SHINE, SHIMMER & SPARKLE

Hi!

So here we are at the next installment of the Swatch-Fest series! Contrary to many of my friends, I did not start off my eye makeup collection with neutral shades.  Instead, I plunged headlong into the emerald sea and my love for green eyeshadow has stayed afloat. Haha. Ok, enough nonsense - let's see the greens in my collection.

1.  Bourjois Smokey Eyes Trio in VERT TRENDY (Highlight shade)

2.  Bourjois Smokey Eyes Trio in VERT TRENDY (Medium shade)

3.  Bourjois Smokey Eyes Trio in VERT TRENDY (Deep shade)

4.  Clarins Mono Coleur in JUNGLE GREEN

5.  The Body Shop Eye Shimmer in 08

6.  I Nuovi D27 Colours in CAT'S EYE

7.  Urban Decay in GRAFITTI

This close-up shot (taken with no flash) more clearly showcases the duochrome characteristic of (5) The Body Shop Eye Shimmer in 08 as well as the green glitter in (6) I Nuouvi's Cat's Eye. (PS: I really should learn how to type in better-looking numbers instead of using the mouse; looks like a 5-year old scrawled in the pictures!)

8.   Barry M Fine Glitter Dust in OPAL (on hindsight, this is actually more black than green - its green glitter in a black base)

9.   Ed Pinaud Luminous Eyeshadow in 06 

10. MAC Pigment in ANTIQUE GREEN

11. MAC Pigment in OLD GOLD

12. MAC Eyeshadow in LUCKY GREEN

13. MAC Eyeshadow in RATED R

14. MAC Eyeshadow in ONE OFF

15. MAC Eyeshadow in SWIMMING

16. MAC Eyeshadow in HUMID

17. MAC Eyeshadow in CLUB

The close-up of (11) MAC Pigment in OLD GOLD at a different angle shows the duochrome characteristic - in the main picture, (11) looks goldy-green but in this close-up, you can see it flashes bronze as well.

(17) MAC Eyeshadow in CLUB is really a unique colour that flashes blue-green-brown but I really don't use it enough. 

I actually like all the greens I have in my stash and use all of them often. Like Chantana once mentioned, the differences in shades may be rather subtle but somehow, they DO end up looking different; I think that this is because of the various undertones (brown, yellow, gold, silver) or the finish.  Initially, when I started using the greens, I used to only pair lighter greens with the darker greens - now I'm more adventurous and pair them with different colours like blacks, chocolates, golds, bronzes and tried mauve once. But seriously, now that I've actually seen all the different greens I have in my stash all at one go, its time that I go on a green-eyeshadow ban. 

Uhhh ... so the Birds and Berries eyeshadow from MAC's Give Me Liberty of London collection shall be henceforth considered a blue in my world (its actually a frosted dark green-blue). *wink wink*

DISCLAIMER: ALL PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS ENTRY WERE PURCHASED WITH MY OWN MONEY.     

I must confess.  Remember that makeup math I had talked about earlier? Uh, well, I, ummm .. managed to convince myself.  There. I said it.  I've been procrastinating on posting this for awhile though and decided to plead guilty today =P

DELUXE EYESHADOW SINGLE in FRIGID

DELUXE SHADOW BOX

I couldn't resist after swatching the entire palette (the day when I bumped into Sophia at ION Sephora). I can understand the hype surrounding Urban Decay - the UD DELUXE EYESHADOWS are pigmented, smooth and have that alluring shimmery-sheen to them.  I think the best way to describe them is LUXURIOUS.  Also, the colour combination in this palette was smashing - I have greens, pinks, golds, blacks, blues and purples in my stash, but I couldn't find exact dupes for these shades.  Several of the shades appear to have a gold undertone to them, while shades like FISHNET and RANSOM are duochrome-type shades.  When I purchased these, I was told that it was the LAST palette left (its been over a week I think); I'm sure they would have re-stocked by now.  The Deluxe eyeshadow single in FRIGID also has that lovely duochrome quality to it - its a blue-toned purple that flashes both blue and purple depending on the angel.  I also received the goodies that come along with the purchase of any 2 UD products but I didn't want to feature them again since the promotion is well known to many already.

