Aqualillies for Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eye And Cheek Palette

"Make a splash with this palette inspired by America’s most glamorous synchronized swimming group! Aqualillies reinvent the classic art of water ballet and mesmerize audiences with their modern strength and vintage beauty. "

Tarte recently released a new collection for Spring/Summer entitled Aqualillies containing several different water/splash proof products.  I decided to picked up the limited edition Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eye and Cheek palette. The Amazonian clay-infused palette contains six new eye shadows, a bronzer, a highlighter, and a limited-edition blush all tucked inside a classically elegant, mirrored compact. It's powered by skin-balancing Amazonian clay and skin-softening mineral pigments to create a splash proof look. 

L to R: Champagne, Park Ave Princess, Captivating

First let's talk about the face and cheeks products in this adorable palette.  Amazonian Clay Shimmering Powder in Champagne is a shimmering pressed powder infused with Amazonian clay that adds a customizable, luminous glow to cheeks, brow bones and décolletage. This powder is super soft and buttery and adds a light angelic glow to the skin. Amazonian Clay Mineral Powder Bronzer in Park Ave Princess (which is one of tarte's top selling products) is a long wearing mineral-based bronzing powder infused with Amazonian clay for a healthy, natural looking glow.  This bronzer is a light yellow gold bronzer with subtle sheen that applies like a dream.   Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Captivating is limited edition to this palette. It's a matte warm peach that adds a perfect pop of color to the cheeks. All three powders are highly pigmented and last all day on the skin. 

L to R: Hammock, Bikini, Barefoot, Parasol, Sun Deck, Poolside

Now on to the eyeshadows.  This palette contains six limited edition shades exclusive to the Aqualillies palette; five of which are neutral shades and one pop of color shade.  Hammock is a matte chocolate brown that can be used as a shadow or a liner. Bikini is a golden peach satin duo chrome, Barefoot is a golden nude shimmer, Parasol is a rosy champagne shimmer, Sun Deck is a matte light brown and Poolside is a bright shimmery turquoise.  All of the shadows are soft to the touch and apply/blend perfectly on the lid. The shadows work really great together to great all sorts of looks.  Below is the look card that was included with the palette, both are really stunning. Overall I love this palette and will probably be reaching for it the majority of the summer because all the products I need are there! It will be great  to take on those summer vacation as well!

EDWARD BESS Prismette Eyeshadow Quad Cosmic Bliss

Edward Bess has recently introduced three new eyeshadow quad palettes to his cosmetics range; Over the Moon, Cosmic Bliss, and Sun and Stars ($68). The shadows are housed in glossy black mirrored palettes that come with a mini applicator (a sponge end and a brush end).  Out of all the palettes, I decided to go with Cosmic Bliss because it seemed like a neutral lover’s dream.

Cosmic Bliss contains four beautiful warm neutrals: a cream matte shade, a khaki taupe with soft shimmer, a darker taupe brown shimmer, and a dark chocolate shimmer with a touch of red. The colors go and blend together beautifully, I especially love the two middle shades. Each shadow has gorgeous pigmentation and is very smooth and buttery to the touch.

This palette is extremely versatile and could easily be used on a daily basis. You could definitely create a soft, natural eye or deep, smoky one.  I highly recommend this palette if you are looking for a beautiful luxe, neutral palette.  Edward Bess is available at Sephora.com (where I purchased mine) or Bergdorf’s, Neiman’s, or EdwardBess.com.

MAC Studio Pro Conceal and Correct Palette

MAC recently released a small collection called Studio containing new shades of Studio Fix Powder and Foundation. The collection also introduced Studio Finish concealer palettes.  Developed with cosmetic professional in mind, the Conceal and Correct Palettes feature four Studio Finish Concealers and two Studio Finish Corrector shades in four shades: Light, Medium, Medium Deep and Dark. I went home with the palette in Light.

The Light Conceal and Correct Palette contains four Studio Finish Concealers in the shades NC15, W10, NC20 and NW20 and two Studio Finish Corrector shades in Pale Yellow and Pale Pink. It comes in a sleek, clear case about the same size as the MAC eyeshadow quads.  The Studio Finish Concealer formula is enriched with antioxidants and suited for all skin types. All of the shades can be used individually or combined to perfectly match any skin tone.  I use the NC shades on skin imperfections, like blemishes or dark spots and the NW shades plus the Pale Pink on my under eye circles. I like to use the Pale Yellow as an eyeshadow base to even out my lid color.

