Physicians Formula: Shimmer Strips eyeshadow in Hazel Eye Candy

I haven't used this palette a lot yet, but here's some pictures and swatches.

As you can see, the colors are really pretty.  Sadly, they don't work quite as well on the eyelids.  But this palette can make a really pretty smokey eye because of the darker shadows!

Although I've only tested out a couple of eye looks with this, I can say it's definitely not my favorite palette ever.  I can make a pretty smokey eye with it, so that's good.  I actually got it on clearance at CVS, so I'm satisfied with it because of the deal I got.  It is quite nice for the price.  

Too Faced: Sweet Dreams Eyeshadow Palette

This palette is from Too Faced's winter 2011 collection.  Or maybe holiday?  Not sure...but you can get it at Sephora and Ulta.  The palette includes 15 eyeshadows, two blushes, one bronzer, one highlighter, and a full sized tube of TFSI.

 The outer packaging is sturdy cardboard...and gorgeous.  It's all sparkly and colorful (two things that I love)

 The fifteen beautiful eyeshadows.  (You can see the color names by clicking on the picture to enlarge it)

 (Top left, going clockwise)  Chocolate Soleil bronzer, Cocoa Rose blush, Sweet Pink blush, Candlelight Glow highlighter

 The eyeshadows are various finishes (shimmer, metallic, matte, glitter...)  They're all quite pigmented.  I didn't use primer or any sort of base for these shadows.  

 Although they are quite pigmented in swatches, I find it is best to wear a primer as well as a cream eyeshadow as a base when wearing these eyeshadows.  That way, they are just as bright on your eyes as they are in swatches

 Chocolate Soleil bronzer, Cocoa Rose blush, Sweet Pink blush, Candlelight glow highlighter

The bronzer actually smells like cocoa!  It smells AMAZING.  I've heard some people say that one of the blushes (possibly Sweet Pink, but I'm not exactly sure) don't show up very well.  Buuut, on my uber pale skin, they show up quite well.  The highlighter adds a pretty glow.  It is a tad chalky on my cheeks if I don't take care to blend it well, but it works really well to highlight the bridge of my nose.

This palette is a really great bargain!  With all the shadows and blushes, this palette packs quite a punch.  (Plus I got it during Sephora's F&F sale, so that made it an even greater bargain.)  So...super awesome!

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty: Cream Blush in Beaming

I got this on clearance at CVS.  And I wish I had gotten more, because I am now obsessed with cream blush! 

 Fairly simple packaging.  Shimmery green top, clear center with a leaf design

 Color and ingredients

 Here's the blush in the pan.  Hopefully you can get a bit of a sense of the texture from these pictures- it's not so hard that you can't get any color off, but not so soft that gobs of it come off on your fingers.  Plus in this pic you can see the lone sparkle my camera was able to capture.  (The sparkle, which is very minimal, is not noticeable when you wear the blush) 

 heavily swatched, blended out.  It's slightly peachy, slightly pink, slightly neutral.  It's the middle ground between the three.  

Here's a swatch with plenty of light, so you can get a different view on the color.  

I love this blush!  It's so easy to use (I use my fingers to tap it on to my cheeks and then blend it in) and the color is pretty.  That's pretty much all that I have to say about it :)

FLIRT!: Smokin' Eyes (LE Eyeshadow Palette)

First off, FLIRT! is a brand you can find at Kohl's.  The brand has eyeshadows (in various forms), lipgloss, lipstick, blush, bronzer, etc.  Their single eyeshadows cost $12, and as someone who really never spends that much on a single eyeshadow, I hadn't tried anything...until now.  

This palette so plain looking.  Yet so awesome.  Regularly around $15, this eyeshadow quad packs a (neutral) punch.  Basically, it's pretty cool beans.  

It's just plain black plastic.  (Note: It actually comes in a little cardboard box.  I can't find it online to show you, but it shouldn't be to hard to find it in stores.  I found plenty at the various Kohl's near where I live.)  Anyways, I don't really mind the plain black packaging.  It's basic, and it's really slim and therefore easy to tote around.    

 Four colors: Sugar Daddy, Witchy, Second Nature, Golden Lady

 Basic looking neutral colors, right?

 close-ups

 Ok, now let me explain.  Sugar Daddy is a plain neutral satin color.  It's slightly golden and it's a great highlight color.  Witchy is also a satin.  It's almost taupe, but not quite.  It's a little hard to tell in this pic, but Second Nature is kind of an army green with glitter. (Maybe not army green...but the next picture shows it better) And golden lady is a mega metallic golden bronze.  

Here I've lightened the picture a bit so you can see the color a bit better.  The shadows are somewhere inbetween the two pictures in terms of color.  

All in all, this palette is awesome.  You can get several looks out of this palette, and it's quite a bargain to boot!  Also, if you don't really like these colors but you like the quality, there are other colors of this palette (I know there's a 'natural' palette that's more coppery).  This palette definitely gets a thumbs up from me!

Urban Decay: Rollergirl Palette

This is the Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette.  And I loves it!  I actually got it on sale during Sephora's Friends&Family sale, plus it was on clearance...so I got a great bargain.  I don't know how available this palette is anymore, however UD rolls out similar palettes several times a year.  So you might be able to get just as good of a deal another time! 

The palette is made of sturdy cardboard, and you can see how cool and retro it looks!  It came with a mini bright pink lipgloss. (Lip junkie, in the color Crush)

 On the inside, there are four beautimous eyeshadows and a mini 24/7 eyeliner.  

                                                                                                                                     

 Here they are lightly swatched

 (L-R, Crush lipgloss, Woodstock, Verve, Suspect, Darkhorse, Whiskey eyeliner)

Here I swatched them a little heavily (I just went over the eyeshadows one more time.)  I used no primer, so you can see how well pigmented these are.  I love wearing a neutral look with these eyeshadows.  Adding the Woodstock to your crease can change things up a bit, and it also makes a great blush!  The eyeliner lasts quite a long time.  Basically, I find no fault with this palette...so I'm hoping UD comes out with more of these soon.

One final pic:  now you can see the gorgeous shimmer!

Sinful Colors Nail Polish: Show Me The Way

Show Me The Way is a BEAUTIFUL green nail polish. It's green but kind of goldish, shimmery but not shimmery in that way that makes weird lines on your nails.  (Do you know what I'm talking about?)  Anyway.  It's green and sometimes looks a little yellowy.  Gorgeous color.  I can't vouch for the wear time yet because as soon as I put it on, I layered a glitter polish over top.  (You'll get to check that out in my next post.)  Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

  I was very proud of myself for getting my manicure so shiny and smooth.  (aka, this was very easy to apply)

 

revel in the shimmer ;)

 bad picture, I know, but the yellow really comes out here

Overall, this is just a really pretty polish.  

Sinful Colors Nail Polish: Call You Later

Call You Later is another beautiful green polish from Sinful Colors.  It consists of small gold glitter and larger green glitter in a clear base.  For these pictures, I layered 3 coats of it over Sinful Colors Show Me The Way for the full glittery effect.  However, one coat was pretty enough!  On bare nails, I imagine two or three coats would make for  a nice effect.  I prefer to use this as a layering polish.

so much glitter!

 obviously, I haven't cleaned my nails up yet.  

 You can see the gold glitter really well in this pic...

 and here you can see the metallic effect this polish has in certain lights

you can see the dark green glitter really well in this pic

Overall, this is just gorgeous.  All day long I've been looking at my nails because they're just so sparkly...