I got a great deal on this makeup set. As with most other things I've come to own, I ordered this from HSN. Not only did I receive the palette itself, it also came with a 'Better Than Sex' mascara, a nude, semi-sheer lipcolor and an eyeshadow primer. How much was all this? It was $49. It was a special discounted price for a limited time and there was no shipping charge for beauty items that day! If that wasn't enough to entice me (which it totally was if you were wondering), this was on 3 Flex payments of $16.33. So for those of you who don't know, I pay $16.33 for 3 months (no interest). Sad news though, as of 1-29-15 it has sold out. But hopefully this comes back in stock.
Pretty packaging!
'Better Than Sex' mascara, lipstick and
Too Faced EyeShadow Insurance
From watching Cora review this palette (her channel is vintageortacky) she's complained that the eye shadows are not labeled. But maybe mine may be a second edition of sorts, because mine are all labeled. Or maybe this feature is an HSN exclusive, but that's pure speculation on my part. She has a great review if you'd rather watch than read. Plus, she has a tutorial with her review. Don't have anything like that here.
Check out her review and tutorial! Don't forget to subscribe!
First row: Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge
Second Row: Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto
Third Row: Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle
I'd heard that this palette smells like chocolate and lemme tell ya... It does. After I smelled it, I found that it reminded me of a Kit-Kat bar. It also makes my teeth feel weird every time I smell it. Crazy, I know.
I noticed that when I went to swatch 'Gilded Ganache,' it was very powdery and I had a hard time getting the color and the shiny bits to 'stick' to my arm because of fallout. 'White Chocolate,' seems to be very powdery as well. However, 'Milk Chocolate,' 'Black Forest Truffle,' and 'Triple Fudge,' went on with very little effort and fallout.
The second row went on with very smoothly. 'Strawberry Bon Bon,' was the only one that really didn't show up. Although, I think it might be my skin color that's to blame.
The last row has my favorite colors. I LOVE the way they look on my skin and all felt creamy as they went on. It also had the best pigmentation of them all.
There really isn't much to say about the mascara, except that it is one of my most loved mascaras! It reminds me of Tarte's 'Lights, Camera, Lashes' mascara (another one of my favorites), except I feel this mascara gives length as well as volume.
My eye area looks so gross up close... Anyway, plain eyeball.
No mascara. That flash was SUPER bright.
First coat of mascara. Sorry, I chopped off the tips.
Second coat.
Third coat of mascara.
The lip color is called 'Nude Beach.' Now... it might be because of my skin tone, but I'm not all that crazy about this lippy. But I feel this way about almost all shades of nude lipsticks on me. I've yet to find one I like. I'm more fond of this swatched on the back of my hand than I do on my lips. But if you're a nude lip junkie, you'll love this. Personally, this lip color is not for me...
Over all, I do like the palette. It has mostly warm eyeshadows and I like the smell of the palette when I open it (although it still makes my teeth feel weird when I sniff it. Odd, I know). I don't like how powdery a couple of the shadows are. But the eyeshadow primer, also included in this set, should help the shadows adhere a little better.
Too Faced Eyeshadow Insurance is an okay eyeshadow primer, but I find that over the course of a few hours my eyeshadows seem to fade. So then I have sheer smokey eyes. But then, I do have oily lids. Jealous of all those who need no primer. The eye shadow primer from Nars is the only primer that really seems to work for me.
A good thing to note as well, my skin is naturally tan. Some colors could possibly look different on someone who is lighter or darker than my skin tone. Just bear that in mind when the colors are swatched.
I noticed that when I went to swatch 'Gilded Ganache,' it was very powdery and I had a hard time getting the color and the shiny bits to 'stick' to my arm because of fallout. 'White Chocolate,' seems to be very powdery as well. However, 'Milk Chocolate,' 'Black Forest Truffle,' and 'Triple Fudge,' went on with very little effort and fallout.
Gilded Ganache, White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Black Forest Truffle, Triple Fudge
The second row went on with very smoothly. 'Strawberry Bon Bon,' was the only one that really didn't show up. Although, I think it might be my skin color that's to blame.
Salted Caramel, Marzipan, Semi-Sweet, Strawberry Bon Bon, Candied Violet, Amaretto
The last row has my favorite colors. I LOVE the way they look on my skin and all felt creamy as they went on. It also had the best pigmentation of them all.
Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Haute Chocolate, Cherry Cordial, Champagne Truffle
There really isn't much to say about the mascara, except that it is one of my most loved mascaras! It reminds me of Tarte's 'Lights, Camera, Lashes' mascara (another one of my favorites), except I feel this mascara gives length as well as volume.
No mascara. That flash was SUPER bright.
The lip color is called 'Nude Beach.' Now... it might be because of my skin tone, but I'm not all that crazy about this lippy. But I feel this way about almost all shades of nude lipsticks on me. I've yet to find one I like. I'm more fond of this swatched on the back of my hand than I do on my lips. But if you're a nude lip junkie, you'll love this. Personally, this lip color is not for me...
(INSERT SWATCH OF LIPSTICK)
Over all, I do like the palette. It has mostly warm eyeshadows and I like the smell of the palette when I open it (although it still makes my teeth feel weird when I sniff it. Odd, I know). I don't like how powdery a couple of the shadows are. But the eyeshadow primer, also included in this set, should help the shadows adhere a little better.
Too Faced Eyeshadow Insurance is an okay eyeshadow primer, but I find that over the course of a few hours my eyeshadows seem to fade. So then I have sheer smokey eyes. But then, I do have oily lids. Jealous of all those who need no primer. The eye shadow primer from Nars is the only primer that really seems to work for me.
