Review: Stila Trendsetting in Tokyo Palette

Hello lovelies!

Today I bring you a review of the Stila Trendsetting in Tokyo palette, which was the third palette in the travel series that Stila released a few months ago.

Let's dig in, shall we?

Stila Trendsetting in Tokyo Palette
Retail: $10, Stilacosmetics.com, Sephora.com

I have to start off by saying that this palette is so adorable! It's pretty small, and fits pretty perfectly inside my hand, so it really is a perfect palette for traveling. Just tuck it inside your suitcase, or in your purse for on-the-go touch-ups. It's also pretty affordable at only $10. I love me some affordable makeup!

Trendsetting in Tokyo comes with four eyeshadows and one convertible color, which is usable on lips and cheeks.  The eyeshadow colors you get are Sake, Kawai, Shibuya and Peace Sign. The convertible color is Sakura. I really love how the colors are named after things that have to do with the city the palette is themed around. Cute!

Large pan is Sakura. Top two shadows are Shibuya and Sake. Bottom two are Peace Sign and Kawai.

All of the eyeshadow colors are very pretty and well pigmented, and go on pretty smooth. The convertible color looks pretty intimidating, but if you use it sparingly on your cheeks, it gives a nice, pink flush. But my favorite way to use it is on my lips! At first, it is pretty glossy, but after a while, the shine fades away and leaves a beautiful, bright pink color. Lo-o-o-o-ve! 

Closeup of Sake and Kawai

Closeup of Shibuya and Peace Sign.

How about some swatches?

(Grr, my camera makes black look like brown! It is black eyeshadow, I assure you. =P)

 L to R: Shibuya, Sake, Kawai, Peace Sign, Sakura. 

Bit of a closeup of Sake and Kawai

I'm very pleased with this palette, and this is actually my first Stila item, so I think it's a good start! If I can, I definitely want to try to get the other available travel palettes. :)

xo,

Kieran

Review: e.l.f 32 Piece Eyeshadow Collection

Hello lovelies!

Today I bring you a review of the e.l.f 32 Piece Eyeshadow Collection, which was given to me as a Christmas gift from my wonderful blogging partner, Shelly.

I have been hoping to find the e.l.f Shadow Collections in Target, but I haven't seen any, so when Shelly surprised me with the 32 Piece, I was very excited!

e.l.f  32 Piece Eyeshadow Collection. Retail: 5.00

(I forgot to take a picture of the entire front of the palette, sorry! But as the above picture shows, it is matte black with a clear window to the shadows.)

You get a pretty wide variety of shadows in this palette, from a basic, low-shimmer black and chocolate brown, to a bright, shiny electric blue and bubblegum pink! The texture of the shadows are also very nice and smooth, easy to apply. There might be one or two that are a bit chalky, but definitely not hard to work with. I think that with this palette, e.l.f has definitely improve the quality/texture of their palettes. I own the Eye Brights Beauty Book, and was pretty bummed at the texture of the shadows. This palette makes up for it!

From the shadows that I've used out of it so far, the staying power is pretty fair. As with most shadows, they would probably last longer over a primer, but without, I'm pretty impressed.

All of the shadows contain some sort of shimmer/glitter. There are no true mattes. However, there are a few shades that have very minimal shimmer/glitter. But if you want a palette with matte shadows, then this wouldn't be for you. 

Here are a few swatches from the palette, over just my skin with no primer:

(My camera takes pretty horrible swatch pictures. The shade that looks like a charcoal brown is actually a very dark, steel grey.)

I am in love with this palette, pretty much. I also love that it has a very big mirror on the inside, so that I can actually use that to do my eye makeup instead of having to hold a separate mirror.

Between the color variety, the quality of the shadows, and the price, I don't think you can go wrong with this palette.

Thanks, Shelly! ;)


xo,

Kieran