Product Focus: Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral Palette (Review & Swatches)

In a hope of assuring you that this blog hasn't yet to turn into an exclusively nail blog, I'm posting a review that I have promised to do a long time ago. It is none other than my favorite neutral eye shadow palette as of late, Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral from their Eye Couture Eye Palette line.

There are 3 "eyes" in its name, just in case you're not sure what they are for...

Now, as much as I love Urban Decay Naked Palette (original), there were moments when I wished to have just all matte eye shadows. UD Naked have gorgeous shimmers but let's be real here, the matte selections are fairly limited.

So when I was at Target to burn monthly moolah (I have issues, you see...) and saw this palette, I felt like the heaven's gate had been opened, the light was shining through and I could hear the angel sing. This was what I was hoping for and more. The fact that I happened to carry a $3 off coupon for Sonia Kashuk line was simply the frosting on my cupcake, really.

Without further ado, here is the sucker. 12, all mattes colors.

Now as you can see, Sonia Kashuk didn't go all fancy by naming her shadows with obscene pun and glory, instead she settled with numbers.

So the colors ranges from white, creams, warm-toned browns, cool-toned browns, taupe, gray and black. The first row (1-3) are highlighters (or at least they are for my Medium Tan skin) and they go darker as the numbers go higher (12 being black).

I simply can't stress enough how happy I was to find pigmented matte shadows, let alone having them all in one palette. Number 11, which is a charcoal gray, is simply stunning and unique. I'd buy this palette for this color alone, to be honest.

Here's how it looks with flash on

 Of course it's not complete without swatches.

Done on my skin, under natural light, no base

The pigmentation is amazing, not overly done so that you'd have trouble fixing them if you make mistakes. This is the kind of palette you'd want to carry around in your purse for a quick re-apply throughout the day, or just simply adding colors to your face without being so obvious. It's so professional and subdued, yet it's gorgeous and have a nice selection of colors. Just look at how many different medium browns they have! If I may add, the palette is also really compact and sturdy. It's not as thin as UD Naked palette, tho.

Overall, I would really recommend this palette if you're a bit bored with Urban Decay ones or still in search for matte eye shadow palette that aren't bright and rainbow-y. The price is not too bad as well, I've got mine at Target for $20 something (Everything is more expensive in Hawai'i ... EVEN TARGET THINGS!) but they always have coupons in their site, so make sure you keep an eye out for that.

Thank you for reading and let me know your thoughts if any of you owns or have tried this palette :)

Toodles~

Recent Drugstore Hauls! PIC HEAVY ++

Just some of the items I've gotten within last week....most of them aren't necessarily new but the ones I've always been curious to try.

- Maybelline Color Tattoo in Gold Shimmer & Tough as Taupe
- Maybelline Dream Lumi Touche concealer
- Maybelline Volum' Express Falsies Flared mascara
- L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara
- L'oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe
- Cover Girl lipstick in Spellbound
- Milani baked blush in Fantastico Mauve
- elf studio blush in Fuschia Fusion
- elf studio Powder Blush
- Wet'n'wild lipstick in Sugar Plum Fairy
- Wet'n'wild bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana
- Sonia Kashuk Instructional Eyeshadow Palette in Eye on Neutral

Some closer shots/swatches:

Fuschia Fusion (L) & Fantastico Mauve (R)

Sugar Plum Fairy (L) & Spellbound (R)

I will certainly do an in-depth review for Sonia Kashuk palette above, since it's pretty much my most favorite makeup item at the moment :) so stay tuned for that. Anyone owns/have tried any of items above? Let me know and comment below.

Toodles~

FOTD: Sonia Kashuk Neutral Palette

Hello my beautiful people,

Last weekend a good friend of mine, Windy, who now lives in Singapore came back to Jakarta. We haven't seen each other for almost 2 years so I was super excited to see her. Windy's older sister, Cindy, is getting married and she asked me if I could help her to pick some of items she needed for wedding makeup.

We met up at Plaza Senayan, Ai also came along, but I wasn't feeling so well that day and woke up late lol. I joined them after lunch and we went straight to Metro & Sogo to look for makeups. Cindy needed a foundation and I suggested her Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation which will stay longer, especially for wedding & photo shoot. She has super clear skin (i'm so jealous T_T) so no extra concealer needed.

I chose Oily/Combination formula in Nude shade for her and it seemed to match her face & neck the best. Here are pictures I took right after I applied it on her half of the face, I think it's necessary to take a picture when choosing a foundation because it's important not to look like you're wearing a mask when you have your pics taken, right?

