I have to admit that Christmas 2010 was quite the cosmetic spree for me as several of the brands imported from Korea went on sale during the holidays. This particular entry is my take on The Face Shop Baked Shimmer All-Over Illuminator.
Given my skin tone, my colouring happened to favour the #03 Apricot Nuance palette.
If memory serves, there are three other shimmer brick palettes. The #01 highlighter is precisely that: pastel-shaded highlight colours that, I would venture to guess, would work best with much lighter-skinned individuals. The #02 is a set of pink shades that I can best describe as "rose" shades, ranging from deep pink to an almost white pink which I think would look good with most warm skin tones. The #04 is a set of gold shades that I believe would also look fabulous on those with lighter skin tones.
As much as I loved the gold of the #04 palette, I chose #03 since it did not look fake or too white on me. And though I like saying that, when I wear make-up, I want people to notice I'm wearing make-up and that I wouldn't bother with a no make-up look, whitish shimmer on my tan skin would really just look greasy.
I am in love with the prismatic exterior. I know that, with the flash, the glitter and rainbow effect is rather blinding but without the flash, there will be no way to show off how the holographic glitter covering the entire compact shimmers like the product it holds inside.
The whole compact is thin and light which is perfect for slipping into any small pocket in my bag and becaues the mirror is huge, it can definitely double for a make-up mirror on the go.
The colours, in my opinion, are more pigmented than I expected them to be.
From top to bottom, there's a cream, peach, bronze, and tan. (I'm talking the language of Crayola colours, by the way, just to give a better framework of how I'm defining the colours...without having to resort to hex codes or matching it up with Pantone.)
The brush is passable. Obviously, since it's wide and flat, it's really best used to apply (sparingly!) the product in smaller areas but in general, the brush serves its purpose just fine.
Below are the swatches for each colour, with and without the flash on, just to show how the pigments look.
I know it's a little bit weird but please note that the colours on my fingers showcase the colours in the palette from bottom to top.
I was unprepared by the amount of pigment in the colours given that shimmer, once applied, usually looks the same. I could actually see the colours against my skin. It might not be as obvious in pictures but the difference is very obvious in real life.
The fact that the colours were that distinguishable made me feel like I could use it as a handy all-in-one compact which makes it even more fantastic.
Just to note, I used the darkest shade from my lash line to the crease, and dusted the tan over the rest of my eyes. I used the peach on the apples of my cheeks, using the lightest and darkest to create highlights and shimmery contour.
Note: If you were to do this in real life, please do not overdo the shimmer! I only did my entire face using the palette just to try it out. Remember, too much shimmer makes you look greasy and really, shimmer all over?
On my lips I applied the Nivea Angelstar lip balm and a light wash of the M.A.C. Diva.
Over all, the subtle colouring/shading gave me enough pop to look awake but at the same time, enough subtlety to not appear made-up.
I might consider buying the lot since the pink version was really cute.
Okay, as far as staying power is concerned, the shimmer stays but the pigment fades a little bit after its been applied and really, reapplication is worthless since it will just amp up the shimmer.
I would suggest though that the soft brush that comes with the compact be favoured over a stiffer brush if the intention is to highlight as the stiffer brushes pick up more of both pigment and shimmer and it becomes just a touch tougher to blend out.
So says the grasshopper. I'll improve on the application over time. ^_^
Originally posted as Boudoir Angel on Tumblr, 11 January 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment