SWATCHES: Wet n Wild Fergie Eyeshadow Palette in Milano Collections

 

Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collections Ingredients

When I first picked up the Wet n Wild Photo Focus Studio Eyeshadow Palette in A226 Milano Collections, which is part of the Fergie Centerstage Collection, it didn't scream to me as an Urban Decay Naked (1) dupe. It only became apparent to me when I decided to do this swatch post, so look out for the comparison near the end!

I believe I picked this up last month at Walgreen's for $7.99 but it had a $1 off coupon attached to the front of the palette.

THE RUNDOWN:
~10-shadow drugstore eyeshadow palette
~ Contains 0.28 oz / 8.1 g of product total so each shadow is 0.028 oz or 0.81 g each
 ~Comes with double-ended brush; one side is a long, skinny fluffy blending brush while the other is a thin flat brush that's better for concealer or cream products. It's not dense enough to pack on eyeshadow
~Cruelty-free, paraben-free, oil-free, made in China

All swatches over LORAC Behind the Scenes eye primer

Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collections swatches

THE COLORS (description + mini review):
1. Satin/demi-matte ivory- not much pigmentation but good for a soft highlight
2. Pink champagne shimmer- this color along with the next two shimmers have to be built up to get a good even color
3. Yellow gold shimmer- needs to be built up to get a good even color
4. Copper bronze shimmer- this is the most disappointing color of the palette. I expected this to go on smoothly, pigmented and maybe have a foil finish.  It has so be built up many times to somewhat satisfy me.  Not smooth at all.
5. *Antique bronze shimmer (my fave of the bunch)- the smoothest shimmery shade in the whole palette and has a good pigmentation. I love this one the most and reminds me of Urban Decay's Smog.
6. Mid-tone cool matte brown - this is the transition shade in the palette and the only one.
7. Light taupe shimmer- has to be built up like #'s 2, 3 & 4.
8. Dark warm brown with sparse golden flecks- looks more matte on the eye especially after blending; really pigmented
9. Dark cool-toned brown- really pigmented as well
10. Matte black- swatches a little patchy but pigmented

Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collections swatches

Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collections with flash

Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collections in natural light

 

 COMPARISON OF WET N WILD FERGIE MILANO COLLECTIONS TO URBAN DECAY NAKED (1) PALETTE

Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collections on top; Urban Decay Naked (1) palette on bottom

Top row is URBAN DECAY NAKED (1) palette with flash- Virgin, Sin, Half-Baked, Smog, Naked, Sidecar, Hustle, Creep. Bottom row is Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collections. I know it doesn't match the picture of the palettes together.  I should have switched them around.

As shown in my swatches, there are 8 shades in the Wet n Wild Fergie palette that are similar to Urban Decay's Naked (1) palette. However, there are no similar shades to Urban Decay's Naked, Darkhorse, Toasted or Gunmetal in the Wet n Wild palette.

COMPARISON OF THE COLORS (top row Urban Decay Naked [1], bottom row Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collectons):
~UD Virgin & WnW #1- Virgin is more pigmented and shimmery than #1. Not dupes
~UD Sin & WnW #2- very similar in color but UD is smoother and more pigmented
~UD Half-Baked & WnW #4- Half-Baked is more of a golden bronze, is smoother and doesn't have to be built up like #4. Not dupes
~UD Smog & WnW #5- SPOT ON DUPES! Similar in texture and pigmentation.
~UD Naked & WnW #6- Naked is a mid-tone neutral matte brown while WnW #6 is a mid-tone matte COOL brown. Not dupes.
~UD Sidecar & WnW #7- very similar in color but Sidecar has microglitter, which I can do without. WnW #7 isn't as smooth and pigmented as Sidecar, though.
~UD Hustle & WnW #8- Hustle is a dark brownish-burgundy shimmer but it swatches like a demi-matte dark brown so it ends up looking similar to WnW #8. Quite strange.
~UD Creep & WnW #10- Creep is a matte black with silver or multicolored flecks while the WnW #10 is just a matte black and not as smooth. Not dupes but black is black.

Top row: Urban Decay Naked (1)- Virgin, Sin, Half-Baked, Smog, Naked, Sidecar, Hustle & Creep.  Bottom row: Wet n Wild Fergie Milano Collections in natural light.

  

Overall, the Wet n Wild palette was "meh" for me.  The shimmers aren't up to par with the textures in the Comfort Zone palette or some of the trios. The mattes were pigmented but not the smoothest, either.  But if you don't have an Urban Decay Naked (1) palette, then you might consider getting this especially if you're on a budget.  Personally, I would splurge on the Urban Decay palette because the pigmentation and texture is much better, and you would be getting 4 additional colors.

Thanks for stopping by! =)

 Copyright © 2015, Lady Lostris Beauty 

REVIEW: NYX Luscious Lip Gloss Palette - The Nudes

I usually don't like lip palettes because most are sheer and they come with dinky brushes with short handles, just like my MAC Intriguing Scarlet holiday palette from last year. When I first got this NYX palette, I was very skeptical because the surface of the glosses looked dry and hard. Man, was I wrong! Let's get on with the review...

NYX LUSCIOUS LIP GLOSS PALETTE in THE NUDES

SPECS

• PRICE: $6-$8
• WHAT: A palette of 5 lipglosses
• WHERE: NYX Cosmetics, Non Pareil Boutique, Cherry Culture & other NYX sellers
• AMOUNT: 7.5 g total or 0.26 oz (1.5 g for each color)
• COLORS: Available in 8 different palettes
• DIMENSIONS: 10.2 cm x 6.7 cm x 1.2 cm (metric's so much easier, America)
• INGREDIENTS: Beeswax, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Was, Ceresin, Polyethylene, Octyldodeanol, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipade-2, Isostearyl Isostearate, Diisostearyl Malate, Polyisobutene, Tocopheryl Acetate, BHA, Mica, Pigment (C.I.)

Label: click to enlarge

"The Nudes"

COLOR DESCRIPTIONS for THE NUDES

1. Mid-tone warm brownish-nude creme
2. Mid-tone mauvish berry-pink creme
3. Light peach-orange creme
4. Light baby pink or Barbie pink creme
5. Light cool-toned nude beige or khaki creme

Other palettes available: Red Rediscovered, The Naturals, The Perfect Everyday Colors, Dance in Africa, Pinky Promise, Sweet Oranges, Champagne Sparkle
(MakeupGeek has great pics of these palettes at her store.)

Flash pics, above, are truer in color

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

PROS:

• Nicely pigmented (make sure you load up your brush)
  
• Creamy, moist, smooth texture
• Not sticky
• Glossy finish
• Coverage is just about opaque if you apply enough product
  
• Convenient, easy-to-open packaging with mirror and lip brush (it's better than no lip brush)
• Inexpensive/affordable
• Good range of colors
• You get 5 different colors in one palette

CONS:

• Lip brush bristles are frayed, not tapered, not stiff enough, not dense and too long. Make sure you use another brush that's stiffer for better application (the brush is basically the only bad & ugly thing)
• Fruity scent may bother some, but I don't find it offensive
• Not available in stores (you'll probably have to order it)

The Sephora brush is longer but the bristles are stiffer and of better quality than the NYX. See the little strays on the NYX brush?

PERFECT NUDES

The 1st & 2nd colors mixed together with a little of the 4th.


The 1st and 3rd colors mixed together. When you mix the browns with any brighter color, you'll get a perfect nude lippie. Love 'em!


The light pink first, then I added the dark pink.


The 2nd and 5th color mixed - my fave. I'm loving this palette more and more each day!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite the horrible lip brush, I love "The Nudes" lip gloss palette because it offers a nice range of colors in one palette - two nude browns, a berry color, a peach and a pink. It also comes with a convenient mirror and the glosses are well-pigmented, non-sticky and creamy. The best thing about it is that you get 5 colors for about $7. You gotta love that!

But I wonder how well-pigmented are the shimmery colors in the other palettes. Lemme know!

FINAL GRADE: A

Related Link: Swatches: NYX Lipsticks & Lipglosses

Thank you for checking out this review! =)

Copyright © 2009, Lady Lostris

Review: HARD CANDY Reawakens at Walmart

Remember when Hard Candy used to be sold in department stores or Sephora? Well, the line is now offered at Walmart at a more affordable price, and if you're lucky enough to find a display that isn't ravaged - like mine was - you'll see that they have a wide range of products, such as eyeshadow palettes, baked eyeshadow duos, lipsticks, glosses, nail polish, blushes, bronzers and eyeliners. They also had body glitter, a tinted moisturizer (?), a double-ended loose eyeshadow stick, and some metallic shadestick thingy. There was something called "Eye Tattoo" but I wasn't too sure what that was - something like an eyeshadow on a sheet that you rub onto your eye. The prices ranged from about $5 to $10 and Hard Candy does not test on animals.

