As readers may already know, Jill Stuart has a special place in my heart.
I have lost interest in their eyeshadow palettes but their mix blushes are still my go to blushes to this very day.
The Layer Blush compact collection is from their 2013 Summer collection, and all the shades sport a very summery, fresh, peachy, pinky, bright theme.
I only bought two blushes from this collection, and I love them both 
I had trouble deciphering the difference between the usual mix blush, and layer blush.
The conclusion was that layer blush has a more shimmery “glowy” finish, while the regular mix blush has a semi-matte finish.
They also say the formula is like a souffle – a powdery yet creamy and fluffy texture with an emollient base.
02 Pop Sorbet
Pop sorbet has a very pretty cool toned pink with a hint of coral, but the golden shimmers make it wearable for any skin tone (just not super dark skin).
This blush gives you a pinched cheek look, and the shimmers are not over the top, but provides a subtle glow.
As always I fail at blush swatches, but you can see that it is a light, not baby pink
I think Pop sorbet is suitable for those who want a slightly brighter cheek than the safer milky baby pink.
Pros:
- Smooth texture
- Feels somewhat creamy though powdery. It is cool to touch
- Subtle shimmers, not over the top
- Brush included is fluffy and does a good job at blending the blush out
- Apparently the jewel attached to the brush is a Swarovski crystal
- Packaging as always very pretty and very sturdy
- Buildable pigmentation
- Very easy to use, can’t really go wrong no matter what shade you choose
- Carries the signature JS floral scent
- Scented, not suitable for people who are sensitive to fragranced cosmetics
- Can still see the shimmers on the cheeks
05 Eternal Femininity
I chose this as the second blush because I wanted to get a safer baby pink blush to suit all looks.
I believe this was a limited edition shade in the spring collection.
Again I failed at capturing the colors properly, but the bottom shade is more of a light beige color.
Alone, you can’t really tell the difference between pop sorbet and eternal femininity.
Indeed this is the safer shade of the two. You really can’t go wrong at all if you have typical Asian or fair to medium Caucasian skin.
The left is pop sorbet and right is eternal femininity
Same again, pop sorbet on left, and eternal femininity on right
From the last swatch, pop sorbet runs slightly coral, while eternal femininity looks like a very neutral baby pink.
Pop sorbet looks a bit darker than eternal femininity.
I highly recommend JS blushes and jelly eye/sugar glitter eyes. I always find good use out of them and I can imagine myself purchasing blushes from future collections
Until next time that’s all for now folks!
Hello people Continuing on with my HK haul, Burberry was next on my list of must buys.
The price tag was pretty decent at a$300 something HKD. I remember it translated back to $40 something AUD which I think is pretty good!
Burberry did a very good job with packaging. I love the bag that they give you with a ribbon on it!
They kept the packaging simplistic and sleek, keeping the applicators separate from the palette.
I think this is a good and bad thing – more bad than good IMO. I don’t like carrying the velvet pouch all the time,
and the residue on the applicators transfer onto the pouch so it quickly becomes a shimmer mess.
That won’t be a problem for those who don’t use applicators, but I like to carry them around for emergencies.
Speaking of applicators, I found these very high quality. They picked up and distributed color well. I can’t really find fault in these applicators ^^
They are probably one of the best I’ve come across so far.
Burberry E/S Quad in No. 2 Mocha
The name reflects its coffee brown tones, but I think it suits “coffee” or “Latte” more than “Mocha”
Pros:
- The most perfect day time, go to, no fuss, elegant neutral palette!!
- Very elegant packaging
- Packaging is sturdy
- Decent amount of product (Tom Ford 10g, Lunasol 4g just for reference)
- Texture is buttery soft
- Good pigmentation, shades show up true to pan
- Great blendibility
- Able to be built up from a very natural look to a slightly more sultry smoky look
- Shimmery is very fine, no grittiness
- Little to no fallout
- Decently priced
- Applicators are pretty good!
