Author: Nikki

I was shocked to recently notice that Sigma’s 14-pan eyeshadow palettes are now clocking in at $65. Back in 2020, when I posted about the Sigma Cor-de-Rosa Palette, they were $49. When the Sigma Cool Neutrals Palette was released in April 2024, it was $52. I purchased mine in November of 2024 for 30% off ($36.40), and it was $52 at that time. Now, they are suddenly at $65. Everything is getting more expensive, but this price jump is worse than most I’ve seen. This is one of the 14-pan palettes that comes with a double-sided brush (E58 Diffused Crease and E54 medium Sweeper), which does add to its cost; however, that was already included in these palettes. There are a lot of reasons to continue to buy Sigma eyeshadows. They are cruelty-free, talc-free, and I’m pretty sure their cosmetics were clean beauty before people were calling it clean beauty. I also often enjoy their color selections for eyeshadows; they appeal to me, and more often than not work well for my olive undertone better than other brands. However, the formula has never been good enough for me to recommend it unless it was on sale for 40% off. And this was back when they were $49, meaning I only recommended others purchase them for about $29.40 before tax. Now that they are $65, they would have to be over 50% off to get close to that price.

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**Givenchy Le Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick, $48 (shade 114)

The formula of the Le Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick was nice and felt comfortable on my lips, but the scent of this lipstick was a deal breaker. I have been able to wear Givenchy lipsticks and lip balms in the past, and felt that the smell went away, but that was not the case for the Le Rouge Interdit Satin formula. I’m not sure if the fragrance added to this formula is in fact stronger than in the past, or if I’m just more sensitive to it now. Either way, I couldn’t hang in there long enough to truly test the formula out. Givenchy promises that this lipstick provides 24-hour hydration with a 6-hour color impact, and it comes in a genuine leather case. It is well reviewed, and I’ve had great success with Givenchy’s products in the past, so it may be worth considering for those not sensitive to fragrance.

I have swatches and comparisons below of the shade with Estee Lauder Covetable, Charlotte Tilbury Stoned Rose, Charlotte Tilbury Nude Romance, and Pat McGrath Negligee. Givenchy’s 144 Satin ended up being quite a unique color. None of the other shades I have are really that close.

I stumbled on the 2025 Halloween Collection from Wet n Wild when I was in CVS last weekend. Well, I think Fantasy Makers is the branding that Wet n Wild uses for Halloween. If I’m mistaken, please let me know. I did check the batch code to make sure it was new, and it was manufactured 2 months and 21 days ago. So even if it is not a Halloween release, it is new to the market.

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There were two different 10-pan eyeshadow palettes in CVS, the Poisoned Forest and the Queen of Brights. The palettes were more expensive than the permanent collection, $7.29 vs the $6.49 listed on the Wet n Wild website for the permanent collection. **The Queen of Brights Palette is $6.19 on the Wet n Wild website. I decided to buy Poisoned Forest. I just couldn’t see myself using the Queen of Brights enough to justify having it. But I did take pictures of it in the store so you can see what it looks like. I’m not sure if Wet n Wild typically releases its limited edition products at online retailers, but as of today, I couldn’t find these online anywhere. Not even on the CVS website, despite buying them in CVS.

Just dropping in to tell you about some post updates for the Chanel Les 4 Ombres Boutons 239 Boutons Baroque, MAC MACximal Sleek Satin Lipsticks, and a conversation on concealer creasing.

Chanel Les 4 Ombres Boutons 239 Boutons Baroque – 👈🏽 Click here for the updated post with my review of the 239 Boutons Baroque quad and comparison swatches of the quad to Chanel 252 Peche Glacee and Tom Ford’s 40 Golden Hour quad. Update September 7, 2025: The collection is now available at **Bloomingdale’s and **Nordstrom.

MAC MACximal Sleek Satin Lipsticks – 👈🏽 Click here for my review post of the MAC MACximal Satin Lipsticks, which now includes photos of me wearing the shades Creme in Your Coffee and Paramount.

