What is it?

Eyeshadow palette with 9 shadows, two eyeliners, double-ended brush and mini lid primer.

They Describe it as:

Forget piling on eye makeup in the heat of summer. Our pro artists have handpicked all of these hues (including 7 new shades and 4 bestsellers!) with soft, naturally gorgeous eyes in mind. Includes FREE step-by-step guide for creating 3 looks and a mini Photo Finish Lid Primer!

Rating:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 4 out of 5
• Quality: 4 out of 5
• Overall: 4 out of 5
• Would I buy again? Sure
• Price: $ 48

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay

Overall Opinion:

I’ve always loved bright colors, so at first I wasn’t that excited about this palette. I skipped also the Urban Decay’s Naked, because I thought I already had enough nude shadows.
Then came summer, and I found out how wrong I  was.
For the last almost two months I have used this palette almost daily. I haven’t gotten myself to use any bright colors, so the color range in this one has been awesome.

The shadows are long-lasting, vibrant and quite pigmented (Nectar and Vanilla are a bit chalky, but not bad), and it has both light and dark colors, so you can do nude day look or smokey eye for nighttime.

I also like the brush that comes with the palette. The liner end is doable, I rather use my own brushes for liner, but the shadow application end is great. It’s soft and easy to use.

Primer is good, but it dries really quickly to the bottle, even if the lid is tightly closed.

But if you like nude shades that can be used both day- and nighttime, this is a great palette for you!

Check out also the look done with the palette: Smashbox softbox look

MUG Seal of Approval:

 Swatches:

What is it?

Three color eyeshadow that promises professional eyeshadows with just one sweep. Too good to be true?

They Describe it as:

A breakthrough new way for anyone to get a professional eye shadow look. The unique applicator is shaped to fit the eye and apply 3 shades in one sweep to define, color and highlight eyes. Beautifully coordinated colors. It’s fast, easy and mistake proof.

Rating:

• Product: 3 out of 5
• Packaging: 3 out of 5
• Quality: 3 out of 5
• Overall: 3 out of 5
• Would I buy again? No
• Price: $ 9,95

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay

Overall Opinion:

First I was like “WTF?”, but then I was like… well actually I was still like “WTF”.

At first they sound too good to be true of course. Who wouldn’t want to save huge amount of time? On the other hand, I love applying makeup, combining colors, blending.. So I’m probably wrong person to review these in the first place
But IF I wouldn’t love applying makeup, I think I would like these a lot.  Of course they are not perfect, but with some practise and time they are better than you would expect.

I had to use more than one sweep, but it’s still easier than taking color from three different eyeshadow containers, blending and all.

Color options are nice (8 color combinations, naturals and playful to all eyecolors), and the shadows seem to quite pigmented. Only one I had troubels with was the 819 (natural for all eyes), which wasn’t shimmery and had the worst pigmentation.

If you don’t have time or will to apply your eyeshadow the traditional way, you might want to give these a chance.

MUG Seal of Approval:

409 Natural for blue eyes:

819 Natural for all eyes:

209 Playful for blue eyes:

Swatches:

In action:

409 works the best what it comes to pigmentation and colors:

209 Playful for blue eyes:

And the worst of the bunch, 819 Natural for all eyes:

A limited-edition mirrored palette containing six award-winning, must-have eyeshadows.

They describe it as:

Created by Stila Pro Artists and inspired by pop art designs, these vibrant shades can be worn individually or combined to create countless looks for every occasion.

Rating:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 4 out of 5
• Quality: 5 out of 5
• Overall: 5 out of 5
• Would I buy again?  eh, probably not.
• Price: $15.00

Where to buy:

• eBay
• Sephora
• Amazon

Overall Opinion:

I liked the idea of an inspirational palette but when I opened it I was less than inspired.  The colors we’re ok but not my favorite.  The shadows are definitely pigmented and go on nicely with out any over packing or shading.  They blend well, and would look great in gradiant form, but not overly fantastic.  This is, however, a group of great spring colors and will look lovely on any skin tone.

Swatches

Look

What is it?

Set with 6 eyeshadows, Urban Decay’s famous Primer Potion Original and 24/7 pencil Oil Slick.

They Describe it as:

You tend to tip the scales toward “fun” don’t you? Our Technicolor Fun Palette makes you the hit of any party (as if you need the help). This bright case hosts six shadows with twittering personality, a sassy eye pencil and our must-have Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Please, entertain us!

Rating:

• Product: 3 out of 5
• Packaging: 5 out of 5
• Quality: 3 out of 5
• Overall: 3½ out of 5
• Would I buy again? I don’t think so.
• Price: $ 34

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay

Overall Opinion:

I think I’ll have to say that this was my least favourite of these three palettes.
First of all, the colors are really not me, I usually never use bright pink (which again was the only color I DIDN’T have already), and the other colors don’t inspire me at all.
I think that this one has the hardest colors to mix, it’s not as easy to think combination as it is with the other two palettes.
Another major setback is Uzi. We all know that Midnight Cowboy is a glitter bomb, but personally I can live with Midnight Cowboy. It’s Uzi I can’t live with. As you can see from the look 2 image, fallout from Uzi is HUGE. If you ever planning to use Uzi, make sure you do your base makeup AFTER eyemakeup, otherwise you won’t get the tiny silver flakes off.

Oil Slick pencil is a nice change instead of  Zero, but I was a disappointed to the quality. Especially when applied to lid, it seem to rub itself away, leaving quite transparent finish, not black at all.  And there’s nothing fun with it. I’d imagine that ie. Flipside pencil would have been more “fun” than Oil Slick.

Overall, maybe my creativity /  imagination just isn’t enough, but I couldn’t get much fun of this palette.
I can’t say that it’s bad, I’m sure someone else gets more out of it than me, but it wasn’t for me.

MUG Seal of Approval:

Shadows:

Woodstock:

Baked:

Uzi:

Sin:

Flipside:

Psychedelic Sister:

Primer:

Pencil:

Swatches:

2 looks with this palette:

Look 1:

Woodstock and Sin, topped with Baked:

Look 2:

Uzi, Woodstock & Flipside:

What is it?

Set with 6 eyeshadows, Urban Decay’s famous Primer Potion Greed and 24/7 pencil Rockstar.

They Describe it as:

Try as you might… your friends say you’re rooted on the wild side. Our Dangerous Palette holds six intense, bewitching shadows to help your inner “Femme Nikita” come out kicking. Feed your dangerous desires with Greed, our gilded Eyeshadow Primer Potion and a naughty purple eye pencil to complete the Set.

Rating:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 5 out of 5
• Quality: 4 out of 5
• Overall: 4 out of 5
• Would I buy again? If I needed one
• Price: $ 34

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay

Overall Opinion:

As much as I would like to give lower rating for this, I really can’t.
The reason why I would give lower rating to this, is that I already own 5/6 shadows in other palettes, so this offers me nothing new (except Virgin, which is almost exact dupe of MAC Shroom). However  I have to think this from wide angle, most people probably don’t own as much shadows as I do
So if you don’t yet own the shadows, this palette is great.
It’s great palette to take with you, since it has both dark colors for lid and crease and light color to highlight.

I love the package of this palette, the black base with golden text and snake is awesome. I also love that they included Rockstar pencil with this one, not Zero or Oil Slick, which maybe would have been most “dangerous” color to choose.

You can easily create both neutral or bold and colorful look with this palette, it has such variety of colors – You can mix just Oil Slick and Virgin to create classic smokey look, or take Haight and Rockstar to add bold rocker look with them. Or if you want something neutral, mix hint of rockstar with Virgin.

Long story short, if you don’t own these shadows yet, this if worth buying.

MUG Seal of Approval:

Shadows:

Haight:

Mildew:

Virgin:

Oil Slick

Rockstar:

Gunmetal:

Primer:

Pencil:

Swatches:

2 looks with this palette:

Look 1:

Virgin & Mildew:

Look 2:

Virgin, Gunmetal, Oil Slick, Haight and Rockstar pencil:

What is it?