- Good gradation of shades from light to dark in the same color tone
Cons:
- Not scented
- Personally I don’t like the applicator being in the pouch separate from the palette
- I would have preferred Mocha to be slightly more pigmented
- I needed a base e/s cream to make the color show up to the pigmentation that I wanted
- Matte cream shade doesn’t really do much for me. It sort of just disappears into my skin
Swatch of No. 2 Mocha
The highlighter shade is the only matte shade in the palette and it is sort of like a light cream color.
Second is a warm toned gold with very fine shimmers
Third is a medium brown with very fine shimmers
Darkest shade is a true dark brown with fine shimmers. It has a very very mild red tone to it.
Highly recommend this palette if you are after a very neutral, slightly shimmery beige/brown eyeshadow
No. 5 Dark Spice
Sorry I had already dipped my fingers/brushes into it already ><
This was the palette I was after all along!!
It has such an interesting array of shades I was curious as to how they would work together.
Swatch of No. 5 Dark Spice
This palette is definitely towards the warm side. It is also very pigmented and all the shades are quite dark.
Highlighter shade has a satin finish and is an orange toned cream.
Second shade also has a satin finish, and is a red toned brown. Interestingly enough it blends out to an orange shade.
Third shade is a shimmery muddy brown
Darkest shade is probably a satin finish as well. It has very fine shimmers but shows up pretty matte
Pros:
- Very pigmented
- Buttery soft texture
- Great for an interesting twist to a brown smoky eye
- Lightest shade is dark enough to provide a base lid color
- Can be used for warm toned skin, very strong orange tones
- Elegant shimmer, you get a very pretty sheen rather than shimmer
- All the shades can be used together
Cons:
- The lightest shade is better used as a blending shade
- Lightest shade is too dark to be used under the brow bone
- Maybe a little more contrast within the palette could have worked well too
Burberry Light Glow Blush in No. 5 Blossom
This is from their regular line. They had a new range when I went back but they were WAYYYY too pigmented and bright for me ^^”
When I picked this up I thought it was a very pretty coral shade. Against my skin it looks more like a burnt pink.
Blossom Blush in No. 5 Sorry the picture is so dark >< Taken in HK
Unlike their e/s palettes, the brush applicator is located inside the palette
Swatch of Blossom Blush No. 5 Left is applied with brush, Right is with finger not blended
It has some fine shimmers that do actually show up as shimmers on the face.
When used in tiny tiny amounts and blended out well, it gives a warm pink flush to the skin.
If I accidentally use too much I look like a red monkey’s butt.
Pros:
- Well pigmented
- Brush included does a good job
- Elegant packaging
- Decent amount of product at 7g. Jill Stuart has 4.2g
- Blendable and buildable
- Absolutely HATE the scent. It smells like old lady musky floral perfume!!
- Just based on this scent I will not purchase anymore Burberry blushes unless they remove this awful scent!!
- Apologies for those who like this scent, if you do then you will love it ^^”
- A bit too pigmented for my liking. I prefer sheer and buildable blushes – more fuss free
- Make sure to use a brush with sparse hairs so it doesn’t pick up too much color
Using Burberry e/s in Mocha and Blossom Blush
Products used:
- Holika Holika Aqua Petite Jelly Starter
- Holika Holika Aqua Petite Jelly BB in no. 1
- YSL Touche Eclat in no. 2
- Bare Minerals prime time eye primer
- Burberry e/s in No. 2 Mocha
- Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
- Jill Stuart gel liner in Black Cat
- Too Faced eyeliner
- Milani Liquif-eye metallic liner pencil in 03 Gold
- Cyber Colors EX volume mascara
- Missha Signature range lip gloss in SPK05
Using Burberry e/s in No. 5 Dark Spice
Products used:
- Too faced eye primer
- Burberry e/s in No. 5 Dark Spice
- Jill Stuart Patisserie Collection Sugar Glitter eyes in 05 Caramalised sugar
- Models prefer eyeliner in black
- Kiss Me Heroine Make eyeliner pen
- Cyber Colors EX volume mascara
- YSL Touche Eclat in no. 2
- Jill Stuart Layer blush in 05 Eternal Femininity
- YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in 14
Tom Ford eyeshadows have really worked up a hype in the recent times, building up a reputation of buttery smoothness, high pigmentation, and luxurious packaging.
These were one of the first items I bought in HK, and instead of the 3 you see in the picture, I actually bought 4 XD
Tom Ford Beauty is relatively new in HK and they are only available at Lane Crawford counters in TST and CWB currently.
The packaging is really elegant, with its gold Tom Ford edge like a gold bar and mirrored brown surface.
It has such sturdy packaging and it feels like its… $550HKD price…
It also comes with a velvet pouch like most department store brands.
12 Seductive Rose
This is one of 2 Asia-exclusive palettes in the eyeshadow quad range. Both were purple themed.
It has one pinky white highlight, 2 glitter bomb shades and one deep dusty purple shade
Sorry it is so dark, HK lacks light ><
Swatches of 12 Seductive Rose
I must admit I sort of failed at capturing the colors of Tom Ford e/s. I just couldn’t get them to show up properly in my lighting 
Pros and cons list applies to all I think.
Pros:
- Decently sized – 10g of product in total
- Elegant packaging
- Packaging is very sturdy, feels its price
- HUGE mirror, great for on the go
- E/S is well pigmented
- E/S feels like buttery velvety goodness!
- Lasts the whole day
- Glitter shades are not gritty, but are better picked up with a stiffer brush
- Glitter shades have an interesting texture- almost like cream because it is cool to touch
- Though the shimmer looked very intense, it actually didn’t make me look like a disco ball
- Glitter shades have subtle color to them, complements the e/s theme well
- Blends well
- All quads were able to be worn light or built up for a more dramatic smoky eye
- The sponge tip applicators and angled brush were of very high quality and picked up the e/s well
- Glitter shades need to be patted on top of the e/s otherwise you will lose them with blending
- Glitter shade came out more pigmented in swatch than when applied on the eyes
- I feel that I need a base to make these e/s show up more
- Glitter shade has fall out, especially if you try to blend
- I think my usual way of applying e/s doesn’t work as well with Tom Ford e/s T.T
My eye with seductive rose – its like neutral but with a bit of twist
Pic take from my Instagram (@Miky612)
Products used:
- Make up forever eye prime
- Jill Stuart Patisserie collection Sugar Glitter eyes in 05 Caramalized sugar
- Tom Ford e/s in 12 Seductive Rose
- Jill Stuart eyeliner in black cat
- Too faced eyeliner pencil
- Models Prefer gel liner pencil in cosmic purple (new range)
- Paul & Joe blush duo in Candy
- Maybelline color sensational lipstick in Born with it
2nd Asia-exclusive in 11 Lavender Lust
This is a cooler themed palette with very vibrant purples
Swatch of 11 Lavender Lust
Again I failed at my swatches but you can see the color contrast and the glitter
The highlight shade is very pretty because of its cool pink shimmers.
Though this is a cool toned purple, it still worked on my warm toned skin.
The e/s shows up better here. You can see how vibrant the purple is.
You can also see the shimmer ^^
Products used:
- Holika Holika Aqua Petite Jelly Starter
- Holika Holika Aqua Petite Jelly BB SPF 20PA++
- Lunasol under eye concealer in 01
- Make up forever eye prime
- Models prefer eyeshadow pencil in Metallic black
- DollyWink volume mascara
- Kiss Me Heavy Rotation eyebrow mascara in 03
- Tom Ford e/s in 11 Lavender Lust
- Jill Stuart jelly eye in Gold light
- Jill Stuart eyeliner in Black cat
- Jill Stuart mix blush in Candy orange
- Missha Signature range lip gloss in SPK05
Regular line e/s in 02 Cognac Sable
I found this palette a bit more pigmented and easier to work with. However I did notice some fall out with this palette.
This palette has a good gradation of color from light to dark, and the glitter adds a bit of pop to the whole look
Cognac Sable is a very orange/copper toned palette, even the glitter is orange/gold with orange base
I had to be careful with the highlight shade because it is quite orange too. Only used a little bit below the brow, but used more for the inner corners of my eye.
This e/s quad is great for those with warm toned skin. Not sure how it would pan out for cool toned skin though.
