Swatches: Front Cover Moonlit Metals Gift Set!

If metals are your thing then this offering from Front Cover is perfect for you. It’s genius, its bang on trend and at £16 it won’t break the bank – not least because it’s currently included in the Boots 3 for 2 Christmas gifts offer (but if you want to buy one to keep for yourself then I won’t judge).

The set includes 6 pigment powders (Dawn Chorus, Cloud Dancer, Nightfall, Deep Lake, Darkly and Prism Violet) and 2 glitters (Sparkler and Moonshine), plus a tube of ‘shadowbase’ and a double ended... application brush!

Without flash (under a day lamp) L-R Sparkler, Dawn Chorus, Darkly, Cloud Dancer:

With flash (under a day lamp):

I have to say, I really like this set as it has such a great mix of colours, all of which are fabulously metallic and perfectly pigmented. The brush included is ok, the smaller end is great for more precise application but I’ve not got on quite as well with the larger end – that could just be because I’m used to my own brushes though.

The ‘Get The Look’ guide (shown above, kind of) is a great addition to the set as it tells you how best to use the products in the set, and also how to achieve the look shown on the box. It does keep going on about a sponge applicator which I don’t understand as both ends of the applicator are brushes!

Without flash (under a day lamp) L-R Nightfall, Deep Lake, Moonshine and Prism Violet:

With flash (under a day lamp):

No flash and slightly dark but I thought it showed the colours quite well, still:

Application is a little trickier because they are powders, and there can be a lot of fall down with most eye shadow powders, but it’s definitely worth spending a little extra time and care as the looks you can achieve are nothing short of amazing.

Also the tip to dab the product on rather than sweep it is one of the most important included in the guide, in my opinion as you get better coverage and a more precise application – I generally do this anyway with powders but it’s always worth noting for those that aren’t used to using them.

With flash:

Without flash:

The ‘shadowbase’ is definitely needed to help the shadows and especially the glitters to adhere better to the skin, and stay where you put them.

I really don’t think I could pick my favourite colour(s) as I think they’re all equally lovely and I am happy to wear all of them (not at once) without hesitation. The glitters are great for party season, I especially like the holographic glitter but I can’t seem to get a photo that shows just how stunning it looks.

My only real issue with this set is that it’s hard to get the plastic inlay out of the pots without splattering product everywhere – in fact it’s a bit messy all round, but again it’s really to be expected with powders and glitter products.

I hope you found the swatches useful; I’ve tried to catch them in different lights and show you in the pictures but I don’t think any amount of pictures can completely capture how brilliant the powders look.

'Give 'Em The Eye' With This Lily Lolo 'Smoky Eye' Set

I’ve heard many good things about the Lily Lolo brand (and notice they’ve won their fair share of awards) but have yet to experience it myself; however I have found myself eyeing up this little set which looks gorgeous.

You may well realise by now that I am a sucker for metallic eyes right now, and this collection seems to be perfect for my little obsession, and party season too (I’m talking about this a lot, can you tell I’m excited yet?) – I can just imagine the seriously smoky, sexy eyes that could be created with these!

The items included in the set are free from harsh chemicals, parabens and bismuth oxychloride so you can feel confident that no nasties are going on your skin when you use them; and they’re cruelty free, so you can be sure that no animals have been harmed in the making of them too. I love these ethics; more of this please beauty companies.

The set comprises of:

• Silver Dollar Mineral Eye Shadow – This is described as an ‘intense metallic silver’ – ooooh!
• Brooklyn Black Mineral Eye Shadow – Described as a ‘matte black base with a high silver sparkle’ – aahhh!
• Natural eyeliner in black – This is self explanatory, really.
• Their best selling Pure Sable Brush - So you can apply it, innit!

All this for just £16.50, seems quite the bargain if you want to treat yourself, or somebody else (or both)! Surely it’s worth a punt? I’m hoping that I’ll be able to test and swatch these for you to help you make that decision.

If you just like the look of them and want to go for it straight away then you can buy them here: http://www.lilylolo.co.uk/products/smoky-eye-kit

Swatched: Models Own - Silver With Silver Sparkle & Grey With Silver Sparkle!

I love eye shadows – especially those that are sparkly, shimmery or metallic, so it’s no surprise that I bought these when I saw them on sale recently. I’m a total magpie and was instantly drawn to the aforementioned elements of them and couldn’t wait to try them out.

I love them both, however I was surprised with how the ‘silver with silver sparkle’ applied as I expected more of a solid silver colour, but it turned out to be quite a sheer sparkly silver which is actually quite nice (although takes a bit more work to apply, I found); so thought I’d swatch them so you guys could see for yourselves.

I’ve tried to take pictures from different angles and against different backgrounds (in the pots) so that you could see how the light reflects off them.

The products last well once applied, just be aware that as these are powder shadows AND glitzy that you may want to take precautions to either preserve your already applied foundation/powder or do it after you have used these on your eyes as they do have the tendency to go everywhere. I also recommend either quite a sturdy eye shadow brush or even a foam one so it controls where the powder goes when you apply it.

Models Own posted this almost a year ago on their blog with instructions on how to ‘get the look’ (shown below) but I feel that these are still bang on the money for this season, especially over the festive period.

Available here (click) on the Models Own website at just a fiver each (or less if you buy more)!