Eye Looks with Coastal Scents Hot Pots

After testing for wear on all 12 colors, I created 4 eye looks with different colors from the hot pots I picked up.

The first look uses Canary Gold on the inner corner blended with Raisin Berry on the outer corner. I blended with Chamois Nude to highlight the middle of the eye.

This look lasted through an 8 hour workday in the current California heatwave with no issues. I did use UD primer.

This next eye look incorporates all of the blues. Please excuse my pinky allergy eyes---this photo was taken after a 10 hour work day! The inner corner is Gypsy Blue and then blended with Elven and Mazarine Blue.

To create this look I used Parisian Green in the crease and outer corner and St. Topaz in the inner corner and along my bottom lash line. Held up well for a full day, but as you can see the shadow migrated a bit on the lower lash line. 

This final look is a mixture of Bungalow Gold in the inner corner blended with Chocolate Cherry on the outer corner and blended with Victorian Pear with Flesh Tone to highlight. I liked wearing this look a lot and it held up for 11+ hours before I took it off.

Overall Verdict: I saw no wear issues with these particular Coastal Scents hot pots. Just use a good primer! I found that many of the colors will sheer out when you blend, so I like to keep layering and packing the color on with a denser eye brush and doing minimal blending. The golds did not have this problem.

The blues also tended to stain just a teeny tiny bit!

What shades you need:

Gypsy Blue: Really easy to work with and an easy to wear blue but still unique.

Chocolate Cherry: Much more pigmented than Raisin Berry

Flesh Tone: a wonderful highlight

Canary Gold: So vibrant and creamy

Parisian Green: Very very opaque!

Elven Blue and Mazarine Blue are colors I think you could find in better formulas in other brands. St. Topaz and Bungalow Gold, as well as Victorian Pear and Chamois Nude are very dupeable and Raisin Berry just isn't as impressive as the others. 

Coastal Scents Hot Pots: Swatches and First Impressions

Hello Pandas! 
Some quick updates before we get into this post:

• I have switched to using Disqus for my comments, so let me know if you experience any difficulties
• Impressionist Nails is being regularly updated again!
• I have a new life/style blog called Wit With My Tea on Wordpress. So far there are only TV posts, but it will include fashion, accessory, travel, book, and movie posts.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Pretty Panda Makeup :)
I have wanted to try Coastal Scents products for a long time. Even despite the low price range, I've heard great reviews about the quality. Their 'Hot Pots', which are single, magnetic eyeshadow pots that snap into empty palettes, seemed to be the best place to start.
The 12 pan palette is $5.95 and each hot pot is $1.99, but they will occasionally have sales where you can snag the hot pots for only $.99! 

Above is what my palette looked like when it was completely put together (which took all of five seconds to plop the pots into the pan). So pretty! And all for under $20 because of sales! Coastal Scents seems to always be having sales, so wait before you make a purchase.

The palette, even for being so cheap, is relatively sturdy and has a plastic lid. There are little indents to help you remove the hot pots for easy switching.

Now, I am going to go through swatches of all 12 pots I picked up:

Bungalow Gold is a fairly deep, bronze gold with a metallic finish. It applied smoothly and had a creamy feel on the skin, which was surprising. This was also very opaque.

London Calling: I need your help!

 

Okay Pandas. You have a mission. Think of yourselves as the James Bonds of makeup.

I will be headed to London soon for a few months and I am getting ready to haul some makeup for the trip across the pond, but I need your advice and help.

If you have been to England in the Fall/Winter, what are your must haves? And while I am there, what should I pick up?

Also, if you have touristy/food suggestions, I would love to here them as well.

Here's some more info:

• I will be there for 3 months
• My skin gets dry in the winter
• I will be doing a lot of commuting to school and some travel
• I do not need to pare down what I bring

Basically, I need tips on your fave waterproof products, if you even think I need them in the London rain, long-lasting items, and you can even talk skin and hair care.

I NEED YOU ALL SO I CAN HAUL EFFECTIVELY!

So tell me, what would you bring for three months in London?

Thanks guys. I really love and appreciate you all!

 

Mally Volumizing Mascara Review

Mally Volumizing mascara ($20) has rapidly become a cult favorite in the beauty world. I love Mally and was introduced to her when my mom ordered some of her products on QVC years ago. I love her vibrant energy and I like most of the products I've tried, but was definitely excited about her mascara.

This is a very buildable formula and I love that the black really is a deep and glossy black!

I love the brush on this mascara as well. I normally shy away from the crazy oversized brushes or the brushes with dips and curves and torture-device like ends. This is medium-sized and uniform and holds a lot of product.

Above is two coats on my lashes. This mascara doesn't clump easily, but the only thing I dislike is that it is wet enough that is sometimes gets onto the lash line during application. I always wear liner, so it is easily covered, but if you don't, take this into consideration. I have also had several tubes of this and there are some inconsistencies between tubes. Some are wetter, some build really well and others do not. That is my one concern with this mascara.

This mascara lasts all day on me and doesn't flake or irritate my eyes. It is a bit hard to remove, so use an oil-based eye makeup remover.

If you haven't tried this formula, I suggest picking it up at QVC or Ulta. QVC has a 30 day money back no questions asked return policy, so it is a great way to try her stuff!

Are you a fan of Mally products or her mascara?

Smashbox Be Legendary Lip Gloss in Black Tied: Swatches and Review

I caved and picked up the Smashbox Be Legendary Lip Gloss in Black Tied ($20) because I couldn't resist the idea of black gloss with multi-color sparkle in a gorgeous formula.

In my experience, black gloss can be tricky. I much prefer straight up black lipstick or liner if you really want that goth chic look that is trending right now. I wasn't expecting this to be all that pigmented and mostly wanted it for layering.

This is also described my Smashbox as 'sheer', so there are no illusions going into this gloss. The formula is the same as Coraline, nice on the lips, smooth, and non-sticky.

The sparkles, black base, and minimalist packaging make this a really stunning piece on any vanity, but do you really need this black gloss?

Here is a swatch of Black Tied. It looks kind of like dirty water on the hand. The sparkles are so minuscule and very hard to capture without blurring the photo and adding flash, but are more apparent in person. 

Above is Black Tied on lips in artificial lighting. What this gloss does is bring out the pink/cool undertones in your lips very well. So, if you are looking for a very basic gloss that will enhance your lip color for cool-toned looks, this is a good choice. Although, I know that many reading this will want/expect more of a punch out of a color like this. 

Above is a more natural lighting scenario. You can see my lips appear cooler, pinker, and slightly gray. This gloss will in no way give you any 'goth' look. I tried layering this over other glosses/lipsticks and it cools them down a bit and adds plumpness and a slight sparkle to my lips.

You are not going to get much pigmentation out of Black Tied, no matter how much you layer it, so for $20, pass on this black gloss, no matter how pretty it looks in the tube, UNLESS you are looking for an easy to wear, comfortable formula for a my lips but cooler (toned) look. I personally like the way it gives my lips a finished look when I am just wearing black liner and mascara, but it is more of a frivolous un-necessity.

Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick in Melted Peony

I was gifted this Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Melted Peony by my mother when she decided she hated it. One woman's miss is another's hit? I hoped so.

 I had been interested in these since they appeared on shelves, but never really made the jump. Melted Peony ($21) is not a shade I would have chosen for myself, but I did think it was pretty and decided to try it out.

This is a true liquid lipstick and I was impressed with the opacity and coverage. The velvet tip for application is a nice touch and it has a slightly sweet but unidentifiable scent to it. Melted Peony is a medium pink and it looks slightly cool toned on my pale skin.

This is easy to apply, but I did not care for the formula. It almost feels greasy and a bit too slick on my lips and never really dried down enough to leave a stain behind on my lips. It wore for about 4 hours before fading slightly but just wasn't comfortable on me because I always felt something was on my lips.

I know many love this formula and I adore the shade range, but unfortunately, this was a miss for me. I can see how the texture of this shade can be appreciated, but there are many other formulas I like better. However, this color is so pretty that I wear it often, even if I dislike the texture. If you haven't tried one, give it a shot, as it seems to work for many others, but this is a very different feeling on the lips.