My Makeup Audit: August 2021
The fact that I started work again in the beginning of the month did not push me to wear makeup more often as I had anticipated, the opposite happened. August was not an inspiring makeup month for me and I had more makeup free days than I would have wanted.
This was the last month where I still had matte shadows to audit. I had a selection of 39 individual shadows and only eight of those shadows were mattes or near mattes. The brands included were MAC, Inglot, Lethal Cosmetics, Nabla, KvD, Urban Decay, H&M Beauty, Emme Cosmetics, Makeup Geek, Sephora Collection, Bare Minerals and Meow Cosmetics.
Top Row L-R: 382 – 460 – 300 – Fahrenheit – City Wold – Ashe – Jaunty
Second Row L-R: Glitz – Extra Virgin – Daphne No2 – Symbiosis – After Dark – Flame
Third row L-R: Sensuous – Antique Copper – Roulette – Pocket Change – Unwind – Banafsaji – Serendipity
Bottom row L-R: Ministry – Sanctuary
In a larger palette I gathered a selection of single pans, some of which had been depotted from fixed palettes, and the result turned out quite boring to be honest. I’m starting to reach the point in my audit where I just have to work with what I have left and make the most of it. Six shadows were mattes or near mattes – Inglot (382, 460, 300), Nabla (Fahrenheit, City Wolf) and KvD (Ashe). A very random mix of shades and one reason for that the mattes used this month are the last ones I own. So I just had to make do.
The rest of the shadows in this palette are shimmers and metallics of varying age by MAC (Jaunty, After Dusk, Unwind, Banafsaji), Makeup Geek (Sensuous, Roulette, Pocket Change), Nabla (Glitz, Extra Virgin, Daphne No2), Lethal Cosmetics (Symbiosis), Sephora Collection (Antique Copper), KvD (Ministry, Sanctuary) and Emme Cosmetics (Flame, Serendipity). I do not care to speculate how old some of these shadows are.
Then we have five singles in their original pots by Urban Decay (Spike, Midnight Blast), MAC (Sea Worship, Grand Galaxy) and H&M Beauty (Shitake). Oldest of these is for sure Grand Galaxy in the large pan (the old iteration of the Extra Dimension shadows, now the pans are smaller) and it is from 2012. Sea Worship is from the Alluring Aquatic collection from 2015 and the rest are newer than that.
This month we had nine shadows from Meow Cosmetics and these are all from around 2013 – the same as all of my Meow shadows. Some dramatic and some fruity shades. Meow is actually closing down business right now and it feels a bit sad to be honest. I really enjoy their shadows a lot and I am glad I have as many of their stunning shades as I do.
The yellow MAC pigment (Ever So Yellow) is from the 2014 Playland collection. The Bare Minerals pots (Rose Gold, Violet Spell) are from a limited edition stack that my sister bought for me as a Christmas gift when she was in New York in 2013.
Those were all the of the shadows in my monthly arsenal for August. I completely failed to include any inner corner highlight shades so I had to supplement with something. I chose to do a lil audit round on some of my cheek highlighters. I have a few products that I am contemplating letting go of and wanting to give them a chance as inner corner highlights before deciding. The products in question were Phantoma and Chameleon by Meow Cosmetics and the colourful trio in my Holo palette by H&M Beauty. You can find pictures and swatches of those in the blog post chronicling my current cheek arsenal. And as per usual, since I did not have a dark brown or black matte in this lineup, I did use my Eye Brow Cake in “Gaze” from Illamasqua to fill the purpose of liner and deepening shade whenever needed.
Let’s move on to swatches of each shade and a walkthrough of my opinions after a month of usage.
382 (Inglot) is a lovely hot pink matte with great pigmentation. It can definitely stay. 460 from the same brand is a matte mauve with fine gold glitter. The glitter does not show up on the eye and this is a great crease/transition shade on my skin tone. 300 (also by Inglot) is a mustard brown and I love using shades like this. The pigmentation was great and it blended very well. All three of these can stay.
Fahrenheit (Nabla) is a deep yet bright wine red. I enjoy this and primarily use it as a deepening shadow when doing a ruddy or bright pink look. I have no reason to let this one go. City Wolf (Nabla) is a mid grey on me. It works well but I’m unsure of how much use I will have of this. I think it will have to go to round 2 so that I can keep a few greys, the best and hopefully the least old.
