Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in 'Victoire'

I received another Dior 5-couleur palette for Christmas this year and I'm so in love! Santa knows that I am on hot pursuit of pretty purple eyeshadows and that my other Dior palette in the color 'Grege' (check out that review here) is one of my go-to eye looks.  I received this luxury palette in the color 'Victoire:'

Stunning. Seriously, stunning. Dior has changed the packaging slightly since I bought my last palette. The casing is slightly thinner and lighter.  It honestly feels a bit cheaper, which is a bit of a let down, but I do like that the palette is a bit sleeker now for traveling or stashing in your purse.  The full size mirror on the inside is plenty sizable for using on the go and the brushes included are a sponge tip applicator and then small duo ended 'brush' of not so good quality. 

'Victoire' is a purple-hued palette that leans cool toned and is really wearable.  I find Dior shadows to be soft to the touch while not kicking up too much powder. I think the pigmentation is perfect for my preferences being that it is easy to layer these products as well as blend them out. 

Here are the swatches on top of UD primer potion. From left to right is top left, top right, center, bottom left, bottom right.  The way the palette is supposed to work is that the top 3 colors work as a trio and the bottom 3 colors work as a trio.  I prefer to just do whatever I want but it is helpful for there to be some method to the madness if you need some direction.  

The top left color is a gorgeous purple taupe that I find quite unique. It is a versatile shade that could be used on the lid or in the crease. The top right shade is an opalescent white shimmer. I like this shade as I think the glitters are quite striking and it works wonderfully as an inner corner highlight. The center shade is a really nice satin grayish plum color that reminds me of a deeper version of colour pop's Bill.  The bottom left is a satin pink color that I was disappointed in when I swatched it, but on the lid I found the color to lean more pink (whereas the swatch appeared very stark white).  The bottom right shade is a stunning matte eggplant shade that I found surprisingly easy to blend and work with despite its high pigmentation.

The eye look I created used all of the colors in this palette. No other shadows were used! I applied the middle shade in my crease as my transition shade and I packed the light pink color all over my lid concentrating on the inner third. The upper left shade was packed on the outer third of my lid and blended a bit into my outer crease for depth.  The bottom right color was blended into my outer v to darken the look up a bit.  I used the white color on my brow bone and inner corner.  I also used the middle color and deep eggplant color under my lower lash line.

I really love this palette as I think the purples inside are easy to work with and very wearable.

These palettes are $62 for 0.21 oz of product.

xxSJ

Review: Nars Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow 'Europa'

Soooooo I may or may not have treated myself. Whatcha gonna do about it? Armed with a Sephora Friends and Family 20% off discount, I bravely went on the Sephora website with a limited wallet size and Christmas shopping in mind. I decided to get a little something for myself after all was said and done since I haven't bought any makeup in ***gasp*** about 2 months. I decided to try out NARS' new dual-intensity eyeshadows.

These single eyeshadows are $29 a pop which is pretty steep for a single eyeshadow... you get 1.5g of product which is a bit more than your standard pot but still... this stuff ain't cheap! The packaging is well worth the steep price tag as the shadow comes packaged in a beautifully perfect square with magnetic closure and the NARS logo emblazoned boldly on the top. For size comparison's sake, here is the shadow next to an eyeshadow duo:

It's so little I could just die!!! These shadows are sleek and compact which allows me to give the packaging a deserved A+. Now for the color, I selected 'Europa,' which is a 'gossamer pink-peach.' The color in the pan is truly beautiful as you can see some peach and even purple holographic reflects. The design stamped into the shadow is also quite lovely!

Also, NARS gets a million points for adding the world's tiniest mirror to this compact! Just look at it!!!!

Swatched on my hand you can see that this shadow is indeed pink and has a pretty satiny finish to it. The shadow applies pretty pigmented and opaque when dry but applies with extra shimmer and metallic sheen when applied wet (hence the 'dual-intensity' name!). 

Overall I'm extremely pleased with this eyeshadow and have been wearing it quite frequently to create neutral eye looks incorporating pink onto the lid rather than a boring beige or soft brown color. The only thing stopping me from examining some other colors in this collection is the steep price tag. I would say splurge on this makeup item! Swatch some colors in store and find one that speaks to you! It's always fun to have an extra special makeup product lying around that makes you feel extra special when you wear it!

xxSJ

NARS Lipgloss: Tasmania

I just recently posted about my first experience with NARS' reformulated lip glosses. I got the mini gloss in 'Orgasm' to try out and see if these new glosses are something I'd like (read that review HERE). To sum up my feelings about the new NARS glosses:

Yea. I like em. I decided to splurge and buy another color from the line. I settled on the color 'Tasmania,' one of the newly formulated colors:

This color is described as a 'cantaloupe pink' and that hits the nail on the head! This gloss is a bright pink that is muted a bit by a peachy orange tint to it. Its gorgeous in the shiny acrylic container. 

The applicator is a really nice spongy doe-foot applicator that at first I was displeased with. This applicator does NOT allow you to get much product out of the tube as the opening is a tight fit for the wand. At first I thought 'what the hell, NARS? How am I supposed to get glossed up with out any product coming out?' but then after playing with this product for a bit I realized that the small amount you get on the wand is just enough to cover your entire bottom lip. Then you can press your lips together to transfer the right amount to your top lip, then dip the wand in again for touch ups. 

The color is not ultra-pigmented but I like that it comes across as a soft pink creme. Its perfect for days when you want to get the job done quickly and not fuss over a mirrored application. 

This gloss is pretty sheer on its own, though I like the juicy, plumping effect it gives my lips as well as the slight color tint. I find this gloss works great over light pink lipsticks to make the color pop a bit more and it actually works fantastic if you line your lips and fill them in a bit and then put the color over that. It makes this pretty cantaloupe color really stand out and allows the gloss to be the hero of your makeup look!

This lip gloss is a $26 gloss which is really steep. I get about 3 hours of wear time out of the gloss which I find is pretty good and it doesn't leave my lips feeling dry. This gloss has no scent (a perk of the reformulation) and is quite comfortable to wear. I find it to be far less sticky than MAC lipglasses and it doesn't settle into any fine lines or build up around the edges of your lips like the NYX butter glosses can. This is a luxury gloss that will feel luxurious on your lips. I don't know if I'll be splurging for another one of these babies anytime soon, but I am certainly happy with this color for now.

xxSJ

Revlon Lip Butters: 'Wild Watermelon' and 'Juicy Papaya'

Today's post is on some new Revlon Lip Butters I picked up from my local Harmon's.  I haven't gotten new lip butters in a while because whenever I go to my drugstore, the colors I'm interested in are sold out or all of the stickers keeping the lippies closed have been tampered with :( I saw these not-yet-compromised completely new lip butters in their display case and had to pick some up!

I chose the colors Wild Watermelon and Juicy Papaya. The packaging of these is so cute! The lip butters are from Revlon Colorburst so they have the quilted design on the packaging. The color inside is reflected by the color on the outside part. 

Wild Watermelon is a bright pinky red while Juicy Papaya is a peachy orange. Juicy Papaya made me a litttle nervous about how orange it would be as it looks quite orange in its tube!

Lip Butters are great because they have more pigmentation than a chapstick or balm but they have a ton of moisture and shine! I'm all about the moisture because of my drier skin and lips and especially when the weather starts heating up, moisturizing the lips is a must.

Wild Watermelon gives the look of having just eaten a cherry popsicle! It's a pretty wash of color that's a subtle way to wear a less neutral shade since it is so sheer and shiny.

I think Juicy Papaya is really pretty! I'm pleasantly surprised by how peachy this looks on my lips.

The wear time for these guys is only a couple of hours so you will need to reapply, however you just need the lip butter, no lip liner or gloss necessary!

Revlon Lip Butters can be found at drugstores for about $6 each.

xxSJ