Fude Collection Part 6

Posted on February 5, 2024 by ghekate

Welcome, lovers of Japanese brushes! If this is your first time visiting, I’d like you to know that I have a page that’s accessible on the left menu bar with every Fude post linked, as well as a description of the topics discussed in those posts and a list of which brushes are in which posts. For cell phone users, this page is visible by clicking on Navigation. If this is not your first time here, welcome back!

Regarding my measurements, “hair width” is measured from the widest part, regardless of the overall brush shape. I don’t measure thickness. Anything with an asterisk indicates that I had to measure that one myself as those numbers were not listed on the website. All figures listed in inches are converted estimates.

With costs of materials ever increasing and supply of certain hair types being harder to acquire, brush prices also increase. So, the prices I’ve listed might not reflect what is current, though I will do my best to keep them updated.

*DISCLOSURE: To those who have been using my affiliate link to shop from CDJapan, thank you so much! I am truly grateful!
The commission from that was used to partially pay for one of the brushes in this post. Otherwise, all other brushes discussed today (excluding the one accidentally shipped to me) were purchased by me with my own money. Non-highlighted links in bold blue font (Example) are standard non-affiliate links. Links marked in bold black font with a light blue background (Example) are affiliate links. Affiliate links allow me to get a commission if purchases are made directly using my link. Whether you click to shop through them or not, I appreciate you visiting and I hope you find the information I’ve provided to be helpful!

Chikuhodo

The Zen Collection became available at various retailers in very limited quantities. On CDJapan’s website, they stocked 5 of each brush individually and 5 complete sets. Within the first 5 minutes, most of the brushes were in low stock. Within 10 minutes a few sold out. By 20 minutes, everything was gone. They did not allow the purchase of more than 1 brush per person in order to allow more people to get their hands on them. There have been several restocks since the initial launch that were less restrictive in quantity. I don’t know how much supply there was in total, but Fude Beauty emailed customers stating the line is discontinued.

I love the look of the brushes, which was enough to make me want something from this collection, but I was also curious to know the difference between Chikuhodo’s standard and premium Silver Fox Hair. When I put them on my face, I can’t tell a difference. The softness is the same. It’s only when I feel them along the strands, not the tips, that I can tell the premium hair feels silkier, as if the bristles have been conditioned. I’m not sure if treating the bristles is what makes them special, if it’s the difference in the hair color, or if the premium hair naturally has some other quality I can’t detect that makes it “premium” above the FO series hair. Since the tips feel the same to me anyway, I recommend just choosing the shapes one likes most between the FO series and Zen series while there is stock left.

In my opinion, the Chikuhodo Premium Silver Fox hair feels the same as the silver fox hair used by Koyudo in their Yoshiki SF line.

It was also interesting to me that the ZEN series has Granadillo wood handles, just like the discontinued Homare line. I don’t know if that was to make use of leftover stock of handles or because the brand just likes that wood, but I’m not complaining. The wood is beautiful and I hope they use it in yet another line in the future.

Chikuhodo ZEN Series ZE-5 Eyeshadow Brush

Full Length: 145mm / 5.7 in
Hair Length: 30mm / 1.18 in
Hair Width: *13mm / 0.51 in
Bristle Type: Premium Silver Fox
Handle: Granadillo Wood

Of course, I was drawn to nearly all the brushes in the set, but because I already own so many FO series brushes, I wanted the ZE-5 for its intriguing shape that added something different to my collection. I wanted it specifically for highlighting because it reminded me of my beloved Bisyodo CH-HC brush, just thinner. It’s interesting that this is intended to be used for eyeshadows since it’s so huge for that purpose. I have round-shaped eyes, and I think this is why I don’t enjoy using it for even eye tasks as simple as single shadow looks.

For highlighting purposes, it’s better with loose pressed products. The hair is resilient enough to pick up firmer pressed highlighters, but it’s more prone to dispersing in a stripe if it’s a wetter formula that sticks where it’s placed and needs to be blended and/or buffed in. My favorite use for this brush is with the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Multi-Glow Highlighter because that one contains four color strips and the pointed tip allows to me pick up an isolated shade without the other colors getting mixed in. It’s also great for spotlighting, which I tend to take a brighter highlighter shade from one of the other four strips and precisely place it in one strategic spot at the very highest points of my cheekbones. The Bisyodo brush is still my favorite, but this has been my second most used since purchasing it.

If it ever comes back in stock, the link to it is HERE.

Chikuhodo ZEN Series ZE-6 Eyeshadow Brush

Full Length: 135mm / 5.32 in
Hair Length: 20mm / 0.79 in
Hair Width: *14mm / 0.55 in
Bristle Type: Premium Silver Fox
Handle: Granadillo Wood

There was a mixup with my order, the only time that ever happened to me via CDJapan in all the years I’ve been purchasing from them. That’s how I ended up with this brush. I never planned on buying it because I thought it was going to be like the FO-5, which I ended up selling. However, this brush is so much softer than that one and gentler in the corner of my eyes. It’s a great brush to quickly pack on a lot of color to my lids and crease. I’ve found myself using it more often than I expected over the past year!
In addition to using it for eyeshadows, it also works as a highlighter brush too. Sometimes in my massive collection, I end up misplacing my favorite brushes, so in times that I’m in too much of a rush to look for something else, I’ll wipe off the shadow on a microfiber cloth and apply my highlighter with it.
The third and final use for this brush is for contouring my nose. It’s the right shape, and picks up and disperses the product gently.

At the time that I’m finalizing this post, the brush is on backorder for 5500 YEN available HERE.

Chikuhodo ZEN Series ZE-3 Blush Brush

Full Length: 155mm / 6.1 in
Hair Length: 40mm / 1.57 in
Hair Width: *33mm / 1.3 in
Bristle Type: Premium Silver Fox
Handle: Granadillo Wood

This brush is more rounded than the FO-3, which slightly ovular. I like this aspect. The two brushes are quite similar, but the reason I ultimately bought it is because the FO-3 is one of my favorite blush brushes of all time. I even have a backup of it. So, if there was a chance to get a premium version of it, I just had to take it! I am happy to say I have no regrets on this decision. It really is like having another FO-3, but even better shaped to my preference.

*On the left is the ZE-3, in the middle is the FO-3, and on the right is the KZ-4*.

This picks up a good amount of product with one dip into a pan of powder blush (though baked gelee formulas need a lot more pressure and swipes). It’s dense enough that I can buff, and is still loose enough to lay down blush in a way that isn’t too heavy upon the initial application. I can use it for applying face powder, but the splay isn’t super wide, so it takes longer than with my typical powder brushes. I can also use it with bronzer, though I have to be careful not to use it with my more pigmented bronzers, or else it can apply too much at once.

As I mentioned, it’s like an even better suited FO-3 for me, so I’m extremely happy I bought this.

If this brush ever returns in stock, the link to it is HERE.

Beautylish Presents

Beautylish Presents the Year of the Rabbit Lunar New Year Powder Brush

Full Length: *170mm / 6.69 in
Hair Length: 47.6mm / 1.87 in
Hair Width: *40mm / 1.57 in
Bristle Type: Blue Squirrel

This brush is very similar to all the other Lunar New Year ones thus far from Beautylish, which means it’s similar to Chikuhodo’s Z-9 brush as far as I can tell from my research online (I don’t own the Z-9).

It’s soft and just dense enough to keep it from feeling floppy, ensuring one has full control of the direction of the bristles while moving it, and airy enough to disperse a thin layer of product. It makes a great brush for a light (not fully sheer) powder application, and for large mostly-diffused bronzing purposes. I’m in love, yet again, with the design. As long as these brushes remain the same price each year for this quality and craftsmanship, I will continue to recommend them. They’re very much worth it to get if you’re a lover of Japanese fude.

Because this post took so long to complete, I can say that as of the end of January, I also own the newest Beautylish Lunar New Year Brush in the Dragon design. I have not used it yet though, so I’ll have to include photos in another fude post in the future. Just looking at it though, the quality appears to be just as great as the others.

Eihodo

Eihodo Makie Powder Brush Goldfish Silver

Full Length: 173mm / 6.8 in
Hair Length: 55mm / 2.16 in
Hair Width: *50mm / 1.97 in
Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel

This brush came with a gold or silver ferrule color option. I chose the silver because I felt it matched more of the makie powder color in the handle design. The silver ferrule was also around $7 lower in price. In hindsight, after getting another brush in the goldfish handle (brush isn’t tested enough, so I can’t include it in this post yet), I should have gotten the gold since it’s more of my preference, but silver still looks nice.

This brush is on the floppy side, due in part to how long the bristles are and the brush not being as tightly packed. Due to the more rectangular shape, I can get away with using it as a bronzer brush, but it has to be a pigmented bronzer since it would take too long to build up with my sheerer bronzer formulas and with shades that are too close to my skin tone. It just isn’t dense enough to my liking to use for blending or buffing, so I prefer to use this exclusively as a sweeping brush to apply a sheer layer of finishing powder to my face. I could set powder with it as well, but since I prefer a setting powder brush that has resilient enough hairs or is packed tight enough to do a little bit of buffing/blending while applying, it’s better for me as just a finisher.

Above are size comparisons to the Chikuhodo FO-9 that I consider nearly rectangular in shape to show how much more rectangular the Eihodo brush looks.

At the time of me posting, this brush is 17000 YEN and available HERE. The gold ferrule version, which is also accessible through the link, is 18000 YEN.

Ordering From Fude Beauty

My first order from Fude Beauty arrived while I was overseas and had been unpacked for me, so I didn’t see how it was originally shipped. I just knew that it took about a week to be delivered after I received the initial shipping notification.

With my second order via FedEx, I bought three brushes and was shocked to see them arrive in a large poster-board/paperboard envelope with no additional padding/protection other than the (admittedly beautiful) pink bubble wrap. Up until this point, all my orders from other Fude websites came in boxes to help give extra protection against being dropped, stepped on, thrown, or even from the weight of another person’s heavy package being placed on top of it. My envelope looked like it had been stepped on, and one of the three brushes had a large dent in it.

I contacted Fude Beauty’s customer service and they asked if I wanted a refund for the brush or a replacement. I knew there was a Fude Beauty exclusive brush I still wanted, but was waiting to purchasing during a coupon event, so I asked them for a refund so I could add the replacement brush to that future order and they wouldn’t need to spend their own money on shipping.
I ended up deciding not to reorder the brush (and not reviewing it for the blog either), but I did make that third order.

The third order was via DHL. I specifically chose that option hoping I’d get better shipping packaging because my DHL orders always came in a box. It turned out that it didn’t matter. My Fude Beauty order came once again in an envelope. The envelope isn’t the biggest issue for me, and it’s more about not having at least a smaller box on the inside to help protect the brushes, the way that Rephr ships their brushes (eco-friendly recycle-padded envelope with a small carboard box housing the brushes on the inside). Considering Fude Beauty’s shipping costs are the same as everyone else in Japan, yet they pack the brushes in the least protected method of the other retailers I’ve purchased from, it’s quite irritating. As I said, the bubble wrap with the flower logo sticker is a beautiful touch, but I prefer to have my brushes protected over a pretty presentation, especially since it’s coming thousands of miles with plenty of opportunities to be damaged along the way. When I’ve bought brushes from Mercari, it was understandable to get them in bubble-mailers because I didn’t request a higher shipping option (typically $5) and it was coming from within the US. However, getting a similar experience with $20 shipping is unacceptable. Even though I’m a CDJapan Affiliate, I can honestly say CDJapan has the best and most protected packaging. I once got an order where they even bubble wrapped a card! The usual card with every order that has washing/care instructions on it. Brushes that automatically come with Paulownia boxes are still wrapped with care by them. Plus, they have a much better free shipping minimum than Fude Beauty!

While Fude Beauty’s customer service is great (I contacted them another time when their website was having problems issuing the coupons), I’m so displeased with the way their items are shipped that I will only order from them again for brush exclusives on their website. Even though the company is willing to replace or refund damaged goods, the fact that these gorgeous brushes with rare hairs and special handles will be unwanted and wasted in someone’s collection, or even tossed out (since they can’t be fixed and resold) due to carelessness bothers me as a lover of fude. Considering Fude Beauty is seemingly the most popular of the Japanese brush retailers with their early access to products, exclusives, and the number of semi-large influencers I see affiliated with the brand, I expected way more consideration for their packaging and deliveries.

There are of course pros and cons with every retailer of fude, so I wrote up a chart to help with comparisons between them as things stand to my current knowledge. In the future, these things may be different.

Eihodo Maiko Powder Brush Makie Series

Full Length: 167mm / 6.57 in
Hair Length: 47mm / 1.85 in
Hair Width: *42mm / 1.65 in
Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel

This is the brush that was in my first ever Fude Beauty order. It was originally listed as a limited release (of I believe only 100 brushes total). It had been available as a pre-order and for months was only available via Fude Beauty. Eventually, Fude Beauty restocked it in low quantity numbers and CDJapan got their hands on a few, but not many.

This brush remind me of the Beautylish Lunar New Year brushes due to the shape and quality of the hair, plus the shiny black ferrules and handles with such a beautiful makie design. It’s exquisite! Even though I paid more money buying it from Fude Beauty, I have no regrets.

This can be used for all over face powder, bronzer, and blush depending on what one’s preferences are. All over powder is the main function, but because there’s a significant amount of hair in the bundle at about medium denseness, it can buff fairly well (for a squirrel hair brush) in addition to applying a light to medium amount of product. It’s not going to be ultra sheer because it’s not wispy or loose, which is what I like about it. With bronzer, there’s a large surface area, but I can pick up some on the side instead of the tips to prevent the area of application from being too wide for my liking. Again, the application won’t be as diffused as it would from a brush with a wider hair splay, but it’s still sheerer than my typical bronzer brushes. So, I still use it with more pigmented bronzers. For blush, it’s definitely too big for my preference, but it can still work if product is picked up in a small area and if the blush is a more neutral nude type of color. I still use it mainly for powder (and/or bronzer if my bronzer brush favorites aren’t nearby).

This brush is currently 21000 YEN and available HERE.

Eihodo (Z11) Makie Blending Brush Sakura Black

Full Length: 115mm / 4.53 in
Hair Length: 20mm / 0.78 in
Hair Width: *10mm / 0.39 in
Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel

I’m fairly certain I once owned the Chikuhodo Z-11, but I believe I might have sold it long ago. I liked the softness, but the length of the hair made it too floppy while blending, which I discovered that a slightly firmer blend with less movement is my preference with eyeshadows. This Eihodo brush is extremely similar to that one. However, mine is bundled a bit tighter, so it isn’t as floppy. The hair type is the same and nearly as soft in quality. It’s still not my preferred blending brush, but I honestly wanted it for the handle pattern. I don’t mind using a reasonably short brush, but this is shorter than I tend to reach for. If I’m going to use it in the crease, it’s with lighter transition shades that just need to be a wash of color anyway, and not something to build up depth.

This brush at the time of posting is 3850 YEN and available HERE. There is also a handle version in red.

Eihodo RE10-1 Makie Eyeshadow Brush Sakura Black

Full Length: 105mm / 4.13 in
Hair Length: 12mm / 0.47 in
Hair Width: *7mm / 0.28 in
Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel and Weasel

I also bought this brush for the handle, but because it has a more resilient bristle (weasel) mixed in, I get stronger blending power along with precision application from the pointed tip. My two most similar shaped brushes are pictured below.

The Koyudo brush is my favorite of the three because it has the most defined point, which means I can use it to apply a highlighting shade to the inner corners of my eyes without the shimmer going everywhere. It’s also easier to use precisely on the lower lash line. The Eihodo brush is still better at being able to diffuse a smokey look in the outer corner and crease than the rephr brush, but the rephr brush is still nice for working with darker shadows in the outer corner. The Eihodo brush is softer feeling than the Koyudo brush because there’s enough gray squirrel hair in the mix. I like this brush, and find it even more useful than the Sakura blending brush, but I still tend to not use it as often because of the total brush length.

This brush is currently 3850 YEN and available HERE. There is also a red handle version.

Eihodo Face Mask Applicator Brush

Full Length: 147mm / 5.78 in
Hair Length: 28mm / 1.1 in
Hair Width: *35mm / 1.38 in
Bristle Type: Raccoon

This works for applying face masks evenly, but I wanted to use it with cream bronzer and contour to see how precisely I could shape my face with this. It applies those products perfectly well, but it’s the matter of blending it out that isn’t as easy, since the brush isn’t shaped for that purpose. So, I may as well use a regular brush that can do both.
Also, this is softer than my other raccoon hair brush. I read that raccoons have guard hair that’s coarse and stiff, as well as underfur that’s softer. Even though the hair in this brush is softer than the Koyudo y-8, it doesn’t feel that much softer that I’d suspect that they came from two different areas of the raccoons.

