Weekly Looks: Natasha Denona, Viseart, Urban Decay, BH Cosmetics, Kat Von D, and more

This was a pivotal week for me where I made some important life decisions. As always when you make those decisions, it was challenging and emotional. The beauty community also erupted with much-needed discourse on the lack of inclusivity in the industry, which has been very powerful.

In terms of makeup, I was drawn to my duped Modern Renaissance palette this week as well as some colorful looks, and it has been nice to get use out of some of these previously neglected products while also still getting use out of newer ones.

Here are four looks I did this week.

Look 1: Natasha Denona Glam Green and Viseart Dark Matte

Lid: Natasha Denona Glam Green

Transition: Dark Matte 12

Crease: Dark Matte 11

Brow Bone: Viseart white

Inner corner: Make Up For Ever Pearl

Look 2: BH Cosmetics Zodiac

Lid: Aries shimmer

Transition: Aquarius matte

Crease: Cancer matte

Deepen crease: Leo matte

Brown bone: highlight 

Inner corner: highlight 

Look 3: Duped Modern Renaissance 

Lid: Urban Decay Chase

Transition: Makeup Geek Créme Brulee 

Crease: Makeup Geek Desert Sands

Outer corner: Inglot 335 matte

Brow bone: Viseart white

Inner corner: Make Up For Ever Pearl

Look 4: Kat Von D Metal Matte

Inner lid: Watt

Outer lid: Volt and Twinkle

Transition: Fringe and Silk

Crease: Ribbon and Velvet

Brow bone: Linen

Inner corner: Twinkle

Lower lash line: Volt

Look 1: Natasha Denona Glam Green and Viseart Dark Matte

I don't believe I have used this Natasha Denona shadow often, but, man, it is really pretty. My natural inclination with all of these shadows is to throw a brown in the crease, but because I was so into the green look I did last week with Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix, I wanted to see how a darker, smokier green would look. And I have to say that I really loved this look. These were also some of my less-used shadows from Viseart Dark Matte, so it was nice to get some use out of them in a way that I think made them both look really pretty and a little subtle (for olive and forrest greens). 

Look 2: BH Cosmetics Zodiac

I loved how this look turned out. Maybe it's all the 80s movies I've been watching, but I was really feeling some shimmery blue with purple in the crease. And this look totally lived up to my expectations. I loved wearing this, and I am constantly impressed by this palette. These shadows pack so much pigment without needing to be layered, including the baked shimmers. And that is just so surprising to me considering the price of this palette compared to others of the same performance and size. 

Look 3: Duped Modern Renaissance 

So this look is what my own personal Modern Renaissance dreams are made of. I haven't worn a traditional "neutral" look in a very long time, and I have liked it that way. I think this look is really beautiful and complements my eyes well, but it's never going to be a look that I feel really inspired by. This is more of a go-to pretty look for me, and it is something I would have wanted to achieve with the actual Modern Renaissance but never could because the neutral shadows lacked the depth I wanted. Urban Decay Chase is such an underrated gold, and it is easily one of my favorite upgrades I made this this duped palette. Same goes with Makeup Geek Desert Sands. Although I don't like it quite as much as Bobbi Brown Camel, I still think it's a great mustard brown that is just that much more interesting than a standard warm brown. As neutral as it is, I really loved this look and it made me appreciate the duped palette I built. 

Look 4: Kat Von D Metal Matte

I feel bad saying this since this palette was a gift, but I am finding it really challenging to use, even more than the Saint and Sinner palette. I feel like my options are either very dark, neutral, or pastel (and therefore too light). This was easily my least favorite look of the week, and you can see in the photo that the shimmer shadows quickly transferred into my crease. I also found that there was not much distinction between Ribbon and Velvet, and when blended together on my lid, it looked a bit like a bruise. With Saint and Sinner, it took me a while to really get the hang of the color scheme, and maybe that's what is happening here. I'm still willing to use it and try to figure it out, but it's not the easiest palette to work with. 

