Wet n Wild Comfort Zone ColorIcon Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone ColorIcon Eyeshadow Palette

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone ColorIcon Eyeshadow Palette ($4.99, 8 x 0.0375 oz., Drugstore.com) is an 8-pan eyeshadow palette featuring 4 neutral shades and 4 green-tone shades. The palette is a cheap square plastic case with a clear lid to easily view the shades; there is no mirror.

Wet n Wild shades are unnamed, so I'll just describe each shade by its color--

Beige is a warm yellowed creamy beige with a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture and great pigmentation. I think it's a bit too reflective as a brow bone highlight, so I like to pair it with a matte beige to tone down the frost.

Copper is a warm pinky copper with a metallic-frost finish. It is incredibly soft, smooth, and dense in texture with excellent pigmentation. It's a rather complex shade for a drugstore eyeshadow!

Brown is a warm medium bronze-brown with a satin finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with great pigmentation. Paired with the copper, it makes for a fantastic natural smokey eye!

Burgundy is a warm blackened reddish burgundy brown with gold shimmer and a satin finish. It has a dry, hard, thin texture with low pigmentation. It comes across more black in application. Wet n Wild has similar shades like this in other palettes--all of which are particularly poor.

Bobbi Brown Nectar Shimmerbrick Review and Swatches

Bobbi Brown Nectar Shimmerbrick

Bobbi Brown Nectar Shimmerbrick ($39.00, 0.40 oz., Sephora) is a warm highlighter/blush featuring 5 strips of varying coral, pink, and gold shades. Shimmerbricks are typically packaged in square plastic compacts with an included mirror. I did a few looks using Nectar here, here, and here.

The strips can be used individually as eyeshadows, but you'll have to use it over a base or primer and layer for opaque payoff. It has a thinner, harder texture but is still quite smooth. A single pass of a brush is enough to highlight cheeks, but a few more layers is necessary to build up as a blush. I find this particular Shimmerbrick shade to be really modern, beautiful, and flattering.

I love that it comes with so much product, because I can't see myself finishing this anytime soon. They're about the same as Benefit's older boxed powders. It wears well on me over foundation and tends to wear off quicker on bare skin. The packaging holds fingerprints very easily, but it's not that big of a problem to me. Nectar is my favorite Shimmerbrick to date because I love pinky corals, and this one isn't as frosty.

L'Oreal Lively, Cheeky HiP Concentrated Shadow Duo Review and Swatches

L'Oreal Lively, Cheeky HiP Concentrated Shadow Duos

L'Oreal Lively, Cheeky HiP Concentrated Shadow Duos ($5.49 - $8.49, 0.08 oz., Drugstore) are coordinating eyeshadow duos packaged in round plastic purple compacts. Both of these shades have harder, thinner textures but rather smooth just the same.

Lively has a neutral-cool light brownish taupe with a soft satin finish on the left. The right side has a neutral shimmery darkened forest green with a frost finish. I like this duo for an effortless everyday eye with green accents.

Cheeky has a warm reddish cranberry pink with a frost finish on the left. The right side has a warm plummy purple with a frost finish. If I don't use this correctly, my eyes can appear a bit bruised! But separately, I absolutely love these shades.

I suppose for a drugstore product, L'Oreal HiP duos are nicely pigmented, but I wouldn't go as far as describing them to have "high intensity pigments." I have found L'Oreal HiP duos to have varying payoff and application success. The matte shades are rather chalky; metallic shades are pigmented and smooth; crystal shades are thinner and sheerer; and frost finish shades are about average. I would suggest only grabbing duos that you find you'll use often as these aren't of must-have quality.

NYX Hot Pink, Sahara, Golden Dune, Sunset Ray Single Eyeshadow Review and Swatches

NYX Sahara, Golden Dune, Sunset Ray, Hot Pink Single Eyeshadows
NYX Single Eyeshadows (~$5.00, 0.09 oz., Cherry Culture, NYX) are really affordable single eyeshadows in part of an extensive range of shades and finishes. They all come in a square black plastic compact with a clear lid and snap closure. This post includes Sahara, Golden Dune, Sunset Ray, and Hot Pink.

