Thursday, August 30, 2012

Review: My BH Cosmetics' 15 Colour Eyeshadow Pro Customized Palette

Hey everyone! So I've posted a lot of looks using eyeshadows from my BH Cosmetics' 15 Colour Eyeshadow Pro Customized Palette & I'm finally getting around to doing a review on the palette as well as the 15 eyeshadows that were kindly sent to me for review consideration. I kept putting off the review because I wanted to use each eyeshadow at least a few times (for blog post looks & otherwise) so I could put together an honest review based on my experience from using each eyeshadow more than just once or twice. Now that I've been using this palette for months & reaching for it everyday (because of one of the eyeshadows), I'm ready to start this lengthy review! **rolls up sleeves to begin** haha


The eyeshadow palette itself is a little thick but it's not long & big, so you can easily hold it in your hand while applying makeup or even carry it in your handbag with you. It's a dull finish, so you don't have to worry about leaving fingerprints on it everywhere. I absolutely LOVE the huge mirror on the inside - it's a blessing because the natural light in my room is horrible, so most times I just stand in front of the window with the palette stretched out in front of me in one hand & makeup brush in the other. You could probably do your whole face just by using this mirror. I dropped this palette once; it was open & it dropped on the carpet & the magnet wasn't strong enough to hold a few of the eyeshadows in place, but none of them broke. You can easily replace the eyeshadows by using your nail to take the current eyeshadow out of place. The best part is that instead of the 15 eyeshadow palette, you can get the 6 eyeshadow palette instead, put in neutral shades or the shades that you use the most, & carry it with you everywhere!


Now that we're done with the outside, lets get to the beautiful eyeshadows inside the palette. You can customize the palette by choosing from a wide selection of colours & textures. The textures available are Warm Matte (WM), Warm Shimmer (WS), Cool Matte (CM), Cool Shimmer (CS), Metallic Matte (MM), & Metallic Shimmer (MS). The eyeshadows are sold individually so you don't have to buy the palette. Each eyeshadow is also labelled with the name of the company & colour code on the back, so if you end up using it all & the 'bh' imprint is erased, you'll still have all the info you need on the back to re-purchase.

Here are the colours that I chose for my customized palette:


I've also added my thoughts on each shade just in case you're curious.
Scroll down if you'd rather skip the description & head straight to take a peek at the swatches instead.

WM09 - Great as a blush for medium to darker skin tones. Very pigmented.
(as seen in Swarovski Inspired Spring Fun)

WM06 - Takes a bit of effort to make it show up on my skin tone unless I'm using a white eyeshadow base. I was determined to make it show up in my swatch picture though, so I swatched it about 2-3 times.

WM08 - Not as pigmented as I'd like for my skin tone unless I'm using a white eyeshadow base, but better pigmentation than WM06.
(as seen in Happy Valentine's Day - Coral, Pinks, & Purples Look, Glamourizing Browns With Colour)

WM20 - Hot pink that's great for any pink eyeshadow lover. Pigmented & smooth.
(as seen in Happy Valentine's Day - Coral, Pinks, & Purples LookGlamourizing Browns With ColourMakeup Look at My Cousin's Wedding)

MM05 - Reddish brown that I looked at on the website & thought it could work as a nice blush colour, but it turned out to be a bit too dark.

CS18 - Such a beautiful, shimmery colour & extremely pigmented. I absolutely love this one. Just a slight bit of fall out.
(as seen in Mums Anniversary MakeupMidnight SkyGlamourizing Browns With Colour)

MM19 - Fallout & the fact that you really need to build up this eyeshadow annoys me a little & that has kept me from using this eyeshadow more than I have.
(as seen in Midnight Sky)

CS06 - True to the colour in the pan & really pretty & shimmery, but it has fallout so you have to be careful.
(as seen in Gradient Orchid Look)

CM08 - Colour appears a bit lighter & different when swatched as compared to the colour in the pan.
(as seen in Happy Valentine's Day - Coral, Pinks, & Purples Look)

CS16 - Super shimmery & super messy because of way too much fallout than any pan eyeshadow should ever have.
(as seen in Happy Valentine's Day - Coral, Pinks, & Purples LookGradient Orchid Look)

CS01 - I picked out this colour because I thought it would look great as a highlight colour, but in real life this colour is a bit dark when you look at it in the pan & it looks even darker when swatched or applied. The only Cool Shimmer eyeshadow that I didn't get fallout with.
(as seen in Glamourizing Browns With Colour)

CM02 - Very pretty & pigmented shade. On my skintone this shade looks like a purple-ish brown.
(as seen in Swarovski Inspired Spring FunGlamourizing Browns With Colour)

MM06 - Pigmented & smooth application.
(as seen in Midnight SkyGradient Orchid Look)

MM17 - This has been my go-to crease colour for the past few months.. no joke. I used to apply MAC's eyeshadow in Saddle in my crease with a blending brush, but ever since I've tried this colour, I've only used MAC's Saddle once. I usually use this for my everyday neutral looks & here's exactly what I do: apply eyeshadow primer, use BH Cosmetics' Blending Brush (see review of this brush here) to apply MM17 eyeshadow in the crease & blend, curl lashes, apply black liquid eyeliner, & finish off by applying mascara to the bottom & top lashes. Voila! This is the eyeshadow that I've used the most from this palette & I absolutely love it for adding depth to my eye because it really is the perfect crease colour for my skintone - I've written a whole paragraph about it... do you need more proof as to how much I love this?
(as seen in Minimal MakeupGlamourizing Browns With ColourBold Earth Toned Eyes & Red LipsMakeup Look at My Cousin's Wedding)

CM20 - I didn't expect the colour pay off to be that great, which is exactly why this is one of the shades that I picked. I've tried some black eyeshadows from drugstore brands & I've been disappointed, so I was skeptical about this, but this shade is super pigmented & you don't get fall out either!
(as seen in Midnight SkyGradient Orchid LookGlamourizing Browns With ColourMakeup Look at My Cousin's Wedding)


Swatches! Roll your mouse over the picture below to see the names/codes of the eyeshadows.


Overall, the range of colours & finishes is great, but I wish they had more greens & maybe even yellows to choose from. The colours on the website are not true to life, so people will have a hard time picking out the eyeshadows. If I knew the eyeshadows would turn out so much darker & vibrant than the images on the website, I would have picked out a few greens. The pigmentation of the darker shades as well as the shimmer eyeshadows is awesome even without a base, but I experienced fallout with almost all of the shimmery shades. The eyeshadows blend easily & the price is great for the amount of product you receive. I haven't included the prices because BH Cosmetics usually has amazing sales & the prices keep changing - they're very reasonable though, so check out the site.


Definitely give these a try, especially the 6 Colour Eyeshadow Pro Customized Palette if you want something to carry with you wherever you go.
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Saturday, August 25, 2012

Eid-ul-Fitr (Aug 19, 2012) Henna

I was really excited to apply henna this Eid because I had finally decided that I'm going to try making henna from scratch. If you've read my blog posts about henna before you might remember that I don't like using henna cones that you can buy in stores because of all the chemicals that they add. Not only do those chemical filled henna cones smell weird, but when the henna starts fading, it peels off my skin & looks so disgusting!


I can't remember the last time I was so excited to apply henna. I know I don't look excited at all though, but that's just how I look when I'm concentrating. Henna application is serious business... no smiling, no distractions!


I found these henna designs via a mehndi/henna app that I downloaded on my iPhone & decided to try them out.


I only left the henna on for about 4 hours since I applied it late at night & I had to be up early to get ready & head out to a park where the Eid prayers were being held. The colour still turned out amazing though & it kept getting darker for the next 2 days - just the way natural henna does!
For those who don't know, henna cones that have tons of chemicals are also known as emergency cones because the colour is super dark the next day thanks to all the chemicals. I like my natural henna way better though.

I was too lazy to take pics this time around, so a huge thank you to my friend, Wamiq, & my mum for taking these pics via their cell phones & making this blog post possible.
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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Makeup Look at My Cousin's Wedding

While doing my makeup for my cousins wedding, I chose to use colours that matched my outfit. Now a lot of people don't like when makeup matches with the outfit, but I feel like matching your makeup to your outfit works really well for South Asian events.


If you've seen my post on the makeup look that I did for the mehendi/henna party (one of the pre-wedding ceremonies), you will see that not only do I match the makeup colours to my outfit, but I also avoid details on my eyelid. I do this on purpose for 2 reasons. First, I don't have much lid space, but I have a lot of space from my crease to under my brow. Second, I prefer applying a thick line of liquid eyeliner on my upper lashline because it looks better with the shape of my face & suits me more when the look is completed. Now, when I apply a thick line of liquid eyeliner, it ends up covering a lot of that lid space, so I tend to bring my lid colour a little above the crease to open up my eye a bit.

Third, I'm lazy & don't want to spend time doing details on my eyelid when they won't show as much because of my eye shape.


Products Used:
  • Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer [lid till under the brow + inner corner + lower lashline]
  • Senna Cosmetics Glow Eye Color in Flare [applied as highlight - under brow & inner corner of eye]
  • Prestige Cosmetics eyeshadow in C-179 Golden Retriever [lid & crease]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM17 [outer half of browbone]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in WM20 [inner half of browbone]
  • BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM20 [outer corner + upper & lower wings + lower lashline]
  • Maybelline waterproof liquid eyeliner in Black [upper lashline]
  • L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black [upper & lower lashes]
  • Annabelle Cosmetics Smudgeliner in Black Out [tigthline + lower lashline]
  • Light blue nail art rhinestone [inner corner]


So whenever I take pics for blog posts, I usually always have 1 or 2 pics where I'm making faces. I mean come on.. I get sick of smiling so much, especially since I was smiling all day at the wedding. I finally decided to include one of these funny face pics. Not without cause though.. in the pic you can also see the colours of my outfit: orangeish yellow (I don't even know what you'd call that colour, but it's so unique), hot pink, light blue, & a lot of silver bling.


I wish I had enough time to apply false lashes as well, but it takes me a while to apply them. Since I was running a bit late, I didn't want to mess up my makeup & decided against it.

I really think the matchy-matchy makeup worked well. What do you think?
Are you pro matchy-matchy or totally against it?
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