Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Apricot - Review and Swatches

Lately, I've been a sucker for highlighters and I heard about this one from Amanda Ensing on YouTube. She mentioned how this Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick would be a high sheen, shimmery, gorgeous highlight that really compliments medium/tan skintones (hey, that's me!). 

I was never one for Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks or much of the range to be quite honest but my interest for the brand has grown in the past few months. And I'm glad I have because I have loved every product that I have purchased from this brand.

So, back to the highlighter, the shades within this product are gorgeous! *drools*

I purchased this bad boy at Nordstroms for $42. I am not 100% sure it is limited edition but it's still on sale since I was last on the Nordy's website or check in stores :).

The packaging with all Bobbi Brown products is a shiny black with the writing in white. 

They range from a white gold to a golden peach to a straight up bronze and into the peachier shades. All together, it makes this light golden peach shade that adds a lot of life back into the skin and looks so beautiful.

One thing I love about this product is that it is multi-purpose. This doubles as a eyeshadow "palette" and a sexy highlighter.

Here are the swatches of the Shimmer Brick. On the farthest left is the top shade and goes all the way to the right with the darkest of the peach shades. The last two swatches are of all the shades blended together. One swatch has more of the darker shades and the farthest right swatch has more of the lighter shades of the Shimmer Brick.

All in all, this is one heck of a highlighter. It is a touch powdery when you dip your brush into the product but it is not powdery once it is on the skin. I think this will be my go to highlighter for the summer since it is so intense and beautiful paired with peach and pink blushes.

I think I'll be purchasing the Beige Shimmer Brick next, I heard it was a close dupe to MAC's Whisper of Gilt (which I still regret never buying!!).

Anyways, have a great day/night and talk to you all soon!
Bianca

YSL Baby Doll Kiss and Blush in #5 Rouge Effrontee - Review and Swatch

This product has intrigued me since I first heard about these and even more so when my friend (Mallory1712) made a video reviewing them and demo-ing them on her and well...I knew I had to try at least one. (Video Link - Click Here).

I purchased this at my local YSL counter inside of Nordstrom ($40 USD) and this was the color I thought would be great for the Spring and Summer seasons.

This and other shades can be purchased at Sephora (in stores or online) and Nordstrom (in stores or online).

I'm sure you are not surprised at how luxe the packaging looks. I know I'm not ;).

Rouge Effrontee is described as a bright coral-red and it is a gorgeous shade!

The applicator is quite unique. It is slanted a little bit but also has this space/hole where the product gathers. I hope you can see what I am talking about in the pictures.

I do have to say that the product has a soft and creamy consistency that makes blending a breeze. I do suggest blending it in relatively quickly or you might end up with a patchy application.

This is a VERY pigmented product so build up to the intensity you want. The first time I tried this, I went a little heavy handed and looked like a clown haha. But it was easily toned down with my foundation brush and gave my cheeks this beautiful rosy flush to the cheeks.

For me, it wore all day long and faded evenly. This is a plus because I am someone that does not touch up or do anything haha. So it is easy maintenance and beautiful on the skin. It is a soft matte product so do not expect a sheen or shimmer on the cheeks. 

Also, this product layers really easily and does not make other products apply patchy on your cheeks when this is already on. 

On the lips, it is really bright when you apply it. I would apply a sheer layer at first and layer to my desired intensity. This ensures more of a staining effect, even more so and this product lasts 6 hours on my lips through talking, drinking, munching on some food, and just being out and about. 

I hope you found this helpful and if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by, 

Bianca :)

TooFaced Chocolate Bar Palette - Swatches and Review

Well... I gave into the hype.

I held off from buying this palette for a few months but I had store credit to Sephora and thought I would give it a whirl. 

I won't lie to you... I didn't know what to expect with the quality of TooFaced shadows. I have heard good things but I have never ever own any TooFaced palettes. I don't know why haha but I think I preferred the Urban Decay Naked palettes over the TooFaced ones. 

I'm glad I waited though. This is a great palette to get introduced to TooFaced Cosmetics eyeshadows.

