New is really a figurative term here as these Lancôme Ombre Hypnôse Mono Eyeshadows were introduced to the Lancôme counters quite a few months back.

I had received a bag of lovely Lancôme items to try and am slowly making my way through it which, sadly, left these as one of the last few mentions. Though to be slightly fair I did shed some light on these with a largely-Lancôme LOTD I did awhile ago.

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Enough said, Lancôme had decided to do away with their previous arsenal of eyeshadows (though not completely) and bring a whole new experience to shopping up eye colors with the brand.

Introducing 22 shades across 4 different finishes, matte, pearly, irridescent or sparkling, some shades are sure to catch your eye (or land up on your lids!).

The eyeshadows have both a name to it along with an alphanumerical tagging which just makes life so much easier.

Why so? Because...

1. I am no good at remembering colors with an alphanumerical name and...
2. The alphabet used actually denotes the texture or finish of the eyeshadow

So this sums up as a super easy way to reference shade finishes and also to remember the eyeshadow colors/names without being some math whiz!

While the letter representation is pretty straight forward, here's the legend anyway:

M stands for Matte finish
P stands for Pearly finish
I stands for Irridescent finish
S stands for Sparkling finish

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Of the huge array available (and I mean exposing yourself to 22 eyeshadows at one go is kind of huge), I managed to pick 4 that had caught my eye.

Okay, in truth 3 really caught my eye and the last one was a shade that Yanny (from Lancôme) really liked and with her suggestion, I picked it up as well.

One thing about these, which Lancôme might (or might not) revise sometime down the road, would be that the shadows are all encased individually.

It is not a surprising fact but with brands rolling out palette combinations and pan-formed shadows these days, packing shades individually could suddenly seem very space consuming or become a slight problem if you envision yourself picking up a good number of these shadows.

Though that is hardly an issue for me because I have to admit, I kind of love how 'special' it seems when a shadow comes in it's own pretty casing along with an applicator of decent quality (not airy and foamy) and even a mini mirror!

The mirror may hardly be of use and we really would not resort to using that to apply makeup with but it's a nice touch and it could act as a small and sleek pocket mirror once you are done with the shadow.

These individual cases may not be the most practical for everyone but I think it is lovely... for now, while I still have storage space.

Aside from the finish, Lancôme has also classified their shadows into 3 different categories (hope matters don't get confusing!) just to make it less overwhelming at one go and a lot easier to browse —
Luminuous and Fresh, Chic and Sophisticated, Deep and Glamourous.

I think the 3 categories speak pretty well for themselves in terms of what colors they may hold. I tried to make my 4 shadow selection across them all, getting at least 1 shade from each category.

Let's have a look at my final picks:

Vert Innocent (I104) — Irridescent finish (from Chic and Sophisticated)

Lagon Secret (P205) — Pearly finish (from Chic and Sophisticated)

Violine Trésor (P209) — Pearly finish (from Deep and Glamorous)

Tresor Flace (S100) — Sparkling finish (from Luminuous and Fresh)

Of the 4, Vert Innocent and Lagon Secret were pretty much love at first sight, no thanks to how gorgeous the shades look.

While I can't speak for all 22 colors available, based on what I have played around with, the Pearly Finish seems to be the most pigmented and true-to-pan compared to other 2 (Sparkling and Irridescent).

If you have noticed, I did not pick up any mattes because it is a finish I hardly work with (or even deviate to) and within the range, I believe there are only 2 shades that are mattes.

Here are swatches of all 4 shades, without a primer and done with a single swipe using my fingers (because I wanted to feel the shadow texture).

A hand swatch actually does some injustice to Tresor Glace since it is a Sparkling color and I typically find it works best for a super light wash of oomph on the lids or patted on over other colors to give them some... well, sparkle!

The Pearly finish, needless to say, is a rather pigmented one with a lovely pearl glint to the shadows, giving it a smooth texture and slight dimension.

As for the Irridescent finish, there is something to say about the color not appearing as true-to-pan but yet due to the irridescent flashes, looks really lovely when worn on the lids. Just don't expect the same color-strength to be translated to the lids. As you can see above, the greenish hue isn't all that apparent but it is there.

Enough rambling about the eyeshadow and as I always say, with 22 color choices available, it's best that you head down to a Lancôme counter and give these a look-see and swatch to see what catches your eye!

To check out swatches of almost all shades, drop by Evonne's entry!

Lancôme Ombre Hypnôse Mono Eyeshadows retail for S$36 each at all Lancôme counters island-wide

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Makeup-aside, Lancôme had also introduced some new tools to aid with makeup application.

Meet the new range of Lancôme makeup brushes — covering foundation requirements to eye shading, contouring and even lip lining.

I didn't get to snap a shot of the full range since I missed the event but here's a photo of the range from Clara (dblchin).

Of the lot, I was eyeing the crease brush which sadly was unavailable at that time but I am also contented with this soft and fluffy shader brush (named Large Shadow Brush).

It is somewhat your usual flat shader brush that has a certain degree of fluffiness to it, allowing for eyeshadow buffing at the crease area yet it is stiff enough to pat colors down.

The sleek black handle and ferrule makes this appear chic and elegant. The golden engraving and printing of the 'Lancôme' font along with the brush number and Lancôme's iconic rose (as seen on the ferrule) gives it a nice touch of style as well.

I have been using this brush namely for shades like Vert Innocent which requires a stiffer pick-up so the color gets packed on, along with a slight fluffiness so the irridescent portion blends out well around the edges.

I don't have the price of this or the other brushes right now but I will update once I have them on hand!

Have you checked out the new Lancôme Ombre Hypnôse Mono Eyeshadows or picked one / some up yet?

Thanks for reading!

Disclosure:
Products were provided to me for review consideration.
I am not affiliated to them and all opinions expressed are my own.

If you're still not sure what to tell a friend or family member to get you for Christmas, what about these Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow Quads?

I've seen word about the release of these floating around online and I am glad to (officially) learn that they are reaching us pretty soon — 1st December 2012.

The special appeal to these quads, aside from the sleek Giorgio Armani packaging would be the use of light Micro-fil™ silk powders within the eyeshadows. These silk powders allow the eyeshadow to melt perfectly into the skin.

Pairing that texture with a finish that marries matte to satin, one would hope to receive an intense payoff that blends smoothly with a soft luminuous veil to the shade (which somehow doesn't sound like a matte anymore but ... oh well!).

(click to enlarge)

• 01 — Maestro
• 02 — Terra Siena
• 03 — Pantelleria
• 04 — Effeto Nudo
• 05 — Mediterranea
• 06 — Boudoir
• 07 — Saharan Blush
• 08 — Parma

Inspired by the spectrum of nature, the 8 eyeshadow quads reflect hues of rocks, earth, sea and natural vegetation. Thus, with a quick look at the promotional images, the shadows appear to be relatively wearable and simple to work with as opposed to bursting with intense accent shades.

Regardless of that, the looks created are still far from boring with a distinct luminuous transparency.

From the application promo shots above, 08 Parma looks stunning, along with the ever-safe but lovely neutral combo that is 02 Terra Siena.

If anything I will zoning in to those when I check out the collection once it launches but I am trying my best not to get started on GA's eyeshadows. It's like opening a floodgate and not knowing if I'll be able to stop after!

Regardless, I can't wait to swatch and feel the texture of these for myself. Though in the meanwhile, do check out Beautezine's post to see (beautifully tempting) swatches of 01 Maestro, 04 Effeto Nudo and 07 Saharan Blush.

The Giorgio Armani ETK Eyeshadow Quads will be available exclusively at DFS Galleria (Scotts) from 1st December onwards, retailing at S$80 each.

Thanks for reading and it's never too early to start adding this to your Christmas wishlist! ;)

Disclosure:
Some information and pictures featured were extracted from a press file (with or without paraphrasing).
Opinions and thoughts otherwise mentioned are my own.

It has been a good while since I had any sort of excitement over a MAC release.

Even so, this excitement is of a different scale from before. Back in the day, I would feel a need to stalk the counters, forums for more information and have this desire to grab everything from the collectioin. That's not apparent anymore but I was excited, still.

I took one look at the press visuals for MAC's Heavenly Creatures and with that, the collection stole my heart, my soul and a little bit of cash of out my bank.

Okay, maybe not that little.

I have admitted time and time again that I am a total sucker for MAC's Mineralized releases, namely the blush and skinfinishes.

With this collection, I practiced my honed restrain and kept this haul as minimal as I could. Not that everything was worth getting but because everything just looked so pretty!

It was almost easy peasy when it come to the MSFs. There were 4 shades released and of the 4, 2 were too bronzey / warm for my liking so they were passed. I can justify 2 MSF purchases thus these came home with me.

The super gorgeous Light Year (left) and Star Wonder (right)!

Light Year was love at first sight because... things that easy to wear and 'throw on' just get me that much easier. Star Wonder swatched beautifully but I deliberated for a second and figured, oh what the heck, I'll get it.

Light Year –

Star Wonder –

While the Star Wonder I have appears like an overpowered bronze mix within the pan, the bronziness doesn't show up that way. Like swatches I have seen online, it's almost like a tan pink. Not too loud or bright of a pink, not too red in tone yet not too tan a bronze. Just lovely!

As for blushes, it was truly difficult because aside from Supernova, I kind of liked the rest. Maybe I was on the fence about Stratus too so that puts me in the same situation as the MSFs.

Though after some deliberating, I only caved to Ring of Saturn. I mean, how can I pass up on this? It's gorgeous!

Ring of Saturn –

My swatch doesn't do this the right amount of justice and it seems more orange-toned from online swatches, or maybe my swirl has more 'red' in it. Either ways, as neutral-loving as I have become, I will always have this penchant for crimson blushes along this line.

Think, Intenso, Merrily and Style Demon.

While I think I did a good job with myself on the cheek products, it seems that this time around, the eyeshadows have really swept me away.

I typically pick up one or none of the mineralized eyeshadow releases but this time I walked away with 3.

What can I say, they are just absolutely stunning to admire.

Though truthfully, I find that the shadows this time around seemed lacking and were not as rich or creamy as before (say, In the Groove). Some shades (such as Water) swatched a little on the sheer side and required a bit of work to show up.

Nonetheless I couldn't help myself and I am happy with these, regardless!

Earthly –

From-the-pan, this shade did not catch my eye though after swatching it, I fell in love with how lovely an ashy-taupey-brown it was. It leans a little warm in my picture above but it looks appears ashier in person.

Water –

While Water didn't swatch as pigmented as the rest, in fact it seemed a little 'dry' on formula, I couldn't resist its murky beauty. It is a fairly unique murky forest green and has bits of gold, silver and blue glitter within, probably hardly visible once on your lids but... I couldn't resist.

Bright Moon –

Of the lot that I picked up, Bright Moon has the best pay-off and felt the creamiest to swatch. It comes off as a silver with a lovely tinge of blue / teal, though I am guessing that would barely show up on the lids but I shall remind myself it's there.

The eyeshadows in Heavenly Creatures are really something you need to swatch and see in person. Judging from pan colors, it's really hard to make a verdict as to what will come out of each swirl! Case in point, Water!

So... maybe I lied when I said I didn't feel that eager to get these. MAC's Mineralized items are known to sell like hotcakes so I troubled Eliza to help me pick up some stuff when she dropped by the counter since I wasn't going to one till everything is pretty much sold out. So, thank you Eliza!

I think I am satisfied enough with my indulgence in the Mineralized world and can probably hold my fort a little more when another collection comes out.

Unless it's drop dead gorgeous, like this one.

Thanks for reading! Did you haul anything from Heavenly Creatures?

I was just swooning about this over twitter and felt I needed to divert this swoon somewhere else, on to my blog perhaps.

While I am sure that information about this collection will flood the webs or probably has already flood the webs, I need to swoon. A little.. just a bit.

MAC's MSFs and Mineralized Blushes have long been my biggest weakness because for some reason, I just like collecting them. Though over time I have developed an immunity to getting psyched with every Mineralized release and can even skip ones that may look gorgeous yet swatch similar to something I have or seem unimpressive (to me).

Though, with their new Summer release, Heavenly Creatures, I can only say.... take my money, take it all!

I don't know what is so different about these and I don't even know what their texture will be like so perhaps all that will change once reviews and swatches surface but for now....

let's bask in the beauty of these Mineralized 'Creatures'.

Mineralized Skin Finish

• Earthshine – Tarnished bronze with gold pearlized pigments and pink reflects
• Light Year – Peachy pink with gold shimmer
• Star Wonder – Plumy pink with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments
• Center of the Universe – Coral with gold shimmer

Mineralized Blushes

• Solar Ray – Peach and gold melange
• Ring of Saturn – Terracotta and gold melange
• Stratus – Amethyst and golden brown melange
• Supernova – Magenta and burnt gold melange

Mineralized Eyeshadows

• Aurora – Peach, green, and brown melange (Frost)
• Magnetic Attraction – Orange, pink and gold melange (Frost)
• Neo Nebula – Cream, warm amethyst and warm pink melange (Frost)
• Universal Appeal – Gold, bronze and violet melange (Frost)
• Invincible Light – Icy white, lavender and warm gold melange (Frost)
• Earthly – Beige, peach and cool brown melange (Frost)
• Water – Yellow, lime green and blue melange (Frost)
• Bright Moon – Grey, silver and icy green melange (Frost)
• Sky – Green gold, turquoise and cobalt melange (Frost)

I have some Mineralized Eyeshadows but generally am not too huge about them (as compared to MSFs and Mineralized Blush) but these look gorgeous.

This collection also sees the return of Volcanic Ash Exfoliator!

I can just feel some people dancing around and while I am not an addict or consider this my Holy Grail, I do enjoy using this (yes, dirt smell and all) and will likely stock up on a couple of tubes.

Something about it's Earthy, dirty yet clean feel is just so refreshing to use. It does stink but so does Chinese medicine which is suppose to do good for you.... same logic, yes?

Regardless, there are a couple more gems to this collection like Lipsticks, Creamsheen Glass and more.

Find out more info (and see more pictures) on ChicProfile!

(information and pictures here is credited to that site too)

Thanks for reading!

Do you have your sights set on anything from this collection?

This was a haul from a little while back, not that I deliberately this haul and hope noone discovered this mini rampage of mine but rather... life picked up. Hence the late post.

I would say I have been very good and what you see here is a controlled haul. I had about 3 - 4 eyeshadows in mind and was even eyeing a highlighter (Whisper of Gilt) but I tried to reason with myself. I really didn't need it all.

For time gauge reference this haul was done a couple days after my Stila and also my Dior splurge. Tsk!

Here's my measly controlled haul - just one item!

Truth is, I was contemplative about Modern Pewter but once I heard the Makeup Artist mention that they only have one last piece, instinctively I said "I'll take it".

Keywords to a makeup addict - limited edition , last piece.

I love how easy-going and simple Modern Pewter is to use. It's a light khaki gold shade that has some olive tones to it. It also looks neutral enough for a throw-all-over-the-lid day.

What really bought me into this collection would be the comparison between the texture of this and Estee Lauder's Pure Color Gelée. I have not swatched the EL one so I can't compare but this MAC Extra Dimension shadow feels very smooth, a little creamy but a powder sort of creamy.

It doesn't feel like it would play the role of a cream color base nor should it as it is still an eyeshadow. Reviews say to still use a primer underneath for best wear results.

While all shades carry the same consistency I noticed certain shades were not as smooth as the others. It's a very mild difference, barely noticeable and can be overlooked if you love the color enough.

I find Modern Pewter to be one of the smoother shades. One major love is the ridges in the powder design in this collection.

I've made sure to use only from the repetitive MAC area of the eyeshadow and avoid damaging the ridges, till a later date.

Super belated in announcing my haul so... I'm sure those with an interest to Extra Dimension would have hauled their wishlist.

What did you pick up? Or not eyeing anything from MAC lately?

Quick SOS
Drafted up and scheduled this quick entry while my headache was in a controllable state. I find power naps work best but it's only temporary and how often can I nap mid-day to cure it. For now at least, I hope that my headache doesn't strike while I'm out for work this evening / night. Wish me luck and if anyone has good headache remedies or soothing methods (aside from pandaol) do let me know too!

