PRODUCT OF THE WEEK: Neutral Eye Palettes

Neutral eye shadows have been around for ages. They are the 'vanilla ice cream' of the makeup world - good but sometimes a little boring. But recently this beauty staple has gotten a new lease on life.  This trend started with Urban Decay's launch of the wildly popular "Naked" Palette which lead to an explosion of eye shadow collections in a neutral range of shades.  Here's my top picks of neutral eye shadow palettes that reflect a variety of price points. Happy shopping my lovelies!

 

Bobbie Brown -  "Sand Tortoiseshell" Eye Palette ($60)
The Tortoiseshell eye palette in "Sand" is for lighter skin tones, with light to dark shadows in flattering warm neutrals. This eye shadow collection let's you go from soft to smoky in no time flat. The eight shadows in this palette are designed to be layered - there’s no blending required. Start with the lightest shade, then layer the darker shades until you get the desired intensity.
* This eye palette is also available in "Bronze Tortoiseshell"  for medium to darker skintones.

Urban Decay  - "Naked" Palette  ($48)
Everybody wants to look good NAKED! Far from a group of boring beige shadows, the Naked Palette's long, lean, seductive case is packed with twelve gorgeous neutrals, including five NEW shades. This palette contains a range of textures: everything from glitter to shimmer to matte. Also included in palette is  the Good Karma eye shadow brush and a travel-size eyeshadow Primer Potion.

Stila - "Natural Eye Shadow" Palette ($39)
A beautiful palette consisting of Stila's award-winning Eye Shadows in wearable, neutral shades for every skintone that can be worn wet or dry and a limited-edition Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner. It also contains an eight-page lookbook with detailed how-to tips and tricks.

NYX - "Nude on Nude" Pallete ($25)
This set contains a classic medley of 20 neutral eye shadows and 10 vibrant lip colors that work for every skin tone and every occasion. What more could a girl ask for?

SLEEK Make-UP - "Storm" i-Divine Palette ($10)
The Storm i-Divine palette is comprised of 12 strong and rich shades perfect for accentuating the eyes and creating natural looks.

E.L.F. - "Essential Beauty School" 32-Piece Eyeshadow Palette ($5)
This 32-color Professional Eyeshadow Palette is the all-you-need eyeshadow assortment, perfect for on-the-go beauty! With endless colors & textures to choose from, this professional eyeshadow palette lets you create your own personal look whenever you wish, wherever you are. 



* Note - the first eye shadow palette featured in this article is Kat Von Dee's True Romance eye shadow palette in "Saint". This product is yet to be released on Sephora.com.

Sleek MakeUP Sparkle i-Divine GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!

Hello my Lovelies,

Announcing the lucky winner of the "Karen's World of Beauty" Reader Giveaway for a Limited Edition Sleek MakeUP "Sparkle" i-Divine eyeshadow palette and Wanderlast Lip Colour in "Purity":

Tati Abaurre

User Name: Tati_Abaurre

There will be more Reader Contest and Giveaways soon so make sure you stay current with "Karen's World of Beauty" Blog! To ensure you don't miss any valuable blog posts sign up for email notification of all new postings. Simply enter your email address in the "Subscribe to Posts Via Email" box.

Thanks again to all you fabulous Readers who subscribe to my beauty blog and support my passion for sharing "all things beauty" with the world.

Smooches!
Karen (aka MakUpDiva)

**Please note if you are a contest winner you must respond to my email with your mailing address within a week after the end of the drawing in order to receive your prize. I am not responsible for anything that happens once prizes are mailed out. If it gets lost, damaged or melts, etc., I'm sorry but I can’t replace it.  Thank you!

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Sleek MakeUP_Sparkle i-Divine Palette

Hello Lovelies,

Here's a video review of Sleek MakeUP's new "Sparkle" i-Divine Eye Shadow Palette that was featured in my blog post, "2010 Holiday Gift Guide for Girls". Sleek nails it yet again with this Limited Edition collection of 12 glitter laced, velvety-smooth eye shadows. 

