Em Cosmetics - Career Life palette - review (after more use on the face)

This is going to be a brief update on how the Career Life palette has been working for me on an everyday basis.
I've been using this palette for the past few days consistently in order to test out the eyeshadows and lip products.  I don't usually use blusher, but I used a tiny amount of the blush in the palette with a duo fiber brush in order to test out the pigmentation and colors.  I will say that with a duo fiber brush, the blush is barely visible on the cheeks and provides a very natural hint of color.

Eyeshadows:

• For the eyeshadows, with a brush, they worked very nicely. I found that the color take a break which was the nearly skin toned tan color, worked great as a base for the eyeshadows I applied to my lids.  It provided a smooth canvas and assured that the shadows I applied on top did not go on patchy.  I've seen some reviews saying that the shadows faded throughout the day even with a primer; however, this wasn't the case for me.  The shadows stayed put during my 10-hour day, and didnt move around when I used a primer.
• On a side note--  If you have very oily eyelids like mine, try using a primer and then using a sponge puff or a cosmetic puff to press some translucent powder onto the lid, and also on the bottom lid where eyeliner and shadow usually smudge.  I've found this technique to be quite helpful and effective and I'm glad that I discovered this through Pony's makeup tutorials 
• I loved the shade nude rose all over the lid.  It went on smoothly and blended like a dream, providing just enough warmth to the lids 
• I used the liner shades, or the deep shades next to the lip products with a wet brush (wet with ELF lock and seal) and they worked very effectively, almost like a liquid liner ~

Lips:

Unfortunately for the lip shades, I found them to be very drying.  Both the gloss and the lipstick made my lips peel, even with a balm under them.  The lipstick shades tended to go on very matte and I liked how they looked on the lips; however, the color didnt last for very long

Overall, after further use, I definitely enjoy the Career palette a lot more and see myself using it almost daily since it does have very neutral colors, but I'd still say that it isn't worth $75 and I'd skip it if you are looking for shadows with more pigmentation and color ~~

Em Cosmetics by Michelle Phan - Career Life life palette - initial review and swatches

This is the Em Cosmetics life palette in "Career Life."

Recently, Em Cosmetics had an offer for $20 off of a life palette, so I jumped on that deal ~
I ordered 5 out of the 6 life palettes and will be doing reviews of all of them! (:

Just a brief overview of the Life Palettes.  They contain 4 quadrants meant to each be a look - each containing 6 eyeshadows, 2 lip colors (1 lipgloss and 1 lipstick) and a blush.  It also comes with a dotting tool to depot the pans (of lipstick/eyeshadow/blush) and put them into the travel palette that is sent to you with each life palette (for a limited time).  Lastly, the life palettes come with a double ended brush (one shader brush and one angled brush).  Life Palettes retail for $75 each, but as I mentioned I got mine for $55 each.  With the four quadrants, each comes out to about $18.75 each - or with the sale $13.75.  Now, for the question everyone is asking -- are they worth it?

Packaging - on a side note, many people have been criticizing the packaging of Em cosmetics; however, I can say that it feels like it is very high quality.  It feels sturdy/heavy and the magnetic closure for the palettes is very nice.  I like that it has a clear overcoat for the palettes, and I think that the simplicity makes the products look very classy and luxurious.

Of the 5 life palettes I own, the Career Life palette is by far my least favorite.  I found that it was the most inconsistent in pigmentation and texture, and I'm hoping that Michelle and her team were going for "natural" since it is targeted as makeup for "work."  However, many of the shades in this palette were patchy and dry and took a lot of effort to get any color to show up on my skin.

I'll be going through each of the quadrants and I'll share my favorite and least favorite parts of each palette.

The first shade I swatched was the white shade, and for all of my swatches it goes counter clockwise. 

Also, the swatches go from bottom to top.

