Paula's Choice - The Nudes Matte Palette REVIEW!

I happen to come across a You Tube Review on this new eye shadow palette by Paula's Choice.  I am a sucker for any new eye shadow palette. 

Take a peek at the review here:

What is it?  It is the new "The Nudes Mattes Eye Shadow Palette".  

As a make up artist and beauty guru - I love trying new products. 

Make up .... for me .... is my creative outlet.  

So, when I saw this palette being reviewed - I was intrigued.  Mostly - because I truly do love all the neutral palettes that are out there and I loved the fact that his palette was all matte!

I am closely approaching 50 years old and so - the shimmer does not always work on me!  The review on You Tube got me wondering - just how wonderful IS this palette?  

Honestly, I had never heard of Paula's Choice.  

I've been a faithful skin care user of Estee Lauder and Clinique for 30+ years.  

And I recently became a consultant for Rodan + Field. I LOVE their skin care line and I love the fact that they make skin care simple to follow - step 1, 2, 3 and 4!   

So, I decided to take the plunge and spend the $40.00 for the eye shadow palette.

I have to say - the shipping and turn around time was incredible! I ordered it and in less than a week - it arrived at my door step.  The eye shadow was packed well, although the box it arrived in was quite beat up.  

I always love opening a new eye shadow palette when it arrives. It's like Christmas in a box!  You never truly know what you are getting until you open it and begin to use it!

When I opened the eye shadow palette - I will tell you - my first impression was not very good.  

I was very disappointed with the packaging. The eye shadow palette itself was made of a cardboard container and it was very flimsy.  

With the new Urban Decay Naked 2 and 3 Palettes being in a super nice metal package - well, the packaging on this one got a D-.   

I was so disappointed.  To be honest, I am not a fan of the cardboard packaging. I know many of the $40 price range palette's come with this sort of packaging - I - just don't like it.

I think one of the things us ... beauty guru's love about make up ... is the creative packaging.  

We love something whimsical and something creative!  When I think of exciting, fun and adventurous make up - I think of Urban Decay, Rouge Bunny Rouge,  Too Faced or The Balm - they all have that special feminine flair to them.  

Do you know what I mean?

When I purchase make up - I want quality and value! 

So, when I dove in to use this palette for the first time - I was not expecting much.  

I was thinking it would have a drugstore quality to it.  HOWEVER ... I was humbled and surprised when I started to apply it!

Once I got it on my brush and then onto my eyes - I was OH SO HAPPY!  I really started to do the happy dance in my heart.

What they lost in packaging they made up for it in quality and then some! 

Not only did the eye shadows apply like butter - they truly had great coverage, highly pigmented and they blended flawlessly.   I mean one dab of my brush into the color - one swoop on the eye lid and it covered OH SO well.

Each color in the palette was special.  I know that is hard to say for a neutral palette - but they truly are SPECIAL! 

When I was applying the eye shadow - they really reminded me of a Burberry eye shadows.   

I put the eye shadow on - and I was SO thrilled at how it turned out!  The shadows went on like a charm and they lasted ALL day!  Of course, I used my Milani Eye Shadow Primer underneath them - to be sure they lasted all day and they did! 

If you are on the fence about whether to get this eye shadow palette or not - I would say - GET IT!  

Especially if you have aging eyes like me - or if you need a great gift idea for Mother's Day.  This would be the perfect holiday gift for any aging woman in your life! 

I just know the matte eye shadows don't show off the fine lines and wrinkles! 

Well, really .... any woman of any age would love this palette! This palette is perfect for any day time look - and it would work wonderful to create a sultry smokey eye as well.

This eye shadow palette turned around BIG TIME and I rate it an A+ in my book.  I can easily see me reaching for this daily!  

The only thing I would love to see with some of these cosmetic companies - is more creativity in the packaging of these palette's.  

So much of the joy of using these palette's is in the packaging. 

This palette ranks up there now .... with some of my favorite eye shadow palettes ..... 

• MAC Cosmetics - Create Your Own Palettes
• INGLOT - Create Your Own Palettes 
• Urban Decay - Naked Palettes 1, 2, 3
• Lorac - Pro Palette
• The Balm - Nude Tude Palette 
• Tarte - Matte Magnificent Palette
• IT Cosmetics - Naturally Pretty Palette 
• Smashbox - Full Exposure Palette 

Holiday 2013: Smashbox Full Exposure Eye Shadow Palette!

