ABH x Alyssa Edwards Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatches: On Deep Set Eyes, Tan Skin

ABH x Alyssa Edwards Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatches: On Deep Set Eyes, Tan Skin

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, July 11, 2019

After Modern Renaissance - reviewed here - no Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow palette wowed me enough to make me buy it. Not Subculture, not Prism, not Soft Glam, not Norvina, nor Riviera.
Until the Alyssa Edwards palette.
Let me confess - I wasn't familiar with RuPaul's Drag Race until recently. And, when I first heard about this collab, I expected the shades to be even brighter than Riviera. This was, after all, a Summer palette. I expected neons. Electric hues.
But when I saw the colours, I was pleasantly surprised. Apart from a bright yellow, the rest weren't scary at all! Okay, there is a PURE white in there, but I can live with it (or even ignore it). The rest? Wearable. Fun to play with. Easy to subdue.
I call it my favourite non-drugstore palette of 2019 SO FAR. Why? You'll find out.

Scroll down for the review, swatches, and demo of the Anastasia Beverly Hills x Alyssa Edwards eyeshadow palette, and multiple looks on deep-set eyes.

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Revolution x Carmi Make Magic Palette Review, Swatches, Duochrome Makeup Tutorial

Revolution x Carmi Make Magic Palette Review, Swatches, Duochrome Makeup Tutorial

Videos Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, June 04, 2019

Are you ready for this? Duochrome eyeshadows! Magical blending! Easy-to-do EOTDs with depth and dimension!
Meet the Revolution x Carmi Make Magic Eyeshadow Palette, launched by Revolution Beauty in collaboration with beauty YouTuber Carmi MUA. This is Makeup Revolution's second collab with Carmi.
The Carmi Make Magic Palette is very different from the Tammi Tropical Carnival Palette, that I reviewed here - that was a lot bolder, more summery - this one isn't seasonal, you can use it at any time. 
The palette costs just £10, and contains 20 eyeshadows, of which six are a bit larger, and include duochromes, foils, metallics, glitters, and shimmers. The rest are matte or pearly/shimmery, no glitters. The colour scheme includes something for everyone. There are perfectly work-friendly neutrals, including the ideal base shades for those who are tan/warm/medium/olive hued. There are pops of colour that will see you through Summer. There are rich, smoky shades. There are ice-queen pales. Best of all, there are warm and cool eyeshadows in here. In short, I think this is one of the most universal palettes I've seen in a long while.

Scroll down for my review and swatches of the Revolution x Carmi Make Magic Palette, and a duochrome eye makeup tutorial.

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How To Fill Your Brows With Sigma Brow Expert Kit Tutorial

How To Fill Your Brows With Sigma Brow Expert Kit Tutorial

Videos Cosmetopia Digest   Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Discovering tweezer-magic in my late teens, I've ended up with overplucked eyebrows as an adult. Worse, they are asymmetric and flat, and try as I may, I cannot achieve an arched brow. Plus, I have sparse lashes. So I'm huge on filling my brows to frame my face - but without making them look weird and unnatural.
The Sigma Brow Expert Kit contains seven products to help achieve the perfect eyebrows. I have a demo for you further below.

Scroll down to know how to achieve the perfect eyebrows with the Sigma Brow Expert Kit.

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Belli Skincare Face Wash, Eye Cream, Hydrator: For Glowing Skin

Belli Skincare Face Wash, Eye Cream, Hydrator: For Glowing Skin

Treatment Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, August 02, 2016

A couple of years ago, "glowing" skin meant oily in my book, and I was doing all I could to make my skin as dry as a desert. Harsh treatments; little hydration. A huge protest later, my skin got its message across - the glow comes from within as fresh skin is revealed, is a sign of health as dead cells are cleared away, and can be achieved with active ingredients such as alpha-hydroxy acids, which increase the rate of cell turnover and replacement.
The world of skincare acids can be daunting. One of the gentler AHAs out there is lactic acid, which occurs naturally in our bodies. American brand Belli Skincare incorporate lactic acid in their products.

Scroll down for review of Belli Skincare Facial Wash, Eye Cream and Healthy Glow Hydrator - a harm-free, pregnancy-safe range for glowing skin.

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FOTD: Magenta Eye Makeup Ft. Smashbox Art Love Color, Too Faced Born This Way

FOTD: Magenta Eye Makeup Ft. Smashbox Art Love Color, Too Faced Born This Way

Winter Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, December 14, 2015

With all the Holiday parties coming up, it is time to step out of the comfort zone and spice up the makeup to look vibrant and festive. I have not been brave enough to ditch the dusty rose lipstick yet - next time, I promise! - but made myself reach for magenta eyeshadow, a colour I have not worn before. This look features my favourite lipstick of 2015.

Scroll down for a full-face makeup look featuring magenta eye makeup, using the Smashbox Art. Love. Color. palette and Too Faced Born This Way foundation.

Burnt Orange Fall Makeup With Cargo Venice Enchantment and HD Foundation

Burnt Orange Fall Makeup With Cargo Venice Enchantment and HD Foundation

Smoky eye Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Recently, I had the worst breakout of my life, with large, painful cystic acne that left behind bad pigmentation. Cargo Cosmetics HD Picture Perfect Liquid Foundation is one of the few makeup products that actually covers severe cystic acne. To see how bad my acne is without makeup, go to this post. 
I am also obsessed with the Cargo Cosmetics Venice Enchantment Palette, their Fall 2015 release. Apart from a silver, I have been using every shade in that palette. I will review it in detail sometime next week.

Here is a Fall Makeup Look featuring Cargo Cosmetics Venice Enchantment Eyeshadow Palette and HD Picture Perfect Liquid Foundation.

Scroll down for deets on products used and more photographs.

Lancome Auda[City] in Paris Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatches, EOTDs

Lancome Auda[City] in Paris Eyeshadow Palette Review, Swatches, EOTDs

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Lancome Auda[City] in Paris is one of the two eyeshadow palettes I am loving this Autumn. The other is the IT Cosmetics Romantics palette, reviewed here. If you read that review, and then scroll down this page to see the photos of Auda[City], you will notice that both have soft shades. Neutrals, but soft, pretty, wearable colours.
I fell for the Lancome Auda[City] in Paris eyeshadow palette as soon as I saw the photos. Such pretty shades! Plus, the packaging is gorgeous. Who does not love the stilettos over Paris's most famous skyline? This palette combines fashion with good taste. I wanted it all the more because it was designed by Lisa Eldridge herself. Formula and pigmentation, you ask? Read on.

Review and swatches of the Lancome Auda[City] in Paris Eyeshadow Palette are further below.

Mikyajy Coffee Eyes eyeshadow palette swatch, review

Mikyajy Coffee Eyes eyeshadow palette swatch, review

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, September 12, 2014

One of the things I love about travelling to different countries is being able to discover makeup brands which are specific to that region and unavailable elsewhere. Last year, I discovered Middle Eastern makeup brand Mikyajy on a trip to Qatar and fell in love with their products. Their Sabaya lipsticks are incredibly long-staying, as you can see from my review here.
I picked up a very cute eyeshadow palette recently, called Coffee Eyes. As you can guess, it is a neutral palette. Coffee Eyes is part of a series of eyeshadow palettes - the others in the series are Starry Eyes and Sunny Eyes.

Read on for my review and swatches of the Mikyajy Coffee Eyes eyeshadow palette.

Lorac Pro eyeshadow palette 1 review, swatches

Lorac Pro eyeshadow palette 1 review, swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, July 11, 2014

Have you ever bought something that was not on your wishlist, simply because the product you wanted was unavailable? That happens to me a lot. And that is how I came to buy the Lorac Pro Palette 1.
I already have all three Urban Decay N@ked palettes, theBalm's N*de'Tude, Too Faced Chocolate Bar, Accessorize Exposed and a couple of other neutral palettes, which you will see soon. And then, I saw Lorac Unzipped and Pro 1. I compared both for a while before settling on Pro 1 because of the somewhat more versatile shades and because this was more value for money.
To be honest, it was Lorac Pro Palette 2 that was on my wishlist - and still is - and I hope I can find it soon. I love that the name of this palette is quite different from other neutral palettes and has nothing to do with the lack of clothing. That trend was becoming monotonous.

Here are the swatches and the review of the Lorac Pro eyeshadow palette.

Almost black smoky eyes with theBalm N*de'Tude

Almost black smoky eyes with theBalm N*de'Tude

TheBalm Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, June 13, 2014

Really dark, almost black smoky eye makeup is something I doubt I can pull off, given that my eye colour is almost black. But I am perfectly willing to try new things, just as I tried yellow eyeshadow. So I decided to go in for a light-handed dark look with a blackish-brown eyeshadow.
I also realised that none of my eye looks so far was from theBalm's N*de'Tude eyeshadow palette, which is my favourite neutral palette ever. Perhaps the size of the eyeshadow pans is responsible for this - I do not want to ever hit pan on these pretties! Not to mention the gorgeous packaging. Incidentally, it also contains the most versatile neutrals, with which you can do soft as well as dramatic smoky eye looks.
As usual, I accentuated just the one eyeshadow for this look, although I lightened it out with a couple of paler shades on the inner lid.

Here is a light-handed, almost black smoky eye makeup look with theBalm's N*de'Tude eyeshadow palette.

Smoky eye with Too Faced Candied Violet

Smoky eye with Too Faced Candied Violet

Too Faced Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, May 30, 2014

Of late, I like the idea of accentuating just the one eyeshadow - maybe with a matte neutral shade for the inner corners and browbones. What I do is apply the colour generously enough on the eyelids but with a light hand in the creases and then add neutral or highlighting shadow in the outer creases and browbones just to get the harshness out of the way. I have also been trying to go "smokier", with deeper shades.
Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, reviewed and swatched here, has to be the neutral palette of the season! Apart from the traditional brown-based neutrals, this palette has a few surprise shades, such as violet, burgundy and pale pink. And, did I mention that the shadows smell just like chocolate? I picked Candied Violet for this look to break away from the neutrals.

Yellow eye makeup with Sephora Blockbuster palette

Yellow eye makeup with Sephora Blockbuster palette

Smoky eye Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, May 09, 2014

This is not a regular EOTD that I wore outside; it is an experiment with yellow eyeshadow.
For a while now, I have been trying to step outside my comfort zone. Having seen the way Leelo of beautybymissl pulls off yellow eyeshadows, I have been wondering how the colour would look on me.
There was much hemming and hawing at first - I thought it would make me look ill with jaundice or something, wash out my skin tone, make my eyes dull, look absolutely garish.... The apprehensions were many but I finally decided to give it a try on a day when I did not have to step outdoors.
The left and right eye makeup looks are not alike this time; I wanted to try two different looks here. On the eye to the left of the picture (my right eye, but let's call it the eye to the left of the picture), I have layered the yellow all over, even over the crease colour, as you can see above. On the eye to the right of the photo is my regular style with the main colour on the eyelid and a dark colour lighthandedly applied on the crease and outer V. But let me show you the eyeshadows I used.

Kat von D High Voltage Eye Primer review

Kat von D High Voltage Eye Primer review

Reviews Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, May 04, 2014

I have four beauty boxes on my desk right now, waiting to be reviewed. But I will not budge until I take a breather from subscription boxes for a couple of days. There is such a thing as overkill, and while we are all agreed that my blog has its fair share of unboxing posts, it is a beauty blog and I like to include other posts once in a while! Nor do I care at all for the "I-want-to-unbox-first" race. I know you're tired of them as well - comments have dwindled to nothing. So you will not see more than one or two unboxing posts per week, at the most (unless I run out of other posts lol).
I knew Kat von D had amazing eyeshadows and lipsticks - and zealously guard the samples of my Lock-It foundation even from my own fingers. But I had not heard of the Kat von D High Voltage Eye Primer until my friend Shivani told me about it. "You won't need a separate concealer," she had said. "And, you will like it better than Too Faced Shadow Insurance." Now that sounded too good to resist and, after finding it was Muse-Approved, I decided to give it a try.

Here is my review of the Kat von D High Voltage Eye Primer.

Too Faced 3 Way Lash Lining Tool review

Too Faced 3 Way Lash Lining Tool review

Too Faced Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, April 21, 2014

A black eyeliner is a must in everyone's kitty. As a rule, I prefer liquid eyeliner - application is gentler and it is easier to remove and to correct bloopers, which I always run the risk of making. But I don't like felt-tipped liners as a rule, because they tend to dry out very quickly, even if I seal them tightly and store them upside-down. However, you know that I am a sucker for anything gimmicky innovative, and that I am a huge fan of Too Faced, so when I saw the 3 Way Lash Lining Tool in Sephora in December, I picked up one for myself, attracted by the trident-like applicator, which you will see in a minute.

Here is my review of the Too Faced 3 Way Lash Lining Tool.

Green EOTD with Sephora Blockbuster palette

Green EOTD with Sephora Blockbuster palette

Smoky eye Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, April 18, 2014

I tell you, I am obsessed with the Sephora Makeup Academy Blockbuster palette of November 2013. There is such a variety of colours, enough for as many looks as you would want, and the shades are versatile, from neutrals to brights, and a couple of neons which I have not dared to go near. And the shadows are easy to blend and surprisingly well-pigmented. I need to review this palette in all its glory before the 2014 version is launched.
Green is probably my third-favourite eyeshadow colour after blues and purples. It gives dark eyes a nice pop without being visible from the moon. This time, I picked medium frosty and shimmery greens and a brown-grey eyeshadow, and did not smoke out the look too much.

Bronze smoky eye with Sephora Blockbuster

Bronze smoky eye with Sephora Blockbuster

Smoky eye Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, April 11, 2014

Oh dear, I seem to have scowled my way through all the photographs for today's smoky eye. Ah well, it was a bit too sunny and I don't think sunglasses are quite the thing when you try to showcase your eye makeup.
The only time I now wear neutral eyeshadows, especially brown-based shades, is in-between a spate of bright colours. I really think they photograph - and therefore, look - rather alike and meh on me, especially because of my eye colour and skintone. Still, when you have a different palette to play with, you always get some fun out of the eyeshadows (until they show up in the photographs)!

Here is a bronze smoky eye makeup look I did using the Sephora Makeup Academy Blockbuster Palette. 

Orange eye makeup with Sleek Sunset palette

Orange eye makeup with Sleek Sunset palette

Smoky eye Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, April 04, 2014

I am absolutely loving orange eyeshadow right now. And orange nail polish, orange blush and, orange lipstick/tint. Orange anything - except for clothing; I'll stick to my sombre, deeper, older-looking colours, thank you!

The Sleek iDivine Sunset Eyeshadow palette, reviewed and swatched here, gets a lot of love from me because of the fun orange, rosy, maroon and rust-gold colours. But don't be turned off by all the orange and gold goodness - these are not garish on the skin, and, with a light-enough hand, they will make your eyes pop.

Here is an orange eye makeup look with the Sleek Sunset eyeshadow palette.

Shimmery neutral brown EOTD with Too Faced Chocolate Bar

Shimmery neutral brown EOTD with Too Faced Chocolate Bar

Too Faced Cosmetopia Digest   Saturday, March 29, 2014

The problem with the Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette, reviewed here, is that I take ages to apply the shadows because I am too busy sniffing in the chocolatey scent. With packaging that looks just like a chocolate bar, the palette contains 14 eyeshadows infused with cocoa, and the shadows actually smell like chocolate. But I have already talked at length about this palette.
Of late, I have had to push myself into using neutral shadows,but this palette is relatively new in my stash, so it was easy to reach for it, despite the eyeshadows being mostly brown-based neutrals.

Here is a soft and shimmery neutral brown eye makeup look I did with the Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette.

Lush Cosmetics Enchanted Eye Cream review

Lush Cosmetics Enchanted Eye Cream review

Skin care Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, March 25, 2014

I have mad love for Lush Cosmetics, especially for their bath bombs, massage bars, conditioners, lip scrubs, soaps... right, pretty much the whole range. The products actually work for me and leave me smelling as amazing as they do, and leave my skin and hair in good condition. So when I saw the Enchanted Eye Cream at Lush last August (Lush haul post here), I bought it rightaway, having read great reviews, thinking here, at last, was my Holy Grail eye cream.

Here is my review of the Lush Enchanted Eye Cream.

EOTD: Matte neutral smoky eye makeup look with Too Faced A Few Of My Favourite Things

EOTD: Matte neutral smoky eye makeup look with Too Faced A Few Of My Favourite Things

Smoky eye Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, February 28, 2014

I have a preference for matte eyeshadows over the shimmery or pearly versions. For one, they do not reflect the light and make for better daytime wear, and, for another, they have less fallout than the glittery versions. The problem is finding matte eyeshadows with decent pigmentation, as they tend to be chalky and sheer.
But not all eyeshadows lead to chalky-land. The Too Faced A Few of My Favourite Things palette, reviewed here, has some matte eyeshadows that I absolutely love and are a dream to apply. Another favourite is theBalm's Meet Matt(e) (here), but I digress from today's eye look.

Here is a matte neutral smoky eye makeup look with the Too Faced A Few of My Favourite Things palette.