• The white shade was very disappointing, as with many of the matte shades in Em cosmetics. It went on dry and patchy and looked like I had literally put chalk on my skin.
• The second shade (nude) was not much better.  It felt very smooth and buttery, but when I swatched it, it seemed to disappear the more I touched it or blended it. In the swatch, the color is barely visible.  It is a neutral shade, but I expected it to show up a bit more.
• The third shade was a taupe-y light gray color.  The pigmentation on this one was better, and I think that it was meant to be a light color that was wearable for the workplace.  
• The fourth shade was a deep purpley gray color.  The pigmentation was a little better but it still went on a bit patchy and took some layering to build it up to the color in the swatch
• The fifth shade appears to be a deeper color in the pan, but translates to a light taupe color with gray undertones.  It wasn't very pigmented, as you can see, and it went on patchy
• The last color was very disappointing because it is what appears to be the liner color.  It went on very sheer and patchy and I had to build it up for it to show up as it does in the picture.  I suppose if you used it with a wet brush, you could use it as a liner.  

Each quadrant has a lipstick, a lipgloss and a large blush in the center.  

• The lipgloss shade Bold Statement is a nice pinky nude.  I think it looks very natural and work appropriate.
• The lipstick Power Suit is a gorgeous shade. It's a deep red-toned shade that would look nice as a stain as well.  
• The blush in this section was not pigmented at all. It took quite a few swipes to even get it to show up.  The color looked really pretty in the pan, but you aren't going to get that color on your cheeks unless you really pack it on.

This section was much better than the first; however, i still experienced difficulties with the first color. (bottom swatch)

• The first shade was a light pink shade that was very dry and chalky.  I'm guessing that this shade is supposed to be the highlight shade so I don't mind too much that it isn't pigmented
• The second shade is a taupe-y purple shade.  This one was also quite sheer, but it felt very smooth and creamy.  Again, I had the issue of it disappearing when blending it out.
• The third shade was nice.  It was a plumy purple shade that had pretty nice pigmentation and went on smoothly
• The fourth shade was nice as well.. It was a light lavender frosty shade that went on very smooth and was pigmented
• The fifth shade was nice, but very sheer.  It was a light taupe color
• The liner shade in this quadrant was also very patchy, but could be built up to a liner

• I loved the lipstick shade in this section.  It was very pretty, and again would look very nice as a stain
• The lipgloss was sheer but very pretty
• The blush was smooth and pigmented and I think it would look nice on fair skin tones

 The third section is by far my favorite! The colors were GORGEOUS and the shadows were for the most part buttery smooth and pigmented (as I hope you can see in the photo).

• The highlight shade was very pigmented in this quadrant.  It was a light gold color, and I was surprised at how smoothly it went onto the skin
• The second shade is a light skin tone shade.  This shade is how I expected the other nude shade to show up.  You can see it on the skin, and it is very creamy and smooth
• The third shade is a bronze color.  It is so beautiful!! It goes on extremely smoothly and is very very pigmented
• The fourth shade is a khaki color.  It has a frosty or metallic finish, and goes on smoothly and pigmented
• The fifth shade is a deeper, warmer brown shade, perfect for contouring the lids and for the outer corner.  It blended nicely and the pigmentation was good
• The last shade is a deep, cool toned brown with a hint of shimmer in it.  It would be great as a liner, and the pigmentation was awesome!!

• The first lip color is a bubblegum pink shade, and is very very pretty and pigmented
• The gloss is a peachy sheer gloss, and I think it complements the lipstick well
• The blush is a neutral peach color, and it had okay pigmentation.

•  The highlight shade in this section was chalky once again.  It lacked pigmentation and went on patchy
• The next shade was a light pink that is very neutral and barely visible
• The third shade was a mauve-ey brown shade and I think it would be great all over the lid
• The fourth shade is a deeper red/mauve/berry color that I think would suit warm complexions perfectly.  The pigmentation was pretty good, as seen in the swatch
• The fifth shade was a deeper plum-ey brown and went on a little patchy, but can be built up
• Lastly, the liner shade was nice, but again went on slightly patchy

• The lipstick shade was really pretty and I have no complaints
• The gloss was an equally pretty pink color
• The blush had decent pigmentation, and would look nice on light, cool skin tones

Overall, the Career Life life palette by Em Cosmetics would be one of the ones that I'd deem "not worth it"

Though it had some really pretty shades, and some really unique colors, I'd say that you should skip this palette and buy a different life palette, or the Em Cosmetics Shade Play palettes (which are AWESOME btw, Ill have a review of those soon!!)

At the $75 price point, I feel like this palette was too hit or miss (mainly miss) with its chalky and streaky shades that lacked pigmentation.  

NYX single eyeshadow - Charcoal - review and swatch

In my September ipsy bag, I received this Charcoal NYX eyeshadow.

I honestly wasn't that thrilled to have gotten this because I have a ton of NYX shadows from before and I've never really been that big a fan of them.  I find NYX shadows to be a bit chalky and difficult to blend usually, so I never buy them anymore.  

However, I have to say that this eyeshadow pleasantly surprised me.  It was really smooth and velvety and it blended very nicely.  I will say that I expected the color to be a bit darker, and the shade that it actually comes off as is lighter than in the pan.  Other than that, I really like this eyeshadow and I may end up buying more shades of NYX eyeshadows!

Interested in joining ipsy? 

http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h0516a0kzkyq1xcy

Below are some swatches of NYX eyeshadow in Charcoal:

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Mirifique

Today I'll be reviewing Chanel's Illusion D'Ombre in the shade Mirifique.  This is a black shade with silver glitters.  

The Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadows are sort of a mixture between a cream and mousse texture.  They retail for $36 (for 0.14oz, or 4g of product) and it comes with a small brush to apply the shadow. You can purchase them at Nordstrom and Macy's Chanel counters. 

The Saem Freely Soul Jelly Cushion eyeshadow - (더 샘 프릴이 소울 젤리 쿠션 섀도우) 02. Soul Brown (소울 브라운)

The Saem (더 샘) is a Korean cosmetics brand that is currently endorsed by IU AND G. Dragon.  It is a relatively newer store in Korea, and the first time I came across it was last summer during my annual Korea trip.  The first time I went to the store, I left with a very bad taste in my mouth because the saleswoman was so pushy and I ended up buying things I hadn't really wanted (easily persuaded).  Anyways, I recently went back to the store and found a few items that I was really intrigued by. 

I purchased a few different shades of the Jelly Cushion shadows because they felt really cool and squishy - kind of like the Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush but more jelly-like.  The colors were also very pretty and the price of these was not too bad.  ($6-8)

The color I am reviewing today is 02. Soul Brown.  It is a nice purpley gold color with shimmer, and the shades (before mixed) are gold and purple.  I purchased my eyeshadow in Korea in Myeongdong 명동 area, but I saw other Saem shops around Seoul.  

This time, the sales lady was very nice and not pushy, and she was amused that we were from Hawaii.

Anyways, I quite like this shadow and I think it is a very pretty all over the lid color.  I would use a primer under it for best results, because it is kind of like a cream shadow and could potentially crease throughout the day.  

eSpoir eyeshadow in "Prince Street" 에스쁘아 아이섀도우 (프린스 스트리 트) Review and Swatches

eSpoir is a Korean cosmetics brand that is on the mid to high end price range.

I want to talk about the store a little bit before getting onto my review of this single eyeshadow.  

eSpoir is interesting because though it is based in Korea, the store has a French makeup artist.  I'm not clear on all the details of the store, but in eSpoir's YouTube videos, the makeup artist is a French man.  The theme colors for the store are orange and purple, and the store has a very classy look with its orange sign and clean, spacious interior.  I saw multiple eSpoir shops in Korea, with two being in Myeongdong 명동 area (a young shopping area similar to Harajuku in Tokyo).  

The single eyeshadows cost 10,000 원 won which is equivalent to about $9 US.  However, while I was in Korea, eSpoir had a promotional sale for their new eyeshadow shades and all eyeshadows were 2 + 1 and you got a free eyeshadow case for every 3 shadows.  This promo made the eyeshadows come out to about $6 each, which is a pretty affordable.  Most of the eyeshadows here, and in Korea in general, are very shimmery/glittery, and tend to be more towards the sheer side. 

This definitely goes for the eyeshadow in the shade "Prince Street." 

In the pan, this eyeshadow is dark and taupe-y colored and looks like it'd be a good outer corner, contrasting color.  However, I found that it is pretty sheer, and though it can be built up, it is too shimmery to use as a contrast color and as you build it up, you will just get more and more shimmer with the color.  Now, this is not saying that I don't like the eyeshadow -- because I do! It is a beautiful color for all over the lid, and it is a cool toned taupe silver brown shade that I really like.  

The eyeshadow formula is very smooth and I find that, as with many Asian eyeshadows, it is best when applied with your fingertips (and over a primer).  

Ipsy glam bag subscription

Join ipsy with this invite link to help me get ipsy points !

Ipsy is a really awesome makeup subscription service that is $10/month for 4-5 products each month ~ mostly full sized !! It's a brand created by Michelle Phan. I honestly really love ipsy glam bags because they're such a great value and you get to try out so many new products 

Let me know if you subscribe !! 

My favorite makeup brands - Eyeshadow Edition

Today I wanted to do a quick post which I think will be the first of a new series "my favorite makeup brands" where I'll show you guys my all time favorite brands for certain categories.
Ill be talking about eyeshadow today~
Eyeshadows are my favorite type of makeup, and I have a ton of them, so they are definitely an amazing place to start:


Coastal Scents

Loreal Infallible

Smashbox Photo Op

Urban Decay (both original & reformulated)

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadows




Other great shadows -

The Body Shop (new) Color Crush eyeshadows

MAC eyeshadows (not all of them...the lustre finishes suck)



Ill be doing an updated favorites after my trip to Korea, when I try out the Korean brand eyeshadows and products.

BH Cosmetics party girl palette (review and swatches)

Today ill be talking about a new ish limited edition palette from bh cosmetics. I actually got this quite a while ago during a Christmas sale.
My first experience with bhcosmetics.com over a year ago was a very positive one. So, naturally I expected things to run smoothly as they had before. However -- thus time I ran into problems. Nearly a month passed with no shipping info shipped out, customer service ignored my emails and so on. Eventually, I had to wait on the phone for half an hour to talk to a live person - who told me my package had been lost, or stolen - which I don't believe because I had never even gotten a shipping email. But whatever-I got my package a few days later.

Now the quality of the products disappointed me further, and the party girl palette was no exception. The matte shades were super chalky and the pigmentation was not very good, and patchy.
Anyways, it isn't the worst I've tried, but I was just disappointed because the first time I ordered the products & customers service were awesome!
I did some swatches so you can see for yourself ~
I love column 9! And I think that alone made the palette worth it, since it is very cheap. It definitely isn't a must have palette, so I'd skip it if you already have some great palettes.
All swatches were over an eyelid primer

MUA haul - muastore.co.uk

A few weeks ago MUA's website was having a sale (50% off) plus free international shipping! So, I knew I had to jump aboard that train ,
I ordered palettes from them before, so this time I decided to get a few trios, quads and singles.

The quads are called Extreme Metallic quads. I purchased them in "Glammed Up", "Go Getter", "Celebrity", "Smokin", and "Starstruck." Briefly, from what I've noticed is that they aren't a really EXTREMELY metallic finish, but they are very smooth and fall on the metallic side. These go for £3.00, or about $4.75. However, I got mine for £1.5 or $2.37.

Next, the Trio Eyeshadows I got were called "Chocolate Box" and "Innocence"
These trios were £2.5 or about $3.95 each
But of course I got them for £1.25 or $1.98.
I briefly swatched these upon unboxing, but can't really give you guys an opinion yet (so stay tuned for a full review)

Onto the single eyeshadows
I got these Pearl Eyeshadows in the shades 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 30
They cost £1 each or $1.58, with the 50% discount £0.5 or $0.79
Wowww (:
These eyeshadows are very smooth and come in so many really unique and pretty colors. I'll for sure do swatches and a review on them !

Lastly, I got one palette (£4=$6.32, or (£2 with my 50% off, and that equals $3.16)

Below are photos but I can't find one of the singles :/