2020 Palette Round Up: Part 1

At the beginning of the year I came up with the idea to rotate through all of my eyeshadow palettes and single shadows and try and focus on one part of my collection each month. I started this challenge in February and finished in November. I don’t have a big collection of eyeshadows so it wasn’t difficult to squeeze everything into one year. I like to keep eye looks quick and simple, lip products are my weakness as I believe the same eye look looks slightly different depending on which lip colour it’s paired with. I tend to stick with tried and true shades I know work for my complexion and I love a shimmery, sparkly eye!

The round up will be split into two parts and I will give a little rundown about what was used each month, favourite shades and whether or not I enjoy using the palette and want to keep it around.

February – Maybelline’s The Nudes

This is the oldest palette in my collection and what better way to kick off my yearly challenge with an OG favourite! What I really enjoy about this palette is the combination of mattes and shimmers and the mix of warm and cool toned shades. The formula may not be the most pigmented or longest lasting but the shadows build and layer and work together flawlessly. I liked using this palette again and whilst I do prefer more intense shimmers this would make a nice companion palette to lay down a base and apply my Supershock Shadows from Colourpop over top of. I’m going to try that out and for now this palette will be sticking around.

Favourite shadows: 1 (iridescent shimmery white), 2 (satin soft brown), 3 (matte beige), 4 (metallic copper brown), 7 (shimmery soft brown) and 11 (satin ivory pink).

March – Colourpop Brunch Date

I love the theme of this palette and how it is a mix of everyday neutral shades and fun pops of colour. What I’m not a fan of is half of the mattes are a lovely texture and the other half fall short. The matte shades that fall short happen to be two of the fun pops of colour: French Toast (burgundy) and Brunch Club (cobalt blue). I have never found a way to incorporate the blue into a look without it looking patchy/bad on my eyes. I don’t hate this palette and it does give pretty eye looks but it’s not one I’d reach for everyday and it is one I’ll possibly try to find a new home for next year after getting it out again if it doesn’t wow me.

Favourite shadows: Champagne Toast, Pancakes Please, Skinny Latte, Cinnamon Sugar, Maple Syrup and Sundae Funday.

April – Colourpop BYOP

I’ll be honest, overall this was one of my least favourite palettes to use and it’s a little sad because it’s one I curated myself. It’s not that I don’t like the shades because they are all very pretty but a couple of the golds are too warm and I tend to be more of a fan of neutral and cool toned shadows on me. A few of the shades in the palette are similiar and in hindsight I wish I’d made some changes. The mattes in this palette though are great staples! I won’t give up on this palette yet, I’ll make a few changes (remove a couple of the golds, add a silver or two) and try it again.

Favourite shades: Hear Me Out (1), Side Tracked (2), Bel Air (4), Ringer (6) and Goody Two Shoes (8).

May to July – Colourpop 9 pan palettes: Sol & It’s My Pleasure

I had four of Colourpop’s nine pan monochromatic palettes at the time of beginning this challenge and rather than use each one for a month I rotated through a different nine pan each week for three months between May and July. The first two palettes off the ranks were Sol (bright hot coral) and It’s My Pleasure (purple). Spoiler: definitely not getting rid of either of these!

Sol is the first nine pan palette I purchased and all of the shades are stunning! The formula of these shimmers is gorgeous and they have such a beautiful effect on the eyes. The bright oranges and corals suit my complexion more than I thought they would and I love using this palette. You can create fun looks and everyday, neutral looks – the colours are very versatile.

Favourite shades: Anthem, B+B, Floaties and OOO.

Initially when I purchased It’s My Pleasure I thought the shades were stunning but I didn’t understand why everyone was raving about this palette. When I used this palette again during this challenge I enjoyed it a lot more and found new ways to incorporate shades that had left me feeling uncertain before. This palette definitely leans more purple-pink but it’s a good one to pick up if you want to incorporate more colour into your eye makeup.

Favourite shades: Do Or Dough, Earthshine and Sleeper.

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That’s the first part of my palette round up complete! Part two will be up in a few days!

Do you own or have you tried any of these palettes?

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May Favourites + Highlights 2020

I can’t believe we are at the end of May and it’s monthly favourites time again already! I’ve only got a small selection of products to talk about this month but they are really good ones.

New Zealand is also no longer under strict quarantine, most people have returned to work and businesses and shops have re-opened. Currently I split my working day between home and the library, I work from home in the morning and go into the office in the afternoon. This means there are less staff in the building until we fully re-integrate.

Onto this month’s favourites:

1. Colourpop It’s My Pleasure Palette – I purchased this palette in July 2019 and I feel like it isn’t until now that I have really started to appreciate it. Don’t get me wrong I’ve always liked It’s My Pleasure and before purchasing it I saw so many people raving about it but I didn’t start to gel with it until recently. For May, June and July I’m rotating through my Colourpop nine pan palettes week by week and I’m already looking forward to revisiting It’s My Pleasure! I’ve got a better idea how the colours work together and what combinations I like. My favourite shades are Do Or Dough, Earthshine, Fan Fiction and Sleeper.

2. Wella Oil Reflections Shampoo and Conditioner – After getting my hair cut in February and being impressed with how the Wella products that were used made my hair feel I started looking at products online with the intention of purchasing some. I decided on the Oil Reflections range as it’s suited for all hair types and aims to leave hair cleansed and luminous. The scent is lovely too, a mix of vanilla, white tea and fruit. The products make my hair feel amazing and since I started using these my hair looks nourished, soft and more sleek. This is more pricey than regular shampoo and conditioner but I’m proud of my hair and I want it to look good so I don’t mind paying a little extra.

3. The Body Shop Rose Face Mist – I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I have. I recently finished up the mandarin face mist from The Body Shop and I didn’t really like it so I was apprehensive about this one. The rose most is in an entirely different league and it really does make my skin and makeup look beautiful and dewy. The mist is fine and not too wet which is why I didn’t like the mandarin one, it didn’t feel refreshing and the scent wasn’t my favourite either. The rose scent is spot on, it’s very subtle and one I wouldn’t imagine would irritate you if you are sensitive to smell.

4. Colourpop Berry Good Lipgloss – This gloss was released alongside Colourpop’s Strawberry Shake palette. I have checked the website and this is no longer available but it is a beautiful shade that I have been reaching for a bit recently. Berry Good is a juicy pink-red that gives a lovely strawberry coloured tint to the lips. I purchased this gloss last year and the first time I wore it I wasn’t sure I liked it but I every time I have tried it since it has really grown on me. I purchased the other gloss from the Strawberry collection called Easy Bake (still on the website but showing as out of stock) and I personally prefer Berry Good.

May Highlights

• I’ve been feeling more body confident recently and I very bravely shared *THIS* photo to Instagram. The comments are all so sweet!
• I came up with an idea for a semi-regular Instagram series to share some of my favourite songs relating to a theme. For example, the first one featured five of my favourite feel good tracks (new and old). Feel free to leave any theme ideas in the comments!

May’s Spotify Playlist:

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How was your month? Share one of your highlights in the comments!

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July Colourpop Haul!

One Saturday in July I spent hours browsing the Colourpop website and added a bunch of eye products (and one lipgloss) to my cart. I have been impressed with the quality of products since my first Colourpop haul and knew it would only be a matter of time before I did another order. A few items I’d seen and heard about before but others I bought simply because I liked the look of them!

The items took around two weeks to arrive which is pretty standard for mail from overseas. I wasn’t charged customs when the package arrived in New Zealand but there was damage to one of the Super Shock Shadows. I contacted Colourpop about the damage and was given credit but I am a little bummed because the broken shade is the one I was most looking forward to receiving. The shade has been discontinued so I can’t use the credit to repurchase another one in my next order. The product is still usable but I’ll have to be careful how I store it and I won’t be able to travel with it.

Let’s get on with the haul!

Super Shock Shadows x 3

Colourpop are known for their Super Shock Shadows and after picking one up in my previous haul and enjoying the formula I wanted to try more. I picked up the shades Bouncy (cool toned bronze with gold and violet duo chrome), Nillionaire (bronze with pink and gold ultra-glitter) and So Quiche (soft olive with violet and gold sparkles). Seeing the shades written like that makes me realise how similar they sound and whilst they do look similar in real life there are subtle differences.

Bouncy – This is the shade I was most excited for and the one that arrived damaged. On the eyes the colour comes through as equal parts bronze and pink and the duochrome is prominent.

Nillionaire – I heard Emily Noel mention this shade in her Colourpop Top 5, Bottom 5 video and Googled it instantly. It’s such a pretty everyday shade. Nillionaire has the sheerest colour payoff and is the most golden of the three I purchased.

So Quiche – The olive tones in this shade make it the coolest toned out of the three but also it’s the only shade I picked up that leans slightly towards green-violet on the colour spectrum. This reminds me of a more shimmery version of Smokey Rose by Teeez Cosmetics (both products will make a great pairing).

Left to right: Bouncy, Nillionaire and So Quiche.

Group Hug Supernova Shadow Bundle

Top: OG
Bottom: Bellini

I saw this bundle when Zoella’s collaboration with Colourpop was revealed at the end of February and I was always curious about it. After trying some mini Magnificent Metals from Stila and not loving them I half expected not to love these but, spoiler alert: I do! The formula is more like an eyeshadow once product has dried down and the glitter/shine is a lot more pigmented and long-lasting. The texture is smooth and unlike the Stila product these don’t flake off my eyelids and wear away throughout the day.

Looking at the two shades online, OG and Bellini look similar to each other but they are different. OG is a golden champagne with silver glitter and Bellini is a metallic rose gold. OG is more glittery (still with good pigmentation) and Bellini is comparable to a foiled eyeshadow. This kind of product is great for a quick and easy eye look and the milk carton packaging is the cutest! I knew this product wouldn’t be around forever so I wanted to grab it while I had the chance!

Snow Day Ultra Glossy Lip

I purchased this lip gloss because I thought it would make a beautiful lip topper and it does! Snow Day is described as a prismatic champagne but it’s more like a very light pink with flecks of gold glitter. The gloss does look pretty on it’s own and will be nice for simple makeup days but I wore this over MAC’s Kinda Sexy lipstick and it was super pretty! The formula isn’t overly sticky and goopy and is comfortable to wear. The one thing I don’t like is the applicator, it’s a small brush with individual hairs and isn’t the best at spreading product. The brush works well when using the gloss as a lip topper as you only need a small amount of product but if I want to wear the gloss on it’s own I have to dip the brush back in to the tube a few times to get even coverage.

It’s My Pleasure palette

Purple is a hard eyeshadow colour to get right but people I follow online have been singing this palette’s praises. Purple is a colour that suits my skintone and complexion and that’s what excites me about this palette. I get to play up my love for bold colours with the shimmers but there’s also lighter shades to compliment the shimmers and create more wearable everyday looks. Smaller palettes like this are good as I find it overwhelming when there’s lots of shades to choose from in a palette. I prefer limited combinations that work and mean I don’t have to try hard to come up with looks. It’s My Pleasure contains four mattes and five shimmers and is a nice combination of purples and pinks that lean towards purple.

Swatches:

Left to right: Kittenfish, Do Or Dough, Pretty Cruel, Bare Minimum, Earthshine, Chick Lit, Mr Sandman, Fan Fiction and Sleeper.

Custom 12 Pan Eyeshadow Palette

This palette is what I was most excited for because I curated it and selected the shades myself. I was also nervous because I only had myself to blame if any of the shades ended up being similar and if I didn’t like it. My inspiration for this palette was gold. It’s hard to find nice gold shades so I ended up purchasing four for this palette and they’re all unique. From there I came up with a mix of warm toned mattes and shimmers with a hint of pink and mauve thrown in. When the shadows arrived I organised them in a specific way, the top row is classic base and transition shades, the middle row is pinks and mauves and the bottom row is golden goodness.

Top row: Hear Me Out (matte white peach), Wake Up Call (matte warm sand), Side Tracked (matte terracotta with gold flecks) and Bel Air (matte cool taupe).

Middle row: Liar Liar (metallic pale pink), Ringer (metallic champagne), Chic Happens (matte cool mauve) and Goody Two Shoes (metallic gunmetal).

Bottom row: The Game (antique gold), Baby Lights (metallic green gold), Karat Cake (metallic chartreuse) and Night Show (metallic yellow bronze).

Swatches:

Left to right: Hear Me Out, Wake Up Call, Side Tracked, Bel Air, Liar Liar, Ringer, Chic Happens, Goody Two Shoes, The Game, Baby Lights, Karat Cake and Night Show.

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Have you tried any of these products before? Is there anything from Colourpop currently catching your eye?

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