Victoria's Secret Eye Shadow Quad in Plenty | Swatches & Review

I've always loved Victoria's Secret, it's a must-go stop for me whenever I travel south to Bellingham, Washington for shopping trips (no matter how short!). So when they finally opened up in downtown Vancouver and Metrotown, I was ecstatic! However, I noticed really quickly that Victoria's Secret in Vancouver did not carry products from their "Professional" Makeup line. There were still the lipglosses and nail polish, etc, that was found at the checkout line, but it wasn't until about a month ago when I was browsing the Metrotown location did I notice they've finally introduced the rest of their makeup to Vancouver!

Actually, I have never puchased ANY Victoria's Secret makeup products. I tend to focus my spending in that store on clothing, lingerie, and shower gels (which are absolutely amazing). Fun fact: Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works are actually owned by the same company! But today, this little eyeshadow quad really caught my attention:

Victoria's Secret Eye Shadow Quad in Plenty

One of the reasons why I stay away from VS makeup products usually is the price. This quad that I bought was priced at $24.00, which it QUITE pricey considering this is not really an actual makeup brand.  Also, VS products are often hit-or-miss according to majority of the reviews out there. However, that day I had a 20% off coupon from email so I though, why not? If it's good then I'd love for you guys to know, and if it's not I hope I can help you guys save money :)

So let's take a look on the inside.

The packaging is nice and sleek, simple snap closure in the front is sturdy and tight. The entire quad fits into the palm of my hand, more or less, so I can even consider taking this in my purse for touch ups. This packaging reminds of me drugstore eye shadow quads because it comes with a clear window on the top instead of a mirror on the inside. 

The colours are neutral and very easy to style. One of the best features for this quad that sets it apart from others, same brand and other drugstore brand, is that it includes TWO matte shades. More often than not, small eyeshadow palettes that contain 6 or less shades are all of similar finish, and hardly ever includes matte shades. This VS quad in Plenty gives us a matte "Highlight" and "Lid" shade. 

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"Base": A light, cream-coloured, shimmery shade. It doesn't lean too cool or too warm. The shimmer is not an overspray and continues to be present as I keep using it, it is not chunky glitter and looks delicately sparkly on the lids. At the same time, it doesn't come off as being obnoxiously light-catchy so it's great for everyday wear as well. 

"Lid": A warm-tone medium brown matte shade. The texture is smooth and buttery, pigmented yet blendable. Even though the designers of this quad likely assumed this shade to be used all over the lid, I love using this type of colours as transition colours in my crease, and being that it can be nicely blended out, it's a great colour for that purpose.

"Highlight": A skin-tone matte shade. This shade actually blends in with my skin almost completely, and I do not have the lightest skin tone around. I imagine people with any skin tone that is lighter than my typical asian skin would likely not be able to use this for any "highlighting" per se, as it would be too dark. The texture of this shade is very similar to the "Lid" shade in that it is smooth and blendable, so I actually use this to blend out any harsh edges and it works beautifully for this purpose. For my daytime eyeshadow looks, I can often get by without applying any browbone highlight, but when I do, I need to find something else lighter (i.e. Foxy or Venus in Naked Basics palette).

"Crease": A deep, chocolate brown shade with larger bits of gold glitter. The base of this colour has some subtle shimmer to it, and the gold glitter is quite noticeable in the pan and in the swatch, but doesn't really translate to the eyelids. I don't get glitter fallout from using this colour but there is usually a bit of deep brown colour fallout if I don't tap my brush out first. I do not use this shade in my crease, because that would be too dark and smokey for my liking on a day-to-day workplace appropriate look. Instead, I use this shade in my outer-V corner to add definition to the eyes. It's not as pigmented as it may seem in the pan so this is probably the more disappointing shade out of all 4. 

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Now, this quad really interested me because as a whole, it was a neutral palette which I love, plus when I swatched the medium brown "Lid" shade in the store, it was pigmented and very smooth. It's often common to find matte shades that swatch patchy, uneven, and unpigmented, so I was pleasantly surprised by the quality in this little VS quad. So naturally, I proceed to swatch the matte highlight shade, very smooth once again; the "Base" shade was shimmery but quite pretty. That was enough to interest me enough to purchase and the following is a picture of all four colours on my arm without a primer underneath.  

 

As you can see, the colour payoff is not too bad, but I was hoping for better payoff on the "Base" shade and "Crease" shade. So next I tried them on top my daily staple: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and here is the outcome:

I think all four colours performed much better but the result was especially apparent with the "Base" and "Crease" shades and I'm quite pleased with the result. "Crease" shade is still not as intense as I would like it to be given what it looks like in the pan, but overall it is alright for what I use it for. 

Overall thoughts:

Texture: Three of the four shades in this quad performed well in the texture department. As a whole, the powders run on the dry side, there are definitely many eyeshadows that are even more buttery than these VS ones. Of course, the brands that immediately comes to mind are high end ones, such as Urban Decay, Too Faced, Lorac, etc. Compared to the majority of drugstore eyeshadow offerings, the VS shadows performed a bit better than most BUT I think Wet n' Wild actually still comes out on top. 

Pigmentation: Again, all shades did well and yielded close-to-pan-colour except the "Crease" shade. As a whole, they translated well to the lids, but could be better. I often find myself reapplying the "Base" shade to the lids after some blending because it seems that I've blended too much away. "Crease" shade was not as deep and dark as it appeared in the pan. 

Blendability: All shades were smooth and buttery, so they are very easy to blend out on the lids. No complaints here!

Staying Power: I had no problems with creasing or fading throughout the day, which is usually well over 10 hours of wear time. However, I always use a primer underneath so perhaps it may not do so well if I didn't use a primer. I think in terms of staying power, these shades performed as well as my other high end eyeshadows. 

Value: So here comes the final and biggest question answered on this post...Is this Victoria's Secret eyeshadow quad worth the $24.00 price tag?? And my answer is....nope. As well as it did perform during this past month that I have been using it, I think it is way over priced for what it is. The colours are very practical and usable, but are definitely not unique. At a fraction of the price, Wet 'N Wild offers an amazing 8-pan eyeshadow palette and trios that gives slightly smoother texture and colour payoff. If you are willing to venture a bit higher in the price points, then you will find great eyeshadow palette options from Urban Decay and other brands found at Sephora.

I'm glad I picked up this one quad to try out, but I highly doubt I would be back for more eyeshadow quads from Victoria's Secret any time soon. I still think I will get a lot of use out of this quad because it's quite convenient for those mornings when I have limited time to make myself presentable. I find for myself that I take too much time deciding what shades to use if I had too many options in a large palette; in this little quad I have 1 shade option for each area of the eye and that eliminates choosing. I'd say skip this eyeshadow quad from Victoria's Secret and save that money towards better eyeshadows from higher end brands, and satisfy your cravings with drugstore options like Wet 'N Wild in the meantime. :)

Until the next post, 

Cheers!    

  

Rimmel London Kate Moss Matte Lipsticks - Review & Swatches!

Another Rimmel product and another lip product to talk about! Today it's about the newest addition to the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Kate Moss Lipsticks line, the MATTE lipsticks!

The packaging is so cute with the red tube and Kate's signature! The previous launch of the Kate Moss lipsticks brought us 15 new colours, in black tubes with Kate's signature in red. I really enjoyed those lipsticks because the colours were gorgeous, pigmentation was so amazing, the lasting power was good, and it didn't dry out my lips much at all. That being said, I had high hopes and expectations for this new line. However, since they are marketed at "matte", meaning no shimmer or shine, I do expect them to probably be a little bit more drying than its predecessor.

There are currently 10 shades available for sale, as part of the permanent display (these are NOT limited edition!), but I only purchased 7 of them because one was sold out that the time, and two are colours that I will not make any use out of (beige-nudes, almost concealer type of shades).

Packaging: The lipsticks are housed in a bullet that is the same shape and size as the standard lipsticks from the Lasting Finish line-up. I personally find that the Rimmel Crown logo imprinted that the top of the slanted lid is quite a classy touch and I really like it. However, for those of you who happen to store your lipsticks standing up (i.e. in lipstick holders) will not be able to stand these upside down to see the label on the bottom, since the slant top does not allow the lipstick to balance properly. The shade names are on a sticker at the bottom of the bullet. The twist part of the bullet feels a little flimsy but it is nothing major and nothing will break apart on you; I just mean that there seems to be less resistance to the twist than do other lipstick tubes. One thing to note is that the twist-able part is the black section, and that is exposed even when the cap is on, which means that there is a chance the the lipstick may be twisted upwards and be damaged against the closed cap. The red matte finish of the lipstick bullet brings a very feminine touch overall and the lipstick becomes quite eye-catching, which is nice :)

Scent: The lipsticks have a very typical and signature "lipstick" scent to them, which nowadays are somewhat associated with the "old lady lipstick" scent; a type of deep floral, non-sugary scent. However, the intensity of the scent is very low and comparatively, less and more toned-down than L'oreal lipsticks, if you happen to be familiar with those. The scent lingers for a little while after applying the lipstick to the lips and fades away within 15 minutes.

Pigmentation: I can not complain about the pigmentation of these lipsticks at all, because they pack such a punch! One swipe is pretty much enough to give full-coverage colour that is true to colour in the bullet. If you enjoy a bold lip look then apply one more layer and you are good to go. Or, an alternative would be to first apply a lipliner all over the lips and then apply this lipstick and you get instant opacity. The colour also applies fairly evenly, I did not notice much patchiness, which is always a plus.

Texture: As I mentioned before, these lipsticks run a bit on the drier side of the spectrum. That is partly due to the formula of the lipstick, for it is a matte finish. In my previous experience with the "Lasting Finish" line, they are not too moisturizing, since it does claim to have a longer weartime than others (too much hydration in a lipstick makes them slip and slide and therefore decrease weartime). So with a matte finish on top of a long-wear aspect, I do suggest prepping your lips well before applications. Using a good lip balm prior should be enough to do the trick for you. If you happen to have chapped lips with some dry skin, it would be best to give them a quick scrub before adding lipbalm because these lipsticks WILL ACCENTUATE DRY PATCHES. Provided that your lips are nicely primed prior to application, this lipstick will dry down to a non-shiny matte finish within 2 minutes and sits quite comfortably without feeling too heavy, however, I would not classify these as lightweight lipsticks.

Staying Power: The colour will definitely not last you thoughout an entire 8-hour work period, but it's nothing shabby and will last at least 2-3 hours provided there is no heavy eating involved during that time. However, when fading happens, I found that it faded from the center out, leaving a kind of an odd ring of colour around the lips. But, what I found was that if I applied a lip liner of a similar colour all over the lips first, before applying the lipstick, the fading effect diminishes quite a bit, and also the "ring of colour" from the fading becomes much less noticeable. Transferring of colour still happens after 1-2 hours, but it doesn't take off your lip colour completely.

Swatched with a single swipe from the tube.

As you can see from the above swatch, made with just one swipe of the lipstick, the colour intensity is great and the pigmentation is distributed relatively evenly. Pretty awesome for a $7 drugstore lipstick!

101: Matte - A true pink, with hint of blue undertone, slightly less bright than a barbie-pink.

102: Matte - A brighter pink than 101, with a definitely coral undertone

103: Matte - Pinky-mauve colour, a great noticeable colour without being too red. Could be a my-lips-but-better (MLBB) colour for those with more pigmented lips.

105: Matte - A brown-nude colour with slight hints of red. This is a very natural colour despite the way it may appear next to all the pinks and reds, it is a MLBB for me that evens out my natural lip colour and gives a polished look without being overdone.

107: Matte - A beautiful berry red colour. This colour is the deepest shade of the entire line. Not for someone who doesn't like bold colours on the lips, but those of you who can, or are looking to venture into the berry lips trend, this is a great colour for you! And perhaps better make the most use out of them while winter is still around, since the colour maybe a little too deep for the upcoming Spring season :)

109: Matte - An orange-coral colour. With a light hand at application (i.e. gentle dabbing across the lips rather than swiping) this colour mixes nicely with your natural lip colour to create a flush of healthy colour. Apply heavier and this becomes a really fun summer colour!

111 Kiss of Life: This is the only colour in the entire line that has an actual shade name. This is the colour that is worn by Kate Moss on the display and promotional pictures! This is a true primary red, it has no obvious undertones, perhaps just slightly leaning more towards the warmer side of reds. However, the red is so bright and fiery that the tone of it will likely be ignored after application. This is a beautiful. classic shade of red that is best paired with a simple eye look and even complexion.

Overall I think these are a line of great lipsticks that are could be worth checking out :) Thanks for reading and definitely let me know what you think of them by leaving a comment! I'd love to know your thoughts!

Joanne