NEW NARS Solstice Collection ~ Is it worth buying? Swatches and Review

  *Purchased by me*

Who am I? Like seriously!? I was never the one to jump on the NARS wagon and order a new launch as soon as it drops... NEVER! NARS is one of the brands that do have exciting launches but I mostly wait till they are on sale before I spend my hard working paycheck.

I really have no idea why I just  fell instantly in love with the new collection. I really have no idea what sold me. LOL I think the overall look of both palettes was so beautiful and something that I needed to have asap. Spoiler alert: they don't disappoint! 

Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette - LE- it's a perfect warm and rich summer palette. There is a mixture of shimmers and metallics, alongside two matte shades. The color story is very me and I think the golden,  brozy, reddish looks are so summery. The shadows itself feel and work amazing. They are pigmented, you get full opacity with one stroke of a brush or like in my case finger. I will always say and stand by that shimmers and metallics formulas best performed when applied with fingers. Apparently the vivid warm shades are formulated with the brand's Pigment Power Suspension, which delivers ineradicable color payoff thanks to pigments suspended in an innovative liquid bidding system. Like I said, they are really a pleasure to work with. Also they can be sheared out for a perfect wash of color on the lids. I personally am really impressed with this palette and I hope to see this formula more.

I almost forgot to mention the packaging on this palette. I am amazed at how stunning it is! The textured sun rays?! Hello Summer!

Swatches below: Stunning right?

Next is the beautiful but a bit over priced bronzer and highlighter duo

Summer Solstice Cheek Duo - LE - When you get a cheek duo that is the same price as the palette it has to be good. This duo is made up with highlighters called Ibiza and bronzer Laguna.  These two are NARS best selling bronzer and highlight. I knew of Laguna being super popular but not about Ibiza. When getting, please note that the bronzer has an over-spray that will be gone once you dip your brush in. Now how do I like it? Well I love them. Especially when both are mixed together, they give such a wonderful summer ready sun-kissed glow on my light skin. Both are so pretty on their own as well but I like to just go in and swirl my brush between both. Also I notice a very nice almost tropical scent, which I'm not mad about. I think it suits the duo a lot! The packaging on the cheek duo is the same as on the palette, it has the same sun rays texture design but instead of being gold like the eyeshadow palette, this one is copper. 

Swatches:

Final thoughts: I LOVE IT. I have never been head over heels about NARS but this collection just opened my eyes and I can't wait for new launches :) 

Have you guys picked it up? What do you think about this summer must-have? 

SIGMA Beauty AMBIANCE Collection ~ a new Summer must have? Review and Swatches

  *gifted, but no PR*

Hi Loves~ Let's chat about the new Sigma launch - Ambiance Collection.

Let me start first by saying that the whole collection was sent to me as a part of the Facebook giveaway win. Total shocker I know! But I am so happy because I saved my coin LOL. I was planning on picking up eyeshadow and highlighter palettes anyways, so it did kinda work out in my favor. 

So the collection is stunning! It's golden themed and just screams summer to me. But mostly it screams a summer sunset. I just get these types of vibes you know? It's like the sun is setting down and you are getting ready for a night out. It's sparkly and very confident. Like when you apply it you that B***ch. I love it! 

So the collection arrived in box that contained :

* Ambiance Eyeshadow Palette

* Glowkissed Highlight palette

*Radiant Glow Brush Set

* 2 Lip glosses : Brilliance and Idyllic. 

 Ambiance Eyeshadow palette - The packaging on the palette is beautiful. Yes I needed to start there. It's very golden. It comes with a dual ended brush that is really good! Plus there is a full sized mirror inside. Palette contains 14 shades ~ 7 mattes and 7 shimmers. I know we have seen these shades over and over again but still they will captivate your eyes. The quality of it is outstanding. I only have one more Sigma palette (Corde Rosa) and both palettes perform really well . I really didn't have any troubles with it. 

See swatches below:

Shade names:

* Daze - desert beige matte

* Luster - pinky coconut metallic

* Oasis - light pecan matte

* Marigold - pink coral with glitter

* Daylily - neutral papaya matte

* Midas - luxe gold metallic

* Enrich - cool brown matte

* Firefly - soft pearlwood shimmer

* Sunspot -warm hickory matte

* Burnish - russet brown metallic

* Summer Solstice - burnt orange matte

* Candlelight - antique walnut shimmer

* Bask - sandy brown matte

* Sunflower- intense gold metallic

Glowkisses Highlighter Palette - this is my first time trying the highlight from the brand. To be honest I am not even sure if they ever made highlighters before. Nevertheless, I am loving it. The shades a buttery soft and they give an amazing glow on the skin. I seriously wish I was bit more tanner, I bet the shades would look even more beautiful. All shades look good on my fair skin tone and they give that wet look on the face. Powders are really easy to pick up and blend. I use my OG Sonia Kashuk brush from years ago... I think it applies highlighter perfectly even tho its more of big eyeshadow blending brush LOL. Don't come for me haha..

Swatches below:

Shade names top to bottom:

* Flare - light gold metallic

* Aurora - buff pink metallic

* Twilight - pink quartz metallic

* Sizzle - rosy gold metallic

* Golden Hour - warm amber metallic

* Sunstone - bright papaya metallic

Radiant Glow Brush Set ~ comes in a beautiful gold, sparkly, textured makeup bag. Guys this was my first time trying Sigma brushes... I know now .... I never really had a chance before. I applied once to Simga's PR but never heard from them... That was back in 2016 I think :) So long ago. Any who, the brush set contains five brushes and like I mention the makeup/brush case. The handles on the brushes are textured, same as the bag and the palettes. The brushes overall feel amazing. They have a nice weight to them, seriously giving me such a high end feel. 

Brushes included:

* F80 - flat kabuki brush 

* E35 - Tapered blending brush 

* E55- eye shading brush

* F35 - tapered highlighter brush

* F53 - air contour/ blush brush

Lip glosses - Shades Idyllic and Brilliance ~ Trying Sigma gloss formula is also new for me. They do feel good tho. Non sticky, they give a beautiful shine. And I think they are a perfect fit for this collection. A sun-kissed lips, what more can you want more :) Brilliance is champagne shimmer and Idyllic is tawny copper shimmer. 

Swatches:

So that would be it. I am really impressed with the collection and can't wait to play more. 

Too Faced New Teddy Bare Palette ~ Swatches and Review ~ Do you really need another nude palette in your collection?

 * Purchased by me*

The new Teddy Bare Palette by Too Faced Cosmetics was not on my radar at all. The only reason I have it is because I got an amazing deal on it. 

But is this a palette that you need? I mean let's be honest, how many nude palettes do you own? I know I own quite a lot The amounts of palettes I have could compete with Sephora, like no joke. But back to Teddy palette. 

First thing that you will notice is just how small the palette really is. Seriously its really small... Even the shadow pans are tiny. I use fingers when I do swatches and I really had a tough time digging in it. The packaging is thin tho so it can be easily store and travel with. Outside on the cover you can find a cute teddy bear that is risen up. 

Once you open, you can see that the palette house 14 shadows. And can you see the small pans? the is a mixture of 10 mattes and 4 multi dimension metallics. And there is a scent like with most Too Faced Palettes. This one has a mixture of honey and graham crackers. I can smell honey more then crackers. The scent don't bother me, as it's not as strong. Plus when I was applying the shades it didn't last long. 

Here are the shade names and swatches:

• The Snuggle Is Real (light peachy-taupe matte)
• Fur Real (champagne, gold- and purple-speckled metallic)
• Teddy Bear (light yellow-brown matte)
• Pot of Honey (shimmering golden-bronze metallic)
• EmBAREassed (medium peachy-pink matte)
• Lace Teddy (maroon, white- and gold-speckled metallic)
• Boop (deep plum-brown matte)

• Bare It All (warm-alabaster matte)

• Mama Bear (warm light-brown matte)

• Gild A Bare (peachy-pink with pink-sparkles matte with sparkles)

• Fuzzy Wuzzy (deep red-brown matte)

• Press Paws (rich medium-brown metallic)

• Stuffed (rich medium-brown matte)

• Sharing Is Caring (medium terracotta-rose matte

Now my thoughts -  Let's start that I really like the shimmer shades coz duh they are shimmer shades and I love them no matter what. All 4 swatched and layered on the eyes beautifully. Mattes on the other hand were hits and misses. The lighter ones were ok, but the darker ones when I tried to layered them on in my outer corner, they didn't look so good. We have two creased colors that pans are a bit bigger than others. One is more beige-y gold and the other rose. As you look at the palette there are two directions the look can go - gold or rosey. But then again for the gold look it would be nice to have a chocolate brown shade to deepen the outer corner. Overall it is a cute palette, very nice and wearable color story, but the price seems a bit too high... It retails at $45 which in my opinion is a bit too steep... maybe $30-$35 would be a better price range.

