Sunday, March 19, 2017

Viseart Eye Shadow Palette Petit PRO ::: Review & Shadows!!!



I love how Viseart has a no-nonsense approach in naming their eyeshadow palettes. They recently launched a palette that is named as “Petit Pro Eyeshadow Palette”! It is no doubt a petite palette, so petite that it will EASILY fit in my tiny little wallet. And of course, it’s a pro palette. You can get at least 2-3 simple, everyday looks and you can get few super smokey, sultry looks as well! The description on Sephora website says that the shades are inspired from 2017 fashion-forward trends. To me that does not mean anything because the shades in this palette are very common, easy-to-find neutral-ish shades. 


Anyway, on to the review –

Price & Availability: You can find it on Sephora, BeautylishMuse Beauty Pro and Frends Beauty. I believe this is a permanent palette and currently in stock. It also says Pro 01, at least I can see so my makeup crazy mind cannot help but anticipate for 2nd edition.

I have reviewed the Dark Matte (click here for full review) and Bridal Satin (click here for full review) palettes! If you read them you already know that Viseart is an expensive brand! I view their eyeshadow palettes as investment pieces; they will cost you a hefty amount of cash up front but you will surely get a lot of use and hence, more value for your money!


In this, you will get 4 mattes and 4 shimmer shadows for a price of $30. I am a little bit confused about the amount we get here. On the Sephora website, it says 5.9g (0.208oz) of product but I can see 5.9g(0.208oz) as well as 12g (0.42oz) mentioned on the back of the palette. I am trying to contact Viseart to see which one is correct. Their regular 12-pan eyeshadow palettes will give you 0.84 oz. of product for $80 which will be $95.0z per oz. and this palette will be $144 per oz. if we go with 5.9g (0.208oz). (If I hear back from Viseart, I will update here.)

Here are is a comparison of similar travel-friendly palettes from other brands.


Palette Name
Size
Price
6 x 0.03 oz
$23.00
6 x 0.03 oz
$23.00
8 x 0.03 oz
$24.00
6 x 0.05 oz
$29.00


Packaging: Cute packaging! And looks strong enough to be actually travel-friendly! I have not yet travelled with it. Also, it comes with a tiny, little mirror! Keep in mind that their 12-pan does not include any mirror. 

Formula & Quality: I love Viseart matte shadows. They really are top notch quality. Even when you blend them a lot, each shade maintains their individuality without looking muddy like some other brands while getting perfectly blended. Now, the shimmers are not the greatest when compared to some of their counterparts from different brands. They have much less shimmers than what I like, but they are still much more shimmery than their regular satin palettes. 

The wear-time, overall is excellent. In general, they stay on the eyes throughout the day till I remove my makeup. The shimmers appear more vibrant & shiny when I first apply them but after 5-6 hrs. they lose some shine and retain a gorgeous satiny finish. I wished they would have more metallic-ness and would remain so but I still do enjoy the satiny look. It’s very sophisticated.


What I love the most about the palette is its portability. Currently, when I travel I use a mini z-palette and take my Makeup Geek single pan shadows. However, I generally don’t wear complex looks when I am travelling so I don’t really need a bunch of shades! But these 8 shades will give me enough versatility for day and night time looks while practically taking minimum space in my makeup bag. Seriously guys, it’s even smaller than my Ulta mirror or my Nexus 5 phone :-)
Also, if you have been always itching to try Viseart but $80 is too big of a commitment, this is a fun, little palette to try out both their matte and satin shades.



Speaking of shades, here are all 8 shades –
1: it is a very stark white shade. Excellent blendability and great pigmentation and smooth for a white shade.
2: This is a very dark brown with a strong cool undertone. I wished this was mid-tone brown rather than being this dark. But the quality, again is excellent.
3: This is another quite dark, maroon shade. Very soft and blendable. I love this type of shades.
4: This is very dark, grey, almost black shade. Essential for creating those sultry, smokey nighttime looks. I am glad that they included this instead of a stark black.

All matte shadows are quite consistent in performance. But I really wished that the 2nd shade was much lighter, mid-tone brown so it could work as a crease shade for light to medium skin tones. That’s my biggest complaint about this palette.

Shimmers:
5: This is a beautiful champagne taupe shade. It is gorgeous, but it is bit gritty to touch in comparison to other 3 shimmer shades. It also takes some effort in getting to show in getting the shade to show on my lids in an opaque fashion. This is the only shade that somewhat disappointed me.
6: Rest of these 3 shades are right up my alley. This one is a beautiful soft gold. Very pigmented and so sophisticated. And this feels so buttery and velvety soft! So, so soft.
7: Another shade with that same velvety softness. They feel so nice on my fingers and on the lids.
8: This shade is not that smoother than the previous two but performance is really nice. I love all these shades! 
2 on inner crease and above the crease, 3 on the crease, 4 on outer crease, 8 on entire lid, 7 very lightly on v. inner corner



1 on crease and lightly patted all over the lid, 2 on outer crease, 6 on 2/3 of inner lid.


In conclusion, I believe my 30 bucks were well spent. I like the color assortment here and the portability and the extreme compactness of this palette. While the formula and the performance are great the colors are nothing extraordinary! They are pretty easy to find shade. So, if you already have a lot of eyeshadows this is not going to be quite exciting. But, if you do a lot of travelling or if you have not tried Viseart shades this is going to be a good edition to your makeup collection. 



Love,
-Arrru

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Quick Review ::: Marc Jacobs Re(cover) Perfecting Coconut Setting Mist


Back home in India, we have 2 or 3 coconut trees in our garden which meant we had access to fresh coconuts throughout the year - young tender-nuts for the water alone or the fully grown ones with the hardened coconut flesh that we use for making some of our favorite snacks! I also remember my mom asking us to put fresh coconut water on my eyes because it supposed to help, in some way :-) I don't know how factual that is but coconut has always been a hugely used ingredient in our culture! I personally have been using coconut oil as an weekly hair mask for as long as I can remember. During extreme dry winter we would slather it all over our body for extra hydration.

I am really glad that coconut is finally getting its much deserved recognition in beauty community. :-) This meme is particularly my favorite :-)

Marc Jacobs  released a coconut primer last year that instantly became a hit; this year they are about to launch a whole collection that includes a highlighter, this setting mist, a bronzer and a bronzer brush (information credit: +TrendMood ) It appears the "Dew Drops Coconut Gel Highlighter" and this setting mist are already available on sephora.com.

I got this deluxe sample of during one of Sephora's pre-release promotions! It has 1 oz. of products which is not too shabby for a free, deluxe sample! It will give me 2-3 weeks of use; at minimum. The full-size product retails for $39 for 3.8 oz. of products. So, it is definitely up there in terms of price, like all Marc Jacobs products.


The packaging is beautiful; it is a beautiful, very elegant looking white bottle! The spray in the deluxe sample is ok; not the best nozzle but certainly not the worst! The sample is in plastic bottle but I am not sure if the full-size is also of plastic. As much as I love the packaging, I have noticed that it already has caught a lot of stains from foundations and other makeups!

I have always had dry skin, but as I age, it has slowly becoming dry to normal with hormonal breakouts! The point is - I have never had much issues with makeup sliding off of my face! For that reason, setting spray is not something that is extremely important for me. More often, I use sprays to deal with dry patches or to prevent my look from appearing too powdery! I have used this with my makeup that I applied over bare skin or over primers. One day, I accidentally went spray happy and just spritz way too many sprays and it gave me that instantly hydrated glowy look! I enjoyed that but over time, it looked a bit oily. It is still winter and I am indoors, by the evening I had to blot my skin; that never happened with me! Next day I sprayed just 3 sprays just like the instruction says and it was ok, I still blotted at night but it was not too bad! Both days my makeup were intact bearing 7-8 hrs of wear but I still can't say if this did anything to prolong the wear-time. But I surely did enjoy the glow it gave me! I just have to be extra careful not to over-do in misting it! 

Left: Before and Right: After applying the mist (sorry for different lighting on each pic)

Left: Just after applying the mist, Right: After 7 hrs. of application
It's an expensive product and with my dry skin I don't necessarily need a setting spray, not if it is this expensive. I would probably not repurchase but I am going to surely use this sample size happily! 

How about you? Do you enjoy Marc Jacobs products? If so, are you picking this up? The highlighter also looks so very interesting but I already have way-too many of highlighters :-)

Love,
~Arrru

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Tiny Little MAC Haul ::: "Work It Out Collection" - PREP + PRIME FIX + in "Coconut" & "Lavender"

I have never been a die-hard fan of MAC Cosmetics; I never grew much attachment with the brand. But there are a few selective products that are VERY close to my heart! I totally believe that they are worth every penny. Fix+ is one such product. Now they call it “Prep + Prime Fix +”, honestly, I like the name “Fix+” better (raise your hand if you agree). Anyway, I got it in a trial size long back and bought a full-size as well which is almost empty now. 



Last year they came out with scented Fix+ in coconut, rose and a few other scents; everybody went bonkers. I missed it at that time. But when I saw sneak peak of their “Work It Out Collection” on Instagram, I immediately knew I am going to pick at least one of this. 
​​
I got coconut because it seemed to be the popular choice and I got lavender because it is one of my favorite scents. Coconut scent has not yet grown on me but the lavender is definitely a favorite. It is not a strong lavender scent; it is more powdery and bright. It reminds me of something I used when I was a kid, some powder may be? But I enjoy it, very nostalgic :-) You can find these on MAC Cosmetics Website which offers free shipping. Like all limited-edition products from MAC these may sell out rather quickly, I am surprised they are still available. 

I adore this tiny little tubes.I got this on Monday and on first impression, they smell wonderful and work exactly like the original Fix+. If you already don't know, Fix+ is not a setting spray! I use it as the last step in my makeup application and it makes everything on my face come together! This is the product to apply if you think you used too many powders on your face and your makeup looks dry and powder-y. A lot of people use it to foil metallic shadows as well. I really enjoy the original smell as well; I cannot exactly pinpoint how it smells or what it reminds me of, but it is very refreshing, especially on hot summer days. 

This is a product I will keep repurchasing and I am glad that I picked these two! I am excited to use these but know I will be using this sparingly as they are limited edition. 

Love,
~Arrru