JUST NAILS Nail Color

This deep and mysterious blackened emerald green with lighter green shimmer is called Envy, and I envy it so. The polish went on a little streaky on the first two strokes, but after that it was quite pigmented and very smooth (I used two coats in the swatch). All the nail polishes ($5) come with a plastic ring shaped either like a hemisphere or a puffed heart (I wish Envy came with a heart-shaped one). They have a small selection of glittery finishes, cremes and shimmers. Their polish contains Formaldehyde Resin, which some people like to stay away from so that can be a con. Each nail polish contains 0.35 fl. oz., which is less than your usual 0.5 fl. oz. =/

I have to go back and get this peachy-pink color with golden shimmer. I had it in my hands but decided to put it back. I hope it's still there!

MOUTHING OFF Sheer Lip Shine

• PRICE: $6
• AMOUNT: 7.5 g or 0.26 oz
• APPLICATOR: Sponge-tip
  
• OPAQUENESS: Sheer, as the product states
• TEXTURE: Smooth and moist without feeling oily; absolutely NOT STICKY like MAC Lipglasses
• SMELL: Vanilla, like MAC Lipglasses
• SHININESS: Almost as shiny as a MAC Lipglass
• PACKAGING: Cardboard handle and bottom, which I didn't notice at the store because it was shrink-wrapped, but it has a waxy coating. I don't like how the bottom of the tube is covered with the cardboard because I won't be able to tell how much product is left.
• LIPGLOSS FINAL THOUGHTS: If you like MAC Lipglasses minus the stickiness, then go and get these Hard Candy ones. But remember, these are very sheer (like a lot of MAC Lipglasses, anyway) and look better over lipsticks. I wish they were more opaque but I would definitely try out another color.
• FINAL GRADE: B, if it were more opaque, I'd give it an A. But I can't complain about something being sheer when it's advertised as such.

Gossip is a sheer peachy-pink with golden shimmer, like a light Expensive Pink eyeshadow in a tube. When blended out, the color is sheerer than in the pic.

IN THE SHADOWS Eyeshadow Collection

SPECS

• PRICE: $7
• AMOUNT: 8 g total
• PRODUCT: A palette of 5 shadows with a mini-sized primer
• PACKAGING: Cardboard with a shiny coating, hidden magnetic closure, small double-ended sponge tip applicator (the good kind like in NYX trios), see-through plastic film window, has small elastic band to hold primer to the palette
  
• PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: "This ensemble sizzles with five pigment drenched, blendable shades. Shadow primer is a superbly effective way to instantly eliminate creasing, fading and smudging." (Yeah, right.)

Ingredients (Click to enlarge)

Notice the embossed design

PRIMER REVIEW

• AMOUNT: 4.3 ml or 0.14 oz
• TEXTURE: Like a watery, starchy glob. It dries clear but basically leaves a sticky, tacky residue on your lid and takes a long time to dry.
• SMELL: Kind of like when you mix water and flour together, or water and cornstarch. I don't like it.
• INGREDIENTS: Water-based; click picture below
• CREASING: Definitely did not help with creasing because after 3 hours of wearing this alone on my lids, the colors creased and practically disappeared off my lids. It did not crease when I used it as a base over TFSI (Too Faced Shadow Insurance). That's why I love TFSI on my oily eyelids!
• MAKING COLORS POP: In the swatches below, it actually made the first two colors look better than on the other two bases, but I think that was only because it was still somewhat wet when I swatched the shadows over them. It's better than nothing but it's not the best base to make your eyeshadows pop. I used the primer under some other drugstore eyeshadows and it just did ok. I really don't like using it and it will probably just sit in my drawer.
• PRIMER FINAL GRADE: C, I'm not going to use it again

Click to enlarge

EYESHADOW REVIEW - VICE PALETTE
Pictured from bottom to top

• COLOR DESCRIPTIONS: 1) shimmery, taupey-silver, 2) shimmery mid-tone warm purple, 3) matte light beige, 4) shimmery light mint green, 5) shimmery dark steely gray
• TEXTURE: I love the smooth texture and the product easily gets into the bristles of your brush, but wait for the pigmentation comments...
• PIGMENTATION: A major disappointment for the first two colors, especially the purple. The matte light beige is what it is, so I can't really complain about that one. The most pigmented color is the dark gray, followed by the mint. It's a 2 out of 5 for me. You'll definitely need to use a better base like a cream shadow or shadestick to bring out the colors.
• VICE PALETTE FINAL THOUGHTS: I wish I could return it and get my $7 back. LoL! But since the dark gray was nicely pigmented, I wonder if the other palettes with the darker bronzey colors would be more pigmented than this palette. These colors are fairly light, you know.
• VICE PALETTE GRADE: C-, but if you like softer colors, you may like it. Otherwise, pass on by!
  

The HC Primer isn't that good, even though the first two colors look better than on the other two primers. The primer was still a little wet when I swatched the shadows, so maybe that's why. Plus, I kept packing on those first two colors to make them show up.

Even over my trusty Scandalous Eyeshadow Magnet, the first 2 or 3 colors are so washed out.

Finger swatches are so misleading. That's why I don't do them!

HARD CANDY OVERALL

Did I mention that I love the designs on the packaging? The lipsticks have tattoo-like designs on them and I was going to buy one called Perfect, but decided to wait on someone else's swatches before I buy more Hard Candy. I just wish that the Vice Palette was more pigmented because I love the packaging and the idea that it came with a mini primer. Most of the items on my display were completely gone, so I hope you find a well-stocked one. Well, for now, I'll be going back for more nail polish!

Have you tried any new Hard Candy stuff?

I found my old skool HC Jewel Box from 4 years ago...hardly touched. Tsk.

For updates, sneak peeks at upcoming posts and random pics, follow me on my new Twitter account: @lady_lostris

UPDATE: I got two more polishes...yay! I think the rings are size 7.

Copyright © 2009 Lady Lostris

Stila Precious Pearl Palette

THE RUNDOWN

• Stila Precious Pearl Palette @ Sephora.com
  
• Sale Price: $20
• Original Price: $40
• Value: $130
• Comes with 6 shimmery eyeshadows infused with genuine crushed pearl
• Has mirror on inside cover
  
• 10 g of product total; 1.67 g each
• Packaged in a metal case with 12 tiles of Mother-of-Pearl; not inlaid as I thought, but raised

Top view with flash

Top view in natural light (the prettiest palette I own)

Back label and box with ingredients
(Click to enlarge)

PROS

• Good value; you get six shadows of 1.67 g each (bigger than a MAC shadow)
• Gorgeous Mother-of-Pearl packaging; every palette is unique since the shells would be different on each
  
• Easy to open push-button closure
• Good quality shadows that are soft, silky and smooth in texture
• Hardly any fallout when using, if not any
• Shadows blend easily
• Shadows have an opalescent/iridescent shimmer
• Good pigmentation
• Has mirror
• Small, compact, travel-friendly size (11.8 cm x 3.4 cm)

CONS

• There's no dark brown shadow =( The blue will always have to be used to darken the outer corner
• May be too shimmery for some, but if you use a light hand, then it may work out for you
• No matte colors
  
• The edges of the raised Mother-of-Pearl may chip if you don't take care of the palette
• The light pink could have been replaced with another color
• If you wear mostly neutrals, these colors may not appeal to you
• To bring out the colors more, you must use an extra sticky base (i.e. shadestick, cream shadow, or paint pot) and not just TFSI or UDPP

Closeup of the shadows (Click to enlarge)

COLOR DESCRIPTIONS

• Pale creamy gold (a white-looking shadow that's misleading; it's really gold)- use a light hand when using as a highlight or you'll overdo it; just touch your brush to it
  
• Pale light pink- not as pigmented as the others, but it's meant to be light; this is the only color that could have been switched out with another, like a brown or gray
  
• Mid-tone pink- a nice lid color
• Deep navy blue- the outer-V color of the palette; turns purple over the pinks; looks black over the antique gold
  
• Bright grass green- the second least pigmented of the palette; goes on a little sheer
  
• Antique gold- a lovely mid-tone gold
  

Swatches (Click to enlarge)
(NOTE: The 7th swatch - the purple - is the mid-tone pink and blue mixed together)

One of the many looks. Here's a very wearable one.

SHADOWS USED

• Highlight & Inner-V: Pale gold (see how it's creamy yellow-gold and not white?)
  
• Lid (inner half): Pale light pink
• Lid (outer half) & Outer Lower Lashline: Mid-tone pink
• Crease: Antique gold
• Outer corner & Outer Lower Lashline: Deep navy blue (turned purple over the pink)

Another simple look
(click to enlarge to see the different colors of iridescent shimmer)

SHADOWS USED

• Lid & Lower Lashline: Antique gold
• Highlight & Inner Corner: Pale Gold
• Outer Corner: Deep navy blue

FINAL THOUGHTS

I paid half price for this palette but would have paid full price for it because of it's well-made packaging and high quality eyeshadows. You can't go wrong with Stila, anyway.