Written Reviews

Oh boy. The first palette I bought because I fell in love with a Youtube tutorial (jkissa's and atleeeey's to be exact) and decided to disregard reviews. Now, two years later, I know a bit more about eyeshadows and while Sweet Peach still has a special place in my heart, I understand that it's not a perfect palette. Some of the shades are too dusty (Peaches 'n Cream), some too sheer (Candied Peach), some are a bit of a dud (Delectable) and who needs that many browns in a peach-themed palette, anyway? Then there's the scent that can be irritating to people with sensitive eyes. But there's a certain charm to Sweet Peach that makes me use this palette whenever I need a pick-me-up. As a short-sighted person, I spend more time with my nose buried in an eyeshadow palette than the regular user and let me tell you, scented palettes can be a nice little sensory treat (provided you enjoy the scent, of course). The color scheme with abundance of shimmers makes every eye look you create appear a bit daintier and feminine- even a black smokey eye looks less harsh and edgy when using Sweet Peach because of the little specks of gold in Tempting. Sometimes, that little bit of softness and girliness is just nice. As are adorably packaged maybe-slightly-less-than-perfect palettes. For me, they're the comfort food of makeup world.

As far as eyeshadows go, Subculture by ABH is my problematic fave. Almost a year after Subculture's initial release, I fell in love with the bold color scheme and shades such as All Star, Edge, Electric, Axis and Cube. I'm a late bloomer, I know. While this ensured that I purchased Subculture after it's update/reformulation and therefore own what is considered the more reliable and less dusty version of the palette, I still can't help but treat the palette with kid gloves. Partially because I'm a novice at makeup, all too well aware of Subculture's notoriety and partially because even after ABH tweaked it, Subculture still remains somewhat... temperamental. Cube and Electric, originally considered total duds, work great for me but Roxy and Dawn are almost -too- powdery for my tastes and much messier to use than any other shades in the palette. The performance overall isn't consistent, either. Sometimes, the eye-shadows partially disappear from my lids within half an hour after application (and yes, I always prime my eyes with an eye-shadow primer and set the primer with eye-shadow). Sometimes, they go on patchy and can't be blended out nicely. On other days, the palette is perfectly well-behaved and allows me to create great grungy looks inspired by Sam Ravndahl's Subculture video. I have no idea what makes the palette tick and I'm not sure I'm skilled enough to ever figure it out. Do I like Subculture despite all of its and (potentially mine) flaws? Absolutely! But would I recommend it to others? I honestly don't know.

With Beached, Urban Decay managed to beautifully execute the concept of a summer vacation-inspired palette. UD's interpretation is darker and edgier than strictly necessary for a beach-themed eyeshadow collection (think last rays of sunshine hitting the darkening sea before the night falls) but the deeper shades of bronze, red and blue are absolutely gorgeous in person and they actually make the palette more versatile. Beached's colours aren't necessarily summer colours and they won't look out of place in autumn or winter either. Pretty good for a summer vacation fling, eh? From a technical standpoint, the palette is cohesive, beginner friendly and the shadows are pressed -just- right: not too loose, not too hard. There are no duds among them either. Only perhaps the unique shape of the palette itself needs some getting used to. The narrow mirror is great if you're short sighted as it allows you to get close without your brushes getting in the way but the price you pay for it is high: the rest of the palette will flap around in a decidedly undignified manner. But since Beached is so good otherwise, let's just pretend it's the summer breeze...

It's a shame that Scorched is a limited edition lipstick because it's a great product. It's non-drying, long-lasting, the colour is striking and it fades gracefully through meals and drinks. I hope Urban Decay re-releases it so that everyone has a chance to transform themselves into an ancient bronze deity.

I was intrigued by the Fenty summer collection highlighters since I saw an official video explaining how to apply them "the Fenty way". They looked bold and weird and maybe almost unwearable but I took Christine's stellar review as a sign that these Killawatt highlighters are no gimmick. They're an excellent versatile and long-wearing product. And they're so much fun to use. Oh boy... Every time the light shifts, my cheekbones transform into planes of alien icy blue metal and yes, it's bold and weird and I receive more questions about my Killawatt highlighter than any other item from my makeup arsenal ("what's happening with your face?") but it's absolutely worth it. Together with the Fenty shark tooth-shaped brush, this highlighter duo allows me to create a complete look which takes 10 minutes to create and lasts for more than 9 hours. Could I use the highlighter with eyeshadow brushes and treat it as a giant pan of eyeshadow? Sure! Could I go subtle? Absolutely! But if you're eyeing the Killawatt highlighters, consider using them as their creators intended. Go bold, go big and don't look back. Wear them with Rihanna's confidence, put them anywhere you feel like (highlighted collarbones and ears are an amazing idea) and the rest of the world will sooner or later catch up with your progressive fashion choices.