Happy Friday Everyone! Lately, I’ve been playing with a few Natasha Denona eyeshadow palettes and today I’d like to finally review her famous eyeshadows and tell you guys what I think about them. For some time, I’ve seen and swatched the Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 5 on my arms and even the Minis in-store but I’ve never really actually applied the shades on my lids. I did like the way the colors feel on my fingers because they seemed so soft and so buttery, but I was a bit put off at first because I think the price is a bit too much per eyeshadow. Anyhow, eventually I got tempted and decided to try three of the Eyeshadow Palette 5 and also the latest Mini Nude Eyeshadow. I picked the shades based on how universally wearable they are and how they’d complement my skin tone.
Eyeshadow Palette 5 (5 x 0.08 oz: $48) – This palette features five creamy buttery eye shades that are well-paired together to create a coherent and beautiful eye makeup look. All shades are really pigmented and very long-lasting and they blend very easily. Each palette has a combination of matte and shimmer finish and you can create a soft daytime eye makeup down to a date night glam look. The formula of these palettes is said to be water-resistant and is infused with real crushed pearls. While that is really something, all I know is that I’ve worn these eyeshadows in the snow and my eye makeup is still intact and on point. I haven’t experienced any fallouts with the shimmery shades from these palettes but I did notice that some of them tend to have a soft shimmery finish when applied with a brush, so if you want to enhance your lid with more shimmers, you may need to apply the shimmery colors with your finger. Other than that, I really love the soft buttery feel of these eyeshadows which kinda reminds me of the texture of my favorite Anastasia Norvina Eyeshadow Palette (swatched HERE) and the Lorac Pro Eyeshadow Palette (seen HERE).
#02 – This eyeshadow palette gives me that plum vibe. Think Urban Decay’s Naked Cherry (swatched HERE) for a slight resemblance. I feel like some of the shades in this palette may be a little too similar to each other but this palette has one of the most wearable color schemes out of all the Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 5.
#04 – The color scheme of this eyeshadow palette gives me that rust vibe. Kinda like Urban Decay’s Naked Heat (seen HERE) but not quite like it exactly. This palette also has the most wearable shades out of all the ND eyeshadow palettes I’ve seen.
Camel – This palette has four varying shades of matte browns and one shimmery copper, which reminds me a bit of Chanel Clair Obscur (reviewed HERE), but I prefer the Chanel one better because one of the matte brown shades here called Safari pulled on yellowish on me as if I had jaundice, but it’s still very wearable and so are the rest of the shades.
Mini Nude Eyeshadow Palette ($25) – This travel-size palette has a very similar color scheme to the Camel palette above but this one has three shimmery shades and two matte ones.
Out of all the palettes reviewed here, my most favorite is actually #04 because it seems to complement my skin tone very well and next would be the Mini Nude Eyeshadow. I do find that names of each eyeshadow don’t seem to correspond to their true colors, and their shades tend to differ a lot when photographed on a natural light versus in a shade.
Overall, I love these eyeshadows a lot. On a scale of 1 to 10, one being “very poor”, and ten being “very impressive”, I’d give these palettes a score of 8 to 8.5. I love these for the long-lasting pigment and coherent color scheme, on top of that, they’re great for oily lids since they don’t settle into the crease.
Have you tried these palettes before? What do you think? Are you a fan of Natasha Denona Eyeshadows?
The Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 5 & Mini Nude Eyeshadow Palette are currently available at Sephora and natashadenona.com
Hello You! It’s been a while since you guys took a peek at what’s inside my purse. Lately, I’ve been obsessing about this Saint Laurent (YSL) Monogram Quilted Leather Wallet on a Chain Bag in Black (1.1 lbs: $1,650). Without any intention, and for some reason, I realized that YSL is becoming my favorite bag brand and I am slowly morphing into a YSL girl. Last time I checked, I seem to own more Saint Laurent bags than any other brands out there. I guess I just really love their versatile and edgy style.
Since the YSL Wallet on Chain is my bag of choice this Winter, let’s take a look at the things I stuffed inside it and how this bag had held up so far for me. Take note that I’ve had this bag for barely a year but I’ve been using this a lot on a daily basis at most.
Size
Since this bag is more of a wallet as opposed to a real purse that can hold a considerable amount of stuff, expect to see this bag to be pretty small, or you could say that this is more like a large wallet with a nice luxurious chain strap. The shoulder drop of this bag is about 19 inches and the height is around 6 inches with a length of 9 inches. So this looks more like an envelope wallet purse with an expandable width of about 1 inch to a few inches more. I wouldn’t stuff this bag with a lot of things or else its look could get deformed.
Style
The style of this bag is very versatile. It’s perfect for just about any activity or occasion, and it just elevates any wardrobe. Depending on its color, like my black one here in this review, this bag can carry you from a daytime gathering to a nice and formal glam evening. The chain strap is on the heavy side so it helps to make the bag more stable on your shoulder, and if it’s in gold-tone like mine, then it makes the bag look even more elegant and dramatic. Further, this bag is easy to use with its snap button closure.
Functionality
This bag is really light and pretty much easy to carry. The chain is on the heavy side which rolls around a lot and tends to have a life of its own (lol) but it makes the bag feel really well-made. I like the height of the shoulder drop of this bag which is not too long and not too short for my petite frame (5’3) and I could wear this as a shoulder bag or as a crossbody. Inside, this wallet on chain purse can fit twenty card slots and has one coin pocket with a zipper closure in the middle. I haven’t really placed any coins in the coin pocket so far, but I do place my very important cards, bills, and any documents in it that I wanted to be secured. When it comes to the card slots, I do think that this Saint Laurent Wallet on Chain bag is the perfect purse for storing just about any cards you may have, but you might be wondering why I’m still carrying a separate card case like the Gucci and the YSL one below? That’s because from time to time I may have to carry a large bag or a tote for some work-related activities and I need to easily transfer my personal belongings from one bag to another, also I’ve been traveling a lot recently and I didn’t carry this YSL bag with me. On top of that, card cases are much faster for me to use and grab instead of diving my fingers inside this purse that has a dark lining and tight slots, which require some breaking in period. Eventually, I would have to stuff all my cards into this wallet purse and then I might be able to add more stuff later on, like a small eyeshadow compact plus some other flat-shaped objects.
What Can Fit Inside?
For now, here’s a bunch of stuff I managed to fit inside this wallet in chain purse.
Benefit Cosmetics “Laughter is the Best Cosmetic” Small Flip Mirror – got this for free from my Sephora Rewards Points. I wanted a flat mirror to store inside this YSL wallet purse, so this Benefit small flip mirror fits the bill and it looks really cute.
L’occitane Mini Hand Cream (1 oz: $12) – this is a tiny classic L’occitane Shea Butter hand cream that can fit inside this bag. Love this cream for this winter since my hand gets dry easily. I wish I could fit my Chanel La Creme Main hand cream in this bag (reviewed HERE), but this classic staple from L’occitane is a good alternative.
Beter Pocket Comb ($3.57) – got this in Spain years ago when I realized I forgot my 16-year old comb (yeah that ancient, lol) which was given to me by my best friend in High School. So I went into panic mode and walked to the nearest convenience store in Passeig de Gracia where I found this really flat and handy Beter comb. I’m not a fan of its narrow-spaced bristles as I prefer a wide-toothed one, but this comb is cheap, fits anywhere, great for teasing, perfect for keeping my side-part style, and it’s good enough to make me look human, LOL.
iPhone X – yes this bag can also fit an iPhone, even the larger ones, but definitely not an iPad or an iPad Mini. As you can see, I’m listening to Troye Sivan while taking photos for this review.
Other Things In My Bag
I’ve got a few weird stuff that is honestly inside my bag. Number one, a Bravo Gift Card given to me by one of my good friends because I love to eat at Bravo, LOL. Two, I also have a pink Parker pen – my pen of choice (brand and color). I always keep a pen inside my bag just in case I need to write something or if someone wants to borrow a pen (girl scout). I also love to collect Parker pens because they write so well, so I make sure that I always have a Parker pen in each of my bags. The last thing in my bag are these two fortunes from the last fortune cookies I ate, LOL. Yeah, I’m the type that reads every fortune after eating any fortune cookie, and I tend to keep some of them just for the fun part. So, if my fortune tells me right, I really need to find out who this acquaintance is. Hmmm…
Durability
Since I got the bag, I’ve been using it a lot almost non-stop. I haven’t really seen or noticed any scratches, not even at the edges. I have placed this bag anywhere and everywhere and it still looks good as new. However, it hasn’t been a year since I owned it, so I’ll take note of its wear and tear after a couple of years. But so far, I am impressed with this bag and its overall quality, and I think it really helps that it’s made of embossed grain leather.
Drawback
One thing’s for sure, you can’t stuff a lot of things inside this bag. This is really pretty much a straight-up wallet on chain type of bag where you can indeed store a ton of cards in it and a few necessities, but that’s about it. All your other important stuff has to be inside your pocket or in another larger bag. This is more of a made-for-quick/casual-gathering type of bag or for a formal evening bag. Can’t put my groceries in here, LOL.
