Tag: cream eyeshadow review

My Favorite One and Done Single Shadows

by liftbakelove4 Comments on My Favorite One and Done Single Shadows

My favorite eye look to do right now is one shadow all over the lid. It’s super quick and easy, but with the right shades, can still be complex and impactful. These are my favorite six products to use for a one and done look! To easily compare, swatches of all 6 are in the middle of this post if you’d like to jump straight there.

I’ve written about how much I love the Vesca Moonlit Dream Cream Eyeshadows, especially the shade Lyra. This formula is still the easiest cream shadow I’ve ever worked with. They stay blendable for long enough to get your look just right, and then they dry down and don’t crease all day. I’m also still in love with the packaging – it’s super easy to only get what you need, and I don’t have to worry about them drying out. The color Lyra is described as a champagne rose with an iridescent reflect, and it’s the perfect coppery, rose, shiny, glittery, works for day and night color for me.

I just mentioned this Bodyography Glitter Pigments in my April favorites, but it’s quickly risen to the near top of my favorite shadows list. Off the Hook has been my favorite. It’s a beautiful taupe/bronze color that makes it perfect as a one and done shadow, especially when I’m looking for something more neutral than Vesca’s Lyra and with way more glitter impact. Their site says that these are a unique formula that incorporates “the saturation of a loose pigment, the cushion of a cream, and the silkiness of a powder”, and that describes it better than I could. I can throw them on with a brush or finger create a lot of impact and dimension quickly with one shade. They stay all day even with a regular eyeshadow primer, but they work great with a glitter primer too.

I’m a big fan of glittery/shimmery eyeshadows, but sometimes I just want something that’s a super easy matte look. I always rely on the Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pot Eyeshadow in Groundwork for that. It’s a neutral taupe that goes with any blush and lip color I’ve chosen. The formula is incredibly easy to work with and doesn’t require a primer because these are a hybrid primer shadow. It doesn’t crease and stays all day without fading. I know this formula and shade has a lot of hype around it, but it’s my only matte cream shadow for a reason – it’s really the best.

When I want something warmer and brighter, I always reach for the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Rose Gold. I’m not a huge fan of eyeshadow sticks because they tend to dry out on me and become hard to apply and blend. I’ve never had that issue with any of the caviar sticks I have, and the rose gold one in particular has continued to be reliable for much longer than I expected. Like the rest of the shadows on this list, it’s super easy to blend and stays all day. I particularly like this one for travel since it’s compact and I can swipe it on, quickly blend with my finger, and then I’m good to go.

From left to right: Vesca, Bodyography, Mac, Laura Mercier, Hourglass, Chantecaille

When I want a one and done with even more glitter than the Bodyography, the Hourglass Scattered Light shadows are my go-to choice. The shade reflect is a beautiful pink leaning champagne. I love using this when I want a fun look with one shadow, something impactful for a night out (remember those?), or used sheerly as a topper. The only issue I have with these that I don’t find with any of the others is that I sometimes experience fall out, so I recommend using a glitter primer if you have one.

I put this one last because even though I love it, I can’t seriously recommend it because it’s so expensive. Especially with all the other amazing options on the market, you don’t have to ever spend $52 on a single eyeshadow. That said, the Chantecaille Luminescent Eye Shadow is truly special, and I am so happy I have it in my collection. I have the shade Cheetah, which is a beautiful warm champagne. It has just the right amount of gold for me, and I find that it manages to bring complexity even though it’s quite light. I love how much impact this creates so quickly, and I continue to have to convince myself not to get another one.

What round up would you like to see next? I’d love to know, so leave it in the comments!

March 2021 Favorites

by liftbakelove1 Comment on March 2021 Favorites

This month went by so fast – I feel like I was just writing about my February 2021 Favorites yesterday! Spring is finally here, and I’ve been loving leaning into brighter colors as it gets warmer outside. I didn’t include any skincare products this month because I’ve talked about so many of them recently, but let me know if the comments if there’s anything you’re interested in learning about!

