Vice 3 swatches and review

Howdy all,

I don't own either of the first two Vice palettes but I really wanted to try the Vice 3 so I picked it up with my Ulta points :)

The palette: 

I HATE the packaging and I seem to be in the minority on this but the plastic feels flimsy and I don't like the design... However, packaging is not everything and I do really enjoy the color selection and overall quality of the shadows. 

The swatches: 

As a reference, I am NC42 in MAC foundations, though my hand is probably more tan

From left to right

Top row: 

DTF-its a brown/gray shadow that seems to have a sheen to it but shows up like a matte 

Downfall- a matte brown that's perfect for the crease 

Undone- a light brown that comes off almost nude on my skin 

Truth- is a light pink and perfect as a matte highlight on me 

Botton row: 

Brokedown- a metalic green/brown that is quite unique, but powdery 

Heroine- a matte blue! It is pigmented but I have not used it yet to see how it performs 

Freeze- is a gorgeous metalic teal 

Dragon - a grean with a bit of a sheen 

First row: 

Bobby Dazzle- a shimmery white

Reign- a brown taupe 

Lucky- a shimmer caramel 

Vanity- shimmery purple 

Second Row: 

Sonic- I am not sure how to describe this shimmery color, it has some peach, coral...

Bondage- is a deep purple/pink dual chrome, it has a lot of dimension

Alchemy- a deep pink shimmer 

Alien-shimmery pink 

Third Row: 

Revolver- is a dark blue/gray shimmer 

Defy- is a matte gray

Angel- is a shimmer taupe/gray 

Last Sin-is a beautiful champagne shimmer, i've used this all over the lid and comes off beautiful 

The Review: 

When I first got it, I was not at all sure how I felt. At first glance the palette looked nice but nothing really stood out to me. Then I swatched it and started creating looks with it and have grown to appreciate it. It is a VERY versatile palette. You can do all all matte or all shimmer look, you can do nudes or all brights, and there are tons of options. Is it s must have? Not if you have this kind of palette already but if you are just building your collection then this will make a nice addition. 

Tarte Away Oui Go Palette 4 looks and Review

Howdy all,

Ever since the Away Oui Go palette arrived I have not been able to put it down. Before this I had only bough one Tarte palette so I don't really have a lot of experience with Tarte shadows. So, let me tell you that I am SO impressed with these shadows. At first look they did not look all that interesting to me but then I swatched them and fell in love. Then I used them on my eyes and I am officially obsessed.

The looks: 

First off, the palette is divided into 4 sub-palettes that are easy to travel with in an included travel case, so I tried to do a look with each of these sub-palettes. They do come with 4 shadows and one blush. Not all of them have a highlight shade so I did dip into a second palette at times for that. Otherwise I stuck with the palette and used the blush.

Look 1

The shadows: 

Macarons for you: Used as a crease color 

Champagne & Chocolat : used on the inner third of the lid

Kisses Under the Arc: used in the center of the lid

Art in Montmartre: used in the outre corner 

Blush: Envisioned

I also dipped into Private Chateau for a brow-bone highlight

This palette creates a beautiful, natural look with some sheen to it. The blush itself is very light and barely shows up on my skin. For skin darker than mine, it will be a highlighter. For all the pale beauties out there, this will be beautiful on you. 

 Look 2

The shadows: 

Champs-Élysées Shopping: used in the crease 

Stargazing on the Seine: in the inner conerner

Eiffel Tower Engagement: in the outer corner and pulled into the crease 

Secret Soiree: all over the lid

Blush: Limitless-a gorgeous blush with brown and peach tones, it comes off very natural on my tan skin tone 

I layered Champs-Élysées Shopping and Private Chateau as a brow-bone highlight 

From this palette, the standout shade is Secret Soiree. It is a gorgeous purple with silver glitter. The glitter is super fine and had only minimal fallout. My only complaint about it is the missing accent on the name... yeah it's the French teacher in me :)

Look 3

The Shadows: 

Private Chateau (yes it's missing the ˆ accent): used all over the lid on top on Mac's painterly paint pot

Café for Crème Brûlée: used as on the crease

Tea for Two: used all over the lid

Marvel at the Mona Lisa: used on the outer corner and pulled a bit into the crease

Blush: Irresistible-light pink very pigmented color, I was so impressed that it showed up on my skin

This was my absolute favorite look! It's a natural brown smokey eye for daytime. I could have definitely smoked it out but I was teaching that day so I kept it toned down. I LOVE this look so much though, there is just nothing else to say about it

 Look 4

The shadows: 

Snow Angels in the Park: used as a brow-bone highlight

Navigating the Metro: all over the lid

Midnight Stroll: on the outer third on the eyelid and into the crease

Liaison at the Louvre: used to deepen up the outer corner

Blush: Intrigue- this sis a gorgeous super pigmented pink blush with some mauve in it. Do be careful, I definitely went overboard with it at first application :/

This palette has my favorite blush and the one that I think will work best for those of us with darker skin tones. The shadows are pigmented and easy to work with. I liked this look but I seriously want to go back to the browns, lol. 

Other thoughts: 

As you can see I primarily stayed within a sub-palette but you don't have to! Next look I do with these I will grab shadows from the different sub-palettes. I was so impressed with each shadow and blush. There was no individual shadow that I felt was a dud and there was something I likes from each blush. Though the standouts for me were Irresistible and Intrigue. 

Let me know if you are planning on getting this palette. It is exclusive to Ulta and limited edition for the Holiday 2014 season. I absolutely recommend it but let me know if you have any questions!

* I purchased this palette and all opinion and thought expressed here are my own.  

Tarte Away Oui Go Portable Palette and Collector's Set

Howdy everyone,

My Ulta order finally came in and the palette/set I was most excited to play with was this Tarte set. It is $48 exclusively at ulta.com. There is a separate limited edition Holiday palette and set at Sephora but I was most interested in this one.

The Set: 

It is a gorgeous set with 16 shadows and 4 blushes plus 3 sample size maracuja lip glosses and a Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara. 

The shades all have French inspired names, which I love!

The Swatches: 

The set is divided into 4 different sets that can be removed and taken to go so I swatched every set individually. 

 From top to bottom on the swatches: 

Marvel at the Mona Lisa (matte)

Tea for Two (satin)

Café for Crème Brûlée (matte)

Private Chateau (matte)

Blush: Irresistible (matte)

First Impressions: There are gorgeous shades! They are pigmented and soft textured, the blush will be perfect for lighter skin tones but will also go with a natural look on those of is with darker complexions. 

 From top to bottom: 

Art in Montmartre (satin)

Kisses Under the Arc (satin)

Champagne & Chocolat (shimmer)

Macarons For You (matte)

Blush: Envisioned-light pink/brown with some shimmer

First Impression: This is the only quad that I have used on my eyes. Macarons For You blended (matte) a bit too well into my skin and was not very noticeable as a crease shade but it is gorgeous. They rest of the shades are shimmery but are not glittery, the texture is more of a satin. They look really gorgeous on the eye. It worked great as a natural eye look with some shine. The blush is a very natural light color but does have some shine. It still worked on my skin. 

From left to right: 

Champs-Élysées Shopping (matte)

Stargazing on the Seine (shimmer)

Eiffel Tower engagement (matte)

Secret Soiree (satin)

Blush: Limitless-peachy matte 

First Impressions: This shadows swatched so beautifully, I am especially excited about using Secret Soiree 

From top to bottom: 

Liaison at the Louvre (matte)

Midnight Stroll (matte)

Navigating the Metro (satin)

Snow Angels (shimmer)

Blush: Intrigue-pink matte 

First Impressions: I am most excited about the blush in this palette and of the shades Midnight Stroll looks like a gorgeous matte purple/mauve. They all swatched beautifully. 

From left to right: 

Paris-depper pink

Cannes-light pink 

Nice-nude 

 First Impressions: The glosses, I actually likes despite not usually liking glosses. They are sticky but they settle comfortable on the lips after a few minutes. They are all pretty sheer so don't expect too much color but I do still think they are worth it. 

Over all: 

I think this is a great set. The travel aspect of it is a bit of a gimmick but The eyeshadows and blushes are beautiful and I was even impressed with the glosses. Again the glosses are not very pigmented but they do give the lips a nice wash of color and feel very comfortable. The shadows on the other hand are very pigmented and beautifully textured. I did not but the set that was very similar to this one, from last year, so I can't compare it. The whole set is bulky and I wish the shade names were printed on the actual palettes. They are printed on the back so that's better than nothing but I prefer them printed where I can easily see them. However, I do think that this set is very worth it. 

Let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them!

Parting thoughts: 

-Full review and looks coming soon!

-I hope everyone is having a great week. 

*I purchased this set with my own money and all thought and opinion are my own.