Natasha Denona Aeris Eyeshadow Palette 5 for Holiday 2017

I wasn't necessarily planning to purchase this palette, but (spoiler alert) I'm happy that I did.

Natasha Denona landed in Sephora late last year, and launched the Star palette for holiday last year. I balked at the $169 price tag and passed (and regret it). For Holiday 2017, she's incorporated lessons learned from the popularity of Sunset and Lila and brought a (relatively) affordable collection for Holiday 2017. There are 2 Eyeshadow Palette 5s and four chroma top coats.

 One of my local Sephora locations stocks the full range, and it was after a full swatching and comparison party (particularly with Sunset) that I came to the conclusion that Aeris was my correct selection. I briefly mulled the cream toppers, but I don't wear cream shadows often enough to justify the purchase.

A quick note on why I didn't purchase Joya. That blinding yellow gold drew me in; if you're looking for something similar, the Tarte cream shadow that was just released is similar. Joya is really similar to shades from the Sunset palette; if you have Sunset, you don't need Joya.

Let's talk about pricing and product here. The 5-pan palettes retail for $48, and you receive 5 2.5g/0.08oz shadows.

This packaging is slimmer than the normal 5-pan palettes, and it's rose gold with a better clasp. It's really satisfying to open and close.

Aeris comes with five shades, all of which were made in Italy:

I'll briefly break them down (briefly).

Nude (140CP) is a glowy nude that actually works in the inner corner on my fair complexion.

Red Bronze  (141K) is a pure burgundy glittery shade. Even though it's a Khroma formula, it does work with a MAC 228, patted on the lid.

Burnt Terracotta (142CM) is the lone matte. It's a bold, orange matte that's creamier than prior mattes.

Ice Blue (143CP) is the type of shade that might give you pause, but it's glorious. It blends well both over over shades and with darker ones on the lid.

Peach Bronze (144CP) has a serious golden reflect that's not captured in the pan.

Now, let's look at some swatches with a huge warning. These are brush swatches, and they're much better both with fingers (but I was afraid of sealing my pans eventually). These perform so much better on the lids than in these swatches.

As usual, I used a dry synthetic brush for all swatches because my OCD likes the straight lines. I will note that three of the sparkling shades (1,2,4) were built up- but they do full opacity if you use a better-suited tool such as a MAC 228 or, ya know, your finger. The lone matte was one pass, the blue was 2 passes- but that was to get the full length of the swatch. You're seeing the intensity with one pass on my swatch.

I had fun testing this over a few different days. I prefer to get new palettes late in the work week so I can photograph on Friday night and then crack into a brand new palette on Saturday. Let's talk about how I've been able to use this to make so many different looks (that's one of the things I liked about this palette since Joya produces only warm looks.)


Look #1: A bit much, but blends like a dream.

In this look, I've got mattes from Viseart Neutral Mattes and Warm Mattes supplementing the look, and Morgana from the Sunset Palette along my lower lashes.

Since it was a Saturday, I was attracted to Red Bronze. I put that all over my lid at first- here's an "in-work" shot because the final product looked so different. I know, I know with the iphone photo. But look how insanely pigmented this is.

Although I liked it being bold, I decided to tame it down by haloing Nude and blending the two shadows on the lid- that's how I got that pretty but intense shade. How often do shimmers blend so seamlessly like this? Call it love.  I also have Nude in my inner corner.

By the way, looks a lot better after I finished the look, right? Wow.


Look #2: All-in.

I started out thinking I'd do a gold look with Ice Blue on my lower lashline- but thought "screw it, go big or go home." BOOM.

That's Ice Blue to the midpoint of the lid, and then a shadow I'll be reviewing tomorrow (that left the glitter in the crease sadly) further out.

Not a combo I'd wear during the week, but fun to play with on a weekend.

Overall, I love this palette. I haven't had any issues with fallout, and they've stayed vibrant all day long. I've heard that this is a new formula- it's superior to any of my other Natasha Denona palettes, including the other 5-pan that I have. I highly recommend checking these out for holiday, but make sure Nude is in-tact in your palette first!

I wasn't sold on this collection, to be honest. Luckily, I reserved judgment and budget until I saw and played in-store. I do think this formula is great, and in terms of holiday palettes I'd slot it in at #3 right now.

Natasha Denona Sunset Palete

Even though I've had this for awhile, this post is going up today because it's back (and permanent) as of this week.

The infamous Natasha Denona Sunset palette retails for $129 and contains 15 warm-toned shadows that weigh in at 2.5g each. They're made in Italy- and the most beautiful on the market.

Warning: used palette ahead.

This is by far the most expensive of the warm palettes on the market, and it sold out so quickly that I've quietly used it behind the scenes. It felt in poor taste to share it. But Natasha Denona heard the pleas- and it's back. My personal theory is that the success of and demand for this palette helped to bring Lila out as permanent from the start- but I can't prove that.

Let's take a closer look:

I'm going to handle this a little differently than I normally do.

Row 1:

Out of these, Sinai is pretty blended into a number of looks, and Mandarine pulls more orange in the pan. I have to say that Ice Gold is gorgeous in the inner corner. Bronzage is also a beautiful lid shade. Atmosphere is nice and satiny, but not that different in my collection.


Row 2:

Sundazed and Aubade are both very pigmented and soft metallic lid shades- they bring a lot of glitz to the party. Terra's subtle sheen is sophisticated. Matte Horizon is also nice to work with. I find Vulcano a bit underwhelming to be honest. It does build up.

Row 3:

The final row has two of my favorite shades in the palette- and these are all really well performing. Morgana is my favorite shade in the palette and is stunning on the lid. Sol is another stunner. Bermuda is a workhorse in this palette. Panjin and Igneous are also nice mattes.

Overall, I like having this in my collection. Is it a must-have? Not at $129. But is it beautiful and wonderful to have? Yes. I think it performs the best out of all of the recent warm palettes- and Sol makes my heart warm.

Natasha Denona Blush Duo Palettes 15 & 19

Today I'd like to share with you a product I've been testing for four months. Yes, really. I've been meaning to post about them, but there has always been a more exciting new release.

I first became acquainted with Natasha Denona's Blush Duo Palettes ($38, 14g) at a Sephora event back in June. One of my local stores carries the line, and I was interested in playing with more products. I purchased one of the duos and used it for a solid month before picking up the second duo that's in my collection.

Each of the duos come with a highlighting shade and a darker shade that can be mixed to customize your perfect shade. Both of mine share a common highlighting shade, but that's not consistent across the entire range (19 shades at Beautylish, 12 at Sephora).

Let's jump into these.

My initial purchase was Duo #19. Sephora calls this "Strawberry Cheeks- champagne peach shimmer with a matte blushed berry."

I purchased this after a quick test at Sephora- the associate demonstrated how this could produce a really pretty flush.

Take a close look at the texture of my blush- especially the colored side. It was about three months old at this time. Lots of chalkiness and what I discovered to be hard pan. I'll call your attention to the swatches on Beautylish- you can see the texture on this.

After scraping the pink shade, it's much more pigmented. However, that was rather disappointing given the price point for this duo. It's workable, but why?

Before hard pan formed, I picked up a second blush duo, #15. This is a satin duo, unlike the prior matte duo- and I think this is a key factor in my experience.

This is described by Sephora as "Sheer Nude- champagne peach shimmer and a light terracotta cream sheen."

This has been my nude blush go-to for the past two months, and I adore it. Unlike the Strawberry Cheeks duo, this has remained creamy and pigmented.

Although the performance of the matte duo greatly improved once I scraped the pan, for $38 and after three months I shouldn't have to do so. I like the color but am somewhat disappointed in my experience with the Strawberry duo. I wouldn't purchase another matte duo, but my love for the nude duo has made me consider additional satin shades.

Bottom Line: I find these to be an interesting concept, although having two of the same mixing shade is a bummer. I think the satin shades are much more reliable than the matte.

Natasha Denona All Over Glow Face & Body Shimmer in Powder #01 Light

I know, more Natasha Denona products. I'm a high/low type of girl though- and these are high end to be sure. Today, let's talk about a product that haunted me for months before I finally picked it up.

The Natasha Denona All Over Glow Face & Body Shimmer Powder comes in three shades (I have 01 Light), contains 10g/0.35oz, was made in Italy, has a 24 month expiry, and states that it's not tested on animals. It retails for $38, like the other cheek products I've tested from the line.

It's a similar compact to the Blush Duos- it's the same size, although this is a solid rose gold compact.

With the reflective packaging, yes it shows fingerprints and it's a devil to photograph!

Let's talk about the shades and this formula.

There are two reasons why I dragged my feet for months on this product: shade and price.

Let's just get the price out of it- these are the same price as a Becca highlighter; I have so many highlighters that I'm really slow to pick them up these days because I have a drawer full. I've hit the point where it's a one in, one out proposition.

Now, let's talk about the shade. It's lovely- and tough to photograph.

It almost looks pink here, but trust me- it's another champagne highlighter. Although beautiful, we have so many of these in our collections. Let's go to the swatch to show the true shade (the compact plays with the palette).

Ah, there we go. Slightly out of focus but true to shade, you can see that it's a lovely champagne highlighter- but nothing revolutionary.

