Maybelline The 24 Karat Nudes Palette & Superstay Matte Ink in Lover Review

The Maybelline 24 Karat Nudes palette has a varied colour selection for a 'nude' palette with khaki green and purple shades as well as the usual beige, gold, copper, brown and black shades. The 'Karat' refers to the glittery, shimmery eye shadows although there are a couple of matte shadows (dark brown, grey and beige.) The shades are mainly warm toned although there are a few cool toned shadows. The majority of the shades are very glittery with some fall out. Because of the shimmery nature of these eye shadows I recommend doing your eye makeup first or use eye shadow shields so that the shimmer doesn't spoil your face make up.

Packaging-wise the matte gold palette is in keeping with the 'karat' look. The palette has twelve eye shadows which you can see through the clear window on the lid. Often the payoff for having a palette with a window to showcase the shadows is not having enough room for a mirror like in this palette. It does come with a two in one brush and eye shadow applicator which I don't use preferring to use my own brushes instead. The palette is pretty compact measuring 12.7 cm x 7.5cm which is about 1cm shorter than my Sleek palettes and MUA Heaven and Earth palette (all contain 12 shadows.) The plastic packaging makes the palette lightweight but it's not as sturdy as Sleek's palettes so while the palette is travel sized be careful carrying it around in a handbag.

Maybelline says this is a '13 looks in one palette' and has diagrams on the back to help with creating different looks using a quad, trio or duo eye shadows. I found this helpful as it meant I wasn't using the same colours all the time. I think the diagrams are useful even if you aren't a beginner with make up.

These eye shadows fade around 5 hours without primer (I have oily eye lids.) The 12 shades include six shimmer shades, three matte shades and three glitter shades. All the shades are described below:

A shimmery peach shade which only lasted 30 minutes before being absorbed by my oily eyelids so a primer is recommended. (The shade actually reminds me of a peach shadow in an ELF palette.)

A matte dark brown shade great for creating a smokey eye look but unfortunately seemed to fade within 30 minutes without primer. However it did stay on and kept my smokey eye makeup together after 5 hours but it was a lot less darker and dramatic after the first 30 minutes.

A white/cream shimmer shade

A pale gold shimmer shade

A  matte beige shadow which is chalky and requires a lot of building up to get any colour on the lids. It's common for palettes to have a matte white/beige eye shadow to use as a brow highlight and I guess it's nice to have that matte shadow in a palette of shimmers but they could have left this one out. I've noticed that matte eye shadows with good colour payoff and that are easy to apply without multiple applications seem to be harder to manufacture.

A yellow gold shimmer shade this was smooth and buttery to swatch.

A shimmery beige shade

A plum purple with light purple and gold glitter shade. Unfortunately it was hard to show up on camera.

A dark khaki olive green with gold glitter shade Again hard to show up on my camera. 

A charcoal grey shade which swatches almost black. It's very pigmented.

A shimmery copper shade. This shade was buttery and easy to swatch.

A Grey with blue glitter shadow

Overall this is a fairly good palette. The  grey and dark brown eye shadows are good for creating smoky eye while some of the glitter shadows are unique (I'm taking about the grey with light blue glitter and the purple with light purple and gold glitter.) The olive green with gold through it is stunning. You can also do lots of light neutral looks, but this would have to be with the shimmery shades. The only disappointment was the pale beige shadow which had poor colour payoff and was chalky but this is not uncommon for pale, matte shades in many eye shadow palettes.

The palette is £11.99 for 12 shades, which roughly works out as just under £1 for each shade. While this palette hasn't blown me away, I have seen really bad reviews of this palette that the colors don't blend and are difficult to work with, which hasn't been my experience at all. The pros of this palette are that it's affordable, there's a mixture of matte, shimmer and glitter finishes, there are a couple of unique shades and I liked the diagrams on the back. The cons include the fact that this often left me with a shimmery face, so do your base last and use eye primer to keep shadow in place and well as making sure the shades last all day. Also the palette is more fragile that it looks so careful travelling with it. Do I recommend you buy this palette?  Yes if you like shimmery, glittery eye shadows and you're on a budget. Or if you are a glitter hoarder after unique glitter shades.

