Flock Party by Wet n Wild

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

Flock Party is the second of the eyeshadow quads from the Flights of Fancy summer collection by Wet n Wild (overview post here) that I have to show you. Very pretty colors, but probably the most disappointing of the 3 quads in terms of performance.  There is some good in here, however, and I still managed to get some pretty eye looks out of it.

The strong point for all of the quads for me are the transition shades, as I found them easy to work with, smooth, and nice colors for my fair complexion.  The transition color in Flock Party is a nice peachy beige and is just dark enough to darken my crease for a natural looking bit of definition.  The weakest link in this palette is the large eyelid plummy shade, as it just did not want to build up color for me. Even using my finger did not yield opaque coverage with several passes, and even using a liquid with it (Mac's Fix Plus), I still had to work harder than should be necessary.  The brass colored crease and brow bone shades are much easier to work with.

All that being said, I can't say I was disappointed in the eye looks I got from this quad, although it took a bit of work.  The lovely gold glimmer on the center of the lid below is from J.Cat Beauty's Pris Metal Eye Mousse in Electra.  Those things are phenomenal.

Here I'm wearing the quad without any other shadows, although I did use Mac's Fix Plus with the plummy shadow to build up the color.  It's a bit patchy, but it works.

 For $2.99, I've really got minimal complaints here.

Flights of Fancy Summer Limited Edition Collection Box by Wet n Wild

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I've got to say that Wet n Wilds' limited edition Flights of Fancy summer collection box is the release I've been most excited about thus far this season. The price is uber reasonable as your are getting almost $55 worth of products for $34.99, there are a variety of different products, and the colors are working for me.  I also like that Wet n Wild is giving back, as

"By purchasing this collection, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Los Angeles Audubon Society, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect birds and their habitats. These funds will benefit a habitat restoration project for the Allen’s Hummingbird, an endangered California native." 

The design details are so nice, from the bird of paradise on the side of the box itself to the hummingbirds stamped on the baked blushes, to the print on the gloss caps. Just really nice touches.

I've been wearing these items for the past week, and initial impressions are positive. The three eyeshadow quads have their high and low points, but for the most part have delivered some really pretty looks.  Today I'll showcase Stop Ruffling My Feathers ($2.99).

I know that Wet n Wild recently released all new shadows, and these are the first ones I've tried with the new formula. The colors in Stop Ruffling My Feathers appeal to me the most out of the three quads, and I thought they all worked well together.  You get one matte and 3 shimmery shadows, and I thought the matte and two smaller shimmer shadows were stronger than the larger pink with gold shift shimmer. That one was more stiff/dry, and even using it wet did not amp up the color enough to redeem itself. I wouldn't call that color a complete loss, but it is the weakest link.

The shimmery copper color has the most pigment and was easy to work with, and I found all of the matte shades in the quads worked really well for me as transition colors. Swatches below are over primer, and I think you can see that the pink is the weakest of the four out of this palette. 

I had no issues with creasing or fading, and I found that incorporating a cream base shadow amped up the look I was able to achieve.  I wore bareMineral's 5-in-1 BB Cream Eyeshadow in Taupe as a base in the look below.  The eyeliner is Urban Decay's Lucky, which I hear they have brought back from the vault where products go to die.  It's a great copper penny color.

In this look I'm not wearing a base, just the shadows over primer, and I thought it turned out pretty as well.

I've got lots more to say about these items, but will save it for future posts. I hope those in the US have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. A tropical system is threatening lots of rain here in Mobile, but I'll still enjoy my time off :-)

Aeris Holiday Palette by Natasha Denona

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I've been curious about Natasha Denona eyeshadows for quite a while, but the exorbitant prices for her palettes has kept me from trying them.  Until now, when the 2017 holiday 5-shadow palettes went on sale at Sephora ($34) last week.

I picked up the warm-toned with a pop of turquoise Aeris, and fortunately it arrived to me intact and pristine.  I say that, as there were lots of comments on Sephora's site that indicated many people received shattered shadows, so apparently these are a bit on the fragile side.  It no doubt does not help that Sepora's idea of packing is to put crumpled paper on top of the box contents....

So many people have raved about the quality of Natasha Denonna shadows, and I've got to say that the matte Burnt Terracotta may be the most pigmented yet easy to work with matte shadow I've tried to date.  Ice Blue is another standout with it's shimmery yet color packed goodness, and Nude gives a high-impact shine that is quite lovely.  Both Red Bronze and Peach Bronze feel more dry and crumbly to the touch, and are what I would consider to be lid toppers over other colors.  They are more sheer and take multiple passes with a finger to build up, but do yield very nice eye looks.

The shelf life of this palette is 12 months, and I have seen reviews that indicate Natasha Denona's shadow formula does go bad and not perform as well once they hit a certain age, which again makes me not want to invest in the larger palettes.  However, the colors and finishes in Aeris, combined with the sale price, makes me happy to have this in my collection.  Surprisingly, I was unable to dupe any of the colors, with the closest contender being Tajin from the limited edition Urban Decay Kaleidoscope palette.  Tajin is a great shadow as well, but Burnt Terracotta is definitely smoother and more pigmented in comparison.

Below I'm wearing Nude and Ice Blue, with Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in Flipside (discontinued) in the water line.  I wore bareMineral's 5-in-1 cream shadow in Candlelit Peach as the base.

In this look I'm wearing Red Bronze, Burnt Terracotta, and Peach Bronze with the yellow shadow Mischief from Colourpop's Yes Please palette (review here).  The eyeliner is Urban Decay's Anatomy from the limited edition Jean-Michel Basquiat collection.  Yes Please is supposed to be a dupe for Natasha Denona's Sunset palette, so there is that...and in another post I'll be showing a compilation of Colourpop shadows from multiple palettes.

Live Your Dharma Jewelry Subscription Box by Yogi Surprise

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I haven't posted about one of my Yogi Surprise jewelry subscription boxes in a while, but it's not because I haven't been loving them.  I have.  But May's box was extra nice, so I thought I'd write a few words about it. I believe Yogi Surprise is going through a bit of rebranding, as I received an email from them in early May letting me know that future boxes would have a different look and a special free gift would be included to celebrate the new launch.  I'm not really sure which item was the free gift as no information card was included, although I'm guessing it was the pretty gold-tone and purple crystal bracelet.  I like that this one is adjustable - can't say I've seen that with link bracelets before.

I'm super excited about the stainless steel mandala diffuser necklace. It has a nice heft to it and I've got quite the collection of perfume oils, so this will be put to good use. Also included with the necklace were three discs to put oil on and a small plastic suction/dropper to apply oil.  

I thought it was a very nice touch to include the Energizer Wake Up essential oil blend from Sekoia.  I've already used a bit of it in a room diffuser and find the citrus based scent to be pleasant and uplifting. 

The white onyx lotus bracelet beautifully complements the diffuser necklace, and I love the delicate striations in the white beads.  I'll get a lot of wear out of this one, especially during the warmer months with I wear a lot more white.

The sweet treat in May's box was the Double Chocolate Chip Cookie, which is grain and soy free, paleo friendly, and could probably serve as a meal on the go in a pinch.  I've yet to try it as I'm currently trying to restrict my carbs to about 40 grams per day, but I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Overall, I love May's box and continue to look forward to my Yogi Surprise box each month!  The subscription rate is $24.99/month, and they also have a lifestyle box for $44.95/month.  You can find more details here, including how to get 20% off your first box.

Gradient Sunlit Bronzer in Sunrise Waves by BECCA

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I did not take advantage of the recent Sephora sale with 15% off, opting instead to use Ulta's 20% off for the BECCA Gradient Sunlit Bronzer in Sunrise Waves.  There were hardly any reviews available at the time, so it was largely a blind buy.  After using it for the past few weeks, I've got to say I'm quite pleased with my purchase!

The packaging is the traditional, sturdy compact used by BECCA for most of their power products. Inside is a gradient of three bronzer shades sandwiched between the highlighter in Opal. Quite pretty to look at.

Sunrise Waves is meant for fair to medium skin tones, and contains the Sunlit bronzers in Bali Sands, Capri Coast, and Bronzed Bondi.  There is a version for darker skin tones called Sunset Waves, which features Bronzed Bondi, Ipanema Sun, and Maui Nights sandwiched between the Rose Gold highlighter.  All of the bronzers in Sunrise Waves have some degree of shimmer or glow to them, and I was a bit concerned that combined with Opal, the shimmer finish would be a bit too much for me.

Obviously, you can opt to focus your brush on just the bronzer shades and then use a small brush for Opal as your highlight.  Or, you can swirl them all together to bask in a full shimmery glow.

The swatch on the far left is all of the colors swirled together, and next to it is just the bronzers together.  I think the finish of both is lovely, imparting more of a glow than anything too metallic.  There is quite a bit of powder kick-up, which I tried to capture in the indoor shot below.

I had a full-sized compact of Opal but it went bad on me, so I try to only collect travel sized Becca highlighters now as I know I will never use them up before they go bad. This gradient type of product therefore suits me fine, and I was also able to create a natural looking bronzey eye using the palette as well.

I think I will get a lot of use out of Sunrise Waves this summer and am happy I was able to get it at a discount!  I noticed that when you sign up at BECCA's site you get 20% off your first purchase, so....there is that.