The Palette Swatching project: Julie Hewett Boudoir

I have been lacking on the colour-front lately. Somewhat I feel saturated with the heaps of stuff that I hardly can store around. So I decided to swatch the things that I have, starting with ♥palettes♥.

What I love about palettes...

• Often colour-coordinated (not always, and sometimes they add the funniest colours aside)
• smaller sizes to try out (I cannot remember once that I finished one eyeshadow completely, this is perfect for the fickle and experimental amoung the makeupsquad)
• travel-friendly (most of them)

• the treat-factor: so nice to give to other people, but most to yourself when you were good (or you were bad and you try to make yourself feel better about it)
• Sometimes eyes only, sometimes blush and lip, sometimes lip...what's next?
• "Hurray, a new limited edition!" Want Want Want (for no particular reason, makes me go to that Rolling Stones song again, "you can't always get what you want...you get what you neeeeeed"      

Julie Hewett palettes are made of cardboard and keep looking sleek and glossy even after being toted around by me:

They have 4 colours inside:

 

• one specifically for lip (Vampie) 
• Cleo is a overal highlighter but pigmented enough for eyes
• Natural is their Cheekie blush: I have this in full-size and it makes an awesome shader
• Goldie is  a frosty gold and more a highlighter 

However, all have a cream-formula so they are multiple-applicable for the total face.

SWATCHES (natural, cool light & 1 layer )

Visuals:

• Vampie applies beautifully on the lips: both as a flush stain, or more sophisticaded as a burgundy lipstick
• Cleo's lasting power is long and works even longer over a primer (UDPP)
• Natural has already been a favourite blush of mine (read here comparing hybrid blush)
• Goldie looks wonderfully layered over other eyeshadows or fantastic in the inner corner of eyes making them larger

CONCLUSION:
I enjoy this palette for the excellent Julie Hewitt quality inside, the versatility of the different colours, the naturalness of the total colour-scheme without going too safe (by keeping the lipshade sensually deep).   Also the thin-ness of the palette is like a little notebook easy for carrying around. It also carries the minimum of colours that it doesn't complicate people not being into a multitude of products, and the cream-formula is easy on the makeup-minimalists too. The exterior cardboard isn't perhaps the most luxury one but that also means it doesn't break either. As for hygiene? When you take out clean brushes this wouldn't be the largest problem. At least, it doesn't get (too) messy because all formulas are creams, whereas some palettes mixing creams with powders can get messy with powders ending up in the creams.

Availability:
Gosh, I've just wrote this whole review seeing it has been discontinued...Darn, still keeping it up as her other palettes have a similar quality/value (see some sold here and here).

Burberry-ed: orangy lips

In my preview I showed some labels that I bought. I was quite curious about the Givenchy matte foundation and I loved the natural-look when testing it.

But I am not up to showing boring useful foundation-swatches today, so I will get red and orangy instead.

I really had a craving to buy something new from the Burberry Spring range. Perhaps because I really need this winter to be over and hoping I can coach spring into the weather when I wear it, or delude my mind into happiness when wearing brighter colours.

Actually, I wanted to go for the Hydrangea Pink blush first, but I need to see it swatched first. Holland is having the Spring '13 colours online (here), but the brick-n-mortar shops haven't been stocked yet.

Lipgloss-wise, I picked a colour I wouldn't normally go for:

Burberry calls this one a Coral, although I wouldn't call it a real coral colour. I think it's a bit goldfish with a slight dusting of gold shell, making it still rather tropical:

I especially went for this one as it looked really unique and plumping in the various swatches I've seen online (example 1, 2). I figured that the warmer glow and golden particles can be a excellent way to warm up and give dimension to my cooler, purplish lipsticks.

The Collistar lipstick actually was a GWP but I really like it a lot. 

Italian creativity with the lipstick? I'm going to wear it frequently now ;)

The colour that comes closest to it, is my Edward Bess Midnight Bloom. Collistar Scarlatto is a micro-shade lighter, making it looks a hint pinker than EB Midnight Bloom.

I consider it equal to EB Midnight Bloom in pigmentation, perhaps a bit more matte. 

swatches & goosebumps: "spring, where are you?"

As you can see: the Burberry 22 Coral is pigmented, but doesn't alter the original hue of the lipstick too much. It only gives it a more pink/rosy and glowier appearance.

Top line (instead of bottom line) is that the lipgloss totally lives up to my expectation. I actually like the fraganced luxurity of it, the balmy feel, and the idea that it is pigmented on it's own but extra-dimensional on another lipstick. Also, that is a fab GWP,  the Collistar Scarletto lipstick...yum.

☼ Now some sunny orangy rays and a warmer temperature to match the lipgloss ☼

Chanel Rouge Allure Luminious Intense in 98 Coromandel

Finally, after seeing so many bloggers showing their picks from the new Autumn collections I was finally to go shopping and swatch some new colours myself.

Chanel has been launching an abundance of reds this autumn. From the six colours I swatched I picked the one that struck me as least-likely to like: Coromandel. It has a slight hint of brown in it's neutral red tone and I normally steer away from browns in lipshades. However, it actually looked the most polished of the six: and when wearing reds I want to be assured of having a high-maintainance look.

You see, trying it on can pay off :-D