Here's detailed color swatches of the "Sparkle" i-Divine Eye Shadow Palette:

(With Flash)

:

(Without Flash)

Top Row: Cranberry, Dream Maker, Galactic, Twinkle, Star Light, Noir
Bottom Row: Illusion, Festive, Mistletoe, Glitz & Glamour, Gold Ribbon, Tinsel

And to celebrate the New Year I'm giving away a "Sparkle" i-Divine palette and Wanderlast Lip Colour in "Purity" to one lucky "Karen's World of Beauty" Reader! Make your New Year sparkle with Sleek MakeUP!!!

Here’s How to Enter:
1) To enter to win you must subscribe to KarensWorldofBeauty.Blogspot.com. To subscribe just click the "Follow" button located on the Right Column of my Blog. Once you join (via Google Friend Connect) your username/pic should show up in my list of Followers.

2) Leave a comment with your user name and email address by the contest deadline of 12am on Friday, January 14, 2011.

3) For those Readers who are already subscribed to my Blog just leave a comment stating "I'm a Karen's World of Beauty Subscriber" and include your user name and the email address you used to sign up for my blog.

4) You can Tweet about this Contest, link it on FaceBook or your own blog for extra chances to win! Just make sure you leave individual comments so all of your entries count. (That’s extra chances at winning!)

Other Contest Info:
** US Residents only (and your comment must be in English).
**Winner will be chosen at random.
**Comments posted after the deadline won’t be included in the drawing.
**If you win, you must respond to my email with your mailing address within a week after the end of the drawing in order to receive your prize. I am not responsible for anything that happens once prizes are mailed out. If it gets lost, damaged or melts, etc., I'm sorry but I can’t replace it.


Thanks for being a "Karen's World of Beauty" Fan and good luck to you all!!!

Smooches!
Karen (aka MakUpDiva)

HAUL VIDEO & REVIEW: Sleek MakeUP

Headquartered in London, Sleek MakeUP is an established cosmetic brand throughout Europe, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.  Their tagline 'My Skin, My Shade, My Makeup’ concisely conveys the message of their brand and the reflects the diverse range of woman who wears Sleek MakeUP. Fortunately for us gals in the U.S., we can now purchase their cosmetic products online. 

In the enclosed video below I review several products from Sleek MakeUP's line:

 

See below for detailed pictures with color swatches of all cosmetic products I reviewed:

Tester Kit of Creme to Powder Foundation:

  Top Row: Light/Medium -  Latte, Creme Caramel, Sweet Honey, Noisette, Terracotta   

Bottom Row: Light - Shell, Sand, Calico, Bamboo, Latte

Top Row: Dark -  Cannelle, Sepia, Hot Chocolate, Deep Sable, Coffee Bean   

Bottom Row: Medium/Dark - Terracotta, Russet, Demerara, Henna, Cannelle

Luminious Pressed Powder:

 Left to Right:  01(light), 02 (medium), 03 (medium dark), 04 (dark)

Face Contour Kit & Glisten Me Illuminator:

Left to Right: "Light", "Medium" and "Dark"    

Glisten Me Face & Body Illuminator in "Empress"

Powder Blush:

Left to Right:  "Scandalous" (unreleased), "Sunrise", "Rose Gold", "Pomegranate", "Life's A Peach" (unreleased)

 i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette:

 "Bad Girl" Palette

Top Row: Innocence, Gullible, Blade, Gun Metal, Underground, Noir

Bottom Row: Intoxicated, Envy, Obnoxious, Abyss, Twilight, Rebel

 "Good Girl" Palette

Top Row:  Lychee, Meringue, Candy Floss, Lollipop, Pink Punch, Cupcake

Bottom Row:  Strawberry Sorbet, Pink Grapefruit, Peach Melba, Papaya, Raspberry Coulis, Morello

 "Circus" Palette

Top Row:   Red, Purple, Magenta, White, Yellow, Fuschia

Bottom Row: Black, Lavendar, Lime, Bright Blue, Navy,Orange

Eyelashes, Eyeliner & Nail Polish:

 Left Column: Havana (corner) and Harare (full) lashes  

Right Column: "Turquoise" nail polish and Glitter Dip It Eye Liner in "Steel"

 Pout Polish:

Top Row (left to right): "Powder Pink" and "Chocolate Kiss"

Bottom Row (left to right): "Raspberry Souffle" and "Electro Peach"

* Products were provided for review but I am not affiliated with the company, nor was I paid to review any of the products mentioned in this video and blog post.

COLORFUL SMOKY EYE TUTORIAL

 

I created this instructional video to show women that they are not restricted to shades of gray or black when creating a smoky eye look. There is a vast rainbow of eye color shades on the market so why limit yourself? A great example of high quality but low priced eyeshadow palettes are those created by UK-based, mass market cosmetic brand Sleek MakeUP. I was lucky enough to meet Malika Joaille and Taniqua Bennett from the line earlier this year and received several products to Review. They are incredible! 

Today's Eye Makeup Tutorial features Sleek MakeUp's I-Divine eyeshadow palette in  "The Original" (see picture above). You'll definitely be seeing and hearing more about Sleek MakeUP and their products in the future. I can't wait for their website to be up and running again so all us gals in the U.S. can get our hands on their fabulous products!!!

PRODUCTS USED:
Face:
Cinema Secrets Foundation - Kit #8

Cheek:
Nixie Bronze Beauty in "Key Largo Beach" - sheer gold shimmer

Eye:
Sleek MakeUP -  I-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in "The Original's"   *(I used the green colored shadows in the Far Right column).
MAC - Eye Kohl Pencil in "Minted" - vibrant mint green with pearl
MAC - Eye Kohl Pencil in "Smolder" - intense black
Lancome - Définicils High Definition Mascara in "Deep Black"

Lip:
C.O. Bigelow® Rose Salve


BRUSHES:
MAC #219 Pencil Brush
MAC #244 Tapered Blending Brush



Model: Shauna Blaize
Videographer: Amanda Taylor Duncan

DAY/NEUTRAL EYE LOOK TUTORIAL

Lots of women have questions about how to use eyeshadow, especially when it comes in those kits with 3 or 4 colors so I created this tutorial to show you the basics. In this makeup tutorial I demonstrate how to use 3 coordinating eyeshadow colors to create a natural eye look for daytime. I hope this clears up the mystery about how to use multi-color eyeshadow palettes.



PRODUCTS USED:
Face:
Cinema Secrets - Ultimate Foundation Palette in "Kit #8"

Cheek:
M.A.C. -  Powder Blush in "Style" - Coral-peach with gold pearl (Frost)
M.A.C. -  Powder Blush in "Trace Gold" - Gold with shimmer (Sheertone Shimmer) used as Highlighter

Eyes:
M.A.C. - Eye Shadow in "Orb" - soft peachy-beige (Satin), "Samoa Silk" - Polynesian peach (Velux), and "Saddle" - Golden orange brown (Matte)
M.A.C. - Eye Pencil in "Coffee" - muted brown

Lancome - Définicils High Definition Mascara in "Deep Black"

Lip:
Sleek MakeUp - Pout Polish in "Electro Peach"

BRUSHES:
aDesign Brushes: Eye 1 - unique shaped brush with pointed tip that can be used as crease brush or as blender brush, Eye 3 - flat liner brush, Eye 4 - small detailed brush to line, define & smudge, and Lip - small, compact & firm lip brush
M.A.C. - #244 Tapered Blending Brush


* For all you beautiful Recessionista's here's some bargain-priced brushes:
Essence of Beauty - Dome Eye Shadow Brush
Essence Of Beauty - Crease Brush Duo Eyes
Sonia Kashuk - Essential Eye 6-pc. Kit with Case


Model: Shauna Blaize
Videographer: Amanda Taylor Duncan