City Color Hypnotic Palette Review & Swatches

Spring is around the corner and we're starting to see lots of colorful palettes showing up in stores and online like the Urban Decay Full Spectrum, Kat Von D Pastel Goth, and the City Color Hypnotic Palette ($15.99 at CityColorCosmetics.com).
While I'm not a fan of creating bright, bold eye looks on myself per se, I've seen lots of gals I follow on Instagram rocking absolutely stunning colorful looks. So I wanted to grab this palette and swatch it for you guys, as it could be an affordable alternative to some of the palettes I mentioned earlier.

Let's take a look!

NEW City Color Matte Blush Shades

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that the City Color Be Matte Blushes are one of my favorite formulas, drugstore or high-end. So I was really excited when I found out they were releasing four new limited edition Matte Blush shades ($4.99 each)!

There are some differences with these four new colors, starting with the name...they've dropped the "Be" and simply called these "Matte Blush". They also claim to come in sturdier packaging and have a creamier formula.

The four new shades are:

• Deep Coral
• Natural
• Pink
• Blossom

They've also released new Matte Bronzer shades as well! 

I'm really excited to try these...what about you?

Grab them now at CityColorCosmetics.com and use code BudgetBeautyBlog to save 10%. Also get free shipping over $25!

City Color Just Launched Two New Palettes

The new City Color Cosmetics Hypnotic and After Hours Palettes ($15.99 each) just launched today and I can't wait to get these home!
I was super impressed with the recent Boho Chic palette and these are in the same packaging. Plus, based on the swatches below, the formula looks like it could be the same super creamy, buttery Shimmer Shadow formula.

The Hypnotic Palette contains 12 shimmer shades in bright fun colors.

The After Hours Palette contains 12 neutral and smoky shades for more of an everyday or evening look.

Head on over to the City Color Cosmetics website to grab yours now and don't forget to use code BudgetBeautyBlog for 10% off your entire order!

Which one are you getting?

New City Color Cosmetics Launches

Several new products have just launched at City Color Cosmetics! If I'm being honest, I'm excited to try them all!
Here's what's new: 

1. Mattifying Balm ($7.99)- A Total Different Level of Makeup Primer. Gives a smoother and younger looking skin. Upgraded Formula Mattifying Balm Primer is a base for foundation and face makeup that allows it to go on smoother and last longer, easy to blend non-sticky.
2. Primer Oil ($12.99)- City Color's New multi-use Primer Oil creates a flawless, silky, even-toned dewy finish; the lightweight formula minimizes pores and smooths skin texture. It can also be applied anywhere from face, split ends, cuticles to skin! This non-greasy oil is vitamin enriched and smooths and softens skin.
3. Shimmer Blush ($6.99)- City Color's Shimmer Blush has a new look and a new formula that creates a beautiful, shimmering flush of color for all skintones. Available in 4 colors.
4. Be Matte Lipstick ($7.99)- New for Fall 2016, City Color's Be Matte Lipstick is your go-to product for a rich and completely matte look. Finished with high pigmentation, these lipsticks are infused with Vitamin E to keep your lips nourished and hydrated all day long. In 30 shades ranging from neutrals to bolds, you will never be short on choices!
5. Photo Chic Foundation ($13.99)- New for Fall 2016, City Color's Photo Chic Foundation presents new oil free foundation that gives you a medium to full coverage and a demi-matte finish. Creating a flawless look has never been easier with Photo Chic Foundation's 12 different shades!

Which products are you excited to try? I'm considering a major haul in the next day or two...I kind of want to try everything! 

Head over to CityColorCosmetics.com to check out the new products, and use code BudgetBeautyBlog to save 10% off your order. Also, City Color has free shipping on orders $25 and over! 

City Color Boho Chic Palette Review & Swatches

The City Color Boho Chic Palette ($15.99) just launched today on the City Color website and I'm finally able to share it with you! I've been posting sneak peeks on Instagram the past week or so, but I'm really excited to post my full review and swatches because this palette is gorgeous. 

It comes in a magnetic cardboard palette that's very slim and easy to store. There's no mirror or brush included, but there are 12 eyeshadow shades in matte, satin, and shimmer finishes.

There's a beautiful range of colors here from easy, wearable nudes to some richer, bolder shades.

I was shocked when I first dipped my finger into this palette to swatch it...every single shade is super buttery and the metallic and satin ones feel like a cream! Then I realized that this is the Shimmer Shadow formula that I already know and love.

The shades Wanderlust, Moonchild, Energy, and Infinity are the same metallic finish as the Shimmer Shadows with that same creamy buttery texture.
Legend, Mantra, Dreamcatcher, Woodstock & Marsala are satin finishes and also feel very soft and buttery.
Then there are three matte shades...Crochet, Moccasins, & Vast. They are also soft and pigmented but aren't quite as creamy as the metallic and satin finishes.

These are swatched on bare skin with no primer! Look how rich and beautiful  they are! Also, there's hardly any fallout with these...they're not powdery at all because they're so creamy. 

I thought I recognized some of the Shimmer Shadow shades in here as well, so I went through my stash and found four shades that are either identical or very similar. 

The first three shades are pretty much identical in shade and finish, but the fourth shade Dreamcatcher in the palette is similar in color to the Shimmer Shadow in Sandstorm, except it has a satin finish instead of a metallic one. 

None of the other shades in the palette were dupes for Shimmer shadows that I personally own, but I don't have the entire collection so there may be a few more dupes in there.

Overall, this is a fantastic palette for fall, especially if you love the City Color Shimmer Shadow formula. I had always wished City Color would do a Shimmer Shadow palette, because I tend to use palettes way more than I use single eyeshadows, so this is really exciting! 

Grab yours now at CityColorCosmetics.com and use code BudgetBeautyBlog to save 10%. 

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The New City Color Spice Me Up Palette is Perfect for Fall

The City Color Cosmetics Spice Me Up Palette ($15.99) is a brand new 2016 re-release of the original Spice Me Up Palette (which I reviewed last year). The revamp adds two additional shades, larger pans, and upgraded packaging. It does cost $7 more than the previous version and the eyeshadows are basically the same size (.034 oz in the old palette and .035 in the new palette). So for the extra $7, you're getting two additional shadows, but are also paying for better packaging and (in my opinion) an upgraded formula. I'll compare the two palettes toward the end of this post, but for now, let's take a closer look at the new Spice Me Up...

I love the look of this palette, and it launched at the perfect time when fall is right around the corner. In a few more weeks, I'll probably be putting my shorts and tank tops away, along with my lighter, summery makeup in favor of jeans, sweaters, and warm, rich eyeshadows, blushes, and lipsticks. This one is right on point...it's still nude shades for the most part (which are the majority of what I wear) but it's filled with toasty warm colors that look like the view out my window when the leaves start changing. Looking at it just puts me in a fall mood!

The formula feels very velvety to the touch (a couple of shades, such as Paprika feel a little drier) but they're not super soft and buttery. This is good news if you don't like a lot of the fallout that comes along with those softer formulas...these have none. They are on the denser side, and pick up beautifully with a brush. You know how the softer formulas don't always pack a lot of color onto your lids because it's too busy dusting all over your cheeks as you're trying to blend? These apply beautifully, and stay where you want them.

The shades are pretty consistent when it comes to the formula. As I mentioned above, the reddish shade, Paprika feels drier than the others, while one or two shades such as Cinnamon (to the right of Paprika) are super buttery. The majority of the shades have that dense, soft, velvety texture and almost all of the shades have a satin finish...Ginger and Mace seemed to have the most shimmer. I was definitely impressed by the formula here and I think it's an upgrade from the previous Spice Me Up palette. 

When I first saw this palette, I thought of the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette and wondered if any of the shades were dupes. When I put the two side-by-side, I thought there might be a few, but after swatching them all, I've found that while they have very similar color palettes, there are no exact dupes. Still, if you're not in the market for the ABH palette, the Spice Me Up palette gives you a similar feel for a third of the price!

Finally, I wanted to compare the new Spice Me Up to the old one. You can see how much use mine has gotten...it's a mess! The new version is a lot larger in size and I find the packaging much more appealing, though not as travel-friendly. 

Once I started swatching them both, I realized that the shades in both palettes are almost exactly the same, with the addition of a few new ones. The biggest difference is in the formula...the shades in the older palette have that soft, buttery feel with lots of fallout. They also have more of a shimmery finish. The new palette is that denser, more velvety formula with more of a satin finish.

Below, I've compared the top row of the old Spice Me Up palette to the top row of the new one. The first shade is very different...the older one is a frosty white, while the new one is a satiny beige taupe. However, the rest of the shades are definitely the same colors...just with different finishes. Also, the new palette has one additional shade in the top row, called Saffron.

Top: Old Spice Me Up Palette- Top Row
Bottom: New Spice Me Up Palette- Top Row

The bottom row varied a bit more from the old palette to the new one. The first four shades are similar in color, but vary in the finishes. Then they replaced that lavender taupe shade in the old palette (which I always thought didn't exactly fit in with the other spicy shades) with the reddish Paprika shade in the new palette. Finally, they added the an additional shade, Cinnamon to the new palette.

Top: Bottom row of the old Spice Me Up palette
Bottom: Bottom row of the new Spice Me Up palette 

Overall, I'm impressed with the new Spice Me Up palette from City Color. I think they took an already great palette and made it even better! If you already own the original Spice Me Up palette, you may not need this one since the colors are so similar. However, if you're a fan of more satiny shades vs shimmers, you might appreciate the difference between the two. There are also a couple of different shades that help to set it apart a little bit.

Grab yours now at CityColorCosmetics.com and get 10% off by using code BudgetBeautyBlog at checkout.

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I'm Drooling Over the new City Color Spice Me Up Palette!

The brand new, revamped City Color Cosmetics Spice Me Up Palette ($15.99) has arrived just in time for Fall! It includes two extra shades, bigger pans, and sturdier packaging, but most importantly...look at these gorgeous warm, rich shades!

You might remember the original Spice Me Up Palette looked like this: 

What do you think of the redesign? I think it's a huge improvement and I can't wait to get my hands on it! 

To purchase, please visit CityColorCosmetics.com and use code BudgetBeautyBlog to save 10% off your order! 

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City Color Intense Blush Palettes Review & Swatches

I'm just full of City Color sneak peeks this week, and today I wanted to review and swatch the new Intense Blush Palettes ($14.99). These will be launching on June 1 at CityColorCosmetics.com and let me tell you...you're really going to want these! 

There are two collections...one contains pink & mauve shades, and the other has corals & peaches. One reason I love blush palettes is that they make it easy to mix and match and layer different shades. I've already been playing around with these, creating different combinations and I'm totally in love with the shades and formula. Let's take a look!

Packaging: 

These palettes come in very travel-friendly cardboard palettes with a magnetic closure. They're very thin, making them easy to store or to stash in a suitcase. They're way too large to put in your purse (unless you have a big tote like I do) and they don't come with a mirror or any brushes. 

It's so hard to determine the size of something when you're looking at it online, so I wanted to compare these palettes to some other blush palettes you might be familiar with. As you can see below, these are quite large next to the elf Blush Palette and the Gwen Stefani blush palette from Urban Decay. 

Formula: 

If you're familiar with City Color's products, you might be familiar with their Intense Blush Quads. These new palettes seem to have replaced the quads as they're no longer offered on City Color's website, so I decided to compare them to see if the formula is the same. The quads came in four shades, but I only have one of them, which I found at Five below last summer. 

The formula in the new palette feels exactly the same as the old quads and I was able to find two dupes between the quad I have and the pink-toned palette. The two middle shades in the quad (Barbie pink and mauve) are the same as the bottom left shade and bottom right shade in the pink palette.

Since I don't own any of the other quads, I'm not sure if there are any more dupes, but I would assume so, especially since those have been discontinued. It seems like maybe City Color wanted to consolidate them into a different format, but didn't want to get rid of this formula. I'm glad because these blushes are amazing!

You guys know I love City Color's Be Matte blushes, and these feel very similar in that they're soft, blendable and pigmented. The difference is, these have more of a "wow" factor when it comes to pigmentation...you barely have to dip your brush into the pan to get great color payoff and they don't require any buildup. Also, they kind of stain your cheeks a bit, due to the high level of pigment in the formula so they're more long lasting than the Be Matte blushes (which are pretty long lasting to begin with). 

Also, most of the shades in these palettes seem to be mattes...there are a few that have a teeny tiny bit of shimmer in them if you look closely but when they're on your cheeks they appear to have a matte finish. 

