REVIEW & SWATCHES: SISLEY MYSTIC HARMONY COLLECTION

As promised, I will be more consistent with my updates and here I am, second post of the week. :)

After all the instagram (@ThroughBeautyEyes) - filled updates in the past couple of weeks, me thinks its time to be back with the good ol' review and swatches, tested and tried out by yours truly. :)

You would have probably noticed that Sisley got quite a few mentions on my twitter and instagram (@ThroughBeautyEyes) as of late, with special tribute to their Autumn/Winter 2012 - Mystic Harmony Collection. 

"As the colour of nature change and intensify, Sisley introduces an Autumn/Winter make up collection of magnetic, intensified shades. Rich metallic blue for the eyes, accentuated with a sparkling grey green and lined with shimmering purple. 

I was lucky enough to be sent a few products to try out from the Mystic Harmony range. :)

*surprise surprise*

Courtesy of Star PR. Thanks Fiona for giving me the opportunity to try out these products!

I had to control not to yell out in excitement when I saw the packaging of these products (mind you, I was still at work) and couldn't help till I have my hands on these babies (thats what she said BAM)

Sisley has definitely scored 100% in the packaging's department - I am sure you guys will concur, wouldn't you?

 Phyto Ombre´ Eclat Eyeshadow in Stardust

 RRP $55

"Phyto-Ombre´Eclat combines the properties of natural botanical extracts with the most sophisticated make-up technologies, creating a silky, ultra fine quality texture that glides over eyelids and blends easily. Tested under ophthalmologic and dermatological control, Phyto-Ombre´Eclat protects and does not dry out the delicate skin in the eye area."

Silky and ultra fine texture - Checked.

Glides on like magic - Checked.

Blend easily - Checked.

Does not dry out eye area - TRIPLE CHECKED.

Not to mentioned, this eyeshadow is super pigmented and lasted all day long.

Yes, this little gem here ticked every boxes it claimed to be - which is pretty rare when it comes to beauty products.  I can safely announce that Phyto-Ombre´Eclat in Stardust has probably made it place to my Top 3 eyeshadows of all time and might have just claimed a HG status. It works perfectly fine on its own (during lazy days) by simply sweeping it all over the lid - or when contour with darker colours like burgundy, brown or black. 

WITHOUT FLASH

WITH FLASH

 Phyto Blush Eclat in Peach Duo

 RRP $65

 "Blusher duos created from ultra-fine micronized powder, gives you an astonishingly transparent make up result and a subtle glowing finish with just a single sweep"

Whilst this is not the most pigmented blush I own, I love the glow and subtle flush it gives my cheeks when I apply it. Do keep it mind though, that this blush is on the sheer-er side but its definitely buildable - albeit it does take more than two sweeps. This is the perfect summer/spring shade for you to add that summer glow to your cheeks, against your sunkissed tan! Me loves! You can either use this as a blush + highlighter or blend the two shades together! Multi-fuctional, yo! 

WITHOUT FLASH

WITH FLASH

 Phyto Lip Shine 

RRP $50

"A glossy, ultra-luminous treatment lipstick - more colour than lip gloss, more shine than lipstick. Phyto- Lip Shine is both extremely light and nourishing, with a treatment formula combining both intense gloss and absolute softness. Phyto- Lip Shine's formula includes kokum and mango butters help to hydrate, protect and provide comfort; sugar esters provide softness, comfort and shine"

Couldn't agree more with the statement "more colour than lip gloss, more shine than lipstick". At first glance and yes, I was judging a book by its cover a lipstick by its outlook, I thought it was gonna be one of those tinted lip balms with a hint of colour which is super sheer. But boy was I wrong - the colour pay off is pretty good given the fact that its super shine and moisturizing. Definitely the lipstick to go when you are having dry and chapped lips. 

Sheer Nude

Sheer Burgundy

  

WITHOUT FLASH 

WITH FLASH

*click for larger image*

The swatches on lips give you a better idea of how pigmented these lip shines are, especially for a product with shiny and moisturising formula. 

Just a couple of FOTDs featuring the products above:

Used Stardust in my 10minutes FOTD challenge post HERE. :)

FOTD using Stardust, Peach Duo and Sheer Burgundy. :)

FINAL THOUGHTS:

These products are indeed fantastic. All of them, especially Stardust. The only downside about Sisley products is they are pretty exy compared to other departmental store brands and Sisley is probably sitting on the "designer" end. Honestly speaking, prior to trying Sisley products, I never understood why would people splurge on "designer make ups" (besides my YSL Rouge Lipstick and Chanel LOL). With Sisley, I could really feel the difference in terms of the colour pay out and quality. I will probably not go on a hoarding spree on Sisley products as it will probably send me bankrupt. However,  will definitely consider (re) purchasing some of their amazing products. 

Hope you girls enjoyed this detailed review and swatch post on the Mystic Harmony collection!

Have you tried Sisley Make Up products?

What's your favourite from my loot?

Disclaimer: Products were provided to me for consideration. I am in no way affiliated with Sisley and Star PR, nor am I being compensated for this post or any sales made. All opinions stated are 100% honest. For more information, please review Through Beauty Eye's disclosure policies. 

XOXO,

A

WET & WILD COLOUR ICON PALETTES REVIEW & SWATCHES

Howdy! :P

Hope you guys are having a great weekend so far! I had a midweek pampering session using my Essentials Honey Hair Mask and Soap & Glory Flake Away exfoliater. I haz SUPER smooth hair and smell amazingly good now! LOL I had an awesome time tanning and catching up with Janice as well as dinner with the girls yesterday!!! Gotta indulge in the sun before autumn arrives. However, I think I should take a step back from tanning, especially after the weird but vivid dream I had last night about skin cancer! 

ANYHOOS,

today's post is a more detailed review on one of my current favourite products - WET & WILD COLOUR ICON PALETTES that I got from my swap with Gwen. 

I have been wanting to try these palettes for the LONGEST TIME EVER but as always, the land down under doesn't stock them and even if they do, it will probably costs as much as the departmental store products in the States. Yes, cosmetics prices is disgustingly inflated here. (We have been through this heaps. I shall save this for another post.) Hence, I was delighted when I received my package from Gwen. :)

Without further ado, let's move on to the swatches before the detailed review on these palettes. :)

GREED

VANITY

PRIDE

LUST

WHAT I THINK ABOUT THESE PALETTES?

Product [5/5] - As you can probably tell from the swatches above, the product is EXTREMELY pigmented and has great colour pay off. And I like how it comes with 3 matte and 3 shimmers colours, which allows you to mix and match according to your personal preference. Personally, I prefer shimmer colours as I think it brightens up my look a little. But I don't really want to look like an over-bling-ed christmas tree either, so it's always good to tone it down with a matte colour, which is usually the brow bone highlight for me. :) Also, the staying power of these shadows is awesome!!! With my faithful ELF Eyelid Primer, these eyeshadows last forever! Even after a strenuous gym session. For the price of this palette, there's nothing more you can ask from this product! 

Price [5/5] - I think it's sold for USD5 per palette, which is EXTREMELY cheap, especially for Australian standard.  B ut to my Australian readers, it will definitely costs more than USD5 due to shipping costs and if you're buying from a local online store, the price is heaps inflated. I was lucky enough to get mine during my swap with Gwen. It will probably cost up to approximately $10 - $12 including shipping if you get it from Non Parallel Boutique, which is still fairly reasonable. (Once again, I am comparing it to other Australian Drugstores products.)

Packaging [3/5] - If you REALLY have to pick a flaw from the Wet & Wild Colour Icon Palette will probably be the packaging of the palette. It's pretty plastic-ish but that doesn't really concern me, so no biggie. 

No prize for guessing that Vanity is my favourite out of the 4 of them as I love my neutrals and earthy colours. :) I love the shimmer-y peach colour from the Greed palette as well! I will be having a Wet & Wild FOTD/FOTW series coming up - which is basically a series of different looks created using these babies. So, stay tune for that, which is coming up very soon! :P

Alright beauties, it's time for me to hit the books now. :( I hope this review and swatches is helpful to those who are looking for an awesome but affordable palettes or for those who are looking to try Wet & Wild products. :)

Which is your favourite palette out of the 4 of them?

XOXO,

A 

Review: Sports Girl's Make Up

This review about Sports Girl's cosmetic range was meant to be up yonks ago (I am talking about 3 months ago here Lol. I edited these photos ages ago, way before I started watermarking them.) But being the procrastinator I am, it took me forever before I finally decided to write up a review about them. (Also to make sure you guys aren't getting too bored of my face from all the FOTDs I have been posting lately=P)

I purchased a few of their single eyeshadows, brushes and bronzer when they were having clearance about 2 months ago (and I believe, the sale is still on but the products are VERY limited). To be honest, I wouldn't have purchased them if they weren't on sale. As much as I love my drugstore products, I have always been somewhat skeptical when it comes to the quality of the make up produced by non-make-up company. Who's with me?

Sports Girl's Single Eyeshadow

Price

5/5 - I bought Tiny Dancer and Super Natural when they were having the BOGOF promotion- A$9.95 for both, so it works out to be approximately A$5 each. Holy Smoke was retailing for A$4.95 each at the time of purchase. Pretty cheap for Australian standard.

Product

4/5 - As you can see from the swatches, the colours are pretty pigmented. It does, however take a few applications to build up the intensity of colour. In terms of staying power, it stays on forever with a lil help from the good ol' creme shadow as a base. I don't even need to apply eyeshadow primer albeit I do use it occasionally when I am creating a night/party look. :) According to a friend of mine, these shadows are exact dups for some MAC colours but I can't comment much on that as I don't own any MAC eyeshadows. :(

Packaging

4/5 - Nothing special to shout about the packaging - simple and convenient. I do reckon the packaging is quite chic and am glad that it is not made out of some kinda cheap plastic materials like some of the affordable make up products out there. As for the size, it is about the same as the standard round single eyeshadows and its convenient to chuck it in your make up bag (though I personally prefer to carry a Quad-palette).

Sports Girl's DRAW THE LINE Eyeliner

I realised I didn't even take a photo of the colour of this eyeshadow, let alone swatches. *EPIC FAIL* But yeh, I got the purple one.

I don't have much to comment on this product as I have only used it a couple of times and I didn't like it. The formula wasn't creamy enough for my liking and I always had troubles drawing it on my lower lash line. I have to draw at least 3 times to have the colour appear and even so, it is not very noticeable. Lasting power isn't that great either. It smudges after a couple of hours but that happens to most of my eyeliners. That being said, poor Draw-The-Line Liner is one of the products that yours truly abandoned.

Sports Girl's BRUSH WITH FAME Brushes

If I am not mistaken, there only 4 brushes from the brush range - Kabuki brush, Cheek Brush, Eyeshadow Brush and Angled Brush. Correct me if I am wrong as I haven't visited their Beauty section for quite some time.

Cheek Brush: I used this to apply my Maybelline Dream Matte powder around my eyes area (to set my eyeliner) and highlighter for contouring daily.

Eyeshadow Brush - pretty much self explanatory? Lol

Price

5/5 - I can't remember the exact price of these brushes. I think it was A$7.95 after discount and they were having a further 30% off discounted item when I bought them. So, it should be around A$5 - A$6.

Product

3/5 - Its kinda obvious that you can't really expect much from brushes that you paid less than 10bucks. It wasn't bad but there wasn't much to shout about either. The bristles isn't as soft as I like my brushes to be. The eyeshadow brush is not as concentrated/intense? (I can't think of the right word for it atm lol) as my ELF and Coastal Scents ones.

Sports Girl's OH MY GODDESS Bronzer

Price

5/5 - The price department is scoring full points for all the products today as I believe I got them at a very good deal, so no complaints there. =) I think this bronzer was A$9.95 after discount and I got a further 30% discount. *win*

Product

4/5 - I have heard pretty good stuff about Sports Girl bronzer prior to buying this and I have been looking for bronzer for quite a while. Hence, it doesn't take me long to buy it when I saw it on the rack, especially for that price. I chose the one with shimmery bits as it is more blendable compared to the matte one. I was using this almost daily but stopped now because the shade is getting a tad too dark for me, now that its winter. =( This is my first bronzer I ever owned and I am pretty happy with it.

