Kylie Cosmetics Kyshadow bronze palette review, swatches and dupes!

Hello guys,

Today, I will be doing a review for Kylie Cosmetics Kyshadow bronze palette. Kylie recently released new eye shadow palette and it sold out within 1 min every restock, I'm not even joking LOL. I am lucky enough to be able to order it. To be honest, I am not so excited when I first see her palette online and it looks similar to BH cosmetics x Shannxo palette. But I purchased since  I am curious of the formula and want to review on my blog with any possible dupes. :)

Here is the first look. It comes with cute blinking eye card.  As usual, the packaging is really stunning and I like the eyes with drips on front cover.

Here is the colours. As it is called bronze palette, it includes pretty brown, bronze everyday neutral shades. Only 2 of them satin finish and the rest are mattes which I like. Colours descriptions according to website are

Jasper (matte finish creamy beige), 
Quartz (satin finish champagne gold), 
Topaz (matte finish true taupe), 
Goldstone (satin finish bronze),
Citrine (matte finish bright orange), 
Tiger Eye (matte finish light golden brown), 
Hematite (matte finish chestnut brown), 
Bronzite (matte finish chocolate brown), 
Obsidian (matte finish black). 

Here is the back of the palette with eye shadows names. I wish the names are written in front down the eye shadows for easier reference.

 1st Swatches of the palette taken with just my iphone without flash ( L )and with flash( R )

This is close up swatches taken with my camera. As you can see, matte shades are pretty pigmented and satin shades  are less pigmented than what I expected especially the shade, Quartz ( champagne gold ). I will spritz setting spray on the brush to get more pigment for the two satin shades. Apart from that, I like the formula of the shadows, they are smooth, pigmented and easy to blend on the eyes. I am impressed :) I have been wearing them since I got it and they last pretty long on my eyes too although I have oily eye lids.


Now for the exciting part, I want to compare kyshadow with other dupes that are famous on the internet. Luckily, I have both famous dupes for Kyshadow.

These are BH cosmetics x Shannxo palette and Morphe 35O palettes.

On the first glance, shannxo palette is very similar to Kylie in therms of design and shades. Morphe 35O is very pretty warm orangey palette ( my all time dream favorite palette ).

This is close up of Shannxo palette with Kyshadow palette. When you see close up of these two, the colours are not very similar. Shannxo palette has 6 satin shades and only 3 are matte while Kyshadow has 7 mattes and only 2 satin shades. I mark the shades that look similar with star  in both palettes and swatch below.

BH = Bh cosmetics shannxo , KY=Kyshadow 

For the first white shades, they are pretty similar but shannxo has more pinky tone and Kylie white shade  has more yellow tone and pigmented. For the second satin shades, Shannxo's is more pigmented and white while Kylie shade is more champagne cream colour which does not really show up on my skin tone.

As you can see above, Shannxo palette shade is more yellow but Kylie shade is more orange and these two are different. For the next bronze shades, it is pretty much dupe. But outside , Shannxo bronze shade is darker and more pigmented . I really like this shade from Shannxo palette. 

Next brown shade from Shannxo palette is more red tone, warm and Kylie shade is more brown. For the black shades, Shannxo's is more grey tone with glitter and Kylie's a bit darker and matte shade.

As you see from swatches, only 1 or 2 shades are similar ( white and bronze ) in both palettes. Shannxo palette has more satin shades which are pretty ( although I wish there are more matte shades ) and Kyshadow palette has more matte shades for day to day wear. In my opinion, these two palettes can work together beautifully and I don't mind owning them both since they are not that similar.

Next is Morphe 35O palette Vs Kylie palette. Morphe has 35 shades and obviously there are more dupe colours inside. I am not sure you can see in photo but I mark same colour stars on the shades that are similar in both palettes.

M=Morphe , KY=Kyshadow 

I swatch white and champagne satin shades from Kylie with similar colours from Morphe. White shade is pretty much same but Kylie champagne satin shade is a bit different from Morphe satin shades.  

Next, I swatch all the orange and brown colours . I am glad to see that Morphe orange shade and Kylie orange shade ( first shade from below )  is exact dupe and first and second shades from top are pretty much same too.

So, Morphe 35O has more similar colours with Kylie palette and I am sure you can create the same look with Morphe palette. If you have 35O palette, you don't really need Kyshadow palette but as an eye shadow palette collector myself, I am happy that I own both.

 In my honest opinion, although I love Morphe 35O palette, I don't reach for it so much as it is pretty big palette and I am sometimes overwhelmed with lots of shades. You cannot travel with this palette too as it is big palette and Morphe palettes are quite fragile. For Kyshadow palette, I can travel with it and is easier to use day to day as a small palette.

I really hope you enjoy my review and swatches and help you out some way. I will try my best to post more  on my blog but as it takes lots of time and effort, I struggle to find time since I work full time too. Anyway, Thank you so much for your time in reading my post . :)

<3
Violet

All about Liquid lipsticks: Favorites and mehh!!

Hello all,

If you all don't know, I am obsessed with liquid lipsticks for over a year now and I have tried every brands that I can. I feel bad for bullet lipsticks since I  wear liquid lipsticks almost daily. Liquid lipsticks are your best friend if you want matte finish and long lasting lips all day. But almost all of the liquid lipsticks are drying so it may not be for people who have dry lips or hate dry feelings on the lips. From the liquid lipsticks brands that I have tried, I want to share my favourite brands and formulas for both high end and affordable options. Of cos, the ones that I don't really like also. ;)

 This is all my liquid lipsticks collection and both container and drawer is from Muji.

I will start with high end or pricey  brands first. I pick my top brands  in no particular order because I cannot choose which is no. 1 or 2.

First is Stila all day liquid lipsticks ( SG$39 ) and available in Sephora stores. Stila is one of the first brands that I tried and fell in love . I have 2 of them and obviously need to pick up more. 

This shade called Patina is my no. 1 favourite colour on the lips.  It is really pretty nude pinky mauve colour for everyday wear. The formula of Stila is liquidy, dries to matte and last all day. The colours are really opaque and 1 coat is enough to apply. I find them not drying on lips at all even though they are matte. Highly recommend them and you should at least check out Patina in store. :)

Next is all hyped up Kylie matte liquid lipsticks ( US$29  with lip liner exclude shipping fee ) and only available on www.kyliecosmetics.com. I have 5 of them and like every colour that I own. 

Some of the Kylie colour swatches above!!. Kylie mattes have very liquidy formula and dries down to matte the fastest than the rest. From the colours that I own, all are very opaque, long lasting and not drying or flaky on the lips throughout the day. My favorite shades are dolce K, 22 and candy K. I reviewed them on my another blog post and you can check it out the colours on my lips there.

 Next is Jeffree Star Velour liquid lipsticks! It is US$18 ( exclude shipping fee ) and can be purchased on www.beautylish.com and jeffreestarcosmetics.com. I have 6 of them and I really have to stop purchasing since they are addictive. Look at the cute packaging :D

Some of the Jeffree star swaches above!! Jefree star formula is not so liquidy or mousse and dries down to matte after a few minutes. Once it dries, it feels nothing on the lips and they have the most comfortable formula. It is not as long lasting as Kylie or Stila but less drying and can touch up easily. My favorite shades are mannequin , doll parts, unicorn blood and gemini ( from top to bottom in clockwise )

Next is of course, Kat Von D everlasting liquid lipsticks ( SG$ 31 ) and available in Sephora stores or online. Kat Von D is recently launched in Singapore and I picked up 3 but  they have wide range of colours to choose from. I really like her packaging too- so sleek and easy to store.

Bow and arrow, Lolita and Requiem ( L to R ).  Kat Von D formula is also liquidy, opaque and dries to matte quick. They can be a bit drying throughout the day but I don't mind that and her colours selection is amazing. :)

Next is the balm meet matte hughes long lasting liquid lipsticks ( SG$36.90 ) and can be purchased at www.sephora.sg or some SASA stores. I have only one of the shade which is called charming. They are on pricey side but it is worth it because the formula is amazing. They have mousse texture but it dries to matte without drying on the lips. The colour lasts all day on my lips and it smells like chocolate mint chips. I will totally purchase more colours from them in the future. 

Let's discuss more affordable and drugstore brands next.

Ok. Next is Ofra long lasting liquid lipsticks ( US$19.90 exclude shipping ) but they have 30% of code from a lot of youtubers so after discount is only US$14. You can only get them on their website www.ofracosmetics.com I have 4 of them and the other two not in picture is in their old packaging. 

Ofra formula is more mousse side and it does not really dry down to matte in beginning. It will dry to matte later in the day though. It is one of the most comfortable formula since it is less drying but cons is it is not transfer proof and not long lasting as the rest. You can easily touch up though. This is best for those who don't like dry formulas on the lips. Swatches are called  Aries and Charmed ( From L to R ). 

Next is Colourpop ultra satin lips ( US$6 exclude shipping ) and available only
on colourpop.com. I have quite a few of them since they are so affordable and the formula is so good. I am not a fan of their ultra matte lips since they are quite drying but this satin formula is amazing!!! I wish they have more shades like their ultra mattes.

Swatches above are from ColourpopX Kathleen lights collab. Alyssa, November and point zero ( L to R ). Their formula is the same as Ofra one - mousse type , not really dries to matte and transfer when you eat. But good thing is that although it transfers when you eat, you still left colour on the lips and is quite long lasting too. I am in love with this formula. <3

Recently, I found new favourite brand from drugstore. They are Milani matte lip cream ( around SG$12 ) and  I purchase from www.beautybay.com. I am not sure where else you can get from. 

I picked up two colours- Allure and Fling ( L to R ).  They have similar formula like Kylie or Kat Von D. It dries to really matte and long lasting all day. I find them not drying although I am not sure how others feel. But it is worth to check out for this price.





After I discussed my favourite brands, let's talk about the ones that I don't really like.

They are Tarte matte lip paint (SG$30 ), Mac retro matte liquid lipstick (SG$39 ) and Revlon ultra HD matte lipcolor (SG$21.90). 

I don't like Tarte and Revlon for the same reason- they are not really matte at all. Tarte ( swatch on top left colour ) formula is not really opaque and it takes very long to dry. You need a few layers to get good colour pay off and since it is not really matte, it does not last long. I will choose Ofra or Colorupop over Tarte.


Mac retro matte swatch very pretty - it is opaque and dries to matte as you see in the photo. ( Swatch on top right colour ). I really like this colour -" Oh lady "but after a few hours, it cracks on the lips and flakes on bottom lips. When you touch up, it is fine for a while but after a few minutes, it flakes off. I am not sure this is for only this colour but I don't want to pay $39 to try another colour again. :(


Revlon ultra HD matte is the same as Tarte. It is not opaque and you need to layer up to get good colour pay off. It does not dry to matte too. Swatch is bottom from the three in the photo. I rather buy Nyx soft matte lip cream ( similar formula but better and cheaper ) since $21.90 is not cheap  for Revlon here considering drugstore brand.


Honourable brands that are worth mentioned are
Gerald cosmetics ultra matte liquid lipstick,
Bourjois rouge edition velvet lips,
Australis velourlips  and
LA Girl pro matte lip gloss.
You can check out these brands too and may like them.

I hope you find this post helpful and I will keep reviewing other liquid lipsticks brands If I try in the future too. I want to try Anastasia beverly hills and Smash box liquid lipsticks next.

<3
Violet

Nars All day luminous weightless foundation Review

Hello everyone,

Today I would like to review Nars all day luminous weightless foundation. It has been a while since I review a foundation. I am in the shade,Medium 2- Santa Fe in this foundation. I have been using this foundation on and off since last year. So, it is quite safe to review it now.

The website claims benefits of this foundation as below.

Benefits

• Lightweight, full-coverage and long-lasting.
• Suitable for all skin types.
• Even Tone Technology neutralizes redness.
• Weightless Long-wear Technology uses flexible polymers and treated pigments that move with the skin.
• Oil-free and paraben-free.

I can use this foundation either with blending brush or beauty blender. I have been liking this ELF blending brush for applying foundations. 

As you can see, the foundation is water based and runny. They said one pump is enough to cover the whole face. Normally, I use one and half pump to get more coverage. 

Ready to see my bare face? Here you go below!! 

I applied moisture and primer ( Too faced hangover ) before foundation. I always use hydration primer under this foundation as it sometimes clings to my dry patches around the mouth area. As it is water-based foundation, I find that silicon primers do not work so well under it.

This is after applied one and half pump of the foundation. You can see it has pretty decent coverage to cover my dark spots and it evens out my skin tone. One thing to take note is it set pretty quickly so you need to apply half face first and blend quickly. As it claims, the foundation feels very weightless on my face and it sets to luminous finish throughout the day although it dries to matte finish in the beginning . I think you don't even need to set with powder for dry skin types. For combination skin like me, it controls oil  on T-zone more than other foundations and lasts all day.

After I had done full face, the foundation looks even better. I think it looks great in photos too.

To conclude my review,

Pros
Weightless
flawless finish
Controls oil
Long lasting
Wide shade range
Great for photos

Cons
Can sometimes cling to dry spots
Can give cake face if you apply too much ( for this foundation, less is more )
Expensive ( around SGD 75 )


Overall, I really like this foundation and it works as they claim. It is one of my top foundations after too faced born this way.  I recommend this if you need higher end foundation that provides great coverage and long lasting effect for all day usage. This works well for Singapore humid weather in my opinion.

<3
Violet

Makeup revolution palettes review and swatches! ( Iconic 2 and Salted caramel palette )

Hello everyone,

Today, I would like to write a review for makeup revolution iconic 2 and salted caramel palettes. Makeup revolution is a UK brand which is really affordable and they sell a lot of dupe eye shadow products for Urban decay naked palettes and too faced eye shadow palettes. I picked up iconic 2 palette which is a dupe for UD naked 2 palette and salted caramel palette which is a dupe for too faced semi sweet chocolate palette. I don't have the original UD naked 2 and too faced semi sweet palettes to compare but I can see from online swatches, they are all pretty similar colours. You can check out youtube or online swatches to decide too.  

Lets get to the review. 

Iconic  2 palette and Salted caramel palette 

Iconic 2 palette contains 12 shades ( 9 shimmers and 3 mattes) 

Below is the swatches of Iconic 2 palette. I am sorry that the photos are a bit dark because it is a rainy day outside and my room is too dark to capture good photos without shadows.
But, as you can see from the swatches, they are really pigmented. Iconic 2 is really pretty taupe silver colours. I am really impressed with the quality of the shadows except  2 matte shades that are a bit chalky. However, the rest of the shades are pigmented even with one swipe and is better quality than maybelline and loreal shadows.

Iconic 2 swatches

Lets see salted caramel palette!

Salted caramel palette contains 16 shades ( 7 mattes and 9 shimmers )

 Once you open the palette, you will notice that it smells pretty good and yummy. I really like blue and caramel colour in the middle row.

First row swatches! 

 All of the first row colours are matte ( the glitters in the photos on my hands are from my previous swatches ) I find that the matte colours in this palette are more pigmented than iconic 2 palette.

second row swatches!

I really like the second row colours and quality except the second one from the left is no pigment. Blue, caramel and bronze shades are so pigmented and I am in love.

Third row swatches!

Third row colours are 4 shimmers and 1 matte. As usual, all the shimmer colours from makeup revolution are pigmented and pretty. You can use the first colour from the right as face highlight too. 

To conclude the review for these two palettes, makeup revolution palettes are high quality shadows although you cannot match the quality of UD or too faced shadows. Makeup revolution shimmer colours are pigmented and great although matte colours are a bit chalky - you can still build up the colours for matte and it is usable. I really recommend makeup revolution palettes if you don't want to spend a lot of money on UD naked palettes and too faced palettes or even if you have them, you can still try the colours. Since it is really affordable, it is worth to check out. :)

Hope you enjoy my review.
<3
Violet

What I am feeling! Quarter life crisis??

Hello everyone,

This blog post is inspired by my favorite vlogger, Estee lalonde. You can find her youtube channel with her name. I was watching her video "My quarter life crisis" and I feel related to her video with my life right now so much that I have to write this post.
First of all, I am 26 years old holding undergraduate degree in management and working my 3rd full time job for nearly 2 years now. I started working full time at the age of 20 and working for 6 years now. Now that I am 26, I honestly feel like I am in the quarter life crisis. I managed to get a degree, have a stable job and income although it is not related to my passion and stable relationship for almost 5 years but I feel like my life is pretty much stuck. I am not sure a lot of my friends around the same age 25-26-27 years old will feel the same way but I think they do too. At this age,you pretty much know what you are interested in or what your dreams are but you have no idea how to start. Sometimes, you feel inspired and want to take risks then you think again that you are too old to risk. You can differentiate who are your real friends but you feel lonely at time. Instead of going out with people you don't really like, you prefer to be alone now. You see a lot of young and successful people outside and you feel depressed . A lot of your friends are married or have kids  now and you feel like you have different world from them. You find out that you are not at the age when you can rely your parents every time or tell them your problems. People have a lot of expectations from you and you feel so much pressured. Sometimes, I talk to myself what is the point of doing all this and I just want to stop for a while.

Anyway, I am sure you can relate to some of the feelings and I think it is pretty normal to feel weird, depressed or unmotivated sometimes. I have positive thinking most of the times and I am sure everything will be sort out eventually in life. Anything is possible in your life and nobody can see the future and it is best not to worry too much , right? As long as you believe in yourself, I think nobody can doubt you. My favourite quote right now is " Do more of what makes you happy!" <3

All are just my feelings and 2 cents thoughts! :)

Cheers!
<3
Violet

Colourpop Cosmetics : Hot or Not and My Favorites!!

Hey guys,

I am so excited to write a post about my favorite brand, Colourpop cosmetics. Today, I will be reviewing some of the colourpop products and mentioning  my favorite products. Colourpop cosmetics is USA online brand that only sell on website and ship to a few countries for now. So for the rest of us who wants to get from Colourpop, we either have to use shipping service or find resellers. I bought all of my Colourpop products from their website and I use Vpost shipping service to send to US address and send back to Singapore. Actually, using shipping service is even more cheaper than buying from some retailers in local since they mark up costs more. Most of the Colourpop products are US$5 - US$8 only. Yes, they are so affordable. Their products are awesome too. No wonder, everyone is going crazy over Colourpop now and their company has grown a lot since last year. Lets get into the review. :)

My Colourpop collection <3 I am addicted to them :)

Some of the ultra matte liquid lipsticks and lippies have no more logo since I had them quite long ago

From their products, ultra matte liquid lipsticks are quite popular since liquid lipsticks are on trend right now. Recently, they come out with new ultra satin liquid lipsticks which I prefer more. Ultra matte liquid lipsticks have more liquidy formula and when they dry, they are very matte and dry which make long lasting all day. After you wear for a few hours, your lips start to feel a bit dry. Although I don't mind dry formula, for those who don't like dry feeling, they might not be for you. Most of the colours are opaque and have great colour pay off and some darker colours tend to be patchy ( e.g Zipper ). I have about 6 of them and I find that the formula tend to vary depends on colour ( some very dry and some are more comfortable ). 

But for ultra satin liquid lipsticks, they have more creamy feel and they don't dry very matte. When you eat something, some of the colours  will come off but not all colour. Throughout the day, it is very comfortable compared to ultra matte. Strangely, they last long all day too. I am in love with this formula and buying more of these. <3

I show swatches below to compare ultra matte and ultra satin formula. As you see from swatches, left two swatches are ultra matte and they are very matte. Right most swatch is ultra satin formula and it has a bit of shine and not so matte like ultra matte. 

L-R- Drive in, Creeper ( ultra matte ) and Echo park ( ultra satin ) 

Next I want to review is their lippie stix. They have a few formula too such as matte, satin , creme and sheer. I have not tried sheer formula yet.  My favorite formula is matte because their matte lippie stix are creamy matte , not so dry and last longer. Satin finish is a bit patchy and need to layer more to get full colour payoff. Creme finish is creamy formula with shine. Obviously, matte formula has the most opaque colour pay off and last longest from three. Now they release new matteX formula lippie stixs which are more matte than their original matte. I am still waiting for my order to try out. 

Swatches of different formulas below. 

L-R, Flawless ( satin ), Lumier ( matte ), Aquarius ( creme )

Next is my most favorite product from Colourpop, their super shock shadows. They come in a pot and have cream formula. When you touch, it is wet formula and it is best to use your fingers to apply. You need to close the pot immediately to not dry out. They have different formulas too such as matte, satin, metallic, ultra metallic, pearlized and press pigment. Personally, I don't like their matte eyeshadow formula but love their metallic, pearlized ultra metallic formula most. I swatch my favorite colours below. They are so amazingggg!! <3

L-R- Coconut (pearlized), Telepathy (ultra metallic), Nillionaire (metallic), Midnight (metallic), Weenie (pearlized)

Next is their highlighters. Their highlighters have the same creamy formula as eye shadows. They give natural glow when you apply on the cheeks. I really like them too. I have 3 of them and they are all beautiful. 

Swatches as below although the camera cannot capture the glow very well. 

Top to bottom- Lunch money, Wisp, Butterfly beach

Overall, I really like Colourpop as a brand and their products. My favorites and recommendations are ultra satin liquid lipsticks, lippie stix ( matte ), super shock eyeshadows and highlighters. I want to try their bronzer, blush , eyeliners and brow products too next time.
Hope you enjoy my review.

<3
Violet