Danessa Myricks Lightwork Volume VI Freedom Palette First Impressions

 I have really slowed down on buying palettes- I was really focusing on trying to use up shades rather than always buying more. I only bought two palettes this year- both by Danessa Myricks. Mostly I was drawn to this because I knew this would add something completely new to my collection. Most palettes that come out I feel like I can rock my old shadows and get a similar look. I can already tell you it was worth picking up and I love, love, love these shades! 

I was also super drawn to the packaging and how you can package it up to go and you can re-arrange the pans etc.  It just seems new and different from anything I have ever seen.

Now that I have added this into my collection, I regret not picking up Lightworks 3,4,and 5. But no worries, going forward I think the holiday Danessa palettes will be an automatic purchase for me. No more missing out. 

There are 18 shades. And the glittery, multi-chrome shades are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Definitely something you have to see in person to really understand. But let's swatch them and talk about them. 

First things first- the swatches do them no justice and they are truly pure magic on the eyes. 

Mini Palette 1: 

Proud- The way this one looks in the pan does it no justice to how it actually goes on. It's a multi-chrome with yellow, orange, and green in it. Really beautiful! 

Rise- Mostly seems like a gold-yellow sparkle shade. Not sure how I am gonna wear it, maybe with some bronze-eyes? 

Higher- A shade that works well with orange eyes...it has some beautiful coral-y red shift to it. I think this will end up being one of my favorites! I love orange on the eyes so I think I will get a lot of use out of it.

Gleaming- Greens always stump me but I wore this yesterday and I LOVE IT! It seems to have some purple flip to it..I mostly see the green though. I just popped some in the center of a bright matte green shadow look and it came out magical looking. I can't get over it and I think I have a new green go-to look. 

Unapologetic- This is a very unique shade- nothing shifty, shimmery, glittery about it...but I think it will make a good one to layer with. I plan to put this one on my eyes today.

Nirvana- I was looking at past swatches from her old palette and one of the shades I really want is called Gaia. This isn't a dupe but close enough that I feel less sad about missing out on that shade. I can't wait to try it on my eyes-I see a lot of colors in it- green, blue, yellow, AND pink. Stunning! 

Mini Palette 2 

Release- I used to hoard my Roadstripe Urban Decay shadow but compared to this- that was nothing special. This seems more of a topper shade- it has flashes of blue and purple and seems like one you add to any blue  or purple look to turn it into something special. 

Free is an unexpected golden orange shade. Looks white and flaky in the pan but it's really something special when you swatch it. It's kinda an odd one out compared to the other colors in this mini. 

Fluid- This is a very textured, bright, vivid blue. These are the hardest colors to pull off for me so I am looking forward to playing with it. If you look closely it seems to have some green shimmer and glimmer and sparkle to it. Not sure if that will translate to the eyes though.

Euphoria- I love, love, love a good purple and this one is beautiful. Seems to have some pink glimmer, shimmer and sparkle. I can't wait to put this one on my eyes. Purples are basically a neutral so we will see how it goes! 

Unbound is probably one of the most boring in a swatch? It's also lighter on the pigment but might be a good one to layer. I am now wowed by this one but may change my mind once I dig in. 

Empowered- A deep purple that looks purple can be hard to find, this one seems to have a blackened undertone to it. Looks pretty swatched but I'll see how I like it once I actually wear it! I think even though it's bit boring it will add something to the other shadows in the palette.

Mini Palette 3 

Dance- I was very excited for this mini because I love pink eyeshadow. I think Dance is pretty but I'm not sure it has enough pigment to look how I want it...but I'll have to see when I play in it. 

Serenity- One of the first shades I wore and I am obsessed. I used it as a topper on a deeper pink/brown look and could not stop staring at how it sparkled! 

Rejoice- Gorgeous multi-chrome. I see green and yellow in it...but the main color is the pink. I cannot wait to wear this one! It's so smooth and pigmented too. 

Joy looks really similar to rejoice...just a different pink base shade. I already know what colors I want to pair this with....I think this one will be another favorite.

Love- I feel like I have similar shades from Urban Decay. These seems like they may need building up...but I am going to hold off judgment until I get them on my eye. I think it will make a great base shade for the other shades. 

Bliss- This one is just slightly different from Love. And again- I do have similar shades already in the collection so it's hard to be excited for it but I am trying to hold off judgement until I get it on my eyes. I can see it working with with some shades in the blue/purple mini.

Overall, I am in love with this palette so far and I cannot wait to throw more of these on my eyelids. I will probably come back and update more as I use each and every shade. 

I really want to get my hands on more of her stuff like the chrome flakes and the multi-chrome liners. But that's for a later order after I use up some more products...possibly sometime next year unless I ask for some of her stuff for Christmas.....

Updated Palette Collection

How time flies. I forgot what I was looking up but I stumbled upon my old palette collection post and just realized how outdated that post now is. Since I did that one... I have used up about 5 or so palettes...and bought a ton of new ones. I've also dug out some colors so the remaining palettes I do have look a lot different. Also...palettes have been on my mind because I have been obsessing about getting my hands on the Danessa Myricks Lightworks 6. I couldn't take it anymore and I just placed an order for it....I will definitely be doing first impressions when it comes in the mail. In the meantime...this is what the collection is looking like.

1. MAC Singles- I have had this for years and years. Put this together when I first started becoming obsessed with the brights. A lot of these are great- some of them aren't as bright as newer formulas...and I may have alternative favorites but this palette is still one of my faves. Maybe I'll make it a goal to review the individual MAC shades in my collection next.

2. Too Faced Loves Sephora- Another old palette...I have dug out quite a few of the colors that didn't work for me and this is what was left. I should probably chuck the rest- except for the gold greenish shade but I can't bring myself to do it! 

3. Random Senna Cosmetics and MAC Singles- This is my 2nd least favorite palette. I don't like most of the Senna shades I had and got rid of most of them...but still have a few left. I am still trying to pair down which ones I can see myself wearing and which need to go. Maybe I'll get to doing that next year. Also still have an empty spot that needs to be filled....

4. Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette- Still have my OG Chocolate Bar. I have dug out some shades that stopped working or never worked for me. Overall, still love this palette and still is my number on travel choice.

5 &6. Viseart Cool and Warm Mattes- Cool Mattes is my least favorite palette. I can't rock cool tones like that. I still try to use it though. Lately I have been using the shades to place on top of lipsticks to change the tones and that's been fun. I love Warm Mattes for a very neutral look that goes with any lipstick or blush...and is great to pair with a dramatic liner look. I also love the yellow/orange shades in the palette, they are favorites for sure. 

7&8. Sugarpill Fun Size and Fun Size Too- LOVE these palettes...the brights go on bright and really pop on my skintone. A few of them don't wear the best but overall I LOVE these palettes. I will definitely pick up more to replace these shades as I use them up..and plan on buying more Sugarpill palettes eventually but as you can see I really don't need any palettes ATM. 

9. Urban Decay Black Palette- Does this even count as a palette? Only three shades in it and I very rarely use them...but I keep it because that black eyeshadow is the blackest shadow in my collection....it's awesome for setting a pencil liner.

10&11. Visseart Bright Editorials and Dark Mattes- You probably already know the Viseart Bright Editorials is a favorite- I love bright shades and these are AMAZING. Best thing is you can mix the shades and create new colors- the white is amazing for creating pastel shades of all the colors in the palette. I would repurchase this no questions asked. Dark Mattes is nice- mostly complimentary to shimmery shades in my collection. I use the purple shade the most of all....look at that dip! 

12&13. Natural Mattes and Natural Mattes Milieu- The natural mattes has all the basic shades...I don't really love it. Glad I got it at a deep discount. Wish I bought it in the smaller size. The mattes milieu has some really pretty shades. I like it so much more...it might be my 2nd favorite Viseart palette. I do kinda want the palettes that have duo chromes but I'm not in any rush to pick it up either. 

14. Urban Decay Electric Palette- I LOVE this palette. Some of these shades are truly irreplaceable. I wish I had bought a back up of this palette I love it that much. That blue shade Chaos?? Beautiful! Blue is a hard shade to wear but when I get it right, I can't stop starting at my blue lids.

15. Danessa Myricks Love is Love palette- This palette didn't get the most love- people really had a lot to say based on the layout. I bought it anyway and love it! I just wanted to get my hands on different multi-chromes and special shades and I don't regret this one bit. I think it's what made me NEED Lightworks 6. I cannot wait for it to come in.

 

16&17. Urban Decay VICE LTD and VICE 4- I love my Vice palettes. I think Urban should bring them back. You get a fun mix of colors and very unique shades...shades I don't want to use up even today because I know I probably won't be able to find replacements for them. 

18 &19. VICE 2 and VICE 3- The Vice 2 was a gift from my sister and what started my obsession with them. The packaging is still so pretty to me....The VICE 3 might be my least favorite of the ones in my collection and one I was thinking about panning one day. Except the red shade- best shade in the palette.

I wasn't sure exactly how many palettes I had in the collection..but 19 isn't bad. Even with one on the way....I think in a few months I might pick one and start trying to pan it....or just go back to picking random colors to use up just to try and use up some colors. 

A look back: Too Faced Original Chocolate Bar

 Did you know that Too Faced came out with another Chocolate Bar palette? I remember when they first one came out....I think it might be the first higher end palette I purchased at full price. It was my Gateway. I even bought the follow up palette (Semi-Sweet- didn't love it). I didn't get Chocolate Bon Bon- too cool and looked a bit childish...and all the other palettes that came out I just wasn't interested in. I can only think of the White Chocolate though. Any I am missing? IDK . Somewhere along the way, they completely stopped producing them which was kind of surprising. I really like the Original Chocolate Bar. It has a sweet vanilla/cocoa powder scent. Not necessarily chocolate. I haven't tried many other scented eyeshadows but I do really like the scent of this. And it still smells like chocolate all these years later

. 

Better than Chocolate looks interesting but I don't need any new shadows...

After all these years, the Chocolate Bar is still one of my favorite palettes. I liked it even more than the Urban Decay Naked palette. I like it so much I sometimes avoid using it so I can have it forever. I'm working on that mindset though. Eyeshadows don't go bad (no water in the formulation) as long as you take care of them. I always use clean brushes, keep my palettes in a cool dry place, examine them for any changes, etc. 

So let's look at all the colors.

Gilded Ganache- This is green/brown shade. I really like the shade, but the quality could be better. It's not terrible, just takes a little more work. It kinda has a grunge feel to it, which I don't have a lot of in my collection. I like it on me. And it's pretty versatile too. Makes a pretty liner. 

White Chocolate- One thing I hate about the palette is the huge pan of white shadow/light shadow. I don't like these colors in my palette at all and definitely don't want a huge pan of it. It's just a color that does nothing for me. It has warmer tones than some...so it's not terrible. But not a color I need. They changed the pan size in more recent palettes.(Trashed)

Milk Chocolate- I really love Milk Chocolate. It's a cooler light brown. I love the tones in the palette and the fact that colors that typically turn into the same shade of brown on me, don't. This is a nice base shade. Or blend out shade. I just really like this one.

Black Forest Truffle- This one is like a sparkly burgundy brown shade. I've never been much into this one. The sparkles just don't come through and it mostly shows up matte. I should probably try it as a liner. It's not unusable, it's just not that great. Somehow it looks pretty in a swatch though. IDK. (Trashed: just a muddy shade with pointless gold sparkle fallout) 

Triple Fudge- A really deep cool toned brown. Makes a great liner. Or even a nice outer corner  color for deep bronzed, eyes. This is a color that seems to be missing in a lot of my newer palettes so I am happy to have it, even though I don't really reach for it a lot. 

Salted Caramel- One of my favorite shades. It is the perfect, brightening lid shade. I finally found a dupe in one of my Viseart palettes so I can start using this again. I do prefer this one over the Viseart though, I think it might be the texture and how it builds up? I don't know. They should make this in a single. It doesn't look special in a swatch but it is.

Marzipan- At some point Marzipan was a shade I used everyday. It's like Urban Decay's sin but better. More orange to it, but not really orange. I use it mostly in the inner corner/lids these days. Looks nice with Salted Caramel. Could be a nice layering shade as well.

Semi-Sweet- This is another unique toned brown that shows up so nicely on my skintone. I love this color. I don't think I will ever find a "replacement" of this color. Love it, Love it, Love it!

Strawberry Bon Bon- A light pink shade. I don't like it. It's not really flattering on me, I use it as a brow bone highlight and mostly wipe it all off. Will probably end up digging this one out.

Candied Violet- Most reviewers seem to hate this shade and I love it! It is the prettiest purple with reddish mini sparkles in it. The trick is you have to use Fix Plus or something to wet it. Then it's beautiful. Or use a purple base. I don't think this is dupable either. I don't use it often but I love it when I do!

Amaretto- This might be my favorite row. Amaretto is a low shimmer reddish shade, that really goes well with Cherry Cordial. Took me years to try it out, but I love the look I get with those two shades.

Hazelnut- Perfect lid shade. And just something about these tones. I just feel like they compliment my skin tone. I could wear this as an everyday shade, everyday. (Went dull so I used half and tossed it)

Creme Brûlée- Another everyday shade with more gold to it. Sometimes golden shades can look a little odd on me but this is perfect, not too much yellow to it at all.

Haute Chocolate- This one is a little darker than my go to lid shades but that's OK. When I'm going for that look, this is a good one. It seems a little drier than the other shadows but the shadows are a little on the dryer side anyway. I think that works well for my eyelids since I think that helps lasting power. I have never had an issue with these wearing off or creasing. 

Cherry Cordial- A little different than your usual brown. I love this color, especially mixed with Salted Caramel. 

Champagne Truffle- A pinkish shimmer shade, an OK inner corner color. Not something I needed a large size of. If I ever finish the other shades, I would probably ending up just digging this one out.

Overall, one of my favorite palettes..even still after all these years and trying many other palettes.

Viseart Peties Mattes Cool Palette First Impressions and Review (Dark Skin)

 Now is a very good time to get this review/first impressions up. Viseart just announced their Spring sale yesterday- these are now $24 down from $40. I really wish I would have waited to pick the two I bought up., I paid full price smh.  Or I probably could have skipped them both altogether.

I don't really like the Cool palette. I do love cool colors- blues, purples are eyeshadow colors I'm really drawn to. But not all purples and blues work on my skintone. My favorites tend to lean on the warmer side- a red based purple or a warm yellow blue tend to look much better with my coloring than true cool toned  colors. But I wanted this palette anyway because I was drawn to the colors and wanted to give them a try. Never know, some colors can surprise you.

I think it's the quality of these most of all that I don't like. These muddle together and don't seem to have enough pigment to them. They remind me of the shadows in my Too Faced Semi-Sweet palette. I can get them to work with colors outside (barely) but match some of them together and I get muddy, can't distinguish the colors. I tired a blue look and the blues just muddled together and didn't complement. Purples are hard to do- and really only the deep purple is just OK. And they certainly don't work together to make a pretty purple look. 

I don't know if the larger palettes are better quality compared to the petites. I just know this palette has kinda turned me off buying anymore Viseart for awhile. Even though I still LOVE the bright mattes palette and the Milieu palette. 

So let's talk about each color individually.

Salt (pale bone matte finish)  These are the type of colors I talk about hating often. It's just one of those shades I really have no use for on my skin tone. I don't even like to use it for mixing because it's too white. Might end up digging it out and trashing it.

Sand (cool light beige matte) -Another useless color for me. I can only use it as a brow highlight shade basically. 

Seashell (light pink matte) - This is a light pink. A light, light pink. Doesn't even really show up very pink on me. Not a good color.  Might use it to lighten some of the deeper pinks in my collection..but really not a fan of this or the quality of it. It's powdery and not pigmented.

Lilac (Light purple matte finish) - I was really hoping this would work for me. It's the worse. No pigment, no purple, it's just straight trash. Looks so pretty in the pan but...garbage. I will probably end up throwing it out! It swatches much better than it goes on the eye.

 

Shoreline (medium cool brown) I'm not super impressed with this either. All over the lid, does nothing for me. I can use it in the brows if I mix it with the deeper brown. Not a perfect brow color though, just passable. Can't make a natural brown look with the other brown, because they muddle together and the darker brown has barely any pigment.  I can use it to create a "shadow" but I have tons of shades in my collection that do the same thing.

Fog (light cool grey matte)- Not my color. I did try it out once but really can't remember anything about it. May use as a mixer to grey out /lighten the gray black shade. 

Sky- (light blue matte) I love this color in the pan, it's not so bad on it's own but does not play well with the other blue shade. I'll have to reach outside this palette to really try to make it work for me. I do like the color though. It has potential at this point. I'll update if I change my mind.

Lupine (dusty medium purple)- This purple is much better than the lilac shade. Not particularly flattering but I think it will be easy to use in a shimmery purple look. As long as I'm not pairing  it with shades in this palette. 

Ghirardelli ( Chocolate cool matte) It's like every other deep brown from Viseart- not deep enough! They really do not make deep chocolate browns.They don't build up to be nice and deep either. I have to reach for a MAC Brown to get the deepness I want. It's useable. But disappointing. 

Elk (Bitter brown matte) This is more a cool blackened grayish black. Not my favorite type of black. Could be useful to add dark liner to more cool toned looks. But overall my preference for black in a black shadow, is deep dark true black. 

Bluebells (deep fresh blue matte) I was most disappointed in this. It looks so pretty and brightened but goes on dull and fades when wearing. Maybe I just need to play with it more but so far I'm not impressed. (Update-Played more with this and still terrible, it fades to an ugly black)

Iris (deep purple matte) It's a grey based purple...and those aren't my favorite. Could maintain it's purple when used with a bright purple, purple. It won't be my favorite purple that's for sure, but it's useable. 

Overall, I'm not impressed (word of the day?) . I think so many of these colors are grey based so that's the reason they are muddling into each other. It could be my skin tone- but I do think it's a quality issue and the texture of the shadows as well. They are too powdery.  Many of the shadows are a little chalky in texture as well. Moreso than any other Viseart palette in my collection.

Overall, I should have listened to the Temptalia review on it (she was nicer but it was rated noticeably lower than others in their line). 

If you are dark skinned  and warm toned, I would say skip it. If you have cool tones in your skin, or grey based shades are your jam, this might be for you....maybe.

Urban Decay Electric Palette

Continuing with my walk through all my palettes...figured I would I would talk about Urban Decay Electric. I had no plans to purchase this one originally because I wasn't sure of the colors would work on my skin tone. I need pigment. Especially with neon colors. But then a friend had bought it and she let me take a look at hers and...I could see that they were indeed pigmented. And since I love colorful colors and didn't really have any similar colors I bought it.

I'm glad I did because it's one of my favorites. 

I always thought they should have made part 2. And only recently found out they did the Wired Palette but it got terrible reviews and all had too many repeat shades. I'm glad I missed out on that one. 

 

It's one of those palettes I love so much, I tend to not use it because I am "saving" it. Even though it would take forever to use up anyway. I'm working on that though. It's ok to use up shades, I can always buy new shades and find new favorites. But I would probably be sad to really and truly use up any of these shades. 

Anyway....let's do some swatches and a mini review.

Revolt (Bright Metallic Silver Shimmer with Silver Glitter)- I didn't "get" this silver for the longest time. It's so out of place...or so I thought until I did a blue look a few months ago to go out. I love a silver inner corner with blue eyeshadow. So instead of reaching for my favorite in another palette I threw this one on. It mixed with the shadow that was already on my brush and made the prettiest shimmery blue inner corner. It is pretty to mix with the other shades in a small areas...probably would work for larger areas but you really have to work with it. Now I like it. It's still sheer and a bit hard to work with, but it can be worth it. 

Gonzo (Bright turquoise with floating tonal pearl)- It's not matte like I had thought when I first bought the palette. They have a little glimmer to them, I think it helps with blend ability and vibrancy. This blue is gorgeous but not perfect. It's a little on the dry side and not as easy to work with as a true shadow formula would be. If you pack it on and blend very softly you can make it work. Need good primer though to make it stick. It goes on a little darker like most blues do on my skintone. Overall,  I love the color. 

Slowburn (Bright Red Orange Matte)- This is probably my least used. Such a pretty color but hard to figure out how to wear. It's very vibrant. On the dryer side but seems to work very well with minimal fading for a 10-11 hour day.  It does work very well as a blush.

Savage (Bright Hot Pink Matte)- I love pink shadow. So this is pretty wearable for me, I have another hot pink from Makeup Forever that is more vibrant than this one but I like the tone of this more. That one is easy to use and works more like an eyeshadow though...it also is more neon. This one can tone/fade down. I still like it...but I have better hot pinks in my collection. 

Fringe (Bright Metallic Teal)- This is my favorite swatch row without a doubt. Look at that teal! Gorgeous. One I'm guilty of saving but I'm going to start wearing it more. It's easy to work with and vibrant. Easily one of my favorites and I also don't have any similar colors anywhere else in my collection.

Chaos (Bright blue matte with Floating Tonal Pearl)- Gorgeous cobalt blue color in the pan. When I wear it, it goes on darker. I wish it was more true to pan. A white base can help it keep its brightness. When trying to use it as a shadow it tends to be hard to work with, it will blend away so you really have to pack it on, blend, and pack it on again. And repeat a few time. Blues are the most difficult shades to blend. But look at that color?!?!  It's so pretty....not the best but I will probably keep it in my collection forever. 

Jilted (Bright Metallic Fuchsia with Blue Shift)- The Blue shift is subtle. At least once I get it on my eyes. You can kinda see it in the swatch. I have a few similar shades from Urban Decay palettes and this is the best quality. It keeps it's vibrancy the entire day. It's my favorite of the all the fuchsia shades. I also think this one tends to flatter me the most as well. Really helps to pack it on with the brush it cam with.

Urban (Bright Metallic purple)- I've used this color the most out of any of the shades. It has the biggest dip. Probably because I consider purple a neutral and will go to this when I need to accompany some of the light purples in my collection. It's a subtle metallic. I really like this purple though. So many purples go grey or just mute down to barely purple. This goes on purple, looks purple on, and stays purple. Love it! 

Freak ( Bright Green with Gold Shift) Love this green, I thought they had released a single of it but that's a different green entirely. I also tend to not use this because I am "saving it" but this is my favorite unique green. It's just so pretty! I like to wear it with the greens in my Viseart Editorial palette, that contains more of my favorite greens.

Thrash (Bright lime green matte with floating tonal pearl)- This color actually looks vibrant on me...it does fade down a little bit but still looks bright and packs on easily. I was completely surprised when I first started using it, this is exactly the type of color that would go weird and patchy on me, yet it doesn't. Love pairing this with other greens like Freak and my favorite bight Viseart Greens. I don't have any other shades like it...

Here I muted the shades down by mixing it with the silver...it looks better on the eyes though...

And here is my favorite look to date with this palette...

Still a favorite and I will be keeping it forever!