NYX Love in Rio Trio in Voodoo Love Spells - swatch

*Disclaimer - Item(s) shown was purchased by thepassengerelement blog.  All opinions are my own.  I am not being compensated for my review.*

A good neutral palette is good to have in your collection, kit, makeup bag.  One that is travel friendly is even better.  NYX has the answer to neutrals on the go...

NYX Voodoo Love Spells Trio

Love In Rio is a series of shadow trios from NYX that range from neutral to vibrant.  Voodoo Love Spells is one of 21 trios in that collection.  Voodoo Love Spells (VLS) was purchased from my local Ulta for $6.00 USD.  Total product contained within the plastic compact is 3 x 0.035oz/1g each.  The compact itself is lightweight, but sturdy and the locking mechanism seals tightly.

NYX Voodoo Love Spells - Ingredients

NYX Voodoo Love Spells Trio - direct sunlight

VLS consists of three shadows.   The colors from left to right are a matte taupe, a medium brown, and a charcoal.  Now, I have a bit of a problem with NYX calling the taupe shade matte, as it does have some micro shimmer, that, once on the skin, leaves behind a subtle sheen that is actually very pretty .  The other darker shades are true mattes.

NYX VLS swatches - sunlight/no flash

NYX VLS swatches - direct sunlight/flash

All swatches above done without primer.  From the first picture above, you can easily see that the first taupe shade that is supposed to be matte is actually a satin.  This is a very sheer, very light version of taupe, and cool at that.  I would have chosen a deeper taupe that was high in sheen for contrast, but the color here is gorgeous, and so is the formula. All shadows are soft and feel creamy in the pan.  The first two shades did not give me trouble when it came to layering and blending.  The charcoal shade was a bit patchy upon application and took a bit more work.  Medium brown is just a straight medium brown, but we all need workhorses like this in our collections, especially for smoking out looks.  The charcoal shade, though lovely in the pan, lacks anything special.

With primer, these shadows looked fresh for around 7 hours.  There was minimal fallout when working with them and aside from the charcoal shade, were easy to work with.  I have thrown this into my school bag on mornings when I hit the snooze a bit too much and its been nice having an on the go palette that can go from day to night.

Looking forward to grabbing a few more of these trios...

xoxo, D.

Prestige Total Intensity Bold Shadow Trio in Smoke & Mirrors - swatch

*Disclaimer - Product shown was won in a contest given by Prestige Cosmetics.  I am in no way affiliated with this company or am being paid for my review*

The weather is getting cooler, well...at least here it is :).  This excites me at the prospect of darker lip colors, smokier eyes and layered clothes!!!  To help me achieve that smokier look, I have Prestige Cosmetics Total Intensity Bold Shadow trio in Smoke & Mirrors.

Prestige Total Intensity Bold trio - Smoke & Mirrors

The lovely Smoke & Mirrors trio is one of four in the trios found in the Total Intensity series.  The trios can be purchased for $12.50 USD and can be purchased anywhere Prestige Cosmetics are found, such as Ulta, Ulta.com, Prestigecosmetics.com, and more.  The three buttery shadows are enclosed in a plastic, clamshell case that is of a medium weight that has thankfully protected my shadows during 2 falls.  In the compact, you receive 0.09oz/2.85g worth of product.

Prestige Smoke & Mirrors trio

Smoke & Mirrors consists of three shadows that, as mentioned before, are super buttery.  The shadows have an almost creamy consistency to them both in the pan and upon application.  When swatched or used on the eyes, I had no issues with fallout.  All shadows are very fine and there were no discernible chunks or glitter or shimmer anywhere.

Prestige Smoke & Mirrors - finger swatch - no flash/overcast lighting

The lightest color, is a pale white with golden sheen.  The middle shade is a hyper taupe that looks silver in the pan, but swatches with hints of purple and brown.  This is the most complex shadow in the trio and is also the creamiest in consistency.  The last shade is a flat, matte black that is soft, yet not as highly pigmented as the others.  I do not mind having to layer a shadow, especially one so soft and blendable, and was able to get nice pigment with two layers.

