IsaDora Eye Shadow Quartet Smoky Eyes 94 Gold & SIlver

Dear readers! My reviews are based on my own opinion, perception and experience of the product mentioned in this blog post. Your idea on the same product can be different, and it is fine, of course it is!

This eyeshadow quad is FANTASTIC! Let me start off by saying that I love IsaDora as a a brand. The produce good quality mid priced cosmetics. Steady good quality make-up all the way with the exception of eyeshadows that are wonderful! Every single quad I had or have currently are great in terms of quality, application, price, texture, color selection... I can not emphasize enough how much I love them.

The one this post is about is from Christmas 2013 Collection, thus Limited Edition one,  #94 Gold & Silver. You might still be able to find this baby at your local IsaDora counters. It is so worth it!!!!

The first photo is made under electric light during the night time; second in the direct sunlight in the morning. The swatches are made in a sunny day, with no primer underneath. Swatches are made with a fingertip and are a one coat.

This is a very basic yet versatile quad. It has four shades- two matte and two sparkling foil-like eyeshadows.

It is great for an everyday use. Matte black and matte warm brown make it easy peasy to create an everyday office look. Yes, you might need a separate matte beige color along with this quad for a complete day look, but you can't get all in one quad, don't you? :) Matte shades are great to liner your eyes or to make a heavy smoky eyes. Sparkling shades can be used alone for a foil-like sparkle, even in the day time ( why the hell not??). But according to the promo photos, these shades were meant to be used in conjunction with each other. First you make a matte smoky eyes and then just put accents with sparking shades.

Matte shadows are extremely creamy and buildable. They blend out like a dream! In terms of fallout- hardly any, really. Due to the warm brown in this palette this might seem like unsuitable for lighter skin tones. It just seems like it. I have alight skin tone with pink undertones, I just use light hand with this palette and it works for me! The sparkling shades are just a teensy bit harder to blend due do their texture, no fallout here.

My only remark would be about the packaging itself. It is okay, but nothing special. Just a plain plastic case, sleek and compact. Prone to scratches. The sponge that comes along is quite useless.

I will give my grade to this quad here on multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent)

Presentation 4

Longevity 5

Ease of Application 5

Texture 5  for matte shades and 4 for sparking shades

Price/quality 5

Hope my review was helpful, guys!

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre # 837 Fatal

Dear readers! My reviews are based on my own opinion, perception and experience of the product mentioned in this blog post. Your idea on the same product can be different, and it is fine, of course it is!

I gave it a second chance. And  a third one. I swear I did. It just won't work for me. This product is a total miss! Why? Keep reading!

Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows were launched several years back and I was always playing with the idea to grab a one or two  shades to add to my cream eyeshadow collection. The first one I got was a permanent shade #85,  Mirifique. All about it screamed "buy me NOW!" And I gave in and bought it. The packaging is sleek, minimal  and elegant. The little brush that comes along is quite useless, but still a pleasant addition in case you don't feel like applying the shadow with your fingertips or just don't have an appropriate brush to use with Illusion d'Ombre. It looked absolutely stunning in a pot. It looked less stunning swatched on my skin and turned out to be a complete disaster applied on the lids.

I have to specify that I have oily lids, nothing tragic, nothing a good primer like my Urban Decay Primer Potion  or others I use won't be able to cope with. Let's say that without the primer my eye make-up starts to crease after a good 4-5 hours of wear. Primer makes it last till I decide to take the make-up off. That being said, I was disappointed to discover that Mirifique lasted on me for about an hour without a primer. After that it started to smudge and crease like there is no tomorrow. My make-up became rather untidy looking. It is also a high-maintenance shadow, meaning that you won't be able to just slap it on and go and be sure it stays put and in its original state throughout the day. For instance, I had to check myself every 30 min or so to make sure I do not look like a raccoon, I also had to be armed with a Q-tip. Just in case... The situation improved when I primed my eyelids. Still, I had to make sure eyeshadow is still intact and in place.

When I blended out the eyeshadow it looked somewhat muddy on me. You can layer it if you wish to do so. But more layers means more work with blending, correcting, etc. No way you can make a smoky eye with this shadow in 3-4 minutes. NO WAY!

I like my make-up to last, to be low-maintenance and look good on me. So Mirifique had to go.

All this time I had a nagging feeling there is something wrong with me since everyone else seems to enjoy and swear by these eyeshadows. So I gave it a second chance. This time with a limited edition beauty named Fatal. Fatal is a right name.

Fatal mistake once more.  The color is pretty in the pot. It is rich purple-plummy-burgundy with beautiful finely milled silver sparkles. Stunning. In the pot. Not so stunning on me. And again same story with the staying power. Although I have to admit that 3 layers of it over a Urban Decay Primer Potion gave me a good 5 hours of wear. It smudged a little bit under the eyes.

The two smaller photos are made in a sunny day. No matter how I tried- I could not capture the beautiful sparkles. They just would not translate to a pixel form. But this is an exact shade you are getting. Plain plum.

The texture is creamy and soft, a pleasure to work with! Blendable and buildable color, definitely not so high-maintenance as Mirifique, but you still have to check yourself once in a while in the mirror.

It still smudges and creases, but not as much as Mirifique.

Will I buy it again? Well, there is a color I like,  Epatant. I am still deciding whether it is worth to spend quite an amount to try it ( 39 € at my local Chanel counter). After the two times of a disappointment, chances are I will pass on Epatant.

Will I recommend it to a friend? No. At least not the shades I have tried. Again, the experience of my friend might be drastically different from the one I had!

I will give my grade to the eyeshadow here on multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent)

Presentation 5

Longevity 2

Ease of Application 3

Texture 5

Price/quality 1

Hope my review was helpful, guys! 

Swarovski Aura edp

Dear readers! My reviews are based on my own opinion, perception and experience of the product mentioned in this blog post. Your idea on the same product can be different, and it is fine, of course it is!

I have always loved perfumes. Always. Seems like I've been born with it. I love all of them- fruity, floral,  oriental, spicy...Some I love more, some less. 

This is to tell you about my Aura by Swarovski, the one I quite like.

It was launched by Swarovski  in 2011 and created  by Jean-Pierre Bethouart and Olivier Cresp (Firmenich). Top notes are rose and litchi, tuberose is the middle note; and we have musk, benzoin, amber and pink pepper at the base of the fragrance.

The Aura's packaging is elegant, can easily go for a dressing table decoration. It has a very sleek and linear bottle and a Swarovski crystal crowning the top of the bottle. Great job with the packaging, if you ask me! I personally  don't display my perfumes. I have quite a number of them, thus preserving my perfumes in their original state is so much more important than displaying them :) 

The juice itself is pale pink, does not stain your t-shirt, can be sprayed directly on clothes. At least, I did not have this problem

I am rather pleased with the staying power of Aura. I usually make 4 sprays of this perfume. But again, I love to leave a trail of perfume behind me. I love to feel my perfume on me throughout the day. If you are more of a lighter user, 1-2 sprays will be enough. It lasts on me, but then, perfumes tent to last on me. Should I choose to wear it all the day- I might want to refresh it after about 6 hours of wear, not before.

Please, keep in mind that Aura can be a tricky perfume to wear. It can cause a headache. A HUGE one. It can be rather unpleasant. Or it can make you to fall in love with it immediately. This is one of those perfumes that you love or you hate. Aura definitely urges you to make up your mind: like me? Or like me not? Decide asap! I decided right  after I sampled it- this baby is coming home with me. Now.

To me, Aura is a floral-musky perfume. The top notes are definitely fruity, though. The pyramid of Aura says that litchi is the fruity ingredient from the top. I don't smell litchi, I just don't. I smell pink pepper. Lots of it! And roses. And I HATE roses. But somehow here the rose accord does not make me feel unwell, it is not overpowering, it is not suffocating me. It is a "good" rose. It is gentle to me. It is not having this typical intense rose-like and  almost oily smell. It is a light rose smell. When the roses fade the tuberose and musk step forward. And they stay, and stay. It develops on me in a  wonderful musky-peppery perfume, a bit powdery one.

Is it a must-have? Well, I do like it. Will I be re-purchasing it? Honesty, I do not know. It is beautiful, but nothing THAT special, to my mind. A lovely perfume, no doubt. A great gift, no questions here. It is just not unique. Not the one that captures me and never lets go. 

I urge you to test it before buying! This is not a perfume to knock ME down, but it might very well knock YOU down. It is a stunning and a feminine perfume, for sure. It is just so versatile. It can be  used as an office perfume as well as an evening or clubbing perfume. 

Now am going to break down Aura for you, guys:

In terms of price, it is in the middle. Not as pricey as some of the niche fragrances, but this baby does not come cheap. 30 ml of product can cost up to 65 €. Price/quality relation I would rate as 3 on a multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent), since I am not quite sure if this perfume worth the money you pay for it.

In terms of age, Aura can be worn by women of all ages. Probably best suited for women 20-50 years old.

Aura has a good staying power, no need to refresh it during the day!
It is such a multifaceted scent that you can wear it with a pair of your Converse and a trusted pair of jeans or with a LBD and sky-high heels.

Testing, testing and testing is the key. I would not recommend buying it without a prior test on the skin; ask for the sample from the sales assistant if possible. You might want to wear it for a day or two before committing.

P.S. I am advocating for NOT dividing scents into groups like evening or day-time fragrances, winter-time or spring time appropriate ones, etc. I can easily wear a heavier fragrance in the morning and go for a lightest in my collection for an evening out. Moreover, it is common for me to wear fragrances that are marketed for men. After all, it is completely up to you to decide when and where you wish to wear a particular perfume! Having fun and enjoying the scent you wear is ALL that matters.