ULTA Film Noir 12 Piece Palette

Ulta's Film Noir 12 Piece Palette

Today I made my first Ulta Brand Purchase. Something about the catch phrase of this palette got me! "Vintage Hollywood Glamour Goes To The Dark Side With Smoldering Smoky Eyes."  AND for $12.99? SOLD.

(Ulta Film Noir Palette)

The palette comes with some instructions to create some staple smokey eye looks. Always a plus for makeup beginners and sometimes a bonus for makeup lovers who may catch a look or technique they haven't tried in a while.

(Ulta Film Noir Palette)

In the palette you get 9 Eye Shadows, 1 Blush, 1 gloss, 1 mini eyeliner, a blush applicator and a duel ended lip and eye shadow applicator. Pretty good deal if you ask me!

(Ulta Film Noir Swatches)

Though I haven't done a look with these shadows yet I was pleased with the swatches. My only complaint is they kind of crumbled while being swatched. I am going to assume fallout will be a small problem. I usually opt to use an old school shadow applicator over brushes when there are signs of fall out. Packing it on then blending with a brush usually fixed this problem. :)

RATINGS:

PRODUCT: 4/5 (Some fallout, but swatches are smooth and gorgeous!)

PACKAGING: 4/5 (While I do love palettes, it's always awkward when there is an open lip gloss pot. I most likely will leave the plastic over it.)

PRICE: 5/5 ($12.99 for all of this? A steal. It makes the less pleasing parts of the palette workable!)

THE LOOK:

(Makeup Look using Film Noir by Ulta Palette)

Colors Used: Gold Leaf, Sapphire, Glamazon and Silk. 

MAC Cosmetics Swatches

MAC Cosmetics Swatches

This is MOST of my MAC collection swatched out! This took WAY longer than expected and I apologize for sloppiness haha. All are taken with flash over either NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk or Elf White Primer! :)

(MAC Swatches Pandemonium, Black Tied, Beauty Marked, Electra, Knight Divine and Carbon)

(MAC Swatches Sugar Blue, Turquadic, Aquadesiac, Gulf Stream, Blue Absinthe, Steamy, Night Bird, Electric Eel, Robins Egg, BIG T, Bang On Blue and Styledriven.)

(MAC SWATCHES With A Twist, Shimmermint, Sprout, Lustreleaf, Wondergreass, Juxt, Swimming, Going Bananas and Chrome Yellow.)

(MAC SWATCHES: Satin Taupe, Ablance, Dark Devotion, Honey Lust, Smut, Till Daybreak, Idol Eyes, Go, Moth Brown, Sparkle Neely, Sparkle! and Hocus Pocus)

(MAC SWATCHES: Cloudbound, Nylon, Almond Icing, Scant, Gorgeous, Phloof!, Crystal Avalanche, Magic Dust, Grand Entrance, DreamMaker, Naked Lunch and Goldmine!)

(MAC SWATCHES: Romping, Stars N' Rockets, Playful, Creme De Violet, Hepcat, Miss Piggy Pink, Pink Slip, Swish, Gleam, Cranberry, Coppering, Beautiful Iris, Grateaux, Up At Dawn, Violet Trance, Demi-Sweet and Parfait Amour.)


More to come..

Most of these colors are permanent colors and can be purchased here at MacCosmetics.Com or at your local MAC store or counter! :)

MY MUST HAVES/FAVORITES: Electra, Romping, Coppering, Beautiful Iris, Phloof!, Hepcat, Swish, Turquadic, Black Tied, Beauty Marked, Naked Lunch, Goldmine, Smut, Lucky Green, Juxt, Robins Egg, Night Bird,  Styledriven and Shimmermint.)

XO.

BH Cosmetics 28 "Smoky Eye" Palette Review and Swatches

BH Cosmetics 28 "Smoky Eye" Palette

When I saw this palette on the BH Cosmetics website I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! I own the Coastal Scents version of the 28 neutral palette but as I had heard they are the same size. Therefore I knew this palette was going to be a great buy. The pans are sized roughly the same size as a MAC Cosmetics eye shadow. Here are some photos of the palette!

(BH Cosmetics 28 Smoky Eye Palette)

(BH Cosmetics 28 Smoky Eye Palette)

The palette contains shadows with Matte, Satin, Glitter and Shimmer finishes. You have everything you need to create a classic, neutral, bright or dramatic smokey eye! I personally am loving the black with gold sparkle shadow (bottom row, second in from the right!) As with most palette's some shadows are harder to work with than other's. Overall MOST of these take little work to get a solid color pay off!

(Swatches of the BH Cosmetics 28 Smoky Eye Palette)

The colors are brighter in person and more color accurate to the photo featured from the BHCosmetics.Com website! This isn't too common to have color-accurate photos of cosmetics on websites. For example: The bottom left red shadow is actually very RED, not berry as it appears in the swatches. BUT what is good about swatches is you can see the consistency of the shadow when applied to skin. These shadows are swatched over Urban Decay's Primer Potion in "Eden."

RATINGS:

PRODUCT: 4.5/5 (This may change as I get the chance to work with each shadow. So far it's mostly love at first swatch!)

PACKAGING: 5/5 (LOVE these palette's! Especially the ones that include a mirror and bonus applicators inside!)

PRICE: $14.50-$22 (I paid $14.50! The same price as 1 MAC shadow. That's about .52 scents PER shadow!)

WOULD I BUY AGAIN?: YES! but with pan's this size I won't need to! Though I trust the sparkly shades will be favorites of mine! :D

Coastal Scents 36 Smokey Eye Palette Review and Swatches

Coastal Scents 36 Smokey Eye Palette

During the Coastal Scents back to school and 8/8 sale's I snagged a TON of their palettes. The one I was most excited to get was teh 36 smokey eye palette. What is cool about this palette is it is arranged in 6 sets of 6 eye shadows that are to be paired to create the perfect smokey eye.

The first of the 6 include's a very fall feeling orange/brown combination (top left). The next 6 are Yellows and Greens, followed by Purples. The first 6 on the bottom row (bottom left) include a set for the perfect neutral and CLASSIC smokey eye, then a set of 6 for a blue smokey eye and lastly 6 to create an awesome pink smokey eye. Here is the diagram and description from CoastalScents.Com!

"Section One: Golden oranges, rich browns, and a neutral highlight to create a more natural smokey eye look.

Section Two: Shades of vibrant green, lemon yellow, and deep chocolate brown for an earthier look.

Section Three: Pastel lavender to deep plums for a sultry violet look.

Section Four: Shimmery silvers, matte black, and a sheer highlighter for a more common smokey eye.

Section Five: Lively blues and aqua for an Avant-Garde look.

Section Six: Vivid pinks, iridescent highlighters, and a matte black shade with red sparkles for a vibrant smokey eye effect."-CoastalScents.Com

What I like about this is each set of 6 includes everything you need. From Matte to shimmer and from Neutral to Bright: you're set! Not that you can't combine any that you'd like of course! But this makes the palette great for makeup newbies and people who find the smokey eye a bit challenging (though many of us think it's a classic, and it is.. It's not always the easiest for every eye shape to pull off!) 

For example: My brown eyes and pale complexion make it hard for me to pull off the all over smokey eye look. My eye's get lost! I have to use a lighter color on the inner corner and usually to mid-lid in order to pull the look off. For anyone feeling the same way, try it with a lighter color in the middle and use the "Cut-Crease" method (cutting the crease is when you shade ABOVE your crease as opposed to the usual in the crease: this creates the illusion that your eyes are larger and brighter! It's my favorite technique I ever learned and I use it almost every day!)

OKAY, back to the palette! When I received it I imaged it to be a bit larger. Though the pans are larger than the classic 88 palette's I somehow thought they would be the same size as the 28 neutral palette (which have pans that are sized comparable to MAC pans). There is still enough shadow to last you for quite a while. Plus if you are a collector of the coastal scents or BH Cosmetics palette's you are aware that they are sweetly priced and come with enough color options that every palette will give you many options and last you forever: and will never break the bank!

Onto the swatches!

(Coastal Scents 36 Smokey Eye Palette Swatches)

Like every large palette (and every brand!) there will be some hits and misses. This palette is exactly what I typically expect from Coastal Scents which is MORE hits than misses. The matte's are a little tough but totally workable. The shimmers are smooth and bright. I believe I paid under $13 for this palette which equates to about .37 cents a shadow. CRAZY.

RATINGS:

PRODUCT: 4/5 (Way more hits than misses. Once I use it more I might update this!)

PACKAGING: 5/5 (I'm a sucker for palettes! Easy and Fast!)

PRICE: $13-$19.95 (Depending on sales! Totally worth the price!)

WOULD I BUY AGAIN?: Yes! If needed. :)

xo.

CLICK HERE to purchase the palette! You can also check AMAZON! You might find a better deal there. :)