Muragishi Sangyou

MS-4 Mai Sakura Eyeshadow Brush

Full Length: 138mm / 5.43 in
Hair Length: 13mm / 0.51 in
Hair Width: *10mm / 0.39 in
Bristle Type: Gray Squirrel

I was a bit shocked to see this labeled as Gray Squirrel because it feels synthetic to the touch. It’s so firmly packed that even though it’s soft, there isn’t much movement in the bottom third of the brush closest to the ferrule. When used on the eyelid to apply shadows or adding color to the crease, the movement is almost entirely from the tip to halfway down at most. This stiffness in the bottom half, yet the amount of give in the tips, allows it to feel gentle when used in the eye area while performing more like a goat brush. I’ve never had a gray squirrel brush work as sturdily as this (only other unusual one I own is the Mizuho MB125) because they’re usually designated for lighter washes and diffused eyeshadow looks rather than packing on color, but I think that gives this brush a wonderful balance. I consider it one of my workhorse eye brushes. I’ve even been using it more than my beloved Sonia G Builder Three and Builder Pro. The flat shape is thin enough that I can also comfortably apply eyeshadow to my lower lash line, making it even more versatile. In fact, I can do pretty much every eyeshadow step using this one brush (and I have done that plenty of times).

This brush is 3200 YEN, at the time of me posting, and available HERE.

Wayne Goss

Wayne Goss Brush 13

Full Length: 165mm / 6.5 in
Hair Length: 30mm / 1.2 in
Hair Width: *25mm / 0.98 in
Bristle Type: Goat

This brush is wonderful. It’s one of those that I like to compare to applying a product on the face with a bunny tail. It’s soft and bouncy with the majority of the movement remaining in the tips. It’s great for blush and bronzer, and I actually got this as a set with Wayne Goss’ Bronzer/Contour duo.

I can buff with it, but it doesn’t apply too much at the start either. The way that it’s bundled keeps it feeling airy even though there’s a lot of hair packed in and it feels medium density overall. The downside of the brush is that it sheds a lot. I love using it, but I’m fearful about how it will perform after a few years, so I bought a second one when it was half off during a Beautylish sale. Then, nearly all of Wayne’s remaining brushes sold out and I would later learn a new fundamental collection was being created.

The F2 brush in that collection is like a smaller, slightly denser, and even softer version of the #13 brush. I posted comparison photos on my Instagram. The downside is that for the past month that I’ve had the F2, it sheds even more than the 13!

Rephr

On the topic of their “using natural fibers” labeling, it bothers me that rephr isn’t more forthcoming with listing their hair types. I’ve discussed this in the past and gave them at least some credit when they started listing brushes as “goat” and explained in their FAQ that most of their brushes are some combination of what would be considered saikoho and sokoho depending on what purpose the brush served and which types were needed. Then they finally started listing some of their brushes as synthetic or partly synthetic. However, when they list in the description “using natural fibers,” it doesn’t clarify whether that means it’s a 100% natural animal hair brush or if they use animal hair in addition to synthetic. Also, choosing to say “natural fibers” instead of “natural hair” leads me to wonder if they aren’t even referring to animal hair. Plant fibers would be considered “natural fibers” and there are brushes made of that (such as from Pure Colors Cosmetics). So, the wording leaves wiggle room that the brushes could be animal hair mixed with plant fibers, flat out plant fibers, or some other natural non-animal source.
What lead me down this rabbit hole is the fact that some of my brushes from rephr weren’t listed as synthetic, yet they felt like synthetic mixed brushes. This made me question the entire labeling system until I thought more about their wording and how it leaves them open to using other means of avoiding a “synthetic” label.

The reason this is important is because of their pricing and authenticity. We all know natural hair sources in the upper tiers are expensive because the supply of high quality ones are dwindling. If, for example, I bought a brush “using natural saibikoho” and I bought it thinking I was getting an insane deal on the price, but in reality the brush was made “using saibikoho” along with some other types, then I’m not getting what I thought I paid for. I’m not actually experiencing what a true pure saibikoho brush feels like. If the quality is lackluster, someone would think saibikoho wasn’t worth buying and/or they would think the other companies were overcharging theirs. So companies producing authentic goods could potentially lose business because of another company ruining the reputation of saibikoho with misleading labeling.

Ultimately, things are worth what the consumer is willing to pay. If the brushes perform as well as similar counterparts, the material technically doesn’t matter. However, I do tend to see a quality difference and half of my rephr brushes feel worth their discounted prices (never full price) while the other half don’t. I really started liking rephr more and have been giving them more of a chance, but I go back and forth on whether I want to continue buying their products and reviewing them because of their unclear descriptions.

Rephr 37

Full Length: *168mm / 6.6 in
Hair Length: *30mm / 1.18 in
Hair Width: *27mm / 1.06 in
Bristle Type: Natural Fibers

This brush head is nearly identical in size, shape, and density to the Wayne Goss 13. The rephr brush is decently soft, but Wayne’s is much softer. This purchase was also to ensure I’d have a backup brush since it performs the same way as well, but it managed to shed far less. Since rephr has sales/concept store offers of 40-50% discounts fairly frequently, this could be a more affordable alternative. Granted, the Wayne Goss brush is still softer and holds its shape better. Compared to other rephr brushes though, this one doesn’t splay as wide as most other shapes of theirs (which is a good thing in my eyes).

I should mention that this is one of those brushes that felt like it wasn’t entirely made of animal hair, and I later noticed it was just listed as “natural fibers” on the website. So, this could factor into whether someone wants this brush or not. Even if it is made entirely of animal hair, perhaps someone won’t like that it doesn’t feel that way to the touch, in my opinion.

Rephr 36

Full Length: *157mm / 6.18 in
Hair Length: *15mm / 0.59 in
Hair Width: *18mm / 0.71 in
Bristle Type: Natural Fibers

I have a few brushes that are shaped this way that I really enjoy, so I hoped this would be a great multipurpose brush. The best part about it is how dense it is, because it seems to help me get the most coverage out of my products. The downside is the shape. I would have preferred a flatter and less wide portion where it angles and tapers, so I could have been able to get between tight spaces easier on my particular face shape.

As it is, the best use for it is applying eyeshadow primer. The size makes it difficult to control the area for concealer (and between the eyes and bridge of my nose). Not having a section that can diffuse what was applied makes it not ideal for applying contour to the hollows either. Since I have other brushes that can apply eyeshadow primer in addition to concealer, I haven’t used this brush again. I only kept using it long enough to test it thoroughly.

Rephr 35

Full Length: *155mm / 6.1 in
Hair Length: *18mm / 0.71 in
Hair Width: *15mm / 0.59 in
Bristle Type: Natural and Synthetic Fibers

This brush is small enough to fit in the hollows nicely for cream contour use, and very quickly covers the eye for priming. So, it’s already more useful to me than Brush 36. However, I wish there was a version that’s oval instead of round so I could get more sharpness. Although I can use it for cream contouring and/or bronzing, it doesn’t surpass the brushes I regularly use for that purpose (mainly the Patrick Ta Contour Brush).
Also, one thing I like about Sonia G’s Jumbo Concealer brush is that I can get maximum coverage, but still easily blend out the edges. This brush is dense enough to pack on product, but I feel like it also lifts some of it back away and blends the outer edges a little too well. So, it’s a useful brush, but not enough to replace anything currently in my routine.

Rephr 26

Full Length: *147mm / 5.79 in
Hair Length: 11.5mm / 0.45 in
Hair Width: *7mm / 0.28 in
Bristle Type: Uncut Natural Hair

I discussed this a bit already in the Eihodo RE10-1 section. My favorite use for this brush is applying a dark eyeshadow to the outer corner/outer v. I can pick up the product with the side, not the tip, and just lay it onto the outer corner like a stamp. It gives the right amount to smoke out the eye look without it turning too dramatic or putting in much effort. I bought this because of Sofia Sees Beauty’s recommendation video and how it might be the closest dupe I was going to find at the time for Sonia G’s Crease One brush which has been discontinued.

I got this brush for such a niche purpose, but I can’t deny it works well enough for me to keep it around. It’s a bit too chunky for applying shadows to my lower lash line, but I can do regular crease work with it instead.

Rephr 29

Full Length: *137mm / 5.39 in
Hair Length: 2.4mm / 0.1 in
Hair Width: *4mm / 0.16 in
Bristle Type: Uncut Natural Hair

I purchased this for its lining ability. I’m forever looking for a backup to my tiny Smashbox brush that was discontinued. That brush works so well in applying a good amount of product to my lower lash line without making a mess, being able to blend it out, and also applying highlight shades to my inner corner while being precise about it. Naturally, I expect all tiny brushes to be as good, but they really aren’t. The way the tips are shaped on this brush, I constantly accidentally flick powder shadow into my eyes while trying to apply shadow to my lower lash line. It sweeps it up along those edges that splay out. This can be seen in the photo below compared to the extremely similar original Wayne Goss 08 brush.

I’m used to having to sometimes use the aloe trick to reshape my rephr brushes. So, I’ve been able to get this brush to work better for my needs, but I have to reshape it every so often. Realistically though, I just keep going back to the Smashbox brush yet again, or I use my Wayne Goss equivalent if it’s dirty.

Surratt

In a Surratt review from 2015, Sonia G mentioned that Chikuhodo makes Chicca brushes. Chikuhodo also lists Suqqu as one of the brands they produce brushes for on their website. Both of those brands have brushes similar to Surratt’s, so it stands to reason there’s a high chance Chikuhodo makes Surratt brushes as well. Since Chikuhodo is one of my favorite brushmakers, I figured I would like Surratt’s brushes, but the premium price is what kept me from getting them. Occasionally, Surratt has a 30% off sale on their website. Even more rare are when select brushes go for 40-50% off via them or Nordstrom. The only brush I currently own of theirs came from one of these Nordstrom sales. However, I have purchased from Surratt’s website for other products. They shipped fast with the products presented nicely and securely inside.

Surratt Artistique Petite Classique Eyeshadow Brush

Full Length: *128mm / 5.04 in
Hair Length: 9mm / 0.35 in
Hair Width: *6mm / 0.24 in
Bristle Type: Canadian Squirrel

Nordstrom had 50% off all Surratt products on their website. By the time I learned about the sale, the majority of the brushes were out of stock and this was the only one left that I wanted.

Because the hair on this is comparatively long for a small brush, I don’t feel I get enough control to apply the amount of product I want to my lower lash line. This brush is soft due to the hair type and also doesn’t pick up as much product, so I’m unsatisfied with the wash of color. However, I like a natural looking brightened inner corner, so this suits my needs for applying a highlight shimmer to my inner corners and highlighting the arch under my brow bones. The small surface area doesn’t make it ideal for me to use in applying shadows all over my eyes, so I haven’t gotten much use out of this brush. I don’t mind because I wanted to experience what at least one Surratt brush was like, but it’s a brush that can be skipped.

Hakuhodo

Hakuhodo B133GS (September ’22 Limited Edition Red handles & bronze ferrules)

Full Length: *128mm / 5.04 in
Hair Length: *14mm / 0.55 in
Hair Width: *11mm / 0.43 in
Bristle Type: Goat and possibly Synthetic

I assume the GS in the name means it’s a goat and synthetic hybrid brush considering Hakuhodo has been transitioning more towards goat and synthetic mixtures from 2022 and onward. The newly released brushes with pure goat tend to be part of special sets and is no longer the norm. I bought this brush, and all limited edition Hakuhodo brushes from Fude Japan. That website usually has very few details listed. I tend to avoid buying goat and synthetic hybrids, but at least with this one I don’t notice much of a difference between the way this performs versus a fully natural hair goat brush from Hakuhodo. So, that’s a good thing in my books.

This brush is a traditionally shaped shader brush, but it’s wider than most. Viewing it from the side, its widest part is in the middle or belly of the brush, but because the hair is so long, it performs like a fully flat shader brush. I can get a bit more picked up if I lay the brush flatter, but for the mostpart, I get less pickup in one go than I usually want. This just makes time using it to apply mattes or shimmers to my lid take a little longer. Picking up mattes is satisfactory, but I don’t like it as much for shimmers.

Hakuhodo G/J5545 (April ’22 Limited Edition Mint Handle)

Full Length: 178mm / 7 in
Hair Length: 38mm / 1.5 in
Hair Width: 8.6mm (thick) / 0.34 in
Bristle Type: Blue Squirrel & Goat

Black and white mixed hair brushes are so pleasing to my eye, which is the main reason I’ve been interested in them lately. It gets a little tricky when the hair types are so different though. Blue squirrel and goat mixes, in theory, should be the best of both worlds combining the resilience of goat with the softness of squirrel. However, this works best with makeup that is buildable and blendable. Ultra pigmented products that are harder to blend will make the squirrel hair useless to get an even application and the blending work falls on the goat hair, which can result in a patchy look. This is also the case with dry powders that like to stick to the skin where it first touches and is difficult to move around. As I discovered with a brush I’ll discuss at the end, certain shimmer formulas and tighter packed products are too tough for the squirrel hair to pick up, and so the work falls to goat once again.

All of these potential issues, thankfully, was not a problem for me with this blush brush. Sure, it doesn’t pick up a lot of product at once, but that’s fine with me when it comes to blush and not wanting to overload my brush anyway. I don’t want to generalize, but based on the Hakuhodo squirrel/goat mix brushes I’ve used (in this review and future ones to come), it appears to be a trend that they keep these brushes on the sheer to the lightest side of medium denseness at most. My Hakuhodo brushes tend to be airier and have even less blending strength. I like the shape of this brush, as it makes for a nice sweeping application on the cheeks, and I like the performance. The hair mix compensates for the lack of density, giving me better results than an equivalent brush if said brush was a pure squirrel mix. However, for someone who prefers the pure softness of blue/grey squirrel, just choosing a denser squirrel brush (even if it’s more expensive) would probably be preferable. And for someone who likes more buffing power, a pure goat brush (above sokoho grade) would probably be more preferable than this one too. This particular brush works as an in-between and is close to having a “best of both worlds” situation, but I forewarn that not all brush shapes of this hair mix will have that kind of result.
I’m thrilled to have this brush. I can use it in a few other ways, but only with my softest and most blendable bronzing and contouring powders. This brush works best for me and my preferences exclusively for blush.

Hakuhodo B004 (April ’22 Limited Edition Green Handle)

Full Length: Around 4 inches?
Hair Length: 11.5 mm/ 0.45 in
Hair Width: ?
Bristle Type: Pine Squirrel & North American Squirrel

*I always list the official website specifications of sizing whenever they’re available and forgo including my own measurements. In this instance, I forgot that the limited edition brushes are smaller than the standard sizes, so I did not remember to measure this by hand before I left it in the US.

I’ve seen some information referring to North American Squirrel as Chipmunk. I’ve been looking for a “chipmunk” or “tamias” labeled brush for four years now, ever since I missed out on this one Koyudo Brush, so I don’t know if I’ve technically reached my goal or not. I’m going to continue to assume North American Chipmunk is different from North American Squirrel unless I learn otherwise.
Pine squirrel brushes alone tend to be slightly coarser than this, so I welcome the addition of that North American squirrel hair. The shape and softness is quite comfortable to use on my sensitive lower lash line, though when I apply eyeshadow there, it’s a little thicker than I usually have when I use my go-to Smashbox brush, but sometimes a look calls for that extra drama. It picks up nearly as much hair as goat and grips onto the powder very well. I don’t have to worry about product dropping onto my face before it reaches my eyes, except for eyeshadow formulas lacking good adhesion or ones that are extra powdery, which doesn’t apply to the majority of my collection. So, this is a really enjoyable brush to use! There are very few squirrel hair eye brushes I actually like to use, and this is one of them. However, this version of the brush with such a tiny handle is the reason I don’t reach for it nearly as often as I would if I had a larger handle version. I ordered this one for the color, but I was making a conscious effort to reach for this for testing purposes. Otherwise, it’s short size would have kept it from being used because of having to dig around and search for it at the bottom of my brush holder. I have a lot of eye brushes I enjoy, so my typical routine is to just grab the first thing I see in the shape that I need.
Hakuhodo currently sells a G004BkSL for $44. I’m not sure I like it that much to buy it for that price, but if Fude Japan ever lists a longer handle equivalent of this brush at a lower price (as can sometimes happen), I’d consider buying it.

Hakuhodo B005 (April ’22 Limited Edition Green Handle)

Full Length: under 4 inches?
Hair Length: ?
Hair Width: ?
Bristle Type: Horse? Goat with a little bit of synthetic?

I cannot confirm what type of hair this brush has because I purchased it from Fude Japan and that detail wasn’t listed. In addition, there aren’t any equivalents that I could find on the Hakuhodo USA website. The closest I could find to the shape is the J005BkSL, but the hair type is listed as goat and synthetic mix. The hair in my brush feels like horse or sable. It’s coarser than goat to me, which is why I don’t like using it. It’s so small that I only get the urge to use it for lining/detail work, but with it being rougher and on such a tiny handle, this just doesn’t get used in my collection. I don’t like it.

Hakuhodo 2023 Valentine’s Day Brush

Full Length: *140mm / 5.5 in
Hair Length: 40mm / 1.57 in
Hair Width: 30mm / 1.18 in
Bristle Type: Goat and Synthetic

The gorgeous design overshadowed the fact that this brush is a goat/synthetic mix brush, which I tend to skip out on. For a mixed brush though, it’s very enjoyable to use! It’s about a light-medium density that holds well from the base of the bristles to about the middle of the brush with the benefit of a slightly wider splay of wispy tips. It’s fully round, but because it’s tapered at the top, it doesn’t feel intuitive to use a fully circular motion while applying products. I treat it a bit like the original Real Techniques blush brush and use a combination of patting motions to apply and swiping back and forth to blend. So, I tend to use this brush more on the side rather than the tips, except for additional blending in the areas that I didn’t tap my brush into the powder (and won’t add extra product to my face).
I’ve used this brush for sweeping bronzer on and applying contour, but the majority of the time I use it as intended for blush purposes.
The performance and airiness reminds me of the Chikuhodo T-4, even though their shapes are a bit different.

Hakuhodo J210 (Feb ’23 Limited Edition Shining Pink Handle with Gold ferrule)

Full Length: 132mm / 5.2 in
Hair Length: 29mm / 1.14 in
Hair Width: 30mm / 1.18 in
Bristle Type: Goat and Possibly Synthetic

This brush, purchased from Fude Japan, didn’t have any specs listed. The J210BkSL Round Blush Blush is listed as being only goat, but mine feels partly synthetic, so I listed that in my details above just to be safe. This limited edition version may very well still just be fully goat. If it is, it’s quite softer than most other pure goat hair brushes I have from Hakuhodo.
It looked like it would be a thick and flat-head brush based on pre-wash photos, but it widens beautifully after the first wash. It’s another one of those “bouncy bunny tail” brushes that I love. It’s softer and still denser than my similarly shaped and performing rephr 37, Wayne Goss 13, and Wayne Goss F2. Unlike those, this brush seems to be bundled tighter and doesn’t have the same kind of shedding issue as the others.
Considering how gorgeous the pink handle is with the gold ferrule, combined with the performance, this is one of my favorite limited edition purchases. I wanted to buy a backup, even though the handle is on the shorter side of what I like to use for face brushes, but it sold out and never restocked. Because I have so many brushes of this style that I’ve collected over time, I don’t intend to buy the permanent version. However, if a limited edition version gets released again, I’d definitely be tempted.

Another thing I noticed about the J210BkSL version (other than the high price I definitely did not pay and is currently still $20 cheaper on Fude Japan’s website versus the Hakuhodo USA site), is that it’s listed as being useful for powder in addition to blush. Because of the small splay area, I personally wouldn’t bother using it for powder purposes. It’s also much too dense for all-over-powdering in my opinion. I recommend sticking to blush with this one.

Hakuhodo F7344 Ougi Angled L

Full Length: *162-166mm / 6.38-6.53 in
Hair Length: *23mm / 0.91 in
Hair Width: *30mm / 1.18 in
Bristle Type: Blue Squirrel and Goat

This is the brush I referred to in the 5545 section. This highlighter brush is very flexible and wispy if used in a dusting motion in the vertical direction, but there’s a lot less movement if used horizontally following a line along the cheekbone. This brush is fine for use with typical powder highlighters that aren’t too firmly pressed and aren’t too wet. With baked gelee formulas and smoother slippery ones that compress down into the pan, this doesn’t pick up an even amount of product and can look splotchy in the application. Since it’s not intended to be dense, it doesn’t blend that forcefully, which makes correcting the mistake with this brush quite the challenge. For that reason, I found myself continually reaching for my other highlighter brushes. Even the F6210 with less luxurious hair does a better job for my needs. I prefer highlighters that aren’t intense, so I thought the squirrel would give me the sheer wash and the goat would buff it out, but to get that, I have to use that horizontal motion and I prefer to use candleflame shapes if I’m going to use it that way. This motion isn’t a problem for my other fan brushes because those are mainly goat, which require less pressure to get the desired effect.

I included the photo above as an example of different fan styles from Hakuhodo, not as a comparison of how they are similar. They both perform and feel very differently.

So, to sum it up, this brush is fine with my standard powder highlighters only. I have many other highlighter brushes I’ll continue to choose over this one.

That’s everything for today! I apologize for this taking so long! I hope it was worth the wait! I have Fude 7’s photos all uploaded as a draft, and I’ve been testing them alongside Fude 6, but the writing/reviewing portion will take me quite a long time to complete. It might be another few months.

UPDATE/EDIT: I’m also throwing in here the fact that I decided to take two weeks off of blog posting so I can focus on completing wedding preparations and some relaxing time afterwards.

Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Vieve Treasure Tin – Rosa

Posted on January 29, 2024 by ghekate

I like having keepsake tins, I really enjoy the Vieve Sunset Blushes, and I’ve been curious to see if the brand’s lip oils were worth the hype, so this purchase made complete sense for me to make (besides the bonus of a slight discount for Black Friday). The design on the outer packaging is so pretty that I can’t deny that played a big part in me wanting it, besides it being limited edition. I’m glad the tin can be reused when the plastic insert is removed.

The Lip Dew’s cap has a short wand with a large applicator that seems to be the popular shape for lip oil packaging. The lippie has a beautiful soft rose hue (hence the Rosa name), but the color doesn’t show very much on my lips. It looks mostly clear, but with a decent amount of shine to it. The Pat Mcgrath, Fenty, and Ami Cole glosses are all shinier. I would call this consistency more like a gloss than an oil. It’s sticky, but I’ve had stickier glosses such as the Gloss Bombs.

I think that texture helps it to last longer on my lips, but it barely lingers after eating so I wouldn’t call it long-lasting unless you don’t eat for an extended period of time. Then, one could get around four hours before needing to touch up.

I like this product quite a lot since it feels moisturizing to my lips, which is notoriously a struggle for me to keep my lips conditioned. It’s not to the level of Ami Cole’s hydration factor and doesn’t necessarily soften my lips like Too Faced Hangover Pillow Balms, but it at least prevents lip dryness from getting worse while I wear it, which is better than a lip product that slowly dries my lips out over time (which is the majority of things). For that reason, I do recommend them for anyone looking for something to keep the lips moisturized for a time, and for an average amount of shine to the lips. If you don’t have lip dryness issues as badly as mine, this could perform even better, which is why I think there is some validity to the hype.

The star of the show is the blush in the shade Rosa, which hasn’t been released for individual purchase yet.

As can be seen in swatches, it’s a nude color that just barely shows on my arm in swatches, but the pink tinge can be built up and is still visible on my cheeks. It reminds me of MAC’s blush in the shade Coppertone.

Unlike the shade Sorbet, I don’t see any shimmer in Rosa (just like Piazza). I consider it a soft matte though. It’s just as semi-firmly pressed as I mentioned in my original review. It’s also that same buildable pigmentation and long-lasting. Although the color is still a touch more subtle than I go for in a nude blush, I’m still happy with my purchase.

Between the two products and cute tin, this was an absolute win!

That’s everything for today. Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Pat Mcgrath Palette Ranking

Posted on January 22, 2024 by ghekate

I buy a lot of eyeshadows from Pat Mcgrath, but they don’t always stay in my collection. When I recently had to choose which palettes to bring with me during the first wave of me moving overseas, and which products would have to wait until another time, I still ended up leaving some of the higher ranking palettes behind purely because of the brick-heavy packaging.

Today, I thought it would be fun to discuss where I would place all the quads and palettes I once owned if they competed head to head!

The Disappointments (Ranks 19-16): MTHRSHP Velvet Liaison, Mthrshp Mega Celestial Nirvana, MTHRSHP Rose Decadence, and Pat Mcgrath x Star Wars MTHRSHP Dark Galaxy

It’s strange to consider Velvet Liaison the lowest ranking palette because the quality is actually good. From my subjective perspective though, nothing else could be lower because this is the only PML palette I never had enough interest in to review, didn’t feel the need to bring it with me to the US, and haven’t felt compelled to use now that I’m back in Germany.

It being an all-matte palette instantly makes it a supplemental palette that doesn’t stand on its own. I always need a shimmer in my eye looks. The shades also don’t go together for me in a way that I would be satisfied with using on its own. The lightest color is also quite stark looking on the eyes but fades from my inner corner (where I’ve used it) fairly fast.

These mattes are smooth, blendable, and pigmented enough if I use the deep brown in everything, but I just can’t be excited by the color story. I bought this because it was deeply discounted and I didn’t have many palettes while I was on vacation, so shipping it to me made sense. The overall launch of the three palettes just wasn’t exciting either though. So, even though I think it’s better quality than the next palette, I’m rating it lower.

It’s weird to say, but I was feeling guilty about not buying Celestial Nirvana considering how much I’ve gone on and on about wishing the brand would make more colorful palettes (and especially including a green). The thing is though, I meant for the Motherships and MTHRSHPS. The Mega MTHRSHPS are a good deal for the customer for shade variety, but the bulky packaging makes me never want to reach for them, especially since this is even heavier than the first one they released. There also seems to be a difference sometimes in quality between the brand’s palettes made in Italy versus the US. I eventually bought this because swatches I saw looked so nice and it was deeply discounted at the time, but this doesn’t live up to the brand’s normal quality which makes the cost not as great of a deal. As I mentioned in my review, these are super pigmented (minus the neutral mattes), the mattes are more difficult than usual to blend (especially the purples), and the green I wanted so much was a complete dud. When I return to the US, I’m considering depotting some of the shimmers and decluttering the rest of the palette. It just isn’t worth bringing over or even trying to sell to be honest. At least, not when there are sixteen other palettes I liked more than this one.

Rose Decadence is a pretty color story, but I just couldn’t be excited by it. This was released during a time before the brand had any blushes, so the ability to use the lighter matte as a blush color was the main selling point. If I had been able to get a decent enough return on the purchasing price, I would have sold it, but the resale value on this palette was very low. That’s the main reason I still had it, plus the guilt that I never gave it enough of a chance. The quality was good. I just wasn’t interested in pink at the time and the beautiful rose packaging on the outside was a big selling point, along with the price. This was also during the time when the brand didn’t have as many sales so I couldn’t buy the pricier palettes.

Dark Galaxy was the opposite. The resale value was high, but I kept it around for a long time because of the limited edition factor. The colors were pretty, but just not the kind of looks I was interested in making. When I realized though that the quality of Pat’s eyeshadows do diminish over time, I tried to sell it while the quality was still good so that someone else could at least get more enjoyment out of it than I could. Sometimes the collector side of me feels a twinge of regret, but I know I made the right decision getting rid of a palette I just wasn’t ever going to use again.

Like, But Will Never Use (Ranks 15-11): Blitz Astral Quad – Nocturnal Nirvana, Pat Mcgrath Labs x Star Wars (5 pan) – Divine Droid, Mini Eye Ecstasy: Subversive, MTHRSHP Subversive La Vie En Rose, Bijoux Brilliance (5 pan) – Lunar Nightshade

Nocturnal Nirvana was difficult for me to decide to sell. I loved the green in here, as well as the purple color, but the purple shade dried out and became hard-panned. It became impossible to use that shade, the yellow-gold was a bit boring of a color in the time period that I was getting even more interested in yellow and gold shifting multichromes, and I never wear aqua blue eyeshaows. It did not seem worth keeping an entire quad in that heavy packaging for just one eyeshadow. Plus, I knew I could use the funds to purchase a different quad instead, so I stopped regretting it. To date, that purple is the only baked eyeshadow from the brand that worsened in quality like that.

I said I would depot the mini plastic palette, but I never did. I said I wanted to get more use out of those shades, but I never did. I still stand by the quality and acknowledge the beauty of those colors, but the lack of mattes really kept me from reaching for it and the clear packaging both deterred me from wanting to use it while preventing me from having the willpower to destroy it to try and get those pans out. Getting this small palette at the reduced price of $14 was still much better than if I had purchased the full size Mothership Decadence palette. So, I don’t have as many regrets about how this palette got cast aside. Also, I’m not sure why this was called Mini Subversive instead of Decadence considering the shades are from the Decadence palette and don’t resemble the Subversive range at all.

Speaking of the Subversive range, this palette I actually got a decent amount of use from. The colors weren’t perfect for me since I’m not interested in light purples or vibrant pinks, but I was obsessed with that rich luminous purple! Plus, the other shades were nice too. It’s unfortunate that the time when I was starting to get the most use out of La Vie En Rose was also when the quality was starting to deteriorate. The shades started applying patchy, especially my beloved purple shadow, so that’s the main reason I stopped using it. The reason this palette ranks in 12th place, for something I used to love so much, is mainly because the quality didn’t last as long as some of my other products from the brand that I had for even longer. Plus, the color story isn’t as versatile.

Of all the new 5-pan palettes from PML, Divine Droid is my least favorite because of the lack of mattes, the aqua blue, shades of green and red I don’t wear as often as other shades of those colors, and the quality being slightly lower than the rest (as discussed in my review). Having it is like having a weaker version of Nocturnal Nirvana, but at a better price-point. So, it gets 14th place.

Lunar Nightshade looked so unique in promo photos, but it’s debatable whether this is better or worse than Kaleidos’ Futurism III Astro Pink. Just like that palette, as much as I was fascinated by the color combination, I rarely wear a look that that on my eyes. I don’t have complaints about the quality. It just ranks lower than the rest because of how much more I prefer the other four that I own.

Like, But Don’t Use Enough (Ranks 10-5): Pat Mcgrath x Star Wars MTHRSHP Galactic Gold, Mega MTHRSHP Celestial Divinity, Mothership IX – Huetopian Dream, Pat Mcgrath Labs x Star Wars Eye (5 pan) – The Golden One, Bijoux Brilliance (5 pan) – Bronze Ecstasy, Celestial Nirvana (5 pan) – Nude Allure

Unlike Dark Galaxy, I really wrestled with the decision to sell Galactic Gold. I loved every shade except the dark purple, but it was a matter of me being distracted by my other palettes that I didn’t reach for it enough. I could tell the quality was starting to go the way of the other six-pans, but I was so reluctant to let go of it. Even when Celestial Divinity was released with the same shades (but smaller) of both palettes, it still took me a while to have the heart to declutter it. As a collector, I still felt a sense of regret on and off for the next few years until very recently when the brand re-released the Star Wars palettes “from the Vault,” and instantly the coveted aspect of having a limited edition never-to-be-released-again product was gone. I’m finally free of regrets now that it isn’t as special from the collector standpoint!

The reason this had to at least rank number 10 is the fact that I still don’t use those shades in the Celestial Divinity palette, yet I was so overwhelmed by nostalgia that I almost bought the Vault palette! Remembering the times I did create looks I loved from this palette had that strong of a hold on me! The reason it’s not higher though is the fact that I use other palettes more and the quality of this one started to drop.

As for Celestial Divinity, the fact that it includes shadows from both Star Wars collab palettes, plus six unique shades in which two of them I really liked, is why it had to rate higher. If the quality of this palette is still good, it will come back to Germany with me in the second wave of products.

Huetopian Dream is a hard one to rate because I find the left six shades to be so boring, but they’re admittedly very pretty on the eyes. It’s better than the previous pink palettes because I have some really stunning golds and a non-baked multichrome to work with. It’s lower down on the list because of the high cost for colors that are repetitive for the brand, having only three baked shades (the ones that add to the palette cost) instead of four, and having two shades that tend to crease on me as I mentioned in my review. It’s still fairly new in my collection, so my thoughts could change up or down on this one.

Now, we’re getting to the palettes I actually brought with me to Germany because I couldn’t be without them!

Of the 5-pan small palettes, the Golden One’s color story is not very exciting, but I’m still obsessed with the non-shimmers in this one. They’re such a fascinating texture and looks nice on the eyes, plus golds will always be pretty to me (albeit at times boring). Needing to pair this with something that gives me more depth is why it doesn’t rank higher.
Based on the colors alone, Huetopian Dream is technically more exciting. The reason this is above it is because it has less flaws.

Bronze Ecstasy gives me several depth options, plus has this stunning bronze shade that I find super appealing. The lack of variety of the colors is why it doesn’t rate higher, and that bronze that I love can be troublesome as I discussed in my review, but I haven’t used this palette enough, so there’s room for me to rate it higher as I continue to use it this year. I know I’ll get more use out of this palette than The Golden One in the long run.

Surprisingly, Nude Allure is not my usual type of color story, but every look with the palette is so pretty that I could not rank it any lower than 5th place! The sparkle colors in these eyeshadows make them so much more nuanced than a typical peach, pink, or purple. The addition of that matte ensures that I can do complete looks with this palette as well. It’s so good. I definitely want to use it more in 2024.

Most Precious (Rank 4): Mothership VIII – Divine Rose II

This is the only palette in my top 7 that I didn’t bring with me. I wanted to bring it desperately, but for one thing, it’s just too heavy. I could only make space for one of the big Mothership palettes, so this had to stay behind. Plus, this was my first time using a Relavel case in my suitcase, and I didn’t know if I would have any makeup packaging casualties on the trip, so I didn’t want to take the risk that this palette could end up damaged. Part of what makes this palette so precious and in a category of its own is the limited edition mirror pink packaging. The brand hasn’t released something like this since, so the exclusive aspect and inability to replace it (only in the standard packaging) bumps up the value for me.

I’ve used the pinks in here as blush before. I like the Sextraterrestrial multichrome in here so much that I didn’t feel the need to buy the Clionadh equivalent for years! That’s really saying something!

This isn’t my favorite color story from the brand, but I like enough of the shades that I continually want to use it. It’s literally only because I’m so scared of ruining the packaging that I don’t reach for it more. You better believe this is at the top of the list for things I’m planning to bring back with me next time!

Must Haves (Rank 3-1): Luxe Quad – Interstellar Icon, Celestial Nirvana (5 pan) – Bronze Bliss, and Mothership III – Subversive

This was the toughest category to rank because I love Interstellar Icon, but I don’t use it enough. I absolutely love Bronze Bliss, but it’s not a universally exciting color story. I technically have stronger emotional ties to Divine Rose II than Subversive, but getting more use out of Mothership III has been on my mind the most out of everything. In terms of color variety, quality, and packaging, Subversive has it all. I think it’s the best and most well-rounded of all the Pat Mcgrath palettes I own. That’s why I ultimately decided it deserves the top spot.

Interstellar Icon is the quad I purchased with the money I made from selling Nocturnal Nirvana. I’m not much of a blue lover, except for use on my lower lash line, so that’s a slight negative against it. The Blue Blood color is the same as from Decadence and the mini I own, so I used to reach for the mini to use that in my eye looks and keep this one as new as possible until the quality inevitably drops and this becomes the “fresher” one. Now that I don’t have that palette with me, I’ve started using this pan of it again. Divine Dahlia is my favorite shade in the quad and the reason I typically reach for this.
Even though I feel like I don’t use this a ton, it’s technically still one of my most used Pat Mcgrath palettes. Also, when I think about favorite eyeshadows from Pat Mcgrath, this quad always springs to mind.

Bronze Bliss is my favorite of the 5-pans and literally what kicked off my love of this new eyeshadow formula from the brand. The silver color in the center is one of the most stunning silvers I’ve seen, but it’s a little messy to use since it’s so much wetter than the other shadows. The black and two bronze shades are what keeps me coming back to this palette or constantly thinking about it when I want to create a neutral glam eye look.

Last, but not least, is Subversive III. I can technically make eye looks from this palette without needing to reach for anything else because it gives me light options, deeper options, colorful shades, and neutrals. For that reason, it’s one of Pat’s most well balanced color stories (and certainly of the ones I own). The way I do makeup, I still miss having a medium toned brown, but for that I just reach into my Hindash Beautopsy palette.

As one of the big older Mothership palettes, it has those special shades in the final quadrant that most of the brand’s fans love. This, plus the lux packaging, makes it closer to being worth the price. As great as it is, I still think it’s only worth it at 30% off or greater. Eyeshadow formulations have come a long way in the past decade, so for those interested in the palette for its actual quality, it’s hard to justify such a steep price. For those that don’t mind the upcharge for the packaging, multichromes, the eyeshadows being made in Italy, and other extra costs, the pricing makes sense for such easy to blend eyeshadows and refined look to them on the eyes. Despite how old my palette is (not as old as the originals since I didn’t buy it until years after it first released), the performance is still there.

RECAP OF RANKING FROM FAVORITE TO LEAST FAVORITE:

1. Mothership III – Subversive
2. Celestial Nirvana (5 pan) – Bronze Bliss
3. Luxe Quad – Interstellar Icon
4. Mothership VIII – Divine Rose II
5. Celestial Nirvana (5 pan) – Nude Allure
6. Bijoux Brilliance (5 pan) – Bronze Ecstasy
7. Pat Mcgrath Labs x Star Wars Eye (5 pan) – The Golden One
8. Mothership IX – Huetopian Dream
9. Mega MTHRSHP Celestial Divinity
10. Pat Mcgrath x Star Wars MTHRSHP Galactic Gold
11. Bijoux Brilliance (5 pan) – Lunar Nightshade
12. MTHRSHP Subversive La Vie En Rose
13. Mini Eye Ecstasy: Subversive
14. Pat Mcgrath Labs x Star Wars (5 pan) – Divine Droid
15. Blitz Astral Quad – Nocturnal Nirvana
16. Pat Mcgrath x Star Wars MTHRSHP Dark Galaxy
17. MTHRSHP Rose Decadence
18. Mega MTHRSHP Celestial Nirvana
19. MTHRSHP Velvet Liaison

Over time, for various reasons, my love of the Pat Mcgrath Labs brand has dropped a bit. However, the love of my top ranking products from them hasn’t dwindled. They make good products and their launches are something I still always pay attention to. I’m still plenty interested in what they have next, even though I buy things from them at a slower pace now.

That’s all for today! I hope to see you next week!

-Lili ❤

Danessa Myricks Lightwork Highlighting Palette and Scott Barnes Chic Cheek Blush Palette

Posted on January 15, 2024 by ghekate

I purchased both of these products at 40% off during Black Friday back in 2021. This review has been pending all that time, and even though there is zero hype around them anymore, I am still determined to share my thoughts on them anyway.

Danessa Myricks Lightwork Palette 2

I have the deeper version of the Light Work palette of highlighters. The formula is pretty nice, and with that variety, I can see how helpful this would be for a makeup artist. Between the darkest and lightest highlighters, custom mixes of shades in various depths could be created. The yellow and red ones can also alter the undertones in a custom mix as well. For my own personal needs though, I’d have preferred to just buy a highlighter single. I don’t mind creating a custom blush color in a wide area of my cheek, but not so much for something as simple as highlighter. If I buy a highlighter that isn’t a suitable color for me, I just won’t use it rather than trying to mix it with something else. The furthest I go is using my “fixer” highlighter from r.e.m. beauty for small tweaks. If I’d need to correct the undertone in addition to depth of color, that’s too much effort for me to realistically maintain.

The impact of these highlighters is more intense than I tend to go for, so it’s even more important for me to stick to my closest depth and undertone match when using this palette. Cinnamon Sugar is the best suited for me, but I can still pull off Cappuccino. The product’s consistency has some slip to it, which adds a wet effect on the cheek and helps to keep it looking smooth when blended in. However, using a shade that’s too light or even too dark for one’s skin tone will emphasize texture.

I’m glad to say these are not glittery highlighters. It also lasts all day without the shine dulling down while I wear it. I remember thinking this was a special product around the time that I bought it and earlier, but in just two years some of my absolute favorite formulas have been released, and so this doesn’t seem as special when I compare it to other highlighters I own. Essentially, I have powder highlighters that are even wetter looking, even better suited to my skin tone, and come in premium packaging and/or possibly a fun shape as well. So, I like this and think it’s good, but it doesn’t make the top 10. Perhaps it’s in the top 20 though.

Even though this contains a nice highlighter for me, I found myself continually skipping over wearing this product because it was such a hassle digging through my drawer for such a big palette and only using one single product in it. I could have, and should have, depotted Cinnamon Sugar a long time ago. I think that would have made me more likely to reach for it if it was in a different format.

Scott Barnes Chic Cheek N1 Blush Palette

The photos below are the only ones I could find from my old camera. The more recent examples of the blushes on my cheeks are in the Danessa Myricks section.

I’m less interested in (flat) matte blushes nowadays, but even in the past, this blush formula wasn’t my favorite. It reminds me of the Makeup by Mario powder blushes in the sense that I was drawn to the colors, but the formula was intended for longevity and performance makeup. They didn’t add much to enhance the user self-experience like making the powder silkier feeling or adding a sheen (which could be a potential issue for film and photography). For those that do want some shimmer, there are two highlighters in this palette. Showy is way too light for me and unwearable. Glowy is quite pretty, but also way too intense for me most of the time. I don’t like the look of it mixed into the blush to try and transform it into a shimmery blush. So, I just used that one a few times exclusively as a highlighter.

There was a brief time that I was really enamored by the shades Sweet Cheeks and Crush N’ Blush, but by now due to age, mine in the pan have changed to become a lot less pigmented. It’s still easy to blend, but time consuming to build up the color. While it was in its prime though, these blushes performed well enough that I would have recommended them as long lasting options and for matte lovers. This palette is supposed to be good for two years (24 months open jar symbol), so it’s done as promised. I prefer to be able to use my blushes for way longer though, so this larger palette format just isn’t intended for someone like me.

One of the things that drew me to this palette are the additions of blush undertone transformers. Mango Fizz can be mixed with a blush I want to appear warmer. Rose when mixed with another blush can make it more cool-toned. However, I didn’t end up really needing to do that as much as I expected. This is yet another example of a product that I’m sure is brilliant for a makeup artist, and perhaps even a makeup enthusiast who is even more obsessed with blushes than me. Having a palette like this is still more useful for me than the Danessa Myricks one. However, with the way it’s performing two years after purchase, I don’t think I’ll be keeping it in my collection much longer. I have regrets not trying to get more use out of it, but since there are so many other blushes in shades and finishes that I prefer, it wouldn’t make sense to force it. That’s ultimately why I ended up re-homing my Makeup by Mario blushes too.

The fact that it took me this long to review these two products has to mean something.

Anyway, that’s it for today! I hope someone will still find this post to be useful. Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

The Best Highlighters Showcased

Posted on January 8, 2024 by ghekate

I’ve been saying for a while now that I really don’t need a huge highlighter collection because what I like usually comes down to having the smallest possible shimmer particles, a non-metallic finish, subtle to medium intensity, and being a color that suits me. Once I find the perfect one, there isn’t much need to purchase additional highlighters. So, I’m testing that theory in 2024. I only brought my top seven highlighters to Germany (and repurchased one additional former favorite in a different shade) in order to see if I will miss having endless options or if I can truly be happy with a smaller collection. I suspect that the only reason I had as many as I did was for the pretty packaging, embossings and debossings, and/or them being limited edition. Unlike other categories of makeup that I tried to do a mini declutter and took photos of everything, I only have a picture of my main highlighter drawer from 2021 as seen below. It really doesn’t look too different from what the 2023 version would look like because I slowed down on the highlighter purchases upon realizing things got out of hand, and I was only reaching for the same few ones while still barely making dents in them.

The first five highlighters I’ll be showing here can’t be ranked. It’s impossible for me to choose which one goes above the others because I love them equally for different reasons.
The honorable mentions are products I loved, but left behind due to luggage weight limits on my flight.

I still enjoy my MAC highlighters, Becca Cosmetics highlighters, and more. However, I had to take into account the age of some of my older powders and how they aren’t fair to be compared to fresher formulas. So, this is my list of the best highlighters I own!

DISCLOSURE: All products in this post were purchased by me with my own money. I am not affiliated with any of these brands and all the links in this specific review are regular non-affiliated ones.

Tom Ford Shade Illuminate Highlighting Duo

As long as they aren’t sparkly and they’re a suitable skin tone match for me, baked gelee highlighters tend to be my favorites because of the wet effect they have on the skin. This is one of my top favorites of that type because of how smooth it looks and its versatility in impact. I’m able to make my highlighter application give light intensity to semi-high intensity with very small refined radiant particles. I reviewed several highlighters from Tom Ford and loved Tanlight specifically so much that I don’t feel the need to purchase anymore from the brand. The ability to tailor my color between the two shades is a great bonus.

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Multi Glow Highlighter

It’s strange to call something so wonderful a “standard” formula, so perhaps “traditional” is a better way to describe how the highlighter looks on the skin. It’s basically what I picture as the quintessential shimmery powder highlighter. The third stripe is my perfect shade for a toned down highlight, but if I want to amp it up, I add a little of the first stripe. This produces a low emphasis on texture, excluding the second stripe that has larger size shimmer particles in it. The way it looks and performs fits the criteria of everything I want in a powder highlighter, so in my eyes it’s pretty much perfect. The only aspects keeping it down is the second stripe’s difference in shimmer particle size and difficulty picking up product from the highlighters on the left and right sides of the pan. The full review with more photos and details can be found HERE.

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighter (form I kept was the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Blush & Glow Glide Palette in Tan-Deep)

The photo above shows the newest version of the highlighter that I decided to bring with me. In my review, the highlighter in the duo was pretty much identical to my Glow Glide shade in Sunset Glow. I decided to bring this one instead of the full-size I had been using, pictured below (in the compact I switched it to from its original packaging), because it’s smaller and has the bonus of having a blush with it as well. I could carry two products for the same size as one.

I mentioned in the Glow Glide review, in the same post as Dream Light, that this formula is officially my favorite of all of the brand’s highlighters. It gives the wet look I love and applies smooth like liquid because of its hybrid formula. It even feels a little damp, but it’s still a powder. It can emphasize texture if it’s too far from matching one’s skin tone, as I discovered when trying different shades in the line.
There’s something about the way it reflects in the light that I love. As for the duo, I’m calling the highlighter in there the Glow Glide formula, but it hasn’t been officially stated by the brand from what I can see, so I’ll link my original review for the duo specifically HERE too. So, in my eyes, the overall Glow Glide formula and not the duo specifically, is what I consider one of the best highlighter formulas out there.

r.e.m. beauty Interstellar Highlighter Topper

I bought Miss Saturn first, thinking Miss Mars was too dark for me based on official website photos. I can sometimes pull off dark champagne shades of highlighters, so I liked this highlighter enough to be willing to try and see if I could get a better color match. It turns out that Miss Mars is much lighter on the skin than it looks within the compact. So, it’s actually a perfect shade match for me! Because of this, I completely stopped using Miss Saturn and use Miss Mars exclusively.

I have zero interest in the r.e.m. brand because their products’ packaging just doesn’t appeal to me, which is probably why I hadn’t reviewed this product until now, despite it being considered one of my top three highlighters at one point in my collection, and owning it for over a year! It’s now in my top five though, with me still being unable to label it at a specific rank among the five.

I gave Miss Mars the nickname, “The Highlighter Fixer,” because of its semi-sheer base. This is the perfect “topper” to fill gaps from highlighters with shimmer particles that are too spread out without increasing the intensity by adding it on top. The scatter effect is one I don’t mind on the eyes, but despise on my cheeks, so this product has been fantastic for me to get use out of some of the other highlighters in my collection that would otherwise have been tossed out, but I wanted to keep at least for the packaging.
It also helps to lighten the look of some of the darker highlighters if I apply it on top too, or slightly deepen ones that are too light. Technically, most highlighters can do that, but this one does it without altering the intensity level.

When used alone, this highlighter’s radiance is subtle, giving a glow from within from its micro size shimmer particles. I like the fact that it’s not very reflective because I don’t have to worry about it looking harsh in certain lighting situations.

The texture is a little drier than the others and doesn’t stick quite as well to the skin if the base products underneath aren’t dewy to help it along, but the difference is it lasting eight hours versus twelve or more. It’s still long enough lasting for my needs.
There are some uncommon colors in the range, so I cannot speak for all of them in being useful or pretty. My recommendation is for the more traditional skin tone colors from the brand.

Pat McGrath Skin Fetish: Ultra Glow Highlighter (Divine Rose)

Everything I raved about regarding the Tom Ford highlighter applies to this, but there’s more shimmer particles in this one. This shade isn’t perfect for me because it’s golden-pink. It’s very pretty, but not 100% flattering on my warm undertone because of the pink pearly element, but it looks a little more natural if I pair it with a neutral or slightly cool-toned blush. If I’m a few shades darker, as can happen during summer, this is at times too light. Currently, it works.

I’ve referenced this highlighter many times, but I don’t believe I ever officially reviewed it, so I’ll include a photo below of it on the top of my cheekbones, inner corner of my eyes, and under the brow arch. When the apartment is nearly finished being worked on, I’ll try to create a better lighting setup.

The Ultra Glow formula is my absolute favorite from Pat Mcgrath, and I’ve been waiting…impatiently…for the brand to release another shade in this formula that’s sparkle-free (unlike the Bridgerton ones), but it hasn’t happened yet.

The way people rave about the Anastasia Beverly Hills x Amrezy highlighter as if it’s the best ever made is the way I feel about this highlighter, but I wish it was in my perfect shade. I still tend to use it quite often regardless. And in terms of baked gelee formulas, this one and the Tom Ford are my top favorites within that category.

Chantecaille Sunbeam Cheek and Eye Shade

This is another gel powder formula, but it’s a little more on the shimmery side than the others and with slightly larger particles of shimmer, but it’s still smooth looking on the face and a buildable formula. The shade is the deepest that I use and doesn’t work as well during certain times of the year, but in those times I have to be more careful about the placement on the face and I make sure to apply lightly. The original review is HERE.

Gxve Beauty Check My Glow Multi-dimensional Illuminating Talc-Free Highlighter

This is one of the two newest highlighters added to my collection and most recently reviewed. This formula reminds me the most of the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors, but less powdery and slightly more reflective. I love that I can tailor the shade depending on which colors I mix, and I have an easier time accessing each block than the Multi Glow from Charlotte Tilbury. This is yet another smooth looking and reflective highlighter that starts at medium intensity unless a very airy/wispy brush is used. Because it’s so new, I’m cautious about ranking it, but this has the potential to become one of my most loved.

Honorable Mentions:

Hatice Schmidt Labs Highlighter and Nabla Skin Glazing Luminous Pressed Powder

I listed both products in this category because they’re so incredibly similar, but I didn’t bring mine from Nabla because their best shades for me are too light or too dark. I didn’t bring the one from Hatice Schmidt Labs because I planned to get the darkest shade while in Germany. Both of these I reviewed and discussed previously. For some reason, the brand has Medium and skipped Tan to go straight to Deep. Deep turned out to be not much darker than Medium (which probably explains the lack of need for Tan). The base color is medium-deep, but it’s not opaque, so the pearly colored shimmer/pigment lightens the color overall. The way it looks on the skin reminds me of Chantecaille’s highlighter, but much more reflective and intense in direct light. But because of that sheerer base, it can be subtle if using the right tools. It also tends to look subtle in many lighting situations in Germany because it’s so dark here! I’m used to the Florida brightness and sunshine. The Deep highlighter shade doesn’t pop on me unless light hits my cheek perfectly. This can be a benefit or downside depending on someone’s preferences.

Melt Cosmetics Digital Dust Highlighter

It might specifically be the Genesis shade from Melt in this formula that I love because I bought Nova just before this trip and it was just “nice,” but not special upon first impression. Plus, I rarely reached for the Digital Dust Duos again either several months after I reviewed them since they weren’t the perfect shades for me. It’s a little less refined than the other highlighters I’ve discussed already, but still pretty smooth. It has a great wet effect. It’s very reflective in the light and Genesis is an even more flattering tone than PML’s Divine Rose because it leans even more gold than pink on me. I left it behind because there are just so many others already that are like this and I wanted a small amount in my first wave of products I brought over. However, it’s definitely coming in the second wave.

Guerlain Meteorites Light Revealing Pearls Of Powder

The original one I purchased (having removed the stars) gave the ultimate subtle glow. I’ve been looking for a good replacement since 2015 or 2016. In that length of time, I’ve purchased three others in the hopes I could replicate the experience. The first was the pressed trio, but the issues were the shades and pearliness (pearls on my skin tone tend to have an ashy effect), another set of meteorites I don’t believe I ever reviewed (and later sold) that had red-bronze balls too deep and too red toned to suit me, and most recently a gold powder-gel one that is a bit light for me and just looks alright on the skin.

I stopped using my original meteorites after five years because of fear of using makeup so old, but I’m tempted to bring it over anyway and start using it again and give up trying to find a replacement. Then again, it might even be too subtle for my tastes nowadays.
Just before I left, I tried out Melt’s new glaze powder which had a similar effect based on my first impression. It’s possible that one is the best replacement I’ll be able to get, even if it’s not from Guerlain themselves.

This is quite random, but speaking of Guerlain, I skipped getting anything from their Glittery Tiger themed holiday launch (the palette specifically). However, I bought a sweater for the season that reminded me of a mashup of those ideas and made me feel like I wasn’t missing out in some strange way. Plus, thanks to Black Friday sales, it cost the same as a single lipstick case!

Colourpop Super Shock Highlighters

One of the best features of the Super Shocks is the ability to get a cream-like wet looking effect on the face without it actually being dewy on the skin. Some of the Super Shocks can be more glittery than shimmery. My preference are the ones with the smallest of shimmer particles. I loved Parasol at first, but my tastes started changing and I wanted something a little deeper. Others I attempted to purchase since then were not the perfect shades. The best one came from the Avatar collaboration collection. I considered bringing that one specifically, but the formula requires a dense brush and works best with synthetic bristles. I’m still on my fude kick, so it will come later. This gives me a chance to use my top eight for most of 2024 before I reintroduce the honorable mentions to my updated collection.

That’s everything for today’s post! I hope it has been helpful. Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Trying Juvia’s Place Again

Posted on January 1, 2024 by ghekate

*There are more products reviewed, discussed, and photographed in this post than what is pictured above.*

I took quite a long break from purchasing Juvia’s Place products, but they had an amazing Juneteenth sale with enough items I wanted to make it worth placing the order. Besides a few controversies, it was also the fact that the palettes with six pans and under weren’t performing as well as I was used to. Juvia’s Place and Coloured Raine used to make my favorite eyeshadows in my early blogging days, but both brands have changed things. So, just as I gave it some time before trying Coloured Raine again, I decided to give Juvia’s Place another chance in 2023 to see if it was just a string of bad luck and if I might enjoy their smaller palettes again.

I also bought the Coffee Shop palette, but it isn’t pictured with the group above because I ended up giving it to one of my friends. I wanted to mention that because I told Olive a long time ago that I bought that palette, with the implication that it would eventually be reviewed on this blog, but I forgot I gave it away. It looked so beautiful, but I purchased several neutral palettes at the same time, and with my friend visiting I hoped it would make a nice surprise gift.
Anyway, I recommend checking out Olive Unicorn Beauty if you’re a fan of Juvia’s place, bright colorful eyeshadow looks, fun hair dyes, and more.

Eyeshadows

The photo above is an example of my biggest issue with Juvia’s Place shimmers from my previous review until now. This happens with slicker formula shimmers and isn’t any indication that it’s a bad shadow. It’s just unfortunate that my eyes (which produce more oils in the last few years than previously in my life) aren’t compatible with those slip-type and ‘cone’ heavy eyeshadows anymore. I can sometimes mitigate the issue by having a thick matte layer in the crease (or using setting powder) to keep those zones drier, but it doesn’t always work.

The Blushed Rose Eyeshadow Palette

This color story is so beautiful! I wanted it ever since it launched, so I could no longer resist being without it. Shade 2 called to me the most, as it looks so fiery warm and vibrant in the pan, but it’s not as unique on my actual eyes. They’re all so pretty. I’m just not sure they’re as special as I wanted.

I’m happy to say the creasing/breaking down of the shimmers wasn’t as bad with this palette. The matte quality was also better than when I decided to take a break from Juvia’s Place, but it’s still not quite as good as their older mattes. I’m at least glad they’re blendable and of similar quality to their larger “newer” palettes. The texture of the eyeshadows feel softer, which seems like a conscious decision to make them more of a buildable eyeshadow formula rather than ultra pigmented. The color is clearly still there, but it’s not as easy to layer up multiple colors to build up to the kind of depth I prefer. I think the shadows are still good for the price and with a lot of shade variety and nice finishes. I can see why people still love their eyeshadows. The switch is just not to my specific preference anymore.

The Bronzed Rustic Eyeshadow Palette

The colors in this palette look a lot more similar to each other on my eyes than I expected, so that makes it less enjoyable to me than the Blushed Rose Palette. Other than that, my praises and critiques for this palette are exactly the same. The mattes are better than I expected, but don’t give me the depth I want. They’re more buildable and thin instead of heavier and pigmented. The shimmers don’t crease as badly as I feared. The shimmers are more metallic and less sparkly.

The eye looks I created are pretty, but I was a little underwhelmed by this palette.

The Fula Palette

This palette has some really interesting shades, especially the duochromes. I was so excited when I swatched everything and I had high expectations, but wow this one was the ultimate letdown. The mattes were so hard to build. I got my color impact with Nomad and Taza, but Nomad was constantly fading away when I tried to blend it, whereas Taza had a sticking issue wanting to stay where it’s initially laid and doesn’t want to blend out. Marrakesh didn’t give me enough vibrancy of color and I struggled to blend out the edges. Then I had the issue of all the shimmers creasing horribly within hours. The bald patch photo I showed at the beginning of the post was from the first eye look shown below.
Preferences are one thing, but I think this palette goes beyond a preference thing. I don’t think it’s as good of quality. Can it be made to work? Of course. I just can’t recommend it.

The Warrior Palette

Since this is one of the older palettes before I noticed a quality difference, and one of the larger ones, I had high hopes it would be great. Unfortunately, even the newer versions of older palettes seem different than I remember. The mattes were easier to blend than in the Fula palette, but still rougher than the Blush and Bronze palettes. They don’t layer as well or build as well either. The shimmers creased, but again, not as intensely as the Fula palette.

The colors in here are beautiful and the eye looks are nice, but I had to just face the facts that Juvia’s Place eyeshadows just aren’t suited for me anymore. Thankfully, the brand has branched out into so many other areas of makeup that I can continue to seek out and use their products. This doesn’t have to be the end.

Blushes

Juvia’s Place Blushed Liquid Blush in Marigold, Rosey Posey (should have been Peach Rose), Coral Rose, and Lily Love

As I mentioned in the beginning of the post, I bought these on June 19th, but I didn’t start working on this post until October. I took out a few products here and there prior to October, but when I initially got my order and saw that barbie pink liquid blush, I assumed I just make a mistake in what shade I chose and put it back in the box. It wasn’t until I started taking product photos and swatches that I realized it was called Rosey Posey, which I knew wasn’t one of the blush shades I was interested in. I checked my order confirmation page, and Peach Rose was the shade I actually ordered, but got Rosey Posey instead. It’s so many months later that I didn’t bother to contact Juvia’s Place customer service to try and fix it.

To give some kind of reference, I’m not the biggest liquid blush connoisseur, but my favorites are from Rare Beauty and Glossier. The ones from Glossier are a little more on the buildable natural side. The ones from Rare Beauty are much more pigmented. I need such a small amount from Rare Beauty to get the full pigment I want. The ones from Juvia’s Place though are equal in pigment or even more intense! I need practically a pinprick amount of Lily Love to cover my full cheek. That one is so unbelievably pigmented! For that reason, I prefer Coral Rose which is similar in tone to Lily Love, but less red, less intense, and a small drop won’t overdo things instantly.

These blushes dry down to a soft matte finish. They come in pretty colors. They’re long-lasting and don’t fade. They’re basically a more pigmented version of the Rare Beauty liquid blushes. That being said, I still prefer the Rare Beauty because they’re overall still easier to use and blend out. With the Juvia’s Place ones, I don’t even know if they disturb foundation underneath because they’re so opaque that anyone can cover up any bald spots or patches easily. That makes them a good thing or bad thing depending on someone’s needs.

One of the things going for these is that the Juvia’s Place liquid blushes cost $18 versus $23 from Rare Beauty, at least in the US. That doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but Rare Beauty blushes can be 26 Euros in Germany depending on the shade, whereas Juvia’s are 17 Euros. So, the overseas prices is where the difference can be larger. Plus, Juvia’s Place frequently has sales on their website and Ulta starting at around 30% off, so the price gap could widen even more.

I bought Marigold hoping it would be a decent substitute for Joy from Rare Beauty, but it’s not quite the same brightness and Joy also has a dewier looking finish that I prefer. So, I would like to one day repurchase that color. However, Coral Love is a decent enough substitute for my beloved Love shade.

I can recommend these, but I have to admit I still prefer the Rare Beauty ones myself.

Lip Products

Magic Lip Oil in Watermelon

I was so excited to try this lip oil because they’ve gotten so popular in the past year, but I just wasn’t impressed with this formula. It didn’t condition my lips. It felt more like a gel than an oil. It barely smelled like watermelon (like a watermelon mixed with chemicals). It doesn’t add any color to my lips, so the slight pink tinge is just for show. The shine disappears fairly quickly and it’s not long lasting in general on my lips either. With nothing good about it except how pretty it looks in the tube and the fun shape of the applicator, it made no sense to keep it. So, it’s out of my collection.

Lip Gloss in Sis!

This is a nice, functional, basic gloss. It has a bit of color and this particular shade looks slightly milky on me, but it’s still pretty, especially paired on top of a lipstick. It’s not as high shine as my favorites, but it’s also not as sticky either. I liked it enough that I bought one for my sister, and I’d consider getting another shade at some point in the future. I just have a ton of glosses that I like and am currently trying to use up that also have a conditioning effect to my lips, so it doesn’t really make sense to buy another at the moment.

Nude Velvety Matte Lipstick in Me and Toffee

I like the somewhat vanilla scent of these lipsticks. They go on the lips smoothly without tugging. They feel comfortable to wear on the lips. They’re not transfer-proof, but last a decent amount of time before touch-ups are required. The shape of the lipstick is interesting to look at, but the shape also seemed to make it easy to apply the product to my lips without going outside the lines. They’re a matte formula but have a slight creaminess to them. My preferred color of the two is Toffee because I can wear it without a darker lip liner. Toffee refused to show true-to-color on my camera unfortunately (in the lip photo but the swatch is accurate). I planned to retake photos while in Germany, but my plastic bag of lip products I intended to bring with me weighed 3 pounds (out of a 50 pound limit). These lipsticks survived the cut where I brought it down to 2 pounds, but ultimately I had to get that lip product bag even lower, so the Juvia’s Place lipsticks unfortunately had to be left behind.

If the colors were perfectly suited to my taste without lipliner, I would have found a way to bring one with me. The shade options were what did it. So, for anyone who is able to find colors they really like in Juvia’s Place’s shade offerings, I recommend giving one a try.

Miscellaneous

I Am Magic Natural Radiance Foundation in BURKINA-#310 [Dark with neutral warm undertone]

I believe this was too dark at the time I originally tried it, but just before I left the US, it was a passable shade match. The finish is quite pretty, a natural radiance just as described, but leaning more on the radiant side. It’s advertised as medium-to-full coverage. It can feel heavy if too much is applied, so the coverage I get for the amount I want to wear is high medium. The scent is extremely strong. There’s supposed to be “Acerola Cherry ferment” in here, and the cherry fragrance they added is a frequent reminder of that. I like the smell, but still wish it was excluded or at least that it was milder. It lingers on the skin for quite a while before I can’t smell it anymore.
When I first tried this, it was with the Rituel de Fille Thorn Oil and that made it easy to transfer. By itself, it can actually set down without powder. It just takes a little longer than other foundations I own.
I wish I could have been able to bring this with me, and I was very tempted to repurchase it during their Cyber Week sale to have it shipped to my location. However, the reason I left it is because I have so many other foundations I already love and have stood the test of time, plus in closer shade matches to me. They’re all at least double the price of this foundation, so for anyone unwilling to pay those kind of prices, this could be a less expensive option to look into.

Juvia’s Place I Am Magic Concealer in J11 [Dark with a Warm Undertone]

This looks like it should work for me, but it’s a bit too light when it’s actually on top of my dark under eye circles. I love the full coverage aspect to it, but the biggest issue is that it creases fast and too deeply for my liking. I tried it twice by itself with different powders and two other times mixed with other concealers to see if that would help, but nothing worked.

Also, regarding the shades, the next one that was still a warm undertone is J8, which looked like it would be way too deep for me based on the website photos. However, the color wouldn’t change the creasing problem I had with it.

Juvia’s Place Bronzed Cream Bronzer in Caramel

Taken from my Instagram post, since I summed it up best over there, I know I bought the incorrect shade for myself, but the biggest reason I didn’t try to exchange it for a better shade is because this bronzer has sparkles in it. It doesn’t show in swatches, and it’s too hard to see in the container, but those sparkles are way more obvious and look crazy when spread out on the face. I thought I was in the twilight zone because none of the YouTubers I watch talked about it in their initial videos (people with similar tastes to me), and it wouldn’t be until much later in a declutter video or update video that they mentioned noticing it later on and not liking it. It’s such a shame because I loved the feel of it on the skin and the way it blended was beautiful. I just can’t get on board with such a glittery look in a bronzer of all things! If they ever decide to release a version that isn’t, “crafted with shimmering pearls,” I’ll buy it in a heartbeat.

Also, $18 is mid to high end pricing if the price per grams are considered because it’s only 0.3 oz versus brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills that has a cream bronzer at $35 for 1 oz. I don’t mind a small size since it’s so hard for me to use up bronzers, blushes, and highlighters. However, it’s not as affordable of a product compared to what the brand’s prices usually are. This is the same brand whose foundation is $23 for 40ml when most brands’ foundations are only 30ml.

Those are pretty much all the products I’ve tried from Juvia’s Place in 2023. I did also buy their eye primer to compare to the one from Coloured Raine, but the primer separated in the bottle and looked really off-putting, so I didn’t even try it.

This was quite the mixture of good and mediocre performances with the products, but I still have an overall positive impression of the things they make. There’s no way to know whether something will be a hit or a miss from them, but I’m always intrigued.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading! I wish you a Happy New Year and positive things for 2024!

-Lili ❤

Downsizing My MAC Blush Collection

Posted on December 25, 2023 by ghekate

The last two years have been the peak of my blush obsession, and MAC is the brand that still holds the record for most blushes in my collection. Even though I’ve given some away or sold some that didn’t work for me, what you see in the photo above is everything still remaining in my possession.

For the first wave of products I brought from the US to Germany, and knowing I’d be separated from my collection for a period of time between 3-10 months, I had to decide which items I didn’t want to be without and which ones could come later.

MAC Effervescence Extra Dimension Face Compacts in Medium and Deep

I never reviewed these, which launched for the holidays last year, because MAC released them in such a strange way. Initially they were only available overseas. Then, a month or so later, only the lightest shade was available at retail partners like HSN and Dillard’s. The lightest two shades eventually came to Ulta a few months after that, but the collection never became available on the MAC-US website. The only places they could be found were CCOs, which I have Nikki to thank for that information. Everywhere I called within my state and other states didn’t have the Deep one, but I purchased it from someone on Mercari and later got my hands on the Medium one from Amazon, specifically to have that vibrant coral blush.

