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Sunday, March 15, 2015

Review & Swatches: LORAC Dazzling Dozen 2 Shadows!


Hey Everyone!

Today I am going to be reviewing the LORAC Dazzling Dozen 2 Shadow collection! This collection consists of 12 limited edition shadows. The collection has matte, satin, and shimmer finishes. Most of the shades are fairly neutral but there are some fun pops of color thrown in the mix!


I really enjoy the fact that this collection has a lot of neutral, yet smokey, shades! I think that a lot of great looks will come from this collection! 

When I initially swatched these shadows, I was a tad bit let down. I felt that the matte shadows swatched very chalky. The satin shadows (the gold, pink, green, and taupe shades) were okay to swatch and seemed to have a good amount of pigment to them. One issue that I had with the satin formula was that they seemed to bunch up and flake in the pan when I was trying to get the pigment for the swatch. The blue shadow (Denim) had some difficulty and swatched a tad bit patchy and did not appear to be that pigmented. 

Now let's talk about application... Talk about shocker! These shadows apply soooooo much better than they swatch! On the eyes, the mattes do not apply chalky at all and they are wicked pigmented and blend like a dream! The satin/shimmer shades are absolutely beautiful and have a great deal of pigmentation. 

I did find that with the shades containing shimmer (this is mostly just the black, Black Light) that the glitter actually stays in the shadow and does not blend away. I was very impressed with this. 

In my look yesterday (picture is on my Instagram - @aliciad372) I used Blanc, Caramel, Acai, Sage, and Ecru. I was so thrilled with how the shadows performed, I cannot wait to use more of them! 

Let's see the swatches, shall we!?

Left to Right: Blanc, Bone, & Soft Pink

Left to Right: Caramel, Rose, & Acai

Left to Right: Gilded, Denim, & Sage

Left to Right: Ecru, Storm, & Black Light

Left to Right: Blanc, Bone, & Soft Pink

Left to Right: Caramel, Rose, & Acai

Left to Right: Gilded, Denim, & Sage

Left to Right: Ecru, Storm, & Black Light
This is the bunching up/flaking that I spoke of before with the satin shadows

My favorites so far are Ecru, Storm, Sage, Acai, and Caramel! This collection can be found exclusively at Ulta for $39 and each pan contains 0.05 oz. of product. I did also check in my LORAC Pro, LORAC Pro 2, and LORAC Unzipped palettes, and there are no repeat shadows. 

Have you tried out these shadows yet? Which are your favorites?

-Alicia

**DISCLAIMER**All products in this post were purchased by myself and all opinions are my own. My obligation is to give my readers an honest review of any products, whether positive or negative.


Monday, March 2, 2015

Black Velvet Makeup Tutorial!

Hey Everyone!

Today I have a tutorial using the Sephora + Pantone Universe Facets of Marsala Palette. I had been dying to use this palette since I purchased it. I did find that the matte shades were absolutely amazing. They blend beautifully and are quite pigmented. I wish I could say the same for the shimmer shadows in this palette. I found them to be a bit chunky and they didn't apply that pigmented. I found I really had to pack on the shadow a few times to get the color we see in the pan.


I wanted to let you all know my thoughts about this palette. I may start doing this with my tutorials if I use a new palette or other new products. I personally like to know whether someone using products actually likes them while using them in a tutorial if it's not mentioned, so I figured this would be helpful! 

Now let's get on with the tutorial!





Face:
Revlon ColorStay Foundation 150 Buff Chamois
Milani Powder Foundation in 01 Shell
MAC Prolongwear Concealer in NC20
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone
Hourglass Ambient Light Powders in Diffused Light, Incandescent Light, and Radiant Light
MAC Sculpt Powder
MAC Mineralized Blush in Warm Soul

Eyes:
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
Sephora + Pantone Universe Facets of Marsala Palette
MUG Shadows: Vanilla Bean and Beaches and Cream
Sugarpill Loose Shadow in Clickbait
Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper
Jordana 12 Hour Made To Last Shadow Pencil in Endless Emerald
Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in Black Fever
L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara
Ardell #110 Lashes

Brows:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Brunette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel

Lips:
NYX Blackberry Lip Pencil
Lime Crime Velvetine in Black Velvet
Sugarpill Loose Shadow in Lumi

http://youtu.be/MFz_V7SyiYs

-Alicia