Ashe (KvD) is a very good neutral on me and I used this a lot as a crease and transition shade. The glitter particles did nothing for me though and I think this one can go as I’m sure I have another matte shade that can do its job just fine. Jaunty (MAC) is an old favourite cool light beige. It’s too light fo a lid look now and not effectual as a highlight so I’m letting it go. Glitz (Nabla) is a tarnished gold and nothing unique. But it makes for a soft and neutral eye and I have no reason to get rid of it right now.
Extra Virgin (Nabla) looks a lot more warm in the pan than on the eye and that surprised me a lot. It’s an almost sooty cool green and it looked amazing on. Easy to work with and it gave a nice semi-dark eye when used all over the lid. Daphne No2 (Nabla) is dark wine with a slight shimmer. That combination made me question whether I need to keep this. If it was more prominently shimmery or metallic it could be worn on its own, but for deepening purposes I might as well wear a matte shadow. My conclusion is that I simply do not have any use for this.
Symbiosis (Lethal) is a bright almost peachy leaning gold. It’s nice enough to stay but nothing remarkable. However it rather new compared to many of my other shades so I am not inclined to lose this one at this point. After Dusk (MAC) has had me torn for the entire month. I did not manage to wear it in a way that made me go wow, but at the same time I know I have very few shades like that and a rosy purple is something I want in my arsenal. So I have decided to keep it for now.
Flame (Emme Cosmetics) is a muted coppery red metallic and I enjoy it. Not a definitive favourite, but interesting enough to stay for now. Sensuous (Makeup Geek) has become very dusty over the years and it’s a bit of a turnoff. It still works ok over a primer but I am not so head over heels that I think it’s worth to keep despite the change in formula. I wore it once and that is enough to seal its fate.
Antique Copper (Sephora Collection) is another one that has me split. I like the shade in theory and it’s lovely swatched on the arm. But on my eye it flips between nothing and making me look a bit ill. I will let it go since I obviously can not make it work in a satisfactory way.
Roulette (Makeup Geek) is a fiery copper that performs well still. I suspect I have quite a few similar shades but it can stay for round 2. Pocket Change (Makeup Geek) is a muted copper and it performs very well, yet it is a bit boring. I want to keep it for now since it’s a useful shade and I want to compare it to other keepers until I decide which ones to keep beyond this audit process.
Unwind (MAC) is a light golden olive and I was a bit surprised that I enjoyed this shade so much. I am keeping it. Banafsaji (MAC) did just not perform well and it was not difficult to let it go.
Serendipity (Emme) was not very effectual over Violet Spell for example. Topped over a darker shade (I layered it over Sanctuary) it had a lovely pink shift but I think I can accomplish that effect with other shadows. I know I never reach for this shade and it feels like a bit too much effort to keep.
Ministry (KvD) is a very bright metallic mid blue and I really loved wearing it. It is one of those shades that makes you happy with its brightness. I’m keeping it. Sanctuary (KvD) has this blackened base that when applied on the eye made the shadow look darker and murkier than in the pan. I’m not a fan.
Spike (Urban Decay) is a great rusty orange matte. This type of shade is a useful crease shade for me and this specific shadow blended beautifully. I should depot it but somehow I really like the UD pots. I will have to think about that and also see if I have any similar shades already depotted. But it will definitely stay for round 2.
Midnight Blast (Urban Decay) is in the Moondust formula. It is way prettier than the picture shows, full of gold and pink glitter particles. It is a definitve keeper. Sea Worship (MAC) is an Extra Dimension shadow and in a gorgeous tarnished olive colour. It still performs well and does not smell bad or anything. I do like the shade well enough to keep it.
Shitake (H&M) is a cool almost silvery beige. It’s nice but too light for me as a lid shade so I am letting it go. Grand Galaxy (MAC) is another Extra Dimension shadow but this one has sadly started to smell a bit funky. Nothing too bad but it is very old so can not justify keeping it. The shade is stunning though, but I had my time with it and now it’s over.
Over to the Meow Cosmetics selection of the month. Sighting (Alien Abduction collection) is a purple with a strong blue shift. A really bright and happy shade. Stunning and staying. Treasure (Egyptian Treasures collection) is a beautiful molten gold. Meow does such stunning golds and this one can for sure stay.
