WOW! Do I have a treat for you? I recently popped in at Foschini to look for a white chubby stick and got distracted by the sales items. There were a stack of gift boxes that were marked down to R69.95 (originally marked at R99.95). As I mentioned before, I LOVE palettes and wish that more companies would take advantage of this unique offer. Christmas is the perfect time to stock up on palettes as most brands offer limited edition items, but an even better time to stock up is AFTER Christmas, when the limited edition items are all on sale.
Although I had never heard of the brand or seen any other products from them, I was eager to give this small gift set a try. It offers 48 eyeshadows, in the main tray, that range from whites to pinks, to blues and finally greys. From the bottom, two trays slip out on either side, which has 6 blushes (right) and 12 neutral eyeshadows (left) that include both matte and shimmery products. I fell inlove with all the colours as I saw endless possibilities of tutorials and looks to achieve. My biggest fear was that they would be poorly pigmented and I would be stuck with another tray that required a chubby stick to enhance the colour.
The following week, after finding my lucky palette, I returned to the store to find a bigger palette on special. This one offered 96 colours for a mere R99.95 (originally marked at R199.95). This palette opened up to two trays of eyeshadows, the left had browns, tans, and reds while the right held adventurous colours such as greens, blues and pinks. The top trays slid out, revealing smaller trays below. The left held more eyeshadows in neutral shades while the right held lipglosses that ranged in colours from browns to pinks to reds. And finally, the bottom tray held 8 full sized blushes in shades from bronze to red to plum. All in all, there are 80 eyeshadows, 8 blushes and 8 lipglosses!
Now, let me tell you about the product.
The eyeshadows have such a variety of colours that I had no idea where to even begin! There were colours that you could find in your Urban Decay palettes and colours that I wouldn’t even know how to use, other than in an Avant Garde look. The product is highly pigmented and you don’t require all that much to achieve the desired colour. They blend amazingly well and you can build up shades with the greatest of ease. Unfortunately, as with all highly pigmented eyeshadows, the fall out is tremendous but I take special precautions such as using tape (see my videos) to avoid mess and I prefer applying foundation, afterward, as you can wipe your face clean before applying it. I especially liked that even with buying two different sets, very few colours were repeated, and so I have a huge variety of colours to use in the coming months. The nice thing about this palette is the eyeshadows pop out so that you can use the colour before popping it back into the box. This means you avoid the mess that often comes with palettes. Although, I absolutely love the first, smaller gift set as a travel palette, I wouldn’t recommend taking them along in your handbag as the eyeshadows are very soft (hence they are highly pigmented) so they break with ease. I believe this is why the gift sets were on sale, as all the palettes I went through had at least one cracked colour*. I do wish that the palettes included a little more matte eyeshadows, as majority are shimmery – but I am happy that they have thought to include some.
*FYI: To fix cracked or broken eyeshadow, use a spray bottle to spritz water over your broken shadow, before compacting it with a tissue. Leave it to dry before using it. This will fix the crack and prevent further mess.
The blushes in both sets are similar and some are repeated, but I am completely happy with this as looking at the colours there is not a single shade I can think that I may need, that isn’t already there. Some of the blushes include a light bronzing effect that is great for highlighting your cheeks, while the pinks and plums are more matte and will be perfect for adding colour to those winter cheeks.
The lip glosses require a lip brush to apply, they are very soft and have great pigments of colour. I am not usually a fan of lip gloss in palettes as I am always afraid that the fallout from my eyeshadow, may ruin the colour of the glosses. Luckily, this palette went the extra mile with the option of popping your eyeshadows out. (See, told you that it was convenient!) The glosses are great when applied with a lip brush, they provide a subtle shimmer. You can easily create ombre looks or multi-shade lips with these colours as they offer a thick and creamy product. They are not the most long lasting lipglosses and would require touch-ups frequently.
So, stop wasting time – and get to your nearest store to grab yours before they are all sold out. I am beyond impressed with this brand and hope to see more of their products in the future. This is definitely a range that I hope to expand my collection of as I see endless opportunities when it comes to new looks and tutorials.
See pictures of palette and swatches: http://beautyblogza.blogspot.com/2014/02/foschini-for-beauty-colour-gift-sets.html