The Drugstore Edit: Rimmel Glam Eyes Smokey Brown Eyeshadow Quad

I was having a beauty drawer clean out back at the beginning of March and I came across this Rimmel Quad, completely untouched. I put it in a "to use" pile, and said if I didn't use it over the next four weeks I'd give it to a more deserving home.

I pulled it out a week later and gave it a whirl, and I was actually really pleasantly surprised. The shadows themselves are seriously soft and really pigmented, much better than most drugstore shadows I've tried. I've only tried these with a primer underneath since I always apply one anyway, but they last really well! There's a champagne shade that makes an amazing inner corner or browbone highlight, or all over the lid. There's a warm light taupey shade that is my favourite all over the lid, and a dark brown that is great in the crease or as a liner. The only shade I haven't really used is the warm bronzey copper shade, but that's because it's a colour I tend to favour in the summer. 

I feel like these four shades can give a real variety of looks, and that they'd suit a lot of skin tones. I've actually been wearing this quad a lot, I think it would be great for travel since it's compact but you can create a lot of looks, and the quality is really impressive considering the price tag!

Have you tried any Rimmel Eyeshadows? What are your favourite drugstore eyeshadows?

Top Five Eyeshadow Palettes

When it comes to eyeshadows, I'm pretty predictable. It's all about the neutral palettes. So, you should be fairly unsurprised that four of my top palette picks are all neutrals! 

I should point out that there are decent palettes on the highstreet, I just massively prefer the formulation of high end eyeshadows. In fact, I think eyeshadow is the one product that I wear everyday that is high end, I just prefer them!

Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Backed, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Let's get the obvious out of the way, one of the Naked palettes was going to be in here wasn't it. I have both the Naked and the Naked 2 (and soon to be the proud owner of the Naked 3) but I think I get more use out of the original of the two. Particularly at this time of year,  I tend to prefer warmer toned shadows, which has me reaching for this. I do wish there was more matte shades in here though! I love that this palette has lots of combinations that work really well together, and you don't have to think about what you're doing too much! My favourite shadow combinations are Toasted & Hustle, Half Baked & Smog, and Sin & Hustle. Urban Decay shadows just own it really, they have every possible colour, and they're so buttery and smooth, and they last all day with incredible pigmentation.

Hush, Quarry, Mulch & Corduroy

Next up is a palette I've already mentioned this week, it's my MAC Neutrals Quad. I am probably using my other MAC Quad more at the moment, but long term, this is my favourite. This has everything I need for a basic eye look and a smokey eye in one compact little palette. I do wish this came with a mirror though, and I find the packaging annoying because it always looks dusty from shadow fallout. If you want to know more about this quad, check out yesterday's post.

Alhambra, Bellissima, Kalahari, Galapagos, Coconut Grove & Night Clubbing

My NARS And God Created the Woman palette is probably my favourite palette ever. Bold claim I know. This palette has everything I need, a shimmery base/highlight, a matte taupe crease colour, a slightly darker shimmery base colour, the perfect golden shimmer chocolate brown, a dark matte brown, and a black brown shimmer. It's compact but with a big mirror, making it perfect for travel. And urghhhh I just love it. I am obsessed with NARs shadows anyway, but this is my favourite! I've done a full review here.

Bone, Stone, Frappe, Caramel, Champagne Truffle, Cocoa, Rich Chocolate

The Bobbi Brown Rich Chocolate Palette is a fairly recent addition to the collection. The thing I love about this is the number of matte shades, out of seven shades, only two are shimmery, making it a refreshing change from every other palette on the market. I go for this when I'm looking for something a little more subtle, but there's a shimmery option too. The shadows are super soft and highly pigmented (except for Caramel, which is the odd one out with chunky glitter and a medium pigmentation) and very well loved!

Kinky, Freestyle, Mushroom, Backdoor, Blackout, Barlust, Rockstar, Evidence, Loaded, Asphalt

And lastly, a bit of colour in the form of the Urban Decay Smoked Palette. I love the rich jewel toned shadows in this, but it also has neutral options too, making it a great travel option. Like I said, Urban Decay shadows are incredible and these are no exception. I love the zip up packaging, and that it comes with a liner and primer. 

So those are my top palette picks, have you used any of these? What are your favourite eyeshadow palettes? Are you a neutrals gal too?

My MAC Eyeshadow Palettes

When it comes to eyeshadow palettes, my MAC palettes are definitely among my most used! You got a sneaky peak of them on Monday in my Makeup Collection & Storage post, but I thought I'd show you these properly, since I don't think they've ever had a proper introduction to you guys.

So I have two quads, with eight shadows. I did think about getting a large palette (correct me if I'm wrong but I believe they hold 15 shadows?) but realistically, I am very happy with the shades I have, and I don't need any more encouragement to buy more. 

I've split the shadows in the way that makes most sense to me, I have a neutrals quad and then one with purple toned shadows.

The 'neutrals' quad contains two matte colours and two shimmers, in the shades Hush, Quarry, Mulch and Corduroy. Hush has unfortunately now been discontinued, which is a shame because I use this all the time and it's a gorgeous colour. It's a very light peachy/pink shimmery, frost finish shadow that is perfect for all over the lid for a natural look, or as a base colour, or even as a highlight. The shimmer is quite subtle on the lid which I like. Quarry is described by MAC as a soft, muted plum brown, but I would simply describe it as a matte light taupe shade. This looks great with Hush to give a little definition to the crease, but it is also a great base colour for a smokey look. Mulch is the only true shimmer in this palette, and it's a warm bronze shade, with golden shimmer running through it. This shade is absolutely beautiful alone on the lid, or as part of a smokier look. Lastly in this palette is Corduroy, which is a warm, matte, red based dark brown. This is great for adding definition to the crease, and it looks great smudged across the lash line.

In palette number two, all the shades are much darker. Top left is the classic Cranberry, a gorgeous reddy plum shade with pink flecks of shimmer, totally gorgeous this time of year. Next to that is Sketch, a deep plum burgandy veined with red shimmer, I love this shade so much. Then I have Blackberry, the only matte shade in this quad. It's a plum brown, similar to Quarry but darker. Lastly, Satin Taupe, which is just absolutely beautiful, I get so much wear out of this shade it's unreal. MAC describe it as a taupe with silver shimmer, sounds simple but it's so so beautiful.

My most used colour combinations are probably Satin Taupe with Blackberry in the crease, Satin Taupe with Sketch in the crease, Hush with Quarry in the crease and Quarry with Blackberry in the crease, but I find that most of the shades work well together!

Like I said, I am really happy with the shades I have now, and I don't really feel like I need anymore, but let me know your favourite MAC shades in the comments for me to swatch next time I'm in store.

Kiko Haulin'

Top, eyeshadow in 130, middle, Ultra Glossy Lipstick in Pink Flamingo, bottom, Kiss Balm in Blackberry

 I've spent many an hour swatching away in the giant Kiko store in Westfield, but I've never bit the bullet and actually bought anything. Last week, I spent five days in Italy, and whilst perusing duty free before my flight home, I spotted a Kiko store tucked into a corner of the airport, and what ensued was a half hour of time wasting, which finally ended in a few purchases.

The first thing I picked up was the eyeshadow, (shade 130, in Italy anyway!) as it reminded me of Stila's Kitten which I've just run out of. It's really similar, a shimmery peachy nude, and the quality is great, it's so soft! For 1.90, I really can't find fault with it! It's a great base colour. 

I then headed over to the lipsticks, where I settled for two (at three euro each I didn't feel too bad about it!). The first one is from the Kiss Balm range, a selection of lip balms with colour, much like the Maybelline Baby Lips, YSL Sheer Candys, Revlon Lip Butters and every other tinted lip balm on the market. The shade I went for is Blackberry, the 'darkest' shade from the range, which was the only one to tint my lips slightly darker than their natural colour. It's a sheer wash of a little darker than nude colour, which looks super natural.

The other lipstick I went for was from the Ultra Glossy range, in 803 Pink Flamingo, which is a slightly dulled down bright pink, that applies slightly sheer and glossy. I love this colour, it's such a me kind of colour, and this lipstick has SPF 15 too. 

There weren't really any nail polishes that caught my eye, since my collection is pretty extensive, but I did end up picking up this nail base which does a pretty damn good job at creating a smoother base for colour, since my nails are pretty damaged!

 The last purchase was a bit of a gamble, since I've never heard much about Kiko skincare, but I've been after a good peeling mask for a while, and it was on offer for 5€, so if it wasn't all that great it wouldn't have mattered, but I actually quite like this. I've only used it once but my skin felt and looked plumper, and more radiant than before. I'll keep you posted but this could be a winner.

Kiko products are fairly cheap anyway, but they are a lot cheaper in Milan, a difference of 1.90€ for an eyeshadow to £4.90, still cheap but more than double the Italian prices! Despite this, if I see anything I like in there in the future, I won't hesitate to buy it, since I really like everything I've bought so far!

Have you tried anything from Kiko? Do you have any recommendations?