The Star Treatment is Packed with Value and Quality
bareMinerals The Star Treatment Eyeshadow Palette ($40.00 for 0.28 oz.) includes eight eyeshadows: VIP (gold flecked black), Connoisseur (golden copper), Carte Blanche (icy ivory), Ritzy (shimmering cocoa), Kudos (golden gray), Bragging Rights (shimmering rose gold), Elitist (glistening olive), and Extravagance (golden glow). It also includes a 0.05 oz. (half the size of the full-sized version) of Prime Time Eye Primer.
Each eyeshadow is 0.035 oz., as compared to the average full-sized eyeshadow, which is 0.05 oz. (and bareMinerals’ Ready eyeshadows in the duos and quads are 0.05 oz.). In duos, they’re $20/0.10 oz.; quads are $30/0.17 oz., and 8-pan palettes are $40/0.28 oz.–which breaks out to $200/oz., $176/oz., and $143/oz. I love that they give you a little more as you buy larger palettes. Just to put those prices in context, MAC single eyeshadows are $300/oz., while their duos are $275/oz. and quads are $210/oz.
Connoisseur is a deep, molten golden-copper. This shade was insanely pigmented; so smooth, buttery, and densely packed with color. bareMinerals Pret-a-Porter is lighter. Inglot #404 is lighter, less coppery. Inglot #430 is yellower, lighter. Dior Aurora is lighter, more orange. While not at all similar in color, MAC Campfire had a similar molten, metallic look and feel.
Carte Blanche is a cool-toned white with a golden shimmer-sheen, which gives it a mostly warm-toned appearance. It had great color payoff and applied very smoothly and evenly. Make Up For Ever #101 is very similar. Bare Minerals One Hit Wonder is less warm-toned–the color is more like the base color without the sheen. Tarina Tarantino Wonderful is warmer, yellower.
Kudos is a pale beige-brown with an olive green shimmer-sheen. It has a really subtle, but cool, duochrome. I was like, “ooh! look!” when I initially swatched it. The first thing it reminded me was Illamasqua Bacterium, which is a nail polish. MAC Jaunty is a bit lighter, no duochrome. Becca Quartz is similar in color without the green sheen. Giorgio Armani #1 Madreperla is similar (again, no sheen).
Bragging Rights is a medium-dark orange-copper with a frosted sheen. The color payoff was nice, while the texture was soft and smooth. Guerlain Calligraphy is a bit more orange and not as coppery. Tarina Tarantino Dreamy is darker. NARS Isolde is similar, a bit darker.
Elitist is a subdued khaki brown with a satiny shimmer-sheen. It had good color payoff and was very, very smooth. This is one of the “cooler” shades in the palette, though it is still on the warm side. MAC Soba is similar but more matte. theBalm Schitoz is more golden. Giorgio Armani #26 is similar–a bit browner. Dior Golden Savannah is warmer, lighter.
Extravagance is a frosted orange-gold. This shade was really soft and buttery in one sense, but it was almost so soft that it became a bit crumbly. This was the only shade I had any problems with; the color payoff was fantastic, but it did have extra fall out during application. Guerlain Turandot is more orange. Milani Gold Dust is noticeably more orange. MAC Sweet & Sour is yellower. Le Metier de Beaute Goldstone is darker, more orange.
There was only one miss, which was Extravagance, and it’s mostly problematic during application, because it had a fair amount of fall out while you apply it. I recommend lightly tapping off excess product before applying it to the lid and then patting, rather than sweeping, it on to minimize fall out. I didn’t have trouble with fall out during wear, so after cleaning up initially, I didn’t have to worry about it. Worth noting and an area for improvement, but it’s a minor infraction.
If you like your colors warm-toned, fairly neutral, and shimmery, this is your palette from start to finish. When I tested out the palette for wear, they wore like iron–full ten hours without fading or creasing without a primer (with a primer, I had the same results). I wish there was one or two more matte finishes in the palette, though, and overall, the palette is a bit dupeable, depending on your stash of course.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
bareMinerals The September Issue Eyeshadow Palette
The September Issue is Packed with Value and Quality
bareMinerals The September Issue Eyeshadow Palette ($40.00 for 0.28 oz.) includes eight eyeshadows: Couture (glimmering clove), Silhouette (antique white), Statement (vibrant orchid), Pret-a-Porter (sunbaked gold), Tres Chic (apricot cream), Editor’s Pick (metallic teal), Glitterati (shimmering pink), and Ensemble (deepest eggplant).