Packaging

3/5 - I gotta admit that Sport's Girl packaging for their cosmetic range but I find it a lil bulky for my make up bag. Would be perfect if it comes in a smaller size.

Have you tried any products from Sports Girl's cosmetic range before?

XOXO,

A

Review: Physicians Formula Baked Collection - Baked Spices

This is my first proper product review on TBE although I did "briefly" review a few products which I used in my FOTDs. I don't really have any particular review style in mind as of yet, so I am just gonna write as I go.

"These revolutionary eyeshadows are actually baked on genuine Italian terracotta tiles, creating the ultimate versatile formula. Use "dry" for sheer colours and "wet" for absolute dramatic and long lasting colours. Colourful trio provides infinite combinations to define, accent and line the eyes fora sexy, sophisticated look. Silky, powder formula glides on easily and lasts all day or night when applied with water. Can be used on all skin types."

SWATCHES:

With flash

Without flash

As you can see from the fingers swatches above, the colours look pretty pigmented. That was my first impression to when I swatched it at Priceline.

With flash

Without flash

The colour was no where near pigmented when swatched on my skin and it took me at least 3-4 applications before the colours actually appear and even so, its wasn't at all impressive. The colours do appear better when applied with a wet brush, but nothing too dramatic as stated on the description.

Now, moving on to my ratings on:

Packaging

4/5 - Its nothing over the top but I like how it is small and compact, and will definitely fit into my make up bag. The packaging also contribute to my purchase as I was looking for a neutral eyeshadows quad/trio as most of my neutral colours are either massive palettes or they are single eyeshadows, not exactly ideal at times when you want to travel light. It also comes with a double tip applicator - one for eyeshadow application, another is to use it as an eyeliner brush.

Product

2/5 - For someone who has exceptionally dry skin, my eyeshadow barely creases, especially during winter. Of course, its a whole different story when I am out dancing/clubbing and am sweating profusely. However, this product started creasing 2 hours after application. Hence, I beg to differ in relations to "lasts all day or night when apply with water",as stated in the description. I tried this product for the very first time without using any primer, just a cream eyeshadow (ELF Duo Creme Eyeshadow in Butter Scotch) as base (like what I do most of the times and never really had a problem with it.) To my horror, most of the colour on the inner corner of my lid creased completely by the time I got to work. You can pretty much see my bare lids with a smokey outer corner. =.=" I didn't want to sentence this product to "death" only after one use, so I decided to give it another try next day and this time, I applied BOTH primer AND eyeshadow base (Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in Coral Me Wild) and the same thing happened. =.="

This is how it looks like after 8 hours. However, this photo doesn't really illustrate much due to the lighting but the inner corner of my lid is pretty much eyeshadow-less.

This is how my make up looks like after 11 hours and all I used was MAC Bare Study Paint Pot without any primer. Let you be the judge yourself =P

It might be due to the reason that I applied eye creme before my matte powder,primer and base but I highly doubt so as I don't have such problems with other eyeshadows. This is enough to put me off using this trio for a while. Who knows, I might rediscover its "hidden beauty" in a few months time, just like how I did with my Revlon Mineral Eyeshadow. Definitely not anytime soon though.

Price

5/5 - I got this when Priceline was having a promotion - 50% off all Physical Formula's products. So, it worked out to be around $9.95 after discount, pretty decent for Australian drugstore products. (I mean, one Maybelline eyeshadow quad here costs A$14.95. Gay, I know.)

That's pretty much it for my review. Hope you guys find it helpful and sorry if its not detailed/informative enough for you guys as this is my first review. Let me know if there's anything that you think I can improve on in terms of my review. =P

Have any of you tried this product? Was it a yay or nay?

ps: Do you prefer my new blog layout or the pre

vious one?

XOXO,

A