This Week's Looks: Milani, Fyrinnae, MAC, and Darling Girl Cosmetics

Today is April 1, and I have decided that I want to have an indie-focused month of April in terms of eyeshadow. If you been reading my blog lately, you'll see that I have been trying more indie makeup, and the reason for that is I think indie shadows are more unique, I am really interested in the idea of a strong singles collection rather than a palette collection, and I would like to recommend a cheaper shadow (when possible) over an expensive and overhyped shadow/palette.

With that said, this past week was a mix of palettes and singles as well as indie and not. And this was also an interesting week in terms of looks that I really enjoyed and looks that I absolutely hated.

Here are five looks from last week.

Look 1: Milani Bare Necessities

3 on the first half of lid, 4 on the second half of lid, and 2 blended into the crease. 

Look 2: Fyrinnae It Beautifies!

It Beautifies! on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy) and Melt Unseen blended into the crease. 

Look 3: Milani Plum Basics

5 on the lid, 2 blended into the crease, 4 padded onto the outer corner, and 1 on the brow bone.

Look 4: Darling Girl Cosmetics Tempestuous and MAC C'est Chic

Tempestuous on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy), MAC Demitasse and All's Rosy blended into the crease.

Look 5: MAC Amber Lights and Melt Rust Stack

Amber Lights on the lid, Melt Antique and Rubbish blended into the crease, Rust padded onto the outer corner, and Classic on the brow bone. 

Milani Bare Necessities

Status: Decluttered

I was so floored by the Milani Earthly Elements palette that I decided to use two other Milani palettes this week that I hadn't worn before. Bare Necessities was fine, but it wasn't as gorgeous as Earthly Elements or as impressive as the other shadows in my collection that look just like the colors in this one. I think the look came out pretty, and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a palette like this, but it didn't wow me by any means. 

Fyrinnae It Beautifies!

Status: Favorite 

I had heard a lot about this shadow and really did not understand the fuss. The brand's description made this shadow sound really boring to me, and I thought it was going to be a basic wash of color that brightened the eyes. All the swatches I found for it looked pretty dull as well, but I wanted to try it because it was on everyone's "recommend" list. Well, holy cow, I get it. This shadow is so incredibly beautiful without being over the top as well. I couldn't get over how shiny it was! And even when I was looking through photos today, I kept looking at the pictures of this shadow. My one criticism, however, is that it is not a terribly unique color. The shine and payoff is unique, I think, but not the color. And that's actually why I wore MAC's Amber Lights later in the week, because I wanted to see how similar the two colors looked. I do think they look very similar, but I prefer It Beautifies! However, if you have Amber Lights or any other quality gold shade, I don't think you're missing out. 

Milani Plum Basics
Status: Decluttered

I absolutely hated everything about this eye look. The main shadow I used (5) was a glittery, terrible mess. Shadow 3 looks like a soft pink color in the pan, but on me, it comes off as pure white, so I went with 5 because that color has more of a pink payoff. But, man, the shadow was awful. The purple shimmer shadow (4) had the potential of being a good shadow, and 2 was also not very good. I enjoyed 1, the matte cream color, and wished that shadow was in Earthly Elements instead of that crappy glitter shade. Even though the purple shimmer seems like a good shadow, I know I will never reach for this palette again. I had glitter down my face all day and actually found of it had transferred onto other people I hugged. My plan is to try and depot the cream shade and put it in Earthly Elements in place of the glitter shadow. If I can't replace the pans easily, then I will crush the shadow and repress.

Darling Girl Cosmetics Tempestuous 
Status: Really enjoy

This shadow came as a free sample when I received my Darling Girl Cosmetics order. I didn't know what to make of it, but I really, really like it a lot. I paired it with peach and rose shades from the MAC palette, and I love how the look turned out. It reminds me of a tropical beach sunset. I actually had a really bad day the day I wore this look, and I cried quite a bit. I was really surprised to find later that the eyeshadow still looked pretty good, all things considered. (The reason I cried, by the way, is because I wasn't able to get an MRI I've been trying to get for a while and I was just frustrated.)

MAC Amber Lights
Status: Favorite

Amber Lights has been a longtime favorite for me. It is one of three MAC singles still in my collection (the C'est Chic palette is premade and many of the shades are not in MAC's permanent line). And I still love this shadow. I wish that all MAC shadows (and really all MAC products) were as good as this shadow is. As I mentioned above, I did enjoy It Beautifies! just a little more, but I'll continue to love this shadow.

Melt Rust Stack

I haven't been using the Rust Stack for too long, so I don't want to give thoughts just yet. It will get a lot of use during my April indie project.