Review: NYX The Go-To Palette in Wanderlust

NYX The Go To Palette

PACKAGING:

-Comes in a black plastic case

-Palette contains 6 eyeshadows, a highlighter, a blush, and a bronzer

-$16.99 each @ ULTA (Comes in 3 other color combinations)

FORMULATION:

The Wanderlust palette offers a nice variety of neutral shades that work with every eye color. The shadows are nicely pigmented and easy to blend. You can mix and match to create tons of different looks. I wasn't a big fan of the blush and highlighter. They were a bit too powdery for my taste although both had good pigmentation. The bronzer is good for a nice all over the face color but maybe a little too light for contouring unless you are very fair. 

This is a great palette for traveling. It contains all your eyeshadows and face products in one. It is also super light and takes up no room in your bag. This is also a great alternative to the Urban Decay Naked on the Go Palette which is about $50. 

EYESHADOWS

From left to right:

Highlighter, blush, bronzer

URBAN DECAY NAKED ON THE GO PALETTE

What's HOT HOT HOT Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette BLOGTOBER OCTOBER 21,2014

What's HOT HOT HOT- Quick reviews to make your shopping fast and easy!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette
From left to right
Luminous Flush- Champagne Rose
Incandescent Electra- Cool toned peachy coral
Mood Exposure- Soft plum

PACKAGING:

-Comes in a plastic gold case (Looks fancier than it is)

-Palette contains 3 miniature versions of Hourglass's Ambient Lighting Blush (0.11 oz each)

FORMULATION:

These blushes have the same texture as the original Ambient Lighting Powders. They are very finely milled making it super soft and blendable. The Ambient Lighting Blushes combines the best of a blush and highlighter in one. These blushes are nicely pigmented yet give a settle color along with a beautiful glow on the cheeks. They are not shimmer or glittery. I like using my MUA BB/CC cream brush to apply. I notice that if you use a duo fiber brush it tends to take off the actual color and if the brush is too dense you can end up looking like a disco ball.

You can purchase this palette for a limited time @ Sephora stores as well as Hourglass's online site

The palette is a bit on the expensive side retailing at $58, however given the price of a single blush which retails for $35 you are getting yourself a good bargain.

This palette makes great for travel and not to mention a great gift for makeup lovers this holiday season! 

NEW!!! Tarte Rainforest After Dark: Colored Eye & Cheek Palette

PACKAGING:

The palette comes in a purple box with a gold snake emblemed on it.

The palette itself is made from bamboo and is in the shape of a circle much like the Tarte Aqualillies palette released awhile back. 

The palette contains

-6 colored clay eyeshadows (exclusive shades!)

-Colored clay blush in the color Unleashed

-Colored clay bronzer in Park Ave Princess

-Colored clay highlighter in Champagne 

-A paper pamphlet that teaches you how to do 2 looks using the palette

FORMULATION:

Like most Tarte products, the eyeshadows and face products in this palette are all paraben, mineral oil, phthalates, tricolosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, and gluten free (dermatologist tested/not tested on animals). So basically it doesn't contain any of those bad chemicals that we see in most cosmetics today.

The eyeshadows are all really soft and easy to work with and last a long time due to the clay that it contains. However in terms of pigmentation, the lighter colors don't show up as well as the darker colors. This is quite common with Tarte eyeshadows.

The highlighter Champagne is extremely pigmented so be very careful and use a light hand.

The blush in the color Unleashed was the disappointment in this palette. Most of the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes are super pigmented how this one I pretty much had to scrape the palette just to get some color out of it.

The bronzer Park Ave Princess is a decent bronzer. If you have super fair skin you can use it for contouring. For darker skin tones, using it all over or as a blush is better.

From left to right: swatched w/o a primer

Bare (top left)- Light mauve pink (matte)

Make a Mauve (top right)- Mauve with purple undertones (shimmer)

Plum Away With Me (middle left)- Dark plum (shimmer)

Up To No Gold (middle right)- Yellow gold (frosty/satin)

Tan-gled Up in You (bottom left)- Light tan (matte)

Don't Turn a Brown (bottom right)- Dark cool toned brown (matte) 

From left to right:

Highlighter in the color Champagne- A pretty frosty champagne color

Blush in Unleashed- Mauve pink (matte)

Bronzer in Park Ave Princess- Light caramel color (matte)

WHERE TO PURCHASE:

Retails @ $38.00

Tarte Cosmetics 

Sephora (Both in-store & Online)

Ulta (Both in-store & Online)

NEW!!! Urban Decay Naked FLUSHED Palette in Streak

Urban Decay released their 1st Naked Flushed Palette for the face last year. The palette contains a bronzer, highlighter and blush. This summer they have released 3 additional shades to the collection. While I am in love with all the palettes my favorite one out of all of them is the Streak palette.

Packaging:

The packaging for the new palettes are the exact same to the original Naked Flushed palette. It comes in a tan/gold plastic case that comes with a nice mirror. These palettes are super convenient for traveling since it has your bronzer, blush and highlighter all in one.

