Thank you!
Happy Sunday! I just wanted to say another thank you so much to everyone who has been so supportive of my Sydney Grace collaboration. As my personal way to celebrate, I’ve gone back to vivid hair color as an ode to the colors of the collaboration (hair done by Lauren Krech, I paid in full my service, but she does great work if you are in the Phoenix area).
Thank you for reading Temptalia, whether you’re new or long-time, because without your readership, the collaboration would never have even been possible! Thank you to the readers who have encouraged me to collaborate over the years. Thank you to the readers who have left comments or liked my color story/color combo posts and made me think, “hmm, maybe I could do something people would like!”
I appreciate everyone’s support, whether that comes in the form of a comment, a simple like on a post, or an actual purchase. It all goes a long, long way to making Temptalia possible!
Some reflection ahead! 10 years ago, I collaborated with MAC Cosmetics and launched a single eyeshadow (Jealousy Wakes) on June 21st. It wasn’t planned as such, but it is incredible that it ended up being nearly 10 years to the day since–so I ended up revisiting that process and what I did to support that launch. It really IS the Temptalia way because even 10 years ago, I shared an in-depth look at the process and provided dupes/comparisons. I find the process part of the journey fascinating — I wish more collaborators would touch on the hardest parts, the easiest parts, what they loved or how a shade changed over time.
Temptalia will celebrate its 15th anniversary this October, so it is extremely special to be able to be here and have created these palettes based on what readers felt was missing from existing releases, what kind of colors/color stories seemed to get the most likes/feedback over the years, and what kind of colors I’ve always loved but never felt like there were enough of.
We are ecstatic over how it is gone–we were so hoping that the amount stocked wouldn’t result in a quick sellout. We wanted people to have time to purchase. I’m so lucky to work with Sydney Grace on this project because they’ve let me have so much control over every aspect of the collection; from the color stories to the textures to the names to the artwork to how to market. They let me execute my vision without compromise. They align with my desire to do better by readers/customers–that meant not making it ultra limited edition, being transparent and upfront about the collection and process, and getting the product right.
I also want to say a very, very special THANK YOU to the Temptalia Discord for their encouragement, support, and constructive feedback. They were the ones that gave me that extra nudge to reach out to Sydney Grace to begin with. They helped me through some of the harder moments during the process, and I always felt supported but that they would always provide real, honest feedback/commentary. I am fortunate to have such intelligent, logical, and reasonable readers across the board.
THANK YOU!!
Christine, though obviously you very thoughtfully and thoroughly designed this collection for everyone to use, do you consider it your “ultimate” personal palette? Is it likely to top your list of personal favorites for the foreseeable future? If so, what is it like to work with a palette that you know so intimately?
Yes and no! There are lots of shades I love personally throughout the palettes, but I designed more around what I felt like readers wanted/what was missing than exactly shades I’d love or the shades I’d reach for everyday kind of thing!
What a beautiful post, Christine. As much as you appreciate us, we appreciate YOU and Temptalia so very much too. I’ve garnered so much information and saved a lot of money avoiding products that are sub-par (of course, I’ve probably spent a lot more than I would without Temptalia but it’s always been a good spend!). As I’ve said before, you deserve this success – you truly have earned it. (and I’m still smarting over not having been able to get Jealousy Wakes when it launched….seems like more than 10 year ago – WOW).
Thank you so much, Mariella! 🙂 Always happy to help!
Congratulations Christine! I love seeing your continued success. Your new hair is stunning btw!
Thank you, Courtney!
What a great post, and here’s to a great person! I’m loving this hair color, it’s so stunning with your complexion.
Aww, thanks a lot, Jill!
You look gorgeous Christine! I have followed Temptalia from the begininng and look forward to your new eye shadow pallets and all your future reviews.
You are amazing, Lily! Having people, like yourself, be here from the start is something I cherish deeply. Thank you!
