Swatches & Review: Merle Norman Eyeshadows in Shorely, Barefoot, and Vintage Charm + GIVEAWAY!!!

I got a bunch of Merle Norman products a while back, and I'm finally getting around to reviewing them! Before this, I had always seen Merle Norman shops and wondered what on earth their makeup was like. If you were wondering that too, you get to find out now!!

Shorely is a shimmery peachy-nude, Barefoot is a cream color that will be a good highlighter for lighter skintones, and Vintage Charm is a shimmery gold. I haven't worn Shorely or Barefoot in public because they aren't right for my skintone so my review is based on my experience with Vintage Charm. I applied it over Merle Norman's eyeshadow primer (which I'll review soon!), and it has lasted me a good 6-8 hours. Vintage Charm is a beautiful neutral on darker skin, and it does not crease.

Left to Right: Shorely, Barefoot, Vintage Charm

There'll be more reviews of Merle Norman products soon!! I have some blushes from them that I'm really excited to talk about!!! Also remember to enter our GIVEAWAY!!!!

xoxo,

Smashbox's Beauty Blowout!!!

I have some news that may make your day better: Smashbox is having a sale! Some items are up to 60% off!!

screenshot of Smashbox.com

Some of their eye shadow trios, lip glosses, palettes, and sets are there! Check it out and see if there's anything you've wanted to try out or stock up on!

Swatches & Review: Maybelline Stylish Smokes Eyeshadow Quad in Natural Smokes

Hey everyone!
Sorry Haylee Ann and I haven't posted much recently!! Haylee Ann is in Vegas for Spring Break this week, and I have a ton of school work to finish up since this is my week before Spring Break. :(

Anyway, here's a picture of the quad:

Maybelline Stylish Smokes Eyeshadow Quad in Natural Smokes

I actually bought this palette for a friend's wedding when I was a bridesmaid. The wedding had a tight budget, so we bought one or two of these palettes and had everyone do their own makeup. That's part of what makes this palette great--it looks great on a variety of skin colors: we had 2 South Asian girls and 4 Caucasian girls, and it looked great on everyone!

The shadows are good for the price. I do have some trouble with the grey: It's easier to apply it using your fingers. If I use a brush, it isn't pigmented enough. Also, the grey has quite a bit of fallout. The brown and the liner go on great with a brush or fingers. I don't use the "base" color, since that's too light for darker skin tones. However, the palette still gives a nice, pretty neutral smokey eye.

I would definitely recommend this product! It's a great palette for someone who is interested in trying out eyeshadows and doesn't want to spend too much money. You just have to play with it a little in order to learn the best way to apply it and see what you like. For example, I hated it at first and thought it looked weird on my face. I had issues with the grey ending up a lot farther on the outer edge of my eyelids than I wanted it. After playing with the color and trying different bases, I finally figured out how to get the grey color to stay put. :)

Have a good week! If you're on Spring Break and travelling, have a safe week! If not.... I feel your pain, but we'll have our turn next week!! :P

Maybelline Caffeine Rush Eyeshadow Palette - Swatches and Review

Hello everyone! Today I'm doing a review of Maybelline's EyeStudio Color Explosion Eyeshadow in Caffeine Rush. Here's a picture of the packaging:

Here are swatches:

Clockwise (ish): white, peach, gold, the brown in the "V", and the brown/grey in the triangle

All the colors are creamy and go on easily except for the gold. The gold is very grainy; its texture almost reminded me of loose glitter. When I used the gold, I had to go over my lid several times to ensure that I had even coverage. For the other colors, you can get away with using your fingers to apply them, but for the gold, I'd strongly recommend using a brush.

I've worn the gold and the browns. They blended pretty well. I needed a primer to keep the eyeshadows from transferring or moving around. (I used the Mary Kay white jumbo pencil as a base.) After removal, I did have lots of tiny specks of glitter around my eyes, especially from the gold.

Overall, I'd recommend this palette; it's very good, especially for a drugstore brand. The colors look great on brown skin. Are there any other drugstore eyeshadows that you've found that are really good? Let me know below!

Have a great week everyone!

xoxo,

Anna