On a separate, more serious note, today is the Women's March. Due to the surgeries I had last summer, I am not able to march this year, but last year, I drove down to Washington, DC, and marched on Washington. It was a humbling and empowering feeling to be surrounding by hundreds of thousands of people marching and fighting for equal and civil rights. 

I snapped the below photo at that march and felt like sharing it today:

Weekend Looks: Viseart Dark Matte and Colourpop Yes, Please!

I found myself in one of those unpleasant situations over the weekend where I was looking at a very full makeup collection but was not inspired to do anything.

Finally, with no creativity or inspiration, I decided to do a monochromatic warm-toned matte look, which isn't something I have done much, if ever. I ended up liking it so much that I was inspired to do one of my favorite warm looks the next day.

I loved how warm both of these looks appeared on me, and given how frigid it was outside, I was happy to have some warmth somewhere. I've said this before, but sometimes "faking" warmth and summer through makeup takes me out of the winter blues.

Here are two looks I did this weekend.

Look 1: Viseart Dark Matte

Lid: 7

Crease: 8

Inner corner: Make Up For Ever Pearl

Look 2: Colourpop Yes, Please!

Lid: Chauffeur

Transition: Champs

Crease: Big Cocktails

Deepen crease: Spoiled

Above crease: Mischief 

Brow bone: Full Zip

Inner corner: Make Up For Ever Pearl

Look 1: Viseart Dark Matte

I still remember the first look I ever did with this palette. I applied the maroon onto my eye and blended the yellow in the crease, and it looked awful. Strikingly so. It looked like I had an immensely bruised eye. I didn't use Dark Matte for months after that, and I had some pretty intense buyer's remorse. But then I started to use it as a complementary palette, and I ended up hitting my stride with it. But still, as a complementary palette, I just don't use it as much as I would like to, and I had never really cracked into the yellow and orange shades. What I can tell you is that these shadows applied like a dream. The overall look came off really pretty, I think, and I even received some compliments on it. The only negative is that I really had no idea how similar the yellow and orange shades are to each other. When I applied the yellow, I was expecting yellow, but I got orange. And when I applied the orange into the crease, I got a orange that was only slightly different from the one I had applied onto my lid. Looking at the photos, I think it looks like I only used one shadow, not two. I have other great yellows in my collection (see look 2), so that is not the end of the world, but for how much this palette cost, it would have been nice to get more distinct colors.

Look 2: Colourpop Yes, Please!

I've talked about this palette many times at this point, and this is a look that I've done before and loved. Therefore I will keep this short and say that my feelings toward Yes, Please! have not changed. I really think this is an excellent palette, and for $16, I think it raises the bar for other makeup brands.

Recent Looks: New Wet N Wild, Urban Decay, Fyrinnae, Kat Von D, Elf, Colourpop, and more

2018 is here, and I'd like to wish everyone a happy New Year. In terms of weather, 2018 is not messing around, at least in New York City. We've had the lowest temperatures I've ever been in, which has made the prospect of leaving the house not very attractive. And then this bomb cyclone moved in, which typically would have given me some snow blues, but it resulted in a snow day. As someone who grew up in the desert, I always dreamed of having a snow day, so those are always a little fun.

Thankfully, despite the one day of snow and the lingering bitter cold, it has been unusually sunny in NYC, which keeps my spirits up.

In terms of recent looks, I received some makeup over the Christmas holiday. I mentioned this in another post, but the item I was most shocked to see was the Kat Von D Metal Matte palette. I've mentioned before how this was my "one that got away" palette, but I was satisfied overall with my decision not to buy it. And then I received it as a gift, and I had to laugh when I opened it. I've used some of this new makeup this week, but I've also used some older favorites.

Here are some recent looks I've done.

Look 1: Wet N Wild Not A Basic Peach

(for shadow number reference)

Lid: 7 

Transition: 1 and 10

Crease: 3 and 4

Outer corner: 9

Brow bone: 2

Lower lash line: 5

Look 2: Wet N Wild Not A Basic Peach

Lid: 5

Transition: 1

Crease: 4

Outer corner: 9

Brow bone: 2

Lower lash line: 7

Look 3: Kat Von D Metal Matte*

Inner and outer lid: Ignite

Center of lid: Twinkle

Transition: Fringe

Crease: Silk

Brow bone: Bone

Look 4: Fyrinnae Illusionary and Elf Mad for Matte Summer Breeze

Lid: Illusionary (over Pixie Epoxy)

Transition: Elf 4

Crease: Elf 6 and 7

Deepen crease: Elf 8

Brow bone: Elf 1

Look 5: Stila Glitter and Glow Smoky Storm and Viseart Neutral Matte

Lid: Stila Smoky Storm

Transition: Viseart light peach

Crease: Viseart darker peach

Outer Corner: Viseart black

Brow bone: Viseart white

Look 6: Wet N Wild Rosé in the Air

Lid: 5

Transition: 4

Crease: 8

Brow bone: 2

Inner corner: 3

Look 7: Duped Modern Renaissance 

Lid: Urban Decay Toasted

Transition: ABH Buon Fresco

Crease: ABH Love Letter

Outer corner: ABH Love Letter

Brow bone: Viseart white

Lower Lash line: ABH Love Letter

Inner Corner: Make Up For Ever Pearl

Look 8: Kat Von D Saint and Sinner*

Lid: Immaculate

Transition: Martyr

Crease: Devil 

Outer corner: Revelation

Brow bone: Amen

Inner corner: Absolution 

Look 9: Duped Modern Renaissance/custom palette

Lid: Lime Crime Shell

Transition: ABH Buon Fresco

Crease: Natasha Denona Nina's Orchid

Crease: ABH Love Letter

Outer corner: ABH Love Letter

Brow bone: Viseart white

Lower lash line: Natasha Denona Nina's Orchid

Inner Corner: Make Up For Ever Pearl

Look 10: Colourpop My Little Pony

Inner half of lid: Firefly

Outer half of lid: Princess Sparkle

Transition: Flutterbye

Crease: Twilight

Brow bone: Butterscotch

Inner corner: Snuzzle

Lower lash line: Firefly and Princess Sparkle

Looks 1 and 2: Wet N Wild Not A Basic Peach 

In my last weekly looks post, I mentioned that I had purchased two of the new Wet N Wild palettes, Rosé in the Air, which is supposed to be a Modern Renaissance dupe, and Not A Basic Peach, which I imagine was inspired by Too Faced Sweet Peach and other peach-themed palettes. I like Not A Basic Peach so much more than Rosé in the Air. The shadows required a bit of building, but the overall payoff was very impressive to me. The shimmer shadows aren't as striking as some more expensive brands, which is a bit of a letdown for me, but they are not bad by any means. The mattes seem to be hits and slight misses. Some of the mattes are really rich, but other barely show up on me. Regardless of the price, I would still recommend Not A Basic Peach, and I don't see myself decluttering it any time soon.

Look 3: Kat Von D Metal Matte
*This palette was given to me as a gift

As I've mentioned, this palette was a very unexpected gift that I received for Christmas, and for my first look, I wanted to use some of the more unique shades in it. I couldn't decide if I wanted a mint or lilac shimmer on the lid, so I chose to use both. The result was... subtle. The mattes worked great and the shimmers were also pretty, but the colors I chose were so light and pastel that it was difficult to tell the difference between them on the lid. I'm certainly looking forward to using this palette more, but my impression after one use (which is not much, so definitely take this with a grain of salt), is that if you were also lamenting this as a palette that got away, I don't think you're really missing out on too much. It's a beautiful palette, but there's not too much in it that I don't already own.

Look 4: Fyrinnae Illusionary and Elf Mad for Matte Summer Breeze

I received two Elf palettes for Christmas, which included Summer Breeze. Before this, I had never owned any makeup products from Elf. I've owned the lip scrub and a few brushes, but I hadn't tried any makeup until recently. To be honest, my expectations with this palette were pretty low. Sure, it has a gorgeous color scheme, but I just really didn't think it would hold up to other shadows in my collection. And I'm happy to report that I was wrong. This palette is really good, and it certainly impressed me. I paired it with one of my favorite Fyrinnae shadows, and I think the overall look is really pretty.

Look 5: Stila Glitter and Glow Smoky Storm and Viseart Neutral Matte

If it's not obvious, this was my New Year's Eve makeup. I received a ton of compliments on my eyes that night, and people commented on how striking the glitter was. I've written about the Glitter and Glow products a few times now, and we all know that I like the Viseart Neutral Matte shadows. As always when using a Glitter and Glow, the look was so much prettier in person than in a photograph, and it was something I really enjoyed.

Look 6: Wet N Wild Rosé in the Air
Look 7: Duped Modern Renaissance 

I don't know if it was obvious, but I attempted a bit of an experiment this week. I've written several times at this point that I did not like ABH Modern Renaissance and that I thought it would be a simple palette to recreate in one's own collection, with the exception of the berry shades. I wanted to see how similar of a look I could create with Rosé in the Air as with a pseudo Modern Renaissance.

Again, I have to say that I didn't really like Rosé in the Air all that much. I used the shade that is most similar to Antique Bronze from Modern Renaissance, which was the shade that specifically made me decide to return Modern Renaissance. I really, really hated that shade, and so I was not surprised to find that I didn't like it in Rosé in the Air either. This look required quite a bit of building, and in the end, I didn't think it had a ton of great payoff.

The next dayI tried to recreate that look with a duped Modern Renaissance. And what's interesting about this duped palette is that I have two shades that are actually in Modern Renaissance—Buon Fresco and Love Letter.

In case you're wondering, the dupe for Modern Renaissance is the first two rows of this palette:

Obviously it's not an exact dupe (hello, gorgeous orchid), and while I own a satisfactory dupe of every shade in that palette, this is roughly what my ideal version of it looks like (I've since rearranged it a bit). 

As I mentioned, I don't like Antique Bronze, but a shadow in my collection that I do love and that is similar enough in color is Urban Decay Toasted. I then used the two shadows that are actually in Modern Renaissance, and I was happy with the recreated look. I suppose you can judge for yourself if you think the looks are similar and how close of a dupe Rosé in the Air might be for Modern Renaissance: 

Rosé in the Air

Urban Decay Toasted, ABH Buon Fresco, and ABH Love Letter

As I've said, I don't like Rosé in the Air much, but mainly because the shimmers don't pack much of a punch. With that said, Rosé in the Air is not bad. I imagine that this will be something that I declutter from my collection soon, because I already own all of the shades. 

Look 8: Kat Von D Saint and Sinner

*This palette was given to me as a gift

I've got to say, the more I use this palette, the more I really like it. It certainly is unique, and it's one that has really pushed my creativity. Ironically, this look is one of the least creative ones I've done with the palette, but it was also one of my favorites of the week. I really love the look of a deep olive paired with orange, and I thought the look was neutral while also being a little smoky. I've talked about this palette quite a bit at this point, and I'm happy it was gifted to me. 

Look 9: Duped Modern Renaissance/custom palette

I'll make a larger post on this later, but with this palette, in addition to duping shades in Modern Renaissance, I also expanded upon the shade range to include more shimmers, which is something I always felt was lacking in Modern Renaissance. This was my other favorite look of the week, which isn't surprising considering I love these pink sunset looks. One thing to note is that I reversed my typical crease and outer corner colors with this look. Typically, I put the red color in the crease and the purple on the outer corner, but with this look, I put the purple in the crease and red in the outer corner. I really loved the end result! 

Look 10: Colourpop My Little Pony

I'm still undecided on this look and on the Colourpop My Little Pony palette on the whole. I do like this frosty green look, but it came across as a little too frosty/silvery on me. With this palette, I've largely found that the colors in the pan don't actually look that way when applied to the lid, which is pretty disappointing. I definitely thought the greens would be more distinctly green, but then I've also found that the mauve/burgundy shades come off as hot pink instead of mauve/burgundy. The pigmentation is great, as is the blendability, but the differences in color make this palette a little challenging and disappointing to use.