Category Archives: Eyeshadow Reviews

Right Now: Burberry Complete Eye Palette In Mocha

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Burberry Eyeshadow

OK it’s official. Burberry can do no wrong in my eyes. They have new eye quads that are, in a word, divine. Buttery soft, smooth and the colour combinations are just perfection.

It comes housed in a sleek gunmetal case which I am THRILLED to say, is lighter than the single eyeshadows I own. Because if I had one gripe with Burberry Beauty, it was the weight of their beautiful products. For the lady at home carrying a lippy and a blush they would be OK (still heavy, but just about manageable). But if you’re a makeup artist and you have a stack of those bad boys you want to carry, it’s just death. And then you have to choose which ones to take on a job. And then it’s MORE death because they’re all so lovely, and you can’t choose. And then you have to hack them up with a pallet knife which makes you want to stick the palette knife in your eye because it’s so sacrilegious to hack up those gorgeous Burberry eyeshadows to put in teeny plastic cases so you can carry them all. Can you tell I’ve been there? More than once?

So now the packaging feels lighter, and Burberry have given you not one, but FOUR lovely shades to choose from. I have Mocha, which is rich, yummy golden browns (you know, the browns that are surprising hard to find in other ranges? Yeah, those). There is a cream, a golden brown, a nutmeg/caramel colour and a rich brown that’s perfect for lining eyes. These babies can go natural and nothing, or very, very glamorous. What I love about the Burberry shadows is they are matte but they still have a sheen to them, so they don’t look flat on the eye.

The eye quads are called the Compete Eye Palette and come in 6 different shade variations, ranging from Plum Pink to Smokey Grey. I for one will be needing more of these new lightweight! Burberry goodies.

And here’s a video which has very little to do with Burberry, except it’s the Burberry model, Cara Delevigne, rollerskating in an elf hat. Shot by Angelo Pennetta for Love magazine, I thought it was super cute. And it’s Christmas, and who doesn’t love rollerskating elves at Christmas? Especially ones as pretty as Cara Delevigne.

www.burberry.com

Current Obsession: Blue Velvet

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“She wore blue velvet, bluer than velvet were her eyes…”

I couldn’t tell you why but for the last couple of months I have had two obsessions – deep blue eyeshadows, and David Lynch. Maybe it’s from being hypnotized by Isabella Rosellini’s performance in his extraordinary film Blue Velvet at an impressionable age (not to mention her blue eyeshadow in the movie!) or maybe it was my recent purchase of NARS Outremer cobalt eyeshadow that sparked my latest obsession. Whatever it is, it’s got me channeling Blue Velvet. Unfortunately the scene where Isabella Rossellini sings Blue Velvet  has been deleted on YouTube for copyright reasons (SO annoying when that happens!), but this video gives you an idea of why I’m so inspired:

 

And these are the shadows I’ve found to give me the velvety blue goodness I’ve been after. Just to be clear, it’s not a baby blue, or a pastel blue (although Lord knows I dug up enough of them when I was rummaging in the makeup Vault for this story), it’s rich, decadent otherworldly blue eyeshadows, from inky navies to brighter sapphire shades. Here are my picks:

Tom Ford Cobalt Rush – Tom Ford shadows (here I’m going to wax lyrical again) are absolutely beautiful. Soft, buttery-smooth, pigmented and come in quads of four colours that are gorgeous individually or used together. Cobalt Rush is his quartet of blues with a navy, a teal, a shimmering white and a beautiful grey-blue. Like all Tom Ford products it’s sophisticated and luxe. Do be careful when applying though as I find there’s quite a bit of shimmer fall-out, but the finish is so beautiful it’s well worth it. Pop a tissue under the eye whilst you’re doing your eye makeup to catch any fall-out.

Revlon 16 Hour Shadow quad in Serenity – Sky blue, glittery black navy, pale blue and a surprise pale gold for a highlight (which is what I love about it) make up this quartet of lagoon lovelies. Revlon’s new shadow quads come in all the colours of the rainbow and give long-lasting, crease-proof wear.

NARS Outremer – This is the shadow that got me on the Blue Velvet tip. It’s a bright, beautiful deep blue that has to be seen to be believed. It’s not like any other colour I’ve seen and makes other blues look flat and – just not blue enough. NARS China Blue is another of my favourite ways to sing the blues.

MyFace EyeTouch Eyeshadow Trio in BellBottom Blues and Silk Screen Art duo eyeshadow in Pop Culture – I’ve been a fan of the MyFace Trio eyeshadows since they were released, and I love this new addition to my collection. A beautiful shimmering cobalt, a pale white-blue and a navy Blingtone make this indispensable in my kit.

MyFace also have new Silk Screen Art duo eyeshadows in gorgeous colour combos dreamed up by celebrity makeup artist Kay Montano. Pop Culture is a bright vivid blue and a chartreuse green, and these are great eyeshadows for makeup artists to have in their kit as the colours are lovely but ones that are quite hard to find. Plus there is the ever-attractive MyFace price point – they aren’t expensive compared to a lot of other similar products.

Laura Mercier Eyeshadow in Deep Night – I think this was my original navy shadow in my kit and one I still use to today. Just a beautiful, deep matte blue with a hint of black, so perfect for a smoky eye or for lining (if you’re so inclined).  Her cake eyeliner in Bleu Marine is also gorgeous.

Chanel Eyeshadow Quad in Bleu Celestes – Ah Chanel I can’t do a job without you so it’s only fair I talk about my first blue eyeshadow quad that despite my plethora of other options, I can’t bear to part with. Bleu Celestes has a deep navy, grey-blue, a brighter blue and a shimmering white with that perfect Chanel finish that I can’t go past.

“You wore blue velvet, bluer than velvet were your eyes…”

In My Makeup Kit: Tom Ford Cream Eyeshadows in Gilt and Spice

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Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Guilt

These are INSANE. It’s been awhile since I was this excited about an eye shadow – and let’s face it, I do get quite excited about eye shadows on occasion. Not since the launch of Chanel’s divine Ombre d’Illusions which are still in constant rotation at MM HQ have I gone crazy for a new eye product.

First off, the colours. The whole of Tom Ford’s Spring collection is all bronze-y golds, and no one does a bronze-y gold better than Mr Tom Ford (HE even looks bronze-y gold himself!) Like everything TF these eye shadows just look like money, an expensive shimmery whipped cream mousse confection that I can’t get enough of.

Gilt is a gorgeous gold cream that glides on the lid like a dream and can be used all over the lid as a wash or strategically placed for a pop of golden shimmer along the lash lines, or the tear duct. It’s not super-pigmented – there are other products you can buy if you want serious strong gilt territory (try Illamasqua, MAC or Ben Nye if you want to go a bit Goldfinger). But this Tom Ford shadow is so beautiful it doesn’t need to pack a pigment punch – it’s just the right amount of everything. Not too yellow gold, not too sparkly, it’s in a word, ravishing.

Spice is a browny-tobacco colour but warm enough to make eyes pop (not with that grey tone that makes even the shiniest of eyes look dead). It is more pigmented than the gold, and in fact they look absolutely gorgeous when worn together.

The texture of the shadows is like a whipped mousse, less spongy than the Chanel Ombres d’Illusion shadows and creamier, with more slip so they glide on easily with either a finger or a brush. I’ll be curious to see whether they dry out like most cream eyeshadows do, not matter how careful you are about securing the lids. The Tom Ford makeup range makes me think of Capri in the 70’s, private jets, hell, private islands – and hyper-real women who look like goddesses. Don’t mind if I do.

If perfection could be potted in tiny jars, TF has managed it with his makeup line. Add to cart.

tomford.com

The new Tom Ford Spring collection will be available exclusively through David Jones for a limited time from March 25th.

In My Makeup Kit: MyFace EyeTouch Eyeshadow Trio in Whole Latte Love

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MyFace EyeTouch EyeshadowI’m going to tell you a secret – it’s probably not that exciting unless you’re a proper makeup head, but if you’re on my blog then chances are good you might be – I love a good brown eyeshadow. So much so that I have to have regular meetings with myself and get quite stern in order to cull the tidal wave of brown shadows that seems to wash up into my kit on a regular basis. I sit there, surrounded by eyeshadows and argue with myself. The conversation goes something like this:

“Really? Really Christabel? Another mid-toned brown eyeshadow with sparkle? Do you need it?” To which I reply (in my head of course, not out loud because that’s what crazy people do. Isn’t it?) “But that one is so good as a liner when you layer it with a pencil. I’ll get rid of the others.” Sure enough though, when sparkly brown eyeshadow 2, 3 and 4 roll around, what do I get but more justifications:

“This one is perfect on green eyes as it has the right amount of red”.
“I layer this one for editorial looks”.
“This is good for a quick smoky eye when I don’t have time”
“That one’s in a palette that I like so I can’t get rid of it” And so on and so forth through shades of tan and camel, mid tone and dark, shiny and matte etc etc.