Just like everyone else, the packaging box and the palette itself is stickin' cute! TooFaced sure knows how to do cute packaging.

I was lucky to pick up the Chocolate Bar palette with the slimmer packaging. I think TooFaced heard about everyone's complaints about the thickness of the palette's casing. I never saw it so I can't say from experience how significant the reduction in thinness is but I'm glad I waited haha.

When I first saw the palette, I thought that the arrangement of the shadows was odd. I would assume that the larger highlight shades would be on top and the little pans of shadows would be under it. But that is me being nit-picky haha.

When I see this palette, the right side is warmer and the left side is slightly cooler. Just a smidge. I never noticed it during the months of blogs and videos I saw featuring the palette haha.

I wish the names were engraved into the palette like all the other palettes from TooFaced. I truly hate the flimsy little sheet with the names on it. But it is what it is, can' change it.

You can see how cute the names of each of the shadows are though. I definitely win points for creative and cute names for the eyeshadows.

I swatched the eyeshadows by row on my arm without any primer.

 Row 1

 Row 2

Row 3

Thoughts on eyeshadow quality:
- The matte shades are a little powdery and slightly less pigmented. You have to layer the heck out of the shadows to get this to show up but on the bright side, they layer nicely and evenly.
- The shimmery shades are WHOA. They are amazingly pigmented and so incredibly smooth. They can be powdery if you pick up product with a brush but if you tap off the excess, there is no fall out :).
- The microglitter shades are my favorites I think. The little glittery specks don't disappear when you apply them and they are really smooth as well. It adds that extra pop to your look without it being overboard or in your face glittery.

Overall, I think this is a great palette, especially for starters. This palette has some great mattes, shimmers, neutral every day shades. Or a nice palette to compliment other neutral eyeshadow palettes. {Because a makeup addict can never have too many neutral palettes;)}

Hope you enjoyed the review,
Bianca :)

Tom Ford Cognac Sable - Swatches and Review

Oh Cognac Sable... why art thou so beautiful...?

This is one of my favorite quads that I own from Tom Ford. It is one of those that is so versatile. I know you are thinking "You say every time that the TF quads are so versatile" but it's so true!! :)

I absolutely adore the warm tones in this quad. There isn't a matte shade (which is a bummer) but the shades work well together. When you create a look with this quad, it doesn't look like there is too much shimmer or metallic-ness to the look.

The mixture of these shades together really help form, practically, the perfect quad for the summer and leading into fall. It has those warm browns, that bronze "adult" glitter, and a golden beige highlight.

With this quad, it is one of those that you can easily transition from a soft day time look to a sultry bronzey brown smokey eye. Which is what a lot of people look for, in my opinion.

I love how buildable these shadows are. I'm not going to lie, when I first swatched this quad... I thought I got a dud. There was not a whole lot of pigment when I swiped it on my finger and I felt this buyer's remorse instantly haha. But I reminded myself that it is important to see how the eyeshadows perform on the lids and with brushes.

And thankfully, it worked out amazingly once I created a look with it. I post all my makeup of the days on my Instagram, you should probably head on over there and follow if you'd like ;).

This is one of my favorite quads to work with and I get so many compliments when I wear this out. Even my friends and sales associates at my local Tom Ford counter love how I create looks with the quads.

I purchased this at Nordstrom for $78 and I absolutely love it. If you can, see if you can check it out in person. You will fall in love with it!

Thanks for stopping by as always,
Bianca

Tom Ford Orchid Haze - Swatch and Review

So I have here another Tom Ford Quad. I want to add to my master post featuring Tom Ford. I think this was the first or second Tom Ford quad I purchased; hence why it looks used haha. But it is special to me. This is how my obsession with this brand started.

I wanted to show you swatches of the quad and share my thoughts.

This quad features that classic mahogany and gold packaging. Inside, you will see four beautiful eyeshadows and will help create some amazing looks.

The eyeshadows consist of a shimmery champagne/beige, light golden taupe, cranberry/mauve, and a matte eggplant eyeshadow.

