Tarte for True Blood Palette Swatches

Jeeeeeeeez, there's so much going on with this palette that I'm going to have to break it up into a three part ordeal. The next post will be for the primer, liner, mascara, eye shadow dupes, and roundup. This is going to be very picture heavy...

By the way, if you haven't seen my first post with sneak peek pictures of the shadows and packaging, click here to check it out.

Row 1, 2

The Light, Fairy

Dusk, Dawn

Werewolf, Waitress

Nocturnal

Row 3, 4, 5

Charmer, Glamour Me, Stake

Bayou, Telepath, The True Death

Immortal, Moss, Legend, "V"

Ever hear the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover"? To be honest, I was put off by some of these shadows when I swatched them on my arm. The mattes, were by far, the easiest to swatch (and had the nicest formula). Others, not so much (a few kicked up a lot of dust -- mainly, some the shimmery shades). However, when used with a primer, I noticed a HUGE difference. For the sake of example, I swatched two of the shadows using the primer that came with the palette:

"V", Immortal, without primer

"V", Immortal, with primer

Yowza! Huge difference, indeed! As you can see, a primer is absolutely necessary or else you'll be very disappointed. Overall, I'm impressed. The only one I consider to be a dud is "Nocturnal". Out of all the shadows, it's the least pigmented.

Tarte for True Blood Palette (Sneak Peek)

Happy Tuesday!! Here's a super quick (picture heavy post) of the limited edition Tarte for True Blood palette. Are you a Trubie? I sure as hell am! I have an appointment soon so I don't have time to swatch it until later. I must admit, based on Sephora's pictures, the shadows in this palette didn't look like anything special. Let me tell you, they're gorgeous in person.

Click to zoom

The packaging is slightly reminiscent of the UD BOS, no?

Keep on the look out for my swatches later!

Click here to see swatches of the eyeshadows!

You can purchase this palette ($52 USD) from Sephora. 

The Junk Drawer

I was cleaning out pictures on my camera last night that date back to August. I came across products that I totally forgot to review or mention. Today, I'll be sharing with you two MAC shadows: Nocturnelle (frost) and Black Tied (velvet). Both colors are gorgeous but they're both in my junk drawer as well.

I purchased Nocturnelle online and the moment I received it, I was so sure that I was going to love it. In fact, I was so sure, I tore open the box and threw out the receipt. I'm not necessarily a 'think before you do' type. Anyway, it's absolutely gorgeous in the pan but the color payoff is less than fabulous and it's not as pigmented as I expected. I mean, you really need to work this color to make it work for you but when paying $14.50, it should be so hard. I still love this color and who knows? Maybe I'll whip it out and see if I can play with it a little more.

I actually like Black Tied but I like Urban Decay's Creep BETTER. The color is similar, but the textures are different. Creep is smoother than Black Tied with nice color pay off. Again, I like Black Tied but Creep is in my Naked Palette (which I use a lot) so it's also a matter of convenience.

Unflappable Mega Metal Shadow

I picked up Unflappable from MAC about a week ago. It's one of the new limited edition mega metal shadows from Peacocky. Each shadow retails for $19.50 USD which is significantly more expensive than the regular shadows which are $14.50. However, mega metal shadows are 3.4 grams and the regular shadows only offer 1.5 grams. In essence, you're getting a good bang for your buck.

Out of all the shadows, Unflappable is the most played down color. By that, I mean all of the other colors are very bold and metallic. According to MAC, it is a "frosted black with purple pearl". On the eyes, it doesn't look very frosty or very black. In my opinion, it's more gray with plum. Though, this is one of those times when I wish I had my normal camera because this one can't pick up on the plum (sorry). Anyway, I think it's a great color, especially for smoky eyes. I definitely want to try the other colors!

Urban Decay: Book of Shadows III

When I originally posted my giveaway for the UD BoS III, I only bought one for a giveaway on this blog, not for my personal use. Then I received a $5 coupon in the mail from Ulta and I decided to invest in one for myself! I don't own any of the previous BoS sets but since I truly LOVE New York (and I have a newfound affinity for UD shadows since having the Naked palette), I figured I should get one. And, I saved $5. Five bucks is five bucks, right?!

Retail price: $54 USD

MAC Warm Thrillseekers Pigment Swatches

As promised, though a little late, I took pictures of the Warm Thrillseekers pigments. Supposedly, these are geared toward warmer skin tones but I think these can work for a whole array of people. Each set is $32.50 USD.

L-R: Gold Mode, Gilded Green, Most Darling, Gift O' Glamour, Reflects Bronze

L-R: Most Darling, Gilded Green, Gift O' Glamour, Gold Mode, Reflects Bronze
All pigments were swatched when wet.

