Put your Money where your Eyes are

If I'm going to buy an expensive product I want to be able to use it all the time. Case in point: NARS' new fall 2010 Collection.

Tzarine Duo Eye Shadow: YES! 32 dollars goes a long way with this guy because I would wear it lightly for work during the day or really play it up and do a smoky eye at night!

Daphne Single Eye Shadow: NO! 23 dollars for something that I may wear a few times only if I could swing it with the place I was going and the outfit I was going to wear.

Loreal HIP Shocking Shadow Pigments in Restless (918)

Loreal HIP Shocking Shadow Pigments in Restless (918):

To start off I need to make a confession. I have never owned or tried MAC's pigments. This seems sacrilegious in the makeup community, but I just want it to be known that I cannot compare that product to this one.

That being said, I really like this drugstore-brand pigment. I got the highlight shade so it was not showing up when I tried to swatch it, but it is a shimmery cream color with peach, pink, and gold reflects. I love the instant shimmer it gives my eyes. I like applying it under the brow bone and in the inner corner of my eye to really highlight those areas and make my eyes pop. It is also surprisingly a great highlighter for just above the cheek bones. It brings a glow to my face and makes me look a bit angelic.

An Eden tip: Apply your favorite lip gloss and then press a bit of the pigment onto lips, concentrating on the center of the lips, for a little extra shimmer.

It even comes with its own little brush. How convenient!

Loreal HIP Matte Shadow Duo in Perky

Loreal HIP Matte Shadow Duo in Perky:

Like my other Loreal Shadow Duo, I love one color more than the other, but only because I am not so adventurous in the green eye shadow department. These duo's got me thinking though...maybe I need to step out of my eye shadow comfort zone. Palette after palette in my collection is a neutral single, duo, quad, or, well, check out my post on the Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette. Can you say 88 neutrals in one palette? Time to take my shadow looks to the next level. These Loreal duo's remind me of the NARS two shade combos. I am always inspired by the gorgeous colors that NARS thinks to put together...maybe it's about time that I try some of those looks myself.

Check out the NARS Spring 2010 collection

I have my eye on Kuala Lumpur...but let me experiment with this green hue for a bit. I'll let you know how it goes! Anyone else in a boring/bland shadow rut?

Revlon ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow in Copper Spice (#01)

Revlon ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow in Copper Spice:

Ever seen my post on the same shadow quad in the color Sandstorm? Well I loved that quad so much that I got this one in Copper Spice. I am still shocked at how pigmented the colors are for a drugstore brand. I even find that I have to use a very light hand to apply these colors so I am not over-depositing the hue. I adore the bronze/copper shade second from the right and the peachy/gold shade next to that. The chocolate brown makes an awesome crease color and the champagne shade is my go-to highlight right now. I really can't rave enough about these quads!

Loreal Hip Matta Shadow Duo in Dashing (#917)

Loreal Hip Matta Shadow Duo in Dashing (#917):

So this is another one of those products where I love it, but only use half. I find the baby pink shadow to be too light on my lids and no matter how I apply it I think it always makes me look like I'm coming down with pink eye. I am, however, in love with the matte black shade. I think it's comparable to MAC's Carbon shadow. It is seriously pigmented, but easily blendable and because it's a drugstore product I think it is well worth it to buy just for one half.

Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Quad in Spicy (#102)

Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Quad in Spicy (#102):

I have had this shadow quad for years now and it still remains a favorite of mine. I haven't hit pan in any of the colors yet because I never use it long enough to actually run out. I am always bouncing back and forth between different shadows. Shadow ADD perhaps? This quad, however, has the perfect colors for a neutral eye look. The first goldy/brown shade and the last goldy/pink shade are great all over lid colors and then the darker chocolate brown makes for an excellent crease color and the champagne shade works as a highlight!

I really should use this more often. Note to self: stop buying so many shadows and start using this quad again!

Revlon ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow in Sandstorm

Revlon ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow in Sandstorm:

This is hands down my best Target purchase. Target is one of those stores that I can walk around in for hours and never get bored. I happen to be on one of my Target strolls when I thought I'd pick up a new eyeshadow color. I came upon these Revlon palettes and thought I'd give them a try.

First of all, they are not kidding when they call this shadow "12 Hour" because when I put it on it stays in place all day. I have brown eyes so the Sandstorm palette (number 04) complements them nicely. The two middle shades are great all-over lid colors, the bottom darkest shade works as a crease color and the top lightest shade is the perfect highlight. The colors have a silvery undertone creating a frosted appearance on the lids. They are not super pigmented, but I like that I can build up the color slowly. These palettes come in a variety of different shades and are worth a trip to the drugstore (or Target!) to try them out.

MAC Eyeshadow in Sketch

MAC Eyeshadow in Sketch:

There are few words to describe this amazing plum shade. Sketch is a strong shadow and is definitely a night time color for me. Along with Woodwinked and Satin Taupe it makes an excellent smokey eye. I use it instead of a dark gray, brown or black to mix up my night time eyes looks.

Also in my top five MAC shadows of all time.

MAC Eyeshadow in Satin Taupe

MAC Eyeshadow in Satin Taupe:

Another one of my top MAC shadows. This shade also went through the same careful selection process as Woodwinked, but it is a deeper shade that I tend to use as a crease color. It darkens an eye look without being overpowering.

Absolutely in my top five MAC eyeshadow shades.

MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked

MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked:

I am not one of those girls that has an extensive MAC eyeshadow collection. Am I envious when I see people with 8 palettes full of colors? Yes. But for about 15 dollars a pop, I make my selections slowly and wisely after watching multiple shadow reviews on YouTube and visiting the MAC counter about a zillion times.

Woodwinked is one of my top eyeshadows hands down. It is a bronzy gold shade with gold reflects in it and I use it as the base color for many of my shadow looks. It is neutral enough to go with just about any look, but it also stands strong on its own.

Definitely my careful pick for a must-have MAC shadow collection.

The Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette

The Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette:

This palette was a holiday gift that I had my eye on for months! Not only are there 88 different eyeshadow shades, but the whole palette cost less than 20 dollars from CoastalScents.com. I actually would beg to differ that this palette has 88 colors. By combining colors, I think the potential number of shades is just about endless. I think I could create new shadow looks for the rest of my life!

The palette is made up completely of warm tones from stark white and jet black to coral and deep brown. Many of the shades have some gold reflects in them, but the majority of the shades are matte. The colors are not individually named so to point out a specific one takes a bit of geography. I love the gold shade 5 in from the left side and 4 down from the top and the peachy coral with specks of gold fourth from the right on the bottom row, but I really could not pick a single favorite from the entire palette. All of the colors of very pigmented, but easy to blend.