Pat McGrath’s Decadence really feels like it was for me since it was all shimmers, more jewel-toned, and incredibly pigmented… just all the things I gravitate toward in eyeshadow.
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Yes, after years of trying different foundations, from drugstore to high end, and dealing with breakouts, oxidation, and uneven coverage, I finally discovered my HG … Estée Lauder Double Wear Makeup. I’ve been using it for a few years now, and occasionally I’ll try a sample of a different one just out of curiosity, but nothing ever comes close to ELDW.
Also, ColourPop’s Fame Palette is a collection of the most flattering colors for my coloring. I haven’t seen another palette that has such a perfect mix of shades for me.
I’m so glad to read your praise for ELDW. I got a card with some samples (barely enough to do one half my face but what can you do) and was really pleased with the results (as far as I could tell from the stinting little amount of sample). I am thinking of purchasing the full size when I can get to the SDM that carries Estee Lauder and get a good colour match.
Since you prompted us with a palette photo, Zoeva En Taupe. Reasonably one note, but it’s really my tune. Runners up would be SG grays, taupes, mostly the mattes. Were I younger, it would probably be Lunatick Supernatural and Elvira, because I could kick it up a notch in the same general colorways.
There have been a few standout products that have felt “made for me” in recent years!
1.) PMG Midnight Sun Mothership
2.) Chanel Empriente du Desert quad
3.) MAC Yoni Crush Lipstick
4.) Tom Ford Seadragon Lipstick
And one I don’t have, but the shades in it are so very “me” that it feels meant for me:
PMG Decadence Mothership.
Sadly, I’ll likely never own it, but that one speaks to my artistic, colorful self! ?
Melt Cosmetics Gemini palette! The Zodiac theme doesn’t do it for me, but the colors and packaging definitely do! I live for olive greens. The Natasha Denona Gold Mini is also totally my jam.
ColourPop’s Going Coconuts release was really timely for me. I’d been looking at their premade palettes for weeks searching for a palette that didn’t lean so orange like Double Entendre and there wasn’t much to choose from. Going Coconuts was exactly what I needed!
A few, actually:
*UD Vice Lipstick in Sheer Rapture. Such a perfect MLBB for my pale lips, and I love the formula.
*UD 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion. Super-rich black, smudges nicely, sets completely, and wears like iron. HG black eyeliner for me.
*Tarte Pin-Up Girl Blush Palette. It has all the basic shades I use: Nude, plum, cool pink, peach, and rosy coral, and they’re in a nice mix of finishes. Nothing is too bright or too dark on me. It’s as though I selected the shades myself.
*ABH Glow Kit in Moonchild. My favorite unconventional highlighter shades, shimmery but not glittery, and a great formula. I use them all the time on my face and on the brow bones and inner corners of my eyes. Perfection.
Chanel lipstick in Midnight Rose (discontinued)
Chanel quad in Tisse Venetian (discontinued)
Guerlain Meteorites in Claire
MAC Night Moth lip pencil
PMG all the way. I’ve been abandoning most of my more colourful palettes in favour of what I think of as neutrals with pizazz. I definitely tend to favour shades with red, or rosy bases. I have green hazel eyes and neutral slight olive skintone. These palettes look most ‘natural’ on me.
1. Mothership V – Bronze seduction
2. Mthrshp – Subliminal Platinum Bronze
3. Mothership VII – Divine Rose
And I love the deep rose shadow out of MTHRSHP La Vie en Rose
Oh yes! The original Naked Palette (now, sadly, no longer available) and Chanel’s Tisse Gabrielle (it might be history now too). And Dior’s Rosy Glow Awakening Blush. There are lots more but those 3 really stand out for me.
Christine — what’s your take on whether or not we’re “allowed” to use shimmers in the crease? For some folks it seems like one of the ten commandments, but it feels limiting to me.
Try it and see how you like it! It’s not about “rules” or what anyone else says; it’s about what you like on yourself/what makes you happy and comfortable!
The Shiseido Essentialist Eyeshadow palette in Hanatsubaki Street Nightlife (my favorite everyday colors and sleek, gorgeous palette design), or the Pat McGrath Mothership I Subliminal Eyeshadow Palette.
Yes I have and there are a few:
Milani’s Cinnamon Spice lipstick (D/C)
Colour Pop’s Foolish and LA Lady lipsticks
Maybelline’s Spice for Me lipstick
L’Oreal’s True Match Foundation in Porcelain Rose
Lorac’s Pro Metal palette – because nearly all the shades I use (except the black)
bareMinerals Soft and Smokey and the Playlist – I reach for them every week
ABH Sultry – my kind of neutrals
UD’s Naked 2 – a good mix of warm and cool tones.
MAC Electric Wonder Natural Vice Palette is pretty much perfect, and I’m so glad I pounced on it when Nordstrom had it on sale. MAC Lustre and Cremesheen lipsticks are pretty much the perfect texture (said as someone who hates many lipstick textures) and I have several colors that seem tailor-made for me.
Rubotan’s liquid shiny black eyeliner which I always go on about but can’t find anymore.
IT Cosmetics Tightline mascara/primer for my sparse blonde lashes.
ABH Moonchild glow kit.
Melt Cosmetics Bellastona liquid lipstick. I felt like the new Muerte palette was perfect for me before Christine’s review which I’m grateful for since it seems I’d wear 1 to 2 colors tops.
Melt Gemini and Gunmetal stack
Yep!
W3LL People Bio Base baked foundation in Dark Neutral . It wears beautifully , blends effortlessly , matches my skin tone and never looks powdery .it creates a smooth skin finish.
Buxom Full Force plumping lipstick in “Triple Threat”
And Zoeva “Caramel Melange “ palette .
Every purchase I have made from Pat McGrath has been perfect for me so far, it’s expensive but if it works I don’t have a choice. Before that I loved the Tony and Tina sparkle eyeliners, I have never found any to compare.
I know many folks here didn’t care for the Lorac Pro 3 eyeshadow palette, but for me it’s just about perfect, I can use every color, it works as a stand alone or whenever I need to add a transition or brow bone shade to another palette, it’s perfect for work, travel, or on the go due to its slim, but sturdy packaging. The shadows don’t crease or fade on me, and they last on my lids true to color for at least 8-10 hours. Its also the only palette I use in some capacity nearly every day.land I have a ton of palettes!
Honorable Mention: My dearly beloved and now discontinued Urban Decay lipstick in Broken. This shade is everything! The intensity can range from sheer to medium to opaque just by using a lip brush, applying straight from the bullet, or adding a lip pencil underneath. It’s truly my HG in every sense of the word! Now I’m down to a nub and dreading the day it’s gone from my stash forever.
Bonus Round: These 2 items pair up PERFECT together. ?
Maybe the ColourPop x Disney Designer collection? I don’t buy every piece every year, but the collection as a whole marries two of my favorite things-makeup and Disney Princesses.