Your hair (and you!) are so beautiful! I love rich hair-color hues! I enjoy your content so much. It’s been a trusted, valuable source of reliable beauty info for a long time ❤️ for me.
Thank you so much, Carol <3
Christine, thank YOU. I don’t post much, but I have lurked for years, and your site is one I check every day. It brings me a small bit of joy to see the latest swatches and reviews, and I was so pleased to support you and SG. (This was my first purchase from them! I bought the bundle and can’t wait to receive it.) Congratulations on your smashing success!
(And I love your hair, too. 😊)
Thank you for visiting so much, Jess! It is much appreciated 🙂
I’m so happy for you! It’s been so much more fun to be able to be part of the process, even by just hearing about it bit by bit. The discord has been great for me and now I only wonder why I didn’t join sooner! It’s just so wonderful to share excitement about makeup with others!
The Discord is a pretty great place. Glad you joined us, Cat!
I cannot contain my excitement in receiving the palettes and playing with the color stories! I get inspired just looking at them.
Your hair looks phenomenal (as does that glow on your cheeks!).
Aww, thank you, Cynthia! Can’t wait for you to try them.
Another question: I know you gave a lot of thought to layouts and color combination of duos, quads, L’s etc when you put these together. Do you think you might at some point provide suggestions on alternate layouts especially if people bought multiple palettes from this collection?
Hi Jay!
If you check under this category: https://www.temptalia.com/category/features/makeup-look-ideas/
I also shared combo posts for each palette (which were less dictated by shapes) along with pairing two palettes together and then more of a free-for-all between the three! 🙂
Christine, as one of the true OG beauty bloggers, and I think I speak for many when I say that you are truly the G.O.A.T. in the beauty space, you deserve to bask in the glow of this newest venture! These palettes are something very special. Mostly due to their inclusivity for all skin colors to enjoy, plus their being more unique in their color stories. You did a wonderful job in collaboration with Sydney Grace. 💜
You’re too kind, Nancy! Thank you!
You look gorgeous, Christine, the hair color really suits you!
Thanks, Agata!
Christine, thank you for your hard work and dedication to this blog! So many blogs have come and go, but yours is my favorite, the one I can always depend on for daily posts and honest reviews. And this Sydney collection is my wildest dream come true- my favorite shadows created with my favorite blogger! I’ve ordered the Horizon Light palette, along with the Dear Reader shadow, and can’t wait to get them! I hope you will do more collabs in the future
Thank you so much, Katherine! I’m so glad you found a palette that caught your eye!
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been almost 15 years that I’ve been coming here! I have always loved your reviews and the logic behind them, and I look forward each day to seeing what’s new. Congratulations again on a successful product launch, and I can’t wait for the one I ordered to arrive so I can play 🙂
Wow! Impressive, Susan 🙂 Thank you for your readership all these years!
First ..beautiful post Christine and a big congratulations on your successful colab… the color stories are so exciting … btw your hair ! It Is stunning …big props to your colorist .
Thanks a lot, Mary!
Christine, congrats on your collaboration! It has been fun watching and hearing about each one. Your hair looks awesome!! Love it and that necklace too! I have to ask where you got it, if you don’t mind. I read your emails every night to see your opinions on new makeup, and get ideas on how to apply. Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much, Joyce! The necklace was custom designed by Lauryn at Earth’s Treasury (online source for Montana sapphires, though they also have other gems, too!).
Love to see your hair back to the deep array of multi colors that you do so well! You have saved us so much money with your in-depth reviews and you listen to all of our suggestions and unicorn dreams of what magical colors that we wish we could find and then you collaborate with a wonderful company that gives you free reign to produce gold for us! Thank you Christine for making our dreams come true. Sit back and enjoy what you have created now and let it wash over you and we will enjoy creating beautiful eye looks!
Thank you so much, Brenda!!
No Christine – THANK YOU, for being such a devoted, hard working person who has always bought us readers the very best reviews of the cosmetic industry products out in the market place.
I placed my order for The Horizon Light last night and it will be a delight to receive it.
Your hair looks amazing Christine and I think it suits your personality very well.
Yay! Can’t wait for it to arrive, Genevieve. Thank you!
Super sweet post, Christine! I love your creativity, your ultimate technique, how full and interactive your website is, and your overall love for your pups ( I resonate so much.). I feel like EVERY time I have a question or I am pondering about a specific product or shade, I come to Temptalia for reviews and swatches, which is the BEST! With that said, I was so excited to have you (my beauty guru of choice) and Sydney Grace collaborate. I purchased the three palettes in “light” and I am so excited to add them to my collection. Your new hair gives me all the vibes and appreciate your spirit and support behind the collab. It makes sense and as a creative, makes me that more excited to receive my palettes! Congratulations; this is epic!! xoxo
Can’t wait for you to receive your palettes, Daniela! Thank you so much for the support, past and present!
Hi Christine,
Thank you for the lovely thoughts and sentiments. Your hair is gorgeous! I’m so glad you partnered with SG – I love them! I have an overflow of palettes, so your reasoning for the shades was spot-on for me. Some of these colours I cannot dupe within my existing collection. Your graphic showing the full array of swatches was what convinced me I needed them all! It was fascinating reading about your process in developing all the shades with SG. I hope you don’t mind me saying that you, and they, are so painstaking and perfectionist, I probably would have been hitting the vodka at version 4 or 5 of each shade. Lucky me, though, because now I get to see and use the ultimate result of your shared visions. Thank you.
Me too! I am not sure how I would have worked with any other brand, since Sydney Grace was very flexible and let me revise SO many times without pressuring me at all on approving, types of colors, etc.
There were definitely a few tears shed during the process! The hardest shade to move on from was Magellan’s Light for sure, but lucky for me, there are so many lovely colors that it’s not like any iteration is “bad,” it’s more like… not what I was thinking, lol!
The new haircolor/low-lighting is flattering and lovely! And (this may sound odd) it gives you an even more confident appearance (or maybe that is Winston’s impact). I am so grateful for your site, for your reviews, your spot-on dupes, and your product photos that show me the product’s TRUE colors! Your information has prevented me from wasting money on subpar products (or colors that won’t work well for me), and it has prompted me to make purchases that I likely would not have otherwise made but that have brought me joy. I only started following Temptalia a few years ago after my daughter brought me to your site, and I look forward to your posts!
Aww, thanks a lot, Patricia! 🙂 You are too kind, seriously! Love that your daughter shared the site with you.
I am LOVING your hair! It looks incredible. And I can not wait to get a palette or all of them. I am loving that Sydney Grace is having your palettes as long as there is a demand for them. That is great to hear cause atm I can’t get one but that will change next month (it’s my bday.) and congratulations again on your beautiful collection!!!
Thank you, Selena! I hope you’re able to snag what you want when you’re able to. Happy early birthday!
You look great! You’re the beauty blog I’ve been following the longest, and I have always respected your honest reviews! BTW – not only is your hair stunning, but where did you get that gorgeous necklace?
Thank you so much, Wendy! The necklace is custom designed by Lauryn at Earth’s Treasury (I did everything through email!). She did my wedding rings as well.
Love the hair–completely harmonious with the collaboration!
Is this the third time you’ve done vivid hair?
I recall similar shades (the purple is particularly memorable) once before, but I also recall more sunset hues.
I think this is the fifth or sixth time! 🙂
I love the hair! And the pendant.
A lovely post. Thank you for all the job you do.
I don’t know how long I’ve been hanging around, but during the time I have saved a lot of money, and spent some. My spending is much more informed and planned these days, thanks to you.
I am so happy the launch went so well, you are worth the success!
Thank you so much, Helene! 🙂
I just received the palettes and immediately started experimenting. I have to say, I wasn’t 100% sure when I ordered them, my motivation was partly to support your collaboration, partly to finally try Sydney Grace. I don’t usually do greens or blues, or jewel tones in general really. But I might be converted now, they are really excellent and I’m very happy with how easy they are to work with, how good they look, and how the arrangement suggests combos. You’ve done a very fine job and I’m going to have a blast with these.
AHH!! 😭 I love hearing this, Jay!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you’re loving the products so far!
It just goes to show you how much you are followed and loved! Keeping us updated and informed of not only your gorgeous Collab, but of all other goings-on in the beauty world is a huge undertaking and you do it so gracefully! I’m a huge fan of colorful hair and your’s is so beautiful!!! Thank you for all your hard work and your eye for COLOR!!
April
Thank you, April! You’re too sweet 🙂
Wow… has Jealously Wakes been ten years? I still have mine. 🙂 Such a stunning color. And I’ve ordered the Sydney Grace Temptalia collection. I’m sure that will be stunning, as well. Here’s to 15 more years.
(And I adore your hair. Pre-pandemic, you inspired me to go for vivid color. The last hair color was purple with teal and cobalt. I need to go back.)
I know, right? Time flies, lol!
Thank you so much, Mo! So glad it worked out then, and it’s fun to be back. I went back to “natural” right before things shut down, and I didn’t think I’d go back to vivids for awhile… but alas, hard to resist!
I must have gotten into makeup at around the same time you started this blog (despite our very different ages and where we were in life that year!), because I remember finding your swatch-laden site and being incredibly grateful, as I navigated the worlds of MAC and NARS (who weren’t good about showing real-life pictures of their colors at ALL back then–I still think they could do way better, both of them, as much as I love their stuff), that you were so thorough.
I remember that most bloggers didn’t have many commenters (you included) but seemed to have a few friends/fellow bloggers that they got close to who commented on every blog post. I remember watching as you diverged, becoming more and more professional somehow (it wasn’t completely understandable to me) and your friendships becoming less the focus of the posts and exchanges. I don’t think I was here when you hit big-time (I had a lot of personal stuff going on, and a 5 and an 8 year old to raise), but I recall returning and seeing that you had, and being happy for you.
Since then, you’ve become not only the main site I still use on a daily or almost-daily basis, but literally the only one I trust to be completely even-handed, even with your favorite brands, about quality and value. This isn’t just because you get (almost) everything free and don’t pander, but also because of your development of metrics, something most people don’t use. Your dupe list is literally part of my memory now; when I see a new shade or item, I ‘see’ your site pages in my mind as I compare it mentally to my own collection to determine if I love it/if I have it!
I’m happy for you and a little awed at what your life and site have become. As I watched all the intelligent, mature (read: older) bloggers cease because they were never going to turn into influencers and got discouraged going against the tide of younger, content-hungry cosmetics fans, I’ve been so impressed that you clearly delineated what was missing online for us and provided it so effectively. You created a job that didn’t even, really, exist before you–not technically, anyway.
Congratulations on your collection and your upcoming 15th anniversary, when you will be so inundated with hundreds (or thousands!) of comments I probably won’t add to the clamor. It’s been fun watching you… well, evolve.
And thank you for the impromptu ‘tutorials’ each time I asked you what magic you’d used to achieve certain effects, as with the combination of Armani eye tints in Senso and Onyx, if you remember that exchange… and it’s fine if you don’t!). I’ve printed out the ones you wrote for all of us, but also the emails where you helped me figure out how to layer shadows to get a completely different color.
Thank you so much, Emily! It has been quite the journey, and I’m fortunate to have had it be such a good one so far. I loved hearing about how you “see” the dupe list in your mind now – that is such a neat story!
Always my pleasure to help where I can! Thank you again for your years and years of support.
So, so happy for you!! Congratulations and well-deserved!
Thank you, Kira!