Tag: Makeup

Anti-Haul of Pat McGrath Labs

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I’ve never done a post like this, so let me know if you want more of them. This post idea came from the anti-hauls on YouTube but instead of covering new releases, I wanted to cover a specific brand which I happen to feel is not worth the price tag.

To start, I know nothing about Pat McGrath as a person other than her status as a famous British makeup artist. With this knowledge, I am sure she knows more then enough about makeup to recognize good quality and would release nothing less. I respect her and her goal in creating a strong business and makeup company.

With that said, I feel that while her products are likely of great quality, her price tag for the products are too high for mainstream makeup fans. The main item that really enforces this idea for me is her eyeshadow palettes. I realize that color stories play a small part in my opinion as I have not seen a palette that meets my color-loving interests, but even looking as objectively as possible at the palettes, there are only 10 shades in each palette and they retail for $125. That breaks down to $12.50 per eyeshadow. Now while that’s not completely unreasonable if you were to buy an individual eyeshadow, by committing to a full palette, you would have to believe that you will get enough use out of each shade to justify that high price tag per pan.

When it comes to working makeup artists, they are more likely to be willing to spend that kind of money for their kit as they need a wider range of shades to create looks on all types of skin tones, but at that price tag, you can spend $4 more and get 5 extra shades in a Natasha Denona palette, which then gives you more range.

I think that something Pat McGrath Labs forgets is who their clients are. Perhaps they are making these palettes for working makeup artists (I believe the pan sizes are larger in her palettes than in a typical palette) but then she isn’t at the top of the pack because of her limited shades.

And before someone says, “well, she does have smaller palettes”, I’m aware but even those palettes I take issue with. For one thing, and this is absolutely a personal preference, the layout of her smaller palettes is random. The shades zig-zag in the palette which means that they also are wasting space and therefore much larger than they need to be, plus the pan sizes are extremely small. These palettes retail for $28, $3 more then a Natasha Denona mini 5 pan which I would much prefer based on overall presentation.

With all of this said, I’m sure that the products are extremely good as they have continuously gotten great reviews, but I’m not sure who the palette is for. I suppose if you have a gift card or you are willing to spend that kind of money to have only one palette, maybe it’s worth it to you, but I personally would rather spend my money elsewhere. I could see myself looking back into the brand if the prices drop, but for now, this brand is on my watch but not purchase list.

Meet My Stash: Lumi Blush’s

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Today we are covering a couple of affordable blushes. Are they any good? Actually, they are very impressive. From the Shop Miss A website, I ordered two of their Lumi blushes in the shades Ravish and Rose Dawn.

I have to say that I was originally introduced to this brand/website from the YouTuber ShanShortcakeBeauty (check her out if you haven’t because she is amazing!!!). She loves the shade Ravish so I had to pick it up but I also love more of a pink toned blush so I picked up Rose Dawn.

After having tried out both blushes, this formula is extremely pigmented and long lasting. I expected to like Rose Dawn most as it is a pink with gold shimmer marbled throughout but I was wrong. Rose Dawn was a pretty blush shade but it did not look as natural and pretty as Ravish.

Now for the paragraph where I wax poetically about the shade you absolutely have to try. Just kidding! But I do highly recommend Ravish. If you are looking to try one shade, Ravish is the one I recommend picking up. These blushes are only a dollar each so if you see other shades that pique your interest, pick them up because the formula is great, but also throw in Ravish. You won’t regret it!

So in case you can’t tell, I am a big fan of these blushes. Eventually, I would love to have more blushes from this line but I am trying to not just collect the whole line. Be sure to check these blushes out!

New Makeup Alert! Ofra x Samantha March Collaboration

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First of all, I’m sorry I missed an upload. My husband had the day off and I decided to spend it with him, but I’m back! Today’s post is about two exciting new additions to my collection. Ofra is a brand I have only dipped my toe into so I am very excited to have two new items from them. They did a collaboration with the YouTube influencer Samantha March. They released a whole collection that included a bronzer, highlighter, blush, liquid lipstick and gloss. I was fortunate enough to pick up the blush and highlighter.

The blush, which is called Chick-lit, is a unique new shade to the Ofra collection. This is a split pan blush, one side a matte powder described as a nude pink, and the other a shimmer powder described as a deep rose. When combined together, the blush gives a lovely satin rose shade to the cheeks. I’ve only worn this shade one time so far, but it was on the recent holiday so it was put to the test. The blush stayed on all day and night and looked just pigmented when I went to take it off, which is especially impressive considering I was wearing my mask. Just based on this I would recommend this formula. If my thoughts change I will give an update later on to reflect this.

The other product I picked up was the highlighter in the shade Start Inspired. This highlighter is also a split pan, but it is divided into four. The two shades are the previously released shades Star Island, a soft gold, and Pillow Talk, a soft pearl pink. I am not familiar with Ofra’s highlighter formula and know that they are no joke. They pack a punch, with a mighty reflect to back them up. This formula is also long lasting and something I would highly recommend. I do feel they may be a little icy on deeper skin tones though, so be careful if you have a deeper skin tone.

