Of the seven shades (Let Me Pop! wasn’t available for purchase when I bought these, but since there wasn’t a noticeable difference between these and when they originally debuted, you can see a swatch here), Vintage Selection was by far the best performer. It was nicely pigmented, incredibly blendable, and applied beautifully–smoothly, evenly, and wore all day long without fading or creasing. This is the kind of consistency and quality that made Paint Pots my go-to base for years (and more to the point, what made them so popular when they originally debuted). It’s creamy with just the right amount of slip to make for quick and easy blending and application, but it still dries down and sets without ever gathering in the creases.
FYI: the ingredient list for the Pro Longwear Paint Pots is the same as for the regular Paint Pots when I compared against the list for Bare Study/Constructivist! It’s off by one ingredient when compared to the Paint Pots from Posh Paradise.
This is the kind of consistency and quality that made Paint Pots my go-to base for years (and more to the point, what made them so popular when they originally debuted).
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.
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Estee Lauder Insatiable Nail Lacquer ($20.00 for 0.30 fl. oz.) is a muted, gray-purple with a cream finish. Zoya Lotus is warmer, pinker, and has shimmer. Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid is much, much lighter and has sparkle. Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant is lighter, less gray. None of these, however, were close enough to be considered dupes–I just wanted to walk you through the potentials I considered but nothing came close. (I heartily invite you to chime in if you know of a dupe!)
I always love it when I come across a shade that I don’t quite have (and that’s not to say there aren’t dupes in existence, merely that I don’t know of any and hopefully, that means it is at the very least not easily duped!). It’s a very stormy, cool-toned, rainy-day kind of purple, which is why it’s a bit different from other shades. It doesn’t have strong pink or red in its base, and when it comes to muted purples, the ones I’ve swatched have had more obvious pink/red underpinnings. Insatiable was opaque in two coats, and the consistency wasn’t too thick or too thin. It applied evenly, fluidly, and didn’t bubble, streak, or pool along the edges. I typically get a full week out of Estee Lauder’s lacquer formula and only have very minor tip wear. I only wish the bottle contained more product–it seems large but the container itself is deceptively small.
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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The new Pure Color Stay-on Shadow Paint formula is supposed to wear for 12-hours crease-free, fade-proof, and have “maximized color impact … magnified vibrancy.” Halo applied smoothly, evenly, and opaquely without having to load the brush with product or layer a ton of product on. The dry down time seemed about average; not so quick that you have no time to work with the product, but not so slow that it gathers in the crease if you don’t give it enough time to set. Once it dries down, it’s set for the whole day. It didn’t crease or fade over a 12-hour period. The texture was really nice, too, because it has a thin but very creamy feel.
P.S. — I have a few more shades to review, and I haven’t tested all of them yet, and while Halo is one of the best of the bunch, some of the others I did have some issues with. The line has seemed inconsistent to me so far, so I wanted to give readers a heads up that if you’re waffling over other shades, I have more reviews to come!
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!
This shade is rich, rich, and rich. The color payoff was intense and so saturated; very true-to-pan, and a little goes a long way. It’s one of the most pigmented eyeshadows I’ve tested by NARS. It’s also soft, finely-milled, and applies smoothly without being powdery. For as pigmented as it is, it still blends beautifully. The texture is a great balance of soft and dense, so I ended up having no trouble blending it with other shades. I will say that use less than you think you need, because it is incredibly pigmented. I tested it when I wore the other two eyeshadow duos in this launch, and it was the best performing out of all the eyeshadows–it was still fully intact after ten hours of wear.
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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This shade is fully opaque after two coats, but it was nearly solid in a single pass of polish! The consistency was fantastic; not too thick or too thin, but very easy to maneuver and flowed evenly across the nail. It’s not a particularly unique shade, but it is a great color to have in your stash, so if you haven’t found one like it that you love, this is a budget-friendly version that is quality all around. I typically get a full seven days (I’ve tested a few shades up to ten days with minor tip wear) of wear with very, very minor tip wear with L’Oreal’s formula. It’s one of the longer-wearing formulas I’ve come across.
It's not a particularly unique shade, but it is a great color to have in your stash, so if you haven't found one like it that you love, this is a budget-friendly version that is quality all around.
Product
10/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
9.5/10
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 Mythic Meteorites Voyage Powder ($55.00/$170.00 for 0.26 oz.) consists of a “blend of matte and pearly shades … mixture of six correcting or light-enhancing colors to deliver the purest radiance.” When blended and applied together, they create a pale pink powder with subtle shimmer/sparkle. Chantecaille Les Petales de Rose is more shimmery with a warmer golden sheen. MAC Lightscapade is more shimmery. MAC Light Sunshine has a bit more of a sheen and powderiness to it.
So, after discovering the majesty of Wulong over the holiday season, I knew I had to see whether the always-available Mythic was similar/comparable (because Wulong is limited edition, and while you can refill the compact, it would have to be with Mythic). One of the reasons I wanted to find out about their similarities is because you can purchase the pan without the compact–the pan will run you $55, whereas the whole kit ‘n’ caboodle with cost you $170.
Initially, I thought, “This is going to be different,” but as is the nature of the product, no, not really (and that’s not a bad thing). What I noticed more with Mythic is that it’ll be a better mattifying product, because it has more of a matte, powdered base color with a very subtle sheen and a dusting of delicate micro-shimmer. Wulong reads slightly more as a barely-there sheen with less of a mattifying texture. In the pan, Mythic appears cooler-toned, but on, I don’t notice any coolness at all, because it is designed to be a transparent finishing powder over all else. For those who couldn’t bear the price of Wulong, if you have an existing compact or an empty palette to store it in, Mythic is something worth checking out instead. I measured, and the diameter of the pan appears to be 55mm.
Guerlain’s Meteorites Voyage Powders are really a pressed version of their famous Meteorite with less emphasis on shimmer, more on radiance, brightening, and creating an illusion of better skin. That’s really what these powders do for me: give me the effect of Photoshop in real life. They’re a subtle something-rather that no one can point to and say, “Oh, nice highlighter!’ but instead say, “Hey, are you doing something different with your skin today?” As a finishing powder, it’s the very last step in the routine, right after setting powder, but honestly, I regularly use this (and Wulong) as both my setting and finishing powder–I have normal-to-dry skin, so I imagine that’s part of why I can get away with it–but I have noticed it still extends the wear of my base makeup by about an hour.
This is the kind of product that either makes it into your everyday routine or you’ll never understand how anyone on earth could shell out money for something they can’t (or barely) see. It’s okay to feel either way; what’s most important is that you enjoy your makeup. I’ve used either this or Wulong since getting Wulong (and prior to that, I was using Guerlain’s Illuminating & Mattifying Pressed Powder, which is also a worthwhile alternative), but I have been using this specifically for the past two weeks. For me, it is absolutely part of my everyday routine. If you asked me to choose, I would say Wulong–but that is because it is limited edition, because I like the look of the compact, and I’m just a little warm.
This is the kind of product that either makes it into your everyday routine or you'll never understand how anyone on earth could shell out money for something they can't (or barely) see. It's okay to feel either way; what's most important is that you enjoy your makeup.
Product
10/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
5/5
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!
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!