I now own over 20 cream blushes – it’s by far my favorite makeup product. And I think my new favorite formula out of all of them is the Kjaer Weis Cream Blush. I love that I can just buy a refill and put it in my Salt New York empty palette, and that it’s still around $30 even for a luxury, “clean” product. This formula has the perfect balance between blendable and long-wearing. It’s so easy to work with, create impact, and stays all day. I was shocked to find that it was still on my cheeks after wearing makeup for over 15 hours. Because I own so many cream blushes, I tried to get a shade I didn’t have already and chose Sun Touched, and it’s the perfect shade as we transition into spring. I also love mixing it with Spice and Rose , my favorite shades from Salt New York, for that “sun touched even though I never go outside” look.

Swatches of the Salt New York Blushes in Rose and Spice and KW Blush in Sun Touched

I’m shocked I haven’t written about the mini base brush from Sonia G. yet. I got it as part of the Keyaki holiday 2020 set, and while I love all the brushes in that set (so much so that I am still considering buying a backup set), this brush is truly one of a kind. It blends cream blush and highlight with no effort and is the perfect size for my face. For something that applies so seamlessly, I usually expect to have trouble picking up product. This brush is dense enough to pick up enough product and flexible enough to create a diffused look. If anyone connected to the company is reading this, please bring this brush back into your permanent line!

I was having trouble with some of my glitter eyeshadow toppers not staying put all day and moving around, so I decided to pick up the NYX Glitter Primer, and it’s a total game changer. It goes on super smooth, helps glitter adhere all day, and doesn’t cause any irritation. I really appreciate how lightweight it is on the eyes while still creating a great base for glitter to stick to. I definitely have had way more success with my glitter toppers with it, and I’m so glad to have found something under $10 that works as well as this does!

I’ve been loving all three of the Roen eyeshadow quads, but my favorite is absolutely the 11:11. Each shade is a perfect one-and-done on it’s own, and they are so easy and quick to use. The shade swatched farthest to the right below is my go to for adding a high impact sparkle to any eye look, whether it’s on top of the other shades in the 11:11 palette or any other eyeshadow I’ve used. It just seems to finish off any look, particularly in a world where I want people to see my eyes through a screen. I also really love the Roen formula because it’s so versatile With a finger, the shades go on incredibly pigmented and intense, but with a brush, you can create a very sophisticated wash of color.

Swatches of the Roen 11:11 Quad

My lips have been super dry lately, and I’ve been leaning on the Glow Recipe Glow Lip Pop Balms a ton. I have both scents/colors, but I like the watermelon better. They are hydrating, leave a nice stain, and smell great. They also gently exfoliate while you’re using it, which I really love. I’m always forgetting to take the time to scrub my lips, so this is a really easy way to buff away anything on my lips during the day when I apply this. My favorite way to use it is actually underneath my more matte lipsticks, especially darker brown ones like Velvet Affair from Lisa Eldrige. It mixes with the color to make it feel more springy while also making sure my lips don’t dry out from the matte formula.

The Replica Coffee Break perfume reminds me of a coffee shop on a Sunday morning early in the day before it gets busy. I used to love going to get coffee every Sunday with our friends (who I miss so much!), and this reminds me of when that was a thing. Even with the vanilla notes, it’s not too sweet. It’s perfectly balanced with pepper, citrus, and tonka bean notes, and it’s my favorite perfume that I own in the vanilla/veviter/patchouli category. One important note – this doesn’t smell anything like coffee. If anyone has a recommendation for something that leans closer to actual coffee, let me know in the comments!

I got this Ouai Scalp & Body Scrub as a gift with purchase, and I didn’t expect to get a lot of use out of it. It turns out that it’s the best scalp scrub I’ve ever used (and I’ve tried a lot of products like this). It works really well as a scalp scrub in that it gets out any residue or product build up that I have in my hair. What I really love about it though is that it actually hydrates as it works so I don’t have to worry about irritating my already super dry scalp. It makes my hair feel so much cleaner but without drying anything out, and it also smells amazing! I’ll definitely be buying the full size when I run out.

What was your favorite product this month? What would you like to see next on LiftBakeLove? Let me know in the comments below!

Vesca Review: Moonlit Dream Cream Eyeshadows and Lush Glow Creamy Lip Oil

by liftbakelove2 Comments on Vesca Review: Moonlit Dream Cream Eyeshadows and Lush Glow Creamy Lip Oil

I’ve wanted to try Vesca for awhile now, but I have a bunch of powder bronzers and highlighters to get through that I have not used in so long because I am all about cream products now. When I saw these eyeshadows and the lip oil though, I knew I had to try them. My only regret is not getting them sooner! I wanted to share a bit more about the products compare to some similar products/shades I already own.

Moonlit Dream cream eyeshadow in Carina and Lyra & Lush Glow Creamy Lip Oil in Ginger Lily

These eyeshadows are by far the easiest cream shadows I’ve ever worked with. I honestly love the packaging – it’s super easy to only get what you need, and I don’t have to worry about them drying out. The colors are perfect for a one shadow look (see below for swatches!), they stay blendable for long enough to get your look just right, and they dry down and don’t crease all day. Even with that dry down, I was able to add additional shadows on top, like glitter toppers, and they stuck on amazingly well. I tried them with and without primer, and they worked well both ways. As usual (for me), I did find the primer helped with making the colors brighter (I use a very light colored primer) and longevity. My only gripe with these is that they only come in 4 shades.

I own 76 lip products at the moment. It takes a lot for something to edge itself into my top 5 formula/color favorites, but this lip oil easily did it. It’s hard to explain the formula – it’s like a lip balm meets lip oil meets lip gloss, and I’m honestly obsessed with it. It’s super moisturizing, stays glossy for so much longer than I would have expected, and the color is just the right level of sheerness for me. If I didn’t own 75 other lip products, I would buy the whole range (let me know if you want me to review any other colors though – I will grab them if you comment below with a request!).

Vesca Lush Glow Creamy Lip Oil in Ginger Lily, Lisa Eldridge Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss in Muse, and Sephora Collection Melting Lip Click in Caramel from left to right

I had a hunch that these three would be fairly close in texture and formula, and they are – but they also aren’t. If you’re looking for something super sheer and slightly moisturizing, the Sephora Melting Lip Click will totally suffice. If you’re looking for something more moisturizing that will add color, you’ll be happy with either the Lisa Eldridge or the Vesca. The Vesca is a bit more sheer, but it stays glossier on the lips, so it’s up to personal preference which one you’d like better! I have to say that I don’t regret owning them all because they serve different functions for me. I would only repurchase the Lisa Eldridge and the Vesca products, and I want more shades in both formulas for sure.

Sephora Collection Melting Lip Click in Caramel, Lisa Eldridge Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss in Muse, and Vesca Lush Glow Creamy Lip Oil in Ginger Lily from left to right
Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Spice, Vesca Moonlit Dream in Carina, Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eye Shadow in Reflect, and Vesca Moonlit Dream in Lyra from left to right

I also thought that it would be really helpful to compare the Hourglass Scattered Light and Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes with these, both for texture and color. The Vesca is by far my favorite formula to work with – it doesn’t flake or have fall out like the Hourglass can and it’s way easier to blend and maneuver than the Tom Ford (though the shade I have is quite deep on me which may be part of the problem). They all do dry down and don’t budge and look beautiful on the eyes. In terms of color, the Vesca is more true to the rose gold and gold colors I expected and I would rather use the Vesca for a one and done look than either of the other two for that reason – as you can see form the swatches, they have a lot more dimension and texture than the others in a really good way.

Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eye Shadow in Reflect, esca Moonlit Dream in Lyra, Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Spice, and Vesca Moonlit Dream in Carina from left to right

I’m so happy I picked these up, and I hope this review and comparisons were helpful! What do you want me to review next? Comment below!