NEW from bhCosmetics: California Palettes! (Hollywood)

Here are some photos of the new Hollywood palette from bhCosmetics! To read my full review and to see swatches of every colour, click here to view my review which has been posted on the bhCosmetics website! Stay tuned for reviews and swatches of the other two palettes :)

*These palettes were provided by bhCosmetics for review purposes. 

Revlon PhotoReady Primer & Shadow

These are sold pretty much wherever Revlon products are carried. They range from $8-$12.

The idea of a primer eyeshadow was interesting to me and I haven't really seen anything like it before. The sparkle top coat was also intriguing!

Graffiti

Metropolitan

The bottom two eyeshadows are steps 1 and 5. The rectangular eyeshadow on the bottom left is the "primer" eyeshadow. This is to be applied first all over the lid. It has a smoother consistency than the rest of the eyeshadows in this quad. Above it are the eyeshadows which are steps 2 through 4. The eyeshadow pans mimic the shapes of an eyelid, crease and brow bone. The bottom right eyeshadow is the sparkle top coat which is meant to be applied as an accent.

Graffiti (flash)
I've swatched the eyeshadows in the same order as the steps (the primer is swatted first on the left, ending with the sparkle top coat on the far right).

Graffiti (no flash)

Metropolitan (flash)

Metropolitan (no flash)

The primer eyeshadow is smoother than the eyeshadows, but I don't think it acts well as a traditional eyeshadow primer. It definitely helps to hide discolouration on the eyelids, but to me it seems like an unnecessary step if you're like me and insist on applying a traditional eye primer. If you can't wear eyeshadow primers (like Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Urban Decay Primer Potion), then a powder form of an eye primer may work for you. 

In my experience, the primer eyeshadow works well for a couple of hours, but does end up creasing. I have oily eyelids, so I'm sure that's the reason why it didn't work as well for me. This may be a great option for those with non-oily eyelids.

The eyeshadows themselves are very smooth and blend effortlessly. They are richly pigmented and will last a long time with a primer. The sparkle top coats are very glittery and/or shimmery. I don't really like the one in "Graffiti" because it doesn't really match the rest of the palette, but the one in Metropolitan is my favourite. Rather than using it as a top coat, I use it as an eyeshadow. You can see from the swatches that it's more than just glitter- it's a rich gold eyeshadow as well.

I definitely recommend trying out one of these quads/palettes if you can. They're great quality for the price!

Back of Metropolitan

Back of Graffiti

Coastal Scents Smokey Palette Review

I ordered this palette when I ordered the 252 Ultimate Palette. I got the Smokey Palette for $11.97 on sale (regular $19.95).

Click here to see how my palettes were carefully packaged. Everything I ordered arrived perfectly with no damage.

Front of outer cardboard sleeve.

Back of outer cardboard sleeve with ingredients.

Front of palette

Close up of all 36 eyeshadows. They look like the same size as the Hot Pots, but they're actually smaller (about the size of a nickel). 

The following are swatches of each group or set of eyeshadows. As you can see, starting from the top left, there is a group of 6 neutrals (gold, copper, bronze), then a group of greens and purples. On the bottom from left to right, there are groups of silver, greys & black, blues and pinks.

The third colour in this group barely showed up on my skin, while the rest were somewhat sheer.

I had trouble working with most of these colours.

This group was all right, but the colour on the far right was terrible.

This group is the most pigmented and blendable. I like that there is a mixture of warm and cool colours.

The shimmery shades in this group were nice, but the matte one (second from the right) was just okay. The 3rd from the right is a unique colour (sky blue with gold shimmer).

This group is great if you like pink!

This palette is very hit and miss. Some of the shimmery shades are very good, but some aren't so great. The same is true of the matte and satin finish eyeshadows. In general, I found the bottom left silver/grey set to be the best pigmentation-wise.

These all need a primer and are definitely good eyeshadows when used with one. Their intensity is a bit below average, but this is great if you only want a hint of colour.

If you have any colourful palette at all, I'd say to skip this one. It's not terrible, but I've tried better. However, if it's on sale and you're interested in some of the decent-quality colours in this palette, it may be worth it to try, especially if you like the looks of the smokey colours!

Coastal Scents Hot Pots Review

Coastal Scents had a sale on Hot Pots a few weeks ago, so I took advantage! They were on sale for $1.19 each ($1.99 regular). While $1.99 is still very cheap, $1.19 can't be beat!

These are standard size eyeshadows in 26mm pans. They also sell palettes to put them in.

I purchased some Hot Pots from Coastal Scents a couple of years ago and I quite enjoyed them. However, with the release of the 252 Ultimate Palette, each colour in that palette was made into Hot Pots. Some or all of the original ones are still available.

They come in a variety of finishes, the shimmery ones being my favourite. The mattes are also quite good, but I've tried better. Some of the glittery ones are hit and miss and the satin ones are a bit on the shimmery side.

All thirteen! The packaging is interesting. They come in plastic sleeves that snap shut and the top is split and slides together to secure it further. They are meant to be placed in palettes, but this packaging design is sufficient enough if you choose to keep them separate.

Close-up of the packaging

Deep Cider (shimmer), Boca Mocha (shimmer), Deep Roast (matte)

Swatched on bare skin on the right, over primer on the left.
Deep Cider, Boca Mocha, Deep Roast

Coconut Husk (matte), Chai Spice (shimmer), Caramelized (shimmer)

Swatched on bare skin on the right, over primer on the left.
Coconut Husk, Chai Spice, Caramelized

Kodiak (satin), Golden Avocado (satin), Goldmine (shimmer)

Swatched on bare skin on the right, over primer on the left.
Kodiak, Golden Avocado, Goldmine

Deep Eggplant* (shimmer), Edgy Eggplant (matte), Gunpowder (shimmer)
*original Hot Pot, before the 252 palette

Swatched on bare skin on the right, over primer on the left.
Deep Eggplant, Edgy Eggplant, Gunpowder

Gypsy Night (satin), Olivewood (matte)

Swatched on bare skin on the right, over primer on the left.
Gypsy Night, Olivewood

The quality of most of these eyeshadows is amazing for the price! They have great colour payoff, pigmentation and intensity. I would recommend wearing them with a primer as they can crease and fade if worn alone.

Have you tried any Hot Pots before? Do you recommend any that I should try out? What are your favourites? Leave your answers in the comments! :)

Smash Cosmetics Mineral Eyeshadow Review & GIVEAWAY!

I recently purchased a set of eyeshadows from Smash Cosmetics on Etsy to review. I chose 10 samples in varying neutral and green colours (which are my favourite!). Each sample (1/4 tsp.) is about $0.65 each and comes in a 3g jar.

Full sizes are also available. They come in 10 gram sifter jars (which is huge compared to the 5 gram ones that similar stores sell) and they're only $3.60 each! Smash Cosmetics on Etsy has by far some of the best prices for mineral eyeshadows.

Although the colours I chose were quiet neutral, most of them have a fine glitter mixed in.

-----Scroll to the bottom of this post for the GIVEAWAY form-----

Open internationally!
The winner will receive 3 full size eyeshadows and 10 samples of his/her choosing.

Guilded
Gold with slight shimmer/satin finish

Espresso
Antique gold with silver/holographic glitter. Slight shimmer.

Passion
Peachy-pink with slight gold shimmer, few shades darker than a nude or flesh colour.

Strange
Warm, matte medium brown with blue glitter.

Tea Time
Very shimmery purple-silver (almost taupe) with holographic glitter.

Asteria
Matte smokey grey with blue glitter.

Poison
'True' green with golden shimmer. Very shimmery.
(More green than in the photo)

Spruce
Very shimmery. Silver-sage colour.

Envy
Slightly shimmery blue-green.

Plum
More purple than in the photo. Warm, matte (very very slight shimmer) burgundy/red-purple.

The glitter in these eyeshadows is micro-fine and will therefore not leave as much fall-out as eyeshadows with larger pieces of glitter typically do.

As for application, I found that all of these eyeshadows work best if worn with a primer or some sort of creamy base. Applied on their own, the shimmer can easily be wiped away. Wearing them with some sort of base will intensify their colour and shimmer.

Swatches on bare skin

Guilded, Passion, Espresso, Strange, Tea Time

Asteria, Poison, Spruce, Envy, Plum

Swatches over primer 

Guilded, Passion, Espresso, Strange, Tea Time

Asteria, Poison, Spruce, Envy, Plum

I think that the price and variety of colours available from Smash Cosmetics is great! If you'd like a chance to win a total of 13 eyeshadows (3 full size, 10 sample size), then enter using the form below! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway