Customisable eyeshadow palette? Yes, Catrice! | Catrice Cosmetics Art Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette Review

A while back I was invited to the launch of the Autumn/Winter collection by Catrice and well, I really liked their whole re-vamped approach to their single eyeshadows. They came out with the Art Couleurs concept where you can still purchase the eyeshadow singles and you can also get an empty 4-pan palette to store them in instead of having them all over the place. Let's have a look at this new system together in this post.

First things first - the empty palette has a glossy black lid with the new Catrice logo engraved on it and comes with four hollow spaces for the eyeshadows to click in. It also comes with a mirror on the backside of the lid. With the spaces being hollow, the names of the eyeshadows are visible at the back which I think is great to know which is which and it's easy to know which colours to pick up when they finish!

While the eyeshadows may look the same as before, because they kept the transparent casing, in reality, the pans are meant to be clicked out of the singles' casing and put into the palette spaces - genius right?! Me being an organisation freak, eyeshadow singles are not really favourites of mine and the idea of having eyeshadows from different brands in one palette is not appealing either so this new concept from Catrice is right up my alley. One suggestion though - I think the brand should consider introducing palettes with more empty slots to avoid clutter in makeup drawers and have all Catrice Art Couleurs eyeshadows in one place!  

I'm pleased to see that Catrice have greatly improved on the pigmentation of their eyeshadows. I have two matt and two shimmer shades in my Art Couleurs palette (swatches left to right):

040 - Wild Ginger (matt mauve)

050 - Taupe Addict (matt greige)

090 - Life On High Heels (shimmery burgundy)

110 - Chocolate Cake By The Ocean (shimmery golden brown)

My favourite is hands down 050 Taupe Addict for its versatility. I mainly use it as a transitional shade in my crease but it's equally great if you're using it as an all-over-the-lid colour for it complements all skin tones and provides a great base for a myriad of eye looks. Both matt shades have great pigmentation and I'm happy to say the shimmery ones do too. And the shimmer is all throughout the shadow not just the upper layer. I don't have issues with longevity as the eyeshadows last all throughout without the need for touch-ups.

I think Catrice have really outdone themselves with their new releases which I will be sharing with you over the coming days since I have now had a chance to try them all. Did you pick up your Art Couleurs palette and eyeshadows yet?

PR Samples

First Impressions | Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette

Hello everyone 😊 By now, all beauty aficionados know about Urban Decay's latest release, The Naked Heat palette. It goes without saying that the moment I laid my eyes on the promo images for this palette, I knew I had to have it! It took me quite a while to get my hands on it as it was released in Europe in July and of course, having to buy it online, I have had to wait for another 14 days for the palette to finally be delivered. But, let me tell you, it was well worth the wait! I also managed to get my hands on the Vice lipsticks that were released with the palette but there will be more on them in a separate post.

Just when I thought there was no possibility of another Naked palette to be released, Urban Decay managed to come up with this fiery version boasting 12 newly released shades of amber-hued neutrals just in time for summer. With a colour spectrum ranging from warm browns to burnt oranges, this warm-toned palette looks flattering on any skin tone. Without further ado, let's get to the fun part - pictures and swatches!

As far as packaging goes, I think this palette is decidedly the best looking - the outer packaging resembles a match box complete with a drawer containing the palette and 12 matches illustrated on the inside of the box, the next more burnt than the one before it to depict the shades going from lightest to darkest. The palette, on the other hand, boasts a rather colourful appearance with an orange case and an ombre metallic lid which gives the Naked logo a sort of 3D look.

The inside is pretty standard with of course the 12 eyeshadow pans and the shade names underneath, a large mirror and a dual ended brush. I always like the brushes that come with UD palettes as they are very good quality and this brush was no exception either. Actually, it reminds me of the one that comes with the Naked Smoky except the fluffier end is shorter on this one.

Now let's have a look at the shades. The shades are organized from lightest to darkest and I was actually surprised to see so many matte shades in an Urban Decay palette - 7 out of 12 to be exact while the remaining 5 are mostly shimmery.

Ounce (ivory shimmer)

Chaser (light nude matte)

Sauced (soft terra-cotta matte)

Low Blow (brown matte)

Lumbre (copper shimmer w/gold pearl shift)

He Devil (burnt red matte)

Dirty Talk (metallic burnt red)

Scorched (metallic deep red w/gold micro-shimmer)

Cayenne (deep terra-cotta matte)

En Fuego (burgundy matte)

Ashes (deep reddish-brown matte)

Ember (deep metallic copper-burgundy)

Of course pigmentation is always exceptional with UD and the formula is buttery soft. Intensity can always be built up to your heart's content and there is no limit to the looks you can create with this palette. The only shades which are a little lacking in pigmentation are Ounce and Chaser but other than them, the rest are insane!

The stand out shades for me are Ember, En Fuego, Scorched and Lumbre. The shimmery shades have a nice sort of duo-chromatic shift which I look forward to use in makeup looks I am planning to share on the blog soon :)

The palette is on sale from Feelunique and Urban Decay websites for €47.40.

First Impressions | Urban Decay Full Spectrum Palette

Behold: Urban Decay's biggest and most colourful palette yet! Yes! The Urban Decay Full Spectrum palette has finally made its way to my eyeshadow palettes collection! And I don't think I am exaggerating when I say it's the brightest and the biggest one I own to date!

Let's have a closer look at what the latest lust-worthy palette from UD is all about. First things first, the packaging - it's very similar to other UD palettes in that there are the shades depicted on the outer box. However, it is much bigger than the other palettes - it contains 21 shades as opposed to the standard 12 shades that usually compose the brand's palette. You can compare the size of the palette here against the Naked Ultimate Basics.

The Full Spectrum palette comes in a black square layout palette with a magnetic closure. The ouside is just as beautiful as the inside (we'll get to that in a minute) with glossy parallel lines going all across the lid and down to the sides. The lid also features a multi-faceted rainbow coloured UD logo on the bottom right side underneath which is the name of the palette, also in rainbow colours.

On opening, there is a mirror as big as the lid and of course, there are the colours on the bottom compartment. The palette also comes with a small, double ended eyeshadow brush. The eyeshadows are arranged in a rainbow sequence of which there are three variations of the traditional rainbow colours. The last row is made up of grey, black and white - there really is a full spectrum of colours in there ;)

Urban Decay being Urban Decay, it is no surprise that most of the shades have a shimmer or frost finish. In fact, they only matte shade I can spot is Bump (white). Here are swatches and a description of all the shades:

Alchemy (deep fuchsia satin)
Gossip (bright metallic pink with subtle shimmer)
Paranoia (soft metallic blue-pink)
Warning (deep metallic copper)
Seize (bright metallic coral with subtle shimmer)
Jones (metallic orange with subtle shimmer)

Midnight Blaze (black matte with yellow-gold shimmer)
Calavera (bright yellow matte with subtle shimmer)
Goldmine (metallic yellow-gold)
Hundred (deep metallic forest green)
Hatter (vibrant green with tonal micro-sparkle)
Mean (bright metallic lime green)

Minx (deep navy matte with floating tonal pearl)
Blindsided (bright teal blue matte with floating pearl)
Metamorphosis (vibrant periwinkle blue with micro-sparkle)
Delirious (deep plum matte with subtle floating pearl)
Sketch (metallic medium purple)
Faded (lavender with gold shimmer)

Platonic (black matte with iridescent glitter)
Iced (oyster silver with shimmer)
Bump (white matte)

All shades are very pigmented and I find they last me all day (with the use of a primer of course) with no issues of creasing whatsoever and I only experienced fallout with the heavily shimmery shades. I have to point out though that the blue shades are a little patchy.

Would you give in to buying this palette? I got mine from feelunique.com for €49.54 with 10% off (usual price is €55.04).

Review | Pupa Milano Contouring & Strobing Powder Palette

Pupa Milano have just launched their own line of Contouring & Strobing Powder Palettes. All makeup junkies know about these two techniques that are meant to structure the face and further enhance our best features according to our face shape.

I had the chance to test this new palette for a good few weeks and now I am here to share my thoughts with you all. First of all, a word about the packaging. I have yet to find a Pupa Milano product for which I have something negative to say about the packaging. I think we all agree that this palette looks very sleek, stylish and elegant with black and silver casing. It is slim enough to carry around and yet it contains everything you need to achieve the perfect #READY4SELFIE look. In fact, I took this with me on my recent travels. The palettes comes in three different shades to suit every skin tone. The one I have is 002 Medium Skin.

Inside the palette, there is a highlight shade, a light contour shade, a medium contour shade and a dark contour shade as well as a nice-sized mirror. If you're unsure how to use the palette, Pupa has that covered too for there is a pictorial right at the back of the outer box which guides you to contour and strobe according to your face shape!

I find that all four shades in the palette, are very pigmented yet they are very easy to blend to achieve that flawless contoured look and highlight to slay all day ;) Here are swatches and a makeup look where I have used this palette.

The Pupa Milano Contouring & Strobing Palette really has everything you need and at €19.90 for four products, I think it's worth a try.

You can find Pupa Milano products at various pharmacies and authorized stockists around Malta & Gozo.

PR Sample

Review | Sleek Makeup iDivine Eyeshadow Palette Enchanted Forest

Sleek Makeup have added a new palette to their i-Divine range, the Enchanted Forest palette and I got mine locally from Roseberry for €13.99 for 12 eyeshadows.

I expected Sleek to go the extra mile with the box as there is nothing creative about it. The palette comes in their signature sleek, black case with a mirror and 12 eyeshadow pans with 1.1g of product each and a transparent film with the eyeshadow names on it. The palette also comes with the usual double ended sponge applicator.

Sleek i-Divine Enchanted Forest in natural light (left) and with flash (right)

The palette was inspired by an enchanted forest and the names of the shadows really do reflect that, as they are named after symbolic items and characters from the popular fairy tale, Cinderella. The proposed colour palette is also very reminiscent of a forest with deep, dark hues spanning all throughout the palette with the exception of a couple of shades and of course, since the palette is inspired by Cinderella, there are a couple of blue shades as well.

Below are the swatches of the eyeshadows in the palette with flash and no primer:

left to right:

Glass Slipper - matte light beige, almost white

Beatrice - matte magenta

Perla - pearlescent periwinkle with lavender and grey undertones

Fairy Godmother - pearlescent champagne with peachy/pink undertones

Grand Duke - shimmery dark blue with strong purple undertones

Drizella - pearlescent dark olive green with brown undertones

left to right:

Pumpkin - pearlescent gold

Prince Charming - matte dark teal

Happily Ever After - pearlescent grey with bluish undertones

Anastasia - matte aubergine

Daphne - pearlescent dark green with dark grey undertones

Lady Tremaine - shimmery blackened aubergine with reddish purple reflects

Pigmentation is excellent for all twelve shades and my favourites are Perla, Drizella and Daphne. There is a good mix of shimmer and matte shades which is something I usually look for in a palette and I love that there are a lot of unique shades in there. The texture is buttery smooth for all formulations and the colours are very blendable and not powdery at all.

If you don't like colourful eyeshadow this palette is not for you but if you do like to experiment, do go ahead and get this!

First Impressions/Review | Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette

I'm really excited about this post that I have for you today as it is all about the newest palette to join Urban Decay's Naked family - the Naked Smoky Palette!

I got mine three weeks ago from feelunique.com and it was my first time ordering from the website and I am pretty impressed with the timely delivery. Also, nothing got smashed in the mail, not even the outer box!

The palette comes in a box, like the Naked 3 (it's the only one I have from the others so I can only talk about it) and it has a smoke effect all over and shade depictions at the back. The palette itself also has a smoky effect all over it.

It definitely has some weight to it but I think it is lighter than the Naked 3 which has a metal outer casing as opposed to plastic. However, I like more the way the Naked Smoky looks and I feel Urban Decay have outdone themselves this time. Also, I really like the magnetic closure. The palette also comes with a double ended brush and an information leaflet with four tutorials to achieve the perfect smoky eye.

Inside, you get the standard mirror and 12 eyeshadows (9 never seen before shades and 3 exclusives from past palettes). This time, the eyeshadows are organized by finish rather than by colour so you get light shades on both ends and the darker ones in the middle. The palette has a nice mix of warm and cool toned neutrals for a more dimensional smoky eye I guess. 

Like I said, this time the shades are organized by finish, and you get four shimmer shades, four satins and four mattes.

This is how Urban Decay describes the shades in the Naked Smoky palette:

High - champagne shimmer with micro-glitter

Dirtysweet - medium bronze

Radar - metallic taupe with iridescent micro-glitter
Armor - metallic silver-taupe with tonal sparkle

Slanted - light metallic gray

Dagger - medium charcoal with micro-shimmer

Black Market - jet-black satin

Smolder - deep plum-taupe

Password - cool taupe matte

Whiskey - rich brown matte

Combust - soft pink-taupe

Thirteen - light beige satin

I think the pigmentation is excellent for both light and dark shades with the exception of Combust and Thirteen but since they are meant as transitional and highlight shades I don't mind it that much. None of the shades are powdery though - Urban Decay eyeshadows seem to have that signature buttery-soft texture down to a t! If I had to pick some favourites I would go for all four shimmer shades, Smolder and Password. I always use a primer underneath my eyeshadow so I have no problem with the eyeshadows fading.

All Naked Palettes come with a double ended brush and the one in this palette is named the Double- Ended Smoky Smudge/Tapered Crease Brush and honestly, I think it is the perfect brush to accompany such a palette. It also features that same smoky pattern as the box in the middle part and the bristles are very soft on both ends. I have already washed and used this brush and I like that it performs really well in terms of blending and applying colour.

I paid €54.72 for this palette which may seem like a lot to fork out on a single item but if you do the math, each 1.3g eyeshadow comes down to just €4.56 whereas the Urban Decay single eyeshadows that have 1.4g of product retail for a whopping €19! Plus you are getting a brush you will actually use and a nice looking palette so I'd say it is great value for money.  

Would you pick up this palette? Which is your favourite Naked palette?