Single...And Fabulous! New In and Currently Loving | Single Eyeshadows

 Hello Beauties!

I wanted to share a couple of new single eyeshadows that I have purchased over the last 2 weeks, that I am currently really enjoying in my morning makeup routine. I love a good single eyeshadow, and on a daily basis I find them quick and easy to reach for in the morning for a quick wash of colour on my eyes. A good coat of mascara adds definition, and my eyes are done.

I wrote a post last year that featured some of my favourite single eyeshadows, and I still enjoy and reach for the same shades to this day. The single eye shadow shades that tend to pique my interest have a slight sheen, or shimmer. On the eye, the shimmer reflects the light on the lid, whilst appearing to have more depth in the crease where the natural shadow occurs. It gives the illusion of two different shades of eyeshadow and looks like you have spent way more time on your eyeshadow than you really have. 

Two of the single shadows that I purchased are from a new collection by Essence, the "I Love Nude" collection. Along with new shades of lipstick and nail polish, there are 6 baked eye shadows within the collection, ranging from pale beige to deeper bronze and brown. I managed to restrict myself to only 2 shades, and was impressed immediately by how silky smooth they felt and how nicely they swatched on my hand. Into the basket they went...

A recent brief nosey in The Body Shop saw me walk out with one of their Colour Crush eye shadows in the shade Mon Cherry. It is the most unique shade of eyeshadow I think I own, and looks quite a bit different in the pan to what emerges once it is blended into the skin. This is the first Body Shop eyeshadow I have purchased, and though they are a little on the pricey side for a single shadow, the quality is impressive.

Essence I Love Nude Baked Eye Shadows in My Favourite Tauping and Sweet Like Chocolate
The Body Shop Colour Crush Eyeshadow in Mon Cherry.

The Body Shop Colour Crush Eyeshadow - Mon Cherry    RRP  $14.95 AUD.

Unfortunately I don't think my swatch of this shade has done it justice. Mon Cherry looks to be a cool toned lavender plum in the pan, however she morphs into a warm rosy plum with a very subtle lavender reflect once on the skin. Patted onto the lid with a flat brush, or your finger tip brings out the lavender/mauve tone, and once blended up into the crease with a fluffy blending brush a deep, muted warm rose appears. In the photograph below it looks to me more like a blush than an eyeshadow! It would certainly make a beautiful blush too! I am having fun experimenting with it, and will try to post another swatch on Instagram if I can manage to capture it! The formula is smooth, buttery and blends beautifully. 

Essence I Love Nude Baked Eye Shadow -  04 My Favourite Tauping   RRP  $5.10 AUD.

My Favourite Tauping  is one of the matte shades in the new Essence collection, a cool toned mid brown/taupe that I am always drawn to. A perfect a transition/crease shade, I also fancy this as a one shadow look. It has good pigmentation, but does benefit from a primer or base underneath it for the best results. Definitely worth looking at next time you are in Priceline or Target, and you can't beat the price!

Essence I Love Nude Baked Eyeshadow - 05 Sweet Like Chocolate   RRP  $5.10 AUD.

Sweet Like Chocolate from Essence is more bronze than chocolate, but a beautiful shade none the less. It has a beautiful sheen, with a warm, golden undertone that will complement all eye colours. It is creamy and smooth, blends really nicely on the eyes. Love.

Swatched in Natural Light
L-R  Mon Cherry, My Favourite Tauping, Sweet Like Chocolate

If you would like to check out my post from last year featuring some of my favourite single eyeshadow shades you can click the link here.

Have you tried any of the products from the "I Love Nude" collection from Essence? What are your favourite single eyeshadow shades?

Do leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lou xo 

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Single... and Fabulous!! The Beauty Vine's Current Favourite Single Eyeshadows

I only have a handful of eyeshadow palettes, and while they are lovely, and I enjoy using them very much, it is the single eyeshadows that I reach for on a daily basis. Trying to make myself look a little more presentable is my aim in the morning...there is certainly no "I woke up like this" at The Beauty Vine HQ, I can assure you!!

So today I thought I would share some of the single eyeshadows that are currently occupying a draw in my little acrylic storage. I have recently had a tidy up and sort through of my makeup (gosh I love doing that!) and have collected a few favourites that are currently tickling my fancy to chat about and swatch for you. I have a few high end, and a few affordable options,  and I feel that they all fall into the neutral category. I think these particular shades would look beautiful with any eye colour...hopefully something for everyone! One feature they all have in common is that they all contain some degree of shimmer, and are mostly mid-toned shades.

