Carli Bybel 14 Colour eyeshadow & highlighter palette

Hey all,

I hope everybody has had a great festive season!

Over the past month, I've been splurging on a few products for myself and one of them is the Carli Bybel 14 colour eyeshadow & highlighter palette!

I am a big lover of brown/gold/bronze shades and when I saw that Carli Bybel had announced the release of this palette, I just had to get my hands on one! I ordered it during the Black Friday sale and took the opportunity to add some extra goodies into my shopping cart for the discount pricing.

BH Cosmetics Haul

The Carli Bybel palette contains a variety of 14 shades (10 eyeshadows and 4 highlighters).
What I like about this palette is that some of the eyeshadows are matte which can be used on the crease. There are a lot of warm tones in this palette so this is a great palette especially for the autumn/fall season. It can be used for a day time natural look but can also be intensified for a night time dramatic style.
Take note that one or two of the colours in the palette may need to be used in conjunction with a shadow base as you will see in the upcoming swatch pictures but other than that, most of the colours swatch very opaque and pigmented and they are absolutely gorgeous for the bronze/gold/champagne shade lover!

On the back of the palette, you will see the ingredients contained in this product.

Back of Carli Bybel palette indicating the ingredients

I like the fact that a mirror was included so it makes this handy for travelling without the need to carry an extra compact mirror.
The case itself is made of cardboard which feels very lightweight and has that similar structure/texture to the Z palette. The lid closes magnetically.
The highlighters have this cute floral design and it makes me also not want to use them to avoid ruining them!


Starting with the top row of swatches:
*Vanilla/ivory (matte)
*Light rose gold (shimmer)
*Pink taupe (matte)
*Mauve (matte)
*Burgundy (matte)

Top row of swatches from Carli Bybel palette

Middle row of swatches:
*Beige gold (shimmer)
*Yellow gold (shimmer)
*Rusty bronze (shimmer)
*Copper (shimmer)
*Cool tone dark brown (matte)

Middle row of swatches from Carli Bybel palette

Bottom row of swatches:
*Pastel pink (shimmer)
*Champagne (shimmer)
*Warm gold (shimmer)
*Copper (shimmer) - very similar, if not exact same, to the second last shade in the middle row

Bottom row of swatches from Carli Bybel palette

Pros:
*They feel smooth and buttery to the touch
*Very pigmented
*Variety of shimmer and matte shades
*Packaging contains a mirror for easier travels
*Has both eyeshadows and highlighters so no need to bring seperate ones
*Affordable price

Cons:
*It was hard to find cons on this. The only smallest issue is that the vanilla shade and cool tone dark brown had to take a few more swipes for the colour to show up so this one lacks a bit of pigmentation but it's nothing a little shadow base can't fix ;)

It is currently selling at $12.50 (USD) on the BH Cosmetics website. At such a decently affordable price, I'd say go for it if you are a fan of warm shades!



Happy Holidays and I hope that you will all have an amazing New Year!

From Anna Cubana
xoxo

Drugstore Review & Swatches: Maybelline 'The Nudes' palette

Hi all!

I decided to jump back on the blogging bandwagon as I have so much new products to blog about but today, we shall talk about Maybelline's 'The Nudes' eyeshadow palette!

When I first saw this on the shelf at my local drugstore, it gave me the impression straight away that the combination of colours were like a dupe for the more high-end Urban Decay Naked palettes.

Whether they are an exact dupe or not, I cannot guarantee seeing as I unfortunately do not own any of the first three from the Naked collection (what I thought was the Naked 1 palette a few years ago, turned out to be fake because I was oblivious to the trend of selling fake cosmetics on eBay). I do however have the Smoky one which I will review in another post and link it here once it's complete.

Front of Maybelline The Nudes palette

A little bit about the packaging: its sleek plastic case feels sturdy and clicks securely closed in front. The thickness is comparable to that of an iPhone I'd say? It does not contain a mirror which would have been nice but is not that important when I can keep a seperate cute compact with me.
As with most palettes, this had its own sponge applicator which was dual ended - one end was a bit thinner and more precise than the other end so I find that this can come in handy for when you want to smoke out the lower lash line.

Back of Maybelline The Nudes palette

Maybelline provided a handy guide on the back of the palette for those who would like some ideas on which colours to combine. The colours can be divided into either 'quads', 'trios', or 'duos' so there is a variety of looks you can do with this palette!


What's good about this palette is that it contains matte as well as shimmer finish eyeshadows. There are also cool tones and warm tones; a bronze, champagne, and black shade too if you want to aim for that smoky eye!

Onto the swatches: below are two pictures showing the shades with and without a shadow base (I used MAC's Soft Ochre paint pot as it was the only one near me at the time. I know it contradicts the 'drugstore' part of this blog but you should get a similar result with any favourite eye primer/base of your choice).

Maybelline 'The Nudes' swatches without shadow base

Maybelline 'The Nudes' swatches with MAC Soft Ochre shadow base

I'll be honest: not all of the colours came out pigmented and it took a few swipes to try and get a visible swatch. They show up much better when applied on top of the shadow base I used so a base is definitely needed for some of the shades! What I've also noticed was that some of the shadows came out a bit chalky and had some fallout because they're a bit soft so application would be easy but a bit messy.



Pros:
*Affordable
*Some of the colours do pick up well without needing primer/shadow base
*Variety of cool vs warm tone shades
*Contains a black shade which is great for a smoky eye
*Packaging feels sturdy and comes its own dual ended sponge applicator
*Contains 12 different nude shades so it gives you that flexibility of different looks

Cons:
*Some of the shades have a chalky texture
*May produce fallout because they're soft
*Some of the shades are not as pigmented as others so need several applications
*Palette does not contain its own mirror (not a major con but would have been handy)


For an affordable price of £9.99 at UK retailer Boots.com, this is a decent palette to travel with if you're looking for some neutral/nude shades and the optional smoky eye look!



Until next time,
Ciao! :)

Anna Cubana (a.k.a. ArtisticallyCurious)

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - Review and Swatches

Hi all

I've always wanted to try out one of Wet n Wild's eyeshadow palettes so I thought I'd give the Comfort Zone ColorIcon palette a go. Click here to find this palette on their website.


Comfort Zone has a range of 8 shimmer browns and greens - mostly browns though.
The great thing about these Wet n Wild palettes is that their shades are labelled with the appropriate eye area on where to place the eyeshadows so it acts as a guideline. I don't always follow them though haha :)
It also contains a dual ended applicator that has a sponge tip on one end and a soft small brush on the other. I've never used this as I have makeup brushes but this seems ideal for if you're on the go and don't have much storage space for those extra bits.


The shades show beautifully in pan but when transferred onto skin, one or two of them appeared slightly different. Not a disappointment though as they are very pigmented and the shades are gorgeous!


Be warned though! They do cause some fallout. I'm not surprised though as I've seen others mention that Wet n Wild eyeshadow products do cause fallout.


Another downside for me is that there are no matte shades in this palette, which is something I would have preferred for applying on and above the crease or as a transition colour as I find shimmer shades harder to blend and unflattering in the crease area.

Left side contains brown shades and right side contains green shades

Swatches of the left side of the palette

For those who are more into a neutral smokey eye, the left side shades are ideal for you!
The browbone shade is a pretty soft champagne colour that can also be used to highlight your inner corners by the tear ducts.
The eyelid shade is rosy copper toned while the crease shade is a warmer medium chocolate brown shade.
The definer shade is a dark brown with black undertone to it so this would be great for applying on the outer-V area for that smokey eye look!

Swatches of the right side of the palette

 While this palette is aimed at toned down neutrals, the colours on the right side are a bit more daring so it's more for a night time look or for those like me who don't mind wearing this during the day haha!
The browbone shade is a deeper champagne with a slight grey undertone.
The eyelid shade is a gorgeous emerald/khaki green.
The crease shade comes across similar to the definer shade on the left side but seems to have a slight yellow undertone and little gold flecks.
The definer shade is an interesting colour. It appears in pan as a gunmetal black-blue shade with an iridescent brown undertone but when swatched, it looks like a deep burnt copper with a little bit of gunmetal iridescence shining through so it's almost like it reversed itself in the way the shade looks.

Summary:
Pros

• Very pigmented in colour
• Lasts a few hours with the use of a primer (around 5 to 6 hours)
• Affordable, considering there are 8 shades and a dual ended applicator for travel
• Soft texture and blendable

 Cons 

• Fallout may occur
• There are no matte shades, only shimmer

I would give this a 4 out of 5!


If you would like to see some looks using this palette, please comment below and also let me know what are your favourite Wet n Wild products!

Anna Cubana xoxo

Beauty Blogger Tag

Hey all

I've been tagged my gorgeous cousin Lily (CosmeticallyCreative) to do this Beauty Blogger tag.

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The Rules:

1. State who the tag was created by: The Beau Bow

2. Tag five beauty bloggers

3. Title this like I have done to state what the tag is about.

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1. Name a beauty routine you barely do.

Style my hair...purely out of laziness!

I couldn't be bothered to use a hair straightener (or flat iron) every morning haha. I just brush my hair and pull it up into a ponytail/braid or clamp it up.

2. Is washing your make up brushes something you do regularly?

I don't wash it as regular as I should. Sometimes I will wash them a week after use, sometime 3 to 4 weeks after use. I should stick to at least once a week!

3. How long will you last with chipped nail polish?

In my work environment (IT helpdesk support with the odd job here and there in physical labour on computers so I do get "handsy" sometimes haha), it would last around 3 days before it starts chipping as I usually paint 2 coats (without top coat).

4. How long do you put off buying/replacing a beauty or nail polish product even if you need it? (i.e, top coat, foundation and so on)

Hmm, tough one! Depends what it is...I don't put off buying face wash, toner, or moisturiser for very long when I'm running out of product. I can hold off other beauty products for a while but there's the odd temptation where I can't resist and have to grab it!

5. What is your worst beauty habit?

It used to be biting my fingernails! Pimple popping on the seldom occasion when my skin reacts.

6. Name something non-beauty related that you put off doing all the time?

Re-designing my blog website! Procrastinating my work's online courses!

7. When going out somewhere, do you leave getting ready till last minute or not?

My cousin Lily will know the answer to this one ;) ...

I'm ALWAYS leaving it until the last minute, I'll be painting my nails even while I'm walking out the door!

8. Can you commit to spending bans?

As hard as it can be sometimes, yes I can commit to not spending especially when I have so many products already that I need to use!

9. How organised is your make up and nail polish collection?

It is semi-organised I'd say...I have most of my makeup laid out on a table with the exception of palettes which are all packed in a shoebox haha. My brushes are all sleeping in brush roll pouches so they're pretty happy too :)

10. What is the longest time you have gone without writing a blog post?

About 3 months - yeah I know, soooo bad! :(

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The five people I tag are:

*Kallie from But First, Coffee

*Sakuranko from Sakuranko

*Natalie from Natalie Loves Beauty

*Vanessa (Mausi) from alittlebitof FASHION

*Kate from Sparkle Dust

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Please feel free to leave me a link below to your blog in the comments section and let me know if you've done this tag so I can check it out :)

Enjoy!

Anna Cubana :) x

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Back with a Bang: Updates & Christmas Nails

Hey guys!

Soooo...I hereby truthfully admit that I've been a bit lazy to hop back onto the Blogspot wagon.
My family came down end November from England to attend my gran's funeral (R.I.P. Avó) and 2 weeks later, attended my cousin's wedding so it was a difficult period to transition from mourning the end of one life to celebrating the start of a new one but we've got through it together as a close-knit family with our beloved gran, great-gran, mother, wife, sister, and friend forever in our hearts <3

We gave my, then bride-to-be, cousin a small but unique bachelorette that was Moroccan princess and belly dancer theme inspired (we had to keep it stripper-free because of the kids and more conservative crowd lol). Got her bestie to play decoy most of the day to make it out as if she wasn't getting any party and that plan was a success! When she rocked up at her sister-in-law's house unexpectedly (which was around the corner from when they were having drinks), we all gave her the biggest surprise and she started laughing with tears in her eyes!
Got her all dressed up in the funkiest outfit we could put together. I applied some gold makeup and lashes for her while getting her ready and later, we had some hired belly dancers teach the whole crowd for an hour, shaking our booties with shimmy belts on!
Later, we went out for the night as an after-party and went crazy on the dancefloor! Had such a great time!
I am pleased to say that despite all the stress and time put into the planning behind all that, it was an awesome celebration and a major success all thanks to the bestie, bridesmaids, mother, and maid-of-honour!

My then bride-to-be cousin Roz, and I all dressed up!

Moving on to the Christmas fever...how is everybody doing for gift shopping? Have you managed to get everything you needed? The malls are crazy as usual this time of year but it's great to see the decorations they have around.
I did my quick bit of shopping yesterday and wrapped most of the gifts! So excited for the loved ones to open them up :)

On to another event Christmas related, I've sort of been getting into a bit of nail art lately and got the time to do some Christmas theme inspired nail art...on my left hand! Hahaha - I couldn't do the same on my right hand firstly because it'll take double the time and secondly, I'm right handed so it'll be a shaky task.
I'm okay with that though. I'll admit I did a pretty good job for a first-timer at this kind of thing (not bragging haha, just proud of trying out something new that turns out better than I expected!).
It was very time-consuming - took me about 2 hours - so it's not something I'll be doing very often!

Christmas theme inspired nail art

Christmas theme inspired nail art

Hope you like it and please comment if you have any nail art you'd like me to see :) (include the link).
Also, you can follow me on Instagram @t4nzanit3 for more pics - please drop me a comment with your username too.


On a final note, it's time for me to go sleep as I'll be waking up early for work tomorrow :(
For those of you who are not working on the 24th Dec, I hate you :( no not really ;) hehe but enjoy that extra weekend day before Christmas and Boxing Day!

Wishing you all a safe and heartwarming Festive Season. Please don't drink and drive!

Anna Cubana xoxo