The way this quad was put together is really great. It combines shadows that will help create subtle day time looks and helps you transition from daytime glam to a sultry smokey eye.

This quad is for the person that love that versatility in a eyeshadow palette but that isn't all earthy neutral shades.

The purple, taupe, plum colors are suitable for so many people and different eye colors.

The texture of Tom Ford eyeshadows are unmatched. They are so smooth and really pigmented.

What is so nice about these shadows is that they work and blend so well together. They never look muddy, which I have had that problem with other eyeshadows from other brands before.

This quad was released in the Fall 2013 collection and from what I heard, it was limited edition but I see this displayed with the quads in the permanent range. So this could have been moved into the permanent range. Check online or at your local Tom Ford counter/retailer.

Hope you are all well and that you enjoyed this post.

Take care,
Bianca

Tom Ford Lip Color in #03 Casablanca - Swatch and Review

Well... I purchased my first lipstick from Tom Ford (from the permanent range). I have been eyeing this range since I first laid eyes on Tom Ford and I couldn't justify (at the time) spending almost $50 on ONE lipstick. I only took the plunge on this because I got my Ebates cash back check and well I knew what I wanted to do with it when I cashed it ;).

Some of the shades at my local Tom Ford counter were sold out but I was able to get my hands on one that I truly like. 

Tom Ford Casablanca Lip Color.

I seem to gravitate towards these kinds of colors... I don't know why. *maybe I'm in a constant state of Autumn/Winter* ~Thanks Seattle....~ haha.

Anyways, here are some pictures of the packaging and the bullet itself.

Casablanca is this berry toned, plum-y, mauve-y(?), pink shade. A horrible description on my part haha. Describing color is like describing fragrances...it's impossible haha.

Here is the official description of the color: reddened plum.

It is a cream finish, which is my favorite kind of favorite out there. And it has a slight shine to it.

I love how Tom Ford Lip Colors have the TF embossed at the top of the lipstick. It adds that touch of luxury to it's products. I personally love that little detail in makeup when brands do that.

Here is the swatch of the lipstick. On the left is one swipe of the lipstick and the right was swiped three times to build up color.

It is easy to build up to full opacity with this lipstick in particular and the color is so beautiful.

I wore this today and I applied it at around 8:30 AM. I drank my smoothie, coffee, was at work until 5, and was just busy all day. It wore on me, with slight fading, for an almost solid 6-7 hours.

I went to the restroom at 2 PM and I was amazed at how well it lasted through the drinking and just time passing by. I'm truly impressed with this lipstick and the lasting power of it.

I do realize that spending $48 on one lipstick is not everyone's cup o' tea but if you have money to splurge or looking to try a luxury lipstick. I think this range in general is one to look at. If you are on the fence, go in store or check out other beauty bloggers that have a more extensive Tom Ford collection for other views and swatches.

I hope you all enjoyed this review on the Casablanca Lip Color from Tom Ford. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them down below.

Hope you are all well,
Bianca :)

Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in No. 21 - Midnight Brown

This is my first Burberry eyeshadow and I'm in love. They are $29 a pop but in my opinion sooo worth it. You get a whopping 2.5 grams of eyeshadow! AKA it will last you a looong time.

I think this is a shadow that works for all skintones.

Pale/Fair: It can be a one shadow smokey eye or used as a liner.
Medium: a soft, daytime smokey eye or a great darker neutral to pair with lighter shades.
Dark: it will give you are very natural but stunning one shadow look.

This shadow works basically anywhere within your eye look and that is awesome.

The box it comes with is that classic Burberry beige with the silver/pewter wording. The box is made with a more sturdy material compared to other brands. Feels very luxurious in hand.

Inside the box, you will see the eyeshadow packaging with a velvet pouch. The pouch has an embossed/engraving/something that shows off the iconic Burberry pattern.

The packaging on these shades is very luxe and weight-y. It definitely has a weight to it when you hold it. All in all, it feels and looks like a designer makeup item.

When you open it, it comes with a sponge tip applicator and a protective sheet for the mirror.