I thought I'd include swatches of the single and the palette - FRIGID was a little difficult to photograph as the duochrome didn't show up as prominently as it is in real life.

TOP, L-R: FISHNET, HONEY RANSOM

BOTTOM, L-R: GRAFITTI, ZERO, PEACE

BOTTOM, L-R: SHAG, SCRATCH, UNDERGROUND

(NOT SO GREAT SWATCH OF) FRIGID

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EDIT: UPDATED INFO ON GWP

GIVEN ICEFROST'S QUERY ABOUT THE GIFT WITH PURCHASE, I CALLED SEPHORA TO CHECK (I was curious too).  ACCORDING TO THEM, THE GWP IS STILL AVAILABLE AND CONSISTS OF THE SAME ITEMS - THE CLEANSER, THE MINI 24/7 PENCILS, 2 EYESHADOW SINGLES, UDPP SAMPLES, ETC.  HOWEVER, THE GWP ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN CHANGED: YOU NOW NEED TO SPEND SGD$120 TO QUALIFY FOR THE GWP. 

DISCLAIMER: ALL PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS ENTRY WERE PURCHASED WITH MY OWN MONEY. I AM NEITHER AFFILIATED TO, NOR IS THIS A PAID / SPONSORED ADVERTISEMENT BY, URBAN DECAY (what a pity though! LOL!)

Well, in my case, apparently the magic number is 9.  I swear I must have at least one or 2 more hiding in another drawer (I sometimes rotate my MU cos they can't all fit into my train case at the same time - now that I actually typed that out in black and white, that looks bad.

Anyways, I thought I will do a small series whereby I swatch my eyeshadows in colour families.  Since I love PURPLE so much (AMY! My friend!), I thought that it I shall bestow it the royal honour of kick-starting the series.  I also thought that by doing this, I also have tangible evidence to psycho myself into not buying anymore dupeable / almost dupeable shades and only totally unique ones that I will wear again and again (MAC's Off The Page orange eyeshadow, I'm talking to you!).

Anyways, here goes (all swatches without base; taken in flash):

1. MAC Devil May Care
2. MAC Plum Dressing
3. MAC Vibrant Grape
4. MAC Parfait Amour
5. Clarins Vibrant Violet
6. Clarins Perfect Plum
7. Ludifull Molly Violet
8. Mini Bourjois Dose de Nacres 12
9. Make Up Forever 92

Here are a couple of close ups:

L-R: Devil May Care; Plum Dressing; Vibrant Grape; Parfait Amour

L-R: Vibrant Violet; Perfect Plum; Molly Violet; Dose de Nacres 12; MUFE 92

Then, I decided to swatch my 3 purple pencil eyeliners too:

L-R: Sephora Flashy Liner (Waterproof) in FLASHY VIOLET

MAC Pearlglide Eyeliner in RAVE

Silkygirl Funky Eyelights Pencil in PURE PURPLE

I think I did rather good in the sense that none of the 9 purple eyeshadows are really too close to each other and there's a mix of both blue and red-toned purples / plums in my stash! Haha!  I love all my purple eyeshadows and use them very often, with the exception of Vibrant Grape - I find it so hard to work with and colour payoff can be a little frustrating.  As for the pictures, I compared them to the swatches on my arm and I think the colours are pretty accurate (I'm surprised that MUFE 92 turned out rather true to colour, instead of looking blue, which happens often) - this is with the exception of Parfait Amour, whose pretty pink duochrome doesn't show up in the pics at all. Boo.

I shudder to think what the magic number for the greens, blues and teals will be like ...

DISCLAIMER: ALL PRODUCTS FEATURED WERE PURCHASED WITH MY OWN $$$ AND OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.  DON'T JUDGE ME PLS.

Hello!

Nope, am not talking about the Green political parties - I'm referring to the green glitter party thats going on in today's EOTD.  Yeah, I know, another green-themed EOTD but I love how greens, blacks, golds look together.  Remember my monogamous love affair with MAC's HUMID?

Anyways, I finally used my Barry M Fine Glitter Dust in Opal (lid colour) - its a loose eyeshadow (think MAC pigment) of a deep black base with lots of green glitter (which didn't quite show up in the shots, except for the blurry ones - what luck.)  Unfortunately, even when used wet and atop a good base (MAC's Paint Pot in Blackground), there was still fallout - not glitter fallout but black shadow fallout! Fortunately, I managed to dust off most of it before I left the house and I didn't notice anymore fallout after that. 