I love the Deep trio, and all the shades in it work for me, but it comes in really bulky semi-heavy packaging that doesn’t fit in traditional beauty storage containers, so I left it behind. The Deep Trio will come back with me in the second wave of products, but Medium will likely be decluttered in some way.

MAC Extra Dimension Blushes

The Extra Dimension blush formula is my second most used type of blush from MAC, though it doesn’t look as evident since I’ve been focused mainly on using mine in the shade Faux Sure. Other than that one, I’ve dug into Guindilla from the MAC x Rosalia Aute Cuture collection the second most and Hushed Tone in the compact form (not from the Surrounded by Stars quad). Since Hushed Tone is so subtle on me, I pretty much stopped using it once I got my hands on Faux Sure. Because Guindilla is the only shade in its quad that I use, and it also takes effort to build up, that would add too much weight to my bag that could be used for other things. So, of all the Extra Dimension ones, I only brought Faux Sure with me. The rest will come in other waves.

MAC Glow Play Blushes

I never did showcase the color Grand, the leftmost blush in the photo above, because it’s too light for me. When MAC had one of their deep discounts on blushes, I bought it to see if I could pull off that shade or not. The Glow Play formula is my most loved from MAC and most used. They look like they’re in a messy state rather than heavily used condition, but they all started off in round domed shapes. So, the flattest ones are most used (with the exception of HD Cherry Tree). I tend to use the peaches and oranges way more often than the pinks, so I knew HD Cherry Tree and No Shame weren’t coming with me. I kept forgetting which ones I liked more between That’s Peachy and Peaches ‘N’ Dreams. Groovy and Heat Index were also hard to decide between as well. Ultimately, I dropped That’s Peachy and took the other three. That’s Peachy just took extra effort to build up, which is the only reason I didn’t bring it.

MAC Mineralize Blushes

Flirting with Danger and Love Thing were the only two Mineralize Blushes that I kept, and I still love them, so I took them with me. Unlike the other formulas from MAC that I can wear in tones that appear as though they’d be too light for me, the Mineralize Blushes look ashier on my skin tone the lighter they lean. That’s the reason why the deeper ones look better on me.

MAC Powder Blushes

The photo above shows my blushes that I did not depot and plan to keep in their original packaging. It also shows Sunbasque (too light for me) and Modern Mandarin (hard-panned quickly) which I was supposed to declutter, but never had the heart to toss them. He Likes It Cold is nice, but too similar to Flirting with Danger to be worth bringing in the first wave. The duo in Sunset Boulevard, Melba, and Gingerly are all super subtle. I like subtle, but I have other barely-there blushes from other brands that I wanted to bring instead, so those three had to remain behind. The MAC x Whitney Houston Blush in Nippy’s Plum Rose is one that I hadn’t reviewed yet and thought for sure I’d bring with me, but it’s close enough to MAC’s Breath of Plum that I decided it could stay for now. So, I didn’t take any of the ones above. However, I definitely plan to bring them all (except Sunbasque and Modern Mandarin) next time.

As for the photo below, I like so many of these shades, but the ones that remained behind were either too subtle or too vibrant for my taste now, don’t perform as well due to being old, or I have a similar shade from another brand in a formula I like more (ex: Peachtwist and Ambering Rose versus BareMinerals Blonzer in Kiss of Rose).

Even though the Powder blushes from MAC are what kicked off my obsession, my love of their other formulas overshadowed these and I didn’t get nearly enough use out of them because I was devoting more time to the others. So, I chose the most wearable ones that happened to fit into this nice custom quad.

So, I ended up narrowing down the first wave of MAC blushes to these chosen few! Ten blushes are still a lot, but it looks so small compared to the full collection.

*The camera setting wasn’t in Pro mode, so the colors are washed out. I wasn’t intending to show this picture.*

That’s all for today! I know reviews on newly released products tend to be more exciting, but it’s nice to revisit past things, especially to see if I would still recommend older products to this day.

For all who celebrate it, Merry Christmas!
I’m going to update the home page, but I also want to announce in this post that I’m engaged! That’s why I’ll be in Germany either three months (if something goes wrong) or up to ten months (if I’m able to make this move permanent), before I return to the US for a visit. I’m bringing things over slowly, and this is why I’ve had to take a hard look at my beauty products to decide which products will come at which time.

Happy Holidays!

-Lili ❤

Gxve Beauty Brand Review

Posted on December 11, 2023 by ghekate

Gxve Beauty by Gwen Stefani had 50% off all products for Black Friday, so it felt like the perfect time to try the makeup. This is a “first impression” style review, since my order arrived shortly before my trip, and I was only able to wear everything 1-2 times. I liked them all and planned to bring them with me to Germany, but due to baggage weight limits I had to leave everything except the highlighter behind. However, the impression left on me by these products were strong enough that I feel I can still review them.

In the photo above, I’m wearing the highlighter (all colors swirled together), the bronzer and contour, both shades in the blush compact, and the matte lipstick.

Pick It Up Cream Contour & Talc-Free Powder Bronzer Duo in Heat Wave

The cream contour blends decently into the skin and sets without remaining balmy. However, due to the shine from it being a cream product, I prefer to set it with a powder of some kind.
It looks intense when it’s first placed onto the skin, but sheers out without being patchy as it’s worked onto the face. The shade I chose was still a bit too deep for me, so I had to be extra precise in the placement of it, and it was too unnatural to look nice in my jaw area.

The powder bronzer was extremely warm in color, along the lines of Pat Mcgrath’s bronzer in the shade Burnished Honey. It’s quite pigmented and doesn’t cling to more dewy spots on the face, nor did it deepen up from moisture. It has a similar looking finish and performance to PML’s bronzer as well. I tend to prefer a slight sheen in my bronzer, even more than what’s considered soft matte, but I still liked this one.

The longevity is good on both products. My bigger critique is that there isn’t a plastic flap to help prevent powder bronzer kickup from ending up in the cream contour. This issue didn’t happen to me yet, but I can see it being a problem with repeated use or if someone accidentally drops the compact and some of the powder breaks and goes everywhere.

If I’d been able to get this for half price again and have it arrive in time, I would have been tempted to get the shade Super Hot intended for tan skin tones and hoped it wouldn’t be too light. But in thinking it over, I still prefer powder contours over all the cream ones I’ve ever tried because for some reason they tend to not be matte. When creating a shadow on my face, I need that to be matte and not shiny, which powders give me. As for bronzers, I have plenty that rank higher, so this is ultimately why I decided that I’ll just continue to use this one when I eventually return to the US and make do with the color I’ve got.

Feelin’ Cheeky Clean Amplifying Talc-Free Blush Duo in Crush On You

According to the brand, “Each blush duo includes 2 shades: a Sheer Satin shade to add luminosity and dimension and a Natural Radiant shade to pump up the vibrancy.” I would have thought they’d be the other way around, but the shimmery blush is apparently the satin. It doesn’t give enough color payoff for me to wear on its own. The radiant shade, although not flat matte, is a bit darker than the satin and doesn’t pop enough for my taste, which is why I ended up putting the satin on top of the radiant one both times since they look better together on me. It becomes a combination of blendable and buildable color paired with the oomph and brightness I prefer in a blush. The satin isn’t as luminous as a true shimmer blush, so perhaps the description of it makes sense. The color lasted on my cheeks all day without fading.

I would have loved to get another duo, but the brand’s photos only show the coral shade (Lasting Love) on a model with light skin and the peachy-beige (Stars Aligned) demonstrated on a light/medium model, so I couldn’t tell if any other colors I liked would work for my skin tone. It would have been even more of a risk to blindly buy considering the radiant shade intended to “pump up the vibrancy” needed to be built up a little despite being the deepest duo.

The only reason I left this one behind is because I filled nearly an entire large Relavel case (16.5 x 5.5 x 12 inches) with blushes. I already was bringing so many with me, some which even had sentimental value, that I couldn’t justify this one. Especially since this type of color is a darker version of what I love and have too many shades of in my collection and in finishes I prefer even more. I would still like to get additional shades of these blushes one day though.

Check My Glow Multi-dimensional Illuminating Talc-Free Highlighter in Karat Country

I can’t recall if I smelled fragrance in the contour/bronzer duo, but there is definitely perfume in the blush duo and this highlighter. It smells so strongly of baby powder, but mixed with some florals. The smell doesn’t linger on the face, but it’s a little unnerving to be applying so much scented makeup, especially when using more than one Gxve Beauty product at a time. I try to limit the amount of perfumed products I use out of fear of increasing my chances of developing skin sensitization, plus scented products can often give me a headache. I’m glad the ones from Gxve haven’t done that to me, but I felt it’s important to mention.

This is the one product in this post I kept with me, which shows just how much I love it. How light or dark my skin is can fluctuate throughout the year, so the idea that I can tailor my highlighter color to suit me is a great advantage. The shimmer quality is smooth. It’s one of the least texture enhancing highlighters I’ve used in proportion to the intensity level of the shine and reflectivity. I haven’t done a highlighter ranking post yet, but this has to be in my top 10. I mentioned that I used everything in this post at least 1-2 times prior to my trip. Since arriving at my destination, I have continued to use this one every time I put on makeup. I can apply it sparingly with an airy brush for a more subtle look, but achieving medium to medium-high intensity is easy. I don’t consider this a blinding highlighter, but choosing one of the brand’s lighter shades would give me that effect if I wanted that. Medium level of radiance is the most I like, so this is very much perfect for me.

Original Me Clean High-Performance Matte Lipstick in Lovable Me

Well, this certainly takes me back! I haven’t worn a lip product associated with Gwen Stefani since the collab with Urban Decay in early 2016! It was the only item I bought from that collection, and it was more for collector purposes because I loved the packaging.

The Gxve brand packaging is quite cool, especially with the brand lettering under the twist up portion of the component that can be seen when the cap is removed. Lovable Me is a really pretty color that I can almost wear without a lip liner (liner-free demonstration is at the top of the page).

Considering it’s a matte lipstick, I was surprised that the formula had a slight creaminess to it that made it easy to glide onto the lips and was comfortable to wear. It lasted through two meals before needing to be touched up. My lips were drier than when I started at the end of the night, like pretty much every colored lip product I wear, but it’s one of the most comfortable mattes I’ve worn. It looked nice even on my semi-chapped lips.
This lipstick unsurprisingly contains fragrance, but it smells more like vanilla than the other products from Gxve Beauty.

Overall, I think this brand has pretty good products. I’m certainly interested in seeing what else they will make in the future, although I don’t believe they ship outside of the US. So, unfortunately, this might be my one and only brand review unless they expand globally.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Let’s Review the Trendmood Box and ABH Palettes

Posted on December 4, 2023 by ghekate

Volume 21 launched on November 3rd, and is the third Trendmood box I’ve purchased overall. For those who might not be familiar with them, the founder is Sophie of the Trendmood1 Instagram account. It’s not like subscription services that charge monthly until cancelled. Each box of products is curated and shown ahead of time (including details about possible shade variations that will be chosen at random). The prices of each box also varies and you have to buy each specific box you want each time it launches. There are currently no preorders. Quantities are limited and once they sell out, they usually aren’t restocked. What they ended up doing last year for Black Friday was selling a mystery box with a set number of products that would be randomly chosen from a pool of previously launched boxes. My second ever Trendmood box was last year’s Black Friday mystery one.

Volume 21 was supposed to be $48 for the products inside that had the combined retail price of $195, but using Trendmood’s own code at launch dropped it to $45. There is usually an incentive to purchasing early and signing up for early access (one hour before the normal launch). This time the discount was five percent, but it can vary. I got 20% off that Black Friday box with the special code.

I had actually heard people were disappointed by the Fall Romance palette since it came out before the Vol.21 box was available. The Fall Romance palette is $55 at full price, so I was willing to gamble that getting this for $10 cheaper, plus other items I was interested in having, would end up still being worth it. Let’s see if I’m correct!

I will start off reviewing Fall Romance, plus Nouveau that I bought last year that came with a free 2 piece set (mesh pouch and mascara) from purchasing through Ulta. Since I still have that Lash Brag mascara and I recently got 10x the points buying a mini of the new Lash Sculpt mascara, I’ll be reviewing them both too. I will include additional reviews of other products I’ve used from the Trendmood box at the end!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Fall Romance Eyeshadow Palette

Moonlight feels gritty and is difficult to pick up with a finger. It might be intentionally hard pressed to minimize the fact that it’s a flakier topper style duochrome eyeshadow. Divine felt surprisingly rough too. Even though it picks up easily on my finger, it takes multiple swipes to smooth it out for an opaque section of color. The brand considers it a duochrome as well and describes the shade as, “vivid purple with a sparkling pink-pearl shift,” but the shifted sheen is so subtle that it’s not a true duochrome in my eyes. Ember and Crimson are the two roughest textured shadows in the palette, but Ember smooths out nicely whereas Crimson is patchy both in swatches and on the eyes. With a lot of work, it can be covered up, but I’m not pleased with the way this one was made. Thorns and Mulberry are not quite as rough feeling as Ember and Crimson, but still not as soft as regular ABH matte eyeshadows. Unlike the first five shades in the palette, plus Midnight, the remaining shadows in the palette have a big kickup problem. I don’t usually pay much attention to some excess powder here and there, but it literally gets into the neighboring shades if I forget to pay attention to how softly I tap and pick up product on my brush. I’m wondering if we have another Subculture situation where the brand wants pigment, but feels they have to press the pans very hard so they don’t fly all over the place due to not using enough binders. I never owned the Subculture palette because the reviews scared me off, but I remember the complaints that came out about it and this seems similar with the exception that these mattes are even rougher feeling to the touch. Thankfully, these don’t feel like sandpaper when I’m actually applying them to my eyes, but it’s indicative that the formula is not the same as ABH’s usual eyeshadows. All that rough texture feels like how pigments/oxides feel without enough fillers, yet the ingredients show this is definitely not the case. So, unfortunately, I’ve been unable to figure out why these feel like this.

Something else to keep in mind is that the non-shimmers all deepen up considerably when I use MAC Paint Pot, so a drier type eye primer is better for me. At least, something like the Gerard Cosmetics Clean Canvas works better. I don’t know how these perform with ABH’s own primer which was definitely a very dry type. I ran out of the sample, so I can’t test the palette out with it.

Another thing that will probably be less important to others is that Thorns looks so similar to Twilight in the pans that I got them mixed up in one of the eye looks I created (but did not photograph), and only realized it when the spot turned blue where Thorns and Twilight connected with Divine. Thorns by itself is more vibrant of a green than the other one, but also has a stronger blue tone to it. The ability to see it in the pan depends on the lighting.

Looking at the photo of the yet-to-be-used palette at the top of the post, Fireside stands out as the most textured and foiled shimmer of the bunch, but I was disappointed that it didn’t look special on the eyes. Applying it damp smooths it out, so it looks more metallic than sparkly, but adding Fireside back on top with a dry finger brings some shine back. This technique improves my opinion of how it looks on me, but it’s still not my favorite.
Crown is a beautiful duochrome gold to green shimmer shade, but even though it’s one of the stars of this palette, Natasha Denona has done a shade like this better from her Gold palette (Lime Chrome) and the Mini Gold (Antheia).
Smoke is the smoothest of all the shimmers in look and feel, but is also the only one that creases on me. It’s only a tiny bit of creasing though. The bigger issue is the immense fallout, so I advise applying this one wet and/or using glitter glue. Nyx Glitter Primer pretty much solved this issue for me.

There’s a learning curve to using this palette in the beginning. I have to be mindful of the primer used. I have to be careful to watch out for patchiness from Crimson. I have to combat shimmer fallout. I also noticed that these shadows really didn’t like my crease brushes. They were more prone to patchiness from the color being too easily rubbed off. I had to switch to using mostly paddle shaped and flat brushes before blending the edge with no additional product with a crease brush at the end. For some reason, these work better when patted on slowly to be built up and not swiped across the skin the way I would normally work in windshield wiper motions with a crease brush.

Due to all these issues, I can’t recommend this palette. Because I know all the tips and tricks to making this work now, I have managed to complete eye looks in an acceptable amount of time and find it less difficult to use. I’m still annoyed when the matte kickup (which tends to be dark) keeps getting into the shimmers (which are mostly light) and wants to stick to them, basically dirtying up the color. I really love those tones of colors though, and the end result of the eye look most of the time. For that reason, I don’t regret buying the Trendmood box to get it, and I surprisingly keep second-guessing my decision to leave it behind when I go to Germany again.

In the Nouveau section, I delve into more theories as to why that one gets praised, but this one doesn’t.

The letters correspond to which mascaras were used. LS equals Lash Sculpt while LB stands for Lash Brag.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Sculpt Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara (mini)

I have to mention that I was quite impressed with this travel size with how weighty it feels in the hand. This mascara packaging could not have been cheap, especially with the extra details like the logo on the cap and the metallic looking gold rim at the tube’s opening.

