May Inspiration Board

Greetings! I don't have much in the way right now of immediate products reviews. I have one very large review of Menagerie Cosmetics Eyeshadow coming up, as well as an updated highlighter master post. But, for now, let's talk about what is inspiring me, and what is not.

These types of posts fall under my Beauty Bookmarks tag. For more extreme versions, I do have old anti-hauls/and TMOS.

First thing coming up is what I assume to be a new palette from Nabla. Now, I do love Nabla singles, but the quality of the palettes is a little more contentious. They have been sneak-peaking the cover of the palette which features rich burgundy, gold accents of suns, seashells, and other symbols, and maybe tropical flowers?

I'm going to throw my hat into the ring (that's a phrase, right?), and make some guesses about what this palette is about, using some key words:

secret cove, tropics, meridian, island, beach, mermaid

Those are my guesses. I tend to like the color layout of Nabla palettes, though I have not yet actually purchased one. We'll see if I take the plunge.

Moving on, for about a year now I've had my eye on another Italian makeup brand, Neve Cosmetics.

Now, Neve currently does not ship to the US. But they did tell me via instagram they are working on it, and their instagram posts have been featuring text in both English and Italian. So, let's hope. I have my eye on a number of things, and I will say that Neve has an excellent range of duochrome shadows and powders that I have not yet seen from other brands.

One makeup artist on Instagram who I have been really inspired by is @lana_makeup_nails. One of her recent books I bookmarked is:

I think her use and placement of color is really cool and something I can replicate, while still looking quite unique.

I've been on a real kick with more watercolor-type shades, and this post from Clionadh is making me think I can use a shade with a blue shift on the lid with a warmer transition color, and it would look really cool.

The lid shade featured is Clionadh's new multi-chromes. Right now they are probably one of the most interesting things going on eyeshadow wise in the indie-verse. I would have to agree, though I wouldn't buy more than one or two.

I am wondering if a potential downside to multichromes is if they are not as versatile as regular shimmers or duochromes.

Anyway, my last bookmarked post is Glossier's new Bubblewrap, and eye and lip cream that is supposed to reduce texture for $26. As someone with sensitive eyes, I love eye cream. I am still using up my Soap and Glory eye gel, but once I finish I will gladly use the Glossier one.

Finally, let me comment on a couple of things I am staying far away from, mostly high-end single eyeshadows.

Most recently Viseart released its single eyeshadows, for $12 for about 2g. Pat McGrath is offering singles at $25 for 1 g. Now, I enjoy buying singles quite a bit. But I am not impressed by these prices. I do think Viseart is definitely giving you a better deal, but both companies have left me a bit disappointed- they are fully capable of producing gorgeous, interesting colors, and I don't see them.

For PML, the singles serve as a complement to the palettes- the assumption is you have at least one large one and one small one, and you need a transition color or something. For Viseart, the color selection is a bit more interesting, but the colors have a muted quality (save for the handful of literally neons).

For me, I prefer to collect singles that are unique and singular, and that complement my palettes, not the other way around. Especially if I am going to invest more than the usual amount, and especially if indie companies are offering a lot of product at a good price, too. While it is exciting that a person does not have to pay $100-something to try PML, I don't think it's exactly fair that we have to pay a fourth of that to "sample" or "try," PML. I think that mentality minimizes how much money you're putting into it, exactly.

So, that's my spiel. Let me know your thoughts!