deep skin

Pat McGrath Labs: Blitz Astral Quads

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Hey, y’all. It’s me, a year late. These photos have been sitting in my files since mid-October 2019 and it’s well past time for them to make their debut. I know it’s late but, in my defense, I posted one set of these photos last month! 12 months late is better than 13, right? If … Read more

Nomad Cosmetics: Cartagena Mágica

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Today’s destination: Cartagena, Colombia! Nomad Cosmetics recently launched the Cartagena Mágica palette. If you are familiar with Nomad, you know that their branding centers on travel. Each of their products is inspired by a particular destination, inside the United States or outside. On Instagram, I spoke about some issues with the previous palette, Orient Express, … Read more

Āether Beauty: Ametrine Mini Crystal Palette

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  • Purchased
  • Gifted
  • Affiliate Link

Founded in 2018, Āether Beauty is a relatively new, ethically-sustainable brand based in California. The brand is dedicated to creating products that are not only good for consumers, but also good for the planet. Āether Beauty kindly gifted me one of their new holiday quads, the Ametrine Mini Crystal Palette. This is the first product I’ve tried from the brand and (spoiler alert) they made a good impression!

About Ametrine
Swatches
Thoughts

I think Ametrine is a beautiful, good quality quad. The shadows are soft to the touch (might that be the coconut oil and shea butter at work?) and sufficiently pigmented. The color story is romantic and feminine. And the shadows seem well-formulated. Though I’ll be honest, I don’t follow the crystal or clean beauty trends. I’m not sure if this quad will offer skincare benefits as claimed, but I like it for the colors and the textures of the shadows.

I’m happy I got to try out a new-to-me brand and will definitely be checking Āether Beauty out in the future! 

Rituel de Fille: Metamorphic Highlighters and Rare Light Crème Luminizers

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  • Purchased
  • Gifted
  • Affiliate Link

Warning: this post is A LOT! But I’ve added a Table of Contents to help y’all out! 

In 2020, I have found a new love — Rituel de Fille. Particularly, I have found love in the Metamorphic Highlighters and Rare Crème Luminizers. These multi-use products can be places on the eyes, lips, and cheeks. They are truly beautiful and special products!

Since my first haul, which is pictured directly below (sort of, because I did accidentally sleep on The Chimera and had to purchase it from a reseller), I have been in a non-stop relationship with RdF. I didn’t want to break up the posts by each haul, which is why this post is extremely picture-heavy.  

Most of these are permanent products in RdF’s lineup, but there are a few of their Moon Drops here. Moon Drops are limited edition releases, which typically happen during full moons. These products are extremely limited and do not usually return. Apparently, some of them are made of special ingredients that are in limited supply. 

Enough background. Let’s get into the products! Hope you all enjoy!

My First Rituel de Fille
My First Rituel de Fille
The High Priestess, The Siren, & The Chimera
The High Priestess, The Siren, & The Chimera

Left to right: The High Priestess, The Siren, The Chimera

The Chimera
The Chimera
The Enchantress & The Sorcerer
The Enchantress & The Sorcerer

Left to right: The Sorcerer, The Echantress

The Dream
The Dream
Solaris, The Sorcerer, The Enchantress, & Lunaris
Solaris, The Sorcerer, The Enchantress, & Lunaris

Left to right: Solaris, The Sorcerer, The Enchantress, Lunaris

Solaris & Lunaris
Solaris & Lunaris

Left to right: Solaris, Lunaris

Phosphene, Anthellion, & Stellaris
Phosphene, Anthellion, & Stellaris

Clockwise from top left: Phosphene, Anthellion, Stellaris

Metamorphic Highlighter Swatches
Metamorphic Highlighter Swatches
Rare Light Crème Light Luminizer Swatches
Rare Light Crème Light Luminizer Swatches
Thoughts
Thoughts

I know that was a lot so I’m going to be short here. The Metamorphic Highlighters are my favorite. They are the more glamorous option and many of the colors are especially flattering on dark skin. On days when I want to be to be have more “natural” look, I reach for the Rare Light Crème Luminizers.

My bad for not swatching the Rare Lights sheered out, as I normally do with highlighters. I mean, I also didn’t swatch the Metamorphics sheered, but I know my camera would have struggled to capture those. I think sheered swatches give a better idea of how “wearable” you’ll find a particular shade, and that is especially important for the Rare Lights since they have that iridescence to them. I am planning a part two to this post (I picked up Solar Flare and some samples of shades I’m missing) so I will hopefully remember to include sheered swatches then. But, let’s be honest, y’all didn’t need any more photos in this post!

If you’ve made it this far, +50 points. 

Terra Moons Cosmetics: El Barrio

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  • Purchased
  • Gifted
  • Affiliate Link
Discount Code

You can save using my code LEGALLYBLACKBEAUTY at Terra Moons Cosmetics (non-affiliate). Thank you for your support!

Other Codes

Terra Moons Cosmetics is honoring their Latina roots with their new premade palette, El Barrio. The palette will be available for preorder starting October 23, 2020 at 7 pm EST until October 30, 2020. For those who don’t want every shadow, you can pick up each shadow and the empty palette individually. I think that’s so cool Terra Moons is offering so many options! I mean, how many times have you wanted something mostly for the packaging or bought a palette while wishing one or two shadows were something else? For me, many, many times.

I am pretty sure this is not Terra Moons’s first premade palette. I know that they had a now-discontinued Astrology palette which was made in collaboration with a creator.  I love that Terra Moons has stayed true to its brand with both palettes. With El Barrio in particular, it’s nice to see Terra Moons show their love for their culture. 

About El Barrio
Swatches
Thoughts

I am so excited for this palette to launch! The most exciting parts of this palette for me are the packaging and the inspiration. That’s not a knock on the color story; it’s just that a good theme can definitely sell a palette for me. Actually, I think the color story really suits the theme. You see the colors of all the shadows in the graffiti design on the front of the palette. I can tell Laura, the owner of Terra Moons, put a lot of thought into every single element of this palette. Ritmo and La Reina are extremely foiled metallic shimmers. They exemplify what is so great about indie makeup. Indie brands do not shy away from incredible payoff and pigmentation!  Personally, this is not a color story that immediately makes sense for me. There are a lot of complementary colors, which can be challenging to use in eye looks together because complementary colors can easily turn muddy when combined. There are also a lot of analogous colors here (for example, Sangre, Salvaje, and Ritmo), as well as shadows in the same color family (like Sangre and La Reina, Carnaval and Por La Noche, and Icono and Mi Gente). There are a lot of good pairs to be made here, but I will have to challenge myself to not do too many monochromatic or “obvious” looks.

 I like when palettes challenge me to be creative, but I have a feeling I’ll be subbing Mi Gente and Salvaje for richer colors for at least some of the looks I do with this palette. That’s the beauty of this palette — you don’t have to be committed to only the colors that come in it. You can easily mix and match with other shadows in your collection to create whatever color story you desire. 

Terra Moons Cosmetics: Iridescent Chameleons 2020

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  • Purchased
  • Gifted
  • Affiliate Link
Discount Code

You can save using my code LEGALLYBLACKBEAUTY at Terra Moons Cosmetics (non-affiliate). Thank you for your support!

Other Codes

Terra Moons Cosmetics is the master of iridescent chameleons. The shadows in their first set of Iridescent Chameleons quickly became everyday eyeshadows for me. No matter what look I’m going for, I can pop one of those bad boys in my inner corner and turn my look up a notch. So it was obviously a very good day when I found out they were coming out with more shades in that formula.

Terra Moons generously sent me these new Iridescent Chameleons in PR. I have taken my sweet time to edit these photos and you’ll see why in a second. It’s a lot! 

About the Iridescent Chameleons
Astral
Phoenix
Timeshift
Euphoria
Ice Giant
Swatches
Thoughts

I know I don’t need to say this, but I love these new Iridescent Chameleons! The shifts are gorgeous and I don’t feel like any of them are too close to the OGs. Ice Giant and Phoenix are probably my top two picks, but honestly it is so hard to choose. These all perform well and I don’t find that I need to use a glitter glue or damp brush with them.

I hope you all enjoy staring at the photos of these beautiful chameleons as much as I enjoyed taking them! 


Kaleidos Makeup: Make Your Escape Collection

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  • Purchased
  • Gifted
  • Affiliate Link
About the Make Your Escape Collection

I was kindly gifted the Make Your Escape Collection by Kaleidos after DM’ing them about the problematic representation of dark skinned (presumably) women on their blush duos — more on this later. 

The collection consists of one eyeshadow palette, two makeup sponges, a lip gloss, two blush duos, four highlighters, and an eyeshadow primer. It’s clearly a huge collection, so let’s jump right in!

But first…I have not included swatches of the Lucid Lip Gloss in Hypnotize — a cool and creamy magenta frosted with fuschia and violet sparkles. I also did not swatch the Tone Activator Eye Primer, which Kaleidos claims is smudge-proof, crease-proof, and water resistant. It has a beige tint to it.

Alright, now let’s really jump in!

About The Escape Pod
The Escape Pod Swatches
About the Highlighters
Highlighter Swatches
About the Lo-Fi Duo Blushers
Lo-Fi Duo Blushers Swatches
Thoughts

I appreciate that Kaleidos sent me this collection after I was so vocal about my displeasure with the blush duos. I am also happy that Kaleidos has removed those blushes from their line. Hopefully similar colors come back in more appropriate packaging. But I believe Kaleidos actions speak volumes about the brand and I feel good about supporting them in the future.

Blushes aside, these products are beautiful on dark skin. This is definitely  a collection for color lovers, but there are also plenty of more neutral and safe options within the collection. 

As stated above, I didn’t include swatches of the lip gloss or eye primer. The lip gloss is a pretty fuschia and I may swatch it later. The eye primer is little liquid and a lot comes out at once (nobody make any jokes). It’s not going to dethrone my favorite primers because of its consistency, as well as its color. 

Whew. That was a lot.