Review | That IT Girl

NARS Danmari All About Cheeks Blush Palette Review

I almost lost my cool when Sephora announced that NARS released a limited edition blush palette exclusive to Sephora.com. My love for NARS blush has grown substantially over the last year. I have collect many of the colors and usually grab for them first when wearing makeup.

I purchased this palette during the Sephora Friends & Family sale and it seemed to take forever to arrive in the mail. Time slowed down to a crawl and when I finally received my delivery confirmation, I raced home from work to get may package before the leasing office closed. Here is what I thought of this highly anticipated palette.

Product Overview

The NARS Danmari All About Cheeks Blush Palette is a limited edition Sephora.com exclusive that includes 6 unique blush colors.

Based on the exquisite tradition of Kabuki theatre, a classical Japanese dance drama, this palette features six high-pigment cheek powders that let you play up your features like a true performance artist.

The ultimate authority in blush, this limited-edition mirrored holiday NARS compact features the essential blush and bronzer shades, ranging from warm bronze and luminous highlighting hues to shockingly bright pink. Turn a new cheek with this fashion-forward mix created exclusively for Sephora. -Sephora

Price

$65.00

Packaging

This palette comes in the standard NARS black rubberized case with black patent letters on the top and is packaged in a black and red gift box. There is a full sized mirror on the inside of the palette.

Availability

This palette is only available on Sephora.com and is a limited edition product so supplies are limited.

Colors

Pictured from top left corner

Hungry Heart- Gold ivory
Super Orgasm- Peachy pink with gold glitter
Desire- Cotton candy pink
Casino- Dark brown with gold shimmer
Orgasm- Peachy pink with gold shimmer
Sin- Berry with gold shimmer

Swatches

Coming soon!

The Good

The people at NARS knew what they were doing with releasing this palette. It is such great steal. A regular 0.16 oz blush by NARS retails for $27.00 and to get 6, 0.12 oz blush colors for $65.00 ought to be illegal.

The colors in this palette are very sheer which can be both a positive and negative thing. The good thing is that this allows you to layer them to your preferred intensity. One must remember that blush colors should never be very heavy unless you are doing a nighttime look or a performance makeup look. For everyday makeup, you want just a hint of cheek color. Subtlety is best which makes this palette so amazing.

I would not consider this just a blush palette as it includes highlight colors also. I classify Hungry Heart, Casino, and Sin to be highlight colors that are great for adding shimmer to all skin tones.

These blush colors are very finely milled as is standard with all NARS cheek colors. They are easy to apply and have very little fallout.

The Bad

Again these colors are very sheer which some people may dislike.

This palette is not very travel friendly. I just cannot see myself throwing this into my purse because it’s a little heavy, and will not fit into my makeup bag.

While the size of the mirror on this palette is very large , it is heavy and causes the palette to flip backwards when the top is over-extended. If you are not careful, this palette can flip right off of your vanity.

The Verdict

The only reason I gave this palette 4 1/2 instead of 5 stars is because of the fact that it isn’t very travel friendly.

NARS did not disappoint me and I absolutely adore this palette. Every IT Girl should have it in their arsenal.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE PALETTE TODAY

Have you purchased this palette? Tell me what you think by leaving a comment and lets discuss.

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Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette Review

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If any of you have been keeping up with my Twitter post, I’m sure you felt my excitement about this new palette by Urban Decay through your computer screen. I am a new Urban Decay fan. I purchased the Naked Palette after hearing and reading rave reviews and it did not disappoint. It was an instant love affair that I hope to continue with their 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette.

I have to laugh at myself because as soon as the release date was announced, I marked my calender and set my alarm for 8am that day to purchase. It may sound obsessive to some, but a true lover of makeup will completely understand, especially seeing how this hot ticket item was completely sold out just hours after its release.

Product Overview

The Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette contains 15 new limited edition eyeshadow colors exclusive to this palette only.

It’s our party, and we’ll launch 15 NEW (and only in this kit!) eyeshadow shades if we want to! With just the right balance of neutrals and brights, darks and lights, the 15-Year Anniversary Palette is both versatile and the ultimate UD junkie collection. Shades like “Junkshow” (a bright pink), “Evidence” (a deep metallic blue) and Midnight 15 (an oyster pearl shade) mesmerize the eyes. -Urban Decay

Price

$55.00

Packaging

This palette is housed in a gunmetal outer box with a purple jeweled “UD” on the front and a laser-cut filigree design on the sides. The the inside tray lifts out to reveal a velvet-lined compartment that can be used to place brushes, eyeliner pencils, jewelry, etc., and the inside of the palette box houses a mirror turning this set into your very own mini makeup vanity.

Availability

This palette is currently available at Urban Decay and Ulta.

Colors

Pictured from top left corner

Midnight Rodeo- Medium metallic brown with silver and gold glitter
Tainted- Pale matte purple with golden shimmer
Deeper- Deep shimmery golden brown
Midnight 15- Oyster pearl with silver glitter
Junkshow- Bright pink with fuchsia backdrop
M.I.A- Soft shimmery smokey Purple
Vanilla- Shimmery white gold
Omen- Shimmery metallic bright purple with blue backdrop
Ace- Dark gunmetal shimmer
Flow- Soft peach shimmer
Evidence- Deep metallic blue
Blackout- Dark saturated matte black
Chase- Bright metallic bronze
Deep End- Bright teal shimmer
Half Truth- Shimmery smoky purple

Swatches

The Good

The packaging of this product is absolutely beautiful and turns this palette into the perfect collectors item for makeup lovers like myself.

The eyeshadow colors are unique to Urban Decay and very highly pigmented. The above swatches were applied dry without an eyeshadow primer or base. I was particularly impressed with Midnight Rodeo, Junk Show, Omen, Evidence, Chase, and Deep End. These colors were very easy to apply and had the best color payoff

This palette is a great value for those who are trying to build their makeup collection on a budget. Urban Decay single eyeshadows are normally priced a $17.oo for 0.05oz and this palette is $55.oo for 15, 0.05oz colors. You are getting $255 worth of eyeshadow for a quarter of the price.

The Bad

Many of these eyeshadow colors are a little powdery with a lot of fallout. Tainted, and Flow were the most ashy and I do not feel these two colors will work well with darker skin tones unless you blend them with a more pigmented color.

M.I.A., Ace, and Blackout were the most difficult to work with. They were not as buttery as the other colors, and may require a lot of blending action when applied on top of an eyeshadow primer or base.

This palette could use more matte colors, as most of the shadows are shimmery or glittery and because of this, it will be not be easy to create a complete eye look using this palette alone.

Even though these colors are unique to Urban Decay some of them are easily dupable. There is no shortage of matte black, navy blue, or aqua green eyeshadows available in other brands.

The Verdict

I gave this palette 3 stars for the simple fact that while Urban Decay obviously used a lot of creative energy on the look and packaging of this product, more time could have been spent on developing the actual eyeshadow colors. Most of these colors are easily dupable. I will be using about 10 of the eyeshadows on a regular basis and still maintain my original excitement over this palette. It is just so pretty to look at after all.

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15-Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection..Tell me what you think by leaving a comment below.

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Avalon Organics Lavender Facial Cleansing Gel Review

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Company Overview

Avalon Organics, a skincare company established in 1994, prides itself on its environmentally friendly products and its commitment to community service.

“We are inspired by organic agriculture and the ongoing cause of sustainability — both of health and of the environment — and we are humbled by a profound respect for the life of all things — thus our use of 100% vegetarian ingredients and our rejection of all animal testing.

Our Mission is Consciousness in Cosmetics. Through an integrated formulation strategy that governs our every choice — from packaging to ingredients to delivery systems — we seek to bring a deep respect to the process of body care.

First and foremost, this is our commitment to creating an extraordinary, unprecedented range of new and reformulated products that are inherently pure and safe, while expanding the efficacy and vibrantly healthy benefits of natural body care.

Formulated without parabens, harsh preservatives, synthetic fragrances or artificial colors, our products are made with science-based nutrients and wonderfully sensual, natural botanicals, and are designed to reflect your need for a pure and effective line of personal care products.

Additionally, our products are created with organic agriculture and long-term sustainability in mind. Choosing ingredients like organic essential oils, organic plant oils and organic botanical extracts serves a two-fold purpose: creating the best natural products available and producing a measurable expansion of organic acreage cultivation.”

-www.avalonorganics.com

Product Overview

The Avalon Organics Lavender Facial Cleansing Gel is a foaming cleanser uses gentle fruit based ingredients organic oils, omega fatty acids, and White Tea to cleanse, calm and protect skin that is prone to irritation. This cleanser is great for normal and oily skin types, and suitable to use on very sensitive skin.

Instructions

Wet face. Add cleanser to dampened hands and work into a lather. Gently massage over face and neck. Rinse clean.

Ingredients

Organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender), chamomilla recutita (chamomile) and camellia sinensis (white tea) extracts (aqueous)(1), organic arnica montana extract(2), cocamidopropyl betaine, disodium oleamido succinate, sodium cocoyl glutamate, sodium cocoyl isethionate, vegetable glycerin, organic aloe barbadensis(1), glycereth-7 cocoate, citric acid, phospholipids, panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), sodium PCA, allantoin, dipotassium glycyrrhizinate (licorice root), organic borago officinalis (borage) and linum usitatissimum (flax) oils(1), phenoxyethanol, rosa canina (rose hip) oil, benzyl alcohol, organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil(3) and other essential oils.

Price

7oz-$11.95

Packaging

This product is housed in a oval shaped clear green bottle with a pump dispenser.

The Good…

Most everyday facial cleansers contain tons of sulfates which are very harsh synthetic cleansers that can trip the natural oils from your skin thus leaving it dry. This is bad because when your skin is constantly stripped of its natural oils, it will compensate by sending the sebum glands into overdrive. In the end, if you have oily skin, cleansers with ton of sulfates in them can do more harm then good. The Lavender Facial Cleansing Gel does not contain any sodium lauryl or laureth sulfates thus making it a very gentle yet effective cleanser. My face always feels extra clean without over drying. This cleanser also does not contain parabens or other harsh preservatives or any synthetic fragrances or artificial colors. The lavender scent of this cleanser is very light and does not overpower your senses.

The Bad…

It is kind of like a catch 22. Because this cleanser is so gentle, it does not do as good of a job with removing makeup. I usually have to lather twice to remove all traces of my foundation.

The Verdict

I have actually purchased, and re-purchased this item many times over and it has yet to fail me. The only reason this product did not get 5 stars is the fact that I have to lather twice to remove all traces of my makeup. Ever since using this gentle cleanser, I have noticed a huge difference in the oiliness of my skin. My skin appears more balanced, and less angry.

If you would like for me to review your product, or have a suggestion on a product or service that you will like to see here, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.