eye shadow

The Perfect No Makeup Look Palette

A few weeks ago I treated myself to the Clinique Neutral Territory 2 All About Eye-shadow Palette. I have long been a fan of Clinique's simple aesthetic and this really is the perfect 'no makeup, makeup' palette, consisting of 8 super easy to wear shades. The box is all gorgeous - sleek and silvery and very finger-print prone. It is small and light enough so that you wouldn't think twice about putting in a makeup bag and it comes with a brush that is so-so. 

Colours L-R: Sugar Cane, Light Shade from Diamonds & Pearls duo, Light shade of Neutral Territory duo, Light shade of Day into Night duo, Brown Shade of Polar Blue quad and Hazy

Colours L-R: Sugar Cane, Light Shade from Diamonds & Pearls duo, Light shade of Neutral Territory duo, Light shade of Day into Night duo, Brown Shade of Polar Blue quad and Hazy

This palette is made up of many of the most popular shades which appear in the Clinique duo and quad shadow palettes. The shade 'Sugar Cane' is a soft shimmer, perfect for the brow bone and inner corner of the eye. The shades 'Hazy' and 'Black Honey' are super shimmers which are lovely in the crease of the eyelid.

Colours L-R: Light shade of Neutral Territory duo, Light shade of Day into Night duo, Brown shade of Polar Blue quad, Hazy, Black Honey and Dark brown shade of Morning Java quad.

Colours L-R: Light shade of Neutral Territory duo, Light shade of Day into Night duo, Brown shade of Polar Blue quad, Hazy, Black Honey and Dark brown shade of Morning Java quad.

I did a quick little look from the palette to show you and when I uploaded the photo's I realised that it looked a little too natural ... yes? Anyway here I am in all my post-gym, uneven skin-toned glory.

For this look I used the Light shade of Day into Night duo all over my eyelid, then added Hazy in the crease and the Light shade of the Diamond & Pearls duo in the inner corner.

For this look I used the Light shade of Day into Night duo all over my eyelid, then added Hazy in the crease and the Light shade of the Diamond & Pearls duo in the inner corner.

If you are looking for a new office-friendly eye shadow palette or you want to spend an extra few minutes in the day to look really nice and polished, then this one is for you. The shadows have good staying power when used with an eye primer on the lids first, and I found them very easy to blend. This palette costs £32.00 / $65.00 AUD.

I am currently away and won't be accessing my email as frequently as usual so if you do have a comment/question please be patient and I will get back to you in a few days.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Style Eye-Con Reveal

The Sephora US order that I blogged about last week (here) arrived in a record 4 days which helped the soften the blow of the duty & tax charges that I paid. The item within the order that I was most excited about was the Marc Jacobs Beauty Style Eye-Con (or eye shadow palette) in 'The Tease'.  A very sleekly packaged palette holding 7 beautiful eye-shadows in a range of luxurious purple and mauves. In fact, I am so in awe of it that I can't even bring myself to use it yet. Here are some images, in all its unblemished glory ....

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The palette is housed in a jet black fabric pouch. Unfortunately the press-stud which closes the pouch came away in my hand as I opened it. Moving on, once I got to the actual palette I was highly impressed. It is glossy and beautiful, the colours are very wearable and there are some neutral blending shades included too. 

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Yes, that is the actual applicator supplied ... ridiculous ...

Yes, that is the actual applicator supplied ... ridiculous ...

If purple shades are not your thing, there are 3 other options to choose from, the most versatile being 'The Lolita' which has all your nude/day time options covered. My only gripe (aside from the aforementioned press-stud issue) is the tiny foam applicator they include. I feel that this cheapens the product, and can't imagine anyone actually using it to apply their eye shadow.

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You can purchase the Eye-Con palettes exclusively through Sephora here. They cost $58 USD or £37.39 (plus duty & tax). For more details on Sephora and their UK shipping options you can go here

My Favourite Things - October

I thought I would share a few of my favourite makeup  and beauty things that I have discovered throughout the month of October. 

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MUA Matte Palette. MUA just keep delivering with these amazingly well priced palettes. It features 10 matt shades which was exactly  what I need as my eyeshadow collection was weighing far too heavily on the shimmery side. Seriously, it is only £4.00 pounds here and the quality is great. You can't go wrong! They ship internationally too.

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Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Muscle Gel. This stuff is dreamy. Rubbed on after a night time bath, it encourages an extra deep sleep. I got this inside the Liberty Beauty Bag a while back and it has been a great discovery. The full size of this product is currently on sale for £17.60 here, with free international shipping. I am also a massive fan of the Aromatherapy Bath Oils .. check them out, they are amazing! 

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Karla Cosmetics Face Charts. Created by the amazingly talented Karla Powell, I had been searching for something like this for a long time. Having previously been using MAC face charts I had stolen off the web (i'm sorry MAC) and printed on copy paper, the paper quality on these ones is lovely. Karla is also currently holding a competition - the creator of the best face chart will be assisting Karla on one of her upcoming shoots. I am working on my entry right now! You can buy these here for £11.00.

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Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush is the perfect berry stain for my lips right now. More details here

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. This is still my current favourite luxe splurge. I have been using it on myself and on photo shoots and i'm loving it. More detailed review here

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I can't wait to see what favourites November throws up for me.