After playing with my first Fred Farrugia palette last week, I decided to assemble another palette.
This time, I picked up the blushes #7 and #8, three Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadows duos and a concealer.
(From left to right) Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadows #4, #28 and #38.
The Farrugia eyeshadow range contains a wealth of shimmery grey shades that often look virtually identical when swatched. The differences, if any, are very subtle.
Similar to the Becca concealer, the Farrugia concealer module contains a "corrector" shade with light coverage and a "concealer" shade with heavier coverage and a less emollient texture than the corrector shade. This is shade 05, the lightest shade. One drawback of having the concealer in this module packaging is that random pieces of lint tend to find their way into the concealer.
I like the blushes as they have good colour payoff and are easy to blend. They're not as intensely pigmented as Sleek or NARS blushes, but I find that they are easier to layer and blend without ending up with instant clown cheeks if your brush happens to pick up too much product. Most of the blushes have a semi-matte or satin finish, without any frostiness. Shown below (from left to right) are #2, #7 and #8.
Here's a look that I did with the Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadow #4 (a shimmery pale yellow and shimmery royal purple) and Blush #7. I also used the beige rose shade from #28 above the outer half of the crease to add some depth.
Another look with Pearlized Twinkle Shadow #28 (shimmery grey and shimmery rose beige).
I used Shiseido Automatic Fine Eyeliner for this look. Although I like the jet black shade, the eyeliner doesn't last well throughout the whole day for me. By evening time, I can see a gap along my lashline where the eyeliner has worn off. I also still prefer liquid eyeliners in which the eyeliner fluid flows naturally into the brush tip without having to push a button, like those by Dolly Wink and Heroine Make.
Thanks for reading!
Formerly the artistic director of Lancome cosmetics, Fred Farrugia broke new ground by inventing the first ever all-cake brand offering customisable palettes that are highly portable and easy to apply.
Known as the "iPod of makeup" thanks to the ingenious packaging designed by Ora Ito, the line offers powder eyeshadows, lipglosses, foundations, concealers, highlighters and even cake mascara in generously sized pans within a sleek white "module".
You start with the First Kit, which includes the top and bottom covers and a black sleeve (similar to those made for iPods), and simply add the modules that you desire. The bottom module includes a mirror.
The modules snap together easily and swivel out for convenient access. The interlocking mechanism is made such that the modules close up with a reassuring click and stay closed no matter how they are held.
For modern day nomads, the slim lightweight packaging is a welcome relief from the bulky blockbuster palettes proffered by other brands. Each eyeshadow pan is 0.05oz (same as a MAC eyeshadow) while the blush is 0.15oz. They are made in France.
The sleeve comfortably fits my palette, which currently includes four eyeshadow modules and one blush, with enough space for me to add another module.
It covers up the palette well, so that there is no need to worry about the modules accidentally swiveling out while in one's bag.
When browsing the Fred Farrugia display, I was naturally attracted to the vast array of Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadows. The first pair I picked was #10 Vert Sapin / Gris Platinium. The Gris Platinum shade reminded me of Lancome's Erika F eyeshadow but when applied, it has less of an olive undertone than Erika F.
My next pick was Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadow #27, a shimmery grey mauve paired with a shimmery violet. The violet shade felt dry and dusty whereas the grey mauve shade has a smoother texture. Both have to be layered a bit to show up well.
Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadow #34 is another shimmery grey with a shimmery light turquoise.
Satin Eyeshadow #37 is a satin white with a cobalt blue that reminded me of NARS Outremer Eyeshadow from their fall collection.
To complete the palette, I added Blush #2, a satin coral orange.
Swatches on bare skin without any primer underneath.
The eyeshadows are formulated with shimmering mother-of-pearl particles rather than glitter. When applied over a good primer, they last very well over more than 13 hours of wear on me with very minimal fading and creasing at the inner corners. The texture and level of color payoff do vary amongst the individual shades. Some shades required a bit of effort to pick up with my brushes. The pearlized twinkle eyeshadows look very rich and sparkly in the pan but most of them are not intensely pigmented like Sleek eyeshadows. Instead, they require a bit of layering.
Here's the look that I did today with Satin Eyeshadow #37 and the light turquoise shade from #34, with Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Curacao along the upper lashline.
When wearing such a bold, vivid shade, I usually refrain from applying it above the crease so that it does not look too over-the-top. Even then, the cobalt shade was eye-catching and got noticed by friends. It's not a shade that I would wear very often but it's fun to play around with on days when I'm feeling more adventurous.
For more reviews, do check out Makeup Stash and Makeup & Beauty Blog's posts here and here.
Several weeks ago, I purchased the Tarte for True Blood Natural Cheek Stain in Sephora in the US. I used to own most of Tarte's cheek stains in the original formula (before they were revamped to include the T5 Super Fruit Complex) but didn't really like to use them in Singapore's humid weather. Plus they tended to get messy with age, so I cleaned them out from my stash.
When I saw the True Blood cheek stain in Sephora, the combination of the succulent bright crimson shade glistening with gold sparkles and the sleek black packaging was irresistible. Helped by Sephora's instore lighting, I was instantly "glamoured", so to speak.
The cheek stain is protected by a clear plastic cap which comes in handy when you want to push down the cheek stain after using it. To expose the cheek stain, you just need to push it up from the bottom of the tube. But given how little you need to use for one application, you can probably go a few weeks without needing to push it up even with daily usage.
When swatched on my hand without blending, it is a translucent watermelon red with a bit of shine and quite a fair amount of gold micro glitter bits. (Click the pic to view it in full size).
When blended out on the hand, the micro glitter bits are still very visible. This will immediately put off many ladies who are glitter-phobes and I have read reviews ranting about the glitter in this cheek stain. I'm also not a fan of glitter on the cheeks but I've learned that swatches on the hand are not always an accurate reflection of how a product will apply on the face. The method of application, the other products used over or under one product and one's skintype all affect the final appearance.
The cheek stain gives a healthy, sheer pop of reddish pink colour to my cheeks. I can hardly see the micro glitter bits unless I look really closely in the mirror. I think one reason for that is that you really need to dab only a very tiny amount of it with your fingertip for it to show up on the cheeks, whereas when I swiped the cheek stain across the back of my hand, a lot more product ended up on my hand.
The cheek stain dries down nicely without feeling sticky. I've used it over both liquid foundations and the Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Loose Powder Foundation without any problems. It lasts about 6-8 hours on me. At US$30, the paraben-free cheek stain is pricey for a product that has an official shelf life of only six months but still, I like it.
For today's look, I also used Anna Sui Protective Foundation Primer L under the Body Shop Loose Powder Foundation, Fred Farrugia Eyeshadow #27, #34 and #37 over Lunasol Shining Ocean Eyes EX03, K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 01, Tarte LipSurgence in Sweet, Sleek Luminaire L02, Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Sequins and Benefit They're Real! Mascara.
On the eyes, I used the aubergine shade from Fred Farrugia Eyeshadow #27 (shown above) on the inner half of the upper lid and the metallic grey on the outer half, with the metallic baby blue from #34 along the lower lashline, the white shade from #37 over the browbone area and the grey silver shade from #10 above the crease.
Fred Farrugia has a mind-boggling array of shimmery, metallic shades. They look incredibly rich on the store display and swatch quite well. However, I was surprised when it took quite a bit of effort to pick up some of the shades with my brushes. Nevertheless, they wore well over more than 13 hours without creasing.
I like how nifty and compact the Fred Farrugia module system is. In my self-assembled palette, there are 8 powder eyeshadows weighing 0.05oz each (same as a MAC eyeshadow), a blush (0.15oz) and a mirror on the bottom module.
