Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid Nail Lacquer ($10.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “purple/gray” or “gravender” as Cult Nails calls it. It’s a light-medium grayish purple with sparse white shimmer that’s opaque in two coats. I’d say the closest shade I have to it is Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant, which is a few shades darker and less gray. Shades like Nubar Purple Aster and Zoya Marley are much lighter.
The formula is excellent–it wears really well without bubbling, chipping, or streaking. The lacquer applies evenly and flows well on the nail, and after a week, there is minimal tip wear. One of the best things about the brand is that you’re supporting an independent company and truly making someone’s dream come true–and when you have a great back story with a quality product? It doesn’t get any better.
My kind of Cool Aid is soft, wearable but not just a nude or beige--there's that purpleness to it that gives it an airiness. In two coats, it's opaque, and the formula is a dream to work with!
Product
10/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
5/5
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This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
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Benefit Dandy Brandy Eyeshadow ($18.00 for 0.11 oz.) is described as a “copper spice.” It’s a gorgeous shade of bronze-shimmered medium brown with copper-red undertones. The hue reminded me of Make Up For Ever #15 when it is sheered out (when it’s opaque, it’s much too bronze and deep). Bare Escentuals The Truth is also quite similar, perhaps a bit redder. Shades like MAC Make Your Mark and MAC Buckwheat are noticeably darker.
Brandy Dandy has strong warm undertones, but paired with cool grays, taupes, or blues, could work on cooler complexions. Dandy Brandy pairs well with Fawn Over Me or Bikini Line for a quick and easy look of light/dark contrast with a lot of underlying warmth. It’s a good staple shade for those who love warm browns, but it’s certainly a shade that many brands have, so check your stash first for similarities.
Benefit recommends sweeping it on over bare lids for sheer color and layered over their cream eyeshadow for richer color. The super soft texture of the finely-milled powder makes it effortless to blend to a soft wash, but it doesn’t require building to get opaque color (see the swatch!) either. The Velvet Eyeshadows have a dense quality to them, and combined with their softness, makes them feel buttery and almost creamy (but they’re powder, I promise!). I’ve been a fan of Benefit’s eyeshadows for years now, and for those seeking softer shades overall, I recommend checking out the range. As a bonus, each eyeshadow is double the size of your average eyeshadow!
There are only things to love and like about this product--I have no complaints! I could not think of any criticism for the formula; the only thing I could point out is that it may not be the most original shade, so whether it's a must-have merely depends on what you already own!
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!
Guerlain Habit Rouge (123) Rouge Automatique Lipstick ($35.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a vibrant orange-toned red with a subtle sheen. It delivers full color coverage in one pass, and because of the intensity of the red, it wears for eight hours and still looks good. The orange undertones in this shade are subtle, though, but they are distinctly there. Clarins Red Prodige is more orange, less deep. Make Up For Ever #44 is just a touch more neutral. CoverGirl Hot is similar but more vibrant. Chanel Excessive is also more orange and vibrant. Chanel Gabrielle is brighter and more orange.
Rouge Automatique is very comparable to the Rouge G formula, and the differences are minute, though they are there. This is an excellent formula regardless of that comparison, though, because it’s creamy enough to glide on but not so creamy that the color slips around, comfortable to wear, and keeps lips feeling hydrated, too. For more packaging photos, please see this post. My lips are always happy when a Rouge Automatique is on the swatching docket!
Rouge Automatique is a top-notch formula, because the creaminess of the texture enables it to glide on, making for an easy application, but it's lightweight and never slippery, so it stays on and wears for hours.
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!
Guerlain Coque d’Or (120) Rouge Automatique ($35.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a vibrant coral-red with gold and copper micro-shimmer. It’s mostly opaque on lips, but you can see my lip freckle peeking through–from afar, it appears more opaque. I can see this working really well in the summer–so good thing this is part of the permanent range. This particular formula is supposed to be semi-opaque to opaque in color, so Coque d’Or is right on target.
CoverGirl Enthrall is more like a red-orange (at best, orange-coral). MAC Hibiscus is more of an orange-coral (but not red like Enthrall). Guerlain Bal de Mai is almost like a more muted version of this, actually! Chanel Flamboyante is not as dark and doesn’t have the gold shimmer, but the color is similar. MAC Rose Maiden has a frostier finish and isn’t as dark, but it is also similar.
Rouge Automatique is very comparable to the Rouge G formula, and the differences are minute, though they are there. This is an excellent formula regardless of that comparison, though, because it’s creamy enough to glide on but not so creamy that the color slips around, comfortable to wear for the six hours this shade wears, and keeps lips feeling hydrated, too. For more packaging photos, please see this post.
Rouge Automatique is a top-notch formula, because the creaminess of the texture enables it to glide on, making for an easy application, but it's lightweight and never slippery, so it stays on and wears for hours.
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!
The One that Got Away: Giorgio Armani #14 Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow
With Giorgio Armani #14 Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow (€36.50 for 0.14 oz.) in my hot hands, my collection of Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadows is now complete. Major thanks to Amira for offering to ship me one from Sephora France. FRANCE. If you haven’t bought anything in Euros lately, let me say I just shelled out $64 for a product that costs $32 here in the states. Talk about you snooze, you lose! This shade came out last holiday season, which was before I discovered the awesomeness in a pot that is Eyes to Kill Intense. I took one look at photos online, and I knew I had to have it. It’s ANTIQUE GOLD. It’s so me!
