The eyes have it - Eyeshadow gifts!

Hello all, I got some more exciting mail to share with you!  This package arrived compliments of the ladies, Lisamarie and Christelle, over at Beautycrazed.ca.  If you aren't familiar with their blog you have to check it out.  Not only do they write some of the funniest beauty posts I've ever read (Excerpt from a recent post "So when The Body Shop asked me what I would think about making it a quickie? I was game, and then I realized they were talking about a shower") But they also offer previews of product launches & truly informative reviews along with some great giveaways.  And that's where this little beauty comes in; 

Oh hello large package overflowing with beauty products!  I happened to win one of their
recent giveaways & this little baby was chock full of the prizes.  What was in it you ask? (Or perhaps you're saying just get on with it already)

So what is in the box?  That's right, eyeshadows baby...just take a look at this prize.  

Wow, right?  As the ladies said in the giveaway post which you can read here, only $150 of shadowy goodness! From their blog this is a description of what I won: 


L'Oréal Studio Secrets Color Smokes Eye Shadow in Forest Smokes for green eyes, Cobalt Smokes for blue eyes, Lavender Smokes for brown eyes and Blackened Smokes for all eyes.
Maybelline EyeStudio Quad in Pink Persuasion and Duo in Khaki Craze
Marcelle Graphic Eyeshadow Quad in Dimensional Blues
Annabelle Eyeshadow Trio in Grafix
mark. Celestial Eyes Shimmery Cream Shadow in Grey Storm
Avon 12-in-1 Eye Palette
Barry M Trio Eyeshadow 040 Greys
Sephora  Eyeshadow Single in Preppy Look No 41
Hard Candy Duo in Blind Date
Rimmel Glam'Eyes Mono Eye Shadow in 120 Urban Green


So here's the deal.  This post isn't just about look what I won, as fun as that can be, this is also about you.  


Once I saw the prize I thought there is no way with my current stash, that I'll be able to fully use all of these.  There are a number of you that are loyal friends to me and my blog, and I'd love to share my prize with you.  So this is what I thought.  

Everyone who comments on this post by Tuesday April 26th at midnight MST gets an entry, perhaps telling me which shadows you would most like to try.  

Also anyone who has left a comment on any blog post since my last giveaway was announced & leaves a comment here, gets an automatic additional entry.  

I'll then use random.org again to pick a winner & I'll send you some of these shadows along with one of my very favourite eye shadow brushes from ELF.   

Hopefully this little impromptu giveaway works out the way I intend.  So good luck to everyone, thanks for all your continued support and here's to free eyeshadow courtesy of the great & funny ladies at Beautycrazed.ca!

Tracy

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.....