Well well, you know what happened right after I got my little makeup haul? I got the bloody flu – a gift from Kev’s work. Put me out of my wits for about four days (through which I was absolutely dependent on acetaminophen), and another three or four for recovery. I’m happy to say I am back to being generally healthy, but this damn cough doesn’t seem to want to leave. *hack*

I did play with my goodies while I was sick, because I was bored out of my mind, but nothing turned out picture-worthy because I was dripping and wheezing and aching, and just out of my mind in general. Today, though, I took the notion to play some more with my Sugarpill haul, and snap some shots. Are you ready?  No? Tough nuggets. We’re doing this anyway. Read on, McDuff!

Sugarpill: Burning Heart Palette

This little lovely comes with four must-have colours for any person with an addiction to unconventional shades.  It comes packed with “Poison Plum” (red-toned purple), “Love+” (the truest red you ever did see), “Flamepoint” (a matte orange), and “Buttercupcake” (a dark yellow – think daisies).

Now, here’s a little hint for you: I have big, honkin’ hands. They’re the same size as my ex’s hands, and he’s six- foot-some. Man-hands.  Knowing this, you can now imagine just how large this palette is. Not only because the size of the palette itself (it’s a pretty chunky little motha, made of heavy-duty cardstock), but the shadows are also very generously sized. Sugarpill quads are priced at $34 each, so you’re only throwing down $8.50 a shadow before shipping.  Buying this way, the price comes to about $61 per ounce of shadow.  MAC shadows, on the other hand, run about $290 per ounce.  Can you smell the bargain?

How about quality?  This kind of bargain can’t be very good, right?  Yeah, no, you’d be wrong on that.  These colours are extremely pigmented, so you’re not looking at some cheap junk that you have to pack on for hours to get an impact. Hell, some of it even outshines the go-to favourites.  Take Buttercupcake, for example. The following is a knock-down drag-out between Buttercupcake and MAC’s Chrome Yellow. These are the results after I swirled my finger three times in each:

I KNOW, RIGHT?  But swatching is one thing… application and workability is quite another.  You do have to pack Buttercupcake a bit to get it to pop, but not as much as other yellows. Chrome Yellow takes about six (wet) layers to get the same effect as two (dry) layers of Buttercupcake. So not only are you getting more for your money, you’re using less. Furthermore, these shadows are smooth as butter, and they blend just as well. I HATE blending, so I generally wear very defined looks with hard lines (I like theatrical looks, it’s ok!)… so to have a product that I enjoy blending is nothing short of amazing.  How do you like that for quality?

Eyeshadow Play By Play

BUTTERCUPCAKE, to the top left of this photo, is a nice, matte yellow, comparable in colour to MAC Chrome Yellow. The main difference is in texture, payoff, and blendability. Buttercupcake is softer, has better pigmentation, and blends like a bleedin’ dream.

POISON PLUM, to the top right of this photo, is a red-toned purple with a satin finish. The texture is very similar to most MAC shadows I’ve worked with. It is more difficult to blend than the rest, but nowhere near as difficult as most purples I’ve worked with. This works brilliantly as a crease colour.

FLAMEPOINT, to the bottom left of this photo, is a flat, matte orange. Most people liken it to a pylon orange, but to me, it’s somewhat dull. I’d like this shade better if it had a bit more yellow to it. The texture is also similar to most MAC shades I’ve worked with. Somewhat disappointing to me in terms of the shade itself, but the softness and blendability save the day in this case.

LOVE+, to the bottom right of this photo, is the true gem of this palette. It’s not quite matte, not quite satin, but it’s all RED, baby! It used to be that the only reds you could get with any level of quality were either far too pink, or far too brickish to be truly satisfying. Otherwise, you’d get barely-pigmented pans of junk that you could only use if you mashed it down and turned it into a paste.  If you’re looking for a pure, mofuggin’ RACECAR red, this is it.  The texture is a bit gritty compared to the rest of the shadows, and it does stain like the dickens, but who gives a flip? It’s RED.

General Experience

All in all, this little puppy has been well worth my $39 with shipping. The colours and quality were everything I would expect from Amy. I’ve ordered Kryolan from her in the past, so I knew that she would make this buying experience a bit special. The package itself arrived in a nicely decorated box, stuffed with hot pink tissue paper, a promo card, a sample of Magentric loose shadow (read on for more on this!), a sticker (which joined the rest of my sticker collection on the back of my monitor), and a handwritten thank-you note. It’s little touches like this that just… win. They win. They make a customer feel appreciated, and seals the deal on having them return for more business. Not that all these special little touches are necessary to bring people back… the quality of the eyeshadows and the package design itself is enough to keep me coming back whenever I have the cash to spare.  Next stop: Sweetheart Palette!

Bonus: Magentric Sample Action Shot

I didn’t order any loose shadows this go-round because frankly, I’m tired of loose shadows. They’re messy and fussy and I was completely content to be done with them.  But I received a wee little sample of the loose shadow “Magentric”, so I figured I’d try it out and see if I might want to change my mind on this “no more loose” policy.

I definitely want to change my mind, now. This stuff adheres as well as any MAC pigment, and has the same colour POW!!1 as Fyrinnae. Plus it blends. Oh, lord, it blends. This isn’t the sort of shade I would select for myself on a normal day, but I might just pick up a full jar of it, because I can see it working with all the blues I have. It also works extremely well with purples, which is what I tried on today.

EYES:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion “Sin”
Sugarpill Magentric Loose Eyeshadow, inner eyelid and lower lashline
Urban Decay Flash Eyeshadow, outer eyelid
Sugarpill Poison Plum Eyeshadow, crease and lower lashline
MAC Azreal Blue Pigment, brow highlight
MAC Shroom Eyeshadow, tear duct highlight
Rimmel Professional Liquid Eyeliner in Ebony
Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner Pencil in Noir (waterline)

FACE:
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish in NC15
Kryolan Frambosia on cheeks (apply with a featherlight touch!)
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent

LIPS: Don’t ask. I kept packing pigments on top of glosses on top swipes of lipstick to get a colour I was only even halfway okay with. I need more lipsticks.