Set with 6 eyeshadows, Urban Decay’s famous Primer Potion Eden and 24/7 pencil Zero.

They Describe it as:

Our Feminine Palette is for those who cultivate a more “feminine” personality. These sultry shadows suit your legendary wiles perfectly. We’ve added Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden, a matte, nude shade, and our award-winning black eyeliner, Zero. Behold endless possibilities at your graceful fingertips.

Rating:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 5 out of 5
• Quality: 4 out of 5
• Overall: 4 out of 5
• Would I buy again? Honestly I don’t know
• Price: $ 34

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay

Overall Opinion:

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who’s first thought was: “Oh no, not ANOTHER Zero pencil!”
Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but both BoS palettes I own had one, so now I have three Zero pencils(and I haven’t even hauled many UD products, I’m sure many people have way more than three!). Don’t get me wrong, Zero is a great pencil, it’s the only UD pencil I’ve tried that stays on my waterline, it has great staying-power and it’s applies soft and smooth, but why does it have to be in almost every set

But if we forget the pencil (which of course is great if you don’t own it already!) and focus on the shadows, this is kinda fun palette.
Personally I like dark and bright colors, I really don’t use pastels or shimmery nudes. Feminine palette has both bold colors and pastel-shimmery colors. As a bonus it has Ecstasy, which is a S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G shade when applied over black base (such as NYX jumbo pencil Black Bean, or the UD Zero pencil).
So this palette really is surprisingly versatile.

I love the colors they have picked for this palette, because it really creates an image of girly, feminine style  (and because I didn’t yet own 4 of 6 shadows, yay!).

Versatile palette that is great for creating both light pastel looks, as well as darker smokey looks. Because of the primer and black pencil this one is also great one to take with you to travel, although it’s missing white highlighter (SWF MAY work for someone, I wasn’t convinced ).

MUG Seal of Approval:

Shadows:

Stray Dog:

SWF:

Midnight Cowboy:

Aquarius:

Dark Horse:

Ecstasy:

Primer:

Pencil:

Swatches:

2 looks with this palette:

Look 1
with Ecstasy, SWF and Aquarius:

(NYX Christie on lips (MakeupGeek Store) )

Look #2
with Ecstasy, Dark Horse, Midnight Cowboy, Stray Dog & SWF:

(NYX Circe on lips (MakeupGeek Store) )

UDPP Eden
UD Midnight Cowboy (inner corner)
UD Stray Dog (outer corner)
UD Dark Horse + Ecstasy (crease, blended upwards)
UD SWF (highlight)
UD Zero pencil (Upper lashline, waterline, lower lashline)
UD Ecstasy (On lower lashline, over Zero)
UD Supercurl Curling Mascara

A Wonder Woman themed M.A.C Collection with supersized products and new shades and colors.

They describe it as:

M.A.C Spring Colour 2011 is the feminine force that saves the day! No nemesis can match her super-sized Mineralize Skinfinish, Eye Shadows, Lipsticks and Powder Blush for this transformation! Our Artists work wonders every day now with the help of one of the most exciting feminist figures…

Rating:

• Product: 5 out of 5
• Packaging: 5 out of 5
• Quality: 5 out of 5
• Overall: 5 out of 5
• Would I buy again? Of Course!

Where to Buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay
• M.A.C

Overall Opinion:

I honestly have nothing bad to say about this collection.  If your a fan of M.A.C you will more than likely be a fan of this collection and some of the JUMBO sized products in it.  I was at first put off by the color choices. I mean where does shades of green fit in to wonder womans persona? I had actually expected there to be more golds. I was also slightly annoyed by the constant reuse of the same shades ( like the pigments). Regardless, you can’t say that the quality and uber creativity isn’t top notch as usual.    After playing with the collection and working out different looks, I came up with this WONDER MUG character. I took it to the next level and borrowed a costume from Fantasy Attic .  I hope you enjoy the review, I had a lot of fun putting it together for you

Mug Seal of Approval:

