Fall is officially here! Bring on the hot coffee, cozy sweaters, and autumn-inspired looks.
Admittedly, I’m not a huge eyeshadow wearer. I love playing with eyeshadow in the context of artistry, but I don’t wear it daily without fail. On your average day, I’m a one-and-done kind of lady (two if I have the time, three if it’s a special occasion).
That being said, this year I couldn’t help but welcome a new addition to my modest eyeshadow collection, and I think it is absolutely perfect for fall. It’s the Natasha Denona My Dream Eyeshadow Palette, of course!
I love this palette. I absolutely do not use it to its fullest potential, as you can probably tell from the photo of my palette (I left it “unedited”, so you can see who’s getting the liner brush treatment and who’s kicking up the most fuss).
You can get some lovely depth from this palette that my makeup looks have not been calling for lately, but I really appreciate the breadth of possibility. It’s a beautiful colour story. Being a neutral-leaning-cool olive myself, I was almost disappointed that the palette turned out to be a bit warmer in person than in the promotional photos, but fortunately, it really hasn’t bothered me!
For one-and-done’s, I love a metallic or a shimmer. I’ll use toppers as well (some days I don’t wear shadow at all, so for me a solo topper is just enough). You can’t go wrong with Babies or Serenity. I even love Thrill and Spontaneous to bring out the eye from behind the frame of my glasses.
The warmth and the colour story in this palette, particularly with the mix of brown, orange and purple, is autumn on the nose to me – I love them in this context.
Invention and Risk make for lovely warm autumnal looks, and I can’t look past Instinct and Edgy for lovely purples to compliment them (although I will say, I wish both showed up as deep as they do in the pan. Instinct is described as a “cream powder matte medium fuchsia”, and Edgy is described as a “cream powder matte medium-dark eggplant,” so I suspect the formula causes them to look deeper in the pan than on the eye. Nevertheless, the shades themselves do live up to their descriptions).
Then there’s Vision, that multi chrome metallic… If you want to look like you spent time on an eye look, but you’re a one-and-done’r like me, place this all over the lid and you’ve got a very intriguing look with “shifts of green, pink, nude & gold” that gives the illusion of having actually put some effort in. It could just be my particular lighting, but I see primarily a gold-tinted green to purple shift when I wear it.
That’s not all, of course – My Dream was an entire collection. Now I will say, I passed on the face palette but I could not ignore the lipstick and lip liner. I did pass on the gloss, too – I haven’t been very into glosses as of late, and they don’t last nearly as long as bullet lipsticks do in your collection, so I really try to limit the number of glosses I have on the go.
But oh, the lipstick and lip liner.
These were my first Natasha Denona lip products, and they did not disappoint.
As I understand it, the lipstick and lip liner are from her “I Need a Nude” line, but the lipstick shade “Natasha” departs slightly from the original. I have to imagine this is because the lipstick formula itself is a bit different. It is the shade Natasha from the “I Need a Nude Lipstick” line, but in the more updated formula from the “I Need a Rose Lipstick” line. The resulting shade is apparently a bit cooler, which works out well for my neutral-leaning-cool olive complexion.
Having been my first Natasha Denona lip liner, I was surprised by how bulletproof it is! The liner application feels creamy, but when I swatch it, it always puts up a fight to remain on my skin. The liner is there well after any lipstick fades, so I like to make sure I smudge it out a bit when I use it to outline my lips. For me, this actually makes it almost difficult to use, but I appreciate the stay-put formula which is unique to my collection.
I really enjoy the lipstick – it’s hydrating and feels rich and luxurious, from the creamy satin finish to the magnetic closure casing. Full review to come! (Update: review is now here, check it out!)
To be honest, I don’t always reach for this lip combo when I use the My Dream Palette, but I suspect that’s because I don’t use the palette as intended! The palette is gorgeous and contains a solid black and some deep rich tones, but I just don’t gravitate towards them in my day-to-day. So, if I were going for a bolder eye look I would absolutely reach for the accompanying lip combo since it’s nice and nude. But with my one-and-done, often light-handed approach, I like to reach for something a touch deeper on me (eg. MAC Matte Lipstick in Velvet Teddy or Mehr).
Of course, I happily pull out this lip combo for sentimental reasons as well!
What’s your go-to fall palette? Do you pair certain lipsticks with it? I’d love to know!
