Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Finally. Finally I got the thumb out of my you-know-where and got myself a Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer from Too Faced.

It comes in a pretty, bright blue little tube and the product is just fab. I actually don't have anything bad to say about it and - believe me - I did investigate this product with very critical eyes. The creamy texture makes it go on smooth like a dream and creates the perfect base for your eyeshadow to stick to. Also, this primer didn't make the eyeshadows harder to blend or appear blotchy on the eyelids, like the Urban Decay Primer Potion does, so this one definitely qualifies as #1 on my primer list!

Price: ~£17 on Beautybay
Buy again?  Hell yeah!

Which one is your favorite primer and why? :)

Too Faced Natural Eye Eyeshadow Collection

Since I don't feel like being very creative or put on too much makeup in the morning I usually end up doing some natural makeup looks, which are appropriate for work. I figured I needed some new natural eyeshadows and decided to order the Natural Eye Eyeshadow Collection by Too Faced. Although I've been drooling over Too Faced ever since I heard of the brand (that was several years ago!) I have never owned any of their products, so I found this a very good opportunity to change that! :)

The packaging is so cute I can't even find the words for it! :D It's pretty in an elegant way. I LOVE it!
Similar to the Sugarpill Palettes, this one is also made of sturdy cardboard and closed with a strong magnet. Inside the palette the shadows are arranged in three rows, each row corresponding to a special look (Day, Classic and Fashion). To know how to create each of these looks you can use the "tutorial cards" found in the lid. :)

Let's move on to the swatches! As usual the swatch to the LEFT is on top of NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk and the one to the RIGHT is on bare skin.

Heaven is probably going to be my substitute for M.A.C.'s Blanc Type. It is matte and pretty much the same color as my skin, only a little more yellow toned. Great for highlighting underneath the brows!
Grade: 3/5

Velvet Revolver was the reason I bought this palette. It is supposed to be a dupe for Omega by M.A.C. and, thus, works perfectly when filling in fair brows. Matte and highly pigmented!
Grade: 4/5 

Sexpresso (don't you just love the dirty names Too Faced tends to put on their products? :P ) is a dark, cold-toned brown, which is also one of the mattes in this palette. It is ridiculously pigmented and an eyeshadow that can be used in multiple ways!
Grade: 5/5

Silk Teddy is a shimmery, pinkish toned cuteness that won my heart in a couple of seconds. Highly pigmented and just awesome.
Grade: 5/5

When it comes to Push-Up I can't quite decide what color it is. Copper? Peach? Pink? I guess it's a mixture and along with Sexpresso is a clear favorite of this palette. It is definitely the most pigmented of the lot; both of these swatches are made with only one layer of this eyeshadow!
Grade: 5/5

Erotica could have been a big YES if it hadn't been for the poor pigmentation. Honestly, it is supposed to be dark brown with a golden sheen but on bare skin (right) it just looks like someone was going to apply it but then changed their mind... NYX Milk does save it however so it is not a complete disappointment.
Grade: 2.5/5

Now, the big disappointment of this palette is Nude beach. It looks so alluring in the packaging but when you try to apply it it won't stick. The big, golden chunks of glitter fall off faster than you can say "major fail" and not even NYX Milk manages to save it.
Grade: 1/5

Honey Pot is definitely one of the gems in this collection! It is an amber shimmery treasure that definitely delivers quality. Yummy!
Grade: 5/5

Cocoa Puff is a warm brown with golden flecks in it. The color is rather boring, in my opinion, but never the less it is a very good eyeshadow. The glitter sticks even on bare skin and promises not to join the glitter from Nude Beach to go off to Neverland...
Grade: 3.5/5

Overall grade:

In case anyone wants to see the tutorial cards; do not despair! I intend to recreate the looks on the cards so you will see them then. :)

So what are your opinions on this product? I can imagine many of you find these colors rather boring. :)

Thanks for reading!

Review: Lumene True Natural Mascara

Sorry for my absence this week! I've had some things to do this week so blogging has been far too neglected. I promise that next week will be better though; this weekend will be spent doing preparing some blogposts for you guys. :)

At work we've had a super-duper campaign on the True Natural mascara from Lumene. It's 50% off so I decided to try it out, since I'm growing pretty fond of Lumenes skin care products.

If someone asked me to describe this mascara the first word popping up among the tangled webs of my thoughts is "Everyday". It is definitely an everyday mascara. Nothing special. Just a regular mascara, so to speak. I guess you could build some volume with it if you are not scared of clumpy lashes. If you are, however, trying to build volume is definitely to press your luck.

Yes, I have the worlds shortest and most boring eyelashes... -___-

What is good with this mascara then? Well, first of all the fact that it contains over 80% natural ingredients which is great if you have sensitive eyes (like I do...). It doesn't irritate my eyes at all. I usually never have any problems with the mascara falling down under my eyes or smudging during the day and this mascara is no exception. Although it feels rather sticky during the application it stays put when it has embraced your lashes!

The brush is a little bit clumsy, though, and attracts a little too much excess mascara for my taste but scraping off the excess on the tube or on a piece of tissue solves the problem.

Price: 119 SEK /9ml
Buy again? Maybe I will, I'm not sure...

Have you tried this mascara? Or any other of Lumenes mascaras/products?

Thank you for reading and hope you found this post interesting! :)

Birthstones: Amethyst

The birthstone of February is amethyst, which is very convenient for me since it is my birthstone and since my favorite color is purple. :)

Since I have done faaar too many purple smokey eyes in my life I decided to make this one a little more interesting by adding a hint of silver in the middle of the lid. 

This look looks great with all eye colors but I felt like playing around with own blue eyes a bit and made them brown. Have I mentioned I love brown eyes? :P

Nude lips are pretty boring, I know, but honestly it was very hard to find a lip color that would suit this look. :S 

Face

*Skin base foundation 02 (Illamasqua)

*Studio finish concealer (M.A.C.)

*Loose powder (Isadora)

Eyebrows

*Corrupt (Makeup Geek)

Eyes

*Gel liner Amethyst (Makeup Geek) (base on whole lid)

*Jumbo Pencil Milk (NYX) (base in the middle of upper lid)

*Wisteria (Makeup Geek) (lid, inner and outer corners and crease)

*Poison plum (Sugarpill) (outer corner of eye, crease)

*Drama queen (Makeup Geek) (outer corner and underneath the eye)

*Ice queen (Makeup Geek) (inner corner and underneath the eye brow)

*Mercury (Makeup Geek) (Middle of lid)

*Pigment Platinum (M.A.C.)*

*Medium Pencil S.O.P.H.I.E. (Illamasqua)

*True natural mascara (Lumene)

*False lashes #28 (Red Cherry)

Lips

*Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector Rose sheen (Clarins)

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I guess the next in the series will be aquamarine for March but we'll see if I do them in the proper order or not, I haven't quite decided yet. :)

Anyways, I hope you guys are having a lovely weekend! :)

Thank you so much for reading and hope you enjoyed this look and post! :)

Valentines day: Romantic, Crazy, Anti

I thought I'd do a Valentine's day special post this year, since I haven't had so much time to prepare posts this week. So now you get 3-in-1 instead. :P Hope you like them! :)

As the name suggests this is a perfect look for a romantic Valentine's day date. It is easy to do and paired with vintage curls in your hair it is a definite success. Just be sure not to place the pinkish eyeshadow along the lower lash line, since it will give you eyes an unflattering "infected" look. Not too cute...

Face

*Skin base foundation 02 (Illamasqua)

*Studio finish concealer (M.A.C.)

*Loose powder (Isadora)

*Wonderblush Cleopatra (Make Up Store)

Eyebrows

*Mocha (Makeup Geek)

Eyes

*Jumbo Pencil Milk (NYX) (base over lid)

*Cupcake (Makeup Geek) (Crease outer part of lid) 

*Shimma shimma (Makeup Geek) (Inner part of lid)

*Corrupt (Makeup Geek) (Upper lash line)

*Latte (Makeup Geek) (lower lash line)

*Tako (Sugarpill) (brow and inner corner highlight)

Lips

*Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector Rose sheen (Clarins)

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This is a more crazy "all-out" Valentine's day look that sure could be worn on a romantic date but also if you are going to spend Valentine's day with your friends. 

Face

*Skin base foundation 02 (Illamasqua)

*Studio finish concealer (M.A.C.)

*Loose powder (Isadora)

*Blush Dollipop (Sugarpill)

Eyebrows

*Corrupt (Makeup Geek)

Eyes

*Jumbo Pencil Milk (NYX) (base over lid)

*Dollipop (Sugarpill) (Outer part of the lid, lower lash line) 

*Tako (Sugarpill) (Inner part of lid and brow highlight)

*Wisteria (Makeup Geek) (Crease, blending)

*Corrupt (Makeup Geek) (Upper lash line)

*Waterproof Glossy Eyeliner (Isadora) (The heart...)
*Ardell #111 false lashes

Lips

*Famous (Makeup Geek)

*Fearless (Makeup Geek)

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This is a look for them who don't like Valentine's day that much and want to state it with a bold, devilish look. Or actually, feel free to wear it for a romantic date if you'd like to. As long as you're comfortable with it! :) Warning! Make sure that the glitter you use is eye safe. I can't begin to imagine the pain of craft store glitter scratching on my corneas...
And oh, don't mind the grumpy face...

Face

*Skin base foundation 02 (Illamasqua)

*Studio finish concealer (M.A.C.)

*Loose powder (Isadora)

Eyebrows

*Corrupt (Makeup Geek)

Eyes

*Jumbo Pencil Black bean (NYX) (base over lid)

*Jumbo Pencil Milk (NYX) (base over inner corner of the eye)

*Corrupt (Makeup Geek) (Lid)

*Latte (Makeup Geek) (Blending)

*Love+ (Sugarpill) (Inner part of the lid) 

*Tako (Sugarpill) (Brow highlight)

*Medium pencil S.O.P.H.I.E. (Illamasqua)

*Red glitter

*False lashes #28 (Red Cherry)

Lips

*Medium pencil S.O.P.H.I.E. (Illamasqua)

*Elegant (Makeup Geek)

*Red glitter 

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How are you guys going to celebrate Valentine's day? If you could go on a Valentine's date with anyone who would it be? :)

Thank you so much for reading and a big welcome hug to all my new readers and subscribers and a welcome back hug to the old ones! :)