Thanks for reading!

Pulled a disappearing act for awhile there, but I'm back. Typically I find it hard to squeeze blogging time over the weekends because sooo many things are happening but I have loads to share and I'm trying to get them up as quick as I can manage.

Rambling aside, I figured I would keep with the flow and post up some Stila goodies I had received before diverting the topic to other things I want to talk about.

The 'star' of this entry is of course the Stila In The Garden palette, so I will give more focus to that first and briefly run through everything else after.

This botanical-inspired palette carries a lovely mix of shades suited for "every skintone", as mentioned by Stila. All of Stila's eyeshadows are formulated such that they can be used both wet and dry for your desired effect.

The palette comes in the form of a sturdy cardboard case that holds together with magnets. I'm not sure if it's just my palette but I found the magnetic pull to be rather weak as compared to other magnetic 'clasped' palettes I have.

Mine seems to push apart quite easily with a light nudge, making it worrisome to toss into a makeup bag or haul along when traveling. Nonetheless it should be safe to carry around if slotted in a safe compartment or would do no harm seated at a makeup counter.

The palette comes with a look book for those in need of a little inspiration.

In The Garden palette comes with 10 eyeshadows varying from neutral highlight tones to brighter accents, though a mossy green vibe dominates the palette. It also comes with a Smudge Stick in the shade Starfish, exclusive to this palette only.

There are no mirrors here which isn't a big deal to me because I hardly use the mirrors encased with palettes anyway.

(click to enlarge to see corresponding names!)

I love the selection and mix of colors in this palette, though honestly I am very easily satisfied. Anything with a good mix of neutrals along with several unique and pretty accent tones wins my heart.

In this case, Rosette and Freesia are beautiful shades. Even the deeper forest-green tone Juniper is lovely as well. Did I already mention, Juniper is probably my favorite shade of the lot, it seems to remind me of A-England's Saint George with it's deep emerald beauty.

Here they are swatch dry, with no primer. I should have done a wet swatch too. Perhaps in another post, another time!

When swatched dry, the shadows are still pigmented but carry a softer tone as opposed to when it's used wet.

Starfish, the smudge stick included is an olive brown with gold sparkles. When seen straight on, it's a definite brown yet it appears to hint at olive in person (or is it just me?).

If you are new to Stila Smudge sticks, these apply very creamy and can be smudged out before they set. Upon setting, they stay on and not budge like your typical eyeliner making it good to use either as a base or a liner!

Flashback to the previous LOTD I had done with the In The Garden palette. I used 3 colors of the lot in a fairly typical fashion, typical in my LOTDs that is.

This was the look:

I had Breeze in the inner corner, Sage in the center and Juniper on the outer corner. I did get some help from Wet N Wild to darken the outer-v and some Jewel Eyeshadow was dabbed in the centre of the lids.

Stila's eyeshadows do blend well and effortlessly into each other, making a very smooth transition. If you want something more distinct, you can use the shadows wet for more 'oomph'.

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So that was it for In The Garden palette. I do see myself using it for awhile and will share some assorted looks from this palette!

In the meanwhile, here's a brief rundown of the other Stila goodies we got in the bag, complete with swatches.

Smudge Crayon in Dazzle.

The smudge crayons are fatter than the smudge sticks and function similar to that of MAC's Greasepaint sticks. You can use it as a cream shadow base or eyeliner, though I think a shadow base is the popular usage. I find that it swatches creamier than the smudge stick.

Dazzle is a lovely brown-black shade with gold sparkles.

The next item is a simple ole liquid liner. I have an unspoken love for liquid pen liners and I think they are one of the best things I have introduced to my makeup routine about (maybe?) a year ago. I still love pencil liners but the ease and quick glide of liquid pen liners on the upper lids is the reason why I love these so much.

I shall give this Stila one a shot and see what I think of it.

The tip of the Stila Waterproof Liquid Liner is extremely fine, a lot finer than what I was expecting (though I don't know what I was expecting...). The darkness of it is similar to CLIO's Brush liner - dark enough but not pitch black like CLIO's Pen Liners.

The next product is their One Step Corrector, a very fascinating and adorable product.

This corrector contains a whirl of peach, green and purple to right redness, brighten the skin and eliminate any sallow-ness on the skin. The products swirl around the bottle and is dispensed through a pump.

The colors though separate in the bottle get mixed up together when dispensed but you can still see them 'individually'.

Of course they wouldn't appear as purple, peach or green streaks across your face. When blended, they mix up to form this light beige-y tone. I've not tried it on my face to witness how the correctors do their job but I'll share about that when I do!

On the left is a rough look of the blob smeared out but on the right is the tone it takes on once blended. I believe the dollop I have on earlier is more than enough for 2 applications.

And with this I commence my Stila goodies post and in good time too! Currently Chantana is holding a giveaway for the One Step Corrector and Liquid Liner (in black). Hop on over to her post to enter!

Thanks for reading and I shall disappear away again for the weekends. This entry was actually drafted up over the course of 2 days when it would normally take me one sitting on a weekday to complete. Does anyone else find it harder to do any e-activities on the weekends? Either ways, hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend!

It feels like a Sunday but it's only Saturday! *throws confetti*

Disclosure:
Products were provided to me for review consideration.
I am not affiliated to them and all opinions expressed are my own.

In the same visit where I learned about the Maqui Miracle Compact, I was also introduced to some eyes and lip products from Lancôme.

I suppose the reason why I titled the posts differently (Introduction/Goodies) is purely based on how informative the content is. I find that for the Maqui Miracle Compact it required a bit of explanation thus garnering it the status of being called an 'Introduction' while this doesn't have as much to explain.

If that all makes sense.

But back to this, I was introduced to Ombre Absolue Impact 3D and L'Absolu Crème De Brillance.

These are not exactly new launches to Lancôme and are already available at the counters. However, the reason for bringing them up is that there will be some new shades added to the ranges.

I was not at the Lancôme media event hence I did not manage to take a photo of their existing eyeshadow palettes, but you can check out Iris's post here along with her look using one of the palettes.

The two new Ombre Absolue Impact 3D palettes come in two dominant variants, one purplish themed and the other blue themed. During my visit to their office, they had stock of the new palettes and of course you could guess which one I went with.

The blue one of course! My go-to color if I am intending to use color.

The Ombre Absolue Impact 3D palettes are inspired by the asian culture of cosmetics where light-washed, dimensional and sparkly eyeshadows are typically favored over matte, dark, strong shades. There are diagrams included on how to use these colors but the main point would be the shade with the Lancôme flower emblem.

That particular color is the 'main ingredient' of the entire look and adds that extra pop of dimension to your eyelook. The suggested usage is to dab it right in the center of your lids.

The next photo truly captures the effect that '3D pop' color gives (it's the lone swatch on the top).

From the swatch you can tell the shades are not overly strong in tone but yet carry a nice amount of color and dimension. I would like to think that it is almost appropriate to wear this to work since the colors aren't so intense that I would have to worry about spending forever blending it in the morning.

The next product to mention is the L'Absolu Crème De Brillance.

I have been presented with this product before and I got it in a darker red shade however that has since changed ownership and belongs in my mom's stash now. This time around I decided to be less ambitious and chose a shade I would actually use.

There will be two more shade releases, the one pictured above and a slightly redder toned one. I managed to get some shots during the sit-down session though these were taken with my mobile phone camera.

The shade I ended up choosing is the one on the right. I figured I would have more use for it even though the other shade is a gorgeous color and isn't too 'bam' red.

So those are the new goodies I have received to play around with and I will update on looks featuring these shortly.

Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer:
Products were provided by Lancôme.
I am not affiliated to them, all opinions expressed are my own.

Hi everyone!

A little blog post to share two packages I had received over this inactive period of mine.

Both packages primarily contain eyeshadow and are from two different sources - one of which I have mentioned before. I am very thankful to both the sites for having sent me these lovely items. I had not been able to haul very much since I am caught up with schoolwork, so to still receive packages of makeup to play with it's quite... relieving. Don't know if that's the right word but I'm sure you guys understand the mood.

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First package I'm going to talk about is a website I have mentioned before, The Spectrum Shop!
I was previously sent the NYX Eyeshadow Base (which I have reviewed) by Lisa - owner of The Spectrum Shop - so I am thankful that she had thought to contact me again and send me more NYX goodies to play with.

Lisa offered to let me choose 3 Single NYX Eyeshadows from her website and I was thrilled. I have heard SO MUCH about the NYX Single Shadows but can you believe it, I don't own a single one (up till now that is!)

There are 14 shades available on The Spectrum Shop as of now. It's not the entire range but it's a good selection. I was so tempted to pick up the safe neutral shades but decided to be adventurous and pick up some brighter colors instead.
Here's a closer look at the 3 shades I got.

NYX Single Shadow in Purple (ES32)

NYX Single Shadow in Atlantic (ES93)

NYX Single Shadow in Mermaid Green (ES101)

And of course, here's a swatch of the colors without a base. Check out how vibrant and pretty they are - especially Purple!

These shadows are going for 8.90SGD each on The Spectrum Shop so go check them out! (click here for the eyeshadow page).
A shout out and big thank you to Lisa for enabling me to step into the world of NYX Eyeshadows.

UPDATE [07/05]: Lisa had just mentioned on the tagboard that there is a 10% off for purchase of any 3 NYX eyeshadows! Not sure when the offer applies till, but I'm sure Lisa might be able to answer questions in the tagboard if guys have any (:

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Next up is a package from a local mineral eyeshadow company - Eye Rockz. Eye Rockz sells handmade mineral eyeshadows that are made upon receiving the order to ensure freshness of the product.

I was contacted by Vaun - creator of Eye Rockz - who offered to send me 3 pigments to try out with no obligations. I felt that there was really sincere service from this site and they are a very ethical company, as with the points listed on the main page of the site.

As of now Eye Rockz carries 40 shades of Mineral Eyeshadows ranging from blues, greens, purples, reds and neutrals. Here are the shades that I had chosen, again I tried to not stick with neutrals since I probably have crazy amounts of brown already.

Eye Rockz Mineral Eyeshadow in Sunshine

Eye Rockz Mineral Eyeshadow in Mysteriously Blue

And the last color which I was anticipating the most for would be this lovely lilac shade.

Eye Rockz Mineral Eyeshadow in Sweet Lilac

Here is a swatch of the three shadows, without a base.

Pigmentation is pretty decent with these, not the most pigmented mineral eyeshadows I have chanced across but it's pretty good. I haven't worn these shades out yet so I can't comment on how long-lasting they are and or any other aspects as of now.

The 3gm jars are selling at S$6.90.
There are also samples available (0.5gm) and they are going for S$2 for baggies and S$2.50 for sample in a jar.

Vaun was also kind enough to include a little something extra in the package. She doesn't sell this on Eye Rockz, this was more of a gift type thing.

ELF Mineral Shadow Primer in Sheer

It was really nice of her to include this gift. Once again, thanks so much for this!

P.s. Vaun had mentioned providing a promo code for my readers so you might want to hold out and wait for that. In the meantime you can still check out the site!

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And that sums up the eyeshadow goodies I had received. It's such a pity I haven't found much time to play around with them just yet since all I'm wearing these days are neutrals. I shall try to inject color in my look every now and then and post a LOTD with these new troopers in action when I can!

Thank you so much for reading (:

Disclaimer:
Products showcased and mentioned had been sent to me by the stated companies/distributors.
I am not affiliated to either sites, all opinions expressed are my own. I am not getting paid for this.

I usually include a mini write up with the reviews but I felt that there was (or at least seemed to be) a lot to mention about this product, hence watching a video might be easier. A write up could end up too wordy, and I know most people don't fancy reading chunks of text (I hear ya!).

Super briefly, I had been sent this product by Lisa from The Spectrum Shop to try out, they are a local blogshop and at this moment does not ship internationally. The NYX Bases retails for S$14.90 on there but I don't know the exact price from any other sources.

If the video doesn't load, click here to watch it on youtube.

I am going to include some photos in this entry because youtube does destroy image quality sometimes. So incase of that at least you have some photos you can refer to here. Not all of these are included in the review video and not all from the review are on here.

