BGP stands for Beauty Guinea Pig, a feature in which I write reviews for various beauty products. In short, I try before you buy. In regulation with FCC guidelines, I will disclose if products were given to me by the maker of the product, retail establishments, etc. Mostly, though, I buy things because I'm hopeless addicted to beauty products.
I wear a size 11 in shoes. In the general West Virginia area, it is damn near impossible to find my freakishly large size. While killing some time in DC this past October, I wondered into the Metro Center Payless and found my happy place. They not only had my size, they had a HUGE selection, and they had the Lela Rose flats I'd been eyeing for months. And on sale for $7.99, no less.
While I was waiting in line to check out, I noticed I was standing next to a display of makeup. I mean, I had nothing better to do and wasn't going anywhere, so I checked it out. The selection was sparse, some lip glosses, eye shadows, and nail polish. There was a really pretty bronze polish that caught my eye, and for around 3 bucks, I decided to try it. It was a great buy. The polish is gorgeous on nails, and I wore it from mid-October through the end of November. It wears well, although you'll probably want to touch up the tips every 2-3 days.
A few days before Christmas, I was in the Charleston Town Center finishing up some shopping and stopped in their Payless to browse. They had a sale on their makeup, so I thought why not? Five bucks for a decent palette isn't bad at all.
I purchased two palettes: Soft Petals and Stormy Sky. Both palettes feature four eye shadows with two eyeliners. They also include a duo ended brush, one end is a liner brush, the other a eyeshadow applicator. Like most other palette included brushes, they're crap, just pitch them.
Soft Petals contains two shimmer eye shadows (#3 and #4) and two matte (5 & 6) with #1 and 2 being liners. The first liner is a nice shade of violet. When applied, it looks like brown and violet liner that had been mixed together with some purple shimmer thrown in. The second liner is a basic brown liner. It has good staying power but is otherwise unremarkable.
The Shadows:
#3 is what I would describe as a irridescent shell pink. #4 is a mauve shimmer. #5 is a matte mauve probably 2-3 shades darker than #4 shimmer. #6 is matte off white. These colors are well pigmented.
The Verdict:
I've worn the colors out of this palette several times, and with neutrals being hot for the spring, I can see myself using this palette a lot. #6 off white shadow, which is used over the entire eye area, fades pretty quickly, even with an eyeshadow base, but it does help the other colors pop. With the exception of the off white, I only needed 1-2 coats to get the color I desired. Either liner looks good, although I prefer the violet liner because it gives the look an added kick. Other than the off white shadow, the colors lasted all day. There was a bit of shimmer fall out, but adding an eyeshadow base will help prevent most of that. I have grown to love the violet liner, and have been using it with other eye shadows.
The Stormy Sky palette features two metallic liners, three shimmer shadows and a matte shadow. The two liners are both metallic, a silver and the other is what I would describe as a "dirty gold." It looks like there's some brown mixed in with the gold, it's a pretty effect.
The Shadows:
#5 is the matte gray. #4 is a shimmery turquoise, #3 is a silver shimmer, and #6t is a shimmery white. All of these shadows are much more sheer than the ones in the Soft Petals palette.
The Verdict:
I'm not sure how I feel about this look. I really do like the look, but there's something that I can't quite put my finger on that is keeping me from really loving this palette. I wear a lot of navy blue, and I can see this looking great, but I also have a lot of bright pinks and fuchsia that will not look good at all. As I mentioned above, this set is much more sheer than the Soft Petals. To get the turquoise to show up, I had to apply 4-5 coats to get the intensity I wanted. I foresee myself maybe wearing this a handful of times this spring/summer, and then never touching it again.
O-V-E-R-A-L-L...
I'm impressed. The only issue I had with either palette was some slight shimmer fallout, which a primer can help prevent. The palettes themselves are well made, they're cardboard with magnetic closures to keep from opening up. They're about 4"x2", which makes them great for tossing in your purse. Depending on the color selection, I would be more than willing to buy another palette. They retail at $7.99, which is very reasonable. They're worth checking out, especially if you're on a budget.