Makeup By Mario’s Softsculpt Blurring Bronzer ($38) was recently released. It is a reformulation, making their bronzer line talc-free. I never tried the old formula, so I’m not sure how this one compares. The brand is promising a lightweight, easy-to-blend formula with a soft matte finish. As the name states, it is also supposed to be blurring with a light-medium coverage, and they also claim it has a sweat and humidity-proof finish. Not the shortest or longest list of claims, but I actually agree with all of them (1 might be a little questionable, more on that later). Right away, I will tell you, if you like your bronzer to be very pigmented, this one might get frustrating. The light-medium coverage is accurate. The formula is firmly pressed, and there is no kick-up. So basically, not very much product picks up on the brush. This can be a downside for some, but that does make this easy to control and blend.

I have some swatches of the Chanel Les 4 Ombres Boutons ($86, limited edition) in 239 Boutons Baroque to share with you. I literally just got this in the mail about an hour ago, so I haven’t used these on my eyes. Update August 19, 2025: Scroll down for my review and comparison swatches with the Chanel Single Eyeshadow Peche Glacee and the Tom Ford Golden Hour Quad. But as I’ve said in the past, it can be hard to find Chanel swatches on someone with a similar skin tone. Since this collection is limited edition, I wanted to go ahead and share the swatches. I have a warm olive, medium-deep skin tone (sometimes medium or tan, depending on the shade range). My best foundation matches for shade reference are NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Tahoe and Estee Lauder Double Wear 4W4 Hazel. 

The Chanel quads come with a velvet pouch, and the pouches for each of the 4 quads in this collection have a different design, so I wanted to include a picture of it.

I’ve been having a hard time writing this review for the Morphe Cloudlight Soft Glow Veil Powder ($16, 8g, 4 shades). It feels hard to explain it when a product pretty much does what it says it’s going to do, but I still don’t like it. For reference, I’m in my early 40s, and my skin type is dry, sensitive, and eczema-prone. I use heavy and hydrating skincare (glycerin-based serum, heavy oil-based moisturizer), which will affect how products look and perform.

According to Morphe, this is “a sheer, weightless, multi-tone powder that sweeps on to softly set and finish your look with natural radiance.” Again, I pretty much agree. It is weightless, and it sets my makeup well, while also giving radiance. I have the shade Golden Hour, which is described as golden with balancing peach. It doesn’t look very golden on me (NARS Tahoe/Estee Lauder 4W4, olive undertone), and leans more pink, but it is not unflattering. However, since this powder is multi-tone and swirled, each compact will vary slightly in shade. That is something to keep in mind. If you buy it in person, the packaging does allow you to see the powder, so you might be able to pick one with a better swirl pattern based on which shades you need.

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I just have a quick swatch post for you guys today. I discussed the Hourglass Curator Eyeshadow Palettes ($68) last month in a Wednesday Window Shopping Post. I did decide not to purchase any of these, but while I was in Sephora the other day, I was able to get swatches of the Futurist, Expressionist, and Realist Palettes. These palettes are talc-free, vegan, and cruelty-free. The packaging looks nice, but the size is so small that it just ends up feeling cheap, considering that these are $68. They are also small in terms of product quantity.

• Hourglass Curator Eyeshadow Palette – $68 for .09 oz (from Bloomingdale’s site)
• YSL Couture Mini Clutch Eyeshadow Palette – $68 for .17 oz
• Pat McGrath Divine Bronze Luxe Eyeshadow Palette: Venusian Sunrise – $62 for .18oz (review of the Bronze Borealis Quad can be found here)
• Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Eyeshadow Palette: Pillow Talk Dreams – $55 for .18 oz (review of the Pillow Talk Dreams Quad can be found here)

I knew they were small before I saw them in person, but walking up to the display, it just hit me differently to see them. Then, picking them up, I just expected a little more weight. And I say that as someone who often uses their pressed powder, which is plastic and not necessarily weighty. They swatched ok, but they just don’t feel worth it to me. However, I haven’t tried the formula on my eyes, so keep that in mind.