BeautyJoint Haul

My BeautyJoint order finally arrived! I'd only recently heard of the site, but I managed to hold off making an order until Cherie thoughtfully notified me that the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette was back in stock. The instant I heard, I scrambled to add it to my cart, along with a few other items I'd already lined up. Delivery took 10 working days and all the contents were in pristine condition. The packaging certainly insured against breakage, with everything tightly bound by multiple layers of bubble wrap and industrial sticky tape.

I bought two nail polishes, China Glaze Luxe and Lush and Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. Here, I'm wearing two coats of Luxe and Lush over Essence Grand-Plié in Black with a top coat of Seche Vite. The effect reminds me of a granite coffee table or a flurry of koi swimming in a pond. I thought that Luxe and Lush would be very similar to China Glaze Snow Globe, but I find Luxe and Lush (at least against a black base) to be predominately gold, orange and green, whereas Snow Globe has a wider colour spectrum and is more reminiscent of opal flecks.

Ever since I saw e.l.f. Studio Blush in Pink Passion featured in Tanya Burr's $20 Makeup Challenge video, it's been on my "to buy" list. Pink Passion is an ultra bright, blue-based candy pink. Less is definitely more with this one, you only need the smallest amount as it's relatively easy to go overboard and look clownish. Notwithstanding the unpleasant, faint chemical smell (a problem I have with BYS blushes as well, which I guess are sort of like the Australian equivalent to e.l.f.), the pigmentation is excellent and the powder is quite soft, not chalky or difficult to blend.

The star of the show would have to be the Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Collection in Comfort Zone (738). Some products can be hyped and disappoint, but when a particular palette is consistently well-loved, there usually has to be good reason. The pigmentation of these eyeshadows is amazing. When I first swatched them, I was thoroughly impressed at how lightly I had dipped my finger in each eyeshadow to get such vibrant colour payoff. They're soft, but not powdery, and easy to blend. My only criticism is the smell. It has this unmistakable, sweet but metallic chemical smell that I can't really describe, but it's extremely off-putting. A couple of the darker colours also lose some vibrancy and are much closer to black when applied to the lid compared to how they look in the pan. Having said that, I adore the second browbone colour, the first crease colour and the second definer colour (the emerald/bronze duochrome is so pronounced and sublime).

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in Silent Treatment (335) was another eyeshadow must-have. Forget the browbone and crease colour, this palette is about one thing only: the eyelid colour. It is simply gorgeous. It's what I wanted Maybelline Silken Taupe and various shades in the Too Faced Naked Eye palette to be. It's a purplish light taupe with an almost lavender/silvery shimmer that can be built up in intensity so it looks more brown with an almost pinkish tinge. Perfect as an all-over lid colour, this purple-leaning shade is a welcome change from the usual taupe/bronze eyeshadows that dominate my daily routine.