And yet, with all those brown eyeshadows (in the dozens, I’m ashamed to say, although I have my reasons to love all of them) I have a new one that I can’t get rid of either. It’s MyFace EyeTouch Trio eyeshadow in Whole Latte Love. It has a neutral matte cream colour (always handy in your makeup kit), and a great nutmeg-y colour which is perfect as a base shade, and then the piece de resistance which is a shimmering brown/plum taupe. It’s delicious on all eye colours although I’m yet to bust it out on a very dark skin tone. However it’s been in pretty heavy rotation in my makeup bag lately on private clients and beauty shoots.

This little gem has not had to justify my love. And just as an excuse to slide in a bit of vintage Madonna, here’s the clip for … well you know what it is.

myfacecosmetics.com

 


 

The. Best. Eyeshadow. Quads. Ever. Chanel

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Chanel eyeshadow quadThis post is slightly cheating – really it should be “Best Eyeshadow Ever”, but I just couldn’t pick one brand. I have too many eyeshadows that I like – MAC and Dior and NARS and Illamasqua and Chanel and my old Stila ones and Myface and Laura Mercier – oh, and Bobbi Brown! It would be like Sophie’s Choice but with about 50 kids to choose from. Horrible, and too distressing to contemplate. So instead I decided to cheat and start with Eyeshadow Quads. Chanel win those hands down. I was doing makeup for a private client at the weekend and I got seriously back into them.

I have loads! I have at least nine that come with me on every job. Old ones that have been discontinued for years, and newer ones (like last year’s delicious Kaska Beige), and they all get a regular work-out. The colours are super-flattering and can be mixed beautifully, either from within the quad or with others in the Chanel range – or if you’re feeling crazy, from other brands!

Yes I know, the pigment pay off on other brands can be superior, but the finish is so beautiful! And the colour ranges are gorgeous, and go together so well. And yes they are expensive, but you wouldn’t expect to get a discount Ferrari would you?

One thing I have found though is that I much prefer the US versions of the quads – I just prefer the texture, and the texture is markedly different to their UK/European/Australian versions. But sill I love all of them, no matter where I bought them from. And the packaging, well, there is no substitute for that elegant black lacquer.

The only downside is that they have terrible tendency to encourage you to want more – as in new ones every season, as every new collection is more delectable than the last. Ombres Perlees de Chanel for Spring? Don’t mind if I do!

www.chanel.com

In My Makeup Kit: MyFace Blingtone

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myface.cosmetics- blingtone

This week I was taken through the whole Myface range of makeup, and the more I’m trying from this brand, the more I’m liking it. I’ll be posting about other Myface products in the coming weeks, but on Friday shooting London It girl Yasmin Mills (who is already naturally so gorgeous), I used lip gloss in Lip Pop and a touch of the cult product Blingtones on the eye to give her gaze a hint of shimmer, and honestly, this product has to be tried to be believed.

It’s crushed pearls – yes, real crushed pearls, in an oil base, and it is a totally new technology for eyeshadow – Kay and I have never seen anything like it. What it means is that with one finger swipe of product you can create sparkling, glistening lids instantly. When it’s on, it looks so shiny it appears wet. “Oooh!” I hear makeup artists around the world squeal. How we love a bit of wet look shine (I know, there’s a tacky joke in there somewhere, but this is a makeup blog people, keep it clean). To get this effect, until now we relied on either using shimmer shadows or pigments with a wet brush, or adding Vaseline or eye gloss once the powder shadow was on, but with Blingtones you just swipe it on with a finger, for instant, glamour eyes. And the effect can be just a touch of pixie dust or full on metallic foil. It comes in a range of colors – silver, gold, deep purple, amazing teal blue, bright blue, white and beige copper.

Can you tell I’m smitten? I have a feeling I’ll be using these bad boys all the time. They are perfect to throw in your handbag or your desk drawer if you’re going out that night to punch up your look, and they don’t need a brush – they actually go on better when applied with your fingers.

The only thing I would say is that the pearl particles are so fine it does drop under the eye somewhat, so I would recommend doing the eyes first, before your foundation, then using some sticky tape around your finger to pick up any fall out, before proceeding with the rest of the makeup. (This is also a great trick if your smoky eyes start out more panda than pretty!)

And the best part? It’s available at Boots – yes, Boots the chemist. I so rarely get excited about anything I buy at the chemist (unless they’re in Paris, or the US has some ace stuff also), that to find a range at drugstore prices that has anything I want is already an achievement in itself.

You can check out the full range at www.myfacecosmetics.com

Until the 25th of February Myface cosmetics is offering a free concealer with every Myface foundation, available throughout the UK at Boots Chemists.

Bag It: Dior Beige Massai

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Dior Beige MassaiThis is officially my favourite eyeshadow set at the moment, and it’s been in my kit so long that it’s the old enamel blue and black stripes (and that’s old! I think I bought it pre-2000) and it’s still getting cracked out on a regular basis.

Why so good? Well it has the perfect nutmeg brown for starters, which has a slight bit of shimmer but only a touch (the other four shadows are matte). It has a cream, which I never use but hey at least it’s there if I ever need to do – well, a cream color, a gorgeous matte peach which has just the right amount of blue to it, not too coppery, an almost wine color which is lovely on blue and green eyes mixed with the brown, and my other fave, a mustard-y camel color which is just the wrong shade of tan to be oh so right.

They’re gorgeous mixed together or used separately but they are a kit staple, so for me it’s BAG IT!

Please explain – Cream Eyeshadows

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How many of my Makeup Molettes have bought a cream eyeshadow expecting it to be amazing and got it home, smeared it on, and it’s just well…not? I’m constantly mystified as to why magazines tell people to try a new color eyeshadow in a cream texture, as if buying a powder  eyeshadow to test something out would be too shocking. Ladies, I think we’re strong enough to handle it!

What the magazines don’t tell you is that cream eyeshadows are the diet version of powder eyeshadow – the anorexic younger cousin, the Lite to powder’s Maxi. Yes, they can be beautiful on their own, but you’re never going to get a full fledged rockin’ look if you don’t layer it with powder.  So expecting to get some amazing strong effect from a cream shadow, well it’s just not going to happen (sorry).Nars Cream eyeshadow

Because cream is more transparent than powder it’s always going to give you a sheerer wash of color – so for a neutral, natural everyday look they can be lovely. For this transparent, taupe-y effect I highly recommend NARS cream shadows in Corfu and Savage and Laura Mercier Metallic Crème Shadows in Gold and Rose Gold.

They are great as a base – MAC Paint Pots and Paints (which come in dinky little tubes) are often used as a base color to give the powder something to adhere to. Personally I don’t like using a ‘base’ color as I think it changes the color you put on top, but on any given Sunday Youtube is awash with people who disagree with me, so it’s really personal choice.

If you are looking for something with more oomph, Illamasqua cream eyeshadows come in amazing strong colors and strong pigments, (the strongest I have come across), so for creating really bright colored eyes I would definitely recommend these. MAC Paint sticks are also a winner although the color range is a bit limited.

I do love creating editorial looks with creams, and for this I generally turn to my trusty MAC Cream Color Bases (or CCB’s as they are fondly known around the traps). These are a staple, staple item in my kit in pretty much every color available. They are unbeatable for smudging and creating beautiful shadows and highlights – once you try them you will be hooked!

Bobbi Brown Cream EyeshadowI have also recently tried and LOVED the Bobbi Brown cream eyeshadows which are the only ones that I have found that don’t crease. For this is the definite drawback with cream eyeshadows – most of them crease like crazy, which means they need to be repaired throughout the day (not usually something most people want to worry about!) They also crease more on those with oily eyelids or in summer. You can help prevent this by setting with a small brush and a translucent powder, or a powder eyeshadow in a similar color.

And if you are channeling your inner 80’s diva, nothing beats the combo of powder and cream eyeshadow to give you mega glam slam eyes. And just like painting, half the fun is in the mix. Get to work!

Chanel eyeshadow in Smoky Eyes

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chaneleyeshadowsmokyeye1How perfect is this little one-stop-shop nugget of shimmery grey goodness? It really is everything you need for the perfect smoky eye – it has a deep charcoal/black which is perfect for lining the eye, a gunmetal grey with just the right amount of shimmer, a soft silver (and it’s elegant silver, not nasty silver which can be too blue), and iridescent white for highlighting if that’s your thing.

 If you want to add the dramz, nestle either a soft black kohl pencil in at the lashline and then add a swipe of black liquid liner over this. Mascara is a must, false lashes are optional, flirting, mandatory.

And like all things Chanel it is chic, glamorous and just the packaging has the ability to make your heart go pit-a-pat. And since greys and black look good on every coloring, all you need is a swipe of beige lippie, a wink and a smile. Because who needs a boy to make your eyes sparkle when you have Chanel?