Her Royal Nerdness

It gets darker and darker outside and the combination with less sunlight and a busy work schedule equals few makeup looks captured with a camera. When I went through my pictures I found oh so very few pictures of my face with makeup. But I have managed to wear nearly every piece of makeup in this months arsenal and the result of the audit is quite pleasing.

In October I had 26 shadows to choose from, 18 of them in a loose format. The loose shadows were all by Meow Cosmetics and in the palette I had shadows by Neve Cosmetics, Makeup Geek, Nabla, MAC and KvD. And as I am down to auditing only shimmer/metallic shadow I am still supplementing the monthly arsenal with mattes, and this month I did exactly the same as I did in September by using three palettes by Anastasia Beverly Hills as complements in the matte and inner corner highlight area. Those are the Modern Renaissance, Subculture and Prism palettes and swatches of those will be shown further down in the post for reference.

Top Row L-R: Fiori d’Ombra, Snowberry, Taupe Notch

Middle Row L-R: Divine Decadence, On the Road, Retro

Bottom Row L-R: Swoon, Showtime

In a Lethal palette I assembled a smaller assortment of pressed singles by Neve Cosmetics (Fiori d’Ombra, Retro), Nabla (Snowberry, On the Road), MAC (Devine Decadence), Makeup Geek (Taupe Notch, Showtime) and KvD (Swoon). These vary in age from between 2014 and 1017 I assume. They are a mix of ‘sold as singles’ and ones depotted from palettes.

Then we have a large line-up from the Friday the 13th collection by Meow Cosmetics, pictured above, purchased around 2013.

And last but not least we have eight shadows from the Alien Abduction collection by Meow Cosmetics, also purchased around 2013. I love this collection!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Complements: mattes and highlights from Modern Renaissance – Subculture – Prism

That was the entire monthly arsenal. Let’s move on to swatches and my opinions on these products after using them for a month.

The Neve shadows, Fiori d’Ombra and Retro, are starting to smell bad and must go. Retro was the only one that was remotely interesting anyway but I have other similar green shadows. Divine Decadence (MAC) and Showtime (MUG) performed badly and are no-goes as well. Swoon (KvD) was the one shadow I did not get a chance to wear but I love that one so I feel ok to keep it anyway. Snowberry and On the Road (both by Nabla) are very pretty shades and I will keep them for now. Taupe Notch (MUG) is very dusty in the pan but still works ok on the eye. But I’ve decided to let it go anyway, since I’m sure I have similar shades that are in better shape. So five out of eight shadows are out.

• 

• 

Friday the 13th collection by Meow Cosmetics

Moving on to the Meow shades. For the Friday the 13th collection I did both dry swatches (left) and on top of primer (right). The standouts from this bunch are Broken Mirror, Fate, Paranormal and Supernatural. Definite keepers. I also loved Bad Luck and Unlucky enough so they can also stay. Misfortune is ok but it’s not my favourite pale blue on me. I have others I prefer and it is a colour I wear seldom anyway. 13 and Cursed was nothing special on the eye and Accident has this dark base colour that makes it hard to work with. So those three can go.

• 

• 

• 

Alien Abduction collection by Meow Cosmetics

And on to the stunning Alien Abduction collection by Meow, oh this is so pleasing to my eye. The stand-outs are Mind Control, Implant and Little Green Men. But I also adore Gray Matter and Abduction. Tissue Sample and Probe are less special on the eye but I am so fond of these that I do not want to let them go. The one dud that I will get rid of is Abductee. It is a quite plain dark purple and I would had preferred it if it was a pressed shadow. So I know I will not be reaching for this.

That was my evaluation of this month’s lineup. Let’s finish off with the few looks I actually managed to capture.

October 15

Eyes: Snowberry – Vermeer – Agapé (liner, Chanel)

Cheeks: The Perfect Cheek (blush, MAC) – Gotham (contour, Nabla) – Perfect Topping (highlight, MAC)

Lips: Velvet Fiery (Revlon) and Beet lip liner (MAC)

October 19

Eyes: Retro – Lucid – Parallel – 28 – Gaze (Illamasqua)

Cheeks: Buff (blush, MAC) – Silhouette (contour, Illamasqua)

Lips: Velvet Fawn (Lisa Eldridge) – Pink Opal (Linda Hallberg) and Muse lip liner (Lisa Eldridge)

October 24

Eyes: Paranormal – Mercury – Lucid – The New Noir (cream shadow, H&M)

Cheeks: Sur (blush, MAC) – Silhouette (contour, Illamasqua) – Perfect Topping (highlight, MAC)

Lips: Velvet Cinnabar and Cinnabar liner (Lisa Eldridge)

October 29

Eyes: 13 – Lucid – Caffeine (primer, Urban Decay)

Cheeks: Breath of Plum (blush, MAC) – OMG (highlight, Illamasqua)

Lips: Cream lip stain in “17” (Sephora) and Brick lip liner (MAC)

All in all I let go of ten shadows after this months audit, five loose and five pressed. A nice number I think. I’m keeping my complementary shadows from ABH for November as well, it is a convenient approach.

Besides the eye shadow audit I managed to wear 21 blushes, 4 contour shades, 4 highlighters, 20 lipsticks, 2 lip glosses and 5 liners. The downsizing of my cheek products continues and I keep putting items aside. And I’m prepping for a little audit of my lip products again. Some items are so old that I am uncomfortable keeping them much longer even though they still smell, look and perform fine.

Thank you for reading!

I had a selection of 36 individual shadows and only eight of those shadows were mattes or near mattes. The brands included were MAC, Nabla, KvD, H&M Beauty, Emme Cosmetics, Makeup Geek, Bare Minerals and Meow Cosmetics. This was the first month where I had no matte shadows to audit. So I supplemented the 36 shimmer/metallic shadows with three palettes by Anastasia Beverly Hills that I am going to depot further on. It’s the Modern Renaissance, Subculture and Prism palettes. I also realised that I was lacking inner corner highlights in the arsenal as well so the lighter shades in those three palettes were used as well. I’m going to show pictures of those mattes and highlighters down below for reference but I am not going to evaluate them further in this post.

Top Row L-R: Honey Lust – Anarchy – Silver Lining – Toxic

Middle Row L-R: Ludwig – Rust – Ground State – Sandy

Bottom row L-R: Legend – Immaculate – Under Pressure – Entropy

In a medium magnetic palette I collected some single pans. I think most of these are 2014-2016 and the majority is by Nabla (Ludwig, Rust, Ground State, Sandy, Under Pressure, Entropy). We also had three from Makeup Geek (Anarchy, Toxic, Legend), one each by Emme Cosmetics (Silver Lining), KvD (Immaculate) and MAC (Honey Lust).

The MAC pigment in the large jar (Violet) is ancient and the other two by the same brand are from around 2014 (Electric Coral, Chartreuse Bouquet). The deep teal pigment by Bare Minerals (Deep Sea) is from 2013 and the H&M Beauty shadow is the newest of the bunch.

All of the Meow Cosmetics shadows are from around 2013 and the above collection was called ‘Castaway’.

The above shadows are a mix from five different Meow collections – ‘Times Square’ (Champagne, String of Pearls), ‘Pleasures’ (Bubble Bath), ‘Sunless Sea’ (Calliope), ‘Castaway’ (Turtle Bay) and ‘Rainbow’s End’ (Or).

The above shadows are a mix from four different Meow collections – ‘Times Square’ (Begin), ‘Caribbean Escape’ (Mai Tai, Uncharted), ‘Lost Rainforest’ (Expedition, Boa, Spider Monkey) and ‘Joys of Summer’ (Iced Coffee).

Let’s move on to swatches of each shade and a walkthrough of my opinions after a month of usage. I did not have time to make too many notes during the month so my description of the keepers will be brief with a note on why I am letting some shades go.

Most of these beautiful shimmer and metallics performed very well and many of them were all over the lid shades. Silver Lining (Emme) is more of a topper but the rest perform great on their own or with just a matte crease shade to accompany them. The dud of the bunch was Immaculate (KvD). The dark base made it finicky to work with, so that can go. All of the rest are keepers.

All of these four look stunning on the eye. Cuvée Rosé (H&M Beauty) is a very pretty all over the lid shade. Despite the fact that this formula cannot be depotted I am inclined to keep it right now. Violet pigment (MAC) performs very well still but this one is one of my oldest eye shadows and I feel like it is time to let it go. Electric Coral and Chartreuse Bouquet (MAC) are lovely bright pops of colour and the mesmerising Deep Sea (Bare Minerals) is a keeper as well. So all but one will stay.

These muted Meow shadows are all perfect as all over the lid shades. Some need a crease buddy but not all. The one shadow I felt was lacking that ‘something something’ is Cinnamon Bay. So I will be letting that one go and the rest may stay.

The same goes for this lot of Meow shadows as well. Out of the above I will keep all except Bubble Bath, since it is not my favourite shade of inner corner highlight and I have no other use for it.

Out of the above seven and final Meow shades I decided to let go of Mai Tai and Begin. They did not stand out as much on the eye as other similar shades that I own and I can not see myself reaching for them in the future. The rest of the shades are beautiful in their own way. Most Meow shades are very complex and look interesting on the eye in a way that no swatch (dry or primed) can convey. I love wearing them and doing this audit only heighten my feelings for them.

Those were all of the shades from September. Let’s have a look at some of the looks I created during the month.

September 12

Eyes: Violet – Chartreuse Bouquet – Ground State – Immaculate – Under Pressure – Buon Fresco – Sphere – Obsidian

Cheeks: Dusty Rose (blush, IsaDora) – Perfect Topping (highlight, MAC)

Lips: Garden Party (H&M Beauty) and Muse lip liner (Lisa Eldridge)

September 14

Eyes: Ludwig – Rust – Primavera – Golden Ochre – Raw Sienna

Cheeks: Breath of Plum (blush, MAC) – OMG (highlight, Illamasqua)

Lips: Rose Official (Lisa Eldridge)

September 22

Eyes: Bahia Solano – Sandy – Bubble Bath – Warm Taupe – Obsidian

Cheeks: Pinky Peach (blush, IsaDora) – Next To Skin (contour, MAC) – OMG (highlight, Illamasqua)

Lips: Spirited Away (Lisa Eldridge)

September 26

Eyes: Boa – Turtle Bay – Electric – Dawn – Destiny – Rowdy

Cheeks: The Perfect Cheek (blush, MAC) – Next To Skin (contour, MAC) – Lightscapades (highlight, MAC)

Lips: Velvet Decade (Lisa Eldridge)

September 27

Eyes: Calliope – Uncharted

Cheeks: Oh My! (blush, MAC)

Lips: Velvet Myth (Lisa Eldridge)

All in all I let go of only six shadows after this months audit. But I am deepening my love for the shades and tools that I have and learning more and more about what I like, use and why. The matte shades and inner corner highlights are going to be used as complementary shadows for at least another month and after that I can hopefully decide on which ones I want to keep when I depot those three ABH palettes.

Besides the eye shadow audit I managed to wear 19 blushes, 3 contour shades, 6 highlighters, 18 lipsticks, 2 lip glosses and one liner. I have started downsizing my cheek products as well these past months, putting things aside. Things I find with repeated wear that I feel less for than others. All those items I do not love I put away in a box. When the audit is over I will go trough that box and most likely let everything in it go. Right now I have some blushes, highlighters and eye pencils in there. I doubt that I will miss them.

At the rate I am going now the first round of the audit in every category except nail polish will be done after February 2022. I cannot wait to get there.

Thank you for reading!

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!

July was the month when I had my summer vacation and spent my days doing a mix of things, trying to slow down my brain after yet another hectic Spring. We had no major plans beforehand and ended up with a nix mix of activities and relaxed days. It was nice with a change of pace. I also wore makeup a bit less often than usual, mostly in the evenings, and I was a bit crappy at taking decent pictures when I did wear something. Despite the less frequent use of makeup I did manage to wear all of the items in my monthly arsenal and ended up with a clear opinion on what I wanted to let go. Here is how the month went down..

For July I had a total of 33 individual eye shadows to choose from including MAC, Emme Cosmetics, Inglot, Makeup Geek, Meow Cosmetics, Urban Decay, KvD, Illamasqua, Sleek Makeup and Sephora Collection. A smaller arsenal with an erratic colour scheme.

Top Row L-R: Brulé – Cozy Grey – Friend Zone – 331 – 299

Bottom Row L-R: Relish – Daemon – Walking Heartbeats

Eight pressed mattes were all I could put in this months arsenal since I’m running low on mattes to audit (as mentioned in previous posts) and for me this lineup is not ideal. It’s not a great variety and the only up side to this is that it will force me to be even more creative and make do with what I have. In the palette we can find three MAC shadows, where two are depotted from two different fixed 15-pan palettes (Brulé, Cosy Grey) and one is still in its original pot. That is Walking Heartbeats – a shadow from the In Monochrome collection that was released in early 2019.

We also have two Inglot shades (331, 299) of varying age. The green is most likely from my massive New York Inglot purchase in 2013 and the brown was bought online in 2016 when Inglot became available in Sweden. The Makeup Geek shadow (Friend Zone) is also a purchase from 2016. The darker red by Urban Decay (Relish) is from 2017. The newest shadow is by Illamasqua (Daemon) and that was a shadow I lusted over for a long time before finally buying it in 2018. So a lot of red and not that many neutrals to choose from. But the above were not the only mattes shadows this month, I did have some matte pigments too..

Top Row L-R: Pure White – True Chartreuse – Sunfest

Middle Row L-R: Magenta Madness – Neo-Orange – Zing

Bottom Row L-R: Full Force Violet

But matte pigments does not usually serve the same purpose as pressed matte shadows. I for one do not use them the same way. I would use them to mix with a medium to create a cream or liquid shadow or mix with a lip product to create an intenser and/or unique lip shade. An interesting thing this far into the audit is the fact that I have prioritised auditing my fixed palettes and singles over pigments. I’ve for sure sprinkled arsenals with my Meow shadows, that are loose shadows for sure but mainly shimmers, but I did forget my other pigments/loose shadows for a long time. I had them stashed in a separate drawer that I forgot about when putting my arsenals together. That is one reason why this arsenal is so matte pigment heavy, not because it is a great idea but because I had to since I wanted to finalize my audit of mattes. We have seven intense pigments this month, two from Sleek Makeup (Zing, Sunfest) and five from MAC (Pure White, True Chartreuse, Magenta Madness, Neo-Orange, Full Force Violet). The Sleek pigments are from 2013 and the MAC ones are most likely from around the same year.

Top Row L-R: Sweet Heat – Era – Patina – Shale – Be a Superstar

Bottom Row L-R: 17 – 418 – Sweet Lollipop – Stigmata – Up the Hill – Untamed

Moving on to the pressed shimmers and metallics. The oldest stuff is by MAC (Era, Shale, Patina) and out of those Shale is the oldest I think. The other two are probably from 2012-2013 but I am quite sure that Shale is way older than that. We also have an In Extra Dimension shadow by MAC (Sweet Heat) in the original pot, since I never depot that formula, and it is likely from 2014. The Inglot ones (17, 418) are from 2013 and the one by Makeup Geek (Untamed) was a gift in 2016. The KvD shadow (Stigmata) is depotted from the Saint & Sinner palette from 2017. Then we have two Sephora Collection shadows (Be a Superstar, Sweet Lollipop) that are a bit newer, from 2018, and the Emme shadow (Up the Hill) is from around the same time.

Top Row L-R: Peaceful Wings – Hot Wax – Bali Palace

Bottom Row L-R: Extraterrestrial – Lascivious – Bast – Torch

And finally we have seven shadows from Meow Cosmetics, all from around 2013. Some brights, some more neutral and two shades that can be used as inner corner highlights (Peaceful Wings, Hot Wax). Not that many lighter shades in this arsenal so it was welcome to have something in that capacity.

That was all the shadows in my monthly arsenal for July. Let’s move on to swatches of each shade and a walkthrough of my opinions after a month of wearing them all.

I must admit that it was a bit boring to only have these four more neutral matte shadows for an entire month. I’m used to have a lot more option and this was a stretch. But fortunately Brulé (MAC), Cozy Grey (MAC), Friend Zone (MUG) and 299 (Inglot) all worked beautifully and stood up to the task as core mattes. Cozy Grey was the one that got worn the most because it is a great crease and transition shade on me. I am gladly keeping all four of these. I must also add that since I did not have a dark brown or black matte, I did use my Eye Brow Cake in “Gaze” from Illamasqua to fill the purpose of liner and deepening shade when needed.

Then we have the bright green, 331 (Inglot). Not the type of green I wear a lot but it worked very well so I am keeping it for now. The three reds were only used once each and both Relish (UD) and Daemon (Illamasqua) are still as wonderful to use as I remember them being. Walking Heartbeats (MAC) on the other hand is not. It was thin and patchy on the eye and I just could not care less about it. So that one can go, the other two reds can stay.

Then we have the more intense matte pigments. Let’s start with the ones from MAC. Out of the really bright ones, I enjoyed wearing Neo-Orange and Magenta Madness but I must admit they were a bit of an effort to work with. However I feel that their neon quality makes them stand out a lot and I have few other shadows like them. The final verdict is that they are staying. Full Force Violet on the other hand was so patchy and messy that I had to wipe the look I did (or tried to do) off. Not keeping that one. True Chartreuse was lovely to use and Pure White was just fine. A white shade like this is hard to get a nice layer of but I see its potential as a mixer for other shades or as a mixer to create a liquid liner or another white effect. So it can stay for now.

Out of the two Sleek pigments Sunfest did just not look good. The colour was fine but the formula made it hard to apply nicely. Zing on the other hand worked fine and the shade is more of a burnt bright and I really like that. So one can stay and one can go.

The old MAC shades were ruled out from just one use. Era, Patina and Shale all used to be favourite shades and they are just not great anymore. Most likely due to age because they do not perform at all as I remember and the colour payoff was dismal. They will go into the bin. Sweet Heat (also MAC) is a great beige that is pale enough to be a very discreet eye look on me but dark enough to give some dimension to my lid. It still performs just fine formula-wise so I’m gladly keeping it.

The two green shimmers by Inglot, 17 and 418, are so old that I really just should throw them away. But I won’t, because they are beautiful. 17 looks great layered on top of darker shades like 418 and I can just not let them go just yet. Be a Superstar and Sweet Lollipop (Sephora Collection) are also very shifty and great for layering on top of something darker. Sweet Lollipop is riddled with pink glitter and the above swatch picture does not do it justice. Be a Superstar is pink on a purple base with tiny silver glitter running through it. Both are so much nicer on the eye than they look in the pan.

Finally we have the the Meow shades. I did not use a primer for the pictures above and the result is bland and flat swatches. These are stunning and complex shimmers in reality and I always wear them with a tacky primer underneath. Out of these seven I loved all of them except Peaceful Wings. It is a pretty cool white pearl but it is not special enough to keep. Hot Wax is a creamy yellow shimmer and it works very well like a neutral yet interesting inner corner highlight. Bali Palace is a pale yellow with a delicate pink shift, a very pretty shade. Torch is a great fruity orange and very flattering on me. Bast is this an almost plummy brown and I enjoyed wearing it more than I had expected. Lascivious is a gorgeous yellow green, with intense gold shimmer, and Extraterrestrial is a very intense bright blue. Both beautiful in their own way and effectual on the eye.

And those were all of the shades in my July arsenal. Let’s have a look at some of the looks I wore during the month and the products I used to create them. It was an ok month makeup-wise but as mentioned I did go quite a lot of days without makeup.

July 1

Eyes: Sunfest – Bali Palace – Era – Gaze (Illamasqua)

Cheeks: Buff (blush, MAC) – Taupe (contour, MAC) – Play it Proper (highlight, MAC)

Lips: Velvet Fawn (Lisa Eldridge)

July 4

Eyes: 17 – Cozy Grey – 331 – Hot Wax – Gaze (Illamasqua)

Cheeks: Pink Cult (blush, MAC) – Silhouette (contour, Illamasqua) – Deity (highlight, Illamasqua)

Lips: Nougatine (H&M Beauty)

July 6

Eyes: Neo-Orange – Cosy Grey – Gaze (Illamasqua) – The New Noir (cream shadow as base, H&M Beauty)

Cheeks: Rapture (blush, Urban Decay)

Lips: Muse gloss (Lisa Eldridge)

July 10

Eyes: Bali Palace – True Chartreuse – Gaze (Illamasqua)

Cheeks: Spring Flock (blush, MAC) – Taupe (contour, MAC) – Glow from the Filmstar Bronze & Glow palette (highlight, Charlotte Tilbury)

Lips: Love of My Life (Lisa Eldridge) mixed with Mull It Over (MAC)

July 16

Eyes: Magenta Madness – Neo-Orange – Torch – Stigmata – Up The Hill – Sweet Lollipop – Gaze (Illamasqua)

Cheeks: Sculpt (blush/contour, MAC) – Lightscapades (highlight, MAC)

Lips: Painterly (Lisa Eldridge)

July 24

Eyes: Stigmata – Walking Heartbeats – Cosy Grey – Brulé – Sweet Lollipop – Peaceful Wings – Gaze (Illamasqua)

Cheeks: Sur (blush, MAC)

Lips: Pink Opal (LH Cosmetics)

July 27

Eyes: Extraterrestrial – Cosy Grey – Brulé – Hi-Def Cyan (water line, MAC)

Cheeks: Habana (blush, Nabla), Glow from the Filmstar Bronze & Glow palette (highlight, Charlotte Tilbury)

Lips: Kitten Mischief (Lisa Eldridge)

This month ended with the culling of seven shadows, a small but steady number. I look forward to getting through all of my matte shades, I only have one month left, and then I can start Round 2 for those. I’m looking forward to that a lot.

Parallel to the eyeshadow audit I’m still focusing on wearing as many different cheek and lip product as possible during the course of a month, wearing an item once and putting it away to force me to choose something else the next time. An effective method right now. In July I wore 18 blushes, 5 contour shades, 6 highlighters, 18 lipsticks and 1 gloss. I’m definitely getting closer to making further decision on cheek products to let go of.

Thanks for reading!