It looks more like gold in the pot, sprinkled over black, but the black gives it this beautiful antique gold hue, and when it’s used dry, it almost has a slight green tint. It’s super, super sparkly. I spent all day yesterday continually admiring it over and over again, because it really dazzles. Kind of like Chanel Glossimer or MAC Dazzleglass… but on eyes. The best part about this is there’s no residual fall out during the day like more glittery products often are, because this doesn’t feel like a glitter (it’s very soft and smooth) but has that look. It’s pretty opaque when applied dry, but when it’s applied damp, it takes on a much more metallic characteristic with a deeper color.
Out of all these gold eyeshadows, the closest one is actually Giorgio Armani #6, which is darker and much warmer (they’re not dupes). Urban Decay Maui Wowie is much lighter. Bare Escentuals Spectacular is warmer, more olive green. I think it actually would compare well with MAC Rye, which I have three or four of, because it was so my shade when it came out (it was limited edition, of course).
I’ve reviewed this formula several times (sixteen, to be exact!), and I’m continually impressed by its claims. I’ve worn it up to twenty-four hours with no fading, fall out, or creasing–and that is without a base. Yes, really, twenty-four hours. I had to do it eventually, you know, test their really ridiculous twenty-four hour claim even though I was so, so loathe to wear makeup to bed. I felt like I was going against all that was good in beauty.
What lengths (or prices) have you gone to for that one product you just had to have? Share your stories in the comments!
If you can get your hands on it, #14 was definitely worth the money, but hopefully this helps some of you who still have access to this particular shade! And if I'm really lucky, Giorgio Armani will repromote it someday. The quality of the Eyes to Kill Intense line is phenomenal, and c'mon, twenty-four hour wear? That is bananas!.
Product
10/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
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!
Tarina Tarantino Delightful Jewel Eyeshadow Palette
Tarina Tarantino Delightful Jewel Eyeshadow Palette
Tarina Tarantino Delightful Jewel Eyeshadow Palette ($32.00 for 0.32 oz.) is a cooler toned set of more neutral shades. I think we could hedge and say it’s more neutral-cool than really, truly cool-toned. The formula is designed to have intense color payoff, and the eyeshadows are long-wearing and can be used wet or dry (always good to know–more brands should note this!).
I reviewed Dreamy initially, which I was really digging, and I like this one a lot, too–it’s not my personal favorite just by preference, but the quality is lovely and lives up to my readjusted expectations for Tarina Tarantino’s beauty line. I think Sephora is doing these palettes an injustice by not even taking the time to describe each palette’s colors! You just get this ridiculously tiny photo of the palette, but I think with a smaller brand like this, more would be better. I noticed this mostly because I like to start off each review with the brand’s official description of the shade as well as the formula. It helps me to breakdown what I should be looking for and hit on in the review.
The top shade in the palette is a cool-toned medium-dark brown with a frosted finish; it’s almost taupe, but I don’t think it has quite enough gray tint to make it a true taupe. The pigmentation is excellent, and the texture is dense, buttery, and applies smoothly. It’s much lighter than the taupe-ish shade in Dreamy (just because at first glance, they seem similar). It’s a little darker than MAC Magical Mist, cooler-toned and less red-based than Urban Decay Wreckage, and it’s just a touch cooler-toned compared to Bare Escentuals A-Ha.
On the left, there is a bright, frosted gold-tinged white. It’s almost too light to call it a white gold. It has good color payoff and applies smoothly. It is extremely similar to the white gold shade in Dreamy, but it’s also similar to several other shades, including theBalm Envious Erin, theBalm Tempting Tara, Urban Decay Zephyr, and Bare Escentuals Breathtaking. It’s the warmest shade in the palette and definitely not neutral or cool-toned.
In the middle, there is a pale neutral pink with a white frost finish. The payoff is decent but could be better here (think 8/10); it’s not as intense as the other shades in the palette. MAC Fresh Ice is cooler-toned, almost lilac in comparison, while Bare Escentuals Muse is similar but less frosted and more opaque.
On the right, there is a barely warmed golden peach with a metallic finish. It’s smooth and soft, while the pigmentation is good. Inglot #330 reminded me most in terms of color, but it has a matte finish. I couldn’t think of anything else that was similar, though.
The last shade, on the bottom, is a slightly cool-toned dark brown with this slightly warm undertone peeking through. It’s interesting, because the sheen on this looks gray tinted, but the edging has a warmer tone to it. The texture is almost matte, kind of like half-matte, half-satin; and the color payoff is nice. It’s a bit grayer and lighter than MAC Charcoal Brown. MAC Double Feature 3 is a bit closer but not quite.
Looking at the general range, I think they could have made one or two of these colors more cool-toned, because then they’d have a genuinely cool-toned but fairly neutral palette to offer. This palette will work well universally, though, because it’s a mix of cool and warm but for the most part, nothing leans too far in either direction. The color payoff was good on all the shades except the center shade, which was so-so–better than average but not as good as the others. I tested out this palette without a primer (just used three shades on one eye), and it made it to eight hours without creasing or fading, but it had very subtle creasing after ten.
Looking at the general range, I think they could have made one or two of these colors more cool-toned, because then they'd have a genuinely cool-toned but fairly neutral palette to offer. This palette will work well universally, though, because it's a mix of cool and warm but for the most part, nothing leans too far in either direction. The color payoff was good on all the shades except the center shade, which was so-so--better than average but not as good as the others.
Product
10/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
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!
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