I remember seeing a video from Emily Eddington from Beauty Broadcast ( EmilyNoel83 on You Tube) about single eyeshadows that work well as a one shadow look some time ago. The idea being that the shades will catch the light on your lid, and then when blended into the crease take on more depth to give your crease definition without the addition of another shadow. I typically use two brushes, a flat shader brush to pack colour onto the lid, and a fluffy blending brush to diffuse the colour into the crease. You could certainly get away with one brush, by just using your finger to pat the colour onto the lid, and then blend with the fluffy brush. I have two brushes pictured below from Bdellium Tools, the tapered blending no.785, and the flat shader no.777.  I also enjoy the Real Techniques eye brushes very much. If I feel I've blended the shade too high, I will take a dab of pressed face powder, and blend with the fluffy brush to soften the edge. It's simple, quick and easy, three things I need in the morning when I am trying to get four children ready for the day!

L-R  Laura Mercier - African Violet    NARS -  Ondine    Sunday Riley - Lady Godiva

L-R   African Violet,  Ondine,  Lady Godiva


Laura Mercier - African Violet.... Now I don't own any Laura Mercier eyeshadow palettes, and I believe this shade is in most of her palettes. Some may not consider this a neutral shade, but I do! I think it works beautifully as a one shadow look. The light catches the golden shimmer, and the pretty violet undertones look deeper and richer in the crease. I have also found that when patted over black liner along the lash line, it morphs into a beautiful antique gold shade...really pretty!

NARS - Ondine...I blame Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup for this one. It isn't the most pigmented of eyeshadows, however it is easily built up, blends beautifully and I just I love the tone of it. Brown with a hint of plum/purple. Love.

Sunday Riley - Lady Godiva... Another well known UK vlogger Ruth Crilly from A Model Recommends used this shade a few months ago in one of her videos, and I was immediately drawn to it. I managed to track it down at Mecca Cosmetica here in Australia, and it is now one of my most reached for shades. As you can see from the photo above, I have made quite a dent in it! It is so unique to me, so creamy and buttery, on the lids it's a warm toned taupe, and then blends out into a beautiful rosy, tan hue...I'm seriously obsessed with this shade! Highly recommend!

L-R   Wet'n'Wild - Nutty,  Rimmel London - Backstage,  Essence Cosmetics - Metropolitan

L-R   Nutty,  Backstage,  Metropolitan

Wet'n'Wild - Nutty...my lonely only Wet'n'Wild shadow, I have always meant to explore their 3 and 6 pan palettes, but just haven't gotten there yet! It is a gorgeous taupe, warm undertones, smooth and easy to blend, I love this on the lower lash line as well.

Rimmel London - Backstage...packs a punch in the shimmer department, but more of a cooler tone in my humble opinion. You can really get a glam look with this shade, and easily transition to a night time look with some liner and lashings of mascara. 

Essence Cosmetics - Metropolitan...is more of a deep brown, and probably the darkest shade of my current faves. However, it blends out really nicely into a lovely warm brown, and just fades away into the skin perfectly above the crease. 

I try to be as sensible as I can when it comes to spending my money on a single eyeshadow. In reality, it is not the most cost effective purchase! However, I am really pleased with the high-end shades I have shown you today, and would not hesitate to recommend them. 

Have you tried any of these shades? What are you favourite single eyeshadows? Do leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lou xo

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Essence Cosmetics XXXL Shine Lipgloss | Swatches and Chat!

When it comes to lipgloss, I am really not too fussy. Aside from the shade/colour, the most important feature for me would be that it HAS to feel good on my lips. Not only on application, but as it wears as well. I am not at all bothered if a lipgloss doesn't last long on my lips, I am happy to reapply if it feels nice! On a daily basis, it will often be a gloss, or a tinted lip balm that I will reach for in the mornings. They are all quick, easy, and don't require a great deal of precision ! I don't mind if a lipgloss has a bit of tackiness to it, it just helps it to last a little longer. Anything that falls into the blatantly sticky category gets the boot from me ( Lancome Juicy tubes I'm looking at you ).

