Category: Beauty

The Pat McGrath Mothership XII Petalmorphosis Eyeshadow Palette ($128) is the first Mothership Palette I’ve purchased from the brand. If you are familiar with my preferences, you may know that I prefer singles, quads, and smaller palettes. I still get tempted by palettes, but with how expensive the Motherships are, I really wanted to be happy with all of the shades in the palette to get my value out of the purchase. Huetopian Dream and Sunlit Seduction were close options, but ultimately, as you can see, I bought Petalmorphosis and got the limited edition lavender case.

There are mixed reviews, which is pretty typical for the Pat McGrath brand these days, so I can’t say I’m surprised. Many people are disappointed that Mothership XII Petalmorphosis doesn’t have any of the “special shades” the brand is known for. I can’t compare this palette to other Motherships, but I have tried the baked formula that appeared in the Bridgerton Part 2 Collection. I personally wasn’t as in love with that baked formula that people rave about. I don’t know if that formula differs from the actual Mothership palettes, but from what I thought at the time, they were the same. The formula was okay, but there was too much fallout, and it looked dry and textured on my eyelids. I don’t use glitter glue or wet my brush, which could’ve been part of my issue. So I wasn’t upset when the product information was released, and there were no baked shadows. This is just some background to keep in mind as you read my thoughts.

Ok, let’s get to the swatches!

Continue reading “Pat McGrath Mothership XII Petalmorphosis Eyeshadow Palette (Review and Swatches)” →

Using the Natasha Denona Bloom Eyeshadow Palette prompted me to stop dragging my feet on finishing my review of the Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Concealer ($30). At first, I wasn’t going to post about it because there are so many reviews out there already. I have seen that people either love or hate this concealer. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of middle ground. I don’t love or hate it, although I would love it if my dry, sensitive, eczema-prone skin agreed with it better.

Before I talk about how the formula performed for me, I wanted to talk about the shades. The shade range is excellent because it has 50 concealer shades and 6 corrector shades. However, that also makes the shade range hard to navigate, and the Hy-Glam Concealer is only available in a limited number of Sephora locations. So, many people shopping for this concealer will have to rely on brand swatches, reviews, and swatches from YouTubers and bloggers. This made me want to post swatches of the shades I tried, especially after I struggled with the shade range. I had issues even though two of the times I purchased shades, I saw them in person. The undertones are diverse, but different than what I’m used to, and the number depth isn’t the same depth in every undertone. For instance, P7 is described as tan dark peach, but Y7 is medium yellow. In my mind, these should have the same depth but different undertones. This is not a unique problem for the Natasha Denona brand, but it is something I still wish was more straightforward.

My best foundation matches for shade reference are the NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in Tahoe and the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in 4W4. After swatching in person, I started with shade P7 and then ordered shade YP11 online. After the second time I went in-store to swatch shades, I finally settled on NY12. Unfortunately, I didn’t own all three simultaneously, so I couldn’t swatch all three together. Something else to note is that the color changes slightly as the Hy-Glam Concealer dries (see below in the swatch of NY12). It is common for matte concealers and concealers with added skincare (which this has) to dry down slightly darker.

Continue reading “Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Concealer (P7, YP11, NY12 Swatches)” →

Say hello to the 2025 reformulation of a classic. Estee Lauder just launched a new Double Wear Stay in Place 24-Hour Concealer ($38) formula. The previous formula was one of my hero products, so I was intrigued to see how the new formula would stand up to it. They are somewhat similar in performance for me. I prefer the longevity and transfer resistance of the old formula, but I like the new formula’s more comfortable, less drying feel. Let’s get into the details.

First, some point of reference information. I had to mix 4W and 5W in the old formula, but the shades changed a bit. 5W in the 2025 formula works for my NARS Tahoe/Estee Lauder 4W4 skin tone. I recently got back from a trip to Vegas and it was sunny and warm the whole time. So I’m a little darker than my usual winter skin tone. When I bought this in Ulta, they didn’t have testers out yet, so I couldn’t see how the new shade range looked before purchasing. The range has 30 shades to choose from, so hopefully, people that typically buy a particular shade in Estee Lauder will also be able to do so in this formula.

Continue reading “Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer 5W (2025 Reformulation)” →

This is just a quick one today. I wanted to share swatches of the Natasha Denona Bloom Eyeshadow Palette ($69). I have seen a couple of people compare it to the Sigma Cor-de-Rosa Eyeshadow Palette, but I don’t think they’re that similar. I did swatch a few of the shades that were “close,” but overall, the Sigma Cor-de-Rosa palette is more colorful and warmer. If you already own the Cor-de-Rosa, I can understand why you might feel it has a similar vibe. If that is the case, and you enjoy using your Sigma palette, I’d let that be good enough and pass on purchasing the Natasha Denona Palette. As a makeup lover, it can be easy to justify slight shade differences, but I genuinely don’t think these two palettes will create the same looks. At least not on my skin tone. However, if you are more concerned about utility (which isn’t bad), this could be a pass for you. They will be at the end if you are interested in the comparison swatches.

For shade reference, my best matches are NARS Tahoe and Estee Lauder 4W4. I am typically the lightest shade in the medium deep category or between that shade and the next shade lighter. I have a warm olive undertone that can make a more significant difference in how colors appear on me than how dark I am considered. Just some things to keep in mind.

I took pictures of swatches in two types of lighting because I had trouble getting the natural light pictures to show the colors as I saw them. I’ll explain the takeaway from each kind of lighting when we get to it. Ok, let’s get into the swatches.

Continue reading “Natasha Denona Bloom Eyeshadow Palette Swatches” →

Tom Ford Beauty recently released two new Eye Color Quads in 47 Olive Smoke and 48 Peach Glamour ($95). Although the packaging of this quad doesn’t say it is a creme formula, it is listed with the previously released Eye Color Quad Cremes from Tom Ford Beauty. I’ve never tried the other formula, so I can’t compare them directly. The formula is a wet feeling powder, similar to the Natasha Denona creme to powder formula.  The colors are beautiful, pigmented, and easy to apply. Unfortunately, I have had a lot of trouble with creasing and fading. Dimethicone is the first ingredient in all of the shades, even the matte black. So at first, I suspected that the creasing was because my eye primer (MAC Prep and Prime 24-Hour Eye Base) is also dimethicone heavy. But after wearing it a lot more over the last month, I can tell you this creases on me, no matter what primer or base I use. Let’s look at some swatches, and then I’ll let you know which primer/base worked best for me.

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**Bloomingdale’s

	$ Sale Price $ 95.00 Regular Price
Tom Ford Eye Color Quad Creme

Continue reading “Tom Ford Eye Color Quad Olive Smoke” →

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Patrick Ta recently added four new shades to the **Major Headlines Double-Take Creme and Powder Blush Duos. I am very tempted by the cool mauve rose shade called She Goes To The Gym, but I just couldn’t bring myself to spend another $38 on blush when I currently own Oh She’s Different and She’s Baked from this line. **Oh She’s Different is no longer carried at Sephora, but it’s available as an exclusive shade on the Patrick Ta website. She’s Baked was discontinued at some point, but I’ll share my swatches of that shade for comparison in case you have it. Update June 7, 2025: **The shade She’s Baked is back on the Patrick Ta website.

I have seen many complaints from people saying their Patrick Ta products went bad quickly. I purchased She’s Baked in February 2024 and Oh She’s Different in April 2024, and I have not had any issues with either shade. The packaging lists a 12-month shelf life, which I’m just getting to for She’s Baked, so if anything changes, I’ll post an update.

Let’s get into the swatches and what the shades look like on me.

Continue reading “Patrick Ta Creme and Powder Blush Duo – Oh She’s Different, She’s Baked (Swatches)” →

This will be a short and sweet review, so let’s get right into it. Colourpop doesn’t promise much in its claims for the Pressed Powder Blush ($12), but I can only agree with half of them. Unfortunately, the half I agree with are the least important parts of this blush’s performance. They describe this formula as a silky powder blush with a color that stays true all day, which I agree with. The disagreement comes in because they claim it adheres to the skin and is long-wearing. Something about this silky formula just doesn’t cling well to the skin, and despite how pigmented they are, it takes some building to get the color to show. I have tried it over different foundations and setting powders and had the same experience. Even when swatching them on my hand, I can tell that they have less grip than other formulas of blush. As far as the long-wearing claim, I have to reapply this blush formula because I notice that it fades throughout wear. Just Cruisin’ fades faster than New To U, either because it is less vibrant or because the formula of New To U is slightly better. Regardless of the reasons, I don’t get the performance out of this formula that I want.

Continue reading “Colourpop Pressed Powder Blush (Just Cruisin’ and New To U)” →