Monthly Archives: November 2015

My MAC Lipstick Collection

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I recently filmed a video of me swatching all of my MAC lipsticks. I honestly didn’t even realise I had so many until I started filming (thanks Back 2 MAC)! I always find these type of videos useful, especially when looking for what lipsticks actually look like on people. I plan to depot most of my lipsticks soon into a more convenient palette so I decided to film before the big event.

Most of these lipsticks were acquired from my local CCO and via MAC’s “Back 2 MAC” program. If you take any 6 empty MAC containers to a MAC store/ counter you can get a free lipstick (or eyeshadow in PRO stores).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the video and let me know what your favourite MAC lipsticks are!

Nana Adomah

Anastasia Self-Made Palette

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He was a self-made man who owed his lack of success to nobody.” – Joseph Heller

Anastasia self made paletteAnastasia Self-Made paletteAnastasia Self-Made palette swatchAnastasia self made palette swatch

Anastasia Beverly Hills Self made palette dark skin swatch NW45 WOC NC50

From L-R Top: hot chocolate, spirit rock, Isla, sherbert, hot & cold, treasure, deep purple From L-R Bottom: buttery, blossom, blush, witchy, self-made, metallic plum, pink champagne

Anastasia self made palette dark skin swatch WOC NW45 NC50The Anastasia Beverly Hills “Self-Made” eyeshadow palette is my second Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH) palette after last year’s Tamanna palette and I’m in love. Actually this technically my third Anastasia palette as I purchased the Artist Palette but quickly returned it after swatching. I was so unimpressed with most of the shades (particularly the mattes) and it put me off ABH for a while. This in addition to the general (and at times baffling) hype of most ABH products left me completely uninterested in the Self-Made palette… until I swatched it.

The Self-Made palette is in my opinion the best palette released by ABH. All the colours are so incredibly pigmented and buttery and there’s not a single dud in the palette. I’m a sucker for shimmers and I always gravitate towards them over matte shadows. This palette only has 2 1/2 mattes so that may be something to think about if you prefer matte shades.

I won’t detail every shade but my favourites are “pink champagne”, “self-made”, “hot & cold”, “deep purple” (almost an exact dupe for Urban Decay’s “urban” from the Electric palette), and “blush” (not to be confused with the “blush from the Tamanna palette). “Pink champagne” is described as “a rose gold with a titanium finish” and it looks absolutely stunning on my skin. It was the shade that first convinced me to even give this palette a look.

The packaging of the Self-Made palette feels sturdier than previous iterations and canvas/ plastic feel makes it feel much more durable than cardboard alone.

The palette has 14 shades rather than the usual 10 found in Anastasia palettes and the prize has increased accordingly. However, $35 for 14 shades is still a fantastic deal and you do also get a capable double-ended brush thrown in.

I really recommend the Anastasia Beverly Hills Self-Made palette for everybody as you get a wonderful mix of neutrals and colour that will be sure to spice up your make up collection. The palette can be found at all the usual Anastasia stockists and on their website. It is limited edition so grab it early if you’re interested.

Have you tried any Anastasia palettes before? Tempted by this one? Let me know in the comments!

Nana Adomah

(Look out for a FOTD featuring this palette very soon!)

BECCA Afterglow Palette Review

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“Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” – Theodore Isaac Rubin

BECCA afterglow palette WOC

I’ve missed you guys so much! I’ve been away for a little while but I’m determined to get back into the swing of things. My makeup addiction has not abated in my absence and I have a ton of new stuff to show you.

First up is my newest addition and it’s the BECCA Afterglow palette. Now BECCA have released two highlighter palettes for the Christmas season with one being exclusive to Sephora and one being exclusive to Ulta. The Sephora palette is a trio of highlighters which includes “blushed copper“, “champagne pop”, and the new “pearl” highlighter. Since I already own two of those highlighters in the full-size, it was a no-brainer for me to choose the Ulta exclusive.

The Afterglow palette consists of mini versions of “moonstone”, “rose gold”, and “topaz“ highlighters in addition to blushes in “wild honey” and “flowerchild”. The palette is very small and it’s the same size as the usual BECCA eyeshadow palettes. This makes it great for travel but it may prove problematic if you like to use big brushes. The packaging is a dark rose gold plastic case which is definitely a fingerprint magnet but it is nice and slim, which is a bonus.

BECCA Afterglow

Becca afterglow palette

BECCA afterglow palette on dark skin swatches

From L-R: “moonstone”, “rose gold”, “topaz”, “wild honey”, “flowerchild”

I think this palette will be especially good for those who haven’t tried BECCA’s highlighters before or those who want something for travel. I actually intend on mainly using this in my makeup kit as I don’t really feel comfortable de-potting/ carrying around my full-size BECCA highlighters. However, my main problem is how small the palette is (each shade is the size of a typical eyeshadow pan) and I also think the colour selection is a little iffy. I don’t understand why having “moonstone” (the lightest shade) and “topaz” (the darkest) in the same palette would appeal to the average buyer. I do however intend to play around with mixing shades to see how it looks on my dark skin. I also definitely can’t use “wild honey” on my skin but I can just about get away with “flowerchild”.

Reservations aside, I really recommend this palette and I think almost everybody will get some good use out of it. You get to try 5 BECCA products for the price of 1 and you can’t really beat that! The BECCA Afterglow palette is available at Ulta for $39.50. 

It’s good to be back!

Nana Adomah