Coastal Scents Revealed Palette- Review and Swatches

Hey everyone, today my Revealed Palette came in the mail and so I thought I would do a review. While Coastal Scents is a mid-range brand, the palette retails for about 20$ and in my area I couldn't find it in stores.

I've gotten a few of the Revealed samples in my Birchbox and from trades with other girls, and I really loved all the colors and the quality of the shadows, so I picked it up when it was on sale at Zulily without a second thought.

These photos are of the packaging it came in. I happen to like the look of it a lot. This palette is a neutral palette as you can see, so if you aren't too big of a fan of neutral looks this may not be the best choice for you.

A lot of reviews I've seen have raved about it being great for travelling. To give you an idea the palette measures 7 x 4 x .5 inches.

For an eye shadow palette with this many shades, it is compact.  The packaging and the palette aren't heavy, and there is a magnet which holds the cardboard lid in place.
 Here you can see swatches of the first row of shadows on my arm. The very first shade (the blondish color) is actually about my skin tone and doesn't show up very well off camera.

As for the quality of the shadows, I'm a huge fan of the pigmentation and variety of finishes. I also really love the texture, because even though they are powder shadows they feel almost creamy, while still maintaining a soft feel and blendability.

Here you can see the second row of colors swatched on my other arm. I was a little nervous when I saw how dark the palette looked overall, but everything is really wearable and it has all the basic neutral colors you could want, with just a few really muted but more colorful shades mixed in.

I would personally recommend this, especially with the holidays coming around. It would be a good gift for someone who uses and knows how to use makeup as a gift-worthy makeup staple, or maybe for a teen who is just starting out, as a high quality first set of eye shadows.

(or yourself, because you deserve presents too)

Monthly Favorites- October 2014

A list of my current favorite products, at least for the time being. I happen to be a huge fan of products that last all day, I put my makeup on once, put it through an unfair amount of mistreatment, and then expect it to be on and looking pretty good at the end of the day.

I separated them into categories, though I don't cover all categories I could think of because there are products like concealers and such where I really don't have a favorite or haven't tested out enough different brands to say how I feel.


Foundation: 

Clinique Acne Fighting Liquid Foundation- In my quest for the best foundation, this is still my current favorite. It is a lightweight liquid that helps me control my break outs. I reach for it most days.

Elf makes a very similar looking product, and I am looking forward to getting to test it out, because I want to see if it is a dupe or not.

Primer:

Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser- I've been going through a primer testing phase as well, and while there are a few I like, I think I reach for this one the most. I still haven't figured out exactly why, most of the time I don't have overly large pores but this really just makes my foundation go on smoother and my skin just looks nicer.

Lip Stuff:

Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm- great pigmentation, heavenly scent, interesting shades, and moisturizing properties are the reason I have two of these in my purse at all times. However, it is not particularly long wearing, so I tend to try and use a shade of this that is similar to whatever lip color I am wearing as a moisturizing and mirror free touch up.

Mood Matcher Lipsticks-  These are absolutely not talked about enough. I have a set of 6 and will be asking for my missing colors for Christmas. They are non-drying, long wearing lip color that change from the color they are in the tube (ex:baby blue) into an everyday wearable color that you want to put on your face and wear to work. 

Dr. Lipp Nipple Balm For Lips- this is incredibly thick,  sticky, and glossy feeling but it is incredibly moisturizing while making your lips look gorgeous.  I got this in sample form in my birchbox, fell in love with it and went out and bought the full size immediately.

Lypsil Intense Protection- The best basic chap stick I have ever tried. Super moisturizing but not overly present, and it's a drugstore product (as in you can actually go get it at the drugstore unlike some low end brands).


Nail Stuff:

Julep Nail Polish- Fast drying, beautiful shades, most chip resistant non-gel formula I have ever tried. When I am stressed (which is always), I pick at my nails and so keeping polish on them is next to impossible. I also don't have 45 minutes to wait for my nail polish to dry enough that I can do things without ruining all my hard work. It kept on my hands for 3 days and my toes for a week and a half without chipping.

Nail Buffing Blocks- I have tried a few brands now, and have yet to find a bad one, the little four sided blocks and some cuticle oil are how I pamper my hands since I cannot for the life of me keep polish on them. The shine lasts for about two days even through regular hand washing and stuff like that, which is so impressive when you consider that all you did was buff your nails.

Eye Makeup

Elf Eyeshadows- these have amazing pigmentation and wear time and are incredibly cheap. My only complaints are that they don't have a lot of matte shades and they don't sell singles or pan refills of most of their colors.

Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara- These can give a relatively natural or fairly dramatic look, it stays on well, and doesn't put too much mascara on the wand (although the tip can get gunky). It dries out pretty quickly though.

Urban Decay Primer Potion vs. Benefit Stay Don't Stray

If you are going to spend 20$+ on an eyeshadow primer, it's nice to be a little more informed beforehand. These are two primers I have heard tons of hype on, and so I decided to compare them. They are both great products, but there are certain aspects of each that may make one work better for one than the other.

Urban Decay Primer Potion (original) vs. Benefit Stay Don't Stray

(Note: Pictured is the full size Urban Decay Shadow Primer, but the deluxe sample of Benefit's Stay Don't Stray. It came in the Primping with the Stars Kit.)

Amount of Product and Cost

Urban Decay (original) is 20$ for .2 fl oz

Stay Don't Stray (in fair/light) is 26$ for .33 fl oz

Texture
Urban Decay's comes out as a gel, while Benefit's goes on as a thick liquid.

Applicator

Urban Decay is in a squeeze tube, Benefit's deluxe sample (which you might get if you purchase a kit) will apply with a wand like you would get in a lip gloss, however the full size uses a pump.

Color
Both blend in really well with my skin tone, to the point where I can't really swatch them. Benefit's is a lot more opaque and brightening on the lid, while Urban Decay as promised goes on so sheer it's practically invisible.

Staying Power and Shadow Potency
They both seem to hold shadow in place really well, but I feel Benefit's brighten the shadows and the eye more.

Overall

Stay Don't Stray is my personal favorite of the two, especially because I have visible veins on my lid so having the shadow primer conceals my veins and also preps my eyes.

However, Benefit only has two shades and I think as an African American woman this might not blend well, Urban Decay also has a very soft and invisible feel to it, Stay Don't Stray is more noticeable in that regard.