Beauty Talk: The Palette Tag

Today I will be showing you all of the palettes that I currently own. The reason: I feel like I have enough eyeshadows for now and it will be a long time before I decide to buy another eyeshadow palette (I don't really like buying single eyeshadows). I'm putting them in categories because I think doing so will give you an idea of which ones I consider as suitable for each of different purposes. Except for the LORAC AfterGLO palette, the eyeshadows in all other palettes have great quality and are buttery smooth!

1. Most used: LORAC Pro 1&2, IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty

If you've seen my posts about these palettes, you'll know how much I love them. LORAC Pro 1 & 2 have both shimmery and matte shades and the colors are beautiful for everyday use. IT Cosmetics Natural Beauty contains all matte shades and is a little more colorful than a typical neutral palette.

Swatches:

- LORAC Pro 2

- IT Cosmetics Natural Beauty

2. Cutest Packaging: theBalm Nude'tude and Smashbox Santigolden Age in Apocalypse Now

The two looks created by using the two palettes in the collection.

While I put these 2 palettes in the "cutest packaging" category, the quality of the eyeshadows in both palettes is also very good. Because Nude'tude is a neutral palette, I also use it a lot in addition to the 3 palettes above. Smashbox Santigolden Age in Apocalypse Now belongs to the brand's Summer 2014 collection.

Swatches: theBalm Nude'tude

3. Most versatile: Smashbox

This palette has the shades arranged in a way that makes it easier for me to create different looks and I feel that you can use it in any occasion and with any outfit. This is a holiday palette so it's out of stock at most beauty stores but I still see it on Amazon.

4. Best for a romantic look: Urban Decay Naked 3

When we try to do a romantic/date look, we normally think about pink or rosy eye makeup. Well, this palette has everything I need to create that look. I got it as a gift from a friend and I'm very thankful since all of the colors are gorgeous! I would say this palette is the only one that I like among the four Naked palettes from Urban Decay.

5. Best for travel: Tarte Rainforest After Dark and LORAC Pro To Go

These palettes have blushes, highlighters and bronzers beside the basic eyeshadows that work very well together. The packaging is also another factor that makes them so great to bring on travel.

Swatches:

- Tarte Rainforest After Dark

- LORAC Pro To Go

6. Best for smokey eye makeup: Urban Decay Smoked Palette

While it's obvious that you can create smokey eyes with almost any palette, this palette provides the dark shades that were specially created to help creating many different types of smokey looks. This palette looks like a wallet with zipper and came with a photo book that contains tutorials for 12 different smokey eye looks.

I know Urban Decay has the new Naked Smoky palette coming out; it looks very pretty and many people are crazy about it. The only thing that prevents me from wanting to get my hands on it so much is that the shades are very similar to what most "makeup lovers" already have; the palette actually looks like a combination of some dark shades from the other Naked palettes. I personally think that if you love to buy makeup, it will be never enough regarding the makeup you have and that palette does look stunning. However, I prefer the Smoked palette I have because it has more "colorful" dark shades.

7. Least used: LORAC AfterGLO Palette

I normally put a lot of thoughts about the shades before buying eyeshadow palettes because I don't want them to just sit there without being used. Thus, the problem of this palette is not the shades (which are beautiful to me), but the quality of the eyeshadows. I've read somewhere that LORAC has 2 types of quality for their eyeshadows; one is buttery smooth like the Pro palettes and the other is just average. Unfortunately, this palette falls into the later type. Since I've been being spoiled by the buttery smooth texture of the Pro palettes and the others, I have high expectation for eyeshadows and this palette just doesn't meet that expectation.

Swatches: LORAC AfterGLO palette

Review: [IT Cosmetics] Naturally Pretty Vol 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eye Shadow Palette

Today I will review my third eyeshadow palette: the Naturally Pretty Vol 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eye Shadow Palette from IT Cosmetics. It has a long name, isn't it? It's exciting to see that this is vol 1, meaning there will be vol 2. The shades in this palette remind me of a combination of Lorac Pro Palette 1 & 2 except this one is all matte while it's packaging reminds me of the Urban Decay Naked 1.

The card board packaging is covered by a soft velvet cloth which is similar to UD Naked Palette's but thicker. I prefer this lovely pink to the Naked's brown color.

On the back there's a sticker saying "You are naturally pretty, you are beautiful, you are one of the kind, you are it!" These flattering words make every girl feel special.

The inside has a very shiny golden surface which is a little annoying to me sometimes. There's a mirror but not very big and no brush. "Naturally Pretty" is the theme as you can see on both inside and outside of the palette.

This palette has 14 shades plus another one called Transforming Pearl (lower right corner). The idea is you can transform matte eyeshadows to shimmery by applying this shade on top of the others. I think IT Cosmetics is very thoughtful to create this shade and make it bigger than all other shades. However, I don't think it works very well. Although the shade is very sheer and the purpose is just to add a sheen, it does reduce the pigmentation of the matte eyeshadows. I love matte eyeshadows so you can guess I don't use the Transforming Pearl that much, if not at all.

I love love the color selection of this palette; all colors are so pretty! My favorites are Sunrise, Sunset, Soulful, All Heart, Mocha, Jave, Violet and Moonlight. On the pan Noir is not black to me, more like a very dark green but on skin it looks black.

Most of the shades are very soft and pigmented. I said "most of" because the far-left 3 shades - Sheer Joy, Soft Light and Love - are very sheer and hard to work with. I tried to layer them a few times on my wrist and they're barely seen.

Overall Rating (out of 5):     

If you like matte eyeshadows like me, it is a must-have palette; if you prefer shimmery eyeshadows, it is still a very nice addition.

theBalm and Ulta Haul

theBalm:

1. Nude'tude Eyeshadow Palette

2. Mary-Lou Manizer (highlighter)

3. Bahama Mama (bronzer)

4. Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blush in Swiss Dot

5. Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blush in Lace

6. Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blush in Pinstripe

1. IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Vol 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Palette,

2. Hada Labo Tokyo Replenishing Hydrator

3. Essence Long-lasting Eye Pencils

4. Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams in Antwerp, Amsterdam, Morocco & Monte Carlo

5. (Sample) Benefit  Cosmetics POREfessional

6. (Sample) Benefit Cosmetics

7. (Sample) Benefit Cosmetics

I will post reviews on these products after quite a bit of time since I want to give you my true experiences.