Wet 'n' Wild Shimmer the Night Away (Holiday Limited Edition) - Review & Swatches

Wet 'n' Wild has stolen my heart with their incredible eyeshadows and super low prices, and they're always at the top of my list when I'm checking out drugstores. So of course, I was going out of my way to search for these limited edition holiday palettes when I first heard about them online. The collection is called Where's the Party? and features three palettes: Drinking a Glass of Shine, which is a re-release of the I <3 Matte palette, Sparkle 'til Morning, which is mostly neutral shades with a pop of blue, and Shimmer the Night Away, the one that I picked up, which is blacks and silvers along with purple and blue shades. Shimmer the Night Away seems similar to Petal Pusher, but the two are definitely not identical. Shimmer the Night Away had more black, silver, and blue shades, while Petal Pusher has more light purples and pinks in it.

Each shade in this palette is marked with the area of the eye that it should be used in - each side contains a browbone, lid, crease, and definer color. Of course, this doesn't mean that you have to use these colors in the way that they specify, but if you're just starting out with makeup it may help you learn where to apply certain shades.

The left side of the palette contains a shimmery white highlight shade, a silver lid shade, a shimmery black color for the crease, and a black shadow with glitter for the definer shade. All four of these colors swatched really vibrantly on bare skin, and were super pigmented. The two blacks were rather similar so I don't quite understand why they both needed to be included in here; the crease shade is a little lighter and more shimmery than the definer shade, but I would have liked to see a gray or another type of color instead of two blacks.

On the right side, the highlighter shade is a light dusty pink color, the lid shade is a gorgeous magenta with purple shimmer, the crease color is a lilac shade with a slight shimmer, and the definer shade is a really pretty rich blue shade. The highlighter shade seemed to be the least pigmented, although that might not be a problem if you're looking for a light browbone application. I really liked the bright pink/purple lid shade - it reminded me of MAC's Stars 'n' Rockets or Urban Decay's Fishnet.

I used a few of the shadows to do a smokey purple and blue eye look - the colors blend really well and last a long time, and were super smooth as well. I honestly didn't have an issue with any of the shades, and for only a few bucks at the drugstore, this palette (like most of the other Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadow palettes) is definitely worth a shot. Makeup beginners in particular may appreciate this palette because you're getting nice quality shadows for a bargain price.

If you like purples, blues, and smokey eye looks, this is a must-have! You can create an endless amount of looks from this one palette, or you could use the pigmented black shade to darken up any eye look, or the bright blue to add a pop of color to a more neutral look. This one was definitely a hit for Wet 'n' Wild!

Rating: 5/5

XOXO, Ally

Whatever Wednesday: PandAmonium!

Ok, so Wednesday's name sucks. It reminds me of trying to talk to some middle schooler who keeps going "whatEVER!" But it gets the point across nicely - I couldn't think of anything cool for Wednesdays, so I decided to just make it a day for anything. This Wednesday, I decided to base my look off of the album I was listening to at the time - Pandamonium by The White Panda. (It has some wonderful mash-ups, check it out guys!) So I went with a simple black and white lid, then added a pop of color by lining the top with bright green and the bottom with bright pink!

Products Used:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean
e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color Quad in Drama (matte white shade)
Purple/black e.l.f. Eyeshadow Duo from the Smoky Eye Kit (black glitter shade)
Urban Decay's Gunmetal
Urban Decay's Chronic
Rock & Republic Eye Colour in Spy
wet N wild Color Icon Trio in Spoiled Brat (neon pink shade)
NYX Glitter Cream Palette in Paradise (pink glitter)
CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara

Liplicious Blue Colada Lip Gloss

So for this look, I primed my eyes and then applied the black jumbo eye pencil to the outer corner and the white one to the inner corner. I patted the black e.l.f. shadow over the black pencil and slightly into the crease, and the white shadow over the white pencil and brought it down to the inner corner, and then used Gunmetal to blend the two together. I then took Spy and used it to soften the edges and brought it up to my brow bone. After blending out the shadows, I lined my upper lashes with Chronic wet, and used the pink wet N wild shade on the bottom lash line (wet as well). With a liner brush, I pressed some of the pink glitter cream over the pink liner, then tight-lined my eyes with black and applied mascara and a clear gloss. And then I went to visit my high school marching band! <3

 XOXO, Ally

Colorful Tuesday: Warm Purple

By all means, play it safe for work on Monday, but come Tuesday, I think it's about time to break out the colors! Which is why I've chosen the incredibly uncreative name "Colorful Tuesday" for my Tuesday looks - everything from bright, wacky colors to soft wearable ones will be on Tuesdays! Today's look combines a peachy-orange shade with purples for a warm, purpley eye; it's definitely a more subdued, wearable colorful look, but I promise crazier ones will come!

