Hourglass Exhibition Eyeshadow Duo
Hourglass Exhibition Eyeshadow Duo
Hourglass Exhibition Visionaire Eyeshadow Duo
($38.00 for 0.20 oz.) contains a grayish plum mauve with a frost-metallic finish and a blackened burgundy eggplant with a frost-metallic sheen. Hourglass’ Eyeshadow Duos are such an underrated and under-appreciated product–the quality is absolutely phenomenal and the shades are infinitely flattering.
Selfishly, I wish they had about a dozen more duos, because their eyeshadows are easily some of the best I’ve come across–and better yet, the quality is fantastic across the range. There are no duds in their duo line-up. Soft, smooth as silk, and buttery texture paired with intense color pigmentation that glides on, blends effortlessly, and can be used wet or dry.
The $38 may seem steep, but don’t let it fool you: there are two full-sized (actually, more than that) eyeshadows inside. Each eyeshadow is 0.10 oz., which is double the average full-sized eyeshadow, for a total of 0.20 oz. The packaging is also this pewter bronze with a swivel top that reveals a mirror inside along with a pint-sized brush (with real bristles) that’s usable and not scratchy.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 
- Product: 30/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 5/5
FINAL THOUGHTS: Hourglass as a brand is underrated, but their eyeshadows are easily my favorite product from the brand. There is something to be said for a brand that puts out consistently high quality products with to-die-for textures. This duo will naturally flatter cooler skin tones but it is not so cool-toned that warmer skin tones will find it difficult to work with.
WHERE TO BUY: Sephora
Hourglass Gypsy Eyeshadow Duo
Hourglass Gypsy Eyeshadow Duo
Hourglass Gypsy Visionaire Eyeshadow Duo ($38.00 for 0.20 oz.) is a beautiful neutral duo featuring a shimmering, warmed-up champagne beige and a rich, coppered chocolate brown. Hourglass’ Eyeshadow Duos are such an underrated and underappreciated product–the quality is absolutely phenomenal and the shades are infinitely flattering.
Selfishly, I wish they had about a dozen more duos, because their eyeshadows are easily some of the best I’ve come across–and better yet, the quality is fantastic across the range. There are no duds in their duo line-up. Soft, smooth as silk, and buttery texture paired with intense color pigmentation that glides on, blends effortlessly, and can be used wet or dry.
The $38 may seem steep, but don’t let it fool you: there are two full-sized (actually, more than that) eyeshadows inside. Each eyeshadow is 0.10 oz., which is double the average full-sized eyeshadow, for a total of 0.20 oz. The packaging is also this pewter bronze with a swivel top that reveals a mirror inside along with a pint-sized brush (with real bristles) that’s usable and not scratchy.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 30/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 5/5
FINAL THOUGHTS: Hourglass as a brand is underrated, but their eyeshadows are easily my favorite product from the brand. There is something to be said for a brand that puts out consistently high quality products with to-die-for textures. This duo will naturally flatter warmer skin tones but they are not too warm–they will work well on cooler and neutral-toned skin, too.
WHERE TO BUY: Sephora
NYX Decadent Lipstick
The Sultry Season: NYX Decadent Lipstick
NYX Decadent Lipstick ($4.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a red-toned brown with a creamy, slightly glossy finish. The color is rich, and definitely decadent, with full-color coverage. It is a less vampy, lighter version of NYX Very Berry Lipstick (which was anything but berry!). I get around four hours of wear with NYX’s Round Lipstick. There’s a slightly synthetic sweet scent in the tube, but I don’t notice it lingering once I’ve applied it.
Is this the right brown for you? Would you wear it?
The Sultry Season is a series of posts featuring deep, rich shades of brown, berry, plum, and wine lipsticks and lipglosses — just right for autumn — that runs through December 2010.
Cargo Lumieres du Monde Palette
Quick Review: Cargo Lumieres du Monde Palette
Cargo Lights of the World Palette
($29.00 for 1.165 oz.) is a surprisingly well-made palette that is comprised of mostly eyeshadows (eight, in fact) along with a blush/bronzer in the center. If you love brighter, more colorful shades, I think this is a palette worth considering this holiday season. The pigmentation of nearly all the shades was really nice, as were the textures–soft, smooth, and not powdery. Even the matte shades were quite nice!
- A is a teal blue with subtle green micro-shimmer and a frosted sheen. It is very nicely pigmented and smooth.
- B is a paled yellow gold with a high frost shimmer and sheen. It’s frostier than both A and D, and it’s smooth and pigmented.
- C is a medium blue with a frosted sheen. It’s decently pigmented, but it could use a little more oomph.
- D is an olive green with a khaki gold shimmer-sheen. It has more of a frost finish, and it is nicely pigmented (could be a little more intense, though).
- E is a warm, medium pink with yellow undertones and a satin finish.
- F is a softened peach orange with a strong, yellowed gold sheen. When mixed with E, it becomes a lightened peach-orange.
- G is a darkened lavender with a soft pearled, frost sheen. It has nice pigmentation and goes on smoothly.
- H is a pure white with a matte finish. It’s very creamy, smooth, and pigmented.
- I is a cool-toned peached brown with a matte finish. It has a lovely smooth texture and nice color pay off.
- J is a slightly cool-toned medium-dark brown with a pearly finish. It’s decently pigmented though on the sheerer side.
Welcome to Swatch-all-idays! To start 2011 off on the right foot (or post, as it may be!), Temptalia is going through a backlog of products we have photographed, swatched, and often tested but in a slightly different manner. Quick reviews may be partially incomplete, such as a blush may only be swatched on the arm rather than shown on the face. It is our hope that what we are able to provide is still helpful!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 10/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
FINAL THOUGHTS: At $29 and with plenty of each shade, it’s an excellent buy for a multi-colored palette that actually holds quality eyeshadows.
WHERE TO BUY: ULTA
Benefit Bella Bamba Powder
Benefit Bella Bamba Boxed Powder
($28.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a brightened medium pink with pale gold shimmer-sheen. It’s fairly pigmented and can easily be used as an intense blusher, but it’s soft and fine enough in texture to be used as a sheer color on cheeks when blended out. I want to say it’s like a mix of Coralista and Sugarbomb but distinctly pink, not really a coral at all.
At first glance, it seems like Bella Bamba might just be another NARS Orgasm variation, but it’s so much pinker than those peachy-pinks. The closest dupe I could think of was Chanel Pink Explosion Joues Contraste, which is slightly cooler and has less gold shimmer. NARS Angelika is closest in color by NARS, but it’s really more a mesh of that blush with Albatross, I’d say.
I’m a little disappointed to see Benefit cutting the product size down by so much–a lot of their boxed powders have as much as 0.42 oz., while ones that are lower hover around 0.35 oz. It’s just as pigmented and incredibly similar in texture to Coralista, which is a full 0.42 oz. It’s still a lot of product for $28 (most blushes are 0.15 oz. or so), but it was something I thought was worth noting. I’m also not a fan of the flip-top packaging, because it doesn’t stay open on its own (probably more frustrating to photograph than to use, I suppose, though). I prefer the removable lid myself.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
FINAL THOUGHTS: I think this is a great boxed powder, and even though they reduced the size, it’s still a ton of blush for the price. It’s nicely pigmented win a flattering pink that’s not too cool or warm; the golden sheen makes it suitable for warmer skin tones while the slightly cool-toned pink of the shade itself works well on cool skin tones, too.
WHERE TO BUY: Sephora
MAC Lipsticks: Cockney, Neon Orange, Something New, Style Curve
MAC Stylishly Yours: Lipsticks
There are four shades of MAC Lipsticks ($14.50 for 0.10 oz.) being released with Stylishly Yours. Two are new: Something New (creamy bright blue pink) and Style Curve (bright clean violet purple); and two are permanent products: Cockney (sheer yellow red with multidimensional pearl) and Neon Orange (bright clean orange, PRO only).
- Cockney is an orange-based semi-opaque red with subtle gold shimmer. This has a lustre finish, and it was originally released with Euristocrats in 2009, but it was added to the permanent line. It is also similar to Ladybug.
- Neon Orange is a brilliant, neon orange with a creamy finish and opaque color coverage. This has an amplified finish, and it is permanent at PRO stores. If you can’t find it at PRO, Morange is close enough (just slightly lighter).
- Something New is a medium-dark pink with a creamy finish and opaque color coverage. This has an amplified finish, and it is limited edition. It is cooler-toned, brighter and lighter than Girl About Town. It is similar to NARS Schiap, which is brighter. Smashbox’s Flirty is also similar, though perhaps a touch more purple. It is a little pinker and brighter than Love Forever.
- Style Curve is a semi-opaque fuchsia violet with a subtle sheen. This has a cremesheen finish, and it is limited edition. It is significantly more fuchsia and less opaque than Violetta. It is closer to Show Orchid when worn, but it is sheerer, glossier in the finish, and less iridescent. I wish they would have made this an amplified finish. It took several layers to build up the color.
All of the lipsticks were as expected, based on their finish, with Cockney being surprisingly pigmented (well, not really surprisingly, since we’ve swatched it here before!). I really do think that MAC could have made Style Curve a really fun, bright and opaque shade had they gone with an amplified formula (like they did with Neon Orange and Something New). It did have a glossier finish than other cremesheens, though, which was nice.
Cockney and Neon Orange best suit warm-toned skin, as they both have orange undertones, while Something New and Style Curve best suit cool-toned skin, as they have bluer-bases. While Neon Orange will be the most difficult for cooler skin tones to pull off, warmer skin tones should still find both Something New and Style Curve easy enough to wear as neither is too strongly blue in its base.
MAC Stylishly Yours Collection is a limited edition launch (official information and photos here) that is set to launch in-stores on December 26th in North America, January 2011 for international MAC locations. The approximate launch date for online is December 24th.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: Overall, I really liked these lipsticks. They were true to their finishes; lustres tend to be sheerer and glossier and Cockney was just that (even more pigmented than the average lustre, actually), while cremesheen finishes vary from semi-sheer to opaque, Style Curve falls in the middle.
AVAILABILITY: MAC Cosmetics on December 26th (U.S. stores), January 2011 (International)
