Edit| My Free Form Palettes

When you start the dangerous (and often time perilously smelly) job of depotting cosmetics, it seems to possess you pry, heat, and destroy countless palettes and compacts. 

For example, I *could* carry out my (sturdy) Viseart Neutral Mattes and Sultry Muse palettes...or I could fit them both into a Large Z-palette with the 3 biggest colors from the KVD Shade and Light eye palette AND two cool toned options from the MUFE Artist Nudes palette. Look at that hideous yellow...it was a tragic accident. 

For my every day use, the Urban Decay Naked 2 and 3 palettes are so cumbersome in my handbag. I decided to place them into an XL Z-palette along with the rest of the KVD Shade and Light and MUFE Artist Nudes. This one has a balance of warm, neutral, and cool tones. 

I leave my complexion products at home to finish up my base routine in the mornings. There's NARS Sin (easy depot), Tarte Exposed, Milani Luminoso (that darn mirror in the back...), Benefit Hoola Bronzer, theBalm Fratboy, NYX Taupe, and WnW Reserve Your Cabana for a makeshift setting powder/subtle highlighter. Some look worse for wear from clumsy novice work. 

I also purchased 3 MUFE XL palettes. At $14 each, I can fit a bunch of highlighters in one and still have two left for my "extra" eyeshadows. Pictured here: Becca SSP in Moonstone, Opal, Champagne Pop, and Rose Gold. Also pictured is the Too Faced Candlelight Duo, Physician's Formula Translucent highlighter, theBalm Mary Lou Manizer, KVD Metal eyeshadow in Thunderstruck, Canmake Fleur Power in Planet Light, and Physician's Formula Warm Nude highlighter. Since I don't wear highlighter every single day, it didn't make sense to have bulky compacts taking up space in my MUJI drawer. 

P.S.: The Becca highlighters are incredibly easy to depot (just poke a needle in the back and push it out gingerly and slap on a magnet.) 

Here's my "warm" palette that doesn't consist solely of terracotta browns and oranges. There's Stila, Lorac, Shiseido, and Marc Jacobs. I've been trying to stay away from these "warm neutrals" and exploring more color options like taupes and purples. 

Finally, 2/3 of the last XL palette has Vice 2, Lorac, Shiseido, and other Urban Decay eyeshadows that have massive chunks of glitter, duochrome effects, or smoky tones. I don't wear color every single day so I've placed them into one palette for easy reference when I go out clubbing or to special events (very rarely.)

Depotting pros and cons? 

Pros:

• You can save space by fitting several palettes with clunky cardboard or tin packaging into one sleek palette. Even the XL Z-palettes are incredibly thin and easy to lug around. 
• You can organize eyeshadows by warm/cool, color families, frequency of use, and/or finish. 
• More room = more eyeshadows! Depotted MAC blushes and eyeshadows can be recycled for more products as well. 

Cons:

• Get ready to deal with melted glue, the smell of plastic burning + angry husband complainers, buying more magnets, and general dust and debris. Eyeshadows or blushes that are too soft can easily crumble. (RIP MAC Ripe Peach...you are now one repressed coral mess rather than a beautiful gradient of peach to pink...) 
• You can't transport very large palettes and it may make more sense for pros rather than consumers. 
• Seeing a bunch of colors at once may be overwhelming if you like pre-planned palettes that tell you which colors to place together. 
• It's not as easy to re-sell depotted products. 

I'm on the fence about depotting my entire Suqqu collection (6 palettes total) mainly because I like the packaging and they don't take much effort to take into work. In the meantime, I have to work on filling up my "colorful" MUFE palette with even more crazy duochromes and glitterbombs. 

If you have no qualms about an expanding collection that you love and no space to store them, depotting is the way to go. 

xo Be

Review| Clinique Cheek Pop in Plum Pop, Ginger Pop, and Peach Pop

Clinique's new Cheek Pop Blush Pops ($21) are all the rage these days, and I found them online and in stores at Sephora during the Chic Week sale. Recently released around the same time as Hourglass' Ambient Lighting Blushes, I didn't have much *want* for either. Until the sale came around. Sales and their occult powers, right? 

Sorry about the difference in lighting quality between the pictures. I first picked up Plum Pop before stopping by a Macy's counter for Ginger and then placing another Sephora order for Peach Pop. 

In pan, Plum looks like a cool toned pink leaning purple. Peach is a lovely coral that's very similar to what I already own. Ginger Pop is very similar to Peach but has more of a terra-cotta (red and brown) tone. 

Ingredients. Packaging. Look. 

Here comes the good part. I managed to get in one good picture of these blushes' texture in bright daylight. When I saw them online I actually thought they were cream blushes because of how smooth the texture of the blush looks in pan. There's an undeniable sheen to the color that will translate to the skin as "super natural." 

ALSO IT LOOKS LIKE A FLOWER in a cute sturdy plastic case. That was enough reason for me to check them out. 

I didn't want to capture these in super bright and direct sunlight since the SoCal sun creates flashbacks and glares in every swatch picture I take. Here are the swatches indoors with indirect sunlight with one swipe over bare skin. Even with such a light layer, you can still catch the slight sheen they give off. Pretty, right? 

The rest of the pictures are swatches built up three times over. My skin is a little dry, but I wanted to show you how these blushes sit on my dry skin in general. 

Super close up look of Ginger Pop, Peach Pop, and Plum Pop. 

Here's the reason I didn't finish the collection and am possibly contemplating returning all but Ginger Pop. Here's why: 

1. It's very hard to pick up the color with a brush even though it swatches well on the fingers. A stippling brush is the only thing I found that can stir up the first layer of ??? on the top of the design and really dig into the color. Really, there's no fall out whatsoever. It's rock hard. 

2. Plum Pop turns into a boring mediocre warmth on me, with no true cool tones showing through. I found this extremely disappointing as this never happens with other cool toned blushes with me. On the other hand, I have way too many colors that are exactly identical to Peach. Meh. 

3. The blushes tend to look patchy even on my dry cheeks and they fade away after only a few hours of wear (perhaps 4-6 hours.) I have to go over my cheeks at least 3 times to get an even coating of color.

4. Ginger Pop is the most flattering color on me and is rather unique for what it is. I think it looks amazing on medium to tan skintones and isn't easily dupeable. I also bought it at the Macy's counter for a GWP and I don't want to look like a loser returning it. 

So, seriously go to the store and trial this ON YOUR FACE before you fall for the extremely cute packaging and reasonable price. I might try Berry Pop just for shits and giggles because berry shades tend to be flattering on my olive skin tone. I just found these Cheek Pops to be lackluster compared to my trusty Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes. The pretty sheen they give to the skin is overshadowed by the poor lasting power and patchiness. 

xo Be