Products Used:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean
MAC Tweet Me
MAC Stars n Rockets
Urban Decay's Flash
NYX 10 Color Eye Shadow Palette in Strike a Pose (matte brown shade, matte black shade)
wet N wild Color Icon palette in Lust (shimmery cream white shade)
Rock & Republic Eye Colour in Spy
CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara

e.o.s. Lip Balm in Summer Fruit
e.l.f. Studio Matte Lip Color in Tea Rose

For this look, I primed my eyes with Too Faced Shadow Insurance and then filled in my lid with the NYX pencil in Cottage Cheese. I pressed Tweet Me on top of that, to give the orange-y color a more metallic finish. I blended out the edges with Stars n Rockets and worked that color up slightly onto the brow bone, then placed Flash right into the crease to deepen the purple. I used Spy to blend out the edges of Stars n Rockets, and then highlighted under my eyebrow with the shimmery wet N wild shade. With the NYX pencil in Cottage Cheese again, I applied a little to my inner corner and then covered it with that same wet N wild Shade. I then used the NYX pencil in Black Bean to smudge along my lower waterline and lash line, and set that with the NYX matte black color. On my upper lash line, I smudged the same matte color into the outer quarter of my lash line, and dragged the color slightly upwards. Then I used the matte brown color to finish lining my top lashes. Finally, I curled my lashes and applied mascara.

For my lips, I simply smoothed my e.o.s. lip balm on and then covered that with a layer of the matte lip color. The Tea Rose color actually tones down the natural pigment of my lips, so it helped to focus attention on my eyes, instead of overwhelming my face with too many bright colors.

XOXO, Ally

SFW Monday: Warm Nude

Since I've posting a lot of swatches and reviews lately, and not so many makeup looks, I decided to give each weekday a theme and post a new look based on that theme each day, until I get sick of doing so. Monday is obviously SFW ("safe for work") day, so there will be lots of neutrals and slight hints of color but nothing too flashing or vibrant. As for the other days ... you'll just have to stay tuned this week to find out!

Products Used:
NYX HD Eye Shadow Base
Urban Decay's Toasted
NYX 10 Color Eye Shadow Palette in Strike a Pose (matte brown shade, matte black shade, matte white shade)
Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner for brown eyes (brown shade)
wet N wild Color Icon palette in Lust (matte light pink shade)
CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Flame
Hard Candy Glossaholic Lip Gloss in Rise & Shine

To create today's look, I primed my eyes with the NYX primer, then applied Toasted all over my lid. I used the matte brown color mixed with a few dabs of the matte black color from the NYX palette, and placed that in the outer corner and about 3/4 of the way into the crease. Then I lined my top lashline with the brown gel liner, and smudged a touch of the same matte brown shadow beneath my lower lashes. As a highlight, I used the light pink wet N wild color, and applied a touch of the white color from the NYX palette to the inner corner of my eyes. Finally, I curled my lashes and applied mascara to finish the eye look!

For the lips, I used the bright red Revlon lip stain/lip balm and topped it with the sparkly Hard Candy Glossaholic gloss, to liven up my face since my eye look was so neutral. However, you could go with a nude lipstick or clear gloss instead, if you wanted to keep your entire face office-friendly. I'm wearing the blush from the e.l.f. blushed/bronzed duo, which is definitely light and natural enough for work or school - any light peachy will work great with this look!

XOXO, Ally

MAC Peacocky: Dalliance and Tweet Me

Hey guys! So I'm loving the new MAC Peacocky collection - I only picked up two colors because there's no way I can afford to blow all my money on makeup right now, but my mom and I drooled over all the gorgeous shades at the MAC counter in Macy's. I had my heart set on getting Dalliance and Tweet Me before I even got there, but Tweet Me was missing from the display; they did have it in stock so someone must have been using the tester for something, but for a second I was really concerned that they weren't going to have it. I mean, just the name alone convinced me that I needed to have it!

(I could have sworn I swatched these two, but apparently not. My camera battery was dying on me while I was taking pictures, so these two were photographed super quickly and I guess I just forgot.)

So later in the day I had to go to my little brother and sister's band concert up at their middle school, so I threw together a simple little look using the two MAC shadows. It's just Dalliance all over the lid, with Too Faced Milk Chocolate (from the Glamour Revolution Palette) on the outer corner (and darkened up a little with a matte black eyeshadow), then Tweet Me along the lower lash line, and tightlined with the MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved. I used CoverGirl Lash Blast on my lashes, but that's mostly personal preference. Super simple, but it looks pretty nice.

Why are my eyes so veiny? Do eyes always look like that or are mine just particularly gross? Clearly I haven't taken a lot of close-ups of my eyes or I would know these things ...

XOXO, Ally