The Burberry formula on these are so soft and so pigmented. Far from what the name of the eyeshadow suggests. It works so well with other shadows and an amazing one eyeshadow look product.

From what I have seen from this range, all the shadows vary from mattes, satins, and shimmery satins. You will not find any glitter or frost shades in the line. So if you are a huge fan of neutrals and non-frosty eye shadows, this eyeshadow line form Burberry is one to check out.

This eyeshadow is so stunning on its own. It's a warm brown with a sheen and reflects tiny gold particles. This shadow would make hazel and blue eyes just light up and bring them out in a beautiful way. But in general, this is a great "intro to Burberry" eyeshadow too if you are looking to pick up one.

I do plan on purchasing more of these, this is a fantastic range from Burberry and worth checking out. I have swatched almost all of them and every one across the board is smooth, pigmented, and very wearable. You can create some amazing, every day looks using the shadows from this line.

Have you tried any Burberry shadows? I'd love to know your favorites from the line and from the brand in general. 

Hope you enjoy this and hope you are all well.

Talk to you all soon,

Bianca

MASTER POST - Tom Ford Eye Color Quads

Hello hello,

I thought I would make a master post on all the Tom Ford quads I have posted about on my blog. This will be an easy reference for you if you are looking for a particular one. I will update this post as I purchase them and review them.

Here are the posts with clickable links!

Silvered Topaz
Cocoa Mirage
Sahara Haze
Titanium Smoke
Orchid Haze
Cognac Sable

Tag of Tom Ford on my blog for more on the brand: http://biancasmakeupblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Tom%20Ford

:)

It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty palette - swatches and thoughts

I'm not going to lie...I almost did not get this palette. I didn't want to give into the hype I've been seeing online but...I don't have an all matte palette with a variety of colors. And it Cosmetics had their F&F sale a few weeks back and I thought I would give it a try since it would be 25% off.

My opinion of this palette... it is like a B grade palette. The quality is there but it requires a lot of layering and patience packing on the color. Blending is seamless and easy. And it is easy to create a variety of looks.

I hate this fake suede textured packaging. It will get dirty and from what I have seen from other beauty bloggers is that the gold writing peels off. I like the structure, it reminds me off Naked 1 from UD.

It is quite beautiful when you open it up. I thought of this palette as your "not so typical" neutral eyeshadows.

Also, it has a reflective metallic gold with a decent sized mirror that I never use haha.

Ain't she pretty? ... Or should I say... Naturally pretty? ;) haha

What is really cool about this palette is that it has some huge pearlescent transforming shade that will make any of the matte shadows in this palette. Just in case your look is a little too matte.

Here are the shadows:

First, it is a lot of light, natural shades that can be used as highlight, transition, or blending out shades.

Second, we get into the darker, smokier shades. In my opinion, these shades are more neutral to cool toned (except for Java). Great for smokey eyes or deepening up the crease or outer v area of the lid.

Swatches:

My thoughts of the eyeshadow quality, just to reiterate, these are not insanely pigmented like Urban Decay, Tom Ford, or Laura Mercier with one swipe. I had to layer the heck out of these shades, especially the first half of the palette (lighter shades). This is a good and bad thing. You can build up them easily but it takes time. Unless you are cool with sheer washes of color for every day use, this might be for you. I am someone who takes my time with my eyeshadow looks so I don't mind having to continually layer until I get the desired pigmentation.

I do think this is a unique mix of neutral shades that would compliment any neutral palette you have in your collection. This was a huge selling point for me because I was hesitant for a while now and I have not purchased big palettes like this one since Naked 2 so I thought it would be okay to add this to my collection.

Long story short: I'm not in love with it but I don't hate it. I'm glad I have it for sure and it definitely helped that I did not pay full price haha. I just wish it would've blown my mind like some of the other palettes I have.

Well, what are your thoughts on this palette? Do you own it? On the fence? Or not going to get it? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

You can find it Cosmetics on their website and Ulta. Retails for $42 but you will most likely run into some deal with either site like 10, 20, or 25% off :).

Hope you are all well,
Bianca :)