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

E.L.F. Haul - Part 1 (Studio Pigment Eyeshadows)

Hey all fellow bloggers out there :)

Hope you are having an awesome weekend so far!

Here's my swatch and review on two of E.L.F's Studio Pigment Eyeshadows which were included in my box of goodies that was mentioned in a previous post!

E.L.F. Studio Pigment Eyeshadow: Tropical Teal (Left) and Passionate Purple (Right)

I bought this from E.L.F. in the UK but had to get it delivered to my cousin as they do not deliver internationally yet.

I purchased the Tropical Teal and Passionate Purple shades as these two colours caught my eye when browsing the Studio Pigments section but sadly, the teal colour didn't turn out as shown on the website. It is more of a shimmery mossy green than the rich ocean blue I saw advertised but I still love it because of how much product shows in one application (and I also love greens as well). The purple colour is more promising to what was advertised so I'm happy with that :)

Ooooh. Looks like colourful pixie fairy dust!

When I first applied the shades for the swatch, it came out as a crumbly texture which means fallout may occur so it's best to cover the undereye areas when applying these pigments to prevent smudge!

Excuse the blur! Top swatches without primer; bottom swatches were with primer

These colours are quite vibrant with a hint of shimmer. They went slightly darker with the Vital Radiance matte smoothing primer I applied. It appears that these pigments don't require much (or any) primer to stand out and that's pretty impressive!

Pros to this product:

• Vibrant
• Decent Price
• Little product goes a long way - highly pigmented even without primer

Cons to this product:

• Packaging is stubborn (struggled to close the lid)
• Tropical Teal doesn't appear same as advertised
• Crumbly texture so fallout may occur - apply lightly and guard the under eye area

I purchased these two items for £3.75 each. You can also purchase them if you're in the States for $3.00, as well as other countries (refer to http://www.eyeslipsface.com if you're in the U.S. and http://www.eyeslipface.co.uk if you're in the U.K. for more information on where else their products are offered).

All in all, I'm happy with my purchase and look forward to creating some awesome looks with these beauties in future! ;)

Happy colouring!