Delightful Illusions

           Hey, guys! For today's post, I will be sharing about my thoughts and experiences regarding the Colourpop Sage The Day Eyeshadow Palette. I didn't have a great experience with my first ever palette from the brand, The Zodiac Palette, as the mattes were dry and the shimmers were lackluster. I didn't buy anything from the brand since then and I wasn't really motivated to buy anything from the released collections. I always thought the brand is duping themselves by releasing similar palettes just in different aesthetic and packaging.

          As I was browsing the internet for new eyeshadow palettes to play with, I have thought of trying newer eyeshadow palettes from the brand. This palette and the Darth Vader are the ones that caught my eyes the most and so I bought both. 5 years after trying anything new from the brand, I can definitely say the formula of the shimmers have improved a lot. This palette is similar to the The Child palette but I love the shadows here more especially the matte browns they have included that's why I chose this one. I love that I can create smokey looks; making this palette perfect for day to night green eyeshadow palette.

          I love that they included a couple of duo chromes in here with smooth shifting and that metallic moss green is everything and I think is the star of the show. The mattes are pigmented, feels a little rough to the touch but is still blendable, and buildable. I also like this is in a cardboard packaging and got no mirror which makes it easy and light to travel with. 

          Hey, guys! I am back with another eyeshadow palette review and for today's topic, we are gonna talk about the MOIRA Beauty Time To Shine Pressed Pigment Palette. This green is one of the palettes from their Celestial Series where there are 3 more palettes with distinct themes, but I loved this color story the moment saw this that's why I picked up this one. I have been buying a lot green eyeshadow palettes this year and you will definitely see those on the upcoming posts. 🙈

          What I love about this brand is that they put so much detail and attention on ever part of their packaging. The overall presentation of each palette they release is just incredibly detailed and stunning. This my second palette from the brand and I must say their palette releases from this year has improved a lot especially on the shimmer department. Though this palette has still pretty shimmers and easy to work with. If you are interested on a more colorful palette with wet shimmers and metallic, please check my Magic Dream Pressed Pigment Palette review. 

         The matte feels like velvet and they are really easy to work with. They blend beautifully and I think that they have better formula than Colourpop. This brand is straightforward when it comes to creating their palettes -  none of that matte with glitters BS or pressed glitter eyeshadow that sometimes feel like a kid's makeup.😆 I don't know, maybe when it come with age, but for a 31-year old I'm not really fond of pressed glitters. Anyway, as I have said, Moira's matte eyeshadows are incredible and maybe one of the best one I have tried from affordable brands. When it comes to their shimmers, they have nice shine, glides on smoothly and not over the top. I have to admit, sometimes I just want a nice shimmer on the lid especially for work. The shimmers can be built up for intensity, though none of the these are sub-par.

          This palette has the perfect balance of shimmers and mattes which is also perfect for travel since I don't have to bring another palette to pair this with. They only thing I don't like about Moira palettes in general is that they are bulky. They take up a lot of space on my travel makeup bag. I get that they want to have aesthetically pleasing palettes, but can they make them travel friendly as well? 😅 

        This palette contains 15 eyeshadows and let's talk about each one. According to the packaging, there are 5 pressed pigments and 10 pressed eyeshadows included in this. Starting from the bottom left, these are the eyeshadows:

💟Limelight (PP) - matte beige pigment that is perfect for setting eyeshadow base or softening hard edges. 

💟Spiced (PP) - beige glitter topper that enhances the shimmer shades. It's really sheer and I'm pretty sure it's meant as a topper. It looks so sparkly on the lids and it's the only shade from this palette that has this kind of formula.

💟Carefree (PE) - matte olive green that make a perfect transition shade on green eyeshadow looks. 

💟It's Time (PE) - shimmer taupe which I used on my lids to create a smokey eyes. Gives such a lovely shine on the lids!

💟All Good (PP) - shimmer gold with green base which I haven't used in a look yet. This shade is really beautiful and I think if this paired with the green mattes, it will pop even more.

💟Dare (PE)  - matte warm brown that is essential for most neutral palettes that serves as a crease shade. I loved using this and I think it made my brown eyes pop. 

💟 Happy Soul (PE) - shimmer bronze that is just another essential on neutral palettes. I paired this with Dare and Tempting and it created this bronzy smokey look which I loved.

💟Just In Time (PP) - matte neutral brown that is perfect as a transition shade. 

💟Want (PE) - matte dark green shadow that is really pigmented. I made a green eyeshadow look and I just tapped my brush in this shadow and when I blended on my outer-v, the pigment was screaming. I just love how buildable this shade is.

💟Spotlight (PP) - matte reddish brown pigment which I haven't used yet also. I'm not really into reddish smokey looks but I think I can bear with this shade. 😅

💟Shine Bright (PE) - shimmer taupe brown shade that is more brown toned than It's Time. If it was me, I would exchange for a matte mauve shade instead of this. I think mauve transition shade pull of those reddish brown shades beautifully and would complement well with the green shades.

💟Tempting (PP) - matte dark brown pigment that is easy to blend and is essential in making smokey looks when using this palette. I always love a matte dark brown and I have hit pan a lot on the past.

💟At The Moment (PE) - matte light grey shadow that I didn't expect to show up on my lids. I used this as a transition shade on a cool toned smokey look that I created and I loved how pigmented it is. This has a neutral which made me fell in love with the shadow even more. I don't blue-toned grey shades since they look ashy.

💟Flash (PE) - shimmer lime green which I loved putting all over my lids. This shadow is so gorgeous and makes brown eyes pop. 

💟Signal (PE) - shimmer reddish brown which I haven't used yet. I might create a reddish brown eyeshadow look and post it on Instagram. 

Swatches on flash 

        The first look I created with this palette is a a grey-themed palette. I used At The Moment as transition shade, Tempting on the crease and outer-V, and It's Time all over the lids and inner lower lash line. I just used 3 shades and I was in love with the simple look I created. 

          Another look I created focused on the green eyeshadows. Just In Time as transition shade, Carefree on the crease, Want on the outer-v and lower lash line, and Flash all over the lids. I also used Spiced as topper shade to make the look pop. I really loved this green look. I have also made a neutral eyeshadow look but I didn't have the time to take a picture. Sorry, my bad. 😅

          Those are my thoughts on this palette and I would love to shoutout Jen Phelps for convincing me to try Moira Beauty. As I have said on my previous post, this brand is becoming one of my favorites since they make gorgeous eyeshadows and they straightforward on the direction of color story they are making. Plus, the attention to detail on every aspect but still maintaining an affordable price is unbeatable. I am so happy to try more indie brands since they are more worth the money than the mainstream brands. I am also happy to share a favorite online shop where I buy these indie makeup, See You Friday, they have great selection of brands I have never tried which they sell for reasonable prices. 

         I hope this post has been helpful and made you convince to try this underrated and slept on indie makeup brand. I am planning to buy another palette from them but I'll still have to decide what color story should I get. Anyway, thank you so much for stopping by and reading this post. Have a nice day and stay safe always. 

          Hey, everyone! Oh my gosh! It's been a long time since I posted here. This year has been pretty crazy. A lot of changes on my personal life and I have been travelling a lot for work. Despite being busy, I kept doing my Project Pans and buying so much makeup. You have no idea how much eyeshadow palettes I bought since the year start. Geez! I missed doing blogs and so I decided to start posting again. I hope I'll be consistent again. :)

        I have been eyeing some Moira Beauty eyeshadow palettes since last year and I finally got a chance to try a couple of them this year. My first purchase from the brand is the Magic Dreaming Eyeshadow Palette which came from their Moiraland Series. It's a carnival-themed collection consisting of two colorful pressed pigments palette. The palette that I got consists of blues, greens, purples and some neutral shades  leaning on the darker side which are perfect for me since I really love doing smokey eye looks. The other palette is more on pastel, bright and loud shades which is good since there are options for everyone. 

         Upon opening the packaging, there are are three Moiraland carnival tickets awaiting for you. The are so dedicated in making this collection feel like carnival-like, truly magical! There's a plastic protection sheet that covers the shadows with carnival-themed prints. The palette is bulky and heavy, which usually annoys me, but this one is not bothersome. I think this one could still be brought on travels without taking so much space. The mirror has the ticket print which I think is the for the aesthetic but still usable for doing eye looks. 

         The most unbelievable thing about this brand is their ability to create eye-catching designs and the attention to detail on packaging and palettes but still being sold for affordable prices. Like, how? This a US makeup brand but their products are being produced in China. Maybe that's the reason they are affordable? Anyway, upon receiving this palette, my jaw dropped because it feels heavy and luxurious. From the front, to the back, to all the sides of the box, everything has details and some are embossed.  The box alone feels like $10 for me. I'm never throwing away this packaging, I swear! But you would believe that this palette only costs $18.50? 

          This palette contains 10 pressed pigments and 5 pressed eyeshadows. As we know, pressed may caused staining on the eyelids but so far, I haven't experienced anything. I have no issues with these shadows and pigments. The mattes are pigmented, smooth, buildable and easy to blend. The shimmers have this cream to powder finish and some of them have this sparkly and glittery effect. They stay on the lids all throughout the day with a little creasing, but all is well with a good quality eyeshadow primer. Each shade has carnival-themed object pressed which is incredible since this costs a lot of money to produce. 

          This palette consists of colorful shades such as blues, greens, purples and some neutrals to balance the color story. So, let's talk about the each one of them.

         This palette is amazing and I haven't experienced any fallouts so far. Theses are hard-pressed, really pigmented and has balanced color combination. I also love that there is no light cream / beige shade because we already have like thousands of that from other palettes. This is a well-curated palette, creating day to night looks, ranging from light to dark shades. This palette is really inspiring for me since everytime I look at this, I create so many color combinations in my head that I want to execute on my looks soon. Overall, I recommend this palette if you want to try this brand as well. This brand is becoming immediately one of my favorites in terms of eyeshadow formulation, considering how affordable the palettes are. Shout out to my favorite shop from Shopee, See You Friday. This is where I bought this palette without paying for the shipping fee (from US). 

          I hope you enjoyed this post and convinced you to try this brand because their products are so underrated. I love supporting indie brands that deliver quality products that doesn't break my bank. I also purchased a green-themed palette from this brand which I feature soon. I hope you stay tuned for that. Thank you so much for stopping by. I will be back soon. Have a good day and stay safe. XOXO

              The year 2023 is coming and it's time for me to refresh my Project Pan. I have participated in a lot of these project and I can say that those experiences taught me to utilize what I already have instead of collecting and never using what I have purchases. One of the most exciting installments of this vast community is doing the Pan That Palette; it's a popular project where you have to finish an entire eyeshadow palette all throughout the year. Since it is nearly impossible to finish a palette for a year, most project panners tend to bend the rules or give themselves goals that will consider them in a successful Pan That Palette Project. The only person I know that successfully has done this is Amber F where she used up Urban Decay Naked (Original) Palette back in 2014. Remember those days? 

          For the month of January, I think I'll just play around with the eyeshadows and create various eye looks. I have already hit pan on the 7th shade (matte burgundy); this was on my Pan Those Eyeshadows 2020 and it took my 3 months of continuous pans to reach the pan. I don't expect great progress on the next couple of months but maybe another pan on one of the matte shadows. That will entirely depend on what kind of eyeshadows I will roll-in in my upcoming Pan Those Eyeshadows project. 

           Let's take a closer look on the swatches again since my review post didn't have clear pictures. I got a new phone with a great camera and I'd love to show some swatches. 

          They are clear now. I'm excited to take more pictures and share them with you guys! As I have said, I don't expect great progress for the next 2 months but I hope to hit a pan at least. My plan is to give updates every two months since this is going to be a slow burning project and I don't want to bore you with updates that don't have much to offer. I think 2 months will collect much progress than giving updates monthly. Anyway, I think that's all for my introduction post. I will post my Pan Those Eyeshadows 2023 introduction so stay tuned for that. For more Project Pan contents, you can also visit my Instagram page. I'm currently doing my P.I.E. Project Pan in there. I hope you are all well and safe. Thank you for stopping by. Have a nice day. <3

        Hey, guys! It's been a while since I last posted. As usual, I have been busy with work and I actually got sickly last month. I had few plans for my August blog posts but it just didn't happen because I needed to rest as much as I can. It was nothing serious or life threatening but I still suffered some pain. I am now well again that is why I am posting again. Anyway, welcome to my little world on the internet where I talk about my project pans, reviews and thoughts on the makeup products I bought and other stuff related to beauty that I wanna talk about. 

       The first half of this round I wasn't much progress since I rolled-on 3 orange-toned eyshadows on my last update and I don't typically wear overly warm eyeshadow looks. At the last week of August, I was able to hit pan on two eyeshadows and the following week I was able to hit on 1 and a bonus pan. In total, I have hit pan on 4 eyeshadows on this update. If you want to know more about these updates, just keep on reading. :)

          The first eyedshadow I have hit pan si this matte light peach shade from the Focallure Mini Sunrise Palette. As you can see, this is inspired of by the Huda Beauty New Nudes Palette, but their version is more vibrant and versatile (according to the comparison videos I have seen on Youtube). I love this palette and the quality is so prominent you wouldn't not think this is less than Php. The eyeshadow that was picked on this palette is powdery and I have used this to set my eye primer everytime I do my makeup that's why I have hit pan on this so quickly. I only used this 17 times during this project before hitting pan on this. This is fairly new to my collection and I am just happy to get a chance to play and try all of the shades. 

         Next eyeshadow that I have hit pan on is from another Focallure palette and it is the Tokyo Palette which I have reviewed last May. The shade that was picked was this matte tangerine shade which was a little challenging since I don't wear warm-toned eyeshadows often. If you know me, you know I love cool tones and smokey eye looks. I cannot believe that I have worn this as a transition shade all through out the month and I am just glad that I was able to pull this off without looking like I have Hepatitis. Hehe! I was about to lose hope that I will be able to hit pan on this before this update but I am so glad that I did. This a nice shade but I got sick of using this every and I feel so relieved that I can finally roll this one out. I have used 27 times during this project before hitting pan on this. Yay!  

          Lastly, I have hit pan on this light shimmer shade with pink shift from the Zoeva En Taupe Palette. If you have seen my previous updates, you know that this palette has been here since March and kept on coming back ever since. I have used this shadow quite a bit before rolling in this to this project that's why I have hit pan pretty quickly as well. It only took me 16 uses to hit pan on this during this project. This shade is lack luster and the pink shift would have been more visible if the pigmentation was there. The concept of this palette is beautiful but the shimmers aren't just there. I this they should reformulate to these shadows because I would buy the updated version of the palette.

          I have 3 eyeshadows that weren't able to make the cut for this update. These are the following:

          This dark lavender shade is actually matte with tons of shimmer. I have managed to make a substantial deep but I can't seem to reach the bottom. This is a tiny palette and is inspired by the Anastacia Beverly Hills Norvina Palette but I like the shades in here better. This is a tiny palette and each shadow is less than a gram but it seems that it's taking me while to pan on this. Honestly, this shade looks ashy on my lids that's why I only use this on as an accent color on my lower lash line. I have already used this 17 times as of this update but I am not seeing the pan yet. That's okay because I know this palette will be rolled-out by the next update. 

         This The Aries shade is so bad. I only used this 3 times the previous month and haven't touched it again. This has hard pan and the pigmentation isn't just there. This shimmery orange shade but it applies dryly and the color seem to fade away as I apply. This is my  most disliked shadow from this palette and it kinda gives me bad impression to the Colourpop pressed eyeshadows. This is my only palette from the brand and I am not having a good time. I tried using as an accent eyeliner but it hardly shows up. I might take a while before hitting pan on or  I might consider giving this a special rule where roll this out once I hit the usage of 30 time. What do you guys think? 

          This matte burnt orange had a great usage it's just that the pan is a little hard and I actually focused on Koi Pond as my transition shade rather than this one. I used both of the shadows on my crease but this shadow doesn't pick much on the brush. Since I have hit pan on Koi Pond, I can now focus on this as my transition shade. I have used this 27 times already but it looks like I only used it like 10 times. I am hoping to hit pan on this by the next update. 

          I may not have hit pan on that matte burnt orange shade, but I have hit pan on this matte warm brown with silver glitters. I have paired this with the two orange shadows and used this to smoke out my outer-v on most times. I love this palette so much and it still smells like chocolate even if I had this for 2 years already. If you are looking for an affordable neutral palette, you should try this one. :)

         I have hit pan on 3 shadows and it means that I got to roll-in 3 new shadows. I have randomly generated the following:

         It seems that Focallure doesn't ever wanna leave this project. There's always a Focallure palette that's being rolled-in everytime I generate shadows. This time, I have picked a matte warm brown that leans more orange, which I think is a perfect pair for the matte burnt orange for the Salted Caramel Palette. Since I have panned an eyeshadow of the same formula before, I know that I would take over 20 uses before I hit pan on this shadow. This is pigmented and I wouldn't need much to get a vivid color pay-off. I'll see about that since this a much wearable shade than the tangerine I just panned. 

           As I said earlier, this Zoeva En Taupe Palette doesn't wanna leave this project as well. I have already panned 4 eyeshadows in this, exclusively just in this project, and now I'm on my way to my 5th shade. For this round, I have generated this matte purplish taupe shade with gold glitters which I have already used quite a bit and I have made a dip. I think I will hit pan on this soon and pretty much sure about that. 

          Lastly, I have generated this Gemini metallic silver shade which doesn't quite fit the theme of this round's color story. This palette is the newest addition to my collection and it was my wish to roll this in so that I could play this with with the Colourpop The Zodiac Palette and make some sort of a series. This so pigmented and I don't know when will I hit pan on this. I really don't mind since I would like to use this palette more. 

          This is the color story for Round 8. This is really similar to my last color story with the oranges and dark lavenders which an unusual pairing for me. I'll try to make a a look out of these shades since I am that stubborn and I'll try to reach my goals as much as possible. 

          This is my update for the previous round and I think I made a pretty good job. I am planning to end this project on November since I started this last year November and I plan on taking a break on December and just play with my palettes without pressure. I hope you enjoyed this update and stay tuned for the next update. If you follow my blog, I would be so grateful. Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a nice day. Stay safe. 

          Hey, guys! Today's post will about this UCANBE Marvel Eyeshadow Palette that is known as a dupe for the Huda Beauty Mauve Obsessions Palette. This will be the first time I will be talking about this brand on my blog and I am so happy that I will be talking about good things to day. I bought this last December, after Christmas, and I had this since January. I was supposed to feature this a few months ago but I was so focused on making progress on my Pan Those Eyeshadows Project and I kind of ignored this was for a while. Last week, I had a few days to play on this palette more since the project is going well and I have extra days to play other eyeshadows and so I went ahead and used this 3 days straight. If you want to know my thoughts on this palette, just keep on reading.

          Out of all the 9-pan eyeshadow palettes that I have bought from Shopee, this one has the best packaging. It has that holographic effect on the design, it doesn't fade, and looks expensive. I love the fact that this sleeker compared to the palettes that I bought from the said application. It fits on my makeup bag and it doesn't take too much space. This quite larger than most 9-pan palettes, but that doesn't bother me since the shadows have larger pans and they more product. I also love the fact that they utilize the space; it looks neat and organized. The only this that I would add to this palette are the shades names so I can easily identify and pinpoint the eyeshadows.

        Upon looking at this palette closely, you will notice that these shadows are the exact duplicates of the Huda Beauty Mauve Obsessions palette. Huda Beauty's palette is more of bloody reds and the shimmers are more peachy or beige shades. This Marvel palette is like a toned-down, subdued, and has a nicer color story than the former palette mentioned. I don't know why they called it "mauve" palette since I don't seen any mauve shade in there. Haha! 

          I've got to say that the best part of this palette are the matte shades; so pigmented, buildable, blendable and doesn't have annoying amount of fallout. All of these shadows are tightly-packed and rarely has any fallout. The shimers are more like metallic shades since they are so fine and reflective once applied on the lids. These shadows are easily picked-up by brushes making it one of the friendly-user with great quality palettes that I have tried. This palette can create various red-toned eyeshadow looks from cute girly day look to sexy vampy night look. 

Shade 1 - This is a light pink metallic shade with a little bit of chunks of glitters but look so pretty once blended.

Shade 2 - This is a matte cream shade that is nice for setting the eyeshadow base or blending harsh lines on the crease.

Shade 3 - This is a matte bloody dark red brick shade that is so pigmented I was afraid to use on my eyes. It so loud and this is the only shadow I have not yet used. Do you have any suggestions?

Shade 4 - This a matte cool-toned brown shade that is perfect to use a transition shade if I want a more of a subdued look.

Shade 5 - This a matte burnt pink shade that works as a perfect pink transition shade. It could also be built-up for intensity. I think this would make a pretty blush as well. 

Shade 6 - This is a shimmery dark pink shade which I also like but there's nothing special on this palette

Shade 7 - This is matte maroon shade which is currently included on my Pan Those Eyesadows. I always use this on my outer-v, upper lash line, or upper lash line and it looks beautiful. 

Shade 8 - This is a metallic light pink shade with gold and peach glitters which looks so stunning on the lids. I think this the most unique shade in this palette and I hope they will sell an individual eyeshadow for this shade.

Shade 9 - Lastly, this is a matte dark mauve brown shade that could be used as an eyeliner, an one-shadow smokey look, or could be used to fill-in the brows. I just love that this shade here instead of another red shadow.

       I have created 3 looks using this palette solely the past week and I managed to achieve 3 different looks. The first one looks like Barbie's eye look, the second one is like a full-blown pink look, and the third one is an all-matte smokey look. I think that this palette creates red-toned looks but also different enough from each other. As I always say, I am cool-toned eyeshadow person and liking warm eyeshadows is saying something. This is one of those times that I liked warm eyeshadow looks and I am so satisfied that I bought this palette. 

      Overall, I think that this palettte is a great alternative to the Huda Beauty Mauve Obsessions palette because you get that same pigmented shades and similar color story without spending so much money. This currently being sold for Php 200 at the UCANBE Official Shoppee Store, so if you want to try this palette for yourself go ahead and grab the discount right now. 

     This is it for today's post and I have more reviews to come since I have been buying a lot of eyeshadows lately because there are lots of nice deals going on. Haha! Anyway, thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed today's post. Have a nice day. Stay safe always. XOXO