bailey bee

beauty, home and lifestyle blog

NABLA Cosmetics Secret Palette Review + Swatches

It has been a VERY long time since I have been excited about an eyeshadow palette release AND actually purchased upon debut. The Italian makeup brand NABLA is fairly well-received and once I saw the swatches for this palette I had myself creating a calendar reminder to buy it ASAP. The Secret palette is full of color and allows you to utilize different color stories for endless amounts of looks. This assortment of shades paired with the solid formulas NABLA is known for has made this palette a surefire winner in my book.

Just look at those shades! Each horizontal row complements itself well but I really like the funky combos that the vertical columns make, too.

Let’s get into the most important aspect of this palette— the formula and wearability of each shade.

All shades swatched well on the arm except for Hypersensual and Nablack. To be honest, I’m not sure why Hypersensual performed so lackluster-ly. It’s a seemingly easy shade to make. As for Nablack, I bet we all have better black eyeshadows that we’re loyal to anyway so it’s not a huge deal to me. It still performed just fine on the lashline to create a smokey vibe.

The standout shades in terms of formula were Giulietta, Fantasize and Ghibli. You barely have to even touch these shades to get them to provide pigment and all blend out effortlessly.

As for my sleeper pick, I Promise ended up being REALLY pretty on the lid. It wasn’t a strong swatcher but is a very dimensional shade that works well paired with a crease color blended out as well as on its own across the lid.

Just serving a warning– Rosemary is a stainer. I’m not really that surprised as that has been my experience with pigmented teal shades in the past and it’s not necessarily even a negative thing. But still a thing to mention.

Again, I have not been this excited over a palette release in freaking years. I’m so excited to dive deeper with these shades and get so much more use out of them! If you’re wary of purchasing from an international seller (if you’re from the US, of course) then fret not. NABLA is the real deal and they shipped this palette to me within a week! If you’re as into this as I was then there is absolutely no reason not to pick it up. Enjoy!

If you wanna see some other palettes I have reviewed, check ’em out here.

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Light Bronzer Faceoff: Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer vs. Fenty Sun Stalk’r vs. Benefit Hoola

Fenty just released a new line of Sun Stalk’r bronzers and I was keen to get my hands on the lightest shade, Inda Sun. I wanted to compare it to two other popular “light” bronzers on the market– the Physician’s Formula Butter bronzer in ‘Light’ and Benefit’s Hoola bronzer in ‘Lite’

Keep on reading to see how it compared and to see some swatches.

three light bronzers: physican's formula butter bronzer in 'light'. fenty beauty sun stalk'r bronzer in 'inda sun' and benefit hoola bronzer in 'lite'

Upon first look, you can see that Hoola Lite is significantly lighter than these other two. I almost never wear it for that reason. It’s too light for me and that is saying something because I am on the fairer end of the spectrum (NW15, Fenty 110/120). That being said, I really commend Benefit for releasing a product that works for the fairest of fair complexions.

on-arm swatches of three light bronzers: physican's formula butter bronzer in 'light'. fenty beauty sun stalk'r bronzer in 'inda sun' and benefit hoola bronzer in 'lite'

I didn’t have any expectations going into this comparison so I don’t feel anything in particular when I notice that ‘Inda Sun’ is the darkest of the three. In addition to being the darkest, it is also the reddest. I like this because both Hoola Lite and the Butter bronzer both seem to disappear into my skin. They do a proper job of adding warmth to the face but I like my bronzer to add a bit of depth as well so I see myself reaching for Inda Sun over the others quite often.

The formulas are important to consider as well. As per its name, the Butter bronzer is smoother than the others and almost feels a bit wet. Both Inda Sun and Hoola Lite are your traditional powder products with Inda Sun being a finer powder than Hoola. The finer the powder for a bronzer, the smoother the transition on the face. I have found all three apply really nicely with little to no patchiness.

I am really excited to continue using this Sun Stalk’r bronzer. The formula and shade are perfect for my intended uses. Each of these bronzers have nice formulas and apply well. Their main differences are the shades and depth of color.

I’ve done some other “faceoffs” in the mascara, eyeliner and eyebrow gel departments. Check ’em out!

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MAC Powder Kiss Lipsticks in ‘Scattered Petals’ + ‘Style Shocked!’

Hey there! Happy Friday.

I recently picked up two of the new”ish” MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks in the shades ‘Scattered Petals’ and ‘Style Shocked!’. Although I had found myself going back and forth on Ulta’s website and Temptalia‘s swatches on her site for a few weeks, I really don’t know what initially stemmed my interest in these lippies.

I concur; here ya go. A review of the MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks with swatches

MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks in 'Scattered Petals' and 'Style Shocked!'

Seeing this formula in the bullet is so interesting because the lipsticks themselves give off a powdery appearance, as the names would suggest. They’re matte looking– almost as if they’ve been sprayed with a butter spray. They’re definitely different looking than your usual MAC lipsticks.

MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks in 'Scattered Petals' and 'Style Shocked!' applied as on-arm swatches

I was fully introduced to the powdery formula of these lipsticks upon swatching. Although that may sound like a negative attribute, it really is not. These lipsticks apply sheer and matte but are comfortable and give a very effortless feel. You could absolutely swipe this on without looking in a mirror and have a perfect application every time.

As I prefer a less sheer application, I was pleased to find that these do layer up very nicely and build to opaque coverage while still giving a chic “blotted” look to the lips.

As for the shades themselves, ‘Style Shocked!’ is my winner of the two. This comes as no surprise to me because that is the exact shade I’ve been itching to buy for Spring/Summer and it’s hard to go wrong with a nice, warm red! As for ‘Scattered Petals’, I enjoy it a teeny bit. It’s much warmer than I had expected it to be and it’s kinda giving me Makeup Geek ‘Foxtrot’ vibes (which was one of the worst lip products I have ever tried). If I lived closer to an Ulta I would probably return it but since I don’t, I’m going to try to actually wear it a bit sheerer than I would normally and embrace the warm tone.

MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks in 'Scattered Petals' and 'Style Shocked!' applied on the lips against bare lips

I definitely want to try some more shades from this collection but the fact that they are online only at Ulta keeps getting in my way! Sigh. I guess I’ll have to actually go to a MAC and forgo my precious Ulta points. *sarcasm*

Any of you have other shades from this range? I’d love to hear which you like on your own complexion! and if anyone is similar in tone to me, I need recommendations. I haven’t found many on-lip swatches from people with my skin tone.

If you would like to shop these lippies, check them out below: