emmabovarybeauty: warm nude bronze

As soon as I stepped into CVS in Los Angeles in November, I made a beeline for the makeup aisles, bypassing the tempting snack food section with thoughts of US-only makeup firmly in my minds eye. The first thing I picked up was an Essie polish, and the second thing I picked up was Maybelline The Nudes Palette, which I'd first seen on The Dark Side of Beauty who gave it an honest review that didn't deter me from wanting it. I've only used the palette a handful of times, and this is one of the looks I created with it.

I have to agree with Nancy's first impressions of the palette - some of the shades are nice and smooth but others are quite dry and stiff, though still better than most drugstore palettes that are readily available on the Australian market at the moment. If you compare something like this to Lorac, Urban Decay or even Too Faced you will walk away disappointed, so remember the price point of this palette ($13 USD approx.) and judge accordingly. I think the shade range is what deters me from using the palette all the time - the bronze/golden shades are something I'd only wear in a planned look for an event, and the rest of the cooler toned can be a bit flat on my pale skin at times. Having said that, I've only played around with the palette a few short times so my opinions may change once I give it a go with a few more looks.

Products Used: (clockwise in above image)
-Dolce & Gabbana Blush in Caramel
-Maybelline Dream Matte Powder
-YSL Touche Éclat*
-essence eyeliner in Hot Chocolate
-NYX eyeliner in Silky Cashmere
-Inglot brow pencil
-Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara in Medium Brown*
-Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Leche
-Maybelline Dream Wonder Fluid-Touch Foundation*
-Maybelline The Nudes Palette

I didn't actually push myself to use mainly Maybelline products for this post (nor is this a sponsored post!) but it's what I'm testing out at the moment, so it worked out well for the palette focus of this post! A few base favourites made an appearance as well as my two very favourite eyeliners - the only other honeymoon purchase to make it into the mix was the Bite Beauty Matte Lip Crème in Leche, which is well-loved around these parts.