What I like about this mascara is that it gives length, but if I spend enough time with it, I can also get some volume. There’s no flaking or smudging. When I go for a second coat (needed for the volume) it can start to get clumps at the tips but by the time I finish fully brushing through the lashes, they are combed out and gone. Also, after the mascara dries, my lashes feel soft to the touch and not stiff or stuck in one direction.

Part of what makes this a bit time consuming to apply is that the formula gives me trouble with initially sticking to my lashes. When I accidentally got mascara on my eye, I was going to let it dry before trying to wipe it away, but the drop ended up falling off by itself leaving barely any evidence behind. When it does stick to the lashes, it’s like it skips parts of the strand and builds on the tips or the base of the lashes, often skipping the middle. I have to continually brush through to get it looking even. I believe it’s also difficult to build volume because it feels like the wand bristles aren’t close enough together and brushing through my lashes aren’t touching all my lashes in every swipe due to those gaps. So, I have to wiggle the brush back and forth to add as much product onto the lashes as I can and then comb them through and repeat. I get it to look the best I can, wait a minute, and then proceed with the second coat which is where I finally get some volume and extra length. So, this mascara does end up doing both just as is claimed, but it takes longer than my other mascaras to get there. However, this mascara’s benefit is how much better it is at looking uniform and clump free with this level of length and volume that does end up looking as good, or better than a few of my mascara favorites.

So, I’m happy to use this up, but I don’t know if I’ll repurchase it. I still prefer how quickly I can complete applying my other mascaras in just one coat since I’m impatient, even at the cost of the lashes looking a little wilder.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Brag Volumizing Mascara

This mascara’s focus is on volume. I don’t get any clumping, smudging or flaking. The brush part of the wand is shaped in away that’s good at separating the lashes while still building volume. Just like the newer ABH mascara, once the product dries on my eyes, my lashes are left feeling soft and flexible to the touch instead of stiff.

I have to mention the packaging again with this one because it’s weighty like the Lash Sculpt tube, with the additional factor of the cap actually being a magnetic metal (in the photo above I show my triangular magnet attached to the cap). I’m not sure if this was weighted intentionally for balance in holding, the way some makeup brushes are intentionally weighted. There’s also a pretty rose gold-into-black ombre design. Anastasia Beverly Hills certainly puts a lot of money into their mascara components. I don’t understand why they’d give mascaras (something that gets tossed out or used up quickly) better packaging than some of their staple products, but perhaps it pays off more than I know.

The downside with this one is that it doesn’t give quite as much length as my favorite mascaras, and even leaves slightly less volume than some of them, despite specializing in volume. I can at least get it closer to my favorites if I spend a lot of time building it up using the same application techniques as the Lash Sculpt mascara, but I’d rather use my favorites that are cheaper and quicker to build. So, I intended to use this up, but I don’t think I’ll be repurchasing another one either.

While we’re at it, lets review the KVD mascara I got from the Trendmood box.

KVD Beauty Full Sleeve Long + Defined Tubing Mascara

I actually just bought this mascara prior to the launch of the Trendmood box when Ulta had a 10x the points on mascara event. It would have been very bad if I ended up having two full tubes of a mascara I didn’t like, but I consider myself lucky because I like it. And now I have a backup!

This is my first real foray into tubing mascaras. I remember using one or two when I was much younger with very little makeup knowledge. I didn’t like them at the time because I didn’t know they were supposed to come off in tubes, so it scared me off. It wasn’t until recent years that I thought I should give them another try.

The best part about this mascara is that I don’t get any clumping, flaking, or smudging. In fact, it doesn’t smear as much when removing it and in the moments when my eyes get watery, I can wipe the tear away without getting smudges either. The issue I have is that it can take a while to build up to my desired length and thickness. The quickest way I can achieve the result I want is to use a wiggling motion to build up to the acceptable level in the first coat, wait a minute, and then add another layer. It’s recommended to apply additional coats while still wet (to avoid clumping), but my way works best for me. Also, the tip end being bulbous required me to be very careful and deliberate in trying to reach the innermost lashes without accidentally touching my skin and getting mascara on it. Then I learned the brush is meant to be flipped from the horizontal position to the vertical position when it comes to the inner corners and lower lash line, so I’m able to reach them easier now.

When it comes to removal, using warm water and trying to slide the mascara off my lashes with my fingers feels more time consuming than when I just use a wipe with Bioderma, so I personally skip that and just remove my mascara the way I normally do with others.

Also, I have to mention the artwork on this tube is really cool and the component feels like aluminum. It’s nowhere near as weighty as the ABH mascaras, not that it matters. It’s just something I found interesting.

Really cool packaging is my weakness, but I try to not let that be the reason I buy a mascara since it’s going to be tossed out in a matter of months. The time when I have a hard time resisting is if a favorite mascara of mine gets released in new limited edition packaging. Then it’s hard to talk myself out of it because I already know it’s something I like, and will get use out of while getting to admire it looking pretty.

My final point regarding mascaras is that all three had no issues with flaking, which has been such a relief because the Huda 1 Coat Wow and Benefit Fan Fest mascaras that launched recently both had that issue for me, and worse than I’ve had from mascaras in a long time. Also, I’ve recently tried the L’Oreal Telescopic Lift Washable Mascara which gave length and volume very quickly, but at the expense of being prone to being clumpy if I spend too much time building it up (I think as it tries to dry). Plus, I can feel it stiffen my lashes, and not just to the touch with my fingers. I can literally feel the mascara on my lashes while I wear it, which can be uncomfortable at times. It’s at least as easy to remove as they say.

I figured I may as well throw in these comments on other mascaras because I love trying new mascaras but I don’t enjoy reviewing them and don’t see myself doing another one of these for a very long time.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Eyeshadow Palette

This palette doesn’t have the rough texture issue, and the eyeshadows are in fact incredibly soft to the touch because they feel like they were given light-medium pressure when machine pressed into the pans. Considering the fact that this palette isn’t as hard pressed, yet still manages to have slightly less kickup than the Fall Romance palette (though still more than I experience with the majority of palettes), is fascinating.
Nouveau and the Rose Metals palettes have been praised as being softer than ABH’s prior eyeshadow formula with better color payoff, but I think it really comes down to the press making a difference. ABH’s palettes prior to the release of Nouveau had mattes that were buttery feeling and shimmers with less slip. These mattes are soft because they’re powdery and not due to them being creamy. I wouldn’t be surprised if the previous eyeshadow formula was more expensive than this newer one in recent years. The way they’ve pressed the eyeshadows allow them to perform just as well, or in some ways even better than the older palettes, but I think Fall Romance falls victim to what happens when working with rougher pigments and needing to better adjust the ingredients for adherence. Fall Romance mattes would likely have Subculture level kickup if pressed lighter, which is why I think it’s a formula problem with the eyeshadow particles not being better binded to each other because of the darker colorful pigments requiring a lot more tweaking in formula than the lighter and neutral shadows the brand tends to stick to most of the time.

As I mentioned, this palette’s shadows are lightly pressed. My shade Lili was actually a little broken, but I was able to press it back so well and easily (no liquid added) that it looks practically untouched in the product photo above!

The eyeshadows don’t want to get in the deepest line in my crease, but other than that, I have no other issues of creasing, moving, or fading. The mattes blend well. The shimmers are a little less impactful than I would like, but they’re still quite pretty. I love the tones of the shades in this palette. I only have two complaints, which are Wisteria being the typical pastel that is too thin and has to be caked on like crazy to stick to and last on my eyes, plus has a lot of white in the base that shows ashier white and less purple than how it would look on someone else with lighter skin than mine. Also, other than using Wisteria as a pop in my inner corner, I have struggled to complete looks with Wisteria in any other spot around the eyes and have it look good. This shade just does not go with the rest of the color story.
My other complaint is that many of these color groupings (the greens together and the orange family) have the same depth, so there is very little differentiation on my eyes if I wear them in the same looks. I would have loved a deep green and/or dark terracotta so I could use something other than Muse to darken the outer corner.

Peacock looks so exciting, seeing as its a duochrome, but it’s let down by the shimmer particles being so muted. This kind of color is super popular from even mainstream brands. I used to have a color like it from Too Faced as a single back in 2015, and this is about as good as that one was (which is a bad thing considering how long ago that was). They don’t stack up to the shine and shift from some of the brands found in Sephora with updated formulas like Pat Mcgrath and Danessa Myricks.

Overall, I like this palette, but I don’t recommend buying it at full price. I’m glad I bought it to satisfy my curiosity, and for being able to understand the direction the brand is taking their eyeshadows now. I really enjoy using it in the moment, but when I think about other palettes I truly love, this purchase could have been skipped.

APRILSKIN Artemisia Rice Toner

This has 80% Korean Mugwort extract, which is why it’s from the Artemisia line (mugwort’s scientific name being Artemisia vulgaris). I don’t believe I’ve ever used a skincare product with mugwort prior to this one, but I’m becoming a lot more interested now after the results I’ve had. My box arrived October 11th, and since that time I’ve been using this toner frequently. There are quite a few claims that are advertised, such as soothing skin irritation (mugwort), boosting skin elasticity, reducing bumpiness, addressing uneven skin tone (rice bran water), and improving internal hydration and external moisture (four different hyaluronic acids). I don’t know which ingredient is supposed to boost skin elasticity unless they mean how the skin behaves when it’s hydrated (going back to the hyaluronic acids then) versus dehydrated. For the reducing bumpiness part, I also don’t know if they mean that by inflamed pimples being soothed and calmed, the inflammation will go down and thus be smaller in size? If so, that sounds like a stretch to me and it’s probably better for customers to only expect to get hydration, skin soothing, and brightening elements from this product. Those three are the ones I’ve personally observed.

I tend to just use this at night and my skin feels adequately hydrated after putting it on, to the point that I don’t feel the need to overload my face with moisturizers. Despite the external moisture claim in which the thinnest layer of film is left on the skin (enough to see in the light but not feel it on face), I don’t feel it’s occlusive enough and so I still need at least one other layer of product, but the fact that I don’t feel the need for something heavy duty is amazing. It’s especially helpful because even though I have dry skin, my pores only tolerate lightweight things and too heavy of creams cause a clogging problem. By getting hydration and moisture from a toner, using my regular lightweight serums and moisturizers seems even more effective.

As for the skin soothing, I didn’t notice anything until my skin was getting irritated from doing repeated swatching and wiping off of products on my face. Because I’ve been trying to figure out which products to bring with me on my trip to Germany, I needed to actually see them on myself to refresh my memory. The constant rubbing was making my skin hurt, but after cleansing my face at night and applying this toner, my cheeks felt less painful. I’m guessing it’s from both the mugwort and rehydrating ingredients to replenish what was stripped from my skin from the makeup removers and cleanser.

My skin looks glowier and less dull, but I can’t tell if it’s only due to that thin veil of residue/film that is left on the skin, or if my skin has actually been brightened. I feel like my areas of hyperpigmentation that look deep ashy grey-black don’t look quite as dull anymore, even before I apply the product, but I don’t know whether I can credit the toner or other skincare I’ve been using. Regardless, the other benefits are enough bonuses for me to continue wanting to use it. I like that this doesn’t have alcohol or witch hazel and that the slight herbal scent (which seems natural because I don’t see fragrance on the ingredient list) is extremely mild.

I’m quite happy with this product and plan to keep observing it to see if there will be other advantages to using it long-term.

Sigma Beauty Lip Cream in Dapper

There was a possibility of getting either Dusty Rose, Begonia, Dapper, New Mod, or Rosewood in this box. I think Begonia is the only one guaranteed to be too light for me. I might have liked the other shades as well, but Dapper being a pink-purple “warm hibiscus neutral,” looks nearly natural on me considering my mix of lip colors.

The lips look juicy/plump with this on, feels creamy and comfortable, has a bit of a slight staining effect, isn’t completely removed after eating, and clings to the lips quite well. The downside is the same as the majority of lip products with color in them, that my lips will still end up being drier and I will see spots that are peeling at the end of the day. So, I still need to condition them at night to not have the problem exacerbate.

Em Cosmetics Soft Blur Velvet Lip Liner in Foxy

It was possible to get either Bunny, Teddy, or Foxy in this box. I’m glad I got Foxy because it’s the only shade from Em Cosmetics that can function as a proper lip liner color for me. However, it is still darker than I typically wear. It’s great paired with Sigma’s Dapper though.

I like that it glides on smoothly because it has a slight creaminess to it, but not enough to slide around everywhere. I’m able to soften the edges without fear of totally wiping it off. It’s not waterproof or budgeproof, but it clings fairly well to my lips. By the end of the night, without touching anything up, I can still see it around 60-70% of my lip line depending on what type of food I ate that day.

I’m happy to have this item and plan on using it up, but I don’t think I’ll purchase a new one when it’s done. This is mainly because I prefer a formula that’s soft when I apply it, yet dries down to the point that it becomes hard to budge. This one has the emollient level I like, but doesn’t have the water-resistant factor. So I’ll continue reaching for the other lip liners in my collection along with this one.

Swirl and Sparkle Solid Makeup Brush Cleanser (Trendmood Edition)

I never heard of this brand prior to the inclusion in this box, so I had to do a little research. They make all kinds of “handcrafted vegan, cruelty-free, and all-natural” solid brush cleansers in various colors, scents, and shapes within the container. The scent of this one is Toasted Marshmallow, which is their most popular one. That smell isn’t very heavy, it’s pleasant, and fades quickly, so I don’t mind it being there.

It appears, based on the website, that $25 for 1 ounce is the typical price point from their offerings. My main arsenal of products I use for brush cleaning are the Blendercleanser Solid at $18 for 0.55 oz and the Rephr soap at $25 for 60 grams. I only buy the Rephr soap when it’s discounted (which happens frequently) and I have a stash of several minis of Beautyblender’s soaps that were either included with the Beautyblender, part of a free gift with purchase set, or redeemable for 100 points via Sephora. So, I’m used to spending a lot less or nothing at all for those two products. I also reach for the Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Liquid Soap when I need something heavier duty, and my 4 ounce bottle (in conjunction with the other products) lasted me three years and was $6 at the time from Amazon. I’ve also recently been using the Chikuhodo Makeup Brush Cleaner* which is practically a detergent and apparently contains surfactants. That one cost me $11 for 100ml. The container is meant to hold 115 ml so it will arrive looking like a lot of liquid is missing.

*Note: The link to the Chikuhodo brush cleaner is an affiliate link. Making a purchase using it on CDJapan will generate commission. This is the only affiliate link in this review. Any other links are regular non-affiliated ones.

If I’m trying to deal with stubborn stains, I use Cinema Secrets Lemon Makeup Brush Cleaner (the colorless one). It’s extremely harsh on brushes, so I don’t recommend it, but I admittedly use it on rare occasions and sparingly. Plus it leaves a film on my brushes, so I always feel compelled to wash it again afterwards. Some cleansers I’ve tried, but dislike, are the Beautyblender Instaclean (left brushes feeling oily) and the liquid version of Blendercleanser didn’t do as good of a job as the solid from my viewpoint.

I recently bought the Sephora Mini Daily Brush Cleaner, but haven’t used it yet because I misplaced it.

I say all this to show the wide variety of products I’ve experienced cleaning my brushes with from gentle ones to some that are harsh, and those products set the bar for the kind of results I’m expecting.

I began by washing my synthetic brushes, natural hair brushes, and then moved onto the brushes that are super dense and tend to give me the most trouble cleaning. For example, the Patrick Ta contour brush pictured in the top left of the photo below shows remnants of product that I missed being able to see when it rolled down with the water and collected onto the fiber tips. This kind of thing usually only happens with my thickest densest brushes like Tarte’s The Buffer and The Blur brushes. The Swirl and Sparkle soap easily took care of my Patrick Ta brush, which would have been bad if it didn’t considering it was just leftover product on the brush. The bigger test was comparing how it would do with Tarte’s The Blur brush with several uses of foundation built up on the bristles. Unfortunately, it didn’t give me any better results than I usually have with the rephr soap or beautyblender solid soap. It took quite a few repeated washings to get it looking clean as clean is it is in the bottom right quadrant of the photo, and even still, when the brush dried I was able to see some remnants on the tips, just like with the Patrick Ta brush.

I should note that I don’t do more than 3-4 washes on a face brush at one time. I find that it becomes counterproductive with the bristles being too saturated with water and at risk of damaging the brush even though I let them hang upside down to keep water out of the ferrule. So, I find that it’s better to squeeze out the excess, let it dry partway, and wash it once more before leaving it alone to dry completely.

For normal brushes, this brush cleaner seemed at first to be working quicker than Beautyblender and Rephr’s soaps. The bristles were literally feeling squeaky clean on both synthetic hair and natural alike. However, when the brushes were fully dried and I rubbed my fingers over the bristles, it feel like there was soap residue still on them. So, I had to rewash the whole batch. The next time I was on a brush cleaning spree, I remembered this and made sure to wash the bristles out extra thoroughly, even more than I spend with any other brush cleaner. This helped reduce the amount of residue, but there was in fact still residue. The whole reason I was feeling the hair in the first place is because the heads were dried exactly in the shape of the way they looked when I squeezed out the water, which I guess is further indication that some kind of product was weighing down the bristles and preventing them from puffing out.

Now, I know this soap contains oil, so I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be conditioning the brush and the residue is intentional. I don’t know if the fact that I don’t wipe my brushes on a towel (recommended by the brand for the purpose of a quicker drying time) would have also wiped that residue off the hair before being set aside to dry. I can attest that the residue is at least not dirty leftover product because the water runs clear when I try to wash them again, so it might be a conditioning thing. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Also, my brushes take about 30% longer to dry using this soap than when I use my other brush cleaning products. So, I guess squeezing the water out really isn’t enough and pre-drying them on a towel before air-drying them is essential.

In the photo above, I wanted to show a random thing that happened when part of the top layer came off. I can’t explain why this happened. I rinsed it off and put it back with the rest of the soap and was able to continue using the rest of the lifted off piece for another giant brush washing session.

I apologize for the next image being pretty gross, but I felt it best to show what happened around the third or fourth time I used this product. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after I washed a giant batch of brushes that I saw the spots around the edges of the container. So, I hadn’t even attempted to rinse off the dirty residue yet.

Please be warned!

According to the website, the directions say, “With your very last clean brush, use it to swirl + clean off any residue in the container under water. Air dry the lid + container before locking + loading it for next time.”

After use, it’s my practice to literally clean off the top layer (as instructed) with the last brush and as little water as possible. Then I hold it upside down and try to shake out any lingering drops. I then set the tin in the area I keep the rest of the brushes. I let it air dry with the lid off for a minimum of 12 hours. Usually I wash my brushes in the morning, so I put the lid back on the soap just before bed. If I wash them later in the day, the lid remains off overnight. So, if 12 or more hours is too short of a time to let it air dry, there should be a mention of this on the website or extra instructions on keeping the soap tin as hygienic and clean as possible. I feel like this was an inevitable issue considering I noticed that while I was washing the brushes, I could see some water seeping between the canister and edge of the soap, even though I couldn’t see any space there. It somehow still was getting a tiny bit lower around the edges.

When I use my Beautyblender solid, I basically keep the soap on a surface to air dry, the scrubbing piece to air dry, and wipe the plastic container completely dry before leaving that open as well. Then at the end of the night I put them all back together. So, I was concerned that this soap being stuck in this container and not being removable could potentially have this issue since I was following directions and not trying to wipe it down.

So, my advise is to either take a sharp object and remove the soap and place it into a different container (the brand seems to have some soaps in plastic containers instead, which might be better) or to wipe off the edges of the sides as an extra precaution against water sitting in there. Then again, if water is seeping between the soap and the container edge, this might not help as a towel would be unable to reach it. So, cutting the soap out of it so it can be placed back in when after everything is dry might be the better plan.

I should also note that in my last use, I did have my brushes near the soap and it’s possible some drops got onto the soap during the drying process, but I don’t let my brushes dry in soaking condition. I squeeze them out, so there shouldn’t have been dripping water. I’ll still offer the benefit of the doubt. However, this just might not be a product suited for me and my needs. I still have 2 Rephr soaps (my current one is almost finished) and 2 Blendercleanser solid minis as backups, so I’m all set.

Bondi Boost Miracle Hair Mask

I did not expect to like this product, but I was pleasantly surprised! I’m a total noob when it comes to hair care. All I can really say is that prior to this year (because I’d essentially given up trying to find a good mask and just made do with conditioners I like), there wasn’t any mask I tried that did much for my hair. In fact, some made my hair feel worse. When I tried the Gisou Honey Infused Hair Mask, I said to myself, “Hey, this actually did a little something,” and was willing to settle for that. Then, I got the Function of Beauty Pro Conditioner Mask, which worked even better! I haven’t been able to test it enough yet to be completely sold, but I was pleased with the results.

The Bondi Boost Hair Mask is supposed to be used once a week, so between all the other hair products I’m trying out now (to figure out what to bring on my trip), I haven’t had the opportunity to use it more than a few times. However, I’m a new fan! I have super dry hair, and using this made noticeable improvements. I can’t see it as much from what my hair looks like once it’s dry, but I can tell the difference in looks and it being significantly softer when I combine it with my usual other hair products. It’s like this mask helps my hair to absorb more moisture, look more hydrated, and stay hydrated for longer. I haven’t been this pleased with a hair product since my discovery of the Olaplex No.3 Hair Perfector.

I’m not sure how much credit I should give this mask if I’m not satisfied with the results of the product by itself. However, I’m not a hair reviewer. For my own personal experiences, what matters most to me is how I can best use anything to get improved results, and if the combination of this mask with other products means that my hair looks healthier (and at a price that doesn’t completely break the bank), I’m all for it.

Anti-Chafe Stick with Shea Butter + Colloidal Oatmeal (mini/deluxe sample)

I tried this product once and then lost it until literally the day before my trip. It’s so small and I had products all over the place because of my packing and simultaneous decluttering. So, I can’t really say much about it, except that it felt fine on the skin (not greasy). I’ve never used any other Anti-chafe specific product, so I have nothing to compare it to either. To anyone hoping for more details on this one, I’m sorry!

I hope everything else in this review has been helpful! Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Huda Beauty Palette Ranking and Three More Reviews

Posted on November 24, 2023 by ghekate

The full list of links to my various Huda Beauty reviews can be found HERE, but today I am also including mini reviews of the three palettes I purchased during the brand’s Pre-Black Friday sale for 2023. I’ll be sharing my initial impressions of the new additions to my collection. I would normally never include them so soon in a ranking post, but because my experience was so distinct, I don’t think my opinion on these will change with time.

Because the brand is having such deep discounts on the website, up to 80% off, I decided to post this early instead of my usual Mondays for anyone wanting to see additional opinions before making a purchase. For this reason, there will not be a post on Monday November 27th, but I hope to have another up the following Monday. There’s no guarantee as life is so chaotic right now (but in a good way)!

DISCLOSURE: Other than the Gemstone Obsessions palette that was gifted by Sephora and not Huda Beauty (and not even for PR reasons), I purchased everything else with my own money and I’m not an affiliate of the brand.

MY CURRENT HUDA BEAUTY PALETTE RANKING

Wild Obsessions Jaguar
Nude Obsessions Rich
Lovefest Obsessions
Naughty
Empowered
Nude Obsessions Medium
Brown Obsessions Toffee
Precious Stones Obsessions Amethyst
Brown Obsessions Caramel
Gemstone Obsessions

I wasn’t sure if I should include the Glowish quad since it’s technically from a separate Huda brand, but if I were to throw Moss into the rankings it would place at number 6 and everything else would be shifted down on the list. It doesn’t have impactful shimmers, but the performance is great. Because there are only four shades, I can only get two looks that I really like, whereas I can make at least a few more good ones with Naughty and Empowered despite all their flaws. So, if Moss was expanded into a 9-pan along the lines of the Nars Climax palette, there could have been potential for it to rank 4th place instead.

Jaguar reigns supreme because it’s the one I keep thinking about the most after reviewing it. It’s the one with a concise yet complete color story, and has great quality mattes and shimmers. Jaguar is specifically one I would love to get more use out of, but I’m constantly testing other palettes, so I can’t. However, I plan to change that in 2024.
The Rich palette has the same great quality and a variety of depths to be able to make complete looks as well without needing to reach for other palettes. It’s like a mini of the Naughty palette without the unnecessary extras. Lovefest is like the other three, but shades 2 and 6 are too similar on me and although shade 3 is very eye-catching in the pan, it’s lower impact on the eyes than I want. So, it gets third place for being slightly more limited than the other two.

An eyeshadow looking more fun than it is useful is the theme of the two full size palettes I own from the brand. Naughty has exceptional mattes and beautiful shimmers, but some of the experimental textured shadows don’t quite work for me (like Slippery and Hard) and some of the matte and shimmer shades are a little too close to each other. This palette could have been edited down. For the same reason, Empowered is a bit lower because although the mattes are all fantastic, the right side has so many that look the same on my eyes because of my skin tone. We have more of those “innovative” formulas of shadows that work better than in the Naughty palette, but I didn’t necessarily want them in practical use. I go back and forth as to which of these two rank higher because I think Empowered is more successful with the formula and texture variety, but with the exception of the deep smokey look I can create from Empowered (that I can also get out of Jaguar), I think my eye looks with the Naughty palette turn out prettier. I ultimately decided for this list to choose the end result over performance.

The Medium palette earns the next spot because there isn’t enough depth for me to be satisfied. I’d need to grab another palette to deepen the outer corner of my eye looks, as is my preference. I know it’s called a Medium palette and is filled with mainly medium toned shades, but the Rich palette had the full gamut of options, so this one could have had at least one deep one as well. I’ll save the rest of my thoughts in the review.

I loved the look of the Brown Obsessions Collection, but I didn’t hear the best reviews for them after they launched. Because they were priced at such a good deal, I was willing to risk getting them in the hopes that people were wrong and they’d be just like the other Obsessions palettes, but they’re not. I’ll write more about the issues with Toffee in the review section, but it places here because of one specifically problematic shade and the drop in quality from the rest. Amethyst sneaks in between the two I own because it has a beautiful color story and I loved it at the time, but the newer Obsessions palettes have even better quality mattes and my deepest shade is patchy. Plus, I’m not into those tones of mattes. I loved satins a lot more in the time period that I first had Amethyst, but they’re just not as interesting to me now. It’s the three shimmers in the center column that make this palette still a good one even though I’ve had it for five years. Caramel is brand new (at least in when I purchased it though I’ve no idea if I have a newer batch or old stock), but I have even more problems with it than Toffee so despite it being one of the most beautiful color stories Huda has created in my eyes, it pains me to have to put it so low. And ranking at the very bottom is Gemstone which I received for free from Sephora ages ago as a thank you gift for being part of their beauty community forum before they changed the website and archived a lot of those past posts. There’s a reason I never bought this palette myself because even though the colors are pretty on an individual level, it makes no sense put together except as a purely supplemental palette intended to be used with other palettes to make cohesive looks. The shimmers in here are more impactful than the satins and metallics in Amethyst, but those center shimmers in Amethyst still so greatly surpass the Gemstone ones that I had to put this at the very bottom. The lack of mattes solidified this decision.

If my ranking of Jaguar is any indication, I would say it’s probably safe to assume the quality of the palettes in the Wild Obsessions Collection is excellent, though I can’t confirm it personally as I just have one of the three. I kept saying I wanted to get the other two, but the color stories just aren’t perfect for me, especially with the too-similar-of-tones problem. So, even though I recommend them most, one would have to ask themselves how useful will these tones and colors and formulas actually be? The same goes for the Nude Obsessions line, though I only have two of the three. They’re great, but did I really need them? This becomes even more poignant when it comes to the larger palettes with their various textures, formulas, and finishes. How much someone loves it is less of a quality issue and depends entirely on their personal preferences. For instance, the cream liner shades in Empowered work fine and could be a base for the duochromes, but it’s not so good if I need something that’s fully transfer-proof or something that’s easier to glide onto the lids to line them. So the pros for one person could be a con for someone else.

Huda’s newest palette, Pretty Grunge, looks gorgeous. However, I know it’s not perfect for me either which is why I’m going to pass on it and try to be more conscious about the future additions to my collection that I make from this brand.

Huda Beauty Nude Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in Medium

I took the palette photo at night, and for some reason the shadows look darker in the pan than they should, so the photo just above the swatches is a more accurate representation.

Medium is a mix of light and medium toned eyeshadows. Shade 6 is the darkest in the palette, but it isn’t dark enough to give me the depth level in the outer corner that I prefer, so that automatically makes this a supplemental palette for me.

Shade 1 is close to my skin tone so it doesn’t show up very well, but the tiniest bit darker Shade 3 is the one I’d need to reach for as the transition shadow. 4 and 8 are the same depth with Shade 4 being slightly warmer and peachier pink whereas Shade 8 is a cooler pink. The matte quality is nice, but my options are limited.

The shimmers are pretty and thankfully don’t give me any issues with longevity. Because Shades 2, 5, and 7 are in the same color family though, I’m not getting wildly different looks. So, the combination of similar mattes with shimmers that are close enough, it really cements the fact that there isn’t enough variety for me as a standalone palette. The quality of this palette is good, but is in the middle of the ranking list specifically for these reasons.

Huda Beauty Brown Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in Toffee

I think gold shades and warm tone neutrals are pretty, so I couldn’t resist this palette any longer. Shades 1, 3, and 9 are similar matte quality to the other Obsessions palettes, but not quite the same level, and I’m not sure why that’s the case. They’re a little more dusty in texture, but they blend well enough not to bother me. I just notice the slight difference. The pigmentation level is the same for all except Shade 5 which had to be built up in multiple layers to last on my eyes. This is still a better performing yellow than some in my collection that are usually made too thin and dust away, or are mixed with too much white base, so I’m not unhappy with it. The only matte that gives me considerable trouble is Shade 7, which is patchy. I had to tap on quite a bit of product to get it to cover the bald spot and by the end of the night I still ended up with it looking strangely. Because I still have Shade 3 as a deepening option, I can forgive Shade 7 being a bit of a dud. I also give props for having distinctly different matte colors.

From just swatching the shimmers, I correctly guessed which ones were going to give me the issue where it moves out of my crease line. Shades 6 and 8 resemble the standard Huda metallic-shimmers to the naked eye, but they’re more emollient feeling than the others. To be fair, they didn’t move or crease as much as I expected, but there was still a little movement. The amount I had at the end of the night was tolerable to me. However, some palettes don’t have any shimmers that crease on me, nor patchy mattes, so that’s why this is so low on the ranking list.

Shade 4 has a fun pattern and feels like a stiffer version of a Super Shock shadow, but the more it’s rubbed, the harder it gets compacted into the pan. I can already tell this shade is going to be tough to pick up on a brush or even my fingers in the future. Shade 2 is dry feeling and has visually interesting patches of larger particle silvery/white sparkles called a “pearl flake texture” that adds more drama and shine to eye looks. It doesn’t swatch the best, but looks super pretty on the eyes.

Toffee is pretty and workable, but I don’t really recommend it. Perhaps the current sale price of $9.60 makes a different, but perhaps not.

Huda Beauty Brown Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in Caramel

This actually came in a “Caramel Brown Obsessions Kit” which had the palette, four mini liquid lipsticks, and a bag for $13.50. I’m just going to focus on the palette in this review.

This color story is absolutely stunning! It’s such a shame that the quality of this one is the worst of any other Huda palettes I own. It’s still not the worst palette I’ve ever used, but it doesn’t live up to the expectations I have for the brand’s eyeshadows. It was already difficult to pick up Shade 1 from the very first time I used it and swatched it, so that doesn’t bode well for future usage. Shades 2 and 6 are the metallics, but Shade 6 is way wetter feeling than the rest and it’s so difficult to build up. It looks pigmented at first, but when I try to smooth it out to create the shape I want in the outer corner, it fades significantly to the point where there’s hardly enough color left. So, I had to keep building it up. Shade 5 looks flakier than the metallics, and looks like it should be a standard shimmer, but it’s as creamy as Shade 1 and hard pressed as well, though I’m able to get decent payoff for now and it’s just a matter of time. Shade 7 has that fascinating pearl flake texture, but for some reason is wetter than that same formula shadow from the Toffee palette. Of course, all this emollience leads to moving issues on my eyes. In the demonstration photo below, I showed what it looks like 7 hours later, but it was noticeably looking that bad already when I looked in the mirror 5 hours in. It didn’t get significantly worse and I’ve still had worse performances from other eyeshadows before, but this one really disappointed me.

Part of the issue is that the mattes, which can help keep the area dry despite my semi-oily lids/crease, is that these particular mattes in the Caramel palette are all thin and don’t build all that well. It took me quite a few extra swipes to get a decent swatch of the colors in the swatch photos. I would normally do no more than 2 swipes for swatches, but considering this is one of the few palettes with mattes that don’t all look the same on me, I wanted to make sure those colors could be seen properly. At least, how the colors should have looked on me if they were able to build up since they’re thinner with less pigment.

I should note that I used the same primer with all three of these palettes, but the only one that has zero longevity issues for me is the Nude Medium palette, which supports what I heard about the Brown Obsessions collection being unequal in quality to my favorites from the brand.

I love this color story so much that I considered even bringing it to Germany with me despite the performance. However, I thought about my Natasha Denona Bronze palette and Metropolis. Between those two, I could very easily recreate this look. So, I’m leaving it behind.

That’s everything for today! I hope this has been helpful and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it), Black Friday, and Cyber Monday!

-Lili ❤

Lili's Beauty Blog

Swatches, Reviews, and Articles Revolving Around the Cosmetics Industry

Category Archives: Makeup

Fude Collection Part 6

Vieve Treasure Tin – Rosa

Pat Mcgrath Palette Ranking

Danessa Myricks Lightwork Highlighting Palette and Scott Barnes Chic Cheek Blush Palette

The Best Highlighters Showcased

Trying Juvia’s Place Again

Downsizing My MAC Blush Collection

Gxve Beauty Brand Review

Let’s Review the Trendmood Box and ABH Palettes

Huda Beauty Palette Ranking and Three More Reviews

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: