Colourpop "Golden State of Mind" Eyeshadow Palette - Swatches and Review

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Purchased item at Sephora.

I never quite hopped on the Colourpop bandwagon. I liked the idea of on-trend, inexpensive makeup (who doesn't), but my first order from them left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. The packaging was flimsy, which I expected, and the Super Shock Eyeshadows were quite glittery, which I didn't. (And totally my own fault, for not carefully reading the actual copy on the website.) At least I wasn't charged customs and taxes, like a lot of Canadian orders are.

After that, I was tempted to re-order when they finally came out with their pressed eyeshadow palettes. When kept coming out with more, banking heavily on the FOMO inspired by constant stocking issues and the trend-driven, five-minute attention span of current consumerism, I was a little put off.

Then they announced they were developing a partnership with Sephora, for a limited series of items. Despite the initial head-scratcher of pairing a budget brand with a high-end powerhouse retailer, I was all for it. It would be good exposure for Colourpop, and it would serve as a gateway brand to bring in a younger and thriftier clientele to Sephora. From a customer perspective, it would also be a hassle-free purchasing experience, including the possibility of returns. 

With that said, I'd be really curious to see if the product returns put a dent in the sales for both companies. If this was my first experience with the brand, I don't know that I'd be a convert. (Aside from my first mediocre experience, I also have a couple of palettes I ordered from the CP website, so that'll give me a better overall feel for the brand.)

On to the actual item I ordered: the Golden State of Mind Eyeshadow Palette.

The packaging is adorable. I'm really entranced by nice exteriors, I'll admit, so that's actually a big factor for me. It's cardboard, yes, but it doesn't feel especially lightweight or cheap, and the design is really pretty. 

The eyeshadows themselves look gorgeous. They are very metallic, with a few odd duochromes. They all have glitter, some more than others. The texture varies between thick and crumbly (like the silver shade in the top row), and very smooth and creamy.

They are also absolutely useless applied dry. The fallout is laughably uncontrollable. I had to bust out my stickiest primer and a glycerine spray, and they were admittedly stunning applied like that: foiled, metallic, reflective beauties.

They unfortunately did not last on my eyes, creasing and fading within 5 or so hours. And there was STILL freaking glitter fallout at the end of it.

But they ARE some of the most beautiful eyeshadows I've ever used. These swatches were done after spraying with Smashbox Primer water, because that's honestly the only way I'd suggest wearing them.

Golden Egg: pinky beige with turquoise glitter

Pay the Piper: icy blue

GRLFRND: pink with violet glitter

Zero Clue: vibrant warm yellow

Watch Out: golden ivory with pink glitter

Drizzle: icy baby pink

Uptight: rose gold

Can't Stop: icy champagne ivory

Sparkler: silvery bronze

Unsupervised: pink champagne

Lust in Time: medium cool rose

Mind Tricks: icy blackened purple

Wing Woman: red brown with green and gold glitter

Heads or Tales: icy cranberry

Tinker Time: blackened antique gold with blue glitter

So would I recommend these? Sure, if you:

- Really, really love glitter. Like, you long for the 90s, when we would literally roll ourselves in glitter from a tube.
- You're willing to put some work into applying these.
- You're going out for a few hours and long wear isn't an issue.
- You're going somewhere where the lighting will flatter the dimensional shimmer on your eyelids (daylight isn't actually the best, flattening the sparkle).
- You don't mind paying 33$ CAD for all this.

Personally, I'm taking advantage of that Sephora return policy.

Specs: 15 x 0.98g for 26$ USD - 33$ CAD (compared to, say, the Yes Please palette, which is 12 x 0.85g for 16$ USD - 20$ CAD).
Availability: Sephora.com, and a few in-store locations in the US and Canada. Also now at www.colourpop.com.

Tarte Double Duty Beauty Eye & Cheek Palette - Classic Courage

Purchased from www.tartecosmetics.com.

Affiliate link used in this post.

Tarte has a huuuuuuuuge lineup of products, and as a Canadian, there was an entire subset of products I had no access to: the Double Duty line, which is so far exclusive to Ulta and www.tartecosmetics.com.

At least that's what I thought, until I realized that 1) the Tarte website ships to Canada, and 2) it does so for free, and with no extra fees or duties, with orders of 75$. Though I was tempted to go nuts, I restrained myself to those products that I couldn't get otherwise. (And also took advantage of a discount code.)

One of these items is the Double Duty Beauty Eye & Cheek Palette "Classic Courage" (36$CAD).

I was impressed right when I took it out of the packaging - it has a nice amount of heft, and looks and feels like I'm getting my money's worth. It has a magnetic closure to keep it tidy if you're traveling, as well as a decently sized mirror. While it does stay open, it teeters since both the top and bottom are equally weighted, so you'll still have to hold it or prop it up. It also smells very distinctly of vanilla, so be aware of that if you're sensitive to scents. For me, the smell doesn't linger on the face, but it is very noticeable every time I open the palette.

If you're a neutrals fanatic like I am, this palette is pure catnip. The website describes this as having "warm, neutral tones", but I think it might pull more more or less warm depending on your underlying tones. On me it's squarely neutral. There are five eyeshadows, two mattes and three shimmers, as well as a nearly full-size Amazonian Clay blush.

Rise and Shine, Rosy Outlook, Lucky Penny, Smile On, Trailblazer, Courage

Rise and Shine, Rosy Outlook, Lucky Penny, Smile On, Trailblazer, Courage

All of the eyeshadows kick up a fair bit of  powder when I dip my brushes into them, but I don't get any fallout during application.

Rise and Shine: an ivory-leaning beige matte, the texture is very smooth and silky, and it blends easily into the skin without looking chalky. The pigmentation is softer.

Rosy Outlook: a light rose shimmer, this has a more "wet" reflective quality than the other two shimmers, and looks more ethereal when applied. Slightly flaky when I dip my finger into the pan, but that doesn't translate into application. Very bendable, and can sheer out to a much paler version of itself, so it can work as both a lid color when packed on, or a highlight when used lightly.

Lucky Penny: a muted, rose-gold with strong taupe undertones. It's the smoothest and creamiest of all the shimmers, though only marginally more so than Smile On. It blends perfectly, and has lovely pigmentation.

Smile On: a neutral brown shimmer, with essentially the same texture and pigmentation qualities as Lucky Penny.

Trailblazer: a neutral chocolate brown matte, with a somewhat drier, slightly less silky texture than Rose and Shine. It blends out without a problem, with good pigmentation.

Courage: a pretty nude rose blush, very much in the same tonal family as Exposed. The powder is soft and smooth and silky, and it blends seamlessly into the skin, but the colour intensity is fairly muted, so I doubt it would show up very well on skin that's darker than medium.

One thing to note as well: the formula of the blush is not the same as the regular blushes, but seems more similar to that used in the holiday palettes. I have several of those holiday palettes and this seems comparable.

In terms of value, this contains five eyeshadows of 1 gram each - so 5 grams in total - and one blush at 5.4 grams, for a cost of 36$.  In comparison, one regular Amazonian Clay blush is 5.6 grams, and 35$. So basically for the approximate cost of one Tarte blush, you're getting a blush and five eyeshadows. I think that's a really decent price, for the performance and quality.

For the look below, I kept it simple: Lucky Penny on the lid and lower lash line, Smile On in the outer corner and on the outer third of lower lash line, Rosy Outlook in the inner corner, Trailblazer lightly through the crease, Rise & Shine on the brow bone and to blend out the the crease.

I also applied Courage blush to my cheeks. (It's a shade that could also be mixed lightly with Trailblazer for a softer transition.)

If you're curious about my experience as a Canadian ordering from the Tarte website, I offered a review and some general first impression in this video:

Kat Von D Serpentina Palette - Review, Swatches, Face of the Day

Purchased at Sephora.

Contains an affiliate link.

The Serpentina Palette from Kat Von D is a classic case of "I want to love you."

Swatched on clean, un-primed but moisturized skin.

Without a doubt, it's s stunner. Kat Von D's branding is unique and instantly recognizable, and yet it also clearly evokes the theme of Ancient Egypt. If I'm to nitpick anything, it's the bulkiness of the packaging, especially in comparison to her other palettes. I get that it was done to accommodate the pigment jar, but I wish they'd thought of a more elegant solution - especially since that jar also means that the palette is best stored flat, or risk having gold pigment get everywhere.

The shades are stunning, as well - brilliant jewel tones and murky, glittery earth tones. One could quibble about the lack of transition shades, but that's a lazy criticism. Chances are, if you're buying a palette with this kind colour range, you're not the type of beauty junkie with a dearth of browns and taupes and camels in your collections.

They look good. Really, really good. I just wish they were as easy to apply.

Bloodmilk is the one I was most concerned about. I knew going in that vegan eyeshadow formulations could be especially challenged by red tones, but this one hit it out of the park. Over a primer, the colour packs on true to pan, and blends out without a hitch. And it looks GOOD. I always think of red as the kind of shade that best suits blue or green eyes (and an otherwise youthful countenance), but there's something about this particular shade that doesn't make me look a couple of decades too old to be indulging in all-nighters.

Medusa and Ankh have the kind of micro glitter that makes the eyeshadow feel a bit gritty, and difficult to blend out. Medusa is the smoother of the two, with a dirty gold base colour that is just beautiful. I wish they were a satin (or metallic) formulation.

Queen and Hieroglyph, on the other hand, are smooth, creamy, densely pigmented and very easy to work with. Hieroglyph has a slightly flakier texture, but I didn't find it to impact application.

Nile is the biggest disappointment. An incredible rich blue in the pan, it has a dense but crumbly texture when swatched, and applied choppily, with heavy fallout. It's a serious pain to blend out as well.

Scarab has a similar texture and application to Queen and Hieroglyph, and is a stunning colour to boot.

Venom has a texture similar to Bloodmilk, but doesn't build up as well. Like many purples (especially mattes), it tends to look dusty and faded on the lid. As a crease shade, though, it's workable.

Prophet is my second favourite shade from the palette - a rich old gold with a hint of green, that can be used as a glimmer wash all over the lid when applied dry, or as a burnished metallic highlight when applied damp.

These are the two looks I was able to create using this palette.

Here I used Nile and Scarab on the lid and lower lash line, with a halo and inner corner highlight courtesy of Prophet. I also used the cooler tones from the Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette for the crease, lash line blending and transition.

For the warmer look, I used Bloodmilk in the crease, Ankh on the lash line, Queen in the outer corner, Hieroglyph through the middle and Prophet in the inner corner, mirrored in the lash line. Again I pulled the warmer tones from Shade + Light for the transition and blending out. 

I think the end results are pretty and surprisingly wearable, but the blue look especially was a challenge. For 57$ CAD, I want a palette that's not only beautiful, but a dream to work with - and this is not that.

That said, I'm loath to return it, because, for some reason, it still speaks to me.

And now that I think of it, maybe being gorgeous but demanding is somehow perfectly appropriate for a palette that so strongly evokes the spirit of Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra. ;)

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer

Press sample.

Affiliate links.

Urban Decay tends to do color very well, but I've never been particularly drawn to their skin range. After trying out the Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealers, I will have to revisit my assumptions.

The packaging here is of the "sleek, modern, California bronze" variety, as opposed to the "thwack someone over the head with it" bulk that UD can sometimes indulge in. Really attractive.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer
Dark Neutral, Medium Dark Warm, Medium Neutral, Light Warm

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer
Dark Neutral, Medium Dark Warm, Medium Neutral, Light Warm

The range of shades here is good: eleven in total, from very pale to deep, with a nice mix of cool and warm undertones. Even with that selection, you might find yourself needing to mix two, which is what I ended up doing, as the right depth didn't match up with the right undertone.  Definitely worth poking around with the testers and maybe getting some samples to try out.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer
Dark Neutral, Medium Dark Warm, Medium Neutral, Light Warm

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer
Dark Neutral, Medium Dark Warm, Medium Neutral, Light Warm

Texture-wise, these feel somewhat unusual. They have a very lightweight feel, almost like those dry-oil based foundations, yet they still feel creamy and somehow dense when applied. The end result is remarkably good coverage for an application that feels imperceptible. I didn't notice particular light-reflective qualities, but it was certainly flattering to the under-eye area.

They also set down rather quickly, and I personally had the best application when I went over with the point of a beauty blender, as it sometimes looked strangely streaky when applied with a brush, even over a relatively small area like the under-eye.

Oh, and proper skin prep is a must. These wear very well, with no unusual creasing and little fading away, but I found it could emphasize texture - so dryness, fine lines, healing acne marks. I personally prefer it for my undereye area, but I'm careful to not extend it into areas where fine lines are an issue. (I've also seen some reviews term this hydrating, and I just can't agree. This really wouldn't be my first pick if you really struggle with either texture or patches of dry skin.)

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer
Dark Neutral, Medium Dark Warm, Medium Neutral, Light Warm

I dragooned one of my best friends in for some swatches, to give you a comparison on my skin (which is light with olive/yellow undertones) and hers (which is medium-deep, with rosy/warm undertones).

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer
Dark Neutral, Medium Dark Warm, Medium Neutral, Light Warm

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer
Dark Neutral, Medium Dark Warm, Medium Neutral, Light Warm

All in all, I think this one lives up to the overlong but completely accurate name - it is indeed a very lightweight yet high coverage concealer, with a strong range of shade options, though you may end up having to mix anyway, just to get your perfect undertone and depth. Not the best for dry or textured skin, but excellent for the under-eye area.  

Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye Contour Palette

Purchased at Sephora.

Affiliate links.

