Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.7 - The Lolita

I bought the Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.7 - Plush Shadow palette in Sephora last year but it wasn’t until last month that I actually started using it.

At $59 it was just wasting away in my palette drawer for all those months and I have no idea why, it’s absolutely gorgeous.

So why did it get left in a drawer and not get a look in for months and months, it’s still a bit of a puzzle to me. I attempted to use it at Christmas but for some reason it didn’t work for me then. But seeing as I’m on a super spending cut at the moment I decided a few weeks ago that I need to look in my drawers to see what I’ve been neglecting and since then I’ve worn the palette nearly every day.

I think the main reason I bought it was the fact that you can only buy Marc Jacobs makeup in the Sephora, I don’t even think they allow it to be shipped to Europe so it seemed only right to get it. There are 8 different palettes to choose from of which I chose The Lolita palette which I think out of all them is the one that can be used most often and when it’s $59 for a palette you’re going to want to be using it a lot.

The Lolita palette is perfect for a smoky eye. The sleek palette contains the 7 shadows, a matte off-white cream, matte nude, matte dark coffee brown, metallic warm pink with iridescent glitter, iridescent champagne pink sheen, light peach sheen, rosy copper sheen.

The pigmentation is quiet strong and there isn’t an awful lot of fallout when applied except for maybe the middle glitter which I have only used once and a bit of Fix+ is needed with that one just to make it stick to the lids, used dry it just flies everywhere.

The colours last all day on the lid – with or without primer. The palette can be used for a simple everyday look or intensified for a gorgeous smoky eye perfect for a night out.

Is it worth $59 though, well yes and no? The palette is everything I want, it’s got excellent pigmentation, it lasts all day, I can do different looks with it bringing it from day to night and it’s the nudey coppery tones that I love but there are an awful lot of palettes out there that are pretty similar and that you can get for a lot cheaper, an awful lot cheaper.

So if you find yourself in a Sephora in the States and you’re at the Marc Jacobs counter should you buy it?? I would say no, firstly there’s an awful lot more things that I would buy in Sephora instead of it but if you are thinking that you want to try his shadows then maybe get the Style Eye-Con No.3, a 3 shadow palette that’s $20 cheaper.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

My Most Used Shadow Palettes

If there is one thing a girl loves it’s eyeshadow. I can swoon over shades sometimes, literally scream with pure joy when I swatch a new shade on the back of my hand, it might sound OTT to some but I know some of you can relate.

I have so many palettes in my collection that I even have some that I haven’t even used yet, but I do have some in my collection that I get constant use out of.

I’ve picked 5 palettes out of my collection that I use on a regular basis to show you all.

First up is my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. I go through phases of using this one but the pink tones can really change up a smoky eye. Most of my palettes and single shadows are brown or grey toned so it’s nice to mix it up a little. You can do so many looks with this palette from a light girly pink day time look to a dark purple smoky eye. These shadows have great staying power, really pigmented and have hardly any fall out on application, which are all thumbs up for me. I got this palette as a Christmas present but you can get it for €46 in Debenhams, do shop around though because I’m sure I’ve seen it cheaper. If you don’t want to spend that kind of money on a palette Makeup Revolution and Crown Brush do really good dupes for a fraction of the price.

Next up is my MAC palette, my friends sister works for MAC and was over in their Pro Store in London so I gave her an idea of the colours I wanted and this is what I got. I use the browns and the reds mostly on a daily basis as well as the Shroom as a highlight and the black shadow Carbon for when I’m adding a bit of smoke to a look. The other colours I use for going out looks. I’ve had this palette for a good 2-3 years now and I haven’t really made too much of a dent in it even though I use it nearly every week. The colours are so pigmented that I don’t need to dig my brushes in like I would with other shadows. I need to make up another palette soon though as there are loads of other shades that I want to get my hands on.

My YSL Couture Variation Eye Palette Nude palette was a total splurge but when I swatched the colours on my hand I was in pigmentation heaven and knew I had to have it. The palette costs €58. When I got it I knew I couldn’t just let it sit in my drawer so I’ve made sure I use it regularly and have used it for work on many occasions. Even though it’s on the pricier side I don’t mind throwing it into my bad. It’s so petite and handbag friendly that I can pop it into my makeup bag without it taking up any space at all. There are some great matte and shimmer shades in this palette and what I really loved about it was the brush that came with it. I never use the brushes that come with palettes but they put just as much effort into the brush as they did with the shadows.

Onto more affordable palettes now and this one is finally on shelves in Boots. The Maybelline The Nudes palette is a really great affordable palette that you all need to go get your hands on. I bought mine last September in the states for $9.99, with the exchange rate at the time I think it worked out at 6 or 7 euro. It’s slightly pricier in Boots at €14.99 but I really think it’s worth it. The palette comes with 12 shadows and the ability to give a brown, bronze or black smoky eye. There are so many looks you can do with this palette. The colours are really good, some you have to work a little more than others but the staying power of them is excellent. I love this as an on the go palette, there has been more than a handful of times that I have just thrown this into my bag to do my makeup on the go.

Finally we have the Sleek I-Divine palettes. I have a few of these but I get most use out of the Au Natural palette. I brought this on holidays last September as I didn’t want to bring one of my more expensive palettes in case they got damaged or lost so I went with a cheaper option and was really surprised at how good it was. It has a great mix of mattes and metallics so I could get a lot of different looks out of it. You can get a bit of fall out with this palette so I usually do my eyes first with this one and then apply my foundation. The mattes can take some blending but the metallic colours are the reason I really love this palette, especially the bronze colour (hence the big dent in it). I think these used to be under €10.00 but Boots are selling them for €10.49.

What do you guys think of my favourites? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

Fuschia Cosmetic Review

I recently received a box from Fuchsia Cosmetics to try out some of their goods. I hadn’t really heard of them too much other than seeing a stand in the salon I go to. They started out in 2005 opening their first store in Scotch Hall Drogheda and recently opening one up in The Pavilion in Swords. They have won awards in the past including the Image Beauty Award in 2010.

I’ve heard some mixed reviews about their stuff so was eager to test everything out to see for myself just how good they are.

In the box I received:

• Eggplant lip liner

• Vamp Lipstick

• 5 Colour build your own palette

• Dazzle dust

• Brow Duo

• Sample Highlighter

• Sample Primer

• 2 Mini Lip Lacquers

I’ve tried out everything I received, some stuff I loved and some not so much so I have decided to divide them into 3 sections of what I loved, liked and loathed.

Vamp on my lips & the 5 piece shadow palette on my eyes

Loved:

Face Canvas Face Primer

The primer I received was a teeny sample size. The primer is silicone based and reminds me a lot of the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer. I really wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this as the quality didn’t look great but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it kept my makeup in place all day and even kept me matte. I tried this out on 3 different foundations and on all 3 occasions gave me much better results than my usual primers. A full size bottle contains 25mls and will set you back €22. It seems a bit pricey but it gave great results for me so maybe it’s worth it.

Eye Dust Pigments

I got mine it the Full Moon, it’s a champagne sparkly loose pigment. I haven’t used it as a shadow but more of a highlighter on my brow bone, the tops of my cheeks and on my cupids bow. I don’t really love loose pigments like this but I do like it for highlighting. It cost’s €12.95 which is pricey for what I would be using it for, the colours come in 19 colours so if you do like lose pigments then you might be able to get one you like.

Liked:

Build your own palette

This palette is a build your own, you can choose from 60 pressed shadows to put into your palette. The colours I received where:

#UP17 Holly – a frosted cream colour

#108 Jane – Looks like a it has some shimmer but goes on like a matte in a plum colour

#18 Lucy – a matte chocolate brown

#17 Lara – another matte colour in a lighter shade of brown

Cream – This one has no name but it’s just a plain cream colour.

The palette itself is nice and compact, it’s magnetised so when you’re finished with the colours you can slot others into them. The lid is also magnetised, I had mine thrown in my back and with all the mess that’s in there, it didn’t open once or smash. It would be a great present idea, especially for younger girls. 

What I didn’t like about them though is that they were a bit chalky, when my brush tipped onto them you could see product flying everywhere. It was also a bit hard to blend seamlessly, I had to put a bit of extra work into them. The price works out as €8.00 each which I wouldn’t pay for even a single one of these shadows, you can get better quality in the likes of Boots and Penneys for a cheaper price. Even at €40.00 for a palette of 5 is pretty pricey when you think about it, I personally wouldn’t buy one of these as you can get some better palettes from the likes of Urban Decay and Two Faced for similar prices.

Classic Matte Lipstick 

In the box I got was this lovely matte lipstick in the colour Vamp, it’s a purple, plum colour which is an absolute favourite of mine. I tested this out drinking coffee and it didn’t wear off, I then had some breakfast and it didn’t fully wear off, just a little between the lips. It’s not as long lasting as other lipsticks I have that claim the same thing as it only lasted about 4 hours. The only problem I have with it is that it says it’s non-drying but I found my lips did dry out when wearing it. You also get better results when you don’t put too much on, if you pile it on it will come off a lot easier and will go all over your teeth and it’s a lot easier to smudge and ruin your makeup. This lipstick will set you back €13.50 which isn’t a terrible price but I have better Rimmel ones that are much cheaper.

 

Lip Liner

I got mine in the colour Eggplant; it’s a plum colour and goes well with the Vamp Lipstick. I didn’t love it as it was a bit too creamy for me. When putting it around your lips you would have to blend it in with your finger as it was very easy to get smudged outside of your lip liner. It costs €12.50 which just seem ridiculous for a pencil, especially one not from a big branded company. 

Lip Lacquers

These where lovely apart from the smell of them. They have a really strong waxy smell which makes them seem really cheap. They are highly pigmented and feel like butter on your lips. I really liked “love affair” it’s a mauve/pink and the very wearable, the other colour was “party girl” which is a bright hot pink, better suited for nights out. They cost €16.50 which I think you can get ones that are just as good but cheaper in the stores.

 

Loathed:

Highlighter

This was a sample size of the Candle Glow Highlighter. It went on pretty sheer and didn’t really highlight as much as I would have liked. It wouldn’t be as good as the MeMe Beat the Blues highlighter or the Benefit High Beam that I have. It costs €25.00 and I would be disappointed if I bought this for that price when there are much better quality versions out there.

Brow Duo 

This is a brow powder and wax duo, I received mine in Brown/Taupe. I really didn’t like this, like the eye shadows the power was a bit chalky and didn’t fill in my brows as much as my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow duo does. I didn’t love the wax either it didn’t keep my any stray hairs down and made them a bit greasy. You also get a small brush with it that had really coarse bristles that I didn’t even attempt to put near my brows. You can get much better brow duos from Benefit and Sleek. Again I would be disappointed if I bought this, its €15.50 and really not worth it at all.

 

While I did like some of the products I really don’t think I’d be running out to buy them in the future. If the products where havlf the price I wouldn’t mind buying them but for what they are I don’t think I would buy anything from them at full price. The only exception might be the face primer.

As a blogger when you receive goods to test out from a company you feel that there is an obligation to love the product and rave about it and being relatively new to blogging I feel like if I don’t give a good review to a company it might have a negative effect in growing my blog to where I would like it to be, I would prefer to be truthful though to my readers and give an honest review to you all. I hope I’ve been as honest as I can.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo