LORAC Alter Ego Eyeshadow Palette

I have clearly been on an eyeshadow fix lately! Each color that I encounter is just so beautiful! And what kind of beauty blogger would I be if I didn't share it all with you? A terrible one, that's what.

This palette caught my eye a few weeks back and I was still in a haze of nude palettes to fully appreciate the beauty that is the Alter Ego Heartbreaker palette by Lorac. However, the other day I finally swatched this at Ulta and fell in love! If you count the colors from left to right, I bought this palette for colors 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Number 8 looked like shimmering melted chocolate on my skin and I just had to get my hands on it!

This is an Ulta exclusive palette that contains 10 shades total. It retails for $24 and the colors are rich and luscious. They are smooth to the touch and blend like a dream! One of the things that fascinates me about makeup is how colors translate on different skin. This palette is GORGEOUS on darker skin! One of the things you must keep in mind if you have darker skin is that color will pop against your skin, so you can be bold with your makeup choices. 

The size is considerably smaller than the L'Oreal Paris La Palette Nude 2 which makes it easier to pop in your makeup bag for vacation.

I wanted to try this palette several different ways before writing a post about it and so far my only complaint, which isn't even really a complaint, is that there is fall-down. This means that there will be a little dusting of eyeshadow under your eyes on your cheeks after using this palette. There are some really easy solutions to this. Pick one that works for you:

• Use a tissue or paper towel to hold right under your eye as you're blending so that it can catch the color.
• Do your eyeshadow prior to your face makeup and use eye makeup remover to swipe away the fall-down.
• Add a dusting of loose face powder under your eyes prior to doing your eyeshadow. Then when complete, you can swipe the face powder and eyeshadow fall-down away with a brush.

The palette includes a full mirror and has two shadows at the bottom that at first, I overlooked. The one on the left is nice to use to help blend out the edges of the more intense colors. The rest of the eyeshadows are shimmery, which I was a little worried about at first. What I found works really well is to use a couple of matte colors with this palette to help blend out the edges and define the crease.

Using the purple on the lid with light pink in the inner corner

Summer is the perfect time to add a little shimmer and sparkle into the mix and this palette delivers! I'm planning on doing a makeup tutorial using this palette, so let me know what kind of look you would like and I'll make it happen.

Using the dark brown on the lid with the blue under the lower lash and light blue in the inner corner

Share your Instagram photos with me @thebeautybuzzwithkee and tweet me any of your questions @buzzwithkee.

The La Palette Nude 2 in Action

I love a smokey eye! I love creating a smokey eye, wearing a smokey eye, and watching someone else put on a smokey eye. It just brings a certain level of mystery and, "Hey, who's that girl?" element that I LOVE!

I reviewed the L'Oreal Paris La Palette Nude 2 eyeshadow palette here earlier in the week and now I have a full eyeshadow tutorial for you!

Have you picked up this palette yet? Tweet me your thoughts @buzzwithkee and share your Instagram photos with me @thebeautybuzzwithkee!

REVIEW: L'Oreal Paris La Palette Nude 2

Many drugstore beauty brands have gotten on the "Nude Palette" bandwagon and I have been keeping my eye on most of them. Thankfully, tons of YouTubers have been reviewing them, which has made the process of eliminations a lot easier! I used to work for L'Oreal Paris, so I'm familiar with the quality of their products. Overall, they have an incredible track record for putting out quality products at a fair price point. Not every product will work for every person, so it's important to keep that in mind.

I've had my eye on the La Palette Nude eyeshadow palettes for weeks now. I watched several videos and read various blog posts on these palettes and the most confusing part is how mixed the reviews are. It seems that the pigmentation differs between the shimmery and matte shades as well as between the La Palette Nude 1 and La Palette Nude 2. After a lot of debate, I decided to pick the La Palette Nude 2. I love that it had more plum and purple tones that would work best with my skintone. There's no need to wonder what my opinion is on this palette: my review is a rave! I LOVE THIS PALETTE!

One of the things I struggled with was the price. I've seen this palette priced anywhere from $15.00-$20.00. That's a significant amount of money to drop on one drugstore item, so let's break it down:

You get 10 eyeshadows in this palette. Four shimmery shades and six matte shades are included. The shimmery shades are more of a satin shimmer rather than glittery. The palette has a mirror included and a double-ended brush. (I tend to toss the applicators that come with drugstore palettes, so I can't speak about the quality of the brush.) The shadows have numbers instead of names, which I don't like. I just personally prefer when products have names because I find it easier to remember which is which when talking about them.

Number 7 is my favorite color to wear all over the eyelid and can be easily paired with a variety of other shadows to create a light and fresh makeup look such as this one:

Most of the shadows are buttery and smooth. They blend really nicely and are fairly pigmented. One of my favorite drugstore eyeshadow ranges is the L'Oreal Paris Infallible eyeshadows. The ones in the La Palette Nude 2 are pretty comparable, just barely falling short of meeting their pigmentation and only because they are pressed shadows. The only shadow I'm underwhelmed by is Number 5. It doesn't swatch very well and similarly does not show up too well on the eye.

Here's a very important point:

I ALWAYS use some type of eyeshadow primer under my powder eyeshadows. As you've seen in my videos, I typically use the MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork and it's the most important step in making sure my eyeshadow has a chance of lasting more than an hour on my oily eyelids. Eyeshadows will ALWAYS appear more pigmented if you use some type of primer underneath. I did not use a primer underneath the swatches on my arm, but absolutely did when putting them on my eyes. If you're finding that you are not getting the color pay off you're looking for with your eyeshadows, try some type of primer.

Final thoughts:

La Palette Nude 2 is a beautiful palette that can be used to create fresh daytime looks and smokey dramatic looks for night. Even at it's highest price point of $20.00 it breaks down to $2.00 per eyeshadow, which is quite affordable. *Check your newspaper for coupons!* I highly recommend you get your hands on this palette and start playing! 

Make sure you share your Instagram photos with me @thebeautybuzzwithkee! Check back on my YouTube channel on Thursday for my makeup tutorial featuring this palette!

Shower Time

Why is it that when showering before work it never seems long enough yet when on vacation showers seem to be an inconvenience? (Or is that just my own personal problem?) All in all, when there's nothing but time I love a good shower! Baths. . . . well I have some issue with those as well. In the summer it feels weird (and HOT!) to sit in a hot bath when all I want is a refreshing cool shower, yet in the winter a hot bath always seems to cool too quickly leaving me desperate to get out and into multiple layers of warm clothes.

This is very similar to my season envy: wanting winter in the summer and summer in the winter. However, I really love my bath and shower products. One of the few errands I really enjoy is buying shower stuff.

Normally I like to post photos of the products I'm going to talk about, but I don't want to ruin the surprise! So instead I will begin with the video and look below for detailed info.

Featured products:

• Dove bar soap (White or Unscented)
• About $8.00 for 8 bars found here
• Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Polish
• $18.00 found here
• To read about the body scrub I mention in the video, click here
• Bic Silky Touch Razors (10 pack)
• Found at Walmart, in the video I say it's about 2 bucks, and I can't remember exactly. At Walmart.com its listed as $5.28 but I am certain I've never spent that much in store.
• Gillette Satin Care shave gel
• Between $2 and $3, found here, and this is the scent I was talking about!
• The Body Shop Exfoliating Skin Towel (the body polisher I talked about)
• $5.00 found here
• Caress Silkening Body Wash
• About $2.50, but you can purchase in a 2 pack here

I put links so that if you want to purchase online, you can. I personally like to look at products online and buy them in-store so that I know what I'm looking for when I go out shopping. Plus I don't like paying for shipping and most times when I need to replenish something I only need one or two things at a time. Either way, you have access to what you're looking for if you'd like to purchase any of these products. Enjoy!

That's The Buzz!

Day 10 (late) of Beauty Buzzing Gifts and a YouTube review!

I have used L'Oreal Paris mascaras for years and LOVE THEM! I can't remember the last time I tried one and felt anything but adoration. A perfect stocking stuffer is mascara! Even the most low-maintenance girl can appreciate the power of a few swipes of great mascara!

Here's a two-for-one special!

I have tried the Original Telescopic mascara but the Carbon Black Telescopic is the richest and darkest version of that formula.

L'Oreal Paris Telescopic Carbon Black

Get ready, though. . .it gets BETTER!
"DRUM ROLL, please. . . . . . . . . "

"Ta daaaaaaaa!"


L'Oreal Paris Telescopic Shocking Extensions

 This is AMAZING! (I found it at Kmart) No need for me to elaborate. . . just watch and see!



Before



After



Check out the results for yourself! The eye on the right has Maybelline Mega Plush Volum Express Mascara, which is what I compared it to (my current favorite) with the NEW L'Oreal Paris Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara on the left. 

Visit: http://www.maybelline.com/Products/Eye-Makeup/Mascara/Volum-Express-the-Mega-Plush-Mascara.aspx

That's The Buzz! Enjoy!