Each eyeshadow is 0.035 oz., as compared to the average full-sized eyeshadow, which is 0.05 oz. (and bareMinerals’ Ready eyeshadows in the duos and quads are 0.05 oz.). In duos, they’re $20/0.10 oz.; quads are $30/0.17 oz., and 8-pan palettes are $40/0.28 oz.–which breaks out to $200/oz., $176/oz., and $143/oz. I love that they give you a little more as you buy larger palettes. Just to put those prices in context, MAC single eyeshadows are $300/oz., while their duos are $275/oz. and quads are $210/oz.
Statement is a fuchsia-magenta with a matte finish. It is a smidgen powdery, but it has good color payoff and does apply evenly and smoothly on the eye. MAC Infra-violet is pinker, lighter, and has shimmer. Sugarpill 2AM is similar but has very, very fine shimmer. Bobbi Brown Ultra Violet is a touch more purple. Urban Decay Purple Haze is more purple. Urban Decay Fishnet is shimmery and iridescent.
Pret-a-Porter is a molten honey gold with strong yellow undertones and a frosted finish. It had excellent color payoff, and it was a cinch to work with: super smooth and soft. OCC Triptych is yellower, less orange-toned, and has a metallic finish. Urban Decay Honey is less orange-toned. NARS Paramaribo is more antique-y. Inglot #404 is less yellow.
Glitterati is a light pink with a golden shimmer-sheen. It had good pigmentation, and it applied very smoothly. MAC radial Pink is lighter, less golden. Chanel Harmonie du Soir is darker, no golden sheen. MAC Invicible Light is a yellower pink without the golden sheen.
Ensemble is a dark burgundy-brown with a matte finish. This shade swatched unevenly, but applied to the eye, it performed better. It was very pigmented, so a little goes a long way. The texture was slightly powdery. theBalm Presto is similiar but warmer. Tarina Tarantino Saw Dust Heart is darker, blacker. MAC Midnight Flurry is comparable in color. MAC Embark is redder, warmer. Inglot #378 is similar.
Quite honestly, bareMinerals’ Ready range is an eyeshadow formula I could use and use exclusively and not feel like I was missing out. It is a truly excellent formula with a wide range of colors and finishes. They are consistently top notch in quality, but I love that they really reach across the spectrum of color. You have pops of color plus a strong neutral range. I’ve been a huge fan of the Ready eyeshadow range since it debuted, and I continue to be impressed by the recent releases.
The September Issue is a Sephora-exclusive, and it’s an interesting mix of colors, from color to neutral and warm to cool shades. There were two shades (Statement and Ensemble) that were a bit powdery, though they were both very soft, finely-milled mattes. The other six shades performed incredibly well. I wore several of the shades in a look, and I had no problems getting a full eight hours of wear without creasing or fading without a primer.
It's a fantastic palette from start to finish with a good selection of colors and neutrals. It's not warm or cool-toned, so it should work well across skin tones.
Product
9.5/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
Texture
9.5/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
4.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Cinderella Midnight Hour Eyeshadow Palette ($30.00 for 0.196 oz.) consists of four eyeshadows and is part of a limited edition collaboration collection between Sephora and Disney. The shades are described as “pearl shimmer,” “champagne nude,” “grey pearl,” and “charcoal shimmer glitter.”
The first shade is a bright white with a very subtle gray tinge. It has a high-frost finish that’s almost metallic. The texture was soft, buttery, and yielded good color payoff. Maybelline Too Cool is very similar. theBalm Sassy is also close. MAC Forgery is a bit grayer. Inglot #453 is more metallic.
The last shade is a dark gray that turns rather brown when I swatched it. It was dry, a bit stiff, and had the least color payoff of the four–a little sheer and uneven. MAC Moody is darker. Urban Decay Black Market is much darker.
I like the palette, and certainly, it performed better than I anticipated (but I was, admittedly, rather cynical when I approached this collection), but it didn’t knock it out of the park like the larger eyeshadow palette did. This set of shades is interesting, and I will say that the warmer beige/peach shade is an odd choice. I didn’t feel like it complemented the other three cooler-toned shades. Perhaps it could have used a silvery-blue or really inky black. When I wore the shades, they lasted almost eight hours over a primer, and without a primer, there was noticeable fading after eight hours.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Too Faced Shadow Bon Bons Eyeshadow Palette ($42.00) includes Shadow Insurance Candlelight Eyeshadow Primer (0.17 oz.), full-sized Lashgasm Mascara (0.40 oz.), and twelve eyeshadows: Vanilla (matte bone), Cut the Cake (heathered mist), Framboise (no description), Coffee Bean (matte coffee), Peach Fuzz (peachy gold), Hot Cocoa (chocolate), Candy Rose (pink sparkle), Lovey Dovey (sable brown), Nude Beach (nude peach), Cinnamon Sugar (no description), Marzipan (no description), and Licorice Latte (black with bronze sparkle). Each eyeshadow is 0.03 oz. for a total of 0.36 oz. of eyeshadow.
Vanilla is a pale ivory with a matte finish. It had good color payoff with a soft, finely-milled texture that wasn’t powdery. MAC Laundry Daze has more shimmer. Bobbi Brown Ivory is similar. Inglot #351 is a bit cooler-toned.
Cut the Cake is a soft lavender with a hint of cool undertones. The pigmentation was nice, and the texture was smooth and blendable. MAC Creative Whim is pinker and darker. OCC Datura is more iridescent. MAC Dynamic Duo 2 is similar. theBalm Curtain Call is pinker.
Coffee Bean is a cool-toned gray-brown (but I wouldn’t call it taupe). The more you blend it, the browner it becomes. It had good color payoff, though it was a bit stiff in texture. MAC Bad Lieutenant is similar in color. Urban Decay Back Door is very similar. MAC Dance in the Dark is a little more red-brown.
Peach Fuzz is a pink-tinged peach with golden sparkle. The golden sparkle doesn’t bind well with the pink base color, so it tends to blend away as fall out on the eye. It had good pigmentation but was slightly powdery. Urban Decay Walk of Shame is more beige and has no sparkle. Buxom Cocker Spaniel is lighter.
Hot Cocoa is a medium brown with a champagne sheen and golden orange tones. The pigmentation was nice, and the texture was easy to work with. MAC Magical Mist is a bit less red-toned. NARS Flowers 3 is warmer and has less of a sheen. Urban Decay YDK is richer.
Candy Rose is a light-medium pink with yellow undertones and a matte finish. It has silver sparkle that you can see in the pan, but it dusts away very quickly and doesn’t bind with the color itself. This shade had nice color payoff and a soft, just barely powdery, texture.
Lovey Dovey is a medium-dark bronze brown with orange undertones and a soft, frosted finish. It had good pigmentation, and it applied smoothly. MAC Mulch is very similar. MAC Electric Coil is more coppered. Dior Aurora is more subdued. Buxom Golden Retriever is similar.
Nude Beach is a golden beige with gold micro-glitter. This shade was sheer, and it was the sheerest of the twelve. I did have problems with fall out from the micro-glitter both during application and while I wore it. Cinderella Charming is similar without the glitter. Dior Couture Gold is slightly paler.
Cinnamon Sugar is a golden, light-medium bronze-brown with a metallic finish. The color payoff was nice, and the texture was soft, smooth, and blendable. Urban Decay Chase is darker, richer. Buxom Mutt is browner, less golden. Urban Decay Suspect is a smidgen darker.
Marzipan is a light-medium orange-brown with a mostly matte finish. It had so-so pigmentation, and it was a little stiff to work with, but it was still blendable. Inglot #337 is darker. MAC Moleskin is darker and browner. Chanel Beige Lame is less orange, browner, and has shimmer/sparkle.
Overall, Bon Bons is a solid eyeshadow palette, and at $42, it’s more than worth a peek. It’s a mostly neutral palette with a few purples/pinks thrown in. I like that they have a variety of finishes from matte to satins to frosts. The only shade I didn’t care for was Nude Beach, because it was sheer and had fall out throughout the day. The mascara lengthened well without clumping and did not flake on me–if you need any thickening and volumizing, this isn’t the right mascara. Some of the more matte shades leaned on the powdery side, but none of the shades were really powdery to a point where it was detrimental to application. When I tested out the wear of the eyeshadows, they wore eight hours without fading or creasing over the Candlelight base, and without any base, there was some minor but noticeable fading after eight hours.
The palette is an excellent value, even for the eyeshadows alone, but you also get an eyeshadow primer and full-sized mascara to complete the look. I like that both of those things fit inside the palette, since they’re of substantial enough size that they’ll last longer than few uses. You could always put in a gloss or eyeliner in those slots, too, as time went on.
This is a good palette option for someone who enjoys warm-toned neutrals! There are a few pops of color but nothing too bold or bright, so there are ways to switch it up that won't be intimidating.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
8.5/10
Application
4.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Guerlain Calligraphy Eye & Lip Palette ($79.00 for 0.35 oz.) consists of three eyeshadows, one eyeshadow/eyeliner (can be used wet or dry), two lipsticks, and two dual-ended brushes. The palette contains 0.19 oz. worth of eyeshadow and 0.16 oz. worth of lipstick. It’s almost the equivalent of four full-sized eyeshadows (average is 0.05 oz.) and about one and a half lipsticks (average is 0.10 oz.).
Below, the second shade is a light-medium copper orange with a frosted finish. It had excellent pigmentation with a soft, finely-milled texture that went on smoothly. Urban Decay Penny Lane is lighter, less orange. MAC Lantern Light has more red tones. MAC Chessa is more orange.
The third shade is a subdued taupe–a very gray-tinted brown–with a dark champagne shimmer-sheen. It had good color payoff, and the texture was soft, smooth, and easy to apply to the lid. NARS Vent Glace is lighter. theBalm Selfish is darker, grayer. Wet ‘n’ Wild Comfort Zone is lighter.
The fourth shade is a dark black with a hint of brown. This shade can actually be used wet or dry. It has a matte finish, and it actually delivered quite a bit of color payoff–it was finely-milled and soft, but it was dry in a sense. It didn’t have a really soft, buttery feel, so there was no powderiness yet nice pigmentation. Estee Lauder Violet Underground has a similar colored black. Le Metier de Beaute Fin is darker, richer.
The first lipstick is a blue-based, medium red with a fair amount of brightness and a satiny finish–a little sheen and pearl but not frosted. It was rich in color, and it wore for seven hours, plus left a stain behind. Dior Marilyn is a smidgen darker. NARS Dragon Girl is more matte. NYX Chic Red is a touch darker.
The second lipstick is an orange-red–very tomato red–with a satiny sheen. It is also fully opaque on lips and wore for six and a half hours. There was a light stain left behind. Chanel Coromandel is more orange. Guerlani Genna is a little more orange-hued. Chanel Excessive is a smidgen brighter.
Overall, it’s a very fine palette; well-made with a sleek, glossy black packaging and includes high-quality eyeshadows and lipsticks that wear well. I think the shades are more dupeable than not, but they’re all really good. I didn’t have issues with any of them! When I wore the eyeshadows together, they lasted for eight hours without a primer and had no signs of creasing or fading. The lipsticks both wore for over six hours (not a total surprise–they are reds!) and weren’t drying.
Overall, it's a very fine palette; well-made with a sleek, glossy black packaging and includes high-quality eyeshadows and lipsticks that wear well. I think the shades are more dupeable than not, but they're all really good.
Product
10/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Wet ‘n’ Wild Shimmer the Night Away Eyeshadow Palette
A Cool-Toned Holiday Palette
Wet ‘n’ Wild Shimmer the Night Away Eyeshadow Palette ($4.99 for 0.30 oz.) contains eight eyeshadows; one column is a gradient of white to black, while the second column features cool-toned colors in pink, purple, and blue. I bought mine from my local CVS, which only had two of the palette in stock, and it is limited edition.
The white shade is a pale, icy white with a soft frosted finish. It had good color payoff, and it had a soft, blendable texture. MAC Crystal Avalanche has more frost in its finish. theBalm Sassy has more frost and is less icy. Bare Escentuals Cheers is similar but whiter–starker in a way.
The gray shade is a light-medium gray with a soft, metallic finish with a touch of silver sheen. It had so-so color payoff, but the texture was soft and finely-milled. MAC Evening Grey is darker. Guerlain Les Gris has a shade that is barely darker. Giorgio Armani #22 is more metallic. MAC Electra has a smoother finish–more of a sheen.
The dark gray shade is a soft, dark black with subtle brow undertones and a matte finish. It had decent color payoff when swatched, but it performed better on the eye. It is comparable in color to black eyeshadows such as MAC Carbon, NARS Self Portrait 1, and Illamasqua Obsidian.
The black shade is a deep, dark black with a sprinkle of teal micro-shimmer–you don’t really see the shimmer show up on the eye, so it ends up looking mostly matte. It had good pigmentation and was very blendable, which is exactly what you need when you work with such a dark black. Giorgio Armani #1 is more matte, slightly warmer. Le Metier de Beaute is darker, warmer. Milani Pitch Black is very comparable, as is MAC Dark Dare.
The lilac shade is a soft, pink-lilac with a golden shimmer-sheen. This was the “warmest” shade out of the eight. The base color is cool-toned, but the golden sheen brings in some warmth. It was true-to-pan in color, though it is a lighter shade. The texture was very soft but a smidgen powdery. MAC Creative Whim is more purple. Dolce & Gabbana Jewels is similar but doesn’t have any golden shimmer.
The fuchsia shade is a fuchsia-magenta with an iridescent purple shimmer-sheen. It had decent color payoff, but it was the least pigmented in the palette–the texture was kind of crumbly, where the powder just didn’t bind together well. MAC Stylishly Merry is darker. Urban Decay Fishnet is very close in color. MAC Stars ‘n’ Rockets is also similar.
The purple shade is a medium, cool-toned purple with a soft frosted finish. It had decent to good pigmentation, and it performed a bit better on the eye. Wet ‘n’ Wild Dancing in the Clouds has a similar shade that’s a bit cooler-toned. MAC Violet is darker, richer in color–less subdued. MAC Beautiful Iris is similar, a little more blue-based.
The blue shade is a medium-dark blue with a satiny sheen. There is a very subtle violet edge to this that keeps it from being true blue. It had good color payoff, and the texture was soft and smooth without being powdery. MAC Switch to Blue is bluer. Sugarpill Velocity is brighter. Tarina Tarantino Violet Storm is similar but brighter, more shimmery. MAC Atlantic Blue is darker, more vibrant, and matte.
When I was testing this palette, the only shade I had real trouble with was the fuchsia shade, because it didn’t bind together well, so there was a lot of fall out to clean-up during application, and I really had to pack it on. It was the kind of shade that you’d apply, move on, and then it would look faded before you finished the rest of your look! Wet ‘n’ Wild’s eyeshadows in this palette have a soft, dense texture that can be a smidgen powdery for the more matte-finished shades. The pigmentation was good overall, with some shades coming in just under, and a couple going above. I noticed slight fading after wearing this palette for eight hours with a base; the slight fading was apparent after seven hours when worn without a base.
P.S. — I’d love to see the palettes have names for each eyeshadow! I thought it’d be fun to try and name them, so here are mine (I’d LOVE to hear yours!): Snow Fairy, Winter’s Edge, Stormy Wind, Knight of the Vale / Morning Glory, Treasured, Icy Delights, Skyline.
The color combination is great, and I like that there is some variety in the finishes--frosts, satins, and mattes. It is a good palette overall, and for most, the major miss (fuchsia) can be overlooked at the $3.99 price point. That blue on the bottom is worth the $3.99 alone--stunning and harder to come by.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
8.5/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
8/10
Application
4.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Local drugstores (I found mine at CVS)
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
