Golden Sugar 2 Rose Gold Ultra Blush Palette by Makeup Revolution

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I purchased the Golden Sugar 2 Rose Gold blush palette ($10) by Makeup Revolution last August, so I guess it's about time to give it a review. I mean, a year should be enough time to form a firm impression ;-)

This is my first (and only to date) Makeup Revolution product, so I don't have much experience with the brand. They are one of several brands owned by the parent company Tam Beauty, and an "About Us" section on their website says "we love disrupting the traditional beauty world with innovative and fast, exciting beauty brands."

Factor in the uber reasonable prices, and I can see the appeal. Of course, if the quality isn't there, that's a deal breaker, but plenty of drugstore priced brands are giving more mid to high end range brands a run for their money.

This particular palette has two blushes, one bronzer and 5 shimmery shades that can work as highlighters or eyeshadows, especially in the case of the darker bronze shimmer shade. None of them have names and I've swatched them left to right, starting at the top and ending with the bronzer on the bottom far right.

The least pigmented is the first shade, a pale mauve pink matte blush.  It's pretty and makes for a natural looking blush, but it took the most work to build up color when swatching. The other blush is the 4th shade on top, and it's a matte with micro shimmer, and my favorite of the blushes. I quite like the tan bronzer shade also, as it works well on fair skin and does not lean too orange.

The dark bronze shimmer shade has silver micro-glitter in the mix, and it's the one shade that I never use. I really need to try it as an eye shadow, as it swatched really well.

The highlight shades are all really pretty, with good pigmentation and smooth shimmer that looks nice on the skin. I think the range of colors is quite nice and I've got to say that I reach for this palette frequently. The only drawback for me is that the formula of the pressed powders (blushes and bronzer) contain mineral oil, which I associate with cheap makeup formulas.  The baked powders (which I'm assuming are the shimmers) do not contain mineral oil.

Overall, I think this is a really pretty palette at a great price! I've not been enticed yet to purchase any other Makeup Revolution products, but I've got to say this has definitely been a positive introduction to the brand.

Bronze Goddess Summer Glow Multi-Palette by Estee Lauder

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Tis the season of the department store mega-GWP's, and I used the Saks Fifth Avenue event to purchase a few of the 2016 Bronze Goddess items from Estee Lauder.

This is my first foray into the limited edition Bronze Goddess line, where Estee Lauder releases a few limited edition items designed to emphasize and amp up your summer glow. Of course, the Summer Glow Multi-Palette ($50)is what first grabbed by attention. Here is what EL has to say about it:

Illuminate. Contour. Blush. Radiant, sun-kissed color for face, cheeks and eyes. Use each shade on its own to sculpt and define, or blend shades together for a natural-looking, all-over glow.
Let the sun worship you.  

There were hardly any reviews available when I purchased, so I rolled the dice and took a chance on this beautifully designed palette. Let's see how that turned out.

I was hoping that the palette would feature Estee Lauder's Gelee formula, but that doesn't seem to be the case. My true hope was that this would be a less expensive version of Tom Ford's Skin Illuminating Powder Duo ($80) with the added bonus of a blush. Again, not the case, even though Estee Lauder is the parent company of Tom Ford's makeup line. Okay, enough with what the palette isn't.

2 back/forth swipes in palette

It is a gorgeous highlighter, a pretty blush ,and an okay bronzer. I say bronzer despite it being described as a contour, as I find it too warm and light to work as a true contour for moi. The highlighter has the most oomph when it comes to laying down pigment, which is finely milled and quite lovely on the skin.

3 back/forth swipes in palette

The blush and bronzer can be built up in intensity, but they are more on the subtle side and I doubt would show up well on darker skin tones. They both apply smoothly and do not emphasize skin imperfections. Here are a few pictures in different lighting:

Le Metier de Beaute Nudite lip pencil (review here) topped with Paul & Joe's Toujours Heureux lipstick (review here)

Foundation (both):  BareMineral Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel in Natural 05(review here) mixed with Becca Ever-Matte Shine Proof Foundation in Sand.

Clarin's Coral Tulip Joli Rouge Brilliant Perfect Shine Sheer Lipstick (review here)

Bottom line:  I'm not sure the formula or the colors of the Bronze Goddess Summer Glow Multi-Palette are unique enough to justify the $50 price, but I do like them as they work well with my skin tone, and I will enjoy using them.

Gwen Stefani Blush Palette by Urban Decay

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Gah, but I love me some blush palettes. I also like Urban Decay's Afterglow blush formula, and 6 of them for $45? So, when Urban Decay released the Gwen Stefani blush palette, I reached for my wallet immediately. Not so much because I'm a Gwen or No Doubt fan (I was more of a Seattle Grunge fan), but because "blushes!". After using the palette for 3 weeks, here are my impressions.

First, a little background on the palette:  it was developed by Gwen for Gwen, as they reflect the shades she wished she had in her collection.  The color selections therefore represent what someone who is very fair would gravitate towards.  There is a mixture of cool and warm tones, although warm dominates IMO.  All of this works for me, so far so good.

The packaging, also designed by Gwen, is NICE. Substantial and with a nice heft to it, I like the white/gold graphic pattern. 

The pans are a nice size and the formula itself is easy to work with.  These do kick up a fair amount of dust but they apply smoothly.  Taking into account these were developed with the fair complected in mind, I wouldn't call them under pigmented -  but they are light in color.  This has it's pluses and minuses, but for my skin tone it's mostly pluses. 

 The darkest shade Easy is actually the one I will use the least, as it's darker than I usually go when it comes to blush colors.  It's lovely though, and with a light hand it's definitely workable.Cherry is a cool-toned bubblegum pink and was a surprise like for me, as it has a nice glowing quality that is not over the top.

Lo-Fi is a matte tan that can be used as a bronzer and/or contouring shade for the fair complected. It's warm toned without leaning too orange, and it works well to warm up my winter pasty skin without looking obvious - I like it.  Angel's champagne beige shimmer is a lovely highlighting shade that gives a soft glow.  Love.

The other two blushes (Hush, OC) work better as highlighters IMO, as they do not give enough color to work well as blushes on me.  That's okay, because they are really pretty and I'm in a major highlighter phase right now.  I especially like using OC over a cream blush, as it's peach/pink duotone shift works well over so many of the colors that I gravitate towards.  Hush's high shimmer means I have to use it sparingly in order to not emphasis pores, hence regulating it to highlighter status.

If I had to rank them on preference and how much I will use them, it would probably go this way:  OC, Lo-Fi, Angel, Cherry, Hush, Easy.  Bottom line, it's a really good palette if the colors work for your complexion, and for mine they do!

Here I'm wearing OC over a peachy pink cream blush, Lo-Fi as a bronzer, and Angel as a highlighter. Perfect spring colors, and Mobile is having an early spring - it will be approaching 70 degrees several days this week.