Sahara is a yellowy beige with a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with great pigmentation. I find it a bit too frosty as a brow highlight, but when toned down with a matte beige, Sahara serves as a beautiful highlight shade.

Golden Dune is a golden bronze with multi-chromatic shimmer and a metallic finish. It reminds me of a lighter Urban Decay Smog. It has a soft, dense, slightly crumbly texture with excellent pigmentation.

Sunset Ray is a neutral-cool carrot orange with a shimmer finish. It has a slightly dry, yet smooth and dense texture with good, build-able pigmentation. I found that it applies slightly unevenly. I prefer more yellowed oranges, so Sunset Ray doesn't see much love from me.

Hot Pink (matte) is a borderline neon deep pink with a mostly matte finish but detectable shimmers throughout. It has a dry, stiff texture with good, build-able pigmentation. The unfavorable formula leads to uneven application. It kind of reminds me of NARS Desire blush!

These are the only single NYX eyeshadows I own, but from these four I have to say that I like them. I find that I don't reach for them as often because I have yet to depot them into a custom palette. There are so many shades to choose from, so the collecting process can seem daunting (like MAC and MUFE shadows can be). I love how affordable they are for such a generous amount of product!

Revlon Carbonite Nail Enamel Review and Swatches

Revlon Carbonite Nail Enamel ($2.00 - $4.99, 0.5 oz., Drugstores) is a smokey charcoal with silver, gold, and darker charcoal shimmer and a high metallic finish. It is a limited edition shade part of the Grit Grandeur collection. It reminds me of the look of furiously used pencil shavings.

The brush is well designed for the formula. It isn't too long or flimsy. It distributes the medium-thick formula very well for easy control and application. You could get away with two coats, but if you want super opacity, I'd apply three coats. Carbonite wore well for a few days before I saw tip wear (but no chipping).

I was super impressed by Carbonite's formula because I typically have terrible luck with Revlon polishes. This particular shade applied evenly and semi-opaque in one coat--unheard of for Revlon polishes! I love the smokiness, metallic finish, and multidimensional nuances. I wasn't able to locate any in my drugstores, but I did see one at Big Lots for $2.00!

Tarte Exposed Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush Review and Swatches

Tarte Exposed Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush
Tarte Exposed Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush ($25.00, 0.20 oz., Sephora) is a muted natural medium plummy pink with a softened matte finish. Like all Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes, the product's packaging is a solid circular acrylic compact mimicking the shade of the blush with a mirror and snap closure.

It's easily one of my favorite blushes of all time! I find myself reaching for it all the time lately because it goes with any look, any occasion, any purpose. It wears well on me (about 6-8 hours), but not as well as some other blushes I've tried which is strange because it's touted as having 12-hour wear.

Exposed is unbelievably beautiful and flattering for any skin-tone, any time of the year. It's one of those unexpected mind-blowing blush shades like MAC Blushbaby or Korres Natural. Even though it's pricey at $25.00, it is one of those higher end products that I completely recommend as a must-have!

theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 3 Review and Swatches

theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 3
theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 3 ($39.50, 9 x 0.067 oz., theBalm) is a 9-pan eyeshadow palette with beautiful multi-chromatic shades. The palette is a thin, study, hard cardboard square with a magnetic closure and full-sized mirror.

Lusty Lee is a cool steel silver with a metallic-frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, slightly thin texture with great pigmentation.

Envious Erin is a warm pale yellow-white with a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with great pigmentation.

Racy Kacy is a warm red-copper with a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with excellent pigmentation.

Safe Bet Annette is a cool pale light pink with a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, but thin texture with great pigmentation.

Urban Decay Naked Palette Review and Swatches

Urban Decay Naked Palette
Urban Decay Naked Palette {$48.00, 12 x 0.05 oz., Urban Decay) is a 12-pan eyeshadow palette featuring 8 neutral-tone and 4 smokey full-sized shades. The palette is a slim, rectangular, sturdy cardboard palette with a brown velour cover. A full-sized mirror and dual-ended eyeliner or eyeshadow brush are included.

