The Crimson Amulet

With the premiere and release date of the Tim Burton film Dark Shadows being this week, I thought it would be fitting to do my post on the NYX palette themed around the film. I only saw this by chance in ULTA back in March/April time, I think they got it prior to the release date. I'd always heard good things about NYX as a brand in general and their palettes always got good reviews, and as I'm a huge Tim Burton and Johnny Depp fan I could hardly say no to this ;) NYX is hard to get in the UK and I know palettes like this rarely get released in Europe or the UK so I thought I'd pick it up while I had the chance. 


I liked this palette because you can create more or less a full face, it has a selection of neutral and colourful eye shadows along with a few blushes, highlight colour, an eyeliner and a base for the shadow. I also liked that it gave you tips on how to create the makeup looks from the film. I know that they won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I like the makeup looks for creativity and fun. Maybe not for every day but there's a lot to offer in terms of a natural every day look. There are a mixture of both matte and shimmer shades in this palette. Something I like about NYX is that their cosmetics are cruelty free!


The packaging isn't the best, some might say tacky. I like it just because I like anything with novelty and am into the whole Tim Burton thing. I was quite disappointed when first swatching these, the eyeshadows and cheek colours are quite chalky in formula which isn't something I like, very few eyeshadows came off well on my hand. Obviously when applying them I wouldn't use my hand but if a swipe on a finger isn't showing up well I wouldn't expect it to with a brush. I think with the eyeshadows though, you can work with them, some have very good pigmentation and if blended in well can pull off a nice eye look. 


The thing I was most disappointed with was the highlight colour, and some of the blushes. In the swatch photo above the highlight shade is just below the blushes and this took about four heavy swipes just to get it to show up a little. Not very much pigmentation and quite chalky. I prefer to have something that is high in pigmentation that I can use with a light hand and then build it up as I please. The blush colours are mostly ok, the darker shades have the most pigmentation and will show up better on skin, but some were not coming off so well. I think these would be good for an everyday look as they are quite sheer and will give just enough colour to look like a natural flush.


I loved the eyeliner, not a fan of liquid eyeliner in general but this one had a nice formula to it. Not too watery or hard to work with and quite opaque. The eyeshadow base was something else I was impressed with, not sheer at all. I like an even base on my eyelids to cover any veins/blemishes and this covers them nicely.


The lip creams aren't something I really use, I'm not a fan of using a lip brush but the pigmentation was ok. I find lip creams, of what I've used so far, aren't huge in pigmentation but give a nice sheer colour to the lips. Overall I think this palette is good value considering how many different products you get inside it. 


This palette retails for $25 and is available from ULTA

Estee Lauder Mad Men Collection

I'm a huge fan of the TV show MAD MEN, so when I heard Estee Lauder were releasing a collection themed towards the show I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on it. The collection only consisted of two items though, which I was kind of disappointed with because I think they could have released a few more items or at least a range of shades. But having looked at the two products they did release I think they did a really good job, the colours aren't that unique but I think they chose shades that would appeal to a wide audience considering there were only two items available in only one shade. I love Estee Lauder's packaging anyways but I think they did a beautiful job on this. Mad Men is set between the 50's (first season) and into the 60's and back then lipsticks were a lot smaller than they are now, so Estee Lauder made sure their collection was authentic as possible by copying this. I love the 50's and 60's era's, especially the fashion and makeup and think that these items really reflect the glamour of it all.

I only purchased the blush from this collection which is a cream blush in the shade Evening Rose. It comes in the most beautiful box decorated with blue flowers and gold leaves and the gold compact also comes in a gold pouch. There is a blue "button" that you push to release the top. On the inside of the compact there is the words "ESTEE LAUDER MADMEN COLLECTION" engraved into the edge which I thought was such a nice detail to add, there is also a mirror on the inside.

I first started applying this blush with my Sigma F50 but I found that the brush just picked up too much dust and all the hairs kept sticking into the blush. I prefer patting it on my cheeks with my finger first and then using a brush to sheer it out, I haven't used many cream blushes in the past because I don't feel too confident with them but this one I love. It gives you that perfect natural flush to the cheeks. I think this would be good for an everyday blush and one that I wouldn't wear with a bronzer because I like the natural finished effect. This is definitely a buildable blush and gives your cheeks that dewy glow.

I searched every Macy's and Nordstrom's for this blush only to have everyone on the counter tell me they'd never heard of the collection (umm hello! you work for the brand!) after some searching I found that unfortunately this was an exclusive to Bloomingdale's, and my boyfriend offered to drive me all the way down to Santa Monica to buy it! :D

At $40 I do think this is very pricey, but that's the price you pay for a little luxury and I would say this product is a wonderful item to have. On the upside I did get a gift with purchase with this which I've also been loving and will post about at a later date.