Review: Le Metier De Beaute True Eyeshadow Color in Bordeaux

I must admit that my favorite high-end brand of all time is Le Metier de Beaute.  I was initally introduced to this brand by CafeMakeup and The Beauty Look Book after reading their amazing review on their famous Kaleidoscopes.  I couldn't help myself and decided to jump head first into the brand, trusting these reviews, and boy... am I sure glad I did! Words cannot express how much I love this brand and the products that they produce!

I decided to pick up some of their single eyeshadows because I was impressed with the quality in the Kaleidoscopes.  The first eyeshadow that I bought was Bordeaux.  When I had swatched all the eyeshadow colors in the store, I initially wanted Corinthian and Jojo, but they were not in stock at the time.  So, I went to my third choice and I haven't regretted the decision since.  

In terms of the formula, the eyeshadow is buttery smooth -- perhaps not as smooth as a Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow, but soft nonetheless.  It blends well with other eyeshadows and deposits a punch of color with each touch.  Sometimes I find that when the eyeshadow formula is too smooth, it can appear chalky or even unpleasantly powdery.  This is definitely not the case with this eyeshadow.

Bordeaux is a shimmery burnt reddish brown color.  Although I don't have any swatch comparison pictures for you today, its color reminds me most of Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre Long-Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Ebloui except with less sparkles.  

I love using this as a contour color in the crease or even a wash of color over the eyelids.  It is very versatile.  Perhaps the only con I can think of is the price point ($30.00), but I believe if you find a color that you know you will wear on a daily basis, then it is well worth the investment. 

Expect more Le Metier de Beaute reviews to come! What are your thoughts on the brand or the eyeshadow? Leave your thoughts in the comment section! Have a nice day! :) 

Review: Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Twilight Night

Bobbi Brown’s Desert Twilight Collection for Fall 2012 has recently released in stores across the US.  While the promo pictures caught my eye, I realized that I didn’t love anything enough to justify the purchase… except for one! A little background information on me: My very first piece of makeup (high-end or drugstore) was a Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner.  One of my high school friends gifted me with a Black Ink gel eyeliner and I have been a loyal fan of it and gel/crème eyeliners ever since.  Fast forward to the present – I walked away with the Twilight Night gel eyeliner ($22.00 for 0.1 oz/3 g) because not only is it limited edition, but I just couldn’t resist the beautiful color.

Twilight Night is a dark shimmering greyish purple with sparkles.  Compared to the other eyeliners that I own, Twilight Night appears to be the most sparkly.  My fear was that the sparkles would irritate my eyes (since I wear contacts) or produce some type of fallout, but I am glad to report that I experienced neither of these problems. 

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Twilight Night

From L to R: BB Ivy Shimmer Ink, BB Twilight Night, BB Chocolate Shimmer Ink

I have only experimented with this product for three days, but I am already considering buying another one as a backup! The formula is consistent with the other colors from her permanent line.  The color glides on the eyelid without any tug or pull, and it is pigmented enough that I do not have to build up to the intensity that I need.  The only negative thing that I can say about the formula in general is that if you are not careful about closing the lid, the product becomes dry and flaky very quickly.  Otherwise, the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner continues to be my holy grail eyeliner formula.  Check these out the next time you walk past a Bobbi Brown counter! You won’t regret it! 

Review: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place ShadowCreme

I picked these up last year at my local CCO and have been using them on and off throughout the year.  Instead of paying the regular price ($18.50), I picked these up for only $13.00.  However, I would consider paying full price for these if a particular color came out that I knew I could see myself wearing often.  

These ShadowCremes come in a glass jar and contains 0.17 oz/5g of product.  The packaging most resembles YSL's creme eyeliner jar, except larger.  The only issue that I have with the packaging, as I do with all jars, is that you have to make sure you close them tightly to prevent drying out the product.  The three I currently own are: 

02 Silver Leaf 

04 Antique Gold 

12 Silver Star 

These ShadowCremes can be applied both for a sheer wash of color or it can be built up to be worn as an opaque color.  With the Silver Leaf, I like applying it sheerly on the lid and topping it with MAC's classic Satin Taupe.  The contrast of the eyeshadow with and without the ShadowCreme adds a bit of dimension to the eye look, but keeping it simple when I'm in a rush to make it out the door! Antique Gold is beautiful in its own way and this is one that I like to wear as an opaque color, also when I'm pressed for time.  Lastly, Silver Star is one that I use as a base for when I need my eyeshadows to stand out a bit more than usual.  It's not one that I reach for often, to be honest, but I am still glad to have it.  Another thing to note: these ShadowCremes will not budge once they are applied.  I have gone a full 9-5 day with it on without a primer and saw minimal fading.  Overall, I think that these are simple can-do-no-wrong shadows that can achieve a polished look in a small amount of time.  

Hope you're all having a wonderful day and thank you for taking the time to read this! :) 

Review: theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 1 Eyeshadow Palette

I recently took advantage of theBalm's Memorial Day sale with a buy one get two free deal.  If you bought theBalm's Shady Lady Vol. 1 eyeshadow palette ($39.50 for 0.60 oz), then you received both the Shady Lady Vol. 2 and Shady Lady Vol. 3 eyeshadow palette for free! I have been wanting to try them out since reading Temptalia's rave review and figured this would be a great opportunity to do so! 

The palette contains nine eyeshadows: 

Caught in the Act Courtney (shimmering dark brown with golden sparkles)

Shameless Shana (satin medium tan with red undertones)

Luscious Lani (shimmering light pink champagne)

Jealous Jordana (satin dark emerald forest green)

Risque Renee (dark matte blue with blue sparkles)

Curvy Cami (shimmering fuschia purple with gold sparkles)

Jet-setting Jennifer (shimmering light gold champagne)

All About Alex (satin grey khaki green)

Easy Wheezie (satin blue grey)

The palette itself is made of cardboard, containing nine eyeshadows.  It is very lightweight and easy to travel with; however, I find that the cardboard is not very durable and can create dents in the eyeshadow.  The eyeshadow's formula is very pigmented when swatched with a primer.  However, its pigmentation without a primer is a little problematic and less pigmented than what I expected. It glides on the eye smoothly and blends with other shadows without much effort.  Initially, I was afraid Caught in the Act Courtney would be a fallout nightmare, but I was surprised to see that like the other shadows in the palette, it only had minimal fallout.   Curvy Cami was slightly difficult to work with and had a harder texture compared to the other shadows.  Overall, this palette has a variety of colors to choose from and proves to be very versatile.  I highly recommend you check these out!