For those who might want to pick up some of the Barry M Fine Glitter Dusts, Opal is rather long wearing.  Case in point:  I wore this out from about 2pm and was out in the sweltering heat till about 4pm - my mom and I went to buy vegetables at Pek Kio Wet Market, drove back home to leave the stuff - that's when I took the 2 pictures.  I then headed out again to run errands around Serangoon for about an hour (again in the unforgiving heat) before heading to Orchard; I only took off all my MU at about 1130 when I got home and I didn't detect any creasing or fading, despite sweating lorryloads and having major oilies.

OMG - I SO have to go get my eyebrows done soon - Stray Hair City.

I have to find new poses for my EOTD shots - I seem to tilt my head the same way again and again - and unfortunately, its these shots that look the most decent. 

Seeya!

*****EDIT*****

I finally learnt how to crop images - here is another shot that shows Barry M Fine Glitter Dust in OPAL a little more clearly (although I can't figure out why it technically remains the same size as the previous pics (only the image is cropped) - you know what I mean? hmm. Anyone can help me with this? I'm using GIMP Crop.  Thanks  I think I managed to figure it out; that gap is no longer there.  

Disclaimer: All products used in my EOTD were purchased with my own $$$

Heyy!

I was out in the evening today - drove my parents to a wedding in town and decided to pop by Sephora ION to check out the madness at URBAN DECAY.  Umm, ok, there was no madness at all - apart from me, there was only 1 other lady looking at the stuff and 4 SAs.  I made a beeline for the eyeshadows, eagerly looking for the duochrome green shade, VERT; the SA unfortunately was a little clueless and helpfully (and very sweetly might I add) pointed out a different green shade, GRAFITTI instead.  She mentioned that they have only currently brought in the "best-selling shades" (VERT is not a best-seller?!!! Its freaking gorgeous!!! Hahah!) and will reportedly, expand the repertoire as they go along.  We can only hope.

I noticed they brought in UD's latest range, STARDUST EYESHADOW, that is packed chockful with glitter (yes, of course I had to swatch that!). The casing is interesting - you squeeze the side of the casing for the see-thru lid to pop up, revealing a colourful eyeshadow smothered with sparkles. 

Since this was my first brush with UD, I couldn't but help swatch a few colours (from the 3 different eyeshadow ranges they had - STARDUST, DELUXE [these are rectangular with graphic prints on the casing] and EYESHADOW [the normal round casing] that appealed to me. FYI, I didn't want to get a telling-off so I walked out of Sephora and took this picture. 

Top Row L - R: UZI, ATMOSPHERE (STARDUST) OIL SLICK, FRIGID (DELUXE)

Bottom Row L - R: Ransom (DELUXE), GRAFITTI (DELUXE range), 54 (STARDUST), GRIFFITH (STARDUST)

My faves of the bunch? UZI, ATMOSPHERE and FRIGID are very attractive =)

I know - there are a gazillion blogs / websites with swatches of UD shadows; this is really nothing new.  But its special to me - its my first experience with the uber-hyped UD and well, the swatches are on MY hand! LOL!

Lets do some MAKEUP MATH, shall we?:

• The DELUXE SHADOW BOX retails at SGD$63 - you get 9 shadows of 1.2gm each, which comes up to a total of 10.8gm of DELUXE eyeshadows. This plus a 2.66ml UDPP.

• Each DELUXE eyeshadow of 2.5 g retails for SGD$31. 

• So tecnically, if you buy 2 DELUXE shadows (10gm 2.5gm X 2 = 10gm?!!! I told you I suck at maths! Its supposed to be 5 gm!!! LOL!), it will set you back SGD$62. 

• For SGD$1 more, you get 7 more DELUXE eyeshadows, 5.8gm more product and a mini UDPP if you purchase the DELUXE SHADOW BOX. 

Does the math make sense?

But why oh why, doesn't the DELUXE BOX OF SHADOWS have FRIGID in it? Its such a gorgeous purple with a deep blue sheen.  Sigh.