That said, I love the formula. Unlike the Becca ones, this one doesn't point out any texture issues or look too metallic. I can either get a natural glow with a light hand or a BAM highlighter with it built up. This is a lovely, creamy formula and a delight to work with. It's certainly worth every penny and I've been loving it. I'm just sorry that I waited until September to pick it up- this is a summer beauty for sure.

Sadly, there is a caveat to this otherwise sunny review. One of my favorite tricks is to pop highlighters on the lid when I need a brightening shade. Don't do it with this.

I did it once and my lids began immediately to burn; I had to wash off my entire face of makeup and start over. I know these aren't advertised as eyeshadows, but given the popularity of this trick I felt compelled to let you all know about this.

I do love this as a go-to in my highlighter rotation. Like most of the other Natasha Denona products I've tried, I can truly see the quality.

September 2017 Favorites

I love doing my monthly favorites... I hope that they're fun for you to read as well. I've been testing so many new products that I've tried to keep my favorites streamlined. Any links are to previous reviews that I've done on the blog for your reference.

Eyes:

Eyeshadow: I really kept reaching for three palettes this month- Natasha Denona Lila Palette, PUR Trolls Palette, and LORAC Mega Pro 1. I'd expect these three to keep popping up from time to time. I'm also still a huge fan of all of the MAC Girls Palettes.

Eyeliner and Mascara: Other than my favorite trio of ABH liners, I also reached for the long-discontinued Chanel Perle de Lune and was thrilled to bring the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Eyeliner back into my life via the Ulta sale. Nothing like keeping it simple.


Cheeks and Face:

Blush: Dose of Colors Blush in StateMint brought me back down the rabbit hole into old habits. Chantecaille Cheek Shade in Bliss found its way back into my drawer, and I purchased a full-sized version of Tarte Paarty. When I wasn't wearing a light pink nudey blush, I was also wearing Natasha Denona Blush Duo #15.

Bronzer: I've been reaching for two bronzers- both from the drugstore- this month. I'm so close to finishing my Physician's Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer in Light Bronze and L'Oreal Glam Bronze 01 is my cool-toned go-to.

Contour: I feel sort of like I'm cheating since I only bought this halfway through the month, but Catrice Prime & Fine Professional Contouring Palette has been my go-to since I purchased it when I want an effortless contour. I've been testing other products, but I love this little guy. Look for a full review soon.

Highlighter: I wasn't very committed to highlighters this month. Fenty Beauty Metal Moon and Becca Prismatic Amethyst probably found their way onto my cheeks the most frequently.


Lips: 

Basics: I continue to worship Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Primer, as it now allows me to comfortably wear matte liquid lips. I've also been using up my Fiona Stiles Ultra Luxe Nourishing Lip Balm.

Lipstick: I'm still fairly boring when I'm reaching for lipsticks. Hourglass GIRL Stylo in Peacemaker and Bobbi Brown Lipstick in Uber Beige are still my go-tos.

Liquid Lipstick: I discovered how much I like two formulas this month. Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Lipstick in Freshly Baked ruled my daytime looks, whereas I've been playing with Dose of Colors Matte Liquid Lipstick in Berry Me at night. I can't wait for it to cool enough to wear it out during the day.

Lip Gloss: It was all about Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow this month. Period. End stop.


Base Products:

Primers: I've been trying to finish primers this month, so the only constants are my Too Faced Hangover Rx 3-in-1 spray- which is a must, the L'Oreal Magic Base to fill in some fine lines, and the Milk Makeup Blur Stick.

Concealers: Tarte Shape Tape. Any questions?

Foundations: I rediscovered how much I love the Chanel Perfection Luminere Velvet foundation this month. I continue to enjoy La Mer The Foundation (tell me if you'd like my thoughts), It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream and bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Hydrating Gel Cream.

Powders: I forget why I stopped using Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light under my eyes. It's one of two powders (the other being the NYX one I talked about yesterday) that set my eyes this month). In terms of all-over powder, it's been either the Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder or MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural.


Nails:

Color: I'm going back to my roots here. I had one of a few shades on my nails most of the month. Thanks to Glossybox for bringing Morgan Taylor Magician's Assistant into my life. I've also been loving some CVS finds- Pop-Arazzi Pewter Perfect & Staying Up Slate. I also pulled Chanel Alchimie out for the few days it was cool (Side note: whoa, that's digging in the archives to find that post!). I also put China Glaze Pearl Jammin' on my nails as soon as I purchased it (there's something fresh about muted pastels in fall).


Skincare and Bodycare:

Skincare:  I ran out of Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum and my skin showed it almost immediately. I now have a $80 staple in my routine. I also continue to enjoy First Aid Beauty Coconut Smoothie Priming Moisturizer.

Bodycare: I rediscovered my love for L'Occitane's almond line this month. In particular, I've been loving the L'Occitane Almond Milk Lotion. In the shower, I fell in love with Le Petit Marseillais Shower Gel in Mandarin and Lime.


That's it for my beauty favorites- but I'd love to share a few non-beauty items with you as well.


Non-Beauty:

Style-wise, I've been loving the combination of my Sam Edelman Felicia Flats, and will be picking up other colors. These come in wide, which is wonderful. I've also been wearing my Longchamp Large Le Pliage Tote on a daily basis.  This might be TMI, but I've discovered how lovely the Delimira Womens' Plus Size Maternity Bras are. I'm not pregnant, nor have I had a baby recently. However, I am a thirty-something who is naturally "blessed". Those bras give me nighttime support and actually help ease some of my back pain.

What have you been loving this month?

Natasha Denona Lila Palette

I have a confession.

Purple has always been my favorite color of eyeshadow, despite it being the most difficult to formulate well. Back when my collection was quite small, I still remember owning at least five light purples. I distinctly remember my first purchase being a blue-violet Clinique single shadow. When I try a new line, the first shade I always grab is the purple. Because that's the test. So when I heard about the Natasha Denona Lila Palette, I knew it would be mine.

And it is. Isn't the matching Beautylish packaging adorable?

Before we go any further, I'm going to give a disclaimer and provide a bit of background. This is a luxury palette. Just take a look around my blog- I use drugstore, high end, and luxury products. If the price tag of this palette somehow is offensive to you- or you judge anyone for using luxury products, this isn't the post for you. I'll have posts for you coming up soon.

With that aside, let's talk about the brand and this palette. For those who aren't aware, Natasha Denona is an incredibly talented, award-winning makeup artist who started her own makeup academy in Tel Aviv, Israel (where she currently resides). She's worked on all of the major magazines (some of her covers are here). I highly recommend reading her bio because she's lived quite an interesting life and her various inspirations come through in her products. I'm personally a huge fan of how R&D based her line is.

Yes, her line comes with a high price tag. However, you get a lot of product.

The Lila Palette ($129, permanent) contains 15 new shadows that contain 2.5g/0.08oz each. In total, that's 37.5g/0.64oz of product. That's $3.44 per ounce, which is more than competitive (or moreso) with other high end brands. If you want a great breakdown, I highly recommend watching YouTuber Stephanie Nicole's breakdown. This is the second palette that she's released at $129, both of which are permanent. (I haven't featured the Sunset Palette to date because it went out of stock for so long; I'll do so now that it's coming back.)

I'll be honest, I haven't used my Sunset Palette as much as I thought I would because when it comes down to it, I'm a purple girl. Lila hits all of those notes for me. I'm also happy to learn that Natasha Denona is also a purple girl.

The outside packaging is beautiful. Like I mentioned, it's similar to the Sunset Palette.

Here she is, in all of her glory.

This palette has 15 new shades- 4 mattes (CM), 3 duochromes (DC), 7 metallics (M/S), 1 chroma crystal (K). These are made in Italy, paraben free, and not tested on animals. This is not a vegan palette though- carmine is present in some of the formulas.

Here's a look at Lila's shades:

Let's do some swatching now:

Row 1:

Row 2:

Row 3 (you see why Livid (2nd shade) is my fave in the palette??):

I could've swatched and raved almost immediately, but I wanted to take a week to give you a few different looks. I only photographed the first couple, but I wore this for eight straight days and have fallen completely in love. I'm already a purple lover, but this palette takes the shade to another level.

Look #1: Nude Mauve, Per Se, Helio, Juneau (lid), Livid  (smudged lower lash line). Inner corner HL is Becca Lilac Geode.

I'd totally wear that to work. And have.

Look #2: Nude Mauve, Nude Vino, Livid (lid and lower lash line), Juneau (inner corner). You'll also see some Painterly in the transition area.

I'm so in lust with Livid. It's probably my favorite in the palette.

I'd planned to show a couple of other looks, but the photos aren't up to my standards. I'm happy to give look ideas in the comments if you'd like.


I thought at $129 I should test this for over a week straight.. This is now one of my all-time favorites. If it had a couple of more matte transition shades, it would be my favorite palette ever- because of the colors. It's more wearable than the Sunset palette for me.

I have a problem- now I'm torn between finishing my Viseart collection so I can review them or purchasing the purple-blue Natasha Denona palette next from Beautylish. Sigh.

Bottom Line: At this price, it's never going to be a necessity. But if you enjoy soft, blendable shadows and have the money to invest, I think Lila is devine.