Virgin is a warm light pinky beige with a soft frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with great pigmentation. I find it slightly too reflective as a brow highlight.

Sin is a warm pinky champagne with a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with excellent pigmentation. I experienced a bit of fallout with this shade.

Naked is a neutral-cool light soft brown with a matte finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense cream-like texture with great pigmentation.

Sidecar is a cool light-medium grayed brown with micro-glitter a frost finish. It has a soft, slightly gritty and dense texture with excellent pigmentation. I experienced a considerable amount of fallout with this shade.

Buck is a warm medium soft brown with a matte finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense, cream-like texture with great pigmentation.

theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 1 Review and Swatches

theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 1

theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 1 ($39.50, 9 x 0.067, theBalm) is a 9-pan eyeshadow palette with beautiful multi-chromatic shades. The palette is a thin, study, hard cardboard square with a magnetic closure and full-sized mirror. I did a look using this palette here.

Caught in the Act Courtney is a cool medium-dark brown with multi-chromatic shimmer and superfine micro glitter. It has a smooth but thin and dry texture with low, build-able pigmentation. It can also be found in theBalm's Shady Lady Vol. 2.

Shameless Shana is a warm medium orangey copper brown with a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, and dense texture with great pigmentation.

Luscious Lani is a warm light pinky beige with a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture and great pigmentation.

Jealous Jordana is a neutral darkened forest green with green shimmer and a frost finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with great pigmentation. I love using this as a liner!

Wet n Wild I ♥ Matte ColorIcon Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

Wet n Wild I ♥ Matte ColorIcon Eyeshadow Palette
Wet n Wild I ♥ Matte ColorIcon Eyeshadow Palette ($4.99, 8 x 0.0375, Walgreens) is a limited edition 8-pan eyeshadow palette with 4 neutral-tone and 4 multi-chromatic shadows--all with matte finishes. The palette is a cheap square plastic case with a clear lid to easily view the shades; there is no mirror. This particular palette is a Walgreens-exclusive palette and can be found in a large display attached to an aisle (along with the 6-pan baked palettes).

Wet n Wild shades are unnamed, so I'll just describe each shade by its color--

White is a neutral run-of-the-mill matte white. It has a soft, smooth, and thin texture with medium, build-able pigmentation. Something about this shade gives it a dull appearance.

Green is a muted cool medium green with a matte finish. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with good pigmentation.

Blue is a neutral slightly warm medium blue with a matte finish and slight sheen. It has a soft, smooth, dense texture with great pigmentation.

Purple is a neutral-cool purple with superfine silver glitter and overall matte finish. It has a dry, stiff texture with medium pigmentation which makes it difficult to build up or blend.

Kat Von D Angeles True Romance Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

Kat Von D Angeles True Romance Eyeshadow Palette
Kat Von D Angeles True Romance Eyeshadow Palette ($15.00, 8 x 0.05 oz., Sephora) is an 8-pan eyeshadow palette with 4 neutral-tone and 4 blue-tone shades. The palette, which is a hard white plastic, includes 2 really small and useless synthetic applicators and a full-sized mirror. For some reason, the palette is being phased out of circulation, but hopefully Sephora will restock online. Some may still be found in stores.

Venus is a beautiful orangey-red copper with a metallic finish. It has great pigmentation, applies beautiful, and blends very well. The formula is very soft, smooth, and dense.

Leather is a warm medium-dark brown with a matte finish and subtle sheen. I found that upon initial application, the shadow applied slightly uneven. It has good, build-able pigmentation. The formula is soft, very smooth, and almost cream-like. Leather is also found in Kat Von D's Beethoven and Ludwig palettes.

Specimen is a cool grayed medium brown with a frosty shimmer finish. It has great pigmentation with a soft, smooth, and dense texture. There are many shades like this, but Specimen seemed surprisingly unique!

Rehab is a slightly warm peach champagne with a metallic finish. It has great pigmentation with a soft, smooth, and dense texture. Excellent for just a quick wash for a casual eye or paired with black winged liner and red lips.

Tarte SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner Collection Review and Swatches

Tarte SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner Collection
Tarte SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner Collection ($39.00, 6 x 0.056 oz., Sephora) is a set of six full-sized jumbo pencil-type shadow pencil/eyeliners with attached smudgers. A sharpener for the liners is included. SmolderEYES liners retail for $25.00 each. This limited edition set comes in at a value of $150.00; $446.43/oz. individually and $116.07/oz. as a set).

Golden Beige is a warm frosty peach champagne with fine silver glitter. When blended, the base color sheers out a lot, leaving the silver glitter looking extremely stark against the skin. If the glitter was just shimmer or even just the base color alone, I'd love this.

Moss is just that--a warm mossy green with a soft frost finish. As a lover of all green eye makeup, this is my favorite of the bunch.

Violet is an extremely beautiful true purple (slightly warm, mostly neutral) with gorgeous small fuchsia glitter. It was impossible to accurately capture the complexity of this shade!

Espresso is a neutral medium-dark brown with a small dose of superfine shimmer throughout. The base color has a satin finish. I find that most brands carry warm brown liners, so this was a welcome addition.

Smoke is a dark charcoal gray with a soft frost finish. Something strange about this particular shade is that it splotches streaks of black and lighter gray, even after a few uses. It can be easily fixed, but still something to note.

Silver Black is a neutral black with silver glitter. As a liner, I love it. But when it comes to black bases, I prefer them to be glitter-free.

Zoya Jules Review and Swatches

Zoya Jules
Zoya Jules ($8.00, 0.5 fl. oz., Zoya) is a complex grayed antique gold with silver and gold shimmer. It has a soft metallic finish. Part of the Spring 2011 Intimate collection, I found that the smokiness of the shade was more appropriate for colder months, which is why I love wearing it in the fall. Jules is among my all-time favorite polishes.

The brush is medium length with soft bristles. It's the kind of brush that seems to hold polish in-between bristles instead of just the flat sides. The design of the brush along with the medium-thin, flowing formula makes Jules one of my absolute favorite polishes to apply. It perfectly covers the nail in 3 coats without any streaking. If you're prone to messy applications (like myself!), you'll love the fact that Jules applies perfectly with no fuss.

Zoya polishes are among my favorites because they just wear so well on me--about an entire week with no chipping and minor fading at the tips. I feel like Zoya's polishes have consistently excellent formulas, from their shimmer to creme to glitter shades (matte is another topic!)

At this point in time, I think $8 is too much for a single bottle of polish, so I usually only purchase Zoya polishes when there is a buy one get one free or 50% off promo.

MUFE Wild and Chic Sephora Inside JC Penny Exclusive Palette Swatches

I went to my first Sephora Inside JC Penny today! It's such a small selection! I did however find the exclusive Make Up For Ever Wild and Chic palette! These photos were taken inside the store with my iPhone.

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald Review and Swatches

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald ($3.00 - $8.00, 0.5 fl. oz., 8ty8 Beauty) is a darkened teal with superfine teal and silver shimmer. Part of the Vintage Vixen collection, this polish seems very appropriate for the colder months which seem to be approaching us rapidly! It's one of those "I can't stop looking at my nails" shades.

The brush is long, straight, and a bit flimsy. When pressed against the nail, the tips spread out easy to coat slim nail beds in one stroke. With 2 coats, I could detect a barely visible nail line, so I applied 3 coats for full opacity. The consistency is really lovely--thin but not runny, allowing for even coverage. Sometimes I find that darker shades will pool at the ends but this shade is full and "together" on the entire nail.

China Glaze polishes are a bit moody with me--they'll either wear extremely well for a week without chipping when using a proper base and topcoat, but other times they'll chip after a couple days (For Audrey). Luckily, Emerald Fitzgerald wears very well.

I purchased mine from 8ty8 Beauty for $2.88 last year.