On the quest for the perfect taupe shadow!

Okay so here it is.  I am a neutral loving eyeshadowing wearing kind of girl.  I have LOTS of eyeshadow colours (some would say too many but is there such a thing?), but the ones I reach for the most are primarily neutrals.  Having said that, most of my neutrals are in the brown family.  What I really have been on the hunt for is the perfect taupe.  The taupe that I can wear on my lids, blend it up a little and call it a day!


Taupe is a funny one.  You can say 'lilac' and everyone instantly knows the colour you're referring to, not so with taupe.  So to be clear the taupe I'm looking for is more grey than brown, more cool than warm and more purple undertones rather than red.  This is where you all come in.  I need some taupe recommendations.  These are the shadows I currently have that are close to what I'm looking for; 

Annabelle Haute Chocolate Trio; Youngblood mineral shadow in Haze;
NARS Ashes to Ashes

Here are the swatches, as best as I could do anyway, taupe swatches are hard!

Annabelle      Youngblood     NARS

The Annabelle trio is called Haute Chocolate, but the lighter shades are more taupe than chocolate.  The swatch above is of the lightest color in the trio, and it is close to what I'm looking for.  I think if the light and the medium colors in this trio were mixed, it might be just right.  This is a matte shade but not chalky, easy to apply and affordable, it's just a little too light & I don't want to always have to blend the shadows.  

The Youngblood is a new purchase for me, as some of you may remember from last week.  I do love this shadow but I think it's a better crease color than all over lid color.  As you can see it's much darker than the other two and has a slightly red undertone.  Bring this shade down a little and it would be just right.

NARS Ashes to Ashes is the one I had the highest hopes for in my taupe quest.  I do like it but it's got shimmer in it, and needs a few coats to show up on my eyes.   The more you add, the more shimmery it gets.  This makes it just a little too much for me, for an everyday look.  I do wear it on my lids during the day, but I always need a matte shadow to tone it down a bit.  It also tends toward brown more than grey, which is likely hard to see here.

So there is where I'm at.  I need your help and suggestions to help me in my quest.  I'd like to see if I can find that one perfect taupe that could be my go to no brainer everyday color.  So please let me know your taupe favourites or taupe suggestions!  

Best of 2010 - Eyeshadow

Alright this is starting to get ridiculous.  I mean really, how much eyeshadow does one person need.  I can tell you this, I know my stash of shadows is a lot less than some others (lame justification) and I really had no idea how much I owned until I pulled them all out.  After I saw everything that I had, I thought about skipping this category all together.  But in the spirit of finishing these bleeping 'Best of' lists (wow was this more work than I expected), I am forging on.  So here are my eyeshadow picks for 2010.  

Best of 2010 Eyeshadows

Grouped by brand only starting from top left: Bobbi Brown; Smashbox; ELF; Mark; Body Shop; NYC; Wet n Wild (oh geez I even forgot to include my WnW palettes from Florida in the picture); Hard Candy; Annabelle; Physicians Formula; NYX, Revlon; Lancome; Clinique; Benefit; Almay

Best Eyeshadow 2010

 Wet N Wild in Nutty and Brulee

These shadows have been wildly popular and there has been much written about them, so I won't go into great detail here.  These are two MUST HAVE shadows. Brulee is not only a great base color and can even be worn on it's own, but is the absolute perfect blending & highlighting color.  If you feel like you over did it with any shadow, use a bit of brulee on a blending brush to mute the color.  Nutty is a beautiful bronzey brown color that has a gorgeous sheen.  I love using this overtop of other shadows for some great dimension.  For less than $3CAD each...you just can't go wrong.  See my past review & swatches of these shadows here. 

Honourable mention

 Annabelle Trio Eyeshadow in Haute Chocolate

After all of these shadows I've tried, I always come back to Annabelle.  I have been wearing Annabelle shadows for years and love the textures of these shadows.  This is a fairly new trio for me but I have quickly fallen in love with it.  The pictures don't do it true justice but these are beautiful and that light shade is a gorgeous taupey purplish brown & my go to almost every day for my lid.  They are basically a velvety matte and apply easily.  You do have to tap off the excess to avoid any fall-out, but if you do that you won't have any problems. I know this is a Canadian brand but if you can find these, try them!   They are a drugstore brand that retail for under $10CAD.  

Least Favourite Eyeshadow 2010

Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow Quads

Aren't these pretty?  Yeah I thought so too.  These pictures don't even show how gorgeous the colours really are.  I bought these creme shadows thinking they would be similar to a MAC paint pot, hoping I could use them as a base for other shadows or on their own for an easy look.  I used my finger to apply and blend, as they suggest, and it actually looked great...for about 5 minutes.  Then it just started to crease and disappear into thin air.  When you wear a powder shadow over top they do last longer, but they turn into a muddy color rather than stay true to the shade you applied.  I have also used these with a primer and they still don't last, and still crease like crazy.  If you have a very quick date, then these are your shadows.  Otherwise skip them.  

What are your favourite shadows?  Notice anything missing?


One more Best of left.....

Best of 2010 - Blush

This will be my last post of the year so I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have taken the time to read my blog & share your time and thoughts with me.  I appreciate it so much.  I look forward to more of the same in 2011 and want to wish you all a very Happy New Year!  So, on that note...on with the show. 


This picture is a bit embarrassing...I can just hear some of you thinking 'how much blush does one need'?  Well apparently, a lot.  I just want to point out that most of these are primarily drugstore blushes, and not higher end.  I do love a NARS, Benefit & Cargo blush and am definitely planning to try a Stila cream blush next year.  But I just photographed ones that I bought or used for the first time, & I think you can all agree I showed great restraint ;)  I have decided to break this category up a little differently, as you will see below.  

Best of 2010 - Blush

Starting from the bottom left; Sheer Cover Pressed Mineral blush in Pinched; Maybelline Dream Mousse blush in Soft Plum, Pink Frosting, Cloud Wine; Covergirl Tru Blend Minerals; Clinique 01 Glow Blush; (forgot Benefit's benetint in top pic) Hard Candy in Honeymoon; Milani minerals in Luminous; Covergirl Cheekers in Classic Pink; AVON smooth minerals in blushing mauve; ELF Studio Line in Tickled Pink & Candid Coral; Rimmel in Santa Rosa; Annabelle in Rose Fawn - 44; ELF Mineral blush in Rose; NARS in Orgasm; NYC blushable creme sticks in Berry New Yorker, Urban Spice, Plaza Pink, Big Apple Blush

Favourite Powder Blush 2010 
It's another tie!

ELF Studio Line Blush in Candid Coral & Tickled Pink 

These are great little blushes.  To start the packaging is adorable, sturdy little containers with a see thru window on top, so you don't have to turn it over or open it to see the color, as well as a little mirror inside the compact.  These have surprisingly great color pay off, with only the very slightest shimmer to them.  The Candid Coral does remind me of NARS Orgasm, as many people have suggested, but a softer version of that blush.  The Tickled Pink is great for that grown up flush of color on your cheeks.  Both are only $3 each, very hard to beat that!  The only downside is that these are only available online (at least in Canada) at eyeslipsface.com.

Annabelle Blush in Rose Fawn - 44

I first bought this blush years ago & loved it, and am not sure why I forgot about it.  I spotted it  again earlier this year, picked one up and fell in love all over again.  This is truly an almost fool proof blush, that would compliment most skin tones.  A little goes a long way but you can apply more to get a deeper plumy pink tone.  This has no shimmer & gives just a beautiful velvety finish.  Unfortunately I think this brand is only available in Canada, but if you live here or you can find it, you really must try it!

Honourable mention powder blush

 Rimmel London Powder Blush in 102 Santa Rosa

This picture does not do this little blush that could, justice.  It is actually more of a very light coral pink than it appears in this picture.  I just couldn't get a good shot for some reason.  I discovered these blushes this year & I really love them.  They are very affordable-I can usually get them for under $4 when Rimmel is on sale, and they have some very beautiful but subtle colors.  These are also great to experiment with different colors or layering.  I use this a lot, and can actually even apply it as a contour/blush in the winter.  With a bit of NARS orgasm, or ELF Candid Coral over top it's beautiful!  

Favourite Cream Blush 2010

Another tie!

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Pink Frosting & N.Y.C. Creme Stick in Plaza Pink

These are both great to give you that 'I just got off the ski lift' flush to your skin.  I just daub a bit on my finger and tap on to my cheek, & then rub lightly in little circular motions to blend.  The N.Y.C. does best if you rub your finger on the blush for a few seconds to warm it up, then follow the same idea as the mousse to apply.  I use all of the colours I have in both of these products, but these two are the colours I tend to grab for the most.  The mousse blushes are also beautiful as a lip stain of sorts-sounds kind of strange but trust me, try it.  Maybelline mousse blushes are typically about $9CAD and N.Y.C. creme sticks about $6CAD, but as always watch for sales! 

Least favourite blush 2010

Covergirl Trublend minerals in Shimmering Sands & ELF mineral 

blush in Rose

I think the picture almost says it all, these are MESSY with a capital MESS.  The Covergirl is just not a blush at all, it's a highlight at best but a chunky, glittery one that does not blend well. The ELF mineral blush came apart when I first opened it & I think that was a sign of things to come.  It is quite dark and the smallest amount of this was just too much blush for me.  It also does not blend well & tends to sit right where I first touch it to my face, to give you that awful clown paint type effect.  

To be fair the Hard Candy & the Milani blushes are also not really blushes either, but both of those work quite well as a golden pink highlight.  I think the Covergirl was being discontinued because I got it for a steal when I was in Florida.  Either way, I just do not recommend either of these 'blushes'.  

What were your favourite blushes for 2010?  Leave me a comment & let me know!