Are you a fan of the Urban Decay Naked and/or Naked 2 Eye Shadow Palettes?  Or is there someone on your Christmas shopping list that loves the Naked palettes?

If so, I might have the perfect 2013 Holiday palette for you or for them!

As a make up artist and beauty guru, I love trying new products!  Like, I literally love things all related to beauty!  I love seeing the creative side of women come alive as they play around with make up!  I love seeing the confidence that emerges when they embrace who they are as women!  Women who are loved and have a purpose to impact the lives of others! 

You, my beloved, are that woman!

As I was browsing through Sephora's web-site a few weeks ago ... I found this new palette set by Smashbox.  (Smashbox Full Exposure Eye Shadow Palette w/ Mascara). 

On first glance, I thought to myself ... I don't need another nude/neutral eye shadow palette.  But I was curious to see what all the reviews had to share.  It definitely got some great feedback by those who took the plunge to pick up this palette.

As I kept reading all the reviews, it seemed that there was really something extra special about this palette!  I wanted to know what it was! This curiosity made me click the add to my basket button!  And the 20% Sephora VIB discount also helped push me past any hesitation.  Plus, I new if it really didn't work - I could return it because Sephora is amazing with their return policy!  

The first thing I loved about this palette was the fact that this palette was and is ... highly usable!  Like the Lorac Pro palette, it contains some mattes and shimmers.  The top row is all shimmer and the bottom row is all matte.  It is one palette that truly meets the spectrum of our eye shadow needs.

The second thing I loved about this palette was the range of colors - from light to dark.  From nude/brown tones to gray tones. I loved the fact that it provided a great range of colors and finishes - that could really work the whole eye!

It provided colors for the inner corners, great matte colors for blending out the crease ... to some nice dark colors for the outer V.  

I would of been over the top happy .... if there was a sibling palette to this one with more pinks and plums; the beautiful berries for winter (similar to the Lorac Pro) but with it's own uniqueness of Smashbox.  

But, since I have the Lorac Pro palette and love it - I wasn't too disappointed! 

I think whoever the brilliant person was that put this palette together truly understands what is needed to make a complete palette!  

I give a BIG hats off to them for understanding the needs of the end users - both for individual beauty lovers as well as the professional make up artists.  Whoever you are - keep bringing products like this to market!  

The colors in this palette are beautiful.  Although they are colors typical to so many palettes out there - this one has that something extra special that looks wonderful on the eye.  

This palette will help you create a perfect day time look or you can use the darker colors to smoke out your eyes for a more sultry look! 

I can't tell you how many palette's I have bought - that have great colors, great pigment, blend well - but you literally can't use the one palette to do a complete eye.  

It is either missing that great brow highlighting color or it is missing that great matte color that is needed for blending out the crease area, or it is missing a great dark color.  I think the only thing that could of been added was a nice white color that would work with the range of all skin tones.  A nice white works great for the inner corners and as a brow bone/highlighting color.  Sometimes the creams, depending on skin tone, just do not provide the contrast needed.  

I have found this is the only color outside of this palette that I have had to reach for.  I always like to put just a little bit of white right under my brow bone to help lift and lighten my eyes.

The third thing that I loved about this palette was the fact that all the colors had great color payoff, they all blended well, and they all had staying power - off of these are typical of a Smashbox product!

This was truly a palette that I know I will be using as a part of my daily make up routine!   I also believe it is one of those palette's every beauty lover should have in their make up collection.  This one gets a huge thumbs up! 

AN ENCOURAGING WORD

• Believe in yourself.  Don't listen to those whispering lies that say your life has no value or no purpose.  
• You exist for a very special purpose and keep embarking on the journey to know what this is! 

FUN FACTS

• I live in Northern California and I love it.  Although today, I am missing snow, missing that magical feeling you get when you see your first snow fall of winter.  That feeling that makes you want to make hot cocoa, light a fire and snuggle up with a cozy blanket and read a book or watch a movie!  It is still 80 degrees and it is almost Thanksgiving! 

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!