Swatches

Look

Face

• MAC Matty-fying primer
• DermaBlend Concealer (Amazon)
• Make Up For Ever – Mat Velvet  (eBay)

Cheeks

• MAC WonderWoman Collection – Golden Lariat (Amazon) (Contour color)
• MAC WonderWoman Collection – Mighty Aphrodite (eBay) (Apple Color)

Eyes

• MAC WonderWoman Collection-Eye Quad Lady Justice – Lady Justice  (eBay) (inner eye corner)
• MAC WonderWoman Collection -Reflects Pearl  (MakeupGeek Store) (inner eye corner)
• MAC WonderWoman Collection – Eye Quad Defiance – Star Studded (ebay) (middle lid)
• MAC WonderWoman Collection- Eye Quad Lady Justice – Deep Truth ( eBay) (outer eye corner/under lower lashline)
• MAC Wonder Woman Collection- Penultimate Eye Liner – RAPIDBLACK (eBay) (upper lash line)
• NYX Eyeliner – White (MakeupGeek Store) (lower water line)
• MAC WonderWoman Collection -Opulash Mascara-Bad Bad Black   (eBay)

Lips

• MAC WonderWoman Collection – Lipstick – Marquise d’ (Amazon)
• MAC WonderWoman Collection – Lipglass- Emancipation (Amazon)

Products:

Cream Pigment 

• Emerge – Peach    [EU only]

• Bedaub - Mint

• Dab - Lilac

• Hollow - Toffee

• Delirium – Rose Taupe  [EU only]

• Mould – Grape

 
Precision Ink 

• Glister - glistening opalescent nude.

Lipstick 

• Atomic – Fuchsia violet

• Flare – Bright orange

 
Sheer Lipgloss 

• Torture – Coral Peach (Sephora)

• Divine – Fuchsia Pink (Sephora)

 
Nail Varnish 

• Purity – Peach

• Bacterium – Pearlescent Ash Ochre

• Radium – Acidic Lime Shimmer

• Stagnate – Grey Mauve (Sephora)

• Gamma – Neon orange  (Sephora)

Toxic Claw

~ * ~ *~

Illamasqua’s Spring/Summer collection is called Toxic Nature, and again it’s the source of huuuge inspiration for me.
Looks aren’t exactly pretty (at  least not in the way we understand pretty), but still the colors, ideas etc inspire me a lot.

So, how about the collection itself? The products?

In this collection Illamasqua releases completely new product,

Cream pigments.

Available in six shades there’s quite a lot to play with. They can be used as shadow, blush, lipcolor, countouring, concealing….

I got four shades;

• Mould
• Hollow
• Dab and
• Delirium

Mould:

Mould is stunning dark (kinda warm) brownish purple/plum. It’s extremely opaque, and works great as a base for darker eyeshadow look, as well as true dark lipcolor.

Delirium:

Delirium is really neutral shade, real multi-use product. You can also create quite cool eye makeup with this one!

Dab:

So true. My favourite of these! This really is great  color for 60′s look, both on lips and eyes. This is extremely opaque as well, little amount is enough for a lot!

Hollow:

I’m pale, so if I learn to use creamy contouring, I just might find this useful. I haven’t really tried this yet, so I don’t yet have an opinion on this

Here’s swatches:

Lip products:

Sheer lipgloss Torture:

ORANGE is the word for this one in tube.
Since this is a sheer lipgloss, not intense (which I love), it’s not that orange on lips:

How ever, I love the texture. Usually lipglosses tend to be sticly, but I haven’t got any problems with Illamasqua’s lipglosses.

Flare lipstick:

If torture was ORANGE on tube this one is orange everywhere. It’s so orange, that it’s almost wrong NOT to write ‘orange’ in caps

This has a bit the same problem as the other Illamasqua lipsticks, it’s a bit dry. But it blends well, is opaque and in this case hothothothot ORANGE!

If you’re planning to take just one of them, STOP RIGHT NOW.
You need BOTH.

Mix them together, and you’ll start fires with your lips!

Other products:

Purity Nail Varnish:

My husband said that my hand looked like corpse’s hand when I wore this I don’t don’t think that this really works that well in my pale fingers, but I would assume this is great for darker skintones.

Toxic Nature Collection launches online 10th March, and in UK stores 17th March 2011.

They’re crease-proof, they’re waterproof… it’s the next generation of 24/7 Pencils!

They Describe It As:

Our Shadow Pencils deliver incredible color payout, but feel lightweight. The new fat shape allows you to cover large areas more quickly. Use the thin tip as eyeliner, or the side of the tip as a generous swipe of eyeshadow. Luscious drop-dead shades make you feel every inch the creative type, as you blend shimmer, cream and sparkle finishes. Skip the powder shadow brushes and water – our pencils make it easier than ever to get vibrant eyeshadow looks on the go. Experiment with multiple shades layered together, then blend away for an unbelievable effect that sets and stays put. All shades are paraffin, mineral oil, and paraben-free.

Overall Opinion:

I really enjoyed all the different colors and getting to experiment with different looks but I was fairly dissapointed in the blending quality.  if you don’t start blending almost the second you apply it it hardens almost which makes it difficult to layer the colors into a gradiant form.  But these are excellent for quick looks on the go or a fun colored smokey eye.  I put together a more neutral brown smokey look to warm up my skin tone. One last note, when they say waterproof, their not messing around.  Two makeup wipes later and it all finally came off!

Here’s the colors it includes:

Rating:

• Product: 4 out of 5
• Packaging: 5 out of 5
• Quality: 5 out of 5
• Price: 4 out of 5
• Would I buy again? Only a  few select colors
• Price: $ 20

Where to Buy:

• eBay
• Amazon
• Sephora

MUG Seal of Approval:

Look:

Eyes:

• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeshadow Pencils – Midnight Cowboy (Upper Lashline) Sephora )
• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeshadow Pencils-Wasteland (Top Lid & Crease) (Amazon/ Sephora )
• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeshadow Pencils-Rehab (Bottom Lashline) (Amazon/ Sephora )
• Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara -Black (Amazon)

Cheeks:

• Too Faced Pure Bronze  eBay)

Lips:

• LipFusion Infatuation Lipgloss -In the Felsh   (eBay)

What is it?

Newest member of the famous Book of Shadows. Eyeshadow palette with 16 eyeshadows, two pencils and mini primer potion from Urban Decay.

They Describe it as:

Totally obsessed with The Big Apple? So are we (how could anyone NOT be?) Inspired by the glimmering lights and iconic landmarks of New York City, Book of Shadows Vol III features 16 eyeshadows that go way beyond neutrals and brights, including SEVEN NEW shades with names like Loaded, Rockstar and Money. We’ve also included nine best-sellers in a range of sizzling textures: everything from glitter to shimmer to matte.

Rating:

• Product: 3 out of 5
• Packaging: 3 out of 5
• Quality: 4 out of 5
• Overall: 3 out of 5
• Would I buy again? I don’t think so.
• Price: $54

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Ebay

Overall Opinion:

So, I have to say that I wasn’t that impressed with this.
I also have the BoS. II, and to be honest I had the same feelings of that one too.

It’s not the quality of the shadows, they all are pigmented, almost creamy. But have to admit that I’m not a big fan of all the chunky glitter (like in Uzi, Maui Wowie, Snatch…).

Also, even though the palette looks awesome with all the lights and details and stuff, it’s hard to take with you anywhere. It’s big, and personally I don’t want to risk a chance to brake it.
It also lacks a desent highlighter (I don’t count Uzi as one, mainly because of the glitter) , so you would need to take something else with you too, BoS III just isn’t enough.
Overall, I think this is more of a collector’s item than usable makeup palette. It looks great in your makeup stash, but that’s it.

MUG Seal of Approval:

My personal picks:

Money - Beautiful silvery green color.
Loaded – Great pair with Money, deep shimmer forest green
Rockstar – Plummy shimmery shadow, great for crease or outer V
Smog – Perfect for creating brown smokey eyes

Swatches: