too faced "pretty rebel" palette (review and swatches)

i could not resist picking up this palette the second i saw it being released in australia. i'd heard such amazing reviews about it and lost all self control.

i present to you, what appears to be my new favourite palette in the entire universe, the too faced "pretty rebel" palette.

for $59.95 AUD, this is quite a steal (considering a single mac eyeshadow costs $32). and i was pleased to see it was only about $10 cheaper in america. four for you, australia! somewhat reasonable pricing! i got this from kit cosmetics, the sister store of mecca cosmetica. 

this is my first experience with too faced eyeshadows, and i am incredibly impressed. they are all super soft, some more than others, and have a quite buttery texture. the pigmentation is crazy, and the only one i am slightly disappointed with is "badass", the blue, because it is quite sheer (note: i have found using fix+ and packing it on, you get a much better result).

 

left - right: dainty, charming, girly, totally fetch, miss sparkles, ringleader, gangsta, instigator, badass, jailbird.

my apologies for the horrific swatches. my camera decided to go on strike and refused to focus on them no matter what. this was the best photo i could get (>_<)

overall, i adore this palette. it has an amazing balance of neutrals and crazy colours, all extremely wearable and practical (except maybe "totally fetch", the hot pink!). i've worn this nearly every day since purchasing, and i think that if you have the ability to get this, go grab it. my favourite colour is, hands down, "girly", the duochrome green/brown shade. i tend to wear lots of neutrals, and this shade is a great way to incorporate a soft splash of colour into your normal neutral eye. plus, it is soooo soft! look at that swatch!

only downsides? i find "dainty", the matte white, slightly chalky. also, since quite a few of the colours have glitter, especially "miss sparkles", you need to foil the shadows when you use them or else you get insaaaane fallout. a vast majority of the shadows are metallic, with only a couple mattes and a couple glittery shades, so if metallic shadows aren't your thing you might want to give this a pass.

me on the other hand? i flipping love it. definitely going to be my new travel palette.

any of you thinking of buying this? already got it? thoughts? 

xx gabi

benefit benetint - review

digging out some oldies from my collection to review for y'all today! i grabbed my mini benetint by benefit, and wondered why my bottle was almost full!

benetint, approx $55 AUD for a full size bottle, is a rose coloured lip and cheek stain. the origins of this product are quite.. interesting [let's just say they were used to tint nipples o_o]

i got this in a benefit kit, which i shall hopefully review at some point, and was so excited to try it after hearing all the rave reviews.

benetint comes with a small brush applicator, and you're supposed to use 3 dots of this on your lips [as a lip stain] or on your cheeks as a natural looking blush. i am quite fair skinned, and thought this would be the perfect product to add a "flush" to my almost-white skin.

well i was wroooooong.

i remembered instantly why i never touch this. it doesn't work for me, AT ALL.

the product, when swatching on my hand, holds a stain, and looks highly pigmented. but it is literally INVISIBLE on my lips, and when i put it on my cheeks, it fades within half an hour.

i don't know if mine is defective, or if it just doesn't work for me, but i know for sure i am NOT going to be rushing out to buy a full size bottle for 55 bucks!

so far my experiences with benefit's bottle products haven't been that great... i'll post reviews on the other products i have at some point.

if this works for you- you're a lucky one. anyone have tips on how i could make this work? cause i don't like having it just sitting around with no use [and PLEASE no one suggest using it as a nipple tint, that's just weird].

xx gabi

stila - "in the light" palette (review and swatches)

today i decided to review a much loved palette of mine - stila's "in the light".

i bought this when i was in singapore last year, because i went to sephora for the first time and i just couldn't help myself. the main reason i was attracted to this stila palette over the others is that it had the shade "kitten", and anyone who knows makeup KNOWS that you have to try that shadow at some point in your life. i was actually intending to buy that as a single, but it was $25 AUD for that, or $36 AUD for this palette, which also comes with a full size eyeliner. now enough rambling, on to the photos!

1st row: bare, kitten, bliss

2nd row: sunset, sandstone, champagne 

3rd row: gilded gold, luster, night sky, 

4th row: ebony, eyeliner in damsel.

i was truly impressed by the quality of these shades. they're creamy, and soft, but not too soft. the texture for most of them is really nice, with only one (bare) feeling chalky. kitten is a phenomenal shade, but i also really love gilded gold. i also apologise for the horrible swatches, the lighting decided to poop itself.

all in all i'm very happy with this palette. i have since depotted it into a z-palette though, to save space in my collection. it's a really great investment, especially if (like me) you wanted to try out stila shadows without breaking the bank.

have any of you tried this palette? what were your thoughts! let me know!

xx gabi