The NYX bases comes in three different shades:

Skintone

Pearl

White

And this is how they swatch

I do have a breakdown of what I thought about the individual colors within the review, so it's not just an overview of how it works.

Here is how an eyeshadow swatches over the different bases:

I also performed a little BEFORE and AFTER sort of test to show you how the primer holds up, but I don't have those photos on my computer anymore (don't know why I deleted them..) so I can't upload it here. However they are included within the video so you can check that out (:

In all, here's my total rating of it. It would make more sense checking this out after watching the review video.

Overall Rating: Fail / Pass / Merit / Distinction / High Distinction

Pigmentation: 3.5/5
Texture: 4/5
Preventing Creasing/Smudging: 3/5

Would I re-purchase this? Yes to the skintone one, but not so much the others.

Disclaimer:
The products featured in this entry were sent to me by The Spectrum Shop - I am not affiliated to them.
All opinions expressed are my own. I am not getting paid for this.

As mentioned in my previous blog entry, I have given up on pressing mineral eyeshadows. No word of encouragement is going to get me back into it, at least not with my current mentality of it, but feel free to leave tips if you want. Incase I change my mind in future (:

So after abandoning the mineral pressing stint, I was left with empty palettes and I didn't know what to do with them. I could sell them off, but the one that I experimented pressing on is a mess with glitter bits here and there. We all know glitter is an absolute pain to clean off, so I couldn't sell this piece.
For some reason I thought to depot my Silky Girl eye shadows into it. It is not all random because I had been thinking for a long time to depot my silky girl shadows into something.
Why?

Well here is how one silky girl duo eyeshadow is packaged:

2 eyeshadows, and so much packaging! It comes with a sponge tip applicator too but I filed it away (didn't throw it out. It's in a box with all it's friends)

I never liked how this duo eyeshadow was packaged because they aren't the most compact and they only hold 2 shadows. So this was how I used to store them:

See how much space they take up!

And the worst part is that I pile stuff on top of them..

So at the end of the day, I hardly ever use my Silky Girl shadows though they are all decent and have pretty nice colors.

And that is my motivation behind wanting to depot my Silky Girl eyeshadows. Thus far, I have depotted three of the eyeshadow duos, sort of like a test drive.

The empty packaging. I am not throwing these out (be green!).
Instead I would be cleaning them up and using them like little mixing dishes for lipglosses, or whatever. Since they have little compartments and are 'enclosed', it would be quite handy.

Here is the half completed palette:

Funny thing is, that black eyeshadow is magnetic and sticks to the palette. All the other colors are not! So I had to stick them on the pan so that they would be attached to the palette (since I didn't want to permanently glue them in the palette).
The height of the eye shadows fit and nothing was hitting against the roof of the palette.

Regarding the dividers of the palette, I did try poking around and I found that the dividers are stuck on to the magnet sheet quite well. The magnet sheet though isn't stuck on as well to the palette (well if a normal person uses it it wouldn't fall out of course but I was poking at it with a pocket knife...) so it's kind of hard to explain but it takes a bit of work and I got lazy to remove the divider this time around.

Here was how I labelled the shadows:

Yes I even stated if it was the left color or right color in terms of it's placement in the duo eyeshadow packaging.

I think with depotting these I get to free up a bit more storage space and on top of that these shadows might finally get some love. Especially since this palette is being placed in a very strategic spot on my vanity area.

Right up front!

Depotting the Silky Girl Duo Eye Shadows isn't hard but if anyone wants to see a step by step pictorial documentation of it, I will gladly do it the next time I depot the rest of the shadows.

I kind of know that some people might think that I am wasting palettes, maybe? Since these are for pressing and all I'm doing is sticking something in it when I could be sticking these shadows on any tin can to begin with... but I think it's quite fancy having it in a black magnetic case.
I am a little uncomfortable at the sight of little squares in a circle pan, but what can I do...
I doubt I'll be thinking of selling these anymore since I have a purpose for them now.

Oh and I think this palette fits MAC shadows, though I have no intention (right now) of depotting my MAC shadows. (:

And incase anyone is wondering, this 12 piece magnetic palette is available here at Magical Tannsu (it comes with the pans).

Thanks for reading!