Available at Boots  and Superdug £11.99. Currently on sale at Feel unique £8.35

Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink liquid lipstick in Lover 15

Firstly I shall say that Maybelline's Matte Ink Liquid lipstick smells gorgeous, exactly like pink marshmallows! It also tastes a bit like them too but it's fairly subtle. The oblong tube means it won't be rolling off surfaces and although the packaging is simple, it's quite attractive. Once it's dried down the colour is a dusty, dark pink.  The applicator is shaped like an oval with a inner dent and the point is great for drawing a precise outline. The formula of Maybelline's Matte Ink lipstick is quite thick and it takes a while to dry (15-mins) though it doesn't dry completely so it's a bit tacky to wear on the lips. However it doesn't transfer onto glasses or on a hand kiss test. It also stays on during eating as long as what you're eating isn't too oily. If it is then you will have to reapply a little near the centre of your lips after eating. You can layer Maybelline's Superstay Matte Ink liquid lipstick so you don't have to remove a layer before touching up and it will look perfectly fine. However I have actually found that Maybelline's Superstay 24 Color Dual lipstick in Cherry Pie lasted longer, even through oily meals.

Compared to most brands of matte liquid lipstick (such as Stila) this doesn't feel as drying to wear. However I feel that the formula of Maybelline's Superstay 24hr Color Dual lipstick (in Cherry Pie) is more superior because it drys completely rather than leaving the lips tacky which could annoy some people, it's also thinner so it doesn't take as long to dry. Finally it will last through oily meals which Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink doesn't. Saying that Maybelline's Superstay Matte Ink's are affordable, have a great applicator and smell gorgeous so they're not a bad buy at all. But if you're after a non tacky formula that you can eat through oily meals go for the Maybelline Superstay 24 hour color Dual lipstick in Cherry Pie.

Priced £9.99 Available at Boots,  Superdrug, Feelunique

Bourjois Le Smoky Palette & Rouge Edition Lipstick Review

If you like shimmer and glitter this Bourjois palette will be right up your alley. I love, love the design of this Boujois Le Smoky palette, it has eight shades, a cool swivel mirror and is small enough to hold in the palm of your hand.

Eye Shadows (from left to right)
White Pearl shade- Lasts the longest on my lids.
Silver Pearl shade- Lasts the longest on my lids.
Dark Grey with silver glitter shade- silver glitter is quite subtle.
Dark Blue Grey Matte shade
Dark blue/Indigo with blue glitter shade
Dark Purple with lilac and gold glitter shade
Black with Gold glitter shade- Has the most glitter & the glitter will always show up
Black Matte shade.

In my swatches they tend to all look grey-black, some with glitter and some without. But when I used a wet flat brush they look like jewels on my eye lids. The white and silver shades weren't as easy to swatch but applying them to the eye was just as easy as using the other shades.

BOURJOIS LE SMOKY PALETTE PROS 

• The colours can easily create a smoky eye.
• You can definitely see the glitter on the eyelid when using a (wet) flat eye shadow brush but unfortunately they don't swatch as well in photos.
• One of the claims this product makes is being long wearing for up to 12 hours. The satin eye shadows are definitely long wearing and hold up 9 hours easily without primer. By 12 hours it's still on but because of my oily eye lids doesn't it look perfect and needs retouching. If you don't have oily eyelids this will probably last 12 hours even without primer. 
• The palette contains different finishes- four glitter shades, two pearl/shimmer shades and two matte shades.
• The eye shadows are soft.
• The palette is compact and comes with a mirror. I love the swivel design and picture of the girl on the top.
• Price is reasonable.

BOURJOIS LE SMOKY PALETTE CONS

• While the glitter shades are really glittery and catch the light, the pigment behind the glitter is sheer and all blend to a brown/black smokey colour.  Good for smokey eyes though.
• The glitter shades don't wear as well as the satin colours. They fade into a dark grey shadow but the glitter still remains on the lid. I would recommend using a primer to keep the original colour and tomake sure the glitter stays on your lids to limit any fall out /glitter migration while wearing them.
• There are no mid range colours between light silver and dark grey/blue such as a light grey, a pink or a light gold.
• Sometimes you get some fall out from the glitter eye shadows. 

I would use this as a glitter topper that you pat ontop of other matte/shimmer shades to add or enhnace the glitter look. The palette has a narrow shade range which can limit the types of look you can do (there are no bright greens, burgundies, brown, pinks or light gold shades.)
Bourjois palette has a much cheaper price point (£11.99). If you love glitter and are after more than a sheer smokey look then this palette is not for you. There are better glitter shadow palettes out there.

Available at  Feel Unique £11.99  and Superdrug £11.99

Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick In Rouge Jet Set (13)

Bourjois Rogue Edition lipstick in Rouge Jet Set 13 is a warm red. Initially I thought it would be too warm for me but it actually looks pretty good on. The finish is satin/glossy. Bourjois has added orchid blossom extract to these lipsticks to ensure that your lips feel hydrated and smooth for up to 10 hours. This lipstick is very moisturising with lots of slip and it feels comfortable to wear.

