What is it?

Liquid long-lasting eyeliner that comes in 8 beautiful shades.

They Describe it as:

A unique collection of glimmering, pearlescent liquid liners that dry with a pearl like opalescence. Liquid Liners can be worn alone, or smudged together to give you unlimited options.

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? Yes
• Price: £3.49 (~ $5.74)

Where to buy:

• http://www.beautyukcosmetics.com/

Overall Opinion:

I love them.

I used to use liquid liners a lot before I discovered gel liners, and almost forgot the liquid liners complately.
I got one of these to try (sorceress) and it was love at first sight.
The colors of these are just amazing, and the lasting power is phenomenal.  My swatches lasted two days (and two showers!) without  almost any damage.
Some may find it as a bad thing, I think it’s great that it won’t come off unless I want it to wash off. The only problem is that these are a bit too wet, so you may need to first draw a line,wait a moment, and then enhance the line with another stroke.

MUG Seal of Approval:

Another picture:

(Shades are more true at the lower one)

Stardust:

True silver.

Shpinx:

True yellow gold.

Ocenia:

Turquiose.

Eclipse:

Not black, but dark blueish purple grey with multicolored sparkles.

Rich Mahogany:

On BeautyUK’s website this looks more red, but in the real life this is beautiful warm shimmery brown.

Sorceress:

Dark beautiful purple.

Blue Lagoon:

Super electric blue.

Purple Haze:

Almost electric purple.

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?

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:

This palette is perfect for travel as it has almost everything you need in one sleek case!  Honestly, I bought this palette mainly for packaging as it was so stylish and reminded me of a caboodle

It includes:

• 36 eyeshadows- mixture of shimmer and matte finishes
• 9 lipglosses
• 3 blushes
• 1 bronzer

*Pictures courtesy of:  Polish Insomniac

Overall Opinion:

I love how this palette has so many colors to choose from AND that there’s a mixture of matte and shimmery finish eyeshadows.  The quality of the eyeshadows is very good- not chalky and pretty pigmented (not quite as pigmented as MAC though).  The lipglosses are much more pigmented than I expected, but I’m never a big fan of lipglosses in a pan as you have to use a separate lip brush to get the product out.

The packaging was the main selling point for me- the way it folds up in a neat little compact with a handle makes it a great present for someone.  The croc design with silver embellishments is stylish and trendy!  The only downside to the packaging is it’s a little awkward getting to the 2nd level of eyeshadows as they have to fold out to the side.   Still, it’s a great quality product, fair price, and good packaging!

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? Probably
• Price: $56

Where to Buy:

• Sephora
• Amazon
• eBay

MUG Seal of Approval:

Eyeshadows:

Lipglosses:

Blushes:

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Scarab Nail Varnish:

What is it?

Deep ruby red nail polish with metallic finish from Illamasqua’s new fall collection, called Art of Darkness.

They Describe it as:

Leave your mark with bold, rich, vibrant colours. Hardwearing and chip-resistant with individual finishes from matt to high gloss. Apply two coats for intensity and use with Illamasqua Nail Base Coat and Illamasqua Nail Top Coat for the perfect finish. Talk with your hands and make a statement.

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Viridian Nail Varnish:

What is it?

Peacock green nail polish with metallic finish from Illamasqua’s new fall collection, called Art of Darkness.

They Describe it as:

Leave your mark with bold, rich, vibrant colours. Hardwearing and chip-resistant with individual finishes from matt to high gloss. Apply two coats for intensity and use with Illamasqua Nail Base Coat and Illamasqua Nail Top Coat for the perfect finish. Talk with your hands and make a statement.

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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?  Definitely!
• Price: £13.00

Where to Buy: Illamasqua.com

Advantages:

• Beautiful colors
• Long-lasting
• Easy to apply

Disadvantages:

• None that I  can think of

Overall Opinion:

I’m not much of a nail polish user, mainly because I don’t think I have pretty nails, and polish never lasts longer than one day in my nails.
So I thought that these would be nice colors, but chip off in a day. How wrong was I!
A week later, with only some minor wear on tips, I had to remove my polishes. And I didn’t use any base/top coats, just two coats of these.
I have to say that these are probably the best polishes that I own.

MUG Seal of Approval:  (5 out of 5)

More reviews of Illamasqua Art of Darkness collection:

• Disciple lipstick
• Precision Ink eye liners

Stars Makeup Haven shadows and palettes available at www.starsmakeuphaven.com

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