EOTD – the glitter shows up a lot more ^^
Products used:
- Make up forever eye prime
- Tom Ford e/s in Cognac Sable
- Models Prefer eyeliner
- Sana Super quick eyeliner EX
- Cybercolors Ex volume mascara
- YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch in 02
- YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in 14 (I LOVE volupte shine!!)
Regular line 01 Golden Mink
Had dug my brushes into them already because I realised the HK photos couldn’t be used
Swatch of 01 Golden Mink – a very neutral theme gold palette
Interestingly enough this palette had no proper highlight shade, but instead two gold toned glitter shades.
Gradation was not really a priority when they put this palette together.
On the other hand, I think this is great for both cool and warm toned skin people who want a pretty shimmery day time e/s.
The shimmer actually shows up really well in the Golden Mink palette too.
My eye with Golden Mink – Very very natural, can’t really go wrong with it
Oh I also didn’t use any cream shadow base with this one
Products used:
- Too faced shadow insurance
- Models prefer eyeliner pencil
- Kiss me heroine make eyeliner pen
- Tom Ford e/s in Golden Mink
- Cyber Colors EX Volume mascara
- Jill Stuart Blush in Candy orange
- Missha Signature range lip gloss in SCR04
Though I have a general soft spot for Tom Ford e/s, I can’t say that they are the best in terms of pigmentation and blendability.
The texture of the e/s is very soft, very silky, but I think there can still be some improvements made with the formula of the glitter shades.
I think I like Lavender Lust and Cognac Sable the best because of the pigmentation and gradation of shades. But all of them are unique in their own way
If I went back in time I think I still would have bought them all, and I really enjoy playing around with the shades!
Until next time that’s all for now folks!
OK so this is a very old palette I know, and it’s been reviewed to death already, I know!
The truth is this was a surprise gift out of the blue from my friend Beckie (IG@littlebeckie)!
I think I may have screamed a little when she pulled this out.. I really can’t remember, maybe I screamed in my head.
You can see my review of Naked 2 here.
Being slightly disappointed with Naked 2 and its cool tones, the Naked 1 was much more to my liking with warm tones!
Pros:
- Good color variety from light to dark
- Matte, shimmery and metallic shades
- Warmer toned!! (Naked 2 ended up looking muddy on me because of the cool shades)
- Even though more warmer toned, most shades are still usable on cooler toned skin too!
- Lightweight – great for travel
- Has a decent sized mirror, good for on the go
- Eye primer and eyeshadow brush included
- E/S is easy to blend
- Good pigmentation
- Lasts whole day with eye primer
- Velvet material collects dust easily
- Some may find the color selection too shimmery/metallic
- Does have some fallout, just need to tap off excess and pat e/s on
- I don’t really use the e/s brush
The brush is sturdy with a synthetic flat tapered brush
It is fluffy enough to distribute color on the eyelids, but I can’t say it is a brush I would use in less than emergency situations
From left to right: Virgin, Sin, Naked
Virgin – Satin finish pink toned white
Sin – Shimmery champagne shade
Naked – A matte skin color shade
Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked
Sidecar – A beautiful slightly more metallic and beige tone than sin with scattered glitter throughout
Buck – A medium matte brown
Half Baked – Warm metallic gold (in Naked 1 and 2)
Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted – getting into the darker contour shades
Smog – Metallic warm golden medium brown
Darkhorse – Dark smoky brown with fine golden shimmers
Toasted – A dusty metallic medium pink shade which is suitable for both cool and warm toned skin
Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal – the darkest shades
Hustle – Deeper smoky purple grey with fine purple shimmers
Creep – Dark grey/black with silver shimmers scattered through
Gunmetal – shimmery dark grey
Overall I really love Naked 1, much more so than Naked 2 because the warm toned e/s are so much easier to work with.
I would say that Naked 1 is more for warm toned skin, while Naked 2 is more for cool toned skin.
Having said that, I think Naked 1 is generally more versatile for both because it has a good variety of neutral light and dark shades.
Naked 2 had many light shades, but a very limited variety in darker contour shades and they were all rather cool toned.
And for the token EOTD…
All I remember is that I used eyeprimer, no glitter base, usual mascara and eyeliner.
E/S used are Sin, Darkhorse, Creep, Half Baked and Virgin .
And that concludes part 2 of 2 of the Urban Decay posts!
Stay tuned for more reviews ^^ until then that’s all for now folks!
Hihi! I contemplated posting the new stuff first, but I really wanted to give my newest Urban Decay palettes a mention first.
My friend Ella surprised me with this e/s palette that she had bought from Singapore for my Christmas present, but I was so tied up I didn’t actually see her until way after ><
I’m still so 
when I look at this palette because I am so grateful to have friends that really try hard to figure out what my interests and tastes are ^^
The color variety in this palette was seriously impressive!
In terms of quality, I would say that they were very good, and maybe slight smoother than some from the Naked palette
Pros:
- Great color variety
- Same palette can be used for a natural day look, or for a super dramatic smoky look
- Each shade creates a completely different themed smokey look
- Some e/s have an interesting duochrome effect due to the greyish base with colored shimmer
- Light and easy to travel. Zipper closure is so smart!
- Comes with a full sized 24/7 liner pencil which fits neatly in its slot
- Comes with travel sized eye primer, It really is an all in one palette!
- Comes with instruction booklet which is well made and instructions are quite clear
- The name smoked holds true to its name because all the e/s have a grey/black base
- All shimmery shades have very fine shimmers that aren’t gritty at all
- Has fall out
- Better to be patted on and then blended out at the edges
- All the shimmery colors are more metallic – typical for western e/s
- “Loaded” was not a rich emerald that I saw in the pan, but more like a muddy dark green grey
- “Evidence” would have been nicer with a more cobalt base rather than charcoal with blue shimmers
The liner pencil. I haven’t opened it so I can’t comment on it, but I might do an updated eyeliner comparison post one day
And for the each e/s – keep scrolling down! I thought I’d do individuals to get a better look at them all.
Kinky – matte off white
Kinky swatch XD
Freestyle – matte beige
Freestyle swatch
Mushroom – high sheen metallic cool toned light brown with silver shimmer
Mushroom swatch – on my eyes it just turned silver I think
Backdoor – blackened matte brown with fine shimmer flecks that can’t really be detected
Backdoor swatch
Blackout – matte black again with fine shimmer that can’t be detected
Blackout swatch
Barlust – metallic warm copper toned brown
Barlust swatch – not sure why the shimmer looked a bit green but it isn’t
Rockstar – a dark shimmery true purple
Rockstar swatch
Evidence – a greyish blue base with blue shimmer – the slightly duochrome shade I was talking about
Evidence swatch – you can see on the grey base at the edges of the swatch
Loaded – a blackish base with green shimmer
Loaded swatch – so dark!
Asphalt – shimmery gunmetal
Asphalt swatch
And finishing up with my instagram EOTDS (@miky612)
Using the orange from Esprique’s Blend Dimensional eyes in B1 and contouring with Loaded
You can see that the green doesn’t look very green
Other products used:
- UDPP
- Jill Stuart jelly eyes in 02 Gold Light
- Jill Stuart gel liner in 01 Black Cat
- HR Feline Blacks WP mascara
- Models Prefer liner pencil
Second look using Mushroom as the main lid color and I think Rockstar or Asphalt as contour.
I was going to be in front of a camera that day, and though it really didn’t matter AT ALL, I still felt I should smooth out my skin for the camera.
But seriously, I cannot bring myself to do this everyday. Eyes are effort enough as it is.
Other products used:
- UDPP
- Jill Stuart jelly eye in 10 Vintage Decor
- Sana super quick eyeliner pen EX
- Models prefer eyeliner pencil
- Make up forever aqua smoky lash mascara WP
- Revlon lip butter in cotton candy
- NYX Studio perfect Photo-Loving Primer
- C-liv Revitalizing I2PL Stemcell BB cream
- LA Girls Pro Concealer in Natural
- Kevin BeautyMaker 2 way powder
- The Balm Bahama Mama bronzer
- Nars blush in Orgasm
And that does it for the first of my two Urban Decay post line up.
Until next time that’s all for now folks!
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