Swatch & Review: Julep Orbital Eyshadow in Borealis

If you saw my swatch &review post last month for Julep's Orbital shadow in Supernova, you already know I LOVE these shadows! So, naturally, when they released a couple new colors this month I had to pick one up:-) I decided to get Borealis, which was described as charcoal with peacock shimmer.

Gorgeous!!

It was really hard for me to pick up the color shift in this shadow with my camera, but basically it is a deep charcoal base and, depending how the light hits it and how much light you have, will reflect with green, turquoise, or blue shimmers. REALLY stunning stand-alone shadow! In the swatches above the first swatch is 1 layer dry, the second is 2 layers dry, and the third is 1 layer wet.

Just like with the Supernova shadow, I do recommend using a flat shader brush to apply this. It's the best way to pick the shadow up. The shadow is super sparkly, so you will want to use a base and do your eyes before the rest of your makeup to clean up the fallout easily.

Overall, I am in love with these Orbital shadows and HIGHLY recommend picking some up if you like sparkle and unique colors!

Here is a look I did last week with this shadow:-)

Review: Julep Orbital Eyeshadow in Supernova

I got this shadow in my December Julep Maven box. These shadows are new to Julep this month, and come in 6 shades(although they are coming out with two new shades next month, so stay tuned for that!) These shadows come packaged in a sleek black case with a decent sized mirror inside.

Here's what the Julep site claims:
"Our multidimensional eyeshadow with triple the pigment for intense brightness, incredible stamina, and endless looks."
"• Uses iridescent pearls and vibrant metallic pigments to create an effortless, multidimensional eye look
• Blends the color payoff of a cream shadow and the layering power of a powder"

Here's my experience:
~ Definitely multidimensional! This shade in particular can look plum, charcoal, teal, or a combination of the three depending on what angle the light is hitting it from and how much light is hitting it.

~ The staying power is really good. The longest I've worn it so far is about 7 hours and had no fading or creasing whatsoever.

~ It is possible to get a variety of looks from this depending on how much you layer it. However, you're not going to get "the color payoff of a cream shadow" unless you use it wet(which I highly recommend doing for maximum color and shimmer payoff, and to minimize fallout).

~ You really have to use a primer under it, because it is very shimmery/sparkly it needs something to stick to to minimize fallout.

~ You need to use a flat shader brush or something with some density to it in order to pick the shadow up. If you use a brush that is too round or fluffy you will only pick up the top layer of sparkle and not much(or any really) of the base shadow.

~ You need to sort of swirl your brush in the shadow a little to pick up all of the pigment. If you just dab or pat the shadow, again, you will only pick up the top layer of shimmer.

Here are some swatches!

These swatches are over Avon eyeshadow primer in Light Beige.

The first and third swatch in each picture are dry. The first is 2 layers of the shadow, and the third is just 1 layer. The middle swatch in each pic is 2 layers of the shadow applied wet.

You can see that the color looks different depending on the light. In the first swatch there was bright light hitting the shadow directly, which picks up a lot of the teal shimmers and charcoal undertone and you kind of just catch a hint of the plum. In the second swatches there is a little less direct light, so the shadow shows a little more plum but you still pick up a lot of the teal shimmer as well. In the last swatches there is dim light and the shadow shows as a very sparkly plum.

Overall, I really love this shadow. The multidimensional tones and sparkle factor are SO pretty. I like that it can be used wet or dry, and that it has good staying power. There is definitely fallout with a shadow this shimmery, so do your eye makeup first when you use these so that you can clean it up before applying the rest of your makeup.

If you are not a fan of glitter you're not going to like these shadows. If you are a fan though(like me!), definitely give these Orbital shadows a try:-)

New Avon True Color 8-in-1 Palettes! Swatch & Review

Avon recently launched 3 new 8-in-1 palettes in their True Color range. I picked up 2 of them, the neutral and the purpley palettes:-) All of the swatches below are over the Avon eyeshadow primer in Light beige.