Descriptions:

Most Darling - medium brown shimmer

Gilded Green - mint ice cream

Gift O' Glamour - pale metallic pink (though it's more of a champagne pink)

Gold Mode - peachy gold shimmer

Reflects Bronze - peachy orange glitter sparkle

By the way, I'm sorry my arm has goosebumps. It's FREEZING in here! I hope it doesn't distract you...

Birthday Goodies

So, I turned 22 this past Saturday, the 7th, and I had a very nice birthday with my boyfriend and daughter. Dinner, Netflix, a day of total relaxation -- just what I wanted / needed! I even got a few goodies that I've had on my wishlist for a while. Sorry I didn't post this sooner, but my daughter hasn't been feeling well since yesterday but she's napping now. Anyway, there's just a couple of things, so I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet =)

MAC 239 Brush

I like getting the MAC pamphlets in the mail =)

I feel like there are certain brushes that you just need to have duplicates of. For me, this includes the 239, 266, 168, and I'm sure there's another one that I can't think of at the moment...

NARS Angelika Blush

I had the most difficult time trying to capture the true color of this blush. Angelika is a cool blue-pink cotton candy color that looks very intense in the pan. This was the best I could get it, but the true color is more intense looking than this. 

Again, the true color is more intense. This is a very pigmented blush, so you have to be careful not to apply too much. Sometimes, I like to buff it out with a kabuki brush so it looks more subtle. Also, keep in mind that it doesn't look glittery on the skin!

NARS Lip Gloss in Dolce Vita & Striptease

I got these lip glosses using the code "TEMPTALIA" on narscosmetics.com (expires 8/15). The offer was originally for three individual mini lip glosses, but now they're offering the duo. I knew I'd love Dolce Vita but I was pleasantly surprised that I ended up loving Striptease too. On its own, I could never pull off Striptease because these kinds of neutrals wash me out, big time. When I dab it on my lips over a lipstick, like MAC Lazy Day (LE), I just really love the muted effect it offers. Both colors are beautiful! Also, there's free shipping on any order over $25 using the code, "25FREESHIP".... which almost everything is $25+ so it shouldn't be hard to become eligible (lol).

On a side note, I know a lot of people don't like NARS lip glosses because of the "smell". I'd like to add that I think the smell is so faint, it's dismissable. Then again, when I like something enough, I never let those things offend me.

China Glaze: Ruby Pumps

This color is gorgeous. So unbelievably gorgeous. I haven't tried it out yet, but I'll take pictures when I do.

Last, but certainly not least......

The NAKED PALETTE!

I purchased this online from Ulta last Monday and just got it two days ago. In my opinion, this truly lives up to the hype. The colors are gorgeous. I love neutrals of almost any kind. This palette is fun, the colors are gorgeous, and the possibilities are endless. I'm going to dedicate a whole post to this palette when I get to try out more looks with it and I'll post them. I'll also include swatches in the post as well. I was going to do it today, but my boyfriend and a bunch of guys are framing out an addition to our house so I would've felt a little silly walking around with my camera and an arm full of eye shadow. I did swatch the liners though!

Whiskey on top, Zero on the bottom

Isn't it GORGEOUS?!

MAC Haul

So, I bought a few little goodies from MAC...

Going Bananas (LE) (Frost)

I just got this in the mail today, actually! It's a light, bright yellow -- very frosty and pretty! It's a little more on the sheer side, not very opaque, but has a nice color payoff.

I Like It Like That (Cremesheen)

This also came in the mail today. I meant to get it when the collection was released, but I was more occupied with getting my hands on the MSF's. 

Viva Glam Gaga VS I Like It Like That (Gaga is the top swatch)

I Like It Like That and Viva Glam Gaga definitely belong in the same color family, but they are different. Gaga is a light, bright blue-pink and I Like It Like That is a darker blue-pink. I wore this out for a little bit today and I can say that this is very opaque and it's definitely vibrant and fun. 

All That Glitters (Veluxe Pearl) & Expensive Pink (Veluxe Pearl)

My MA recommended Expensive Pink to me and I love it. I think it compliments All That Glitters very well. I used these two in a smoky eye look by putting All That Glitters on my lid, Satin Taupe on the outer crease and I mixed Expensive Pink with the Satin Taupe. To finish it off, I lined the outer third of my lower lash line with Mystery (using a (219) pencil brush) and I blended it into my upper lash line as well. 

All That Glitters

Expensive Pink

All That Glitters (left), Expensive Pink (right)

Lustering (Lustre)

One swipe on left, three swipes on right

Isn't a gorgeous pink? It's very pigmented, very pretty. A pink like this is meant to be the main attraction to a look so I keep my eyes and cheeks simple while Lustering does all the talking.