Tarte Young, Wild & Free Palette

Somehow I always seem to feel when QVCUK does an update on their Tarte stock.  I'm just surfen the net and than a little voice says "go check out Tarte on QVCUK" and voila, 9 out of 10 there'll be a restock and new items.  And usually the new items are on an introductory price (which is just a fancy word for sale or discount) so there no excuse not to buy something, as a matter of fact you should buy right then and there because it's on sale.  Right?  So it's no surprise that this cutie found his way home to me even though I wasn't planning on buying it.

I really love the fun factor of the palette, it's like a feel good palette.  I smile every time I pick it up, even on a pre-coffee monday morning it makes me smile.  I feel like this is what the world needs: more kindness and more confetti (and more makeup)!

After buying the Tartelette and Tartelette in Bloom palettes I completely fell in love with Tarte.  Their palettes are just so userfriendly and the eyeshadows are great quality.  The only thing is that their colorsheme seems to be the same all the time: neutrals.  And this palette is no different.

There is a particular smell to this palette when you open it.  It's a sweet smell that reminds me of the whole Too Faced chocolate frenzy.  I'm no fan of funny smelling eyeshadows, it makes me hesitate to put it on.  I mean, I don't like putting perfumed things on my eyes even if they are dermalogicaly tested.  It just doesn't feel right to me.

from left to right:

wow, party, dream team, lucky charm, weekend, virtue, happy place, simple life

The quality is what you expect from Tarte eyeshadows, great pigmentation and smooth application except for Wow.  What bothers me about the palette, and this is the first time I've felt this with a Tarte palette, is that the finish of the palette itself isn't up to normal Tarte standard.  Maybe it's just mine or maybe it's just the batch but you can see that Simple Life isn't put in straight.  The pan even comes out of the palette slightly on one side.  I noticed it the moment I opened my palette and I feel that just isn't right.  I assume it's just a fabrication error since I don't see this on pictures of others but it's still there.

There are tutorials for a day and night look that come with the palette which is always nice for when you're lacking inspiration (or on a pre-coffee monday morning).

If you're looking for a nice neutral palette and you like sweet smells you can always take a look at this palette.  Overall it is a good palette but I do prefer the Tartelette palettes over this one.

Where to buy:

Tarte.com does ship internationally so you can buy it directly from them (taxes and duties may apply).  You can also buy it at Qvcuk.com together with an LCL mascara for £38 (app. 45€).

Essie spring 2016 collection

If you live in Belgium and you love nail polish you have to run to DI this month.  They have this promotion that you can buy any nail polish at half the price when you hand in an old polish.  This is the perfect promotion to stock up on those nice new spring collections that are hitting the store right now.  I took full advantage of this promotion last week, to the point where it got embarrassing.  Since the promotion said you could only hand in one old polish a day I did just that.  Every day during my lunch break I went to DI, handed in an old polish and bought a new one at 50% off.  I even dragged a colleague along one day just so I could get more polishes in a day.  Freaky, I know but I desperately wanted to get the whole Essie Spring collection before the weekend so I could swatch the polishes.  By friday I concluded that I wasn't going to get all 6 of them before the weekend but I still went in the store after work to get my 4th polish of the collection.  Standing at the cash register all of a sudden the sales lady (a very nice sales lady I must add) said: "we just received an email from our headquarters saying that we are allowed to accept 3 old polishes a day per costumer so if you have 3 with you right now you can hand them in ... that way you don't have to come around with one polish each day."  How embarrassing is it when the sales ladies know these things about you?  For me, it's the story of my life but I did feel a bit awkward.  Just a bit though ... I handed in 3 polishes and left with a big smile on my face.

So here you have them, all the colors of the new Essie spring 2016 collection.  I have to say that I was a bit surprised by some of the colors.  I expected the peachy pink nude, the peach, the orange, even the purple one didn't surprise me but I wasn't expecting the green and teal color.  It is a bit of break from the more traditional minty soft pastel colors that you can expect to see in the spring and I like that.  The quality of the polishes is great as usual and I applied 2 coats to get full coverage on all the swatches.

high class affair

I love this color, it's a light peachy nude pink.  A neutral color but with enough cuteness so it isn't boring or dull.

lounge lover

The centerpiece of the collection.  A nice peachy pink that reminded me a bit of Tart Deco when I saw it on the stand.  It isn't as bright a pink as it seems on the picture.  

shades on

An 'in your face' bright purple color.  This is something I'd prefer on my toes rather than on my hands.

off tropic

I love dark green but it feels like an odd color choice for spring.  This is more of a fall color for me but it still is a gorgeous dark green.

pool side service

I don't know how I feel about this color.  It hasn't thrown me off but I'm not really a big fan either.  For me this one will also be more of a feet color rather than a hand color.  It's a petrol/teal color and it is quite different from the usual spring colors I must say.

sunshine state of mind

This just screams sunshine, spring, summer ... it's just such a bright color!! It's a pinky orange, I really don't know how else to describe it, and a definite hit for spring.

Where to buy:

In Belgium you can buy Essie at DI and Kruidvat.  Like I said DI is having a 50% off promotion when you hand in an old polish.  Normal retail price is €12,49.

Essie winter 2015 collection

Fall hasn't even started properly in Belgium but that won't stop the winter collections from appearing in stores.  I wasn't expecting the winter collection from Essie yet but last week while I was in the drugstore I immediately noticed the Essie display had changed and so even though I was there for something else, Essie was the first stop I made.  

Virgin snow

Virgin snow is described as 'pure. untouched. pristine. this icy frozen lavender is just waiting to be discovered.'  It is indeed an icy lavender color, not quite sure if this is a winter color though but a great choice if you like lavender colors.

Shall we chalet?

Shall we chalet?  is described as 'well darling, since you ask ... why not? it would be impossible to resist this seductive ruby.' Now this is a winter color if you ask me, a dark ruby red that's sophisticated and is just great for everyday.

Haute tub

Haute tub is described as 'turn up the fashion heat and take the plunge in indulgent jet black with amethyst fire.'  Black with a little sparkle in there, I'm always game for that.  

Haute tub

In my opinion, the sparkle could be a lit better.  You have to look very close to actually find it, from afar it looks like a black with a lot of shine but not really sparkling in any way.

Apres-chic

Apres-chic is described as 'sprot this iconic platinum and go from ski bunny to winter wonderland queen.'  This is definitely the eye-catcher of the collection.  A nice silver nail polish that applies really easy without too much streaking.  The formula is easy to work with, which isn't always the case with silvery colors.  

Apres-chic

Personally, I think this is a great polish for an accent nail or if you're into nail art or if you're going to a silver themed party.  Aside from that, it's a bit too full on for me.  

Altitude attitude

Altitude attitude is described as 'rise to the occasion in elevated sublime scarlet and scale the heights of fashion without batting a lash.' Or, to say it bluntly, it's a nice scarlet red.  Nothing special though, just a nice classic red (a color that every girl should have in her collection).

Peak show

Peak show is described as 'enjoy the view from the top. in this scenic powder pink, it's the place to be in all its pretty glory.' And it is a light bright pink, so light it looks more like white from afar.  But once again the formula is great, as usual with Essie.

This collection didn't really wow me I must say.  There aren't any real innovative colors here, nothing that had me excited.  Aside from apres-chic I find the colors more standard, like they could come from the permanent Essie range.

Note: all descriptions are copied from Essie.com.

Where to buy:

In Belgium you can find Essie at Kruidvat and DI.  Retail price is 11,99€ at Kruidvat and 12,45€ at DI.

Catrice LE FALL-osophy nailpolishes

It's that time again: Catrice released their new limited edition.  And FALL-osophy is a very appropriate name for this range.  As usual I focused on the nail polishes and had time this morning (and some good lighting) to swatch them for you.

