As a beauty blogger, I find it hilarious that I feel at my most vulnerable when I'm wearing makeup. I'm posting my bare face all the time, all over the internet. But hear me out - even if I have less than flawless skin? That's not a problem, I was born that way, or a product did it. Show off less than flawless makeup application? And I'm afraid people will think I have a) poor motor skills b) no attention to detail or c) that I just don't care. (Psst, the answer is probably a combination of (a) and also not enough practice).
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| GTFOML insecurity, Santa Sehun sez so |
Today you'll see some terrible brow work. Let's just say there's a reason why I do mainly skincare reviews. But anyways, it's time to put to rest my insecurities and do some makeup reviews!
Disclosure: There is a press sample kindly sent from Memebox.com in this post. I am not compensated for my views. Some affiliate links are used in this post. Clicking on an affiliate link returns a small sum to me at no cost to you as the consumer. Doing so is appreciated as it helps to support this blog. If you are curious about my policy on press samples, affiliate links, and sponsors, please see my disclaimer and policies.
Really quickly before getting into the Pony Effect That Girl Fever Shadow Palette* review. I want to give a shoutout to the e.l.f. Illuminating Palette...
So what is it? It's a quad of 4 (4g.) soft setting powders. [INGREDIENTS] They're similar in concept to the Hourglass ambient lighting powders where a soft dusting of powder lends an almost imperceptible, yet luminescent glow to the face. The e.l.f. palette powders are buttery soft and smooth, and full of pigment at first swipe. While they kick up some dust which you'll see in the swatches, they are very nice for the price. Also they're encased in a chic matte black case and have a huge mirror. The packaging won't smudge, but you may break a nail trying to get it open. It also smells a little bleach-y while in the pan.
In order these are the pans from 1 Top Left, 2 Top Right, 3 Bottom Left, 4 Bottom Right. These swatches are done with a finger.
1 Top Left - is a pearlescent ivory that is perfect as a highlighting shade. The pearl is very fine so it gives volume without accentuating pores and also looks almost matte.
2 Top Right - is a pink ivory. While it is also an almost matte with fine pearl, this is less glowy than the first shade.
3 Bottom Left - is a natural beige. This is very similar to the Top Right shade in finish.
4 Bottom Right - is an orangey beige shade. I guess it could be referred to as 'tan'. This is a bit glowier, similar in finish to the first shade.
I find that finishing powders don't really work for me on the face since I tend to prefer dewier base products and foundations. Powders tend to stick to dewy finishes and clump if you ever go even one powder particle over the 'limit'. But what these powders are amazing for, at least for me, is for use as a very modern (read: not frosty) and subtle brow bone highlighter and eyeshadow base. In the eye looks I'm documenting today you'll see them in action. I used the 1 Top Left as a highlighter in both looks and 3 Bottom Left as an eyelid base shade, again in both looks.
If interested, this palette retails for $6 at e.l.f. cosmetics for 16g. of product.
Which brings me to the Pony Effect That Girl Fever Shadow Palette* review. Before we even get to it, I have to say that if I were to have purchased this at the current $41 price, I'd be very disappointed.
Who is Pony? Pony is a famous makeup artist in Korea. She's the one behind the beauty transformation / of Kpop-turned-globally-renowned recording artist CL (See her previous look here.). Pony began her career on Youtube, showing the ropes to many a hooded lid/monolid gal including this one.
This palette is from her first self-directed and -produced collection of products. See the full collection here.
This palette has 3 matte shades and 4 shimmers that are more western in style, and two 'glitters' in a 'WTH how do I categorize this?' formula. According to the Memebox listing, the eyeshadows contain vitamin E to help protect the eye area. [INGREDIENTS AT MEMEBOX].
One nice thing about the packaging is the compact size of the palette. It's perfect for a night out. At 4x4 in. (10x10 cm.) it will tuck into a clutch nicely. I also love the huge mirror. On the outside, the palette is matte (no fingerprints) and purple with the words Pony Effect Seoul in an iridescent silver tone written across the middle. It also says 'That Girl' in black, in what may be Pony's handwriting.
At $41, I expect something hardy and very high quality. EH, already the clasp of the palette is looking like it could break at any moment. And the shadows are set off-kilter in the pan and make me think that they look loose even if they aren't (A UD Naked palette is $54... just sayin'). While it's held up to some drops onto hard surfaces, I credit a lot of that to the hard-packed formulas of the shadows.
Each shadow contains 1.1 g. of product.
Before getting into each of the shades I thought it was funny that there were spaces included in the hashtag themed names. lulz the instafamous don't need to know how to hashtag apparently.
Top Row:
1 #IN CITY - a 'warm-matte sand beige'. This is chalky when swatching on the arms, but it does alright over a base.
2 #OVERDOSE - a 'penny shimmer'. It's basically the first shade, if it were a shimmer. They swatch at a very similar intensity. While it swatches on the arms easily, it's a bit chalky going on the eyelids, for a shimmer that is. It is a very beautiful, wearable, everyday shade however.
3 #ALL NIGHT - 'matte brown'. It's a cooler brown that's also another great daily shade. It does not swatch very easily on the arms as well, but does okay over a base. On the eyes, it's just a tad lighter than in the pan, but can be built up. I found it to be decently blend-able.
Middle Row:
4 #BEAUTIFUL LIAR - a 'blood orange shimmer with gold micro glitter'. I absolutely love this shade, it's red orange and gold, super unique and oh so very festive. I feature it in one of today's looks. The shade swatches on the arms fairly easily, but on the eyelids, is best patted on with a finger tip if you really want to get the gold shimmer on there.
5 #READY TO PARTY - a 'deep purple shimmer with purple micro glitter'. Purple on purple y'all. In a purple case. It leans brown which to me is what makes it a good purple eyeshadow. I'm uncomfortable with straight purple shades, but this is more wearable to me. I also recommend applying this shade with your fingers. When I used a brush, it got a little bit muddy but patted on with a pinky finger, it is very true-to-swatch.
6 #DRUNK DIAL - a 'duochrome blue-hued brown shimmer'. This shade is another rendition of the blue brown duochrome that MAC Club and Wet N Wild brought to fame. When blended out, it's much more brown than blue and when packed on, it's much more blue than brown. What's unique about this shade is that it's very teal, not straight blue. In fact, it almost looks green which is... perfect for a holiday look!
Bottom Row:
7 #JUST 10 SECONDS - a 'white glitter with iridescent pink micro glitter'. Yeah no. This isn't a shade that can be worn on its own and I think I would describe it more as a white glitter (glitters on the larger side) top coat for your eyeshadow look. It's too shimmery to be a brow-bone highlight, in 2015 anyway... and I don't see the pink micro glitter. It does okay under the eye as 'aegyosal'if applied before your base dries down, so it can really stick to it.
8 #ALL THAT GLAM - a 'gold glitter'. This again is a tough sell as a color that can stand on its own, but does well over a base shade, also kind of like a top coat. The glitter is a glitter and not a micro-glitter, so pretty noticeable.
9 #BAD OR GOOD - a 'matte blood orange red'. This again swatches very mediocre on the arms, but can be built up to full intensity on the eyelids with your fingers or a densely packed brush. It's less blendable than the other mattes but... it's red orange. It's hard to expect it to do as well since it is such a pop-py shade.
All of the shades are prone to some fall out and the mattes can develop a hard crust if water and primer get into them. They do have good lasting power, and I found that my eye looks lasted well over 8 hours, even without primer.
If interested, this palette retails for $41 at Memebox for 10g. of product.
X-Mas Looks!
If you're still with me, here are two Christmas inspired eye looks with the shades from this palette. The first look is inspired by not only Christmas but also EXID Hani's whole color palette that she has going on lately. The second is inspired by the warm pink/red tones she uses on her eyes.
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| Sorry about the blending in the bottom look! |
I used 1 #IN THE CITY all over the lid. On top of that, I packed on 4 #BEAUTIFUL LIAR with my finger to get the golden shimmer to show through. 5 #READY TO PARTY is in the outer corner. If you want to get really glitzy, like in the bottom look, you can also use 8 #ALL THAT GLAM on the inner half of the mobile lid. Underneath the eyes on the outer third, is a mix of 4 and 5. On the inner 2/3 underneath the eyes is 8 #ALL THAT GLAM, this was done with my pinky finger. The e.l.f. illuminating palette serves as a browbone highlight.
I finished off the look(s) with my favorite coral lipstick, Uslu Airlines HOH and Becca Opal as my highlight. Though the eye looks are shown together, I don't wear them this way (obvi).
I'm also wearing (mediocre) mascara on both eyes, but one of the eyes has some secret curl-locking sauce on it which I'll cover in tomorrow's #4DaysofHolidaze post!
Did you like the looks? The palettes?
What do you think you'll wear over the holidays? Is red lipstick in the cards for you?
Disclosure: There is a press sample kindly sent from Memebox.com in this post. I am not compensated for my views. Some affiliate links are used in this post. Clicking on an affiliate link returns a small sum to me at no cost to you as the consumer. Doing so is appreciated as it helps to support this blog. If you are curious about my policy on press samples, affiliate links, and sponsors, please see my disclaimer and policies.
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