DISCLAIMER: I am neither affiliated to, nor is this a paid / sponsored advertisement by, Urban Decay

Hello hello!

So I think I will finish up the entire review in this post - having Part 3 will just kill it totally; plus I'll probably end up repeating some stuff, being the rambler that I am. HAHA! 

For convenience sake, here are the links to other parts of my review:

Part 1 - Swatches and Initial Observations

http://cocomotion.onsugar.com/REVIEW-ZA-DRAMATIC-EYE-COLOUR-PART-1---SWATCHES-SOME-INITIAL-OBSERVATIONS-WARNING-PIC-HEAVY-7215535

Part 2A - VIOLET EOTD and Observations

http://cocomotion.onsugar.com/REVIEW-ZA-DRAMATIC-EYE-COLOUR-PART-2A---QUICK-DIRTY-VIOLET-EOTD-7231581

BLUE EOTD + OBSERVATIONS

Here is how the BLUE palette looks on the eye - again, the entire eye look (in terms of the eyeshadows), was done using the ZA palette.  The eyeshadows were applied wet, with a brush over MAC Paintpot in DELFT.  I am using my own black liquid eyeliner, and if anyone is interested, I've used the DODO BROW MASCARA in 02 on my brows (although, I managed to get some eyeshadow stuck on it, how I don't know); I'm also using it in the VIOLET EOTD - you can check out a brief review on the BROW MASCARA here.  

 WITH FLASH

 NO FLASH

So what do you think of the BLUE palette? 

Personally, I find that the whole palette takes on a grey-toned blue character once on the eye (the base, DELFT, is a bright teal-blue shade).  Like the VIOLET palette, the sparkles and the glitter is not quite noticeable once on the eye; the cobalt-blue micro-glitter was visible on my brush, but I can't quite see it.  In terms of pigmentation level and lasting power, I would say that the BLUE palette is similar to the VIOLET one - the intensity can be built up in layers as you desire (it doesn't seem to cake up and get splotchy) and it lasts for a good number of hours with hardly any fading or creasing with the use of a good base. 

Like in my VIOLET EOTD, I did not follow the instructions on the back of the box.  I felt that the 2 medium shades (the baby blue and the grey-toned blue) were too light as lid colours on my skintone; given that the deepest shade in navy blue was so pigmented, I thought, why "waste" it by just using it sparingly? Hee hee.  But I think that the instructions might be good for someone who's looking for application ideas. 

Also, in comparison to the older ZA eyeshadow trios, EYES VIBRANTE, the pigmentation and quality of the new DRAMATIC EYE COLOUR is definitely stronger and smoother; while the old version comes off as being a matte, chalky-like texture as seen in my swatch below (taken very covertly, paparazzi-styled! LOL!).  

 Swatch of the blue-trio - no base

Like I mentioned in my other post, some people may like this palette for the convenience it offers too, given that an entire eye look can be created from just 1 palette.  Also, the eyeshadows seem to suit a range of skin tones which is a good good thing.  At SGD$19.90 a palette of 4 gms each, it does offer an option for you to consider, if you like these type of finishes and shades. 

That said, I just wished there were 1 highlight shade, 1 light shade and 2 deeper shades in the palette (as opposed to just 1 deep shade) for more DRAMA - they are DRAMATIC EYE COLOURS ya? Maybe, its because I'm used to (and prefer) stronger, deeper shades that holler "HOWYA DOIN???!!!" rather than those that offer a polite "pleased to make your acquaintance". 

The other downside I noticed was that the palettes got a little messy after use, as seen in the 2 pictures below - admittedly, I used a wet brush, but since the texture is a little on the soft side, they sort of blended into the other colour strips.  I notice that I am not the only one with this observation - Makeup Stash noticed that the palettes on display at the store looked "smeary". I reckon with regular usage, the smeary-ness may worsen if one does not make a conscious effort to be careful. 

I'm not going to quibble on the packaging much - the plastic casing is a nice shade of pink but I think it might have looked more chic if the casing was opaque pink (like the cases for the powder foundation?); it would have looked more sturdy.  Nonetheless, I'm really more interested in the product than the packaging so its not an issue for me. As with most palettes, I usually have little use for the teeny foam applicators that come with it; I prefer to use either my fingers or a brush for application =) 

WIDE EYE MASCARAS 

In my BLUE EOTD pictured above, I'm also using the ZA WIDE EYE Mascara in BLUE.  Having looked at it on my eye in person and then in the photos, I think it actually photographs much brighter - when the flash hits it and in strong light, the BLUE mascara looks rather bright.  Otherwise, I think it takes on a little lighter, perhaps grey-toned blue shade.  I think you might be able to see the subtle nuances in the 2 EOTDs above as only 1 pic was taken with flash.

Ok, so you've seen the BLUE mascara.  The other one in ROSE, is a different story.  Personally, I'm a little unsure about the wearability of this one.  When in the tube and given the name, I expected it to be a plummy shade.  However, once on the eye, I feel it actually looks more red-brown.  I tried it on its own (without eyeshadow) one morning and was a little stunned at how it turned out.  When I did the eyelook pictured below, I actually was a little at loss as to what eyeshadow shades to pair it with - I'm not sure if I got the shades right anyway. I was thinking of pairing it with a chocolate-gold shade but then, I thought that the mascara might "blend" in with the chocolate shades - the point is for you all to SEE what the mascara looks like! I'll be happy to hear any of your suggestions as to what eyeshadows I can wear this with =) Also, as you will see in the 2nd picture, the disadvantage of using a strongly coloured mascara with a black eyeliner is that if you're not meticulous enough (or in this case, didn't check properly), the mascara can actually show up on your eyeliner.  Sigh.  I have to be more careful next time.

I wanted a further shot so you can see how it looks from further away; say like if someone is talking to you, this is what they would see.  But pardon the Nose; I'm still getting used to the camera =)

I think both mascaras are well-pigmented - coloured mascaras can be a little tricky sometimes; they look blue, purple or green but once on the eyelash (and dry), they end up looking dark brown or black.  So I think ZA got it right with the colour / pigmentation formula.  However, I think the mascara only separates (and perhaps lengthens) the lashes - I don't quite detect any volumising effect.  It could be due to the fact that the comb-type brush separates the lashes so you get more of a spindly effect as opposed to a lush one.  To their credit, ZA does not tout this as a volumising mascara - it promises a "wide-eyed look" thats "bold" with "no fiber-clumps". But it would have been great if it volumised as well =)

You can actually see the product through the cloud-shaped window! That's a nice touch!

The mascara combs - I wonder if the effect will change if you use a different wand? I ran out of spoolies but shall try when I get hold of some

UPDATE

I just read Amyrleex's comment that she's interested in purchasing the mascara soon! Wow! Anyways, I read from Rouge Deluxe that Watsons has a promotional set for the mascara that reportedly includes a mascara shade of your choice, a deluxe sample of their Cleansing Oil and an eyelash curler, all packaged in a pink box for SGD$19.90. You might want to check that out =D Enjoy!!!

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I think that pretty much concludes my review of the ZA DRAMATIC EYE COLOURS and the WIDE EYES MASCARA. 

What do you think? Do you like what you see?

DISCLAIMER: The products featured here were sent to me by the company for review purposes.  I did not pay for the products and I am neither affiliated to, nor is this a sponsored / paid advertisement by ZA or Shiseido.

Hello!

Full range of the POP COLOUR Collection. 

Image courtesy of Temptalia.com

I was out with a bunch of OnSugarettes today - just a little informal meet-up, full of laughs, MU musings and 500 million wacky pictures of ourselve - to help the week go down faster! Anyways, we spotted a new range of eyeshadows sitting in nondescript, neat little row, atop of the eyeshadow rack at MAC Sephora ION.  Wowza! If I understand correctly, these are PRO eyeshadows that are currently extended as a mini-collection, POP COLOUR Collection, to regular MAC stores (non-PRO stores) in the US.  Seeing how MAC PRO-deprived we are in Singapore, I've been just waiting in anticipation for the launch of these in our stores, ever since I read Temptalia's collection overview (with swatches) here.  Initially, I "heard" that the collection would arrive after Chinese New Year but I guess we got LUCKY!!! Anyways, pun or corny dialogue unintended but I simply couldn't walk away without picking up a glorious midtone shimmery golden-lime shade, LUCKY GREEN =)

 Here's a great shot of what LUCKY GREEN looks like in the pan; I'm soooo deliriously happy that its a Veluxe Pearl finish that just makes the gold tones pop pop pop!!!

Image Courtesy of Temptalia.com

The full range appears to be available at MAC Sephora ION but MAC Tangs Orchard has a limited range / stock only.  If you're lemming any of the shades, you might call the counters in advance to check for testers and stock availability.  Can I please help kick-start any lemmings? Here are the contact numbers of the MAC Stores in Singapore (adapted from the Singapore MAC website):

Isetan Scotts: 62355382

Robinsons Raffles City: 63367938

Tangs Orchard: 62357718

Tangs Vivocity: 63769780

Ngee Ann City: 67356622

Sephora ION: 65098337

Hello!

Yet another installment in my SHARE series.  I've been looking at eyeshadows from several other brands in the recent past - MUFE, STILA, CLARINS and even wallet-friendly ranges from ETUDE HOUSE and LUDIFULL - but I will never get over my first love, MAC.  MAC has an incredible range of colours in numerous finishes that I think it might be a little tough to declare that you like none.  My personal favourites are eyeshadows in the STARFLASH, VELUXE PEARL and FROST finishes.  While several from the MINERALIZED and PIGMENT ranges need a little extra work (they are best when used foiled / wet), the colour payoff, intensity and lasting power is absolutely great. 

I thought it might be great for us to SHARE our favourite MAC eyeshadows - as usual, let's all indicate the name of the eyeshadow, what finish (or range) it is, a description of the colour and why you love it so much; if you want, you can even SHARE some pairing recommendations.  I hope that we all will benefit from a flurry of pairing suggestions and colour recommendations.  Even if your faves are Limited Edition, share them so we can keep our eyes peeled for a re-launch at MAC or even look for a dupe (with enough details on the colour provided).  

Here are 3 of my favourites from MAC:

NO FLASH

  WITH FLASH

BOTH PICS L-R: HUMID, SEA & SKY (solid royal blue side), CINDERFELLA

HUMID: HUMID is a FROST.  It is an intense medium-to-dark green (depending on the base) with a hint of gold tones.  This was my first MAC eyeshadow ever; I wore it to school everyday (I was in 3rd or 4th year uni at that time) until someone asked me why I wore green eyeshadow with everything.  I stopped wearing it for a while and when I re-discovered it in my stash about a year later, I used it up and have since re-purchased.  Its smooth and the intensity of the colour lasts the whole day with a good base.  I also think its pretty versatile - I've paired it with blacks, golds, taupes, lilacs, green-teals and copper. 

SEA & SKY: SEA & SKY was initially Limited Edition MINERALIZED DUO when it was first launched - it was released with several other duos (one solid and one swirled side) but was re-released again.  I know this for sure. Why? I dropped mine and it shattered into a million pieces, along with my heart.  The solid royal blue shade (pictured above) merged with the sky blue swirled side and I could never replicate the intensity again (I managed to salvage a little).  needless to say, when I spotted the re-launch of these, I ran to the MAC store and picked one up; I think these are still available since I remember seeing them at the counter just recently.  Again, an intense, frosty shade that I find oh-so-flattering, especially when used wet and over a good base.  Another versatile shade that can be paired with numerous other colours - lilacs, teals, sky blues, orange (yes, I actually tried that combi and was complimented by a BA at Tangs), rose-golds, silvers and deep greys

CINDERFELLA: Another MINERALIZED eyeshadow - the entire range caused quite a stir when it debuted under the STYLE BLACK collection late last year; all 4 colours practically flew off the shelves and I consider myself lucky to get one.  CINDERFELLA is a charcoal shade infused with a tonne of silver micro-glitter.  I love my glitter and this is just perfect - over a black base like MAC Paintpot in BLACK GROUND, the charcoal intensifies and the silver-glitter just POPPPPPS! I was never really a black eyeshadow or smokey-eyed girl.  CINDERFELLA changed my life! LOL! So drama, I know.  But seriously, I think this can be paired with just about anything.  I'm sooooo annoyed that this was LE; I think I might have found something really similar in a recent Bourjois collection - BLACK GLITTER from the OMBRE STRETCH range (I just picked this up at John Little during their 20%+15% sale); BLACK GLITTER is a wee bit heavier on the charcoal and a wee bit less intense in the glitter department but its pretty close if you want this badly enough). Again, another versatile shade that can be paired with practically anything in my stash.