The shade indicator at the top is pretty accurate match to the shade inside. The lipstick case is oblong shaped to match the rest of their lip products (apart from the lip crayons.) I love the fact that Bourjois have their name imprinted on the bullet as it makes it feel more luxurious. The lipstick smells slightly perfumed, perhaps orchid scented? The smell is really subtle. It also tastes slightly scented and sweet but again it's very subtle.

It will transfer onto cups and glasses. However for such an emollient lipstick it stays put during snacking which surprised me. You do need to reapply if you're eating a full meal though. I can't go 10 hours without eating a proper meal so I can't really test the 10 hours hydrating claim but my lips always feel hydrated and comfortable when I wear this and afterwards my lips feels smooth. If you want to give liquid matte lips a break then this is the perfect lipstick to reach for.

Superdrug £7.99 

I Heart Make up - I am Naked Palette Review

The size of the I Am Naked palette is great for travel, since it can fit into one hand. It also has a mirror and is really compact containing 6 eye shadows and a lipstick. I love the design of the palette it's both sophisticated and fun and I like the way the lipstick fits snugly into the palette. The I am Naked refers to the neutral shadows and nude lipstick- for the natural look. Though I'd still be a little hesitant to whip this out on a commuter train with I am Naked emblazoned across the front!

There's a nice neutral selection of beige, brown and gold shades. There are three shimmer shades  (2,4,5), two matte (1, 3) and one satin shade (6, which has slightly less shimmer than the others but it's not quite matte.) The two palest shades, a matte cream shade and a shimmery champagne are a little chalky. The other shades are fine. I wore the second, third and fourth shades (in the swatch picture above) without primer and they started to fade after 8 hours, which is pretty good. The third browny taupe is good for a crease or transition shade and my favourites are the fourth and sixth shimmery brown shades.

The lipstick is nude peach shade that makes my lips look lighter in colour. It's very moisturising but has light coverage. The lipstick has a faint waxy smell and a slight vanilla taste. It does transfer but will last through a drink but not through eating. I was disappointed that the lipstick packaging feels very cheap even though it looks luxurious when placed in the palette.

All in all this is a nice little neutral palette that looks more expensive than it is and is good value for money for all 6 shadows and a lipstick, especially as it's currently on sale at just £2.99  here.

I Heart Make Up Go To Hell! Palette & Amazing Sheer Lip Glosses Review & swatches

As the name suggests I Heart Make Up Go To Hell is a rock look inspired eye shadow Palette. Just like the other Go palettes this is handy for travelling because it's compact and light. There are 19 shades with a total of 8.5g of product. Twelve of these shadows have a shimmer finish, six are matte and there is one glitter shadow in the centre. The layout of the eye shadows is definitely unique! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fit a brush into the smaller pans in the middle circle but I was able to fit an Urban Decay shadow brush, a Sigma concealer brush and a fluffy Boots No. 7 brush. When I swatched these I went anticlockwise from the topmost/further shadow.

The outer ring contains the darker colours, there are three matte colours, although the two matte blacks seem to be exactly the same. The other matte, a vibrant fuchsia/purple was very pigmented and was easy to swatch. The shadow second from the left is actually grey although it looks almost black in the swatch. The blue (fifth from right) is gorgeous and just pops in the pan but while it is true to colour it's not as smooth or easy to swatch/use. The green (third from right) was a lot darker than I expected from the pan but I liked it- perfect for a smoky eye.

The middle ring has three matte shadows in a row. The peach was really hard to get any colour from the pan. It is a nice neutral colour that actually shows up on my skin when I could get it to. The colour that's third from the right looks like a violet but swatches very red and reminds me of Maybelline 24 hour Colour Tattoo in Pomegranate. I also like the colour next to it which is like an antique gold colour, unusual but also fairly neutral. The shadow in the centre is the only glitter and I'm pleased I managed to capture it on camera. It is the most pigmented of all and while there's definitely glitter it is not as strong as some of the Urban Decay/ Too faced glitter shadows, which also means there's no fallout using this shade.

The wear time of these shadows is average without a primer (7 hours, they fade later on in the day.) This palette comes without a brush or sponge applicator which I don't mind as they're never very good anyway- however if you're using this on the go then you need to bring a separate brush. Altogether the colours of these shadows make for a very versatile palette which can give a rocky smoky eye, a neutral eye and a bright eyed paler look. The shimmer shadows perform better than the mattes which is often the case in low end palettes (and even some high end!) The full price of the Go To Hell palette is £6.49 but it's currently on sale for £3.99 here which isn't bad for 19 shadows (or 18 excluding the difficult peach shadow) and you get a mixture of dark light, shimmer and matte and a glitter.

Make Up Revolution Amazing Sheer Lip glosses

Since these lip glosses are marketed as sheer I feel you can't expect too much from them.
Must Be Strong is almost like a clear gloss (even though there is a clear gloss called Free in the collection) while a thin layer of Not Naive gives a My Lips But Better look, a thicker application gives a natural looking pinkish cherry colour to the lips. Baby Try is a cool pink , I'd say between neon pink and Barbie pink. It's very bright and extremely pigmented. It's not a colour I would normally choose (these were part of a Black Friday bundle deal.)  Despite being labelled as sheer these feel quite thick on the lips and a little oily. The texture is a bit like Benefit Ultra Plush lip glosses only not as lightweight and a bit more sticky. They're not incredibly sticky, just a little. These Amazing Sheer Lip glosses smell a little of vanilla but taste fruity very much like Starburst sweets. The lasting power isn't great: they transfer onto cups and begin to wear off drinking and when eating a snack.  Overall I feel that these are not the best lip glosses I've tried (they transfer very easily) but neither are they the worse, they have enough pigment not to be a waste of time, they're not overly sticky and they taste fruity (how I like lip glosses to taste.) These Make Up Revolution Amazing Sheer Lip glosses are sold at  Superdrug here for £1 each!

MUA SMOKIN PALETTE (URBAN DECAY SMOKED PALETTE DUPE)

MUA Smokin palette is hailed as a dupe for Urban Decay's Smoked palette. Unfortunately I don't own Urban Decay's Smoked Palette so I can't directly compare MUA's Smokin palette to the UD original. However since this is a dupe, the concept of the palette is the same, which is to be able to create an alternative smoky eye, one with added pop of colour.

Top Row: L-R: Glory, Boudoir, Ghost, Fantasy, Mythical and  Broken

Bottom Row L-R: Icon, Unleash, Chaos and Wicked.

The shadows are soft and very pigmented although I did experience fall out when swatching the shades. The top row are neutral shades consisting of four matte shades  Glory (beige-cream) and  Boudoir (Peach)  Fantasy (dark brown) and Mythical (dark brown/black.)  Glory and Boudoir can be used as transition shades. The odd one out on the top row is Ghost which is a shimery grey. Unfortunately Gloryis a little chalkyand doesn't show up well as it's too close to my skin colour and lacking pigment. Fantasy is great for the crease when blending out bright colours for a smoky effect.
The bottom row contain jewelled toned shimmers Icon (Purple) Unleash (blue) Chaos (Green) and Wicked (a dark silver.)

 

I wore Chaos, Fantasy and Mythical together with primer on one lid and one without .After 5 hours shadows still looked immaculate and there was no difference in wear between the two lids.
I wore Unleash and Fantasy for 10 hours one eye with primer the other without. Apart from wearing off a little in the crease the one without primer looked the same as the one with primer, eye shadow still intact and vibrant.

The eye liner is literally glued into the palette so requires a good push to get it out at first but it sits back in fine and the case closes perfectly. What's annoying is that there is no lid for the eye liner.
The pencil is soft and creamy and the colour extremely pigmented. It stayed on 10 hours later and is stubborn to remove when you take your make up off.







Unlike Urban Decay's version this does not come with an eye primer.
Also there isn't a leaflet featuring different tutorials for different eye looks but these can be found through searching YouTube.

Packaging: This is one of MUA's bigger palettes (excluding MUA Luxe) with 17g for 10 shadows. MUA seems to have moved away from the 12 circle pans to 10 bigger rectangle pans. Compared to UD, this packaging is very basic.

Price: At £6 it is slightly more expensive than the other palettes apart from the Luxe palette.
Available from MUA Store Online and currently on sale for £5 in Superdrug

Verdict:
There is a good combination of neutrals and brights making this palette very versatile- I can easily picture packing this for a week away and having all the eye shadows I need.  There is good mixture of  matte and satin colours.
I loved playing around with this palette,it's definitely a big hit and excellent value for money- I urge you to go and get one!

You may like this if...

• You are on a budget
• You want a dupe for Urban Decay's Smoked palette.

You may not like this if...

• You prefer prettier packaging
• You like glitter
• You cannot deal with fall out shadows