Prestige Smoke & Mirrors trio - no flash/natural light

The swatches above were done without a primer.  All swatches are one pass over the shadows and a single pass over the skin.  From the swatches here, the first two shadows did well without primer in terms of pigmentation  and coverage.  The black shade was a bit patchy, and though soft, was a bit streaky in application.   The shadows kept a fresh look for hours with the help of my usual primer.  I have not worn these sans primer and cannot wait to put them up to that test.  I will say this about Smoke & Mirrors...these shadows are extremely blendable!!!!  It was a dream to blend these in with themselves and played well with other shadows.  I did not have any additional trouble with how creamy these shadows feel with the addition of primer.


Try these out now!

xoxo - D


*Disclaimer - Product shown was won in a contest given by Prestige Cosmetics.  I am in no way affiliated with this company or am being paid for my review*

Jordana 12 HR Made to Last shadow pencil - 04 Continuous Almond - swatch

*Disclaimer - Product shown was purchased by passengerelement blog. I am in no way affiliated with this company or am being paid for my review*

Jordana 12 HR Made to Last e/s pencil - 08 Continuous Almond

Everyone,  today I have Jordana's 12 HR Made to Last eyeshadow pencil in 08 Continuous Almond.  I have previously done a review on Endless Emerald from the same line HERE.  This was purchased at Walgreen's for $3.99 USD.  This shadow pencil contains 0.10oz/2.8g of product in a barrel you can sharpen.  Like Endless Emerald, this is part of an 8 color selection from the 12 HR Made to Last colors.

Jordana 12 HR shadow pencil 08 Continuous Almond - flash

Like the other Made to Last eyeshadow pencil I own, Continuous Almond is super blendable and amazing as a base!  This is a very light creamy nude color that on my skintone is bright, but I have seen this on lighter skinned gals and will pass for skin color.  With the slight beige tint that this has, I found it to work with cool, warm and neutral colors.  There is a set time with this product, so work fast!!!  Once I blend it to my satisfaction, I find that it is dry to the touch and will not blend further.  I also do not need to set with powder if I want to use this as my shadow for the day.

Jordana 08 Continuous Almond - natural light/no flash

As a base, this is MADE TO LAST.  I can get anywhere between 8-12 hours of crease free wear.  I do not have super oily lids, but after at least a 5 hour stretch, I do get shadow breakdown.  This curbed all creasing, and kept my colors in place and vibrant.  I will say this...if you are looking to use this as a base, work fast, as it has an insanely quick drydown time.  For shadows that need a stickier base, look elsewhere.  For my creamier powder shadows and cream shadows in general, I find this a treat to work with.

No better bargain to be found...excellent to use on their own or as bases :)

*Disclaimer - Product shown was purchased by passengerelement blog. I am in no way affiliated with this company or am being paid for my review*

Jordana 12 HR Made To Last eyeshadow pencil in 08 Endless Emerald - swatch

*Disclaimer - Product shown was purchased by passengerelement blog.  I am in no way affiliated with this company or am being paid for my review*

Today's swatch consists of Jordana's 12 HR Made To Last eyeshadow pencil in 08 Endless Emerald

Jordana Made to Last shadow pencil in Endless Emerald - natural light/no flash

I purchased this awesome little pencil at Walgreen's for $4.99 USD.  On the pencil this is inscribed - "highly pigmented formula, shimmer finish, long-lasting, water resistant".  The pencil is non-twist up and the total weight of product you receive is 0.10oz/2.8g.  Endless Emerald is one of 8 shadow pencils in the Made to Last pencil range.

Jordana Endless Emerald shadow pencil - no flash/natural light

What I love about this pencil is that it is so soft and blendable!!! It was nice to have something so smooth on the eye without any tugging.  And holy pigmentation batman!  One swipe gets you a nice base, layered this becomes an intense color.  Endless emerald is truly a jewel tone slightly deep green with silver glitters.  Now, when I first purchased the pencil, I did not see the glitter, and the packaging only stated "shimmer".  Once the "newness" rubbed off the pencil, I could see the glitters.  Most were small, but there was some noticeably big glitter pieces.

Jordana Endless Emerald shadow pencil - flash / outdoor 

This was not completely transfer resistant.  I had used this under my eye for a smokey, dropped shadow effect, and after a couple of hours, had noticed that the color started to run in the creases under my eyes, which was rather bothersome.  On the lid, this worked like a dream.  If you have oily lids, there may be more transfer than you may like, but as always your own mileage with this may vary.  On the lid this wore like armor...pigmentation that lasted for hours and no creasing or fading of the product.  When I first swatched this, I rubbed and rubbed the swatch and only after rubbing profusely was I able to get the product to fade!  With a makeup remover towelette, it was a bit tedious to get all of the product off, having to rub quite a bit to get it off.  With a an oil or cream based cleanser, I was able to easily get the pencil off of my eye with minimal work.

The range of colors is nice, from neutral to bright.  For under $5 USD, you get a decent amount of pencil that is so soft and so fantastically pigmented, I do not think you can go wrong :)

*Disclaimer - Product shown was purchased by passengerelement blog.  I am in no way affiliated with this company or am being paid for my review*

Wet n Wild On Cloud Nine (384B) Trio - swatch

*Disclaimer - Product shown was purchased by passengerelement blog.  I am in no way affiliated with this company or am being paid for my review*

For today, I have for you Wet n Wild's ColorIcon trio in On Cloud Nine (384B)...

Wet n Wild On Cloud Nine trio - flash

Here is On Cloud Nine, a trio of two shimmery shadows and one matte.  I was luckily able to purchase this at Walgreen's over a 40% off sale WnW they were having not too long ago.  These trios never retail over $3 USD.  Like all of the palette type makeup Wet n Wild makes, this is enclosed in a plastic, clamshell casing.  Within the palette is 0.12oz/3.5g of product.  

Back of package - information

Wet n Wild On Cloud Nine trio - no flash / overcast lighting

Wet n Wild's On Cloud Nine starts with the "browbone" color which I find to be an icy, very shimmery, baby blue.  The "crease" color is a beautiful neutral brown with silver micro flecks (they usually fall out as you blend this color, and unless used on an extremely sticky base, do not show up).  The last shadow "eyelid" is again a shimmery cornflower blue.  

All three shades are supremely cushiony and soft.  They are all really soft to the touch with the "crease" shade being the softest...almost crumbling at the slightest touch.  I found this lent them ease when blending.  The three shadows really did work well together, in blend and color.  

WnW On Cloud Nine trio - flash

In flash, the top shade does have an air of frostiness, but never comes off looking cheap.  In this lighting, I was more a fan of the darker blue shade.

WnW On Cloud Nine trio - no flash, overcast lighting

Here, that beautiful creamy brown and darker blue are really standouts.  

With a decent primer, these wore pretty uniformly and fresh for around 6 hours.  If you are not a fan of blues, that brown alone is worth making the effort to get this palette.  With how soft and blendable all of the shadows in this trio are, I can see this becoming an accent of any neutral looks you may use.  This is part of the permanent range of trios, so I do not think you will have any problems finding this!  Enjoy! xoxo

*Disclaimer - Product shown was purchased by passengerelement blog.  I am in no way affiliated with this company or am being paid for my review*

Urban Decay Moondust eye shadow in Moonspoon (swatch)

UD Moondust shadow in Moonspoon

Let me start this off by saying that this is one magical shadow...holy sparkle, batman!  This is part of Urban Decay's Moondust shadow collection.  The color I have for you today is Moonspoon!

Ingredients /package

Package front - partial sun / indoor

I purchased this shadow at Ulta for $20 USD, but can also be found at places like sephora, sephora online, urbandecay.com.  All new Urban Decay shadows come in the new style packaging, still the token motif, but the packaging features a pop out pan than can be put into palettes Urban Decay has specifically made.  What I like about the newer packaging?  Feels much sturdier than the older token style compacts.

Package backing / partial sun / indoor

In this lovely pot of awesomeness, you get 1.5g / 0.05oz of product.  Product information reads better in person as the paper used in the packaging is really glittery...it was trying when I was photographing this..

UD Moonspoon shadow - partial sun / indoor

Yes, this looks lovely from here, but it does not compare to when you see it in person.  The level of microfine glitter this has is insane...in the best way!  At first glance in the photo, you can see a base that is described as a medium grey.  When I swatch this, I definitely find this be more taupish, as it hits with a hint of brown that is actually really pretty.  There is more to the sparkle than silver.  In the pan or on the skin, you get reflects of silver, pink, purple, beige and green glitters.

UD Moonspoon shadow - partial sunlight / indoor / no primer

Can we just drool about that sparkle for a second?  These glitters are very, very fine in this.  Like all glittery shadows, I did find some to travel, but the amount is so minute compared to the amount that actually sticks to the base.  This is something I applaud Urban Decay for doing...making a base that is not sticky or bothersome to the eye, in which glitter sticks to.  Depending on how you apply it, there will be some fallout, but I was very surprised by the amount.  It does really well at sticking in that base.

UD Moonspoon shadow - indoor / no flash / no primer

Taken in indirect lighting, you can really see how saturated that sparkle is, and also see some of that hint of brown I was talking about.  There is a wet looking element to this shadow.  In darker lighting, it has a very editorial, grease makeup look to it that is supremely sexy.

Comfort is another thing that comes to mind when wearing this shadow.  It wears nicely and is soft.  I never felt like I had glitter on my lids which is a huge bonus!

You may not be a disco queen, but you really do need this.


*product was purchased by the passenger element blog*

Too Faced Exotic Color Intense eye shadow - Petals to the Metal (swatch)

Who is ready for some duochrome goodness?

Too Faced Exotic Color shadow

Here we have Too Faced Exotic Color Intense eye shadow in Petals to the Metal.  This is one of 12 of the Exotic Color range of super saturated, super soft shadows.  I purchased this at Ulta for $18.00 USD.  The lovely Petals to the Metal comes in a plastic, clamshell case that closes shut tightly.  Inside, there is 1.7g/0.06oz of duochromey awesomeness!

Too Faced Petals to the Metal Ingredients

Too Faced Petals to the Metal packaging

Petals to the Metal is a very vibrant, heavily pigmented duochrome eye shadow that is a metallic brown blue. There is also a nice green shift to this shadow, lending it an almost mermaid like color.  I do also notice that sprinkled throughout this shadow are multi glitters.

Too Faced Petals to the Metal

In this picture, the base looks brown, but what looks like an overlay may look taupish.  This was taken in natural light, no flash.

Too Faced Petals to the Metal - sunlight/no flash

In this photo, you can see slightly larger glitters that are sprinkled throughout the shadow.  For me, this was a huge negative as the glitters did not stick with the shadow.  The first few times I used this shadow as soon as I blended, there were glitters all over my cheeks.  It was only then that I could see that they are pretty sizable glitters.

Too Faced Petals to the Metal swatch - no flash/sunlight

From the swatch here, you can see the blue green shift atop of that brown base.  Now, I have other shadows similar to this and Petals to the Metal has the most brown base of those.  The more you pack on, the more the blue-green shift appears.

Too Faced Petals to the Metal swatch - no flash/sunlight

Now here you get a lovely view of the brown base which does have hints of a rusty red in it.  When I blend this on the eye, you get more of that rust color to pop.

Pros: densely pigmented, vivid, long lasting shift
Cons: large glitters that fall out

You can purchase this shadow at toofaced.com, ulta stores and online, sephora stores and online.

DISCLOSURE: Item(s) shown was purchased by thepassengerelement blog.

Tiny Purchase - Urban Decay Last Call

Here with a tiny purchase from Ulta about a month ago.  Urban Decay's Last Call shadow...love the color, hate the formula of this.  The bonus?  Delux mini of De Slick Oil Control spray!  I am banking on not having to do anything this weekend and that the sun cooperates with me so that I can swatch everything I have acquired over the last couple of months.

Have a great day! :)

My naked palette (version Diana.0)

Urban Decay's Naked palette.

 Something I did not pick up and did not care to pick up.  

And then the photos started to show up...beautiful looks that were all neutral and gorgeous and...alright, enough of that!

I took a look in my stash and saw that I had what I like to call my naked palette! Colors that were similar to the Naked palette in palettes I already owned...

Cargo's Essentials palette

Cargo's Essential Palette - contains 4 smooth and blendable shadows, with matte and satin textures.  Awesome basic colors that are very soft and creamy.  This is definitely a daily go to palette! :)

Sugar's Day Job Round the Clock palette

Sugar's Round the Clock palette in Day Job.  8 shades ranging from satin, to matte to shimmer.  When I want to wear a more creative eye, but still stay within a neutral color palette, this is where I go.  The texture of these shadows in nice, actually.  The spectrum of colors runs nicely and have had no trouble in getting this to go with everything!  Unfortunately this palette has been discontinued.

Though it may not be THE naked palette, it did let me get more use out of palettes that I had stashed away to the wayside (bad MUAer I know).  I would hope that this would get you gals and guys going on shopping your stash and seeing what hidden gems you uncover.

Small Haul 12/31/11 - 1/2/12 (drugstore)

Happy New Year ladies and Gents!!!

I did not have a lot of resolutions when it came to the beauty department.  This new job has helped me get a few things, but I have be smart with my money this time around.  One thing I will definitely be spending money on is skincare.  I am about to turn the big 30, and with this, I plan on fine tuning my skincare regimen.  More on that later, as I have a collective haul from the past few days!  These were all purchased at Walgreens and Meijer.

Meijer Facial Cleansing Cloths - These were on sale for $2.98...for 60 cloths!  They are super nice, smell really good and are nicely textured and get most makeup off with little to no effort!

Revlon Photoready Airbrush mousse makeup in 050 Medium Beige.  Have used this a few times, and must say, I love it!  Wish they had a larger color selection.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in 001 Pink Truffle - Finally got my hands on the color of my dreams!  Such a lovely neutral!

L'Oreal Color Riche Balm w/SPF 15 in 818 Nourishing Nude - perfect glossy nude lips are now mine :)

Maybelline's Color Tattoo 24hr shadow in Pomegranate Punk

Jordana's Easyshine glossy lip color in 08 Sweet Strawberry - smells like my childhood, and just a nice vibrant red!

Cover Girl's BLASTflipstick in Tease - double ended with one flat shade, one shimmer topcoat!

Really in love with everything I purchased!  What have you hauled already in this new year?

Small Haul 11/11/2011 (Estee Lauder)

Hey there, could not wait to get at least one of these up.

For a quick cheer me up, my boyfriend took me to the mall to look at the new Pure Color Cyber shadows by Estee Lauder.  These are the ones that are the tri-brid formula...gel/powder/liquid.  These are included in the limited edition collection done by Tom Pecheux.  These shadows are very much like the Pure Color Illuminating powder in Modern Mercury...that lovely highlighter that I could not get my hands on.

Well, I got one of the shadows in the shade Cyber Silver...

Pure Color in Cyber Silver

The lovely SA who was helping me threw in some extras as well...

Extras: Advance Night repair eye cream (which is DIVINE)
Double Wear Concealer in Medium 3 (total HG status)

What have you ladies hauled lately?

Sonia Kashuk Brown Eyed Girl Palette

Thank you Target for bringing us the Sonia Kashuk line!!!

If you aren't familiar with her line, please head to your local Target or HERE  to view the products online.

The line ranges from cosmetics, to brushes, bags, etc.  It is all really wonderful stuff and great quality too!

For you today, I have her Brown Eyed Girl Quad:

Sonia Kashuk Brown Eyed Girl palette

Back of palette

This quad contains 4 equal sized pans of glittery color.  You can purchase these for $12.99 USD.  I own 3 of these creamy, glittery palettes.  I must advise, if you dislike glitter, read another post, purchase some other palette.  This is definitely not for the faint of heart!  The colors in it are a champagne, greyed brown, a browny copper, and a forest green.  Now, I know that I said that it is glittery, and it is, but that does not mean it is a fall out, dusty mess.  The consistency of these shadows is almost cream like.  I would hope that you would not confuse that with the NYX style glitter creams, which do not offer anything but a few chunks of glitter within a semi greasy base.  But that is just my opinion.

Open palette

With the consistency of these shadows being "creamy", it is quite nice to use them with your fingers.  They are easy to swipe and place on the eye.  Over a base they are heaven!  I do use brushes with these too, but I find that I like a really tightly packed, small brush for this.  I would not recommend anything fluffy for this.  Though the glitter seems to be suspended in a "base", there is still fall out if you fluff out this color at all.  I control it by patting on color with a dense brush, and fuzzing it out with my finger.  The shadow is pretty easy to move around, which is great.

Swatched  - No base/primer-Natural lighting

These swatches here are just one swipe of the shadows.  I did not use a primer before swatching these.  Now, the glitter in most of these is slightly colored of that of the base shadow, but you really get the sparkle from the silver glitter contained as well.  I love these shadows over colored bases mostly.  Black bases garner the most drama here.

Close up swatches

These shadows really do catch light very well.  At night, they can give the eye a glass like sheen, or like if the lid was covered in gloss.  I hope the glitter does not scare those who do not like it away.  The wear of these is long lasting and comfortable. And once again, they provide such a glowy eye that I cannot imagine everyone not trying them at least once.  For the price point, value, wear...its got my vote!

What Sonia Kashuk products are you guys loving at the moment?