Sparkled Beauty

Sad news: my camera gave me the dark sheen (of death) a few days ago, which broke my little blogger heart. I had got used to its quirks and can't think of moving on to a new camera just yet.

At least makeup can cheer me up for a moment. To follow Freedom Makeup Pro 12 palettes, we should definitely give the Mono eyeshadows their own spotlight today :)

Supposedly having the same HD formula, the mono eyeshadows with sleek black boxes with cutouts to show the inside colours, to me, feel a bit softer to the touch. If the brand can actually carry this formula to its palettes, it'd be the best of both worlds.

The line is quite extensive, listed in different categories based on colour families - Base, Nude, Smoke, Smoulder, etc. but only gives the eyeshadows numbers, not names.

These 3 monos were free gifts in my order, but I enjoyed the colours - Gilded eyeshadows in 216 and 217, and Brights eyeshadow in 230.

No mattes among them, as you can tell, so I wouldn't wear all 3 in one look, but the colour tones do work together. The shimmers are quite intense but do not cover up the slightly dual toned base underneath. And they blend well, last reasonably long. No complains.

I love 216 for inner corners and 230 for the crease (thanks to its blue/ purple switch) while 217 is good anywhere. The pots are 2g, only £1 each.

Today we have a Freedom Makeup Pro 12 palette that fits in between Audacious Mattes and Romance & Jewels in both colour spectrum and finish: Secret Rose :)

I like the fact that Secret Rose offers more matte than shimmery shades - the whole first row, the third shade in the second row and 2 middle shades in the last row, while maintaining an nice gradient of colours from off-white to darker plum with lots of browns in the mix.

And look closely, there are some complicated shades - last shade in second row, first and last shades in the last row - where the almost matte base is mixed with super fine glitters that transfer very little to the lid. The subtle metallic sheen they give is pretty.

The glitters are obviously less visible and more muted in natural light but the mattes would show up more.

Swatches (damp brush, no primer):
- First row: My favorite transition shade in Secret Rose is the second shade from the left.
- Second row: Second shade from the right is another great (darker) transition shade. The last shade was a surprised pigmented one with that metallic sheen that I mentioned.

- Last row deserves 2 pictures to show off the fine glitters in the first and last shades. The 2 in the middle are great too.

If you can't tell by now, Secret Rose turned out to be my most favorite palette among the 3 I bought :) The lineup has a lot more to explore, if any of you are planning an order.

Jumping to the opposite end of the finish spectrum of Freedom Makeup Audacious Mattes Pro 12 palette, I have the Romance and Jewels palette for you today :)

If you can't tell by the picture, all shades in this palette are either shimmery (different degrees of shimmers) or with fine glitters. I do enjoy going to the extremes!

This palette is warm toned, another opposite spectrum compared to the Audacious Mates, with lots of browns and a few dark shades. A little more colour varieties. If you know me, you can tell that I would be drawn by that deep plum at the end of the middle row :)

In natural light, the colours appear more muted than with flash, but the glitters are still pretty much visible. The good thing is they are fine enough to not transfer to the lids.

Swatches (damp brush, no primer):
- First row: the 2 bronzed browns are awesome.
- Second row: 3 good lid colours and the plum is dark enough to be almost black in certain lighting.

- Third row: the first 2 shades are the darker version of the 2 bronze colours on the first row, smooth with beautiful metallic sheen.

What we need to specifically discuss are the last 2 shades. They have strong colour payoff, good pigmentation but also fallout issues. I would recommend doing your eye makeup before foundation, if you plan to use either of them.

Again, like Audacious Mattes, Romance & Jewels will not be a stand-alone palette for me but together, they are great, good mix of colours and finishes.

Now that we started the week looking at hundreds of lip products in that giant acrylic lipstick tower of mine yesterday, and we talked about Freedom Makeup Pro Melts and Pro lipsticks 2 weeks ago, let's change it up and talk eyeshadows instead :)

Freedom Makeup has a lineup of Pro 12 palettes that cater a wide range of colours and finish preferences. As the name suggests, each palette has 12 shades, supposedly with HD formula and decorative corner patterns on the surface (NARS Dual Intensity palette style). The clear plastic lid gives a good peek of colours inside but that would mean no mirror inside, only a dual-ended sponge tip applicator.

The first Pro 12 palette I wanted to get obviously was the Audacious Mattes, with all matte eyeshadows, no shimmers.

First impression: the colours are matte all right, but they don't offer varieties, too many beige/ brown colours. I can understand the intention of different brow bone highlight and transition options, but a number of shades show up on the eyes very similarly (see below).

For that exact reason, to me, Audacious Mattes is only ideal as a transition palette, not great on its own. After 2 weeks of testing it (and 2 other palettes that you will see shortly), I craved badly for colourful eyeshadows.

The swatches (with a damp brush, no primer):
- First row (left): very similar (as mentioned), with slightly different pigmentation. I don't have a favorite.
- Middle row (right): only the last shade shows a difference.

- Last row (below): the darker mattes perform. All 4 shades are pigmented, do not need to build up much, perfect for the crease and/or outer V area. Just wish the black were more intense.

The finish: the eyeshadows feel a little harder to the touch, do kick up a bit of powder in the pan after a brush. They would turn a little cakey if the brush is too damp (see the swatch of the last colour in the first row above).

The lasting power: reasonable. With a primer, fading starts a few hours after lunch.

Audacious Mattes is a nice cool toned neutral matte palette for more day than night looks, offers lots of inner lid/ transition colours. Unless you only wear neutral eyes to work, I'd suggest pairing it with other colour family tones to change things up.

Freedom Makeup Pro 12 palettes are 12g, £4 each (about CAD8 + shipping), with promotions offered quite often. In comparisons:
- L'Oreal La Palette Nude: 10 shades, 17.5g, CAD23.96, same width, more length.
- Annabelle Smokey Nudes: 10 shades, 9.3g, CAD12.95, also smaller in measurement.

Told you it's lip products for the week :)

If the Freedom Makeup Pro Melts I reviewed yesterday didn't interest you, or if you prefer the traditional lipstick form, I have Freedom Makeup Pro lipsticks to show you today.

The line is quite extensive with 25 shades, categorized in colour families, £1 a pop or 5-piece set for £4.

The shades I got were part of the free GWP, not my choice, but represent a good range of colours. I'm quite happy with them, not complaining.

From L-R:
- Pro Pink lipstick in 101 Flushed
- Pro Red lipstick in 109 Red Wine
- Pro Bare lipstick in 115 Mannequin
- Pro Now lipsticks (latest shades) in 117 Juicy Lips and 119 Adorn
- Far Away lipstick (space themed collection) in Space Luxe.

Standard black tube with colour indication at the bottom and silver tube under the cap, quite sturdy and does not look cheap, considering the low price.

These Pro lipsticks remind me of Yves Rocher Sheer Botanical lipsticks in how they swatch and feel, and the finish they give, just slightly less sheer, less moisturizing and without a candy scent.

101 Flushed is slightly cool toned, so I wear it as a sheer wash of pink or with a warm liner underneath.

109 Red Wine looks pure red here but shows its pink base more on the lips, still quite bright.

115 Mannequin is appropriately name, the lip version of "mannequin hand" nail polish. 117 Juicy Lips - the first shade in the second group shown below, is Mannequin with more peach.

They are both quite sheer, show almost no colour on me, best worn with a liner.

119 Adorn is the berry version of 109 Red Wine above, with equally good colour payoff.

Space Luxe is truly space-y, good for those special occasions where you want a sheer gold sheen on top of another lip product. It does not build up very well on its own.

The Pro lipsticks will not be the most pigmented nor full coverage lip products in your stash but they are comfortable on the lips and easy to wear. They do not last any longer than other lipsticks though, nothing to rush out and buy right away :)

Freedom Makeup, the sister brand of Makeup Revolution, has had a few free gift promotions lately. I placed my first order the one time the gift included many items that I wanted to try.

We start with lip products today. Pro Melts are described as long lasting hybrid glosses with melted lipstick formula, £3 each.

I went for the 8-piece set, £18 (save £6) cause I found the colours quite represent a good range.

Here are D-ream, Wanted, Smooth, Sugar Fix, Up, TGIF, Jammy Dodger and Just Do It.

The Pro Melts come with classic gloss tube packaging in silver box (far left) with an opening on the side to show the colour inside. Since the products are sold online, I'm not sure the boxes are necessary though. Just saying :)

The applicator is also standard, easy to use. I guess the formula is the point to discuss with these glosses.

As you see in the swatches below, the glosses are all cream (no glitters/ shimmers), go on wet like a gloss then dry down to a semi matte finish.

Mind you, they show no shine on the lips but are not completely matte like LA Girl Matte pigment glosses or Colour Pop Ultra Matte Lips I reviewed recently.

Wear wise, they are not super long lasting (i.e. transferable with eating/ drinking) nor drying either but the most comfortable wear among the 3 brands. I'd say they are good as introduction to matte liquid lipsticks.

The swatches, with 2 swipes each: D-ream, Wanted,Smooth and Sugar Fix on the left; Up, TGIF, Jammy Dodger and Just Do It on the right.

Pigmentation and layering are quite good with these glosses. Needless to say, I need a bright base underneath D-ream and Just Do It (a bit streaky) to make them wearable on me. The other 6, however, are great just as is.

I enjoy the Pro Melts as a nice change from flat matte glosses. The price is great too. If you are new to the brand, newsletter subscription would give you a 20% off code and upgraded tracked shipping for £7.95 (normally £11.95) for the first order.