This Week's Looks: Kat Von D, Bare Minerals, Viseart, Too Faced

The looks I did this week were made up of a mishmash of items. I'd like to say there was a rhyme or reason behind anything I used, but I basically just used whatever I felt like using. For the most part, the commonality was that these were shadows that I had not used in a while.

Here are four looks I did last week.

Look 1: Kat Von D Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck on the lid and Inglot shadows blended into the crease. 

Look 2: Viseart Boheme Dream

5 on the lid, Physician's Formula Classic Nudes quad blended into the crease, and 9 padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 3: Bare Minerals Skinny Dip and Velvet Pecan

(Left: Velvet Pecan, Right: Skinny Dip)

Skinny Dip on the lid and Velvet Pecan blended into the crease.

Look 4: Too Faced Cafe au Lait and Almond Truffle

(Top left: Cafe au Lait, Bottom right: Almond Truffle)

Cafe au Lait on the lid and Almond Truffle blended into the crease.

Kat Von D Thunderstruck

Status: Keep, really enjoy 

Kat Von D Thunderstruck is a really fun eyeshadow. The reason I first bought it, interestingly enough, was because I was trying duplicate Too Faced Satin Sheets. I've written a couple of times of my love for Satin Sheets, and when I first swatched Thunderstruck, I thought it was going to be a dead ringer for Satin Sheets. It's not. But it's in a related family and is still really pretty. 

I swatched three shades on my hand, two of which I used this week, to show the true color. Because these shades are all kind of duochrome, the color gets completely washed out when I take the pictures of my eye. The swatches below are much more accurate in terms of color. 

From left: Kat Von D Thunderstruck, Too Faced Satin Sheets, and Bare Minerals Skinny Dip

Thunderstruck and Satin Sheets are both "white gold," in my opinion, but Satin Sheets is a little more yellow than white. I like the way Satin Sheets looks all over the lid better than Thunderstruck, but I still really enjoy Thunderstruck. I think it gives my eyes a nice fresh, glowy look. Thunderstruck is also lovely as a face highlight. 

Viseart Boheme Dream

Status: Favorite

I really enjoy this palette. I could easily write a blog post about why people don't need to buy it, but I did, and I enjoy it. I think there are absolutely substitute palettes out there, and I think the repetition of the pink, blue, and green shades can be a little overkill, especially in a palette that is so expensive. But, since I have it in my collection and I enjoy it, I use it. Interestingly, I had never actually used the "neutral" side of the palette before, and I really loved it. Viseart shadows glide on like a dream, but the color that I used certainly was nothing revolutionary. 

Bare Minerals Skinny Dip

Status: Keep and enjoy

Bare Minerals Velvet Pecan

Status: Favorite 

I really love Skinny Dip on me, and I especially love it paired with Velvet Pecan. The pictures of my eye don't do Skinny Dip any justice. The flash completely washed it out, but the above swatch is a pretty accurate depiction of it. If the light isn't hitting it, it looks invisible, but when the light does hit it, it is a beautiful iridescent pink shade. 

Velvet Pecan is one of my favorite shadows of all time. I wasn't a huge fan of it being a loose shadow, but I am not as hung up on that detail anymore. This is the perfect crease shade for my skin tone, and I love it. The only issue is that I can't seem to find it for sale anywhere. I bought it and Skinny Dip at a Bare Minerals outlet store in California over the summer, and I haven't seen them offered anywhere else since. 

Too Faced Cafe au Lait

Status: Keep and enjoy

Too Faced Almond Truffle

Status: Favorite

I wrote a post earlier in the week about depotting Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons. I realized that while the entire palette was usable and could create pretty looks, I only really loved five shadows. And I bought the entire thing for those five shadows while telling myself that the rest were completely suitable. But I wasn't really wanting to reach for Chocolate Bon Bons after I used it in one week, one palette, and that was because the palette on the whole didn't excite me. It was just those five shadows. And since depotting those shadows, I was really aching to use to them again. The look I did with Cafe au Lait and Almond Truffle was one of my favorite looks from that palette and one of my favorite looks last week. 

Weekend Looks: Viseart Bohême Dream and Coloured Raine Queen of Hearts

I had an idea for a new series, though I'm not sure if it's something I'll like or if I'll want to evolve it over time. The idea came because I'm taking a break from the one week, one palette project, and I really miss being able to wear fun, colorful looks for the majority of the week. As I've mentioned previously, I started a new job about six weeks ago, and it's in a conservative office setting. I have gradually been wearing more intense looks to work (and by intense, I mean more than a light wash of sheer color), but I still don't feel comfortable wearing the types of looks I've grown to love. 

And with that in mind, I thought it might be fun to have a series called "Weekend Looks," where I show the "fun" looks I decided to do with the two days I have each week to be creative. 

The weekend, I went for two palettes that are relatively new to my collection and ones that I haven't been able to use much due to the one week, one palette project and constraints at work. I went with Viseart Bohême Dream:

Top, from left: 1, 2, 3, and 4

Middle: 5, 6, 7, and 8

Bottom, 9, 10, 11, and 12

And Coloured Raine Queen of Hearts:

Top, from left: Crown, Royal Highness, Your Majesty, Princess, Empress, and Queen Mother

Bottom: Heir, Royal Prerogative, Noblewoman, Ladyship, Duchess, and Dethrone

I also incorporated my Pur Soul Mattes palette:

From left: Sweetheart, Companion, Adore, Better Half, Alter Ego, Sidekick, BFF, and Confidant

Look 1, Viseart Bohême Dream:

1 on the lid, Pur Better Half blended into the crease, 11 padded onto the outer corner, Make Up For Ever Pearl on the inner corner, and Pur Sweetheart on the brow bone. 11 on the lower lash line.

Look 2, Coloured Raine Queen of Hearts:

Royal Highness on the lid, Princess and Ladyship blended into the crease, Queen Mother padded onto the outer corner, Crown on the inner corner, and Pur Sweetheart on the brow bone. Queen Mother on the lower lash line.

I have not used every shadow in each of the palettes yet, so I don't feel totally comfortable providing a review of sorts, but thus far, Bohême Dream performed the same, if not better, than all my other Viseart shimmer palettes, and Queen of Hearts is an absolute dream to use. 

Ladyship is my favorite shadow in Queen of Hearts, and that is consistently labeled as the "bad" shadow in this palette by most reviewers. But, honestly, I haven't noticed any issues with it blending into the crease or padded onto the outer corner. I don't typically subscribe to the idea that some people get "bad batches" of product if they don't like something that everyone else does, so I don't think that I happened to get a great palette while everyone else got a bad one, but I don't have any complaints on the shadow. 

I was tempted to use Bohême Dream again today and do an all blue or blue and pink look, but I really wanted to use Queen of Hearts. I would really love to use each of these palettes for a one week, one palette, but I don't think it's realistic that I could wear either to work right now. 

But, I have to say, even though I wish I could use these palettes for longer, it's really fun to be able to reach for any shadow I want and pull several shades from various palettes. One week, one palette certainly reminded me of how much fun makeup is and how creative it can be, and right now, I feel free to use my entire collection. Even though the looks I did this weekend certainly aren't anything crazy or exceptionally creative, they were so much fun to put together, and I felt inspired by them both.