So what about you? Are you going to get it? Or you already did? Share your thoughts in the comments :)

New In By Alter Ego Cosmetics - Sahara, Aurora and Daydream palettes - swatches and my thoughts

* Purchased by Me*

Alter Ego is one of the "dupe" brands. How are you guys feel about the dupe brands that dupe higher end, popular palettes? I personally don;t mind. I know its not cool to "steal"someone else idea, but hey not every one have $120 to spend on a palette! So when we are on the budget, in collage, have lower income and can't afford Natasha Denona, Pat or Huda, even tho we want them bad!

I personally have $ and I could purchase from either of the brands but do I want to? I mean Huda is more affordable then the other two ladies. ND created smaller palettes for $65 but again the price is still high... and don;t get me start on Pat's $130, 10 pan palettes ... um no... 

I feel like we need brands like Alter Ego or CColorCosmetics (on this brand later).

I already purchased a while back dupe for ND Gold Palette that I swatched and reviewed here. 

I got really nice feedback from some of you so here I am with 3 more dupe palettes :)

Oh wait did I promised you guys ABH Sultry dupe? I think I might ...sorry I need more time to work on it. 

For now lets see what I got :)

* Sahara - I think this one the most requested dupe and its for Natasha Denona Biba palette. Now I will tell you straight away that I would never buy the original palette. Why? Coz the price... and its mostly neutrals shades that no matter how good they are I won't spend that much. Alter Ego launched dupe sometime last year and again just like with the Goddess palette the quality is amazing.

Shades:

Mirage (metallic champagne)
Camel (matte muted tan)
Canyon (matte burgundy brown)
Plains (matte camel)
Bronze (metallic deep copper)
Savanna (matte antique rose)
Adobe (matte terracotta clay)
Sierra (matte rich burgundy)
 Jewel (metallic pink champagne)
Fox (matte merlot red)
 Sands (matte light beige)
 Raven (matte dark chocolate)
Clay (matte neutral grey)
 Slate (matte dark grey brown)
Mesa (matte deep black)

This palette is a shade for shade dupe. I watched Jen YT video and after I saw it I knew I wanted needed to have it. Not only the shadow formula is amazing bu the price as well. 

Retails $16

* Aurora - this one dupes Natasha Denona Sunrise palette. I actually wanted to buy Sunrise palette not long ago, I still might or not. No idea as the dupe that I have on hand is amazing! The color story in ND and AE are gorgeous!

Shades:

Radiance (iridescent mauve duo-chrome)
Stellar (metallic warm champagne),
Spark (red copper duo-chrome)
Sunburst (matte warm apricot)
Dawn (iridescent deep pink duo-chrome)
Shine (matte bright yellow)
Luminary (metallic golden brown)
 Ray (metallic crimson red)
Nova (matte deep berry)
Cosmic (metallic warm burgundy)
Star (matte peachy pink)
Brilliance (metallic golden beige)
Flare (matte deep rusty red)
Sol (matte deep orange)
Twilight (matte dark earthy brown)

The powders feel soft and velvety and very blendable. They swatched and applied really nice on the eyes. The shadows are shade for shade dupe :)

Retails $16

* Daydream - dupe for New Nudes by Huda Beauty. I already have one dupe of this palette by W7, but I don;t have original to compere too. The shades are so up my alley I love rosey, purply shades. There is total of 5 different textures in the palettes - glitter, mattes, cream to powder shimmers, one pressed shimmer  and concealer shade, that I find pointless... Don't come after me LOL. I just don;t have a need for the concealer...

Shades:

Glow (soft pink)
Starcrossed (golden copper with pink and gold sparkle)
Bubbly (light peach)
 Dreamer (medium plum with metallic sparkle)
Sugar Plum (deep berry)
 Enchanted (medium berry)
 Celestial (soft lavender)
 Fairytale (medium pink with sparkle)
Sunset (medium pink)
 Cosmos (dark red glitter)
 Starlight (plum glitter)
Twilight (medium plum)
 Sunkissed (medium pink)
Dusk (soft plum)
 Daybreak (medium reddish-brown)
Cloud Nine (reddish brown with sparkle)
Fawn (soft rose brown)

I could totally compare AE and W7 and see how they look side by side.. Let me know if you want to see it. I know W7 is quite popular in Europe and you can get it easier then Alter Ego.

Overall my thoughts I am seriously impressed with Alter Ego. The quality of shadows and over all the presentation (even dupe) is on the point. I used each palette twice and I like the way they preformed. And for the price of $16, $18 all are worth trying. 

Elf's Bite Size Eye Shadow Palettes - Take it or Leave it?

*Purchased by me*

Can $3 eye shadow palette be any good?
Read this post and find out :)

I believe it was at the beginning of this year that ELF launched new tiny size eye shadow palettes.
Small palettes that come in 8 variation and contain 4 shades in each palette. Size wise perfect for travel and on the go beauty :) Its been a years since i tired ELF's eye shadows, and the ones I did were so bad! I know a lot of people loves the bigger palettes, the ones that cost $14. Even the $10 ones. I seriously suck coz ELF is one of the brands that I tent to skip over.. At my CVS they always have sales and good coupons but me , ugh I don't know ... I want a lot form the brand but always I go for different brand and different products. I just wait for some good promotion on ELF's website and will place order soon.

The bite size palettes when launched they sold out in minutes... I was hard for me to get a hold of it. But then one day I was browsing Ulta and I found them. Not all were in stock at that time but what ever was I added to my cart and waited for the rest. I think it took me 2-3 days and check them out. I was so excited! I knew I will blog about them regardless if they are good or bad. When I got the packages I was shocked to see that not all survived the trip to my home. Ulta didn't care much and just throw them in the box ... 5 out of 8 were broken and spilled all over the box. I called them right away and they were kind enough to re-ship the broken ones. Hence why this post is up soooo late.

Let me show you close ups of the palettes and later I will tell you my opinion if you didn't not guess already ...

* Cream and Sugar - nude toned palette that contains soft peach beige, gold champagne shimmer, bronze copper shimmer and deep brown. The first shade peachy beige is super light and it don't show well on my skin. I use it to buff out any harsh lines.

Shimmers are absolutely beautiful and beautifully pigmented.  I like this little quad for an easy every day and quick on the go look.

* Pumpkin Pie - warm toned nude palette that includes warm terra-cotta nude, orange copper shimmer, warm beige nude and bronze shimmer. This palette is so pretty and all colors come together nicely.

Unfortunately there is no dark shade that you could put in outer corner so I like to go to Cream and Sugar palette and use that dark brown or I go the palette below:)

* Truffles - a neutral tone palette. Contains beautiful shimmery silver, cool beige, dark brown and deep black.

Im not fan of black but love all other three shades. throw a silver all over the lid, lighter brown in the crease and darker brown in the outer corner and the look is done :)

* Carnival Candy - neutral with a pop of blue. includes soft cream, tan brown, deep red and jewel toned shimmery blue.

I'm not gonna lie I got this palette for the blue. And wow its beautiful.

* Rose Water - soft toned palette that includes soft rose shimmer, beige nude, deep rose shimmer and chocolate brown.

This palette is soft and really pretty! What I like to do it to pair this and Berry Bad palette together. I think they both compliments each other really well.

* Berry Bad - warm berry tones palette that includes pinky nude, rose copper shimmer, rich warm berry shimmer and deep red.

this palette works good with the softer one, as the colors kinda blend one into another.

* Hot Jalapeno- green and gold palette that includes yellow gold shimmer, green gold shimmer, olive green and black.

I love green and gold shades. I was never brave enough to wear green all over the lid but in the outer corner and lash line I like very much :)

* Acai You - blue, purple palette. Includes soft periwinkle, purple blue shimmer, deep purple blue and dark blue purple.

Its a pretty palette but the colors kinda get all muddy and kinda blend one into another. I like it but it is the not my favorite .

Overall I do feel these are worth it. I really like majority of it with exception of one or two.
They said these they are good for travel but I would be very careful with it. The shadows are really soft and they can be easily  broken. Some get a lot of kick up so be easy when you go with the brush. But for $3 I feel that they are worth the try.