Verdict
Why I love it? Even though this bag doesn’t hold much, not even my necessities like my house and car keys which I now put in my pocket, but this bag has taught me to carry only the very important stuff, just the things that I really need and this has made my life a bit easier and simpler.ย Since this bag is lightweight and can be worn crossbody or as a shoulder bag, this is so much easier to carry than my other bags and they keep my hands free.
Do you also own this bag? What do you like most about it? Are you a fan of YSL bags?
Hello guys, I’m back in the atmosphere (with drops of Jupiter in my hair… lol). How are you? How am I? I am well my friends. Back from my occasional gallivanting and ready to get back to blogging this 2019. Lots of things coming soon for the blog, so stay tuned.
Anyway, been meaning to post this long overdue review of what’s inside my FabFitFun Winter 2018 Box. So without further ado, here they are guys.
Anthropologie x Mer-Sea & Co. Sea Whip Body Cream in “Coconut Sugar” ($24) – This body cream smells like toasted coconut heaven inside a unicorn-ish vibe packaging. This really hydrates the skin and leaves it smelling delicious like you bathe in a ton of coconuts in the tropics. However, there’s not a lot of product inside the tube, so if you’re the type that likes to slather on lotions and creams, this product won’t last for more than two or three weeks.
This Works Evening Detox Spray-On Exfoliant ($52) – This is a really nice detoxifying antibacterial and anti-inflammatory toner that has Salicylic Acid and Witch Hazel which penetrate into the pores and combat pimples and blemishes. You can spray this on a cotton ball or a cotton pad and then pat this lightly on the skin for a nice exfoliating and refreshing feel. I like this product a lot and it does a good job of preventing my face from looking too oily.
Ahava Hydration Cream Mask ($33) – This super hydrating cream/mask has Mineral Spring Water, Vitamin E, and Shea Butter. This smells really nice and is perfect for this cold dry season since this pretty much packs on hydration on the skin. I use this a lot lately even though I tend to have an oily skin type and I love that this has a nice softening effect that lasts for almost the whole day.
Thrive Causemetics Brilliant Eye Brightener in “Stella” ($24) – This is my fave inner-eye highlighter/brightener of the moment and this has never irritated my eyes because this is made of vegan ingredients. Also, this product is 100% cruelty-free and I love the philosophy behind this brand since they support women. This eye-highlighter goes on creamy and long-wearing (waterproof). On top of that, I’m happy that this came with a sharpener attached on the other end.
Blaq Hydrogel Eye Mask With Hyaluronic Acid ($29) – A refreshing activated charcoal eye mask with a clean scent and a gel consistency that doesn’t irritate the eyes. This is meant to be applied along the undereyes for 10-15 minutes but I usually leave mine longer and I really like its hydrating effect on my skin. I feel like this actually depuffs while keeping the thin skin around the eye area moist.
H Halston Jewelry Portfolio ($48) – This is a convenient jewelry organizer that is perfect if you’re always on the go or even when you’re traveling. Since this is flat, this doesn’t occupy much space inside your luggage or you can toss this in your tote. You can store some rings, bracelets, necklaces and even loose studs inside its smaller zipper pocket and though a bit flimsy, this gets the job done at storing and organizing your valuables.
Mark & Graham Colorblock Throw in Gray/Ivory ($49) – At first, this blanket/throw felt a little plasticky and super thin with a weird smell. However, after washing, this became so soft and so warm to the touch that this is now my favorite throw in my living room. This is really cozy and perfect for this Winter. I love the fringe detailing and the stripe/colorblock design which gives a nice lived-in feel.
Bearpaw Combo Set: Headband And Pop-Top Glove Duo ($45) – Just what I need in this cold Winter. I love this set so much, especially the cute sherpa-lined headband which not only adds warmth, but it’s also very chic. The gloves are also very useful and practical for just about any activities. For me, this set is such a good deal.
Pur Be Your Selfie Eyeshadow Palette ($36) – This palette has four velvet matte shades and five shimmers. I love the color scheme of this a lot since all the shades are so wearable, however, you won’t get as much pigment out of this eyeshadow palette when applied with a brush. I find that this packs on more pigment/color whenever I use my finger to apply them on my lids. If your lids tend to get oily, better to really use an eyeshadow primer before using this palette. Similar product HERE.
What do I think of this Winter’s Box? I love it! Just like the Fall 2018 Box (seen HERE), I’m smitten with the stuff inside, even though there was an item that was supposed to be there but the FFF team replaced it with something else that seems to be a lot better and is of a much better value.
What about you guys? What’s did you get in your FabFitFun Winter 2018 Box?
