Re-Designing the BH Cosmetics Mini-Zodiac Cancer Palette

When I first heard, many months ago, that BH Cosmetics' spin-off of their two large zodiac palettes was going to be a set of the mini-palettes for each of the 12 signs, I thought it was a rather creative idea that had the potential to be great.

Well, I was quite wrong. Beginning with the Capricorn palette, each palette has been mostly met with disappointment or ambivalence, primarily due to the fact that the color selections did not jive with people's perceptions/interpretations of the signs.

Before we delve a little deeper into what BH Cosmetics did for the Cancer sign, I do want to give a bit of a disclaimer. I belong to the camp that believes zodiac and horoscope stuff is fun, and the opposite of scientific. I don't think we can justify behavior according to someone's star sign.

That being said, if it doesn't hurt people and allows people to have a way to express and/or understand themselves in different ways, why not?

Personally, I do think that I am pretty representative of the Cancer sign, and I was someone who looked at BH Cosmetics' release and did not respond to it at all:

Based on the brand description of "lunar hues," they seemed to build the palette around the Moon. And while it certainly is smokey and cool-toned and evocative of the sea, it's definitely missing the warmth and prettiness I think a Cancer would appreciate.

The mock-up, which I have already posted to Instagram, is by no means a definitive Cancer palette, but something I tried to construct as more usable, interesting, and cohesive. I hope you enjoy!

1. The center shade is MAC Dazzlepink highlighter.  I think a lot of brands are playing with the idea of pink highlighter, and for a sign that is based on emotion and warmth, I think pink is a great color- especially a cooler-toned one with a more sheer base so that the highlighter can be used on a multitude of skin tones. I personally do not own Dazzlepink, but I do have a couple of highlighters in my collection that belong to the same family of pink-reflect highlighters: MAC Snowflushed (extremely glittery), Nabla Divinzer, Colourpop Everybody's Got a Weakness, Nabla Millenium (more of a peach reflect), and Looxi Stripped (has more of a white base but a strong cool pink reflect).

2. Then, moving clockwise at "12 o'clock", we have Nabla City Wolf. I chose this shade because it is a cool-toned medium gray that still evokes some of the feeling of the original palette- those sultry lunar vibes.

3. Speaking of lunar vibes, I wanted some gorgeous shimmers in there that were strange and duochrome and evocative of sea glass and shells, so I went with Earthshine by Colourpop. I do not personally own Earthshine, but similar colors are Glass Bull from Colourpop and Charmed by Looxi.

4. But I knew I needed a cool-toned red berry, to stand for passion, depth, the heart, and the crab. I chose Cascade from Lethal Cosmetics, because I almost bought it the other day, but stopped myself because I own the Modern Renaissance palette. That being said, I think Cascade is redder and warmer than Love Letter, but not enough for me to go and buy it.

5. I knew I wanted a neutral-ish shimmer, because I wanted to give the people options! However, I chose a silver-gold that I have been obsessed with for the longest time- Metallurgy from Pat McGrath. It looks nice and sandy in the palette, but also provides a bit of familiarity, color-wise.

6. Remember when I talked about sea glass? Well, this next shade is literal glass. It does not exist looking like this, but I really really wish something came out that is comparable. For the meantime, I am looking at Clionadh's multichrome shadows, specifically the shades Torch and Engrave. I thought this "shade" really captured the more imaginative side of Cancers.

7. MAC Uninterrupted- a classic Caramel shade. I think Cancers can be quite sweet and warm, and this shade is meant to capture that, as well as provide a neutral option for the shimmers, or even pair with the more vibrant mattes.

8. Papaya Juice by Prima Makeup. Prior to this project I had never heard of this brand, but I was on the hunt for a coral-like color that was the perfect balance of orange and red. I think this would pair brilliantly with Uninterrupted or Cascade, and definitely shows the passionate side of the Cancer.

9. Finally, Sydney Grace Officer. I wanted a cool-toned purple bruise shade- because (no joke) crabs also are blue, but also to represent the very deep funks and moods we can get ourselves in. Officer also functions as an excellent deepening shade for a variety of warm and cool colors.

This week I'll try to follow up with some looks inspired by this palette. And, who knows, maybe I'll make more mock-ups in the future!

Thanks for reading.

Menagerie Cosmetics: Feral Palette and Single Shadows Swatches and Review

Towards the end of February, I purchased the Feral Palette from Menagerie Cosmetics for $40.00. Each pan contained 2g of product each. Though the color palette was definitely out of my comfort zone, it was one of those cases where I couldn't get it out of my head (cue Kylie Minogue). It reminded me of a field of wildflowers, and though I barely knew anything about the brand, I decided to take the leap.

The palette feels sturdy and is small-medium in size. Its packaging feels pretty luxe, and worth the cost. But, let's get into the shadows.

1. Harmonia, a green blue matte. This is a super pigmented yet soft shade. 

2. Wolfling, a coppery metallic base with a very strong pink reflect and sparkle. This shimmer formula is incredibly soft, so I advise caution when using it- a sticky base and a light hand is needed. The end result is gorgeous and very sparkly. 

3. Canis Lupis, a milk chocolate matte. Very easy to blend. 

4. Alpha, a darker matte taupe. This one required a little bit of building- but is soft and easy to work with. I find the color quite unique- depending on the other colors, it can come off more green or more brown. 

5. Pack Leader. Seems a little more densely packed than Wolfling. It is a hot pink metallic with a gold sheen. The gold comes out more with glitter glue, and/or using it against other hot pink colors. This one stains. 

6. Allium. A swatch of this is also in my second set below. A cooler-toned shade of purple that is one of the more "drier" mattes- but very easy to blend out. 

Second set! 

7. The bright red/orange is Mariposa. Highly pigmented and blendable.

8. Night Eyes. A true yellow. Its strong white base is being a little reflected in the flash photo above- in person, it reads a bit darker. Very blendable and bright, though. 

9. Wisteria. A matte hot coral. It stained my skin slightly, but also very easy to work with. As with Night Eyes, the picture is showing the swatch a bit lighter than it really is. 

10. Fenris. A yellow-toned matte green that is more densely pressed. It builds up evenly and quickly, though. 

11. For me, Ivy was probably the most intimidating at first- it is a dark matte green. However, it still has a soft formula and just requires careful and deliberate placement before blending out. 

12. Huechera, a highly reflective and flakey green with some golden sheen. This one definitely stained. 

Okay, so as much as I was enjoying the colors and formula of the original Feral Palette, I also wanted to branch out and buy some singles to make my own custom palette. It ended up being quite neutral, so I renamed the palette The Domestic Palette. Funny, right?

The new shades are:

1. Lucky ($5.00), a light peachy gold metallic

2. Mother Dragon ($4.00), from the Dragon Child palette, a dark matte burgundy. 

3. Canary ($5.00), a light warm yellow metallic shimmer with a strong pink glitter reflect

4. Snuggle ($4.00), a warm pastel pink

5. Snoot ($4.00) a soft rose-brown matte

The palette ended up looking like this:

Lucky, Canary, Snuggle, Snoot, and Mother Dragon

The two shimmers had the same formulation as Wolfling- very soft and requiring some sticky base. I probably didn't need to get Canary- its strong pink reflect makes it kind of repetitive among the other shimmers in the palette. Lucky, though, is proving to be quite multi-functional, with its slight silvery sheen that can be paired with both warm and cool colors. 

I was quite pleased with Snuggle- I had not yet owned a warm pastel pink, and really enjoy how pigmented it is. Snoot was probably the other redundant purchase- I know I probably have shades like it in my collection, but I can't deny the quality of this one. 

Finally, Mother Dragon. I love this color and am so pleased to have it. 

All in all, I very much enjoy the matte formula especially of my collection. I think the shimmers are beautiful, but I am not yet sold on the different formulations they are using. I tend to prefer a drier shimmer, because I feel I have more control, but these are definitely wetter. Still, the colors are like nothing else in my collection. 

I will continue to keeping track of Menagerie Cometics' releases. I am certain they will keep coming up with fun things. 

Have you tried any of their products yet? Let me know your thoughts below! 

Flower Beauty Blush Bomb in the shade Nectar: Review and Swatches

This has been the year of cream blushes for me. Despite the fact that I have historically been afraid of blush and cream products, I have found that certain cream color products do, in fact, work- and work well. This is certainly true of a new product from Flower Beauty, The Blush Bomb Color Drops. When I saw Temptalia review them favorably (she was the only one at the time who even featured the product), I knew I had to try one.