Formulation:

Bronzer- Medium brown color w/a peachy gold undertone w/a satin finish

The bronzer is very pretty and soft and great for all over the face for a nice glow however it really isn't pigmented enough for contouring.

Highlighter- Peachy champagne (shimmery)

This highlighter is amazing. It is SUPER pigmented and brightens up your whole face. It is also pretty as an all over the lid color.

Blush-  A semi matte coral pink 

Very pigmented and easy to blend 

You can wear each shade by itself or mixed together.

All of these products are very long lasting wear tome 5+ hours especially with a primer underneath

You can purchase this palette and the others...

Urban Decay

Sephora

Ulta

Retail $30.00

Review: ALMAY WAKE UP BLUSH + HIGHLIGHTER IN BERRY

030 Berry

PACKAGING: Comes in a clear plastic case about the size of a standard pack of gum. It is very similar in shape to the Clinique Blushers. Each Almay blush also comes with a small brush (not pictured). The brush doesn't really apply the product very well.

FORMULATION: This is a very sheer blush that you do need to apply in layers to get the color to truly come out. The blush color itself is very pretty and gives your cheeks a nice berry flush which is perfect for this time of year. The highlighter however does nothing. It doesn't even show up when you rub your fingers into it. Best way to apply is to use a brush with hair not synthetic hair because the color will not stick to the brush.  In terms of wear time it did hold up pretty well about 5 hours without any touch-ups. It did fade a bit but you could still tell the color was there. Comes in 2 other colors.

WHERE TO PURCHASE: 

Prices vary depending on the place of purchase. Available @ drugstores nationwide and Wal-Marts and Targets (Check the link below)

http://www.target.com/p/almay-wakeup-blush-highlighter/-/A-14081648?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C14081226&CPNG=Health+Beauty&kpid=14081226&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=14081226&gclid=CPz2-IyiprsCFSRk7AodNwQA9g

NEW!!! Maybelline Master Hi-Light By FACESTUDIO: Highlighting Blush

020 Pink Rose

PACKAGING- Comes in a round black plastic powder compact. It is a dual case with the product on the first layer and when lifted up there is a mirror and a small brush (doesn't work well).

FORMULATION- Very easy to blend and nicely pigmented in terms of highlighting. As a blush it is quite sheer and needs several layers for the color to come out. But it is super pretty and gives a nice flush glowy look to the skin. The product is mosaic shaped with the white parts being the highlighter and the pink squares as the color so you can choose to use either the highlight or the color. I prefer to take a fluffy powder brush and just mix it. It also comes in a darker pink and 2 bronze colors. 

Available at CVS and other drugstores nationwide. Retails depending on retailer for about $7-11

NEW! Revlon Powder Blushes + Highlighter

On Top: Revlon Highlighter in 020 Rose Glow

Bottom Left: Revlon Powder Blush in 001 in OH BABY! Pink

Bottom Right: Revlon Powder Blush in 002 Haute Pink

REVLON POWDER BLUSHES:

Left Swatch: OH BABY! Pink

Right Swatch: Haute Pink

PACKAGING- Comes in a black shiny plastic case very similar to the Revlon's single eyeshadow case. Blush comes with a small brush (not very useful)

FORMULATION- The blushes are very sheer compared to what they look like in the packaging. Beautiful colors however I had to layer the color a couple of times to get a decent color payoff. The texture of these blushes are very nice and soft and easy to blend. They have a very nice natural finish to them on the skin nothing too shiny and nothing to matte. They are a step up from the old formula. The older formula was very chalky and not as easy to blend. Disappointed that the color payoff hasn't changed much. But overall as long as you layer them they can be very nice blushes. 

WHERE TO PURCHASE/PRICING- These are part of the Revlon's spring 2014 collection so they are not available everywhere just yet. However I have searched the area for you guys and Bed, Bath and Beyond has them in 6-7 shades. This line also has bronzers. Each blush retails for $7.99.

REVLON HIGHLIGHTER:

PACKAGING- Comes in the traditional Revlon black case with a clear top so you can see the colors.

FORMULATION- The colors are very similar to a Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Brick. It has a mixture of beige, pink, browns and champagnes with a variety of textures from matte, satin and shimmer. I was very surprised with the color payoff of these. Pretty much every color except the pink had great payoff. The pink one wasn't very pigmented and had a chalkier texture compared to the other colors. They are very soft and easy to blend. This product is designed to use as a highlighter for highlighting the cheekbones. You can also highlight the bridge of your nose, cupids bow (top part of your mouth that is shaped like a v) and so forth. However you can also use it as a blush and it will give you a nice glow to your complexion. The colors are pigmented enough to also use as eyeshadows. Overall I was very impressed with this. There aren't a lot of good drugstore highlighters out there that work well or are affordable. Comes in 1 more color more bronzy. 

WHERE TO PURCHASE/PRICING- Bed, Bath and Beyond is the only store right now that carries these. It will be released everywhere else Spring 2014. These retail for $7.99 each.