I'll name that taupe in...

Just a bit of fun as it's Friday. I've bought a new pretty and couldn't resist taking a group comparison shot. I wondered how many of these eyeshadows you eagle-eyed* taupe fiend could name without assistance?

There are no prizes for guessing correctly, just a sense of satisfaction. I'm also wondering how many of you are old enough to remember the game show I've misappropriated my title from?

* yes, I couldn't resist!

Rouge Bunny Rouge Sweet Dust Seriema Eyeshadow

I've had these pictures organised and in draft form for a long time but I will admit that my love for this eyeshadow has been a bit of a slow burner. Rouge Bunny Rouge Sweet Dust Seriema is a browned concrete and on my skin it swatches with a slight mauve undertone. It's one of RBR's matte formulas and the texture is extremely smooth. I find that touching a brush to the pan does create a bit of dust but I haven't experienced any issue with fallout when I apply it.

I had assumed that I would use this as a lid colour but in fact I get more use from it as a crease colour and also to soften the edges of a smoky eye. Today, I am wearing it in the crease with MAC Brule as an all over base colour with a bit of the pearlised champagne-pink from Rue de Rivoli as a brow highlight. Some would say it's a boring look, I'd say subtle. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to!

To put the colour into context, I thought it would be useful to compare it to a couple *cough, cough* of similar eyeshadows from my collection. Below, you can see how it compares to similar shades in the Guerlain Rue de Rivoli, Rue de Passy and BECCA Enigma palettes, as well as old favourites RBR Solstice Halcyon and MAC Omega. None of them are precisely identical but, based on the pan, I would say that Armure from the Enigma palette is pretty close.

Swatches from left to right: Armure from BECCA Enigma, Rivoli eyeshadows, Sweet Dust Seriema, Solstice Halcyon, MAC Omega, Rue de Passy, Gracious Arasari

BECCA Armure is still closest based on the swatches, however the texture of the RBR eyeshadow is definitely superior. As a random aside, I do like to see the colours compared side by side like this as it's interesting to see the different undertones. It also makes me even more keen to have a colour analysis to see which of these colours, if any, would fit with my recommended colour palette.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Sweet Dust Seriema eyeshadow pan costs €24/£20 and is available from the Rouge Bunny Rouge Online Boutique, BeautyBay.com and Zuneta.


Disclosure: I ordered Sweet Dust Seriema from the Rouge Bunny Rouge website using a voucher sent to me by the brand. The links are included for information only and are not affiliate links.

March Madness

I thought I ought to write a quick post to explain my recent blogging absence. Without me really intending to, I've managed to take a couple of weeks off.

March tends to be a busy month for us but this year seems to have been busier than usual. So far I've had my parents to stay, celebrated my birthday, Mother's Day, missed my blogging anniversary, painted four rooms and a hallway, had some lovely friends to visit and survived a really upsetting assessment appointment for one of my children. I've also attended my first event in ages, volunteered myself for some fundraising work at nursery and had a brief dalliance with the idea of being an Avon lady. There's been tears and laughter but not much time for writing and the never ending bad weather hasn't helped much either.

New purchases

Although it's been busy, makeup and skin care hasn't been entirely forgotten. I've bought a few new bits recently and I've also started trialling some PR samples for review. I'm still focusing on using things up: the Avene Anti-Rougeurs moisturiser is my most recent empty and I'm really close to finishing the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm, Live Native Exfoliating Cleanser and Pai Rice Plant & Rosemary BioAffinty Tonic. So there are definitely plenty of posts in the offing, I also have pictures and swatches ready for a little taupe eyeshadow comparison (see sneak peek below). Hopefully I can ignore the call of the paint brush long enough to get some writing to go with the pictures!

Testing, testing...

Empties and almost-empties

Have you had a good March so far? Any new good purchases to share?

Taupe Cream Eyeshadow and Crayon Comparison

Not content with collecting taupe powder eyeshadows, I seem to have branched out into collecting taupes in cream and crayon form. They suit my needs well as I find cream formulas tend to be speed friendly and they also make a good base for eyeshadows for when I have more time.

The ones pictured below are, from left to right, Julie Hewett Hue in Mystere, RBR Atlas Swallowtail, Topshop Mystical Crayon and Sephora Jumbo Crayon in Taupe.

I would say that the Julie Hewett Hue in Mystere (£13) is the darkest of the four and has quite a cool silvery tone to it. I've talked about Mystere before and mentioned that the fact that it does have quite a dry texture and I find it can crease. Despite this, I would say it is my favourite if want to wear a cream it on it's own as I love the colour.

My favourite to use as a base for powder eyeshadows is the Rouge Bunny Rouge Atlas Swallowtail cream (£24.50). It has quite a more golden tone compared to the others and I find it gives my favourite taupe eyeshadows an extra dimension. I apply straight from the doe-foot applicator and as it gives a subtle wash of colour, it requires minimal blending (I use my fingertips to blend rather than a brush).

Swatches L-R: Julie Hewett Mystere, RBR Atlas Swallowtail, Topshop Mystical and Sephora Taupe

The Sephora Taupe Crayon (€9.90) is a good multi-tasker. It's creamy and deposits colour easily with no dragging. It works well on its own or as a base and I find it delivers the long-wearing claims. When I use this, I don't feel the need to use a separate eyeshadow primer. It does have a metallic shimmer to it as you can see from the swatch. I would absolutely love it if Sephora made a non-shimmer finish version of this crayon too.

Unfortunately, it isn't obvious from my swatches (curse the winter lighting) but the Topshop Mystical crayon (£7.50) has the most spangly finish of the bunch, containing flecks of warm coppery glitter within the cream base. Mystical is still relatively new to my collection so I haven't used it as much as the others. I can't really offer a full run down of its pros or cons but one obvious advantage is the twist up pen format. Price wise, it's similar to the Sephora crayon but more accessible if you're in the UK.

I realised after I had edited all of the pictures that I made some omissions, namely Chanel Ombre d'Eau in Splash and Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes E105 (I've included links to previous posts). I would say that both of these are darker than the taupes I've mentioned here and, more importantly, they are both trickier to apply. The other taupe cream that I have often considered adding to my collection is the MUFE Aqua Cream in Taupe, however, I believe it is a little warmer than I usually go for.

Sephora Jumbo Crayon in Taupe with GOSH Truly Brown liner

Do you like cream eyeshadows or crayons? Have I missed any of your personal favourites here?

From the Archives: NARS Dogon

As I'm struggling to post at the moment, I thought it would be good to share something from the archives. I wrote about the NARS Dogon duo when I first got my hands on it last year. I've parted with NARS Rajasthan since then but Dogon remains a firm favourite. I still love the greenish hint to the taupe and find this is another eyeshadow that works well over a base.

Face of the Day with Burberry Rosewood Eyeshadow

I finally had opportunity to wear Burberry Rosewood eyeshadow today. I had a moment of guilt as I spoiled the pristine surface but that soon disappeared as the the joy of applying a new silky smooth taupe eyeshadow kicked in! The Burberry eyeshadows are more pigmented than you would expect from something called 'Sheer Eyeshadow' but because of the colour and finish, Rosewood does have a slightly transparent quality when applied. As I suspected, the colour is similar to Solstice Halcyon but Rosewood has more of an obvious iridescent sheen quality to its finish.

I kept everything else pretty simple but as ever, I probably look a bit more made up in real life than I do in the pictures. Here's a complete breakdown of the other items I wore today:

Face
NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser in Finland
Perricone No Concealer Concealer* applied to undereye area
Shu Brow Pencil H9 Seal Brown
Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Colour in Rose

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Rosewood
Annabelle Smudge Paint in Sludge applied with Louise Young liner brush
No.7 Lash Adapt mascara*

Lips
Voltaic lip gloss from the Aurora LMdB Lip Kit*
I changed to Shiseido Perfect Rouge in Venetian Rose later as I fancied something a little darker

* PR Samples

The Ban Is Over: Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Rosewood

I'm sorry that blog posts have been rather thin on the ground recently. I'm still trying to get everybody back to full health and I've also got hooked on watching the first series of The Killing (the Danish original). I haven't forgotten about makeup completely though. Whilst placing an order for some curtains and bedding from John Lewis, the beauty section started calling to me and I found this Burberry eyeshadow in my basket. My eyeshadow no-buy is now officially over!!

I haven't had opportunity to play with it yet (thank you very much, conjunctivitis) but I think I'm going to like it. I've made this judgment based on the fact that I buy this colour so frequently. I've pictured it alongside MAC Style Snob, Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halycon, Kjaer Weis Wisdom and Elizabeth Arden Smoke, so you can see exactly what I mean. From the pan, I suspect the finish will be similar to Solstice Halcyon. I'll do comparison swatches too when the lighting is more sympathetic.

I hope to do a face of the day post soon with Rosewood applied in the next couple of days. I also have the promised review of Zelens skincare and swatches of the L'Oreal Miss Candy collection coming very soon.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Part II: Unforgettable Oriole, Bohemian Waxwing and Olive Violeteare

My apologies in advance for this being such a picture heavy post. I had a request for a comparison of Bohemian Waxwing and Solstice Halcyon, so I thought it might be useful to do the same for Olive Violeteare and Unforgettable Oriole too.

Unforgettable Oriole

Unforgettable Oriole is a pale creamy gold with iridescent finish. It's a lovely highlighter shade and I like it best for use on the inner third of the eye or just the inner corner. It's perfect for brightening the eye.

Bohemian Waxwing

Rouge Bunny Rouge describe Bohemian Waxwing as an iridescent champagne bronze. It's actually a bit of hard colour to describe but I think bronze might be a bit misleading as this certainly isn't as brown as you might anticipate for a bronze. It's more taupe than bronze and the iridescent finish makes it very pretty. It is a very welcome addition to my neutrals collection.

Olive Violeteare

I was a little nervous about whether Olive Violeteare would work for me but I'm pleased to report that it's a thumbs up. It's a smoky olive green with no brown tones. I've used it all over the lid, in the crease, as a liner, and I find it looks good however I use it. It pairs very well with Unforgettable Oriole.

The pigmentation of all three colours is good but not as intense as Abyssinian Catbird, for example. All of the swatches are several passes of colour over the skin. Unforgettable Oriole and Bohemian Waxwing have a similar refined iridescent finish and are very smooth to apply. Unforgettable Oriole is a little more sheer than Bohemian Waxwing. Olive Violeteare has a satin finish and isn't quite as smooth as the other two shades.

Here we can see Olive Violeteare compared to Edward Bess eyeshadow in Dusk. Dusk is more grungy brown that Violeteare and it has a more complex finish. I think Violeteare looks more 'clean' in comparison.

Colourwise, I suppose that Solstice Halcyon and Bohemian Waxwing are quite similar but I think the biggest difference is in the finish. Waxwing's iridescent champagne glow makes it look lighter than Solstice Halcyon. Solstice Halcyon also has a mauve undertone which Bohemian Waxwing does not. I wondered whether Caress of Mink Loose Glitter pigment might be similar to Bohemian Waxwing but I think Caress of Mink looks a lot more brown when compared to the other two colours.

I struggled to find any singles in my collection that were similar to Unforgettable Oriole. In the end, the closest I could find was the highlighter shade from the Dior Smoky Nude palette (#571), which incidentally is my favourite powder highlight, it has the most amazing creamy smooth texture. The Dior is more cream coloured and opaque when compared to Unforgettable Oriole.

And lastly here's a group shot, just because.  Do let me know if you have any other colours you would like me to compare to these Rouge Bunny Rouge colours, I am always happy to oblige.

The Rouge Bunny Rouge Eye Shadow Keepers and refill pans are available from Zuneta. I believe all of the colours are back in stock now but both palettes are currently out of stock.

Guerlain Les Fumes Quad versus Rue de Passy

I think there are probably more pictures in this post than are strictly necessary. I won't apologies for this as I'm a neutrals palette perv I'm not ashamed to admit it, I'm also fairly certain that I'm not on my own! This Guerlain Les Fumes Quad was generously gifted to me by a very kind blogger friend and it definitely softened the blow of my eyeshadow no-buy. I mentioned this palette in my recent holiday makeup bag post and I thought it might be useful share it in a bit more detail.

The colours that I use most of all in this palette are the metallic silvered taupe (shocker) and the satin pinky tan shade. So, it came as a surprise when I swatched the other two eyeshadows that they looked so similar when applied. In the pan they look quite different: the eyeshadow on the far left looks lighter than the eyeshadow bottom centre, but when swatched, I can detect no real difference in the depth of colour. The eyeshadow on the far left has a khaki green undertone and subtle shimmer whereas the eyeshadow on the bottom left is more ashy brown. Both of these eyeshadows are a little drier in texture compared to the two lighter colours. All of the Guerlain palettes that I have tried seem to suffer to a certain extend with this variation in eyeshadows quality.

L-R: The colours were swatched from the top centre pan moving round clockwise.

Despite the variable texture, I do use Les Fumes quite a lot as I like the colours and I find it easy to put together a look with this quad when I'm in a rush. It reminded me a lot of Rue de Passy palette so I thought it would be interesting to compare the two side by side.

Left - Les Fumes, Right - Rue de Passy

Putting them side by side like this, the similarities and differences are more clear. Obviously the Rue de Passy palette has more colours than Les Fumes. From the swatches, I can see that there isn't one single identical eyeshadow (I thought from the pans that the pinky tan might be the same colour). You can achieve similar looks using these palettes and for most people, owning both would be unnecessary.

Unhelpfully of course, I can't decide which I prefer. In terms of colour and versatility, I'd probably recommend Rue de Passy. However, Les Fumes is probably better in terms of the consistency of eyeshadow texture. The packaging of the Rue de Passy is stunning but I find the packaging of Les Fumes more practical to use (the Ecrin 6 colour is a bit of a nail breaker). There is also the small matter of the cost to consider. The Rue de Passy Ecrin 6 couleurs palette costs £53.50 and Les Fumes Ombre Eclat 4 couleurs costs £37. Obviously you get more colours for £53.50 but the net weight is the same.

Both palettes are part of the permanent collection and are available from Guerlain counters as well as online from Debenhams and Escentuals. Which do you prefer? If you own both, can you pick out a favourite of the two palettes?

Taupe Revisited: Julie Hewett Hue in Mystere

I first showed you the Julie Hewett Hue in Mystere in this post. It's taken quite a few uses for me to feel confident about writing a review as there are definitely pluses and minuses to this cream eyeshadow.

I'll get the negatives out of the way first. The cream has quite a dry formula so it takes a bit of effort to pick up the colour from the pot. I have tried both finger and brush to apply and I prefer to use my fingertip as the warmth helps to pick it up. Although it looks opaque in the swatch, on my lids it is always quite sheer and requires a bit of layering. This can be a little tricky if you're using a fingertip. Finally, despite being quite dry in texture, I find it is prone to creasing. I get a couple of hours wear with an eye primer before I see light creasing.

All of this aside, I do like using Mystere and pick it out often as it is a lovely colour and I like the convenience of a cream eyeshadow when I'm in a rush. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives for me but whether or not this is true for you will depend on your stance on creasing etc.

I really like the silvery, slightly metallic touch to this taupe. The sheer effect on the lids is nice if you're after just a wash of colour and I like this best with a slick of eyeliner (I've used navy as well as the dark brown I used above). You could of course use this as a base for eyeshadow too. 

The Julie Hewett Hue eyeshadows are available in both pot and pan form. I bought this from Cocktail Cosmetics but unfortunately Mystere is no longer in stock. Julie Hewett products are also available from Mise Beauty where the Hue pots cost £13.

Taupes Revisited: Kjaer Weis Wisdom

I moaned at the size and I was far too tight to buy the pot, but Kjaer Weis Wisdom eyeshadow is a much loved taupe in my collection. If you've never been drawn to taupe this probably won't get you all that excited but I find Wisdom wins in the Taupe Trifecta: perfect finish, texture and colour.

It is the exact shade of deep mushroom that I have been trying to replicate since I acquired my first taupe eyeshadow from my Mum aged 14. She's probably still wondering where it went! It's a fraction darker than the majority of my other satin finish taupes (I don't include Satin Taupe here as I would actually say that has a frost finish rather than satin) and so it makes a darker, more moody shadow on my lids. I use this all over the lid but I think it would also work well for adding subtle definition to the crease if you paired with a light eyeshadow.

There's a tiny hint of iridescent shimmer which is only visible in out of focus images. It's this shimmer which prevents it looking flat on the skin. Pigmentation is good and application is very smooth: it almost seems to melt into my skin. I find it lasts well with no creasing but I always use a primer as my lids are prone to oiliness.

The Kjaer Weis line is an organic range and I think this is one of those occasion where that fact is purely incidental. This is an excellent high end eyeshadow that just so happens to be organic. Being organic does however go some way to explaining the high price tag. The refillable packaging system is part of the explanation too.

Image from the Kjaer Weis website

Kjaer Weis is no longer available from SpaceNK but thanks to Lipglossiping's post, I discovered that you can order from www.slowfashionhouse.com if you're in Europe. The eyeshadows cost 38€ and the refills cost 18€ (roughly £31 and £15 respectively) but I'm not sure on shipping charges as they are calculated per weight. For those of you in the States, you can find details of where to buy here.

Argh!!!! (and new RBR taupe news)

If I was a cat, this is how I would look right now. Well, I was doing really well with my eyeshadow ban. I blocked out NARS Lhasa, ignored the new D&G quad and I've even checked that the Viseart Basics palette won't be sneaking up on me at IMATS.

BUT my resolve is going to be truly tested now. Some of the new Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadows are already on Zuneta.com and of the two new matte eyeshadows, Sweet Dust Seriema is calling to me like a sweet (taupe) siren. The description is cool dusty taupe mauve. I think I might actually have shed tears. The only silver lining is that Rouge Bunny Rouge don't indulge in this limited edition nonsense so Sweet Dust Seriema will still be waiting patiently for me on the other side.

Anyway, I thought I would share this news with you. It's worth waiting until tomorrow to see if there are any offers announced in the weekly Zuneta newsletter that you can take advantage of. Don't feel you have to tell me how nice it is. I'm going to be sticking my fingers in my ears and pretending I can't hear you until July!

Edit: Here you go, I'll let you have a look at them whilst I wipe away the tears.

A Peek at Caress of Mink plus a New Taupe Comparison!

The Rouge Bunny Rouge Caress of Mink pigment I ordered arrived yesterday so I got busy taking photographs. I also decided to pull out another couple of shimmery/frosty taupe eyeshdows to compare with the pigment. I thought it would be interesting to share these swatches with you ahead of my review as the comparison demonstrates not only how the new colour compares but also how MAC Satin Taupe, Shu Uemura ME Brown 850 and Max Factor Burnt Bark compare to each other.

Caress of Mink pigment is quite a dark taupe and has a different undertone to Satin Taupe, ME Brown 850 and Burnt Bark. It's also very twinkly when compared to the other colours but I struggled to capture this in my pictures. It's sparkly whereas the other three taupes have more of a frosty finish.

I wondered how Caress of Mink would compare to a rich chocolate brown so I pulled out RBR Bejewelled Skylark. It's more obviously a taupe when compared to Bejewelled Skylark and the green undertone is more obvious in these pictures. So, in not very helpful conclusion, when you compare Caress of Mink to taupes it looks like more of a mid brown but it looks more taupe when compared to a warm brown. 

Whilst swatching for this comparison I was struck by how similar Satin Taupe, ME Brown 850 and Burnt Bark looked side by side. I thought I'd made this comparison previously but swatched here the difference seem negligible. I like to think that it's the winter lighting disguising the subtle nuances but for anyone that isn't taupe obsessed, it would be unnecessary to own all three.