This first one is the Not So Neutral palette:

Top Row: The first shadow is a matte vanilla. This one is a little powdery, but the pigmentation is pretty good. This will make a good base color all over the lid, and brow bone highlight shade. The second shade is a matte beige. Great pigmentation! This will make a good all over lid color, or crease/transition color. The third shade is a dove grey with a satin finish. There is a slight hint of warm golden-champagne sheen to this shadow that looks so much prettier on the lid than it does in the pan. The pigmentation of this is pretty good as well. The last color in the top row is a metallic light taupe. Again, pretty good pigmentation. This will make a really pretty all over the lid color as well. Bottom Row: The first color is a shimmery gold. I feel like the pigmentation of this shadow is just okay, and the application is a little patchy. It really has to be built up to get solid, even gold. The second shadow is a metallic bronze. This shadow has pretty good pigmentation and application. The third shadow is a matte plum-burgundy. This shadow has good pigmentation, and blends well. I was very happy to see this color in here instead of a dark brown. It keeps this palette from being your typical neutral palette! The last color in the palette is a matte black. When I initially swatched this without primer it was a soft black and not too intense. As soon as I put it over primer though, It was BLACK! A little goes a long way:-)

And here is the Plum Essentials palette:

Top Row: The first shadow is a vanilla with a satin finish. There are some really pretty lavender colored micro-fine shimmers throughout this shadow, but you really have to build the shadow up to get the full effect of them. The pigmentation of this shadow is just okay. The second shadow is a pale icy lavender with a shimmer finish. The pigmentation of this shadow is pretty light, but buildable. The third shadow is a soft golden-taupe with a metallic finish. Again, the pigmentation is a little lackluster. I can work with it, but it really needs a primer/base and needs to be built up. The last shadow in this row has the best pigmentation, but is the weirdest color? In the pan looks like a shimmery moss green. On the skin it is a deep muddy brown, with very fine brassy colored shimmer. Bottom Row: The first shadow is a matte pale pink. The pigmentation of this shadow is pretty good. The color is so light though that it hardly shows up on my skin. The second shade is a shimmery silver. The pigmentation is a lot like the gold from the Not so Neutral palette. A little patchy and needs to be built up. The third shadow is a matte rosey-taupe. This color was my favorite in the pan, unfortunately the pigmentation is so weak that I REALLY had to pack it on to get a ho-hum swatch. The last shadow is a pretty vibrant purple. In the right light you can see a hint of micro-fine blue-violet shimmers in this shadow, but they don't show up at all on the skin so I'm going to consider this a matte shadow. The pigmentation of this color is pretty good!

Overall, I definitely prefer the Not So Neutrals to the Plum Essentials palette. The pigmentation is pretty good across the board and there is a good mix of light, mid-tone, and dark shades, as well as mattes and shimmers. The Plum Essentials palette is really hit and miss. Some colors are good, while others require a lot of building and blending. There also isn't a great range of tones, all of the colors are either really pale or really dark. This one definitely lacks in mid-tones.

If you are wanting to try one of these palettes, I would say go with the Not So Neutral. You won't be disappointed!

Swatch and Review: Avon Eye Dimensions Eyeshadow Pt.2!

So, I loved the first two Eye Dimensions palettes that I picked up so much that over the last month I have picked up the other four! Here they are:

*side note: all swatches are dry, over bare skin

Sultry Smoke is a great neutral trio for doing a shimmering smokey eye. The top shade is a metallic silvery white with very fine silver glitters throughout. This shadow is pretty well pigmented and blends very easily. The middle shade is a shimmery taupe with tons of fine silver glitter throughout. The pigmentation of this shade is very good, and it blends really well. The bottom shadow is a matte black. It does seem like there is a tiny bit of shimmer to it, but that blends out on the skin leaving a matte finish. The pigmentation is decent, and it builds up and blends very easily.

Neutral Haze is also a gorgeous neutral palette for anyone that loves their brown shadows. The top shade is the same as the top shade from the Sultry Smoke trio, that shimmering, sparkly, silvery white. The middle shade is a beautiful metallic soft mauve. Excellent pigmentation and blendability! The bottom shade is a deep shimmering chocolate brown with fine bronze glitters throughout. Again, excellent pigmentation and blendability.

Bronze Star is such a fun palette! The top shade is a shimmery soft golden yellow with tons of fine golden glitters throughout. The pigmentation of this one is a little light but it almost suits it to not be heavily pigmented, it gives it a slightly ethereal feel:-) It builds and blends well. The middle shade is a metallic golden fern green. Excellent pigmentation and blends well. The bottom shade is metallic golden bronze. Again, excellent pigmentation and blends really well.

Diamante Purple is the only one of these palettes that I was not terribly impressed with. The top shade was impossible for me to pick up accurately with my camera. In the palette it looks like a shimmery white base shadow with a ton of fine silver and holographic glitters in it(only the silver glitter would pick up with my camera, so you will just have to imagine the swatch above having twice as much shimmer!). The texture of the shadow is drier than the rest of the shadows from this collection, and somehow it actually applies transparent? It's hard to see in the pic above but virtually none of the white from the base shadow shows up, so you just end up with a lot of sparkle and no actual color. I think this shadow will work great as one of those new sparkle overlay/topcoat type shadows that I've been seeing popping up all over the place, but if you are looking for that white base to translate to the eye it's not going to happen. The middle shade is this amazing shimmery medium violet with a slight pink shift in the pan. Unfortunately, this shadow is a little on the dry side too. It does show up true to color on the skin, but you really have to build it up to get the intensity you see in the pan. The bottom is a deeper shimmering violet with tons of fine purple sparkle throughout. Again, a little on the dry side so it has to be blended and built up a bit to get that same pan intensity. Even though this is my least favorite of the six, I did get an idea while swatching this for an easy sparkly purple smokey eye tutorial. So keep an eye out for that!:-)

All in all, I really love the colors in these Eye Dimensions palettes. The metallic shades are a dream to work with, buttery smooth and great pigmentation!

Swatches!: Ben Nye Sparklers in Silver Prism & Black Diamond

I got these two glitters in the mail yesterday and...wow! These are the Ben Nye Sparklers loose glitter, and they are only $6 on the Camera Ready Cosmetics website. These were actually a last minute add to my order just so I could bump the total up a little to get free shipping and I'm so glad I picked these up! I've been looking for a black glitter for a long time, but every one that I picked up looked dirty(literally,like black glitters and dust and sand mixed together). This Black Diamond glitter(the one on the right), however, looks exactly how I wanted it too. Jet black, slick, and sparkly. The glitters are medium in size. There are some smaller silver and holographic glitters mixed in to add to the shine, but just a little so that it maintains the integrity of a really black glitter and doesn't muddy the color. The Silver Prism glitter(on the left) is one of those glitters that I'm never going to be able to catch accurately with my camera. It is pretty in the picture, but SO much better in person. A combination of fine silver and holographic glitters, it's one of those that shifts color as the light hits it from different angles. I am going to try to do haul video of these and the other items I got from Camera Ready Cosmetics soon, and I will post that here when I do because I think the true brilliance of that silver glitter is going to be best caught on the video camera:-)

If you want to check out the Ben Nye Sparklers for yourself, head over to the Camera Ready Cosmetics website!

Here's my Camera Ready Cosmetics Haul. You can see the glitters around minute 6:

Swatches: Avon Ultra Color Absolute Lipsticks

I only have a couple of these, but I did a get a few samples too. Another Avon rep did a really good swatch video on YouTube, so I will post that at the end of this post so you can see all of the colors:-)

Here are the swatches:

This one is Caramel Comfort. It is a light beige nude, with medium coverage. This one went on pretty evenly and has a nice balm-like texture to it.

Creamy Melon is a pretty, bright peach shade. I love the color of this lipstick, although, I did feel like it clung to dry patches on my lips and went on a tiny bit streaky.

Pink Renewal is a very pale creamy pink. This was honestly the least favorite for me because it just didn't look good with my skin tone and washed me out a little. This one also seemed to cling to dry patches.

The next two colors are so similar in person that I honestly had a hard time telling them apart until I put the pictures side by side. The one on the left is Tender Mauve, and on the right is Ripe Rose.

Tender Mauve is a nice, light, neutral beige-y pink. This will be a good nude pink for anyone with fair to light/medium skin tones.

Ripe Rose is really similar to Tender Mauve, just a couple shades darker. This one is my favorite. It's a great nude pink for me, and probably will be for anyone with light to medium skin tones.

Radiant Raisin is a really pretty dark berry shade. This is a great color for this time of the year!

Here is Lorena's video of all of the swatches if you want to check out the rest of the shades:

Swatch and Review:Avon Glimmersticks Diamonds Onyx Collection Eye Liner

I recently picked up a couple of these new additions to the Glimmersticks liner line from Avon. While I don't feel like these are the greatest for lining the water line, they are great for the lash lines and come in a really good range of colors. I like this new Onyx collection for the holidays to add a little sparkle to your holiday makeup looks. Since the shimmer in them is very fine they look like your basic black liner from afar. It's only when someone is close to you that they will see the glints of sparkle here and there. These are a good option for anyone who wants their makeup to be a little more festive, but are maybe to shy to do a full on glittery eye look.

The two colors I picked up are Gold Onyx(on top) and Copper Onyx(on bottom). The Gold Onyx seems to be a little bit blacker because the glitter in it is less densely packed, so you just get a hint of gold shimmer here and there. The Copper Onyx has copper/red shimmers that are more densely packed and more evenly dispersed. Even though this one seems like it is a lot more sparkly than the gold it still just looks like your basic black liner from a distance since the shimmers are so fine.

There are two other shades in this collection, one with cobalt shimmers and one with magenta shimmers.

Swatches: Avon Ultra Glazewear Lip Gloss

I thought I would do a quick swatch post today of the new Avon Ultra Glazewear lip glosses that I have tried. I'm a big fan of the Glazewear glosses! They aren't sticky, tacky, or goopy feeling on the lips, and they come in a really good range of colors. I'm sure I will pick up more of these in the future, so you guys can expect to see some more swatches of these glosses!

Pale Peach is a sheer sparkly gloss. It has a very light, creamy peach base with fine light peach glitter in it. this one definitely won't impart much color on the lips, but it gives a really pretty shine and sparkle to the lips and is good for layering over peach, pink, and nude lipsticks.

Nude is a soft peachy nude with a very fine golden shimmer through it. I really love this color for every day wear on it's own, and it also layers well over nude, brown, peach, and pink lipsticks.

Tickled Pink is a light, neutral, shimmering pink with super fine pink and champagne shimmers to it. REALLY pretty pink gloss, absolutely love this one!

Citrus Shine is a SUPER sparkly peachy pink gloss. I took about a million pictures of this color and couldn't capture the sparkle just right. You can get the idea from the pic above, but there is just a ton of fine peach, pink, and golden shimmers throughout this gloss. The color is really similar to the Extra Lasting gloss in Forever Rose, but without the funky texture and weird smell that that gloss has. If you like very sparkly glosses I definitely recommend this one!

Crystal Lilac is a little bit more of a cooler toned pink gloss with a hint of shimmer to it. It is listed in the brochure as having a cream finish, and while the shimmer is very fine and faint, there is definitely a little shimmer there.

Palm Beach Pink is a warm medium pink, with fine golden champagne shimmers in it. Again, this one is listed as having a cream finish but there is clearly some shimmer in it.

Fiery Red is a vibrant red(GORGEOUS!) gloss. This one does have a cream finish with no shimmer to it. It's the most opaque out of the bunch, my natural lip color just barely peeks through. I love this gloss on it's own, and layered over bright red, orange, and hot pink lipsticks.

Have you guys tried any of the new Ultra Glazewear glosses? What are your favorite colors?

More Avon Extra Lasting Eyeshadow Pencil Swatches!

I tried a couple of these shadow pencils when they first came out and absolutely LOVED them! So I got a couple more...and then a couple more...and then the rest of them, lol:-) So here are the swatches of the last 6 colors I bought. I really cannot say enough good things about these! They are great stand alone shadows, blend really well, and make excellent long wearing shadow bases for your powder shadows.

Aquamarine is a shimmery deep aqua color. Very dense, rich pigmentation for this color! If you follow me on Facebook you can see this color used in my sugar skull makeup for Halloween as the petals around my eyes(sidenote: I also used the Extra Lasting shadow pencil in Black Diamond all over the eye and layered colors from the True Color quad in Purple Pop on top, it turned out so good!).

Sapphire is a shimmery deep blue. I really love this one layered with the Purple Pop quad for a bluish-purple eye look.

Amethyst is less purple than I thought it would be, and more like a pretty shimmering mauve.

Smoky Plum is a nice shimmery plum with really good pigmentation.

Crystal Taupe is a light shimmery taupe. This color is a great neutral to have on hand for any skin tone.

Rich Cocoa surprised me when I opened and saw that it was actually matte! This neutral chocolate brown is the only one of the shadow pencils that doesn't have any shimmer to it.

I hope Avon expands this line and brings out more colors, and more matte shades!

Swatches: New Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quads

In campaign 19 Avon is relaunching their True Color eyeshadow line with new eyeshadow quads, duos, and singles. In general, I am really impressed with the new formula! Most of the colors I've tried have been really well pigmented, and blended well. I am going to post swatches of the eyeshadow quads that I have tried so far below. I'm also going to list the color names for each quad since some of these shades are also available as singles as well.

Purple Pop is the brightest and trendiest of the purple quads that Avon offers. All of the colors in this quad have a shimmery finish. Here are the colors for this quad:
1. Lavender is a pale shimmery lavender. Great pigmentation and blends well.
2. Pink Berry is a medium shimmery pink. This one had the lightest pigmentation, but built up easily.
3. Purple Flip is a lavender with a pinkish sheen to it. Good pigmentation and blending.
4. Vibrant Violet is a shimmery deep violet. This one is a little patchy but blends out well.

Metal Eyes has 4 neutral metallic and glittery shades. Pigmentation and blending are great with all of these shades.
1. Snowglobe is shimmery white.
2. Gold is a shimmery deep yellow gold.
3. Bronze Luster is a shimmery deep brown with fine bronze glitter throughout.
4. Night Star is a shimmery warm charcoal grey with lots of fine silver and gold glitter.

Emerald Cut is a warm/neutral green palette. All four colors have a shimmery to glittery finish.
1. Shimmering Beige is a shimmery warm ivory. Great pigmentation and blendability.
2. Softened Peach is a warm shimmery peach with fine golden glitter. this one goes on a little sheer but builds up easily.
3. Green Metal is a shimmery khaki green with a slight golden sheen. Good pigmentation and blends very well.
4. Blackened Emerald is a deep shimmery green. The pigmentation is a little patchy with this one, but it builds up very easily and blends out very well.

Chocolate Sensation is one of the new neutral quads. This one is great for doing a brown smokey eye.
1. Shimmering Beige is a shimmery warm ivory. Great pigmentation and blendability.
2. Milk Chocolate is a shimmery neutral brown. Great pigmentation and blendability.
3. Truffle is a shimmery warm brown. Great pigmentation and blendability.
4. Black Brown is a matte deep brown. This one had the least pigmentation but it builds up easily and blends well.

Avon Ultra Color Lipstick Swatches- Reds/Corals

Wild Ginger is a shimmery coral-y orange with fine coral and multicolored glitter. This color is really similar to the Ultra Color Rich Brilliance lipstick in Vermillion.

Tangerine Tango is a reddish orange with a creme finish.

Lava Love is a orange-y red with a creme finish.

Poppy Love is the middle ground between Tangerine Tango and Lava Love. More red than Tangerine Tango, but more orange than Lava Love.

Berry Berry Nice is a berry red with a just a hint of shimmer.

Red 2000 is a bright neutral red with a satin finish.

Scarlet Siren is a deep warm red with a creme finish.

Perfect Red is a neutral red with a satin finish.

Rich Ruby is a bright cool toned red with a creme finish.

Cherry Jubilee is a deep berry with a satin finish.

Avon Ultra Color Lipstick Swatches- Plums/Wines

Frostiest Mauve is a cool pinky lilac frosty shade.

Dream Fuchsia is a bright shimmery fuchsia, a little brighter and more shimmery than Fuchsia Fever.

Very Violet is a bright pinky purple with a cream finish.

Crush is a berry red with a satin finish.

Sangria is a pinky wine red with a satin finish.

Golden Berry is a sheer deep shimmering berry with fine golden glitter.

Wine With Everything is a wine red with a satin finish.

Vixen is a plum wine red with a creme finish.

Oxford Wine is a deep wine red with a satin finish.

Vamp is a blackened plum with a satin finish.