C01 Mystic Moss took me a bit by surprise.  The first layer made my nails look sick, there was hardly any coverage just a see through sheen of a blueish polish.  Three thin layers later and you see the result in the picture above.  I still don't know why it's called moss because to me it has a very blue tone in there, something I don't see growing in my garden (and since I'm not a garden person, there is a lot of moss growing there). This one has a pearly finish.

C02 Mauving Leaves is a gorgeous mauve color.  I love these kind of mauves, they are so much warmer than for example a grey polish and perfect for fall.  Not too dark, not too light, just a great everyday color.

C03 Berrytale is a very dark berry color.  Great if you want something warmer than black but still something quite dark.  This one also has a pearly like finish to it.

C04 Fabulous Fox-ia, definitely THE fall color of the year.  Nothing else to say about this one really.  Great color, great coverage and applies like a charm.

C05 Morning Dew, now this one I don't understand at all.  After my first layer I thought it was a topcoat but the Catrice website states that this is a real polish. A pearly nude they call it.  To me these kind of polishes are just a waste of money.  Not special enough to be a topcoat but not a nice nude because of the glitter.  In the picture I'm wearing 3 coats of it.

The quality of the polishes is great just as you would expect from Catrice.  For the swatches I applied three thin layers.  Mystic Moss isn't a color I would normally buy and I think it would take some getting used to but I kinda like it.  Morning Dew is a disappointment to me and I don't even feel like it has a place in this collection.

Where to buy:

You can find Catrice at Kruidvat and cost €2,89.

Catrice It Pieces highlight fall/winter 2015 nail polishes

As usual Catrice is updating their range for fall/winter, some products will have to leave and others will come in return.  The new products haven’t launched in Belgium yet but I think they have in The Netherlands and Germany.

from left to right: 

(95) For Some It's Plum, (98) No Coffee Without Toffee, 

(97) Love Affair In Bel Air, (94) It's A Very Berry Bash

To give us a little preview, Catrice did launch a ‚limited edition’ called It Pieces containing a few of the new products.  I got 4 polishes and 1 ultimate stay lipstick in 060 Floral Coral*.

left: (95) For Some It's Plum

 right: (94) It's A Very Berry Bash

Quality wise I don’t have anything bad to say about the polishes, it’s Catrice so the polishes are good and the brush is just the way I like it.  I just wonder why they chose those colors to launch as a preview.  At first sight there isn’t much of a difference between (94) It’s A Very Berry Bash and (95) For Some It’s Plum, I was a bit disappointed at that.  Looking at the new colors they are bringing into the nail polish range it doesn’t surprise me though.  I haven’t seen them for real but when you look at the new colors on their website there really isn’t a lot of exciting stuff going on there.  But I’ll have to wait until the new colors are out before I make a true judgement about that I suppose.  For now, these will have to do:

(95)For Some It's Plum, (98)No Coffee Without Toffee, (97)Love Affair In Bel Air, (94)It's A Very Berry Bash

Not a big fan of (98) No Coffee Without Toffee, it doesn’t go with my skin color.  I feel like I have no nails but skin instead.  I know that’s supposed to be the idea of a nude polish but this nude does not suit me.  I was pleasantly surprised by (97) Love Affair In Bel Air, I assumed this would be a sheer polish but it wasn’t at all.  I love the color and the formula.

*I still haven’t found a way to write a decent article on lipsticks, I’m not strong in the selfie department and my lips aren’t symmetrical but I’m going to try to make it work somehow, if and when I do you can expect a review of this lipstick

EDIT:
I wrote this article last Saturday and bought the polishes last Friday, the other new polishes weren't in yet but they were today.  So I did a bit of shopping (don't judge me, it's monday and I wasn't feeling too well so I needed a little pick me up).  More on these on the blog soon!

Where to buy:

Catrice polishes are available at Kruidvat in Belgium and The Netherlands and in drugstores in Germany.  Retailprice is €2.99.  Even though Catrice is available in the USA at Ulta, they only carry a small section of their range and currently no nail polishes (a shame really!).