*natural light & flash*

Cindy said she likes the finish & it actually feels light on her skin. She also bought a synthetic foundation brush to apply the liquid foundation. Then we sat down at Starbucks and caught up with stuffs we've been missing out. Windy & Ai were my closest friend when we were in Japan and we could gossip for hours til we fell asleep. Our pillow talks were the best, I remember one time Windy stayed over and we both were already really drowsy on the bed but we kept talking until we both had no idea what we were talking about. We were like "Huh? What did you say? What did I say?" lol

Windy, Cindy & I

I haven't touched my Sonia Kashuk Neutral Palette for a looong time and now I realized it's very convenient for those of you who love neutral colors. It has both shimmer & matte finishes so you can switch up according to your preference. For this look I apply #1 all over lid, #4 on outer V and #5 to deepen my socket.

EG Minerals Face Primer Gel
Pure Anada Niagara Fawn Mineral Foundation
La Femme Soft Beige Blush

Sonia Kashuk Perfectly Neutral Palette #1, #4, #5
Thevi Onyx Pencil Eyeliner
Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara (review coming soon)

NYX Pumpkin Pie l/s

Thanks for reading, have a great week!

Eye Brush Army

I received some questions about the eye makeup brush I use for my EOTDs, and although I have answered them I just thought it would be easier for you to get the idea if I include pictures.

So in order to make it even easier (and fun for me, HAHA), I categorized them into their purpose group. I enjoyed naming & putting them together so I hope you would too =)

Ladies, meet my trustworthy Eye Brush Army

(feel free to click & enlarge!)

As you see, no fancy-schmancy brushes here =)
no MAC, Sephora, nothing~ sorry if I disappoint you LOL

EOTD: Sonia Kashuk Neutral Palette

As promised, here are my EOTDs using Sonia Kashuk's Neutral Palette.

I had a job interview today so I figured it was a great time to try out these subtle colors. I also used the eyeshadow base in the palette and I'm quite surprise on how well it held the e/s on my lids. It survived 5 hours of sweat & humidity.

The colors do show up on my lids, even the closest to my skin tone ones, so that's a plus.
Overall I like this palette, it's very wearable and it offers both matte and shimmer finish.
Not to mention, the base is pretty good!


Here's my retarded palette numbering result, I did it to prevent confusion since this e/s were nameless. Now they have numbers! I'm such an amazing owner. LOL jk.

(I used #1, 2, 5 and 6 plus base)

The breakdown:

• The SK Palette Base
• #1 all over lid, highlight brow bone
• #2 tear duct
• #6 outer lid up to the crease
• #5 outer V, lower lash line
  
• Prestige Brown Liquid Liner
• Maybelline Full'n'Soft Mascara

Hope y'all like it : )



Oh btw I am using

• EDM Intensive Tan concealer
  
• Meow Naughty Korat Foundation with
  
• Cherry Bomb blush using
  
• SN's small duo fiber brush.

On Lips I'm using Rimmel Undressed Lipstick.

....just in case someone's wondering =P

Summer Trip Haul (Picture Obese !!!)

I made some major damage on my last trip, this time I donated my moolah to Bath & Body Works, Sonia Kashuk, and Prestige; all three are stuffs I can't find in Hawai'i.
Smart, no? hehehe

The OMAGAH!


Prestige

I went to Rite Aid at Fayetteville to see what they got, and being located in the small town, I didn't really except too much. I saw Jesse's Girl Baked Mineral Eyeshadow that Vanessa mentioned in her post a while ago, but I wasn't really impressed, the eyeshadow is humongous and I don't think I'll ever finish a single e/s, so I passed on that.

Instead, I found Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Baked Shadow Quad in Joia. They have another 2 Quads: Gemma & Bijou. (They all come with a mineral pencil eyeliner).

I really like these colors, they are very pigmented (if anyone wants a swatch, lemme know ^_^)

I also snatched the Brown Liquid Eyeliner, I'm amazed by the precision of the point, I'd prefer that than a brush because brush tends to be flimsy and makes it a whole lot harder to apply.

Sonia Kashuk

We don't have Target in Hawai'i *boo* so I paid a visit to Target @ Raleigh and got myself couple of brushes from Sonia Kashuk. A neutral eyeshadow palette also caught my attention, I personally think it's a great selections of neutral colors and I can see myself carrying it everywhere hehe (that's when I know I MUST get it)

btw sorry I packed all the 3 small brushes all together to save some spaces in my bag

The Perfectly Neutral Eye Pallet ($12.99)
comes with 6 colors, an applicator and eyeshadow base (the big square)


Small Eyeshadow Brush, Bent Eyeliner Brush, and Crease Brush (uber soft)


Highlighting Brush ($12.99)

some say this could be a dupe for MAC 187, I have no idea coz I don't own MAC brushes, but all I can say is this brush is SUPER SOFT

Size comparison with Silk Natural's Duo Stippling Brush

ew the small baby need some wash!