So, there you have my faves.  What are yours? Come, SHARE with us!!!

DISCLAIMER: All the products featured / mentioned in this entry were purchased with my own money.  I am neither affiliated to, nor is this a paid / sponsored advertisement by, MAC.

Hello!

Ok, so this is not quite the whole of Part 2 of the ZA Dramatic Eye Colour review (you can check out my swatches of both the VIOLET and BLUE palettes here) - this is Part 2A given that its my EOTD using the VIOLET palette only.  I'm sorry to drag the review out like this but I decided that its neater this way; I also didn't want to wait too long to post this EOTD either. After I post the BLUE EOTD as Part 2B, I will do an Overview =)

Its a quick and dirty EOTD (no, the palette did not fall into a drain or something - that's just a phrase) as I was in a super rush this afternoon so I practically "threw" my whole MU on (so pls ignore any untidy blending, uneven lines or even overgrown eyebrows, fine lines under my eyes, dark circles etc).  Anyways, the whole point of the EOTD is to show how the eyeshadows look on the eye and how they hold up in terms of wear and not anything else. 

Please note that I used the ZA eyeshadows only - lid colour, accent colour AND highlight.  These were applied with a base (MAC Paintpot in Fresco Rose). I also did not use the eyshadows the way that was instructed at the back of the box - the accent colour (the lighter purple) was a little light on me so I applied the "liner" colour (the deepest shade in dirty eggplant) all over my lid and decided to apply the 2 lighter shades of baby pink and the lighter purple above the crease). FYI, the dirty eggplant shade was applied wet (I wet my brush) given that there was some fall-out; the wet brush DID NOT leave a wetspot either.  I also used the dirty eggplant shade to set my pencil eyeliner on my lower lashline.

PS: I am using my own black mascara and purple pencil eyeliner (lower lashline) in this EOTD

Freshly applied VIOLET eyeshadow at 1 pm. There was a little fall-out that I had to clean up. But Smoking Crap! My camera is so unforgiving and is displaying my terrible undereye circles and fine lines in all their glory! I really should start sleeping earlier and stop camping out at the PC the whole day.  Sigh.  _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 I took this pic after I got home at 9pm - can you see the oilies reflecting at the top right corner of the pic? 

 I decided to 'punk' up the eyeshadow with a little bit of glitter before I washed off my MU - here, I've used a teeny spot of blue-violet glitter from The Make Up Store.   

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OBSERVATIONS:

My honest opinion? I think the pics are proof that the eyeshadows hold up rather well with the use of a good base - I don't quite detect any creasing or fading despite being out from 1 - 9pm, in and out of aircon, perspiring (I ran a lot of errands) and the oilies.  The pigmentation of the eyeshadows is decent and the intensity can be built up in layers as desired.  Some folks like their eyeshadows lighter and delicate looking but I prefer intense, deep / bright shades and hence I chose to use the deepest shade on my whole lid; I also felt that the lighter purple shade (above the crease) needed several layers to show up well on my eyelid. That said, I think its really up to you and your imagination / preference to use the different shades in the palette (in terms of colour placement) any way you wish so you need not be restricted by the instructions at the back of the box =) When I have more time to play around with the palette, I will likely try using the lighter shades as my lid colour =) However, I was a little disappointed given that once on the eye, the shimmery, sparkly effect was negligible.  But this is good news for folks who cannot stand glittery, sparkly looks; but as can be seen from the last pic, you can definitely dress the eyeshadows up as per your wish. 

I think several people might like this palette given its decent, workable pigmentation level and for the convenience it offers, in that it is possible to build up an entire eyelook using just this one palette and a good base.  For that, it appears to be decently priced, even more if you pick it up during a sale at Watsons, Robinsons, etc ... 

PS: If you're curious about the Green and Gold gradation palettes, you can check out Rouge Deluxe for her reviews =)

DISCLAIMER: The products featured here were sent to me by the company for review purposes.  I did not pay for the products and I am neither affiliated to, nor is this a sponsored / paid advertisement by ZA or Shiseido.