale on my lids, and using the white base definitely brightened it up a bit. (By the way, the base stayed on pretty well for a few hours!) and then I used two of the purples, the 4th e/s from the left on the top row, and the 3rd eyeshadow from the left on the bottom row.

In other news, I've been counting the amount of times my eye flashes happen to see if it's getting better or worse and today it didn't happen that much, i'd say probably around 10 which is good for the entire day. And I made an appointment with the ophthalmologist for this Friday so we will see what he says! :)

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UDPP vs. Too Faced Shadow Insurance

UDPP

(PROS)
- $16 at Sephora
- Has a doe-foot wand for application
- Nude eye base that increases the wear of eyeshadows and makes them crease-proof
- Stayed remarkable well one me after 9 hours

(CONS)
- The genie-shaped bottle makes it hard to access additional product, so you have to cut the bottle in half to scoop out the rest of the product
- 0.34 oz



Too Faced Shadow Insurance

(PROS)
- Squeeze-tube bottle for easier access of the product, also no product is wasted because of their packaging
- 0.35 oz. a bit bigger than UDPP
- $17 at Sephora
- Don't need a lot of product to cover your entire lid

(CONS)
- Silicone based, so those of you allergic to dimethicone, silicone, etc. may not like this
- Creased on me after 9 hours

Lids: Dry, not oily.

Eyeshadows used: MAC e/s in "Cumulus", and MAC e/s in "Carbon"

Experiment: TFSI on the RIGHT eye, UDPP on the LEFT eye. Apply makeup like normal, go to work, have lunch in the sun, go home and see which one held up better. I applied the same amount of each product on both lids, nothing else applied on the lids before I applied these eyeshadow primers.

Overall? I like UDPP a lot better than TFSI. There was very minimal creasing, and it held up pretty well throughout the day considering I was also in the heat. It was also pretty vibrant in color whereas the eye with TFSI looked more faded. I know many of you like TFSI over UDPP, and I thought I would too, but when I took pictures of each eye when I got home 9 hours later, it was apparent which held up better. TFSI creased A LOT, as you can probably see in the picture, with UDPP still looks pretty good after 9 hours.

I definitely give UDPP 2 thumbs up! p.s. Hi Juli from the Bay Area!

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Product Review: Amuse Diamond Palette

For CherryCulture.com



This diamond makeup kit by Amuse is such a mega palette, probably the biggest I have ever owned! This palette contains 48 soft and smooth, almost metallic, eye-popping eye shadows, 4 chunky glitter eye shadows and 1 light pink matte blush. It also comes with two separate eye shadow applicators for the eye shadows, the blush and the glitter eye shadows. This diamond makeup kit truly lives up to its name because it's just filled with tons of shimmer and glitter.

The Amuse Diamond Makeup Kit personally isn't a palette I would enjoy because at the age of 26, I have gotten over the glitter phase, however some of the eye shadows are perfect because they are not glittery, just the perfect shimmer, while some of the eye shadows are sheer. The one thing I noticed about Amuse eye shadows is that they have a very strong fragrance to their eye shadows, and I immediately noticed this even before I took the palette out of the box. It's not a horrible smell or anything, just unusual for makeup in general to smell like that. The eye shadows itself have a tiny flower pattern on them and I felt like this was a palette for little girls with the way it was made, because the colors are so delicate. I think it's definitely a palette that fits more of my sister's taste who is seventeen years old; since she doesn't need a lot of coverage or makeup in general, these eye shadow colors are perfect for her age because they aren't too sheer, but not too pigmented either to where it would be too much. The eye shadows itself are really soft to the touch and you get a lot of color in one swipe. They almost have a “metallic-look” to it.

The palette itself has tiny round dome windows on the cover above each eye shadow so that you can see the color in the palette. As much as I love palettes because they are somewhat of a space saver, this palette is too large for my liking and therefore it's not one I can really carry on board if I were to travel, or a palette that I can just put in my purse or makeup bag. But for the gals that do love glitter and shimmer, this is a nice palette to just keep on your dresser or vanity because there are really lots of colors to choose from and it's $14 on CherryCulture.com

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Barry M Cosmetics (www.barrym.com)

Barry M Cosmetics is a UK cosmetics company that have so many different makeup products that are bright, eye-catching, and really pigmented makeup.

I am in love with their "Dazzle Dusts", which are finely-milled pigments with amazing color-payoff. They are just so gorgeous and so rich in color. And I am loving the cute little jars it comes in, perfect for travel and just the right amount. The Dazzle Dusts are like your everyday mineral pigments, same texture and feel, most are satin (sorta matte with some sheen/shimmer), the Fine Dazzle Dusts are described as "22 brilliant shades of loose pearl colour that have been cleverly blended with ultra fine, diamond like glitter flecks to dazzle". These are more glittery than the regular dazzle dusts and do have flecks of glitter as you can see from "Black Purple".

The only flaw? It's expensive if you don't live near the UK. I really wish some of his products were available here in the US, like in a drugstore. The pounds currency is a lot more than the US dollar, so shipping and the items in itself are expensive when you convert it. All this (pictured) costs about $70 with taxes and shipping (three of them were gifts from a friend), so you can imagine that 5 jars was already $60. And usually when I do a big haul on other mineral makeup sites for pigmented eyeshadows, it only costs me about $40 USD.



(swatches done dry, no base)




A closer look:

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MAC Starflash got me seeing stars!

Camera used: Nikon D40X (digital SLR)
***PLEASE DO NOT use my pictures without crediting the source. Much appreciated!***

You can check out some swatches here: Starflash Swatches

Thanks to Debbie who gave me the heads up! The MAC store at the Glendale Galleria released their Starflash Collection out early (I love them for this!) so the BF and I went on a date to the mall, LOL.

He took me to MAC (yes, that evil store!) and bought me some loot! I really tried to just get the colors I don't already have, but I couldn't decide so I ended up getting all of them (except Bold & Brazen since it was just ok to me) and I wanted "Talent Pool" but the MUA said they sold out of that already. :( So I guess i'll just wait when it's released at the Topanga mall on Thursday and nab it!



This collection is definitely pretty, BUT a majority of the colors ARE DUPE-able! So if you already have many of the permanent eyeshadows by MAC, you do not need to rush out to get the eyeshadows from this collection because they are almost identical! I don't have "Fertile" e/s and many compared it to "Top Hat" from this collection, so I am glad I got it and it is indeed a gorgeous plummy color!

They are a lot smoother and 'creamier' than the permanent eyeshadows, I think the finish to these are "Veluxe Pearl" and it goes on so pigmented in just a couple swipes. I AM SELLING BRAND NEW "Star by Night" and "Grand Entrance" eyeshadow on my online store which will launch tomorrow! I am also going to be selling samples of MAC's Lip Erase in "Dim". A small scoop in a 3 gram jar, should last plenty of uses.

I have put some comparison pictures together of the starflash eyeshadow and the dupe down below...so you be the judge!

This is just a list of colors/brands SIMILAR if not identical to the Starflash e/s:

* Dreammaker - Frosty yellow gold//DUPES: Ricepaper (more matte), Nanogold?
* Grand Entrance - Frosty neutral pink beige//DUPES: Milani "Illusion" e/s, UD "Sin"
* Bold & Brazen - Frosty light copper//DUPES: Milani "Flare"
* Sunset B. - Frosty mid-tone pink//DUPES: "Trophy Pink" from COOL EYES Palette
* Lotusland - Pinky lavender with gold pearl//DUPES: MAC e/s in "Beautiful Iris" (more matte), MAC e/s in "Mancatcher" (LE)
* Talent Pool - Blue green with gold pearl//DUPES: MAC e/s in "Steamy", "Parrot"
* Mink & Sable - Olive green//DUPES: Milani's "Antique Gold", MAC e/s in "Sumptuous Olive"
* Smoke & Diamonds - Frosty dirty taupe//DUPES: MAC "Sweet Sienna" (LE) Pigment
* Go - Frosted bronze//DUPES: MAC e/s in "Tempting", UD e/s in "Smog"
* Glamour Check! - Reddish brown//DUPES: MAC e/s in "Twinks" with a little "Cranberry"
* Top Hat - Dirty Indigo//DUPES: MAC "Fertile" e/s
* Star by Night - Mid-tone blue//DUPES: Milani's "Blue Ice"











DUPE TIME!

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