My Top 10 Mac Eyeshadows!

EYESHADOWS:

1. satin taupe,
2. forgery
3. cork
4. carbon
5. beautiful iris
6. knight devine
7. nylon
8. sketch
9. mulch
10. odd couple


MY FAVORITE!! Satin Taupe ^___^

Nars Dogon Eyeshadow Duo

I finally got my hands on Nars Dogon last week with a gift card! This is one of the stand out items from the Nars summer 2011 collection and I have to say...it definitely did not disappoint. I am absolutely loving this duo.

Nars describes this duo as "metallic taupe with icy green sheen & charcoal black" That description is much to simple for the actual complexity of the colors.

No Flash

With flash, but this looks pretty close to real life

Please be patient as I attempt to describe the color, you are more than welcome to laugh at me! haha Dogon features a somewhat icy rosy/taupey/grey/silver base that flashes green/teal/gold? Yeah...that makes no sense in writing. But trust me, it IS beautiful. The pictures really don't capture it. On the right is a darkened charcoal/navy/teal blue with a hint of glitter. It's definitely not a plain black. The colors are wonderfully complex and the left side especially looks different in various types of lighting because of the "duo-chrome." If you google swatches of this duo the left side looks different on every skin tone! They look beautiful separately and especially layered on top of one another for a unique effect.

The left side does blend a little better than the darker right side, but as usual with Nars shadows the pigmentation is excellent and they are very easy to work with. Only thing is that the right side comes out more matte if you do not apply it carefully (blending it out too much diminishes the micro shimmer so make sure to pat!).

Now here's some comparison swatches. I don't have anything similar to the left side of Dogon so the comparison is a bit useless. I have no dupes to show you. I have read that Mac Club is similar because of the duo-chrome, but I don't own it so I can't tell you for sure. Anyway, you can definitely see how there is a green sheen in comparison to more typical taupe shades pictured.

Left: Nars Cairo is a light brown taupe. It's a staple taupe and has a bit of the rosy hues from Dogon but it's not similar at all really.
Middle: Bare Escentuals Night Owl is a darker more purple taupe. No icy green sheen here either!

Middle: Urban Decay Oil Slick is a shimmery black with silver shimmer. It's not similar to Dogon at all but I wanted to compare so you could see that Dogon definitely has a blue/teal tinge to it!
Right: This is the left column "crease" color in the Wet n Wild Blue Had Me At Hello Palette that you can see swatches of here. Wet n Wild is not as dark and is a much clearer, more shimmery blue. Dogon seems more navy/teal than blue in comparison.

Dogon is in the center! Very unique colors to my collection!

Dogon is limited edition (why, Nars, why!?) so if you're interested, definitely check it out soon! It's such a unique duo, I can see getting so much use out of it (especially for smokey night time looks!) Will post a look soon! Let me know your thoughts on the duo or what kind of look you'd do with it!?

Also, if you're in the US don't forget to enter my giveaway here before June 31st!

Nars Galapagos Swatches and Thoughts

Hello!! Sorry for the short absence, I haven't had much free time this past week because of end of the year stuff and i'm so happy and excited to say that I graduated from college last Thursday! Yay!!

Back to makeup, here's the beautiful Nars Galapagos that I treated myself to last week. I am absolutely in love...

Nars describes it as:

 "bitter chocolate infused with gold"

These pictures don't do the color justice at all! It's the most beautiful brown! You can sort of see the golden shimmer in the pictures, but it's even prettier in person.

The color is a gorgeous warm brown with gold shimmer. The pigmentation is excellent. It is not as smooth as my nars mekong (which is ridiculously buttery), but it is still incredibly soft, easily blendable, and pigmented. One thing that I was initially worried about with Galapagos was if the gold shimmer would actually show up on the eyes. It definitely does if you apply it correctly: packing it on with a shader brush (like the mac 239) over a good primer yields little fallout and makes the gold shimmer show up. Applying with a fluffy brush will not pack on the shimmer as much. One great thing about the gold shimmer is that it is very fine! You aren't going to see chunks of glitter on the eye, it just gives a nice sparkly effect on the eyes.

So far I've loved wearing this in the crease with lighter browns or shimmery champagnes on the lid. This week I'm going to experiment using galapagos in a REALLY brown smokey eye (and I'll post pictures when I do!) I really have no bad things to say about this shadow, it is so beautiful I think it would flatter any skin or eye color.

And some comparison swatches with my other brown shadows...

As you can see Nars Galapagos doesn't look like any of my other browns. In terms of color it's probably most similar to UD Darkhorse, since they are both deeper warmer browns, but Galapagos is a touch warmer and has the lovely gold shimmer. UD Smog is lighter and more gold, while Handwritten, has some red in it. As for the other Nars shadow, I was initially worried it wouldn't be worth owning both Mekong and Galapagos but they are really quite different. Mekong is much darker and cooler than Galapagos. I also think Mekong would be a little bit overwhelming as a lid color, whereas Galapagos could be pulled off being on the lid! I think they would look gorgeous together!

So overall, if you are a brown/neutral eyeshadow lover, Nars Galapagos should be at the top of your wishlist. I really love Nars eyeshadows, so if brown isn't your thing, don't hesitate to check out the other colors available!

This is the results from the Barry M Pillar Box Red Eye Shadow Tutorial  which was requested by a fellow youtuber which you can see here below:

: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3BiT7hEABo&feature=channel_video_title

Revlon Illuminance Creme eyeshadow- review, Swatches and photos

Good evening ladies,

Hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying the beautiful spring Anyways let’s talk about today’s post which is about Revlon Illuminance Creme shadow.

Most of the products that I use are from Revlon only coz I really love their quality and they are easily affordable too.

It was around 3-4 months back when I got this cream eye shadow palette from Revlon- Copper coast.

What is it?

It’s an eyeshadow quad with four cream eye shadows which comes in a transparent lid palette.

What it claims?

Ophthalmologist tested, it blends seamlessly for limitless effects, luminous finish brightens up eyes, weightless color glides on smoothly and easily with fingertips, fragrance-free, irritant-free, and suitable for contact lens wearers.

Price-Rs 485

My experience-

I haven’t used much of cream eye shadows so when heard of these from Revlon I went to get one to give it a try. It’s available in 10-12 shades but these caught my eye first and I bought it in Copper coast. Another reason was that I had also got a new dress and this one matches it perfectly. Till now I’ve used it only 2-3 times and I can say that it’s not a bad product but has some cons too which I’ve mentioned below.

This quad contains four shades- dark brown, orangish brown, golden and dull white.

Packaging-

It comes in a container with a transparent lid. Closes with a click but opens with a bit of difficulty (at least that’s the case with me)

What I like about these shadows ?-

They are nicely pigmented.

The shades in this palette are both light and dark with shimmers.

They are full of shimmers and give a dazzling look to the eyes.

It blends well and looks beautiful on the eyes.

Does not feel heavy on the eyelids and the texture is very smooth and creamy.

You can also use the white one as a base sometimes.

The case is very handy and compact.

The shades in all the palettes are very pretty.

Both light and dark shades available in each palette and you can create different looks using these.

Product is worth the price.

Here are the swatches-

What I don’t like about these shadows-

It creases after sometime which does not look good on the eyelids.

No applicator provided.

I don’t like the packaging coz I had expected it to be in a beautiful case with a mirror and applicator but the transparent lid is not at all impressive and it sometimes even separates out.

As many people say that it is not suitable for oily eyelids.

But overall I can say that it is quite an impressive product & I would like to try out some other shades too.

Rating- /5

Will I repurchase it- Maybe….I would like to try out Black Magic and Electric pop.

Will I recommend it- Yes, if you are a fan of Revlon and cream eye shadows you should try it out, but not suitable for oily eyelids.

So this was today’s review about Revlon Illuminance crème eyeshadows. Hope you like it Have you tried any of the shades from Revlon’s cream eyeshadows….did you like it??

My new Facebook Fanpage is here. It’ll be great to see you joining it !!

xoxo Rakhshanda

Rock and Republic Haul & Swatches from Hautelook

I ordered some R&R eyeshadows and their blending blush off of Hautelook last month and it finally came today! I had such a hard time choosing colors since EVERYTHING was on sale, but here's what I ended up picking...

Blending brush! It's very very soft and a perfect size for blending the crease!

Diffused (this one photographed lighter than real life, its more medium brown. darn flash!)

Snakeskin

Skintight

Tempting

-Tempting is a really pretty shimmery medium toned lavender purple with a touch of gray in it. It's a very, very unique taupey purple!

-Diffused is medium/light taupe brown (i love all shades of taupe as you can see haha!) It's a perfect everyday brown, I think this will be perfect on the lid or in the crease. It also has a very subtle gold shimmer in it. Beautiful!

-Skintight is a very shimmery cream color with a touch of gold. Lovely highlight or lid color!

-Snakeskin is a really complex color. it's the perfect mixture of grey, green, brown, and gold. I can't even tell if it's warm or cool, but this color will be gorgeous for a smokey eye!

Here's some more swatches and comparisons with some other eyeshadows I own...

I didn't really have anything comparable to Diffused. It's more brown than satin taupe and darker and more gray than Patina!

Tempting is probably closest to the taupe "lap dance" from the Too Faced Naked Eye Palette, but Lap Dance is a bit more gray and much more shimmery. As you can see from the picture, it has more gray and taupe in it than the rest of the other purples.

Had a hard time getting a good picture of Skintight. I think it's a tie between Femme Fi and Skintight for my favorite skin toned/highlight eyeshadow. Skintight is more cream than gold when compared to Femme Fi while shroom runs more peach and Virgin runs more white!

Lastly, Snakeskin is completely unique to my collection. In the pan I thought it would appear much more olivey green on my skin, but it's definitely a complex mixture that I didn't have anything to really compare it to. Nars Nouveau Monde is much more green, Mac Henna is more gold, and Urban Decay Darkhorse is more true brown!

I hope these swatches were helpful! If you can get your hands on some of the Rock and Republic eyeshadows you won't be disappointed. They are buttery smooth and incredibly pigmented! They also blend beautifully. I'll do some looks with them soon!

Let me know what you think about them or if you have any favorite R&R eyeshadows! ***and note to self, I am NOT allowed to buy anymore eyeshadow!!!

Chambor eyeshadow trio- Review & Swatches

Hi friends and lovely readers,

So here I am today with a new post and review which i had missed all these days. Hope it helps!!

Today’s review is all about another of my Chambor eyeshadow trio which I had bought almost one year ago. I love this trio and have used it many times so I wanted to show it to all of you.

Packaging:

I have written about its packaging before when I had reviewed another Copper trio so today I only want to say that this is an ideal packaging where you get everything you want, cute box which is very easy to open with a click, nice mirror, very helpful for makeup of your eyes even during traveling with a soft tipped applicator which is able to apply the shades on my eye lids.

I’m sorry it’s a bit messy from inside :p

Price:

I bought it for Rs. 450 but now the price is 475.

Shades:

Now about the shades, it’s a trio so there are 3 colors in this palette. All are pretty and beautiful. The best part of these shades is neither the shades are very shimmery nor too matte. The texture is very soft and very nice in blending.

Shade one:

This shade is a reddish maroon one and very beautiful. You can apply it on your crease, outer corner and all over lid of your eyes as well. Very pigmented and soft. An amazing combination of shimmer and matte which looks beautiful after blending.

Shade two:

This one is copper gold which is perfect for the crease and outer corner of your eyes. This too does not have much shimmer in it so you can comfortably apply it on your eyes with your matching outfit. I have used this shade with black outfit many times. You can get an elegant look on using it with gold shadow.

Shade three:

This shade is silver and very different from the two and is a highlighter. It is not at all pigmented. You’ll have to apply it again and again to find the good shade.The texture of this shade is not soft. Not good in blending and very chalky. A lot of fall out during applying it but if you bear that fall out and be a bit patient, it looks very lovely on your brow bone as well as all over the lids.i have used it so many times you can see it in the picture.

Staying power:

Good staying power. It can remain for about 5-6 hours comfortably. I have applied it without base some times and it stayed easily about 4-5 hours. With base it stays for a long time.

The reason, I love this trio:

I love the pigmentation of the two shades.

Great staying power.

Love the versatility of shades. I can wear them easily with formal outfit as well as casual too because they are lovely combination of shimmers and matte.

The silver one is not very pigmented but I love to apply it with my pink and white outfit.

They give a very nice coverage and make my lids lovely.

There is no fallout (Excluding the silver one)

Love the soft texture of shades 1 & 2.

All of them define my eyes very nicely.

Price is reasonable.

Here are the swatches ( shades 1and 2 one swipe each and shade 3 3-4 swipes)

Inside with flash-

In sunlight-

The reason, I don’t love it:

The silver one is not as good as the other two. This one has disappointed me. I think in a trio, company should take care of the similarity of their shades. Some times only one shade can keep the customers away from lovely palettes.

Over all I love this trio and I have used it so many times and I’ve been asked many times about these shades so it’s one of my favorite.

Rating:

3.85/5

Will I purchase it again?

Yes, I have already some trios from Chambor. I’ll really love to check out their new range of eye shadows.

Will I recommend it to others?

You should really try this trio.

So friends, tell me have you used this palette ever? What do you think about it? Would love to know about your experience

If you want to check out the review and swatches of another Chambor trio- HERE

Nars Haul! Nouveau Monde, Habanera, Mekong

I have been waiting for this Nars order for over a week now (fedex smartpost should be called slowpost, if anything). It was worth the wait! Although it's the end of February, this is a very late holiday gift from my wonderful boyfriend. I refused to let him make an order until a coupon code for the Nars website popped up (18% off? yes please!). I am a huge nars blush fan and am so excited to try more of his eyeshadows! Here's what i got...

sigh.

Nars Habanera
Nars website description: "Mint frost and sparkling charcoal plum"

Nars Nouveau Monde, from the 2011 Spring collection
"Metallic Silver Lilac and Rich Olive Gold"

Nars Mekong
"Espresso infused with gold"

Nars Orgasm Polish (a little freebie!)
"Peachy pink with shimmer"

Trying to capture all the shimmer in these shadows, they are very beautiful!

Swatches! The pigmentation on all of them is superb.

I tried to do some comparisons with eyeshadows I already have. I'm quite happy that I don't have any exact dupes of any of the nars shadows, or else I'd feel like I'm wasting my money on stuff I already have. I didn't have anything to compare the minty side of habanera to, sorry!

Very close. Nars Nouveau (green side, obviously) is slightly darker and greener than my Mac henna. You can't quite tell in the picture, but Henna pulls much more gold on my skin while nouveau is more green. They look very alike in the pic though.

Although both cool toned, nouveau monde and beautiful iris are both different shades in the lilac family. Nouveau monde is more shimmery (gorgeous!). Beautiful iris is a bit brighter and not as understated. On the right, mac sketch pulls more red than the plum color in Nars Habanera. Habanera is more shimmery as well!

None of my other browns really compared to Mekong! Mekong is probably one of my most pigmented shadows I own now, it's incredible. The glitter in it is lovely, it's truly a unique brown!

I'm so excited to do some FOTD's with these shadows! I'll definitely post them this week! The texture on the single and both duos is wonderful: rich and buttery, they apply very smoothly. The pigmentation is really insane on all of them, especially mekong. You only need the tiniest bit on your brush and you have more than enough eyeshadow to work with. I know Mekong will go with all of my favorite neutral looks...Habanera and Nouveau Monde, I was actually apprehensive about: both duos contain colors that seem unlikely to pair with one another. However, after swatching them, I think they are going to look gorgeous on the eye!

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you've tried any of these shadows, or how you like to wear them!!