Thursday 13 October 2011

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette In The Dark

Of the two Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palettes, I decided to try out In The Dark first as the smoky shades in it looked particularly intriguing.

Take Black Gold for example: it is a smoky bronzed black with an abundance of rich gold shimmer. When applied with a damp brush, the bronze tone and gold shimmer flecks show up with a lovely intensity. Using a damp brush does leave a visible spot on the eyeshadows but does not damage the texture. There is quite a bit of powdery kick-up with the baked eyeshadows in this kit, so the case can get messy.

For this look, I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance to prime the lids and then applied Black Gold along the upper lashline and Nude in the crease with a damp brush. Next, I applied White Gold over the browbone area and along the lower lashline and blended Deep Brown very lightly into the outer half of the crease.

Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Sequins was used to line the upper lashline. I also applied Benefit They're Real! Mascara on the upper lashes and Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara on the lower lashes.

For the rest of the look, I used Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua B20 Beige Tendre, By Terry Touch Expert Advanced Ultra Radiance Active Concealer #3, Liberty x Hello Kitty Lipgloss in Dark Pink, Za Ever Brows BR21 and Rouge Bunny Rouge Original Skin Blush in Orpheline.

The eyeshadows lasted very well on me over more than 10 hours of wear. At the end of the day, there was just some very minor creasing at the inner corners. I did not notice any fallout on my cheeks (although there was some fallout on the under eye area during the application process). The level of shimmer is quite high, especially under direct sunlight but it doesn't look like obnoxious chunky bits of glitter.


The Orpheline blush was gifted to me by the wonderful WorshipBlues. It's a lovely warm pink with very subtle micro gold flecks that never fail to give my cheeks a healthy pop of colour that lasts all day. Like the Moonshadow palette, this is made in Italy.

And for the second look, I used Black Purple along the lashline, Cobalt Blue in the outer half of the crease, Platinum along the lower lashline and the inner half of the crease and Gold over the browbone area. Black Purple and Cobalt Blue were both applied with a damp brush.

Using a damp brush helps to make the shades appear more rich but not particularly easy to blend. So I usually follow up by using a dry, fluffy eyeshadow brush to layer on other shades and then blend. I was disappointed that the purple flecks in Black Purple did not show up well, despite using a damp brush.

Nevertheless, I think In The Dark is a great palette for creating a variety of smoky eye looks, but only if you are a shimmer-holic. The eyeshadows have excellent lasting power and good color payoff. Although I wish that the case was more compact and slimmer for easier storage, it does provide good protection for the baked domes. The lid flips out to a full 180°.


The other products used for this look include: Dior DiorSkin Forever Compact foundation, Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Sequins, Benefit They're Real! Mascara, K-Palette Lasting 2-Way Eyerow 01, Lancome Color Fever Gloss in On Fire and Teint Miracle Natural Light Creator Bare Skin Perfecting Corrector Pen #1.

Thanks for reading!

11 comments:

Jacqueline said...

I love both eye looks, very pretty. The RBR blush is so pretty.

Verlyn said...

I particularly like these 2 new looks (:

nia said...

love the first look!

Tiffany said...

Hi Haru,

like your fairness in this post :) looks brightened

have u tried the beauty blender to apply your foundie? heard it gives a flawless finish and hollywood celebs use them, sounds good!

found they are available in bhg, distributed by Japalang ..but not sure how much they cost though. sephora sell $20 USD for one blender. hope it's not marked in our retail shore.

but i usually just use finger to apply. do you use brush to apply your liquid foundie?


found 2 links here

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beautyblender/171109468968?sk=wall


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beautyblender/171109468968?sk=wall#!/japalang

Unknown said...

Oh! I have been dying to see this on you. I am so delighted that you like the blush. It suits you so well.

*congratulates self* LOL!

Anonymous said...

Hi haru,

Have you been to Dior Xmas party before? I received their invitation.. quite tempted but find the $80 for 2 quite steep... considering they din say can redeem the $ for vouchers :p

Just wondering if you think it's worth going...


Regards,
keira

Haru said...

Hi Tiffany,
I haven't tried the Beauty Blender sponge before. i usually use my fingers to apply liquid foundation, sometimes I also use a brush like MAC 187 or the Shiseido Perfect Foundation brush.

Hi Old Cow,
I love the blush! Have used it countless times since July :)

Haru said...

Hi Keira,
Usually the fee is fully reimbursable for products, but you should call the counter to confirm. I think such events are usually useful only if you are interested in the collection or the theme of the event. Personally, I would only attend if I already have something in mind that I wish to purchase.

Liz G. said...

That first look is amazing on you. I can't wait to buy the palette and start experimenting. But I am definitely going to do your first look on my eyes because it is so perfectly smoky!

Haru said...

hi Liz,
Thanks, hope you have lots of fun with the palette! :-)

x said...

You are so pretty :) And I love your make up. I wish I had this eye shadow palette :)