I love seeing women succeed, and Kat Von D has been killing it these last few years. Her brand started out smelling of a vanity project, but she's really made it into a stand-out, with an aesthetic that is both authentic and distinctive.

I'm not much into contouring, so the first iteration of the Shade & Light palette passed me by. I was much more enthralled with the Eye Contour version - even though I already had the Viseart 01, the OG of matte neutral palettes.

The packaging strikes a great balance between practical sleekness and gothic whimsy and I very much appreciate the shades being named both on the exterior box and on the back of the palette itself.

Random aside - from some of the pictures Kat has posted on her Instagram, I got the feeling that she was into some version of the occult. Usually the name choices in her brand reference music, art and literature, but this palette is definitely magickal in tone.

(Specifically, some of the shade names are those of demons listed in the Ars Goetia, one of the books in the Lesser Key of Solomon , while others are the names of archangels in Talmudic lore. Very fitting for something named "shade and light", and Kat gets a fistbump for working in references to a freaking 17th century grimoire. )

Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Henry C. Agrippa
The Key to Solomon's Key by Lon Milo DuQuette

The palette itself is laid out in a user-friendly manner, with three functional "quads" - one more neutral, one cooler, one warmer. Each has a larger pan of a light base shade, a medium contour (or transition) colour, a dark defining colour, and a pale highlight colour. 

You can mix and match across the board, but the way the shades are arranged makes the palette very accessible for a makeup newbie trying to build a cohesive eye look. 

They very nicely include a guide on how to do all that:

There's also a very convenient mirror in the lid, something that's sometimes lacking in cardboard-style slimline palettes, and a magnetic closure.

The shades are matte, with the three palest having an incredibly subtle satin finish, barely perceptible as a sheen once applied.

Mattes are some of the trickiest formulations to nail. Pigmentation aside, the real secret is getting the texture right. Too soft, and they can blend away too easily, or be hard to layer with other eyeshadows. Too firm, and they can be difficult to lay down and build up.

These strike a near-perfect balance between smooth and dense. I had no issues getting these eyeshadows to do what I wanted them to do. Haze out a soft transition? Easy. Build up a serious smokey eye? No problem. Deepen a crease with perfect accuracy, or soften the edge of a winged eyeliner? Done and done.

If, like me, you were just "meh" about the face contour palette, you might be pleased to know that Lazarus (the grey brown transition colour) is aces for shading out some faux cheekbones.

Laetus - looks more yellow cream in the pan, but actually applies as a bone colour. Probably has the firmest and driest texture in the palette, and one of the sheerer applications. It's great, however, for dusting all over the lid after a primer or cream base to given an even base, especially if you're of a similar colouring to me. If you're deeper, it'll probably be underwhelming.

Samael - a neutral brown mid-tone, a true workhorse shade.

Solas - a deeper version of Samuel, wonderful for sculpting out the crease and the outer corner.

Lucius - a beige-tone off-white, I especially like this for giving a bit of lift to the eyebrow arch without adding shimmer.

Lazarus - a greyed-out, pale brown. Another workhorse shade, which on lighter complexions works beautifully as a face contour.

Saleos - a deeper, cool-toned brown, excellent for sculpting in those shadows. If you have dark hair but have a hard time finding an ashy eyebrow powder, this might work for you as well.

Shax - it's, well...black. Nothing much to say, except that it's very easy to work with. I love it for going over my wing liner to lock it in and keep it matte, and unlike some black eyeshadows, the formula doesn't smudge or drop down debris.

Liberatus - ever so slightly off-white, no chalkiness. I'm pretty "meh" on these kind of colours, so I mostly just wish it was shimmery, but it does what it does.

Ludwin - a hybrid of soft terra-cotta and melon, this is a shade I didn't realize I was missing in my eyeshadow wardrobe. It's perfect for saving a smokey eye that has gone all drab and tired looking, and I like to use it as my softest, most hazed out transition colour to build up an eye look. (When I'm fancy like that.)

Succubus - a muted brick with a bit of burgundy, this shade is especially stunning with blue and green eyes. Like Ludwin, a little of this smudged in the crease perks up a neutral eye look.

Sutry - a deep chocolate brown, a rich and lovely alternative to black.

Latinus - a warm creamy white, this one has the most sheen visible, as well as the richest pigmentation of all the highlighter shades. It's my favourite for that purpose, though it also looks very nice as a base all over the lid, brightening without being stark.

All in all, a very practical and beautiful palette. If Michelangelo was a) alive, b) really into contour, he'd have a field day using this thing to sculpt some faces. If I were to tweak it for my own personal liking, I would have given the highlight shades just a touch more sheen, but YMMV.