Venus Fly Trap (Gloom & Bloom collection) is a muted mid green with a slight cool shift. I find it very interesting and want to play with it some more. It can stay. Obedient (Shades of Meow collection) is a pale peachy gold and I used it all over the lid and what not impressed with the result. It was too light for me, I prefer this type of a shade if it is a bit darker to add a bit of a shade on my lid. However I did try it as an inner corner highlight and it worked wonderfully. It was a really cool effect and I am keeping it for that purpose.
Kiwi (Caribbean Escape collection) is a light cool green with enough of reflectiveness for it to be a pretty inner corner highlight. I want to keep it for that purpose. Cumulonimbus (Gloom & Bloom collection) is nice but nothing remarkable. Since I wear blue so infrequently I know I will never reach for this and I can safely let it go. Anathema (Pandoras Box collection) is such a stunning fiery copper shade. It looks so good and really complements my eye colour. Keeper.
White Squall (Gloom & Bloom collection) is an interesting blue silver. I was sure that this was one shadow I would not like but surprise surprise. When I wore it I enjoyed the tone way more than I thought I would. I find it hard to find blue shadows that I like to wear and therefore this one can stay for now since I would like to wear it again. Blood Orange (Caribbean Escape collection) is a sparkly orange with gold shimmer. A great shade that can stay as well.
Ever So Yellow (MAC) is a bright yellow with a silver sheen runnning trough it and that sheen specifically made it a dud for me. I can not see myself reaching for it and it will go. Violet Spell (Bare Minerals) is a nice mid purple but when applied on the eye it has this silvery sheen to it that alters the shade quite a bit and takes away some of the depth I had anticipated to get on the lid with this colour. If it had been matte and more true to colour on the lid it would have been nicer but I have no feelings for this as is and will let it go. Rose Gold (Bare Minerals) is just that, a cool rose gold. It looks lovely all over the lid. Subtle yet effective. Keeping for now.
That was the lot! Let’s have a look at some of the looks I created during the month.
August 3
Eyes: Extra Virgin – Ashe
Cheeks: Pink Cult (blush, MAC) – Silhouette (contour, Illamasqua) – Play It Proper (highlight, MAC)
Lips: Nougatine (H&M Beauty)
August 8
Eyes: Banafsaji – City Wolf – Ministry – Phantoma – Gaze (Illamasqua)
Cheeks: Pinky Peach (blush, IsaDora) – Silhouette (contour, Illamasqua) – Phantoma (highlight, Meow Cosmetics)
Lips: Sultry (Revlon)
August 11
Eyes: Anathema – Spike
Cheeks: Supernova (blush, MAC)
Lips: Painterly (Lisa Eldridge)
August 14
Eyes: Daphne No2 – Fahrenheit – Ashe – Antique Copper – Alkaline (liner, Urban Decay)
Cheeks: Habana (blush, Sleek Makeup) – Gotham (contour, MAC) – Obsexed (highlight, Nabla)
Lips: Velvet Midnight (Lisa Eldridge) and Nightmoth lip liner (MAC)
August 23
Eyes: 460 – Sea Worship
Cheeks: Mocha (blush, MAC) – Next To Skin (contour, MAC) – OMG (highlight, Illamasqua)
Lips: Goldstone (LH Cosmetics)
August 26
Eyes: 460 – Serendipity – Sanctuary – Jaunty – Gaze (Illamasqua)
Cheeks: Legendary (blush, MAC) – Lightscapades (highlight, MAC)
Lips: Spirited Away (Lisa Eldridge)
August 28
Eyes: Blood Orange – Flame – 382 – Fahrenheit – Alkaline (liner, Urban Decay)
Cheeks: Buff (blush, Sleek MAC) – Taupe (contour, MAC) – Here Comes Joy (highlight, MAC)
Lips: Pink Opal (LH Cosmetics)
All in all I let go of 13 shadows and that feels GREAT! I am so glad that I am able to let that many go and feel comfortable in my judgement. I also know that many of the shadows that I have kept over the months (years) that this audit have been ongoing are going to be weeded out in round 2. I have about six moths left with my audit project, the first round, and it feels so good to near the end.
Besides the eye shadow audit I managed to wear 20 blushes, 5 contour shades, 8 highlighters, 20 lipsticks and 2 lip pencils. I do want to make a blog post where I go through all of my lip products and I hope to find the time soon.
Thank you for reading!