I picked up the shade Nectar for $9.99.

The blush is housed in a squeeze tube and has a really cool applicator- the nozzle is entirely transparent. 

It contains 0.3 oz of product, and the tube was definitely smaller than I thought it would be. However, the drops are quite concentrated and you only need a little bit. 

Nectar is a very orange-leaning peach. I think it is quite unique to the berry and mauve tones already in my collection. 

Blended out:

I will say that I personally prefer using a synthetic blush brush to blend out the product after I dot a little on my face- and if I have to build up, I will. When I first tried it out, I used my fingers, but I found that a brush creates a more even effect.

On the face, the finish is not matte, but not overly luminous. Moderately dewy, if you will. And with my combination skin, this stuff lasted the entire work day on my face.

In short- I highly recommend this product. While I can't definitely say it is a dupe for any Glossier Cloud Paints (because I have not purchased any), the Flower Beauty is an affordable option that also gives you a better deal. While Glossier Cloud Paints equal to $54.00/fl oz, Flower Beauty clocks in at $33/fl oz. Make of that what you will.

I am very excited to continue using this for the summer!

Thanks for reading! 🌞

Quick Reviews: Palettes I've Purchased @ TJ Maxx

I have talked before about the lure of TJ Maxx. I have admonished myself for falling prey to the discount and accessibility of products that normally I would not see in person. And despite all of this, I have in my stash three palettes from TJ Maxx. I'm going to review them for you today quickly by stating my thoughts, how I've used these products, but forego my usual swatches and looks.

First up is the infamous Subculture, purchased for about $22.00:

I actually have used this palette quite a bit, and think there's a lot of potential here. The darker shades are excellent to pack along the lash line, and the lighter mattes work really well on the lid and crease. Part of the failure of this palette comes from the two shimmers Cube and Electric. As you can see with my palette, these sealed up pretty badly, rendering them unusable. 

Some bloggers have reported success with the two shades I mentioned, but I know ABH has different batches floating out there in the world. I didn't do my research, it seemed, and should have looked up the batch code prior to making the purchase. That being said, the strength of this palette is how it adds depth and coolness to looks, and works well with other palettes. 

The next is my most recent purchase, the Bon Bons palette from Too Faced, for $20.00:

Right of the bat, I am shocked- SHOCKED- that at one point this palette was sold for $49.00. Only some of the mattes- like Mocha and Bourbon- are blendable and have impact, others get pretty muddy. I have been enjoying Satin Sheets as an inner corner highlight, as well as the cream matte to set my primer. I think the two standouts are the two brown shimmers. 

To me this palette is a sign of the times and the beauty landscape of 2015, which included extremely neutral shadows, and formulas that were meant to go with techniques that are not used as commonly- like shimmers and satins in the outer corner (which I believe is making a comeback). Though I do think this is a pretty palette, and the smell of it is divine, I do believe this thing is completely superfluous.  I'll take the L there. 

Finally, we have the most inexpensive palette in this trio, and the one that I have the most to talk about, the Marvycorn palette from BH Cosmetics, which I think I got for about $6.00. 

Let's first start with the highlighters. They are super creamy and could possibly run the risk of being chunky, though the formula is not dense, nor tightly packed. All three do contain micro shimmer. They look pretty on the skin- the darkest one I have to use as an eyeshadow, though. 

For me, the standouts of this palette are the neutral mattes- I know that is ridiculous, but still. They blend really smoothly. My personal favorite is Flodder, which is a really cool yellow neutral beige. I don't have anything else like it. 

The shimmer eyeshadows are a bit disappointing- thin formulas and not high-shine. The only one worth anything, the one that does not require glitter glue or any additional help- is the fourth shade in the top row- the slightly duochrome red-copper shimmer. That one is quite metallic and creamy. 

The packaging, of course, is a major draw. It is prone to getting dirty, but I don't mind. I don't use this palette every day, but I do pull it out every so often and I enjoy it every time. 

Looking at all of these palettes, do I have a life lesson? Yes, stop it. Not the most helpful advice. But I let curiosity get the better of me- especially with the Bon Bons palette. If I had really thought about what my collection looked like, I could have easily realized I didn't need it. The goal is to be a bit more thoughtful next time. 

So that's all I got for today! 

Thanks so much for reading.

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!