I find this formula to be super lightweight, creamy and easy to blend.  The coverage is pretty opaque (only need a tiny bit) and lasts well through out the day. I like to use this concealer in the fall/winter time when my skin is a little dryer because it is so creamy and moisturizing.  Right now the NC15/20 mixed is the perfect color for me and I have been using the pale yellow under my eyes.  My skin can get very oily in the spring/summer so I mainly just use under my eyes at that time. This is a great palette for travel if you like to use various colors for concealing.

MAC Studio Pro Conceal and Correct Palette is available at MAC freestanding stores and maccosmetics.com.

Urban Decay NAKED Basics Palette

Urban Decay recently released their NAKED Basics Eyeshadow Palette ($27) containing six full sized shadow in the following shades: Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked 2, Faint and Crave.  All of the shades are matte with the exception of Venus, which is described as a demi-matte.  Two shades are already available individually, Foxy (also in the Naked 2 palette) and Walk of Shame and the four others are exclusive to this palette. They have excellent color payoff and a buttery texture, allowing for smooth, easy application. Here is the run down of the colors:

• Venus is a soft, shimmery off-white. It’s described as a demi-matte but it’s has more shimmer to it. A great brow or tear duct color.

• Foxy is a light yellow beige with a true matte finish. A little yellower than my skin tone so it almost blends in. Very similar to MAC Chamomile (LE).

• Walk of Shame is a light pinky nude with a matte finish. This shade is a little pinker than my skin tone but pretty much blends perfectly, you can barely see it in the swatches. A tad darker than MAC Vanilla and lighter than Brule.

• Naked 2 is a deeper rosy taupe with a matte finish.

• Faint is a medium warm brown and a matte finish. A bit darker and cooler than MAC Wedge.

• Crave is a deep blacken brown and a matte finish.

All of the shades in this palette are wearable and complemented each other perfectly. I wanted this palette because I thought it would be nice to have these basics in my everyday makeup kit that are lacking from the original Naked & Naked 2 Palettes.  You could use them to do a simple neutral eye, fill in & highlight the brows. The packaging is lightweight and easy to tuck away in any makeup or handbag. Overall this is a great new addition to my collection. See you next time….

Sleek MakeUP i-Divine Au Natural Palette

I am kind of behind on getting the Au Natural palette from Sleek MakeUp. It was released last year as part of the Nude Collection and I having been going back and forth for months on whether or not to purchase it. I love the Sleek Storm palette, so I finally decided to bit the bullet and order Au Natural. It sells for $10.50 on the Sleek MakeUp website. This palette is a mixture of warm and cool tones shades each with very buttery texture. It offers excellent pigmentation in a variety of matte and shimmer shades.

Top row left to right:
Nougat – matte light beige
Nubuck - matte dove grey
Cappuccino - matte tan beige
Honeycomb - matte yellow beige
Toast - matte peachy orange shade
Taupe –shimmery champagne taupe

Bottom Row left to right:
Conker – shimmery red bronze
Moss – dirty moss brown shimmer
Bark - matte cool toned dark taupe brown
Mineral Earth – cool chocolate brown shimmer
Regal – matte deep plum brown
Noir – matte black

You are able to great a variety of looks with this palette, from everyday to evening. I would say my favorite shades are Nubuck, Cappuccino, Taupe, Moss and Mineral Earth. I have created most of my looks with those colors for the past couple of days and love the way they look when applied. Overall a great palette for neutral shadow lovers out there!

Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Natural Highlighting Palette

I caved and decided to purchase the Sheer Summer Glow Natural Highlighting Compact ($50) from Burberry Beauty from the limited edition Iconic Nudes collection. This effortless all-in-one compact is a combination of two bronze shades, a light pink and a pearly highlighter. All of the shades have a soft luminous sheen to them.

Blended together, this highlighting powder adds natural glow and definition to the face. It can be applied in so many ways; all colors mixed together for an all over glow or using the bronzer shades as a bronzing contour color and then highlight using the pink and pearl shades.  I have also been using the pink and pearl to highlight my brow bone. This is an absolutely gorgeous palette and I am so glad that I decided to get it because I believe it has sold out! One other thing I love about this palette is the soft scent of roses it has. 

Good swatches were a little hard to get since this palette isn't super duper pigmented.  The deepest bronzing shade is the easiest to see since it is the most pigmented of the four.  The pink and pearl shades blend in with my skin, so they are faint to see but in person they are beautiful colors.  The pink almost has a tinged of gold in it that is so pretty.