Palette Power

A mix of a few shades of eyeshadow can do wonders, and the ease of palettes is a definite drawcard for me. This is perhaps why my drawers are overflowing with sets of shadows from all different colour families, and why I tend to use shadows in palette form more than free standing shades. I grabbed a few of my favourite palettes to perve on, and thought I would share them with you and see what your favourite palette was!

 

Naturally I had to sneak the Urban Decay Naked palette into a post like this, the wearable shades and top notch quality are much lauded and it remains my #1 palette above the rest. Particular shade favourites are Sin, Darkhorse, Toasted + Virgin to create an amazing neutral eye look.  The Laura Mercier Signature Colour Essentials palette combine 4 of their top shades with a blush, and I love that in theory you could bring this with a base and mascara and be able to create a whole look in one shot.

 

 

Clarins remains one of my favourite makeup brands, as I am constantly impressed with both their packaging and product design in general. The Odyssey palette is my favourite from the two pictured here, though I do have a deep love for the purple within the Enchanted* palette. The Odyssey palette is quite sheer in nature (bar the gold leaf shade) and I find it easy to throw on and not have to think too much about. The Enchanted palette is really only reached for because of the purple shade, which I wear on my lower lash line all the time and absolutely adore.

 

My custom Inglot palette is filled with a mixture of matte and shimmery shades, and though that second to last pan seems quite orange it actually applies as a deep champagne shade on the lids and when swatched. I will admit that I don’t reach for this as often as I would if it were packaged in the old style, when the lid flipped out with a mirror and the pans were round. Though I like the look of the frosted glass top of these, my heart is just loyal to the old school ways!
 
I think I need to watch some Michelle Phan videos to work out how best to use the Lancome Midnight Rose palette*, as I haven’t used it too much and would love to work out how to make the most of all of the unique shades. The same goes for the Illamasqua Complement palette which I bought upon its release, but haven’t been able to create anything other than the look that the Illamasqua make-up artist talked me through. I love the purple shades from this palette and use them as stand-alone shades quite a bit, but getting all 4 to work harmoniously is a new way is next on my to-do list!

Which of these palettes would you snap up first? I’d love to know whether or not you are a fellow palette lover like myself! If you would like to see any of these in a makeup look be sure to let me know in the comments and I will happily oblige!

 

 

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

An Enchanted Eye Look // ft Clarins Enchanted Palette

I've been so obsessed with palettes lately, I love being able to create a whole look with one palette open in front of me. It saves space in my 'daily face' bag and when palettes are well put together is it generally easy to put together a flattering look. To put this look together I used the Clarins Enchanted Colour Quartet & Liner palette featured in yesterdays post.

I used the golden and purple shade on my lower lashline, and I must say I love the effect. It adds some colour to a look without being too over the top. I've been wearing the golden shade on my inner lower lashline with a lot of my neutral looks to work, I feel like it really brightens my face up!

On the lids is the golden bronze shade, and blended out some of the shimmery chocolate shade on the outer third. It's a subtle look, but the sheen makes it something special. To highlight, I used the palest shade from the palette. Of all of the shades in the Clarins Enchanted palette, the pale champagne shade is the least impressive. I have similar shades in my collection which are a smoother texture and have better colour payoff, but I'm still glad that it is included in the palette to have a highlighter option close at hand.

What do you think of these colours on the lower lashline?

Do you think this look is enchanting?

 

*This palette was provided for consideration for review. Honesty, always.

Clarins Enchanted Colour Quartet and Liner Palette // Swatches, Review, Photos

Clarins have taken inspiration from traditional Indian sari's for their new Enchanted collection, and seeing the eyeshadow palette design for the first time truly impressed me.

The outer casing has beautiful detail on it, matching the prints on the shadows themselves which I found to be a lovely touch.

One thing I don't covet is the inclusion of miniature brushes- many companies do this, and I know a lot of consumers would prefer a slimmer palette as they have brushes they prefer using in their collection already. Some may like to have these on hand though, it is just personal preference. The mirror is definitely a great inclusion,even if it is never used it is always handy to have an extra mirror around!

As you can see from my swatches the shadows are not incredibly vibrant, which I think lends to them being easy to work with and once they are on the eye, they are really nice and give enough colour. This palette is an example of something really beautiful, but also something you could get use from at work and on weekends- a win win purchase really!

The sheen of the golden shade from this palette is outstanding, I've been regularly wearing this on my inner lower lashline to add a bit of oomph to my looks, even when the look isn't created with other colours from this palette. Although the purple is sheer in swatches, it is so good for a lower lashline colour, ever since my Kit Cosmetics makeover I've been searching for this and now I'm content.

The shadows are quite shimmery and give a nice glow to the lids, though they are much sheerer than palettes I normally go for. I have a face of the day coming up tomorrow so do be sure to check that out. I haven't really delved into the deep chocolate liner in the palette yet, but that purple and gold have really taken a hiding over the past month!

 

The Clarins Enchanted palette retails for $55 AUD and is available from Myer, David Jones and Adore Beauty.

 

Do you find it hard to dip into beautiful palettes like this?

Have you tried Clarins makeup before?

 

 

*This product was provided for consideration for review. Honesty, always.