So enough rambling... I have some thoughts and swatches to share with you today featuring 3 shades of Essence Cosmetics XXXL Shine Lipgloss. My first purchase was the shade Nude Kisses, and I loved it so much I immediately felt compelled to purchase some more shades to try. There were a couple of more seasonally appropriate shades in the display, but they had been opened and were oozing their contents out of the tube and onto the display, as I sadly discovered when I picked one up ( yuck ). Moving on...

If there are any lipgloss lovers in the northern hemisphere reading my drivel...you might like the look of these particular shades for your summertime shenanigans! Concurrently, if you are deeply embedded in an icy cold winter like me, and don't give a toss, throwing caution to the wind and wearing whatever shade of lipgloss you feel like...then these may just tickle your fancy as well!

From Top to Bottom;

Bright Side Of Life... a very pretty peachy/coral with slight shimmer

Nude Kisses ... a very pretty sheer mauve with shimmer

Just Gorgeous ... a bright watermelon pinky/red

Heavy swatch in natural light,  L-R- Just Gorgeous, Nude Kisses and Bright Side Of Life 

There are many pretty shades, they are inexpensive, and they feel good on your lips. They are very shiny, as you see from the photo above, and they smell good too! They have a nice, long doe foot applicator, and are available in 11 shades for the bargain price of $3.25 AU each. I have found these to last for about 2 hours on my lips, which I think is pretty reasonable for a gloss.

I always find the Essence displays in Target and Priceline hard to walk past! They have suprised me on many occasions with the quality of their blushes, eyeshadows, lipsticks and nail polishes.

Have you tried these glosses? Do you have a favourite shade? Do let me know in the comments below, I always love to hear from you!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lou xo

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Benefit Lollitint: Photos,Review and Swatches

One day last week I was having a mooch around Instagram and came upon a post from Sweaty Betty PR, offering a free Benefit Lollitint to those who placed an order for Roxy Jacenko's new novel,"The Rumour Mill".

The offer was current for one hour only, and before I knew it ( well...not really ) there was an order confirmation email in my inbox...I couldn't pass up the offer of a great read, and a full size Benefit product that retails in Australia for $52!!

Benefit describes Lollitint as;

"The flirtiest flush you can get from a bottle! Our candy-orchid tint treats your lips and cheeks to a "pop" of dreamy sweetness"

Yes...I would have to agree with that!

Benefit's Lollitint is due for release in Australian stores February 15th.

Left -  Heavy swatch straight from brush applicator
Right - blended out with fingertips

Left - The stain left from my swatch!
Right - blended out with fingertips

All Lolli'd up on the lips and cheeks!

Application

I used the applicator brush to dot the tint onto my cheeks, and then used the elf Small Stipple Brush to blend it out. The pigment sinks into the skin very quickly, I found it best to just dot one cheek at a time and blend quickly! I used two layers of the tint on both my lips and cheeks for the photo above,just to see how the colour built up. Lollitint definitely packs a bigger, brighter punch than its warmer toned sister, Posietint.

Pair it with...

..the Essence Stay With Me Lipgloss in the shade "Deep Rose" is a pretty neutral/cool toned pink gloss with a hint of very fine shimmer, and looks really pretty over the tint. I find these tints a little too drying on the lips to wear alone, and will continue to experiment with some other shades and combinations.

Is a flirty flush your cup of tea? ...Like a pretty pop on your kisser?...Then Lollitint will be for you!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Blessings,

Lou xo

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New on the Vine...Essence Lippy Love!

Perusing the Essence stand at my local Priceline last week during a recent sale resulted in 4 of these lovely new lippys coming home with me. I had purchased one of the shades "Natural Beauty" in the week prior, and was really impressed by not only the gorgeous pinky nude shade, but how comfortable the formula felt on my lips. They remind me very much of the Revlon Lip Butters.

Setting you back a cool $4.10 ( AU ) you simply cannot go wrong! I believe there are 8 shades in this new range, and to my knowledge they are part of the permanent line. 

There are 2 pink shades, and one berry shade missing from my line up, but I thought I would show you the little family thus far....

I hope you are having a lovely day/evening wherever you are!

04 - On The Catwalk

02 - All You Need Is Red

01 - Coral Calling

07 - Natural Beauty

06 - Barely There

                     04                           02                          01                        07                           06

I swatched all of the shades quite heavily just to show you how the colour can build up, however the formula is quite sheer. All of these 5 are a cream formula, not a hint of glitter. 

With a light hand, you will have a lovely, moisturising light wash of colour on your kisser!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Lou xo

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