Bath & Body Works

BBW was still having clearance from their Semi Annual Sale and I went nuts & grabbed everything LOL *ehm* well, ok, maybe not everything. But I ended up with a full bags of lotions & shower gels : )


This is my ultimate favorite scent, I just finished my shower gel a while ago, so I got myself these two : ) Warm Vanilla Sugar smells so delicious!


My new favorite, Rainkissed Leaves, they just came out this summer, smells so refreshing, it reminds me of the smell of the fresh grass after rain. Not overwhelming.


Sensual Amber: It makes me feel sexy. Seriously, this scent makes me wanna lit a candle, open a bottle of champagne & dance in my underwear = P


White Tea & Ginger: omigod, a must have: very uplifting & soothing at the same time, the ginger gives a nice spicy kick but still wearable & feminine.

Enchanted Orchid: reminds me of Lei-smell ^_^ I think this is a perfect spring scent since it's light & floraly. Someone in makeupalley mentioned this smells like Flower by Kenzo.

Japanese Cherry Blossom: this is a dupe of Burberry Touch imo, the musky oriental scent gives me the 'mysterious' feeling, I personally think this is the strongest & most unique smell of all coz again, imo, it's unisex. Love it.


I got the Exotic Coconut Body Lotion for $2 (on clearance sale), I love coconut but somehow many coconut fragrances make me gag. This one is not, very calming & makes me wanna go to the beach : ) It lasts pretty long too, I put on in the morning and around 3 PM I can still smell it.

The Black Amethyst Body Lotion is only $1, a sample they sale for the upcoming Fall new scent of BBW, I like it so I bought one. The smell is not too strong, I'd say it's in the same family with Sensual Amber, very sexy and fresh fall-winter scent.


Rice Flower & Shea: It smells ok, very soft & baby powder-kind. I got this from 75% off Signature Classic sale, not too shabby.


Liplicious Cranberry Cocktail: AWESOME ! I've heard so much rave about this lipgloss so I needed to see it myself, and booooy was I floored. The consistency is not too thick and not sticky at all. It smells divine, tastes divine, WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO SAY? hehe

This is the only color without any sheen or sparkles, the color is quite dark but if you just dab it on your lips and spread it out, it'll give you the prettiest muted rose color. Plus it tastes just what it describes, cranberry cocktail. Spot on.


C.O Bigelow Mentha Body Wash: Supposedly giving you the tingly minty feeling in the shower, I haven't tried it yet but excited!!! Summer in here is a killer and this body wash could come in handy ^_^

Mentha Lip Balm Stick SPF 15: Non-glossy but super moisturizing. My HG! Sorry, Chapstick.

Mentha Lip Tint Magenta Mint: A pretty muted magenta color, leaves a perfect soft red pinkish tint

The gloss is not sticky at all and it gives me the slight tingle of mint right after I put it. It's also sweet tasting. I love this color, the Bare Mint (the most famous, I suppose) doesn't show up on me, this Magenta color is the darkest one I've seen and thankfully it does show up on my lips. The picture doesn't do really well capturing the tint tho.

I went to Ulta to check out their sale but ended up with my long-term lippy loving relationship, NYX lol I got the Soft Fuschia Jumbo Lip Pencil.

As others said, it's pretty drying after a while, so lip balm application prior is needed.




and I stumbled upon this Badger products, I thought it's so cute so I picked up the Headache Soother, just to give it a try. It smells soooo comforting. They also have many other balm such as Sleep Balm, Anti Bug Balm, Sore Muscle Rub, Aromatic Chest Rub, Stress Soother Balm, Yoga & Medication Balm, etc.

Instruction: Massage onto temples, neck, and forehead. Expect a calming, cooling sensation, silky smooth skin, nice aroma and a sense of well-being!

Ingredients: Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Golden Yellow Beeswax, Essential Oils of Peppermint, Lavender, Eucalyptus, Mandarin and Sandalwood, and CO2 Extracts of Rosehip & Calendula. Contains at least 80% Certified Organic Ingredients!

Badger is a pure body care products, for more info click here

Btw I found some interesting fact. Apparently Burt's Bees are originally from North Carolina, that's why when I was in Raleigh & Fayetteville, I saw more selections of Burt's Bees products than anywhere else.