To be honest, I mainly picked up these two items to support Samantha March, as I am a huge fan. I can say though, after an initial wear test, they add to my collection in ways I did not expect. The blush especially, is so unique in color that if you like nude or punk-toned blushes, I think you need this one. I will say, it does kick up a lot of powder in the pan but even so, it never looked like too much. And the highlighter, while not original shades, are not ones I had in my collection to begin with so I am glad to have them now.

Meet My Stash: GlamLite Cake Palette

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As the month of June comes to an end in America, we reflect on yet another month of Pride. As an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, it would not be appropriate to end this month with any other review then the GlamLite Cake Palette. This is by far my favorite rainbow palette and was an excellent addition to my collection earlier this year.

This is my first GlamLite product and I was not disappointed! From the first swatches with this eyeshadow palette, it was evident that the formula was top quality. Pigmented and comfortable to wear, the formula glides on the lid with any tool you would use to apply eyeshadow (and I’ve tried them all, brush, finger and sponge tip applicator).

One of the most intimidating aspects of rainbow or colorful palettes is how to apply the colors in a way that they blend together and not come across muddled, or patchy. You need not worry with this palette. The shades blend smoothly into one another and it’s a great deal of fun to try different color combinations that typically don’t work.

It is worth noting that the colors in this palette pack a punch and therefore you may want to start with a light hand. This should not deter you from trying this formula, though. The other con to this palette (which it might not be a con for you) is that it is rather large and bulky, not ideal for travel and a bit difficult to store. It does come in an adorable box (pictured below) which does make it a bit easier to store but again, with its size, it will take up a lot of room.

All in all, this is by far one of my favorites in both formula and design/color story. If this looks like something you would be interested in, you can find this palette and others on the GlamLite website.

Meet My Stash! AOA Studio Wonder Baked Eyeshadows

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Today we are diving into some affordable makeup that can be purchased for a dollar on the Shop Miss A website. I picked up a whole bunch of makeup and some things worked out for me and some didn’t. Today we are covering their baked eyeshadows from the AOA Studio line. I tried two shades in Gatsby and Créme.

These shadows are baked and come with a large amount of product, having 3g of powder per compact. As a baked formula, these shadows can be used wet or dry. Sadly, this formula, when used dry is extremely powdery with a LOT of kick up in the pan. The dry form did have problems with staying on the eye, creasing greatly after only an hour of wear.

When applied wet, I did not notice as many problems with the longevity but it did not have as much of a punch as I hoped it would. The white one named Créme has a beautiful gold flip when wet but it loses any semblance of the whiteish tinge it originally had, only showing its newly golden flip. It works well as an inner corner highlight but it’s not my favorite shadow. The blue shade called Gatsby is a rather dull navy blue. The shadow is extremely messy and difficult to use.

Ultimately, these shadows are not my favorite. I think they work well enough for the price tag but sadly, I think you get what you pay for here. These shadows would be great for a younger person just getting into makeup but as a lover of eyeshadow, it’s not a product I’m likely to reach for ever again.

Indie Brand Spotlight: F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics

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Today we are talking about the indie brand F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics. Back in February, I picked up three eyeshadows from this indie brand, as they had produced a shadow where all of the proceeds went to support the Australian wildfire fighting efforts. The shadow that they created was called Roo and is a beautiful duo-chrome.

I had never tried this brand before but their single shadows were well priced (currently priced at $6) and looked unique compared to some of my other single shadows. The three shadows that I picked were Roo, Enchanted Forest and Treasure Trove. Sadly, Roo is no longer available but the other two are still available under their Marble Eyeshadows.

The formula is very creamy and is easy to apply to the eyes. They are long lasting and I had no problems with creasing. The marble formula stands out to me because it has two shades combined together, one providing the main color and the other providing a shadow topper.

Enchanted Forest is a green shade with a white pearly flip. This shadow is extremely sparkly so if you are looking for a subtle look, this is probably not the shade for you, but the other shadow that I picked up (Treasure Trove) is not as glittery. Treasure Trove is more of a blue shimmer with a gold flip to the shadow. It still provides light to the eye as it does have the shimmer to it, but it is less then Enchanted Forest.

I highly recommend checking them out. I look forward to procuring more shades. These shadows did add to my collection and if you find a color that looks interesting, they had quick turn around and the shadows were well packed for transport.

Meet My Stash: Nyx Ultimate Shadow Palette in Brights

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Today, we are taking a look at one of my rainbow palettes, in honor of Pride Month. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, rainbow palettes are a personal favorite and this was one of my first. The Nyx Ultimate Shadow Palette in Brights covers a wide spectrum of color with 16 shades present in the palette.

This is one of Nyx’s older palettes in their permanent line, but the quality is actually pretty solid. This formula is very beginner-friendly too, a big plus. Nyx does not have my favorite formula but these colors are quite buildable allowing for the wearer to blend seamlessly into each other.

There are a few shades in the palette that have glitter particles throughout (the industry has dubbed these sequin shadows), however, like many sequin shadows from a few years back, the particles blend away and mostly appear as matte shades. The rest of the shades are matte shadows causing the entire palette to perform as a matte palette. For this reason, this is a great complimentary palette, best used with another shimmer shade.

Makeup Haul! B.O.M.B. Makeup from Juvia’s Place

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I am so excited to have brought in three new eyeshadow palettes with my current makeup haul. Earlier this month, I placed two orders with Juvia’s Place and one with a black-owned indie brand (look forward to that post soon). One of those orders has come in and today we are going to go over a brief overview of these three palettes.

The first palette is the Nubian Mini eyeshadow palette. This palette includes six shades in neutrals and bronzes. This palette is perfect for travel, with the pan sizes being smaller that the typical shadow size allowing for the palette itself to be smaller. This is a good palette for an everyday look, but appears to have some depth to take a look from day to night.

The second palette is the Nubian Three: Coral palette. This palette has twelve shades, with the pan sizes being that of a typical eyeshadow. The primary colors in this palette are coral (as the name would imply), brown and grey. This palette sparks a lot of inspiration in me and is something I would consider more of a neutral palette for my color loving preferences.

Finally, we have the Zulu palette, which consists of nine shadows with much larger pan sizes. This palette is quite colorful and offers different shadow types then the other palettes. This one includes two duo-chrome shades which again allows for even more variety and uniqueness from the other palettes.

Please stay tuned as I will be doing separate reviews on each of the palettes with much more detail in the future. I am greatly looking forward to playing with these palettes and updating with my findings.

Meet My Stash: Juvia’s Place The Masquerade Mini Eyeshadow Palette

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Today, we are continuing with my black-owned makeup brands (known as B.O.M.B. in the community) content. Now I know you’re thinking, “wasn’t your last post about a Juvia’s Place item?” Yes! But sadly with everything going on in the world, my other orders have not come in yet, however (spoiler alert) it’s mostly going to be Juvia’s Place because it’s what I had access to and I had things on my list that I wanted to pick up. Now, on to my opinions about this beautiful palette.

The Masquerade was originally created in a much bigger palette as each pan size was larger. The palette was then reduced in size and the pans were decreased to the size of a normal eyeshadow. When they did this, I decided to pick up the now dubbed “mini” palette to try out the formula.

This palette is a half-colorful, half-neutral palette that gives you the most variety with three different shadow types. There are 16 shadows in the palette, with nine shimmers, five mattes, and two sequin shades. (To clairify, the sequin shades are mostly matte shades with flecks of shimmer throughout the shade.)

Originally, I was not a fan of this brand’s formula which stopped me from purchasing more palettes. I decided recently to pull it back out and start testing it once again and I have completely changed my mind. To be clear, this has nothing to do with what has been going on as I actually have been trying this palette out for the past month. I believe that my skill with eyeshadow has improved which has increased my enjoyment with this palette. That is to say, it is not the most beginner-friendly formula that I have worked with.

The shades are incredibly pigmented so it takes very little shadow to create a colorful look. This formula takes a lot of blending to keep from having harsh lines if that is a concern of yours. They do blend beautifully together but again, as they are so pigmented, it is important to keep in mind just how little you need.

The sequin shadows are some of the most impressive sequin formulas I’ve seen. Normally, the shades end up looking matte on the eyes, but this formula retains its sparkle flecks even with light blending. The matte shades are very pigmented and so far, I have not had any problems with them becoming muddy on the eyes. They do take a little more blending to get a seamless fade but it is possible with patience. Finally, we have the shimmer formula. These shimmers are extremely foiled on the eyes without need of being wet or applied with glitter glue. Overall, this is just one of my favorite shimmer formulas in the industry.

New Makeup Alert! Juvia’s Place The Tribe Highlighter in Vol. 3

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Today, I have a very important post. I am an American and white at that, but it is important for me to say that I wholeheartedly support the Black Lives Matter movement and if you are looking for more information to educate yourself on the movement, then please check out my Instagram or Twitter (@lineemupmakeup on both platforms). With this in mind, I am on a mission to educate myself and invest my dollars in black-owned brands. I am embarrassed to say that these companies are not well represented in my collection and I am working to change that. One of the items in my collection is from the brand Juvia’s Place. I am going to be talking about The Tribe Highlight Vol. 3 which is now one of my favorite highlighters in my collection.

This formula is extremely buttery. Volume 3 is a champagne color and while it looks a bit darker in the pan, when applied to the skin, the pearls in the formula shine through and create a beautiful sheen on the skin. The color is perfect for my complexion (light skin toned) and honestly even though this is new, it has already become a go-to highlighter.

This is a cream-to-powder formula so it adheres to the skin and lasts all day. You can apply this highlighter with a brush or your finger and if you spray the highlighter, it does amp up the shine.