Givenchy - Iconic Stud palette (QVC exclusive): pics, swatches, review

Hello, Beautiful!

Givenchy created two limited edition palettes for QVC, the Iconic Stud and Leatherette. I decided to get the Iconic Stud because the palette compact itself looked prettier to me and so did the shades inside. This quad is a beauty - from the shades to the feel to the performance, it's a real winner!

Check out all the product info, along with my full review, after the pics!

Givenchy Iconic Stud Palette Info & Review

Cost: $39.00
Availability: Available on the QVC website.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses!

PRODUCT DETAILS & CLAIMS...

Couture coordination. Elegant and luxurious, this eye shadow palette from Givenchy includes four specially selected shades to give you plenty of styling options. The couture-inspired case infuses a bit of luxury into your everyday.

Givenchy Iconic Stud Palette

The actual compact this quad comes in is very weighty and well made. It's a little piece of art, if you ask me. I chose the Iconic Stud palette for how it looked. The Leatherette looks pretty too, but this one called my name.

Inside are four gorgeous, wearable shades. You get a blue based gray matte, a deeper brown matte, a tan matte, and a rose sparkle shade.

They also include a mini duo-ended shadow brush, which I honestly never used and already lost.

The shades are really pretty, but look different than what QVC shows on their website.

Here is what my palette looks like (left) compared to what the QVC palette looks like (right):

 

As you can see, there is a difference, but it's still gorgeous and I love the shades.

Here are swatches....

Top left shade:

Top right shade:

Bottom left shade:

Bottom right shade:

FINAL THOUGHTS...

I really like this quad. I think it's a great everyday sort of quad to play with. If you really love simple, neutral eye looks, this will get the job done. you can wear the bottom left shade all over the lid, the top right shade in the crease and/or outer corner. Then use the top left shade as a smokey liner. If you want some sparkle, tap on the bottom right shade and you're good to go!

I've been using the two browns as crease/transitions shades, and using the sparkle shade a lot. I pair this palette with other shadows/palettes I have, but I have worn it completely on its own.

The texture of these shadows is really superb. The mattes have a velvety, creamy smooth texture. The sparkle shade has that packed sparkle pigment-like texture that is similar to the ones offered by Tom Ford and Charlotte Tilbury.

They blend like a dream! They were so easy to work with and effortless to apply. They're also really nicely pigmented, with the exception of the sparkle shade which is meant to be more of a topper shade and not fully opaque.

Overall, I find this to be a really luxurious little palette that I'd recommend as a great gift to give (in fact, I gifted my boss this as part of her Christmas present). They are limited edition, and only found at QVC, so get online and get yours before they're gone!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this palette? Have you tried this, or would you consider adding this to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below!

xoxo with love & beauty,
Crystal Valentine

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette - swatches & review

Hello, Beautiful!

With a new palette being released all the time, from just about every makeup brand out there, it's hard to get excited (repeatedly) over each and every one. However, I was REALLY excited about the Urban Decay and Gwen Stefani collaboration palette!

I've been a fan of Gwen Stefani since her No Doubt days (I wanted to be Gwen when I was younger and had the song Spiderwebs playing on my answering machine when I had my own phone line in my bedroom). So I knew I HAD to get this palette. After seeing pics online, I was thrilled. I know many people were disappointed by the number of neutral shades, but I saw a lot of potential with the palette. Plus, I love neutrals and this palette seemed very cohesive.

This palette is MUCH prettier in person than in all the pics you may have previously seen online. Even my pics don't do this palette justice.  At the time I wrote this post, it was sold out but it should come back in stock. It is limited edition though, so if you're interested in this palette you don't want to wait if you see it back in stock.

Check out all the product info, along with my full review, after the pics!

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani palette Info & Review

Cost: $58.00
Availability: Available on the Urban Decay website, at Sephora, and at select other retailers (Ulta, Macys).

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Kisses!

PRODUCT DETAILS & CLAIMS...

Urban Decay partnered with Gwen Stefani to create the ultimate eyeshadow collection filled with 15 of her can't-live-without shades. Gwen designed and developed the palette, spending countless hours and making every detail just right.

There are 12 new shades in this palette and 3 are current Urban Decay shadows.

Each shadow pan is 0.04 oz

Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette

This palette is really sturdy and feels well made. When you open it up (as you can see in the pic above), it does have a hinge so you can prop it open and actually use the large mirror that is included. I like that about this palette and put it to good use on my most recent trip to Pennsylvania.

The outside of the palette is really interesting.... a gold border surrounds a white background with black polka dots. A metal Urban Decay | Gwen Stefani plaque is on top of that. There is dimension to the palette front, which I like.

The back of the palette is gold with the Urban Decay palette info sticker. Excuse all the finger prints... I was excited to swatch this palette and didn't take time to properly prep it for photos.

On the bottom right corner of the mirror there is a little message printed that says "Magic's In The Makeup".



Here are all the gorgeous shades included in this palette. You get 15 full sized eyeshadows.

Here are close up pics of each shade, and their swatches.... going row by row.

The top row has shades Blonde, Bathwater, Skimp, Steady and Punk.

Blonde is a pale beige with a pink iridescent shift. 

Bathwater is a pale beige with gold pearl.

Skimp is a pale nude satin.

Steady is a medium rose with metallic gold shift.

Punk is a reddish brown matte.

The middle row has shades Baby, Anaheim, Stark, Zone, Serious.

Baby is a cool metallic rose.

Anaheim is a light taupe-brown matte.

Stark is a nude-pink matte.

Zone is a medium brown matte.

Serious is a smoky gray with iridescent floating pearl.

The bottom row has shades Pop, Harajuku, Danger, 1987 and Blackout.

Pop is a pale coral with iridescent sparkle.

Harajuku is a metallic blue-pink with iridescent micro-shimmer.

Danger is a deep metallic royal blue with blue micro-sparkle.

1987 is a bright metallic yellow-gold.

Blackout is the blackest black matte.

FINAL THOUGHTS...

This palette far exceeds my expectations and I couldn't be more pleased with it. It's a very cohesive palette too; you could take just this palette with you and have all you need to create a wide range of looks.

Probably the only let-down shade for me was the shade Serious -- and it's not even that much of a let down. In the pan it looks like a beautiful gray with sparkle, but it doesn't translate to the lid that way. It more so just looks like a satin finish gray, which is still okay for me because I love gray shades.

My favorite shades (so far) are Baby, Punk, Pop, Blackout, Anaheim, Zone and Steady. But I really do like them all... well with the exception of Harajuku (it's just not a pink shade that appeals to me, but maybe I can make it work).

If you love neutral shades and like the Urban Decay shadow formula, you need this palette in your life. If you're a fan of Gwen Stefani, you need this palette in your life. The only reason I'd say to stay away from this palette is if you don't enjoy neutrals. Other than that, I couldn't recommend this one more. It's just a beauty inside and out!

Now let me know what you think...

What do you think of this palette? Have you tried this, or would you consider adding this to your beauty wish list? Discuss in the comments below!

xoxo with love & beauty,
Crystal Valentine