5 Sept 2014

NARS NARSissist Eye Shadow Palette


The NARSissist Eye shadow Palette (€55 for 0.03oz x 15 shades) is a glorious palette of 15 neutrals. It comes in a large mirrored compact and includes a wide range of colours, textures and finishes. I'm VERY late to the party with the NARSissist Eye shadow Palette (I have been told that it launched back in January).

I’ve been trying to get my hands on this palette for a very long time I thought long and hard for months about purchasing this one because of the price and also thought the Urban Decay Naked eye palettes might be duplicates, so by the time I came to the decision that I really wanted it, it was unfortunately sold out EVERYWHERE, I added it to my 21st birthday wish list with my fingers tightly crossed that they would have more luck than I had, my family and boyfriend tried very hard to find it but also were unable to pick it up.

So recently when browsing the Brown Thomas website  I saw the Narsissit palette on sale I couldn't believe it I squealed with delight unfortunately my wages hadn't come through yet so I couldn't buy it there and then and when I went back to order it, it was sold out. SERIOUSLY? I was beginning to think that it just wasn't meant to be but on my most recent trip to Dublin and Brown Thomas I ran straight to the Nars counter and FINALLY got my hands on this little beauty, I couldn't believe it, I honestly could have cried.

I've been really happy with this palette, the versatility is impressive. This one palette has all the colours you need for a multitude of looks: natural, smokey, bronze, etc. It will take you from day to night.

The colors in the NARSissist Eye Palette include (from left to right, from top row to bottom)

All About Eve (1 side) - shimmery champagne
Madrague (both sides) - matte cream and matte tan
Fez - shimmery copper
Bali - matte soft brown
Coconut Grove - matte brown
Nepal - shimmery peachy pink
Ashes to Ashes - soft grey shimmer
Brousse - shimmery soft plum
Mekong - dark blackened brown with gold flecks
Bellisima - white base with gold sparkle flecks
Lhasa - shimmery light grey mauve
Bad Behavior - shimmery gunmetal
Dogon - darker blue-grey metallic
Pandora - matte sheer black

There have been mixed reviews about the palette, some have reported a different quality and texture of the palette shades compared with individuals colours unfortunately although I do have some Nars eye shadow duos in my pro makeup kit I haven’t actually had a chance to try them out yet so I am unable to judge on this but overall I found the palette to be very good quality there were a couple shades I found to be sheer in texture and hard to work with but nothing worth complaining about.

I would recommend this palette to anyone, I feel it is the perfect palette from taking your look from day to night and it is my go to palette to take travelling with me as it has everything you need in one, the only complaint I do have is as always the Nars packaging has got a little bit gruby looking over my time using it but it’s nothing a baby wipe can’t solve. 

I originally thought the NARSissist Palette was limited-edition but as I have found it in Brown Thomas I’m not sure if they have re-released it. It may take a bit of hunting to find it in stores, but you can still find it online and in Brown Thomas Dublin.

Have you tried the Narsissist palette, are you loving it as much as I am?

Did you buy the NARSissist Palette? What did you think?

15 Aug 2014

INGLOT Freedom system, eye shadow pallet review and colours


Hello Beauties, today I am bringing you a brand I just cannot get enough of right now (or at all for that matter), unless you're totally new to beauty blogs (mine especially), you've probably heard all about the Polish cosmetics brand Inglot and, specifically, their eye shadows and freedom system.

Unless you're lucky enough to live near an Inglot shop or counter, you might have a hard time trying to navigate through their extensive selection of eye shadow colours and finishes. I find it incredibly difficult to narrow down my choices and I’m in the shop  swatching them so today I am bringing you a full review and a list of all the colours I have been lucky enough to pick up for my eye shadow palettes.

A few days before I was due to schedule this post the news broke that Inglots Irish online shop is coming soon so that's a bit of exciting news for all us Irish girls, especially those who don't live near a counter or a shop, I for one am very excited, as for Cían when I told him his face dropped and he said his credit card was already screaming for help (silly boy). 

Inglot are a Polish brand, and operate in many European countries. They also have several stores in USA and Canada.

Inglot are one of the most customisable brands out there and that is fundamentally down to their Freedom System. You simply pick your palette size (ranging from 1 pan to up to 40 in some stores) and then pick what you want to put into it.

You can choose from a range of eye shadows, lipsticks, brow products, concealer, face powders and many many  more.

Inglot have set prices for all their palettes. Each eye shadow costs €6 for 2.7g of product, which is incredible value if you compare to any high end brand, MAC for example only give you 1.3g in their eye shadows, and cost around €15.50 (you can read more about Inglot in my brand focus post here). The fact that Inglot also lets you build whatever combination of products you want also sets it apart from other brands. You can build a palette with 5 eye shadows and 5 lipsticks for example, or maybe even a blush and 3 eye shadows. 

Top Row L-R: 24, 17, 477, 58, 44, 333, 414, 57
2nd Row L-R: 135R,13, 478, 20, 429, 480, 415, 70
3rd Row L-R: 426, 32, 338, 340, 61, 134R, 129R
4th Row L-R: 440, 334, 14, 320, 73, 445, 71, 439
5th Row L-R: 46, 488, 359, 48, 324, 448, 391

The palette you get is strong and sturdy. The individual pans are held into the palette with magnets. The lid is frosted plastic with the Inglot logo repeated over it which gives a very sleek and professional looking finish.
There are some problems with the packaging though. Since the magnets are so strong, you have to be careful removing the lid, because it's very easy to dig into the shadows and ruin them. I have found this is more of a problem with the larger palettes as the lid is much larger and heavier whereas this never seems to happen me when removing the lids from my smaller palettes.

Top Row L-R: 318, 496, 453, 30, 395, 463, 27
2nd Row L-R: 342, 360, 357, 327, 329, 34, 07, 08
3rd Row L-R: 155, 25, 43, 404, 49, 405, 606, 608
4th Row L-R: 52, 409, 609, 605, 55, 452, 125 R
5th Row L-R: 341, 31, 153, 459

Some people have expressed issues when it comes to removing the pans to rearrange the palettes too. I found  the easiest way to remove the individual pans is by holding the magnetized lid to the pan until it easily pops out , but I have also found this only works with some of my pallets (my boyfriend is much better at this than me so I regularly ask for his help). If that doesn't work for you I have also found using a small spatula to get underneath the pan to pop it out works too but be careful when doing this as it can result in digging the spatula into the eye shadow and creating holes which is NEVER good. Overall, I actually really like the Inglot packaging, despite many others hating it.

Top Row L-R: 16, 41, 343, 412
2nd Row L-R: 312, 10, 51, 366, 495, 449, 124R

Inglot also offers all of their eye shadows (including the shades featured in this post) in traditional compacts in case you don't want to fuss with palettes. I opted for the Freedom Palette shadows because they're less expensive and palettes are much easier for me to travel with both in my personal and professional kit.
For just €6 each, these Inglot shadows are a no-brainer. Both the Matte and Pearl finishes work beautifully for me.

Top Row L-R: 318, 351, 313, 30, 395
2nd Row L-R: 46, 463, 337, 31, 461
3rd Row L-R: 357, 09, 608, 464, 12
4th Row L-R: 606, 37, 409, 53, 329

All shades are quite true-to-pan and can be worn with or without primer depending on the level of intensity you're trying to achieve.

L-R 463, 488, 48, 362

 I'd recommend them to anyone, especially at this price. Honestly, the only negative thing I can say about these eye shadows is that I really wish they had real names, instead of just numbers. I really don't like when companies do that, but for these babies, I'll make an exception. I just find names much easier to remember and a cute name can also sway me into buying a product where as a number never will. 

Top Row L-R: 61, 446, 494, 73
2nd Row L-R: 15, 495, 607, 44

If you’re looking for some new shades to add to your eye shadow collection, definitely check out the Inglot Freedom System. Let me know what your favourite Inglot shades are in the comments below.




11 Aug 2014

Magnitone Lucid


Hello my lovelies and welcome back to Angels Secrets, so I have to start this post with a confession when it comes to my skin care I have become very lazy, well actually I became very lazy towards the end of my college year but that’s all changed again now.

Although I would spend HOURS scrolling through beauty blogs reading about all the new skin care products and tools, when it came to my own skin care routine I had got very lazy, after being in college and having to cleanse my face up to 4 times a day to have different makeup put on by the time I got home my face would be sensitive and sore and I just wouldn't want to do any more to it even though I know I should.  


However, I knew college was ending for summer break soon and I was dreaming of clear, beautiful summer skin and knew I wouldn't be wearing as much makeup and would have more time to my skin care routine, so when an email popped into my inbox asking if I'd like to review the Magnitone Lucid*, I was quick to say yes, I had previously been selected to review the Magnitone Pulsar * and absolutely loved it but I was really stupid and left it in our house in Ireland when I went back to the UK and my gosh did my skin hate me for it.

I've been using  my Lucid  along with my La Roche-Posay purifying foaming gel I've been testing the combination out daily and  I've noticed massive changes in my skin.

I noticed the first few days I used it that my skin actually got worse which worried me, this didn't happen me when I first started using the pulsar and I knew my cleanser suited my skin so I was worried that the brush didn't and I was cleansing/exfoliating too much turns out it was just my skin getting rid of all the dirt and nasty’s within the next few days the difference in my skin was incredible.


While it did initially break me out, my skin now looks the best it ever has and that’s not only in my own opinion I've had family and friends comment on how great my skin looks, a couple have gone as far as to say I’m glowing, I have been leaving the house makeup free with complete confidence that my skin looks great and that hasn't happened in a long time, my makeup is starting to feel neglected.

The brush itself is incredibly easy to use. It has two settings, one for normal skin and one sensitive skin in case you find the first setting too harsh, at first I thought I would have to use the sensitive skin setting but I have actually been using the normal skin setting every day and its perfect. The brush itself beeps every 20 seconds, to give you an idea of how to spend on each area of the face, and then switches off at a minute.

I hate to admit it but even since I have been home I haven’t stopped using my Lucid my Pulsar has been getting very jealous. I love that my Lucid is small and fits perfectly in my hand and the charger being so small makes it so handy to use it traveling between houses and the fact that it’s blue is a super cute bonus. I've fallen in love with my skin and my skin care routine all over again.

Retailing at €90.29 at LookFantastic although it is on offer right now for €64.48 (I would snap it up while you can). I would recommend this product to everyone; it’s perfect for everyday use and makes deep cleansing really fast and incredibly easy.


Have you tried a cleansing brush, what colour Lucid would you choose?