Collection #1 has beautiful pink and mauve shades that lean cooler, ranging from subtle to bright. I can see these working on any skin tone. Most of these would show up easily on deeper skin tones and the only one that's a little dark for me is the reddish shade (4th swatch from the left). 

Collection #1 

Collection #1 Swatches

Collection #2 has warmer peach and coral-toned blushes and is also stunning. The top three shades are a bit more nude/bronze while the bottom row is your pop of color.

Collection #2

Collection #2 Swatches

Overall, these are a must-buy if you're a blush lover like me! The only way it wouldn't be worth it is if you already have the four Intense Blush Quads...then you'd likely find some repeat shades here. But if you don't, you'll be in for a treat with these...they're a high-end formula at a much more affordable price!

You can grab these on June 1 at CityColorCosmetics.com

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City Color Poolside Palette Review & Swatches

Press Sample

The City Color Poolside Palette ($16.99) is launching June 1 on CityColorCosmetics.com and I was so lucky to get one ahead of time to swatch and review for you guys! When I first posted sneak peeks of the new City Color Summer 2016 collection on Instagram last week, this was my most requested review...the beautiful bright sunny colors are so perfect for this time year, aren't they?

I love the packaging of this palette for a couple of reasons. First, the photo of the pool on the front just makes me think of summer...it's so cute! Second, you guys know I love cardboard palettes because they're so easy to travel with. This one is really thin and lightweight making it easy to take anywhere or to store. 

Inside, there are twelve shades ranging from neutrals to brights in both matte and shimmer finishes. The shade names are so cute and summery (Nemo! haha) and I love that the inside of the palette is white...it really makes the bright shades pop out at you. 

If you look at the shades in the palette from left to right, the top row seems to be a lighter, slightly more muted version of the bottom row. 

But you can also look at it in quads...

Group 1 is your nude shades of gold, bronze, taupe, and brown. 

Group 2 is your red family...orange, violet, and fuchsia. 

Group 3 contains turquoise, green, and blues. 

The eyeshadow formulas in the Poolside palette are what you would typically find in a lot of palettes, with the shimmer shades having a soft buttery feel with tons of pigmentation and the matte shades being a bit drier and more powdery. I had to build up the matte shades quite a bit in these swatches, namely Bikini, and Voyage in the top row and Topless and Coconuts  in the bottom row. I would definitely recommend using primer to help those drier matte shades pop and to grip your skin a bit better. 

In the top row, Moonlight, Suntan, and Poolside (shade #'s 1, 2, & 5) are the three shimmer shades and they go on beautifully! In my swatches, I only swiped them once and they're vivid, bright, and highly pigmented. They also didn't have a lot of fallout which you can sometimes get with shimmer shades, so that was a huge plus. Nemo (shade #3) is more of a satin finish so the formula feels a little different than both the matte shades and the shimmer shades. The pigmentation is in-between the shimmers and the mattes, so it's not a one-swipe kind of shade and needs to be built up a little bit. Bikini and Voyage (shade #'s 4 & 6) felt drier and more powdery. On bare skin, they went on very sheer and needed a lot of swipes to get them to show up....even then, they don't have the same vividness that they do in the pan. They fared a bit better over primer, so again I would definitely recommend using one to get the most out of these shades.

Left to Right: Moonlight, Suntan, Nemo, Bikini, Poolside, & Voyage

In the second row, we start off with two matte shades, Topless & Coconuts (shade #s 1 & 2). Topless is very sheer and even when built up, it didn't show up that well. Coconuts fared a bit better once I swiped it a few times. Shade #4, Flamingo and shade #6 Chillin' are more of a satin finish (like Nemo in the top row) so even though they take a little building up, you can get them to look just like they do in the pan. Finally, Reef & Seafoam (shade #'s 3 & 5) are that beautiful, buttery shimmer formula.

Left to Right: Topless, Coconuts, Reef, Flamingo, Seafoam, & Chillin'

Overall, despite a few duds, the Poolside Palette is a beautiful pick if you're looking for bold, bright, summery shades. Keep an eye out for it on June 1st at CityColorCosmetics.com.

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City Color Ooh La La Eyeshadow Palette Review

The City Color Ooh La La Palette ($7.99) is a Parisian-themed eyeshadow palette filled with beautiful rosy shades. I couldn't resist putting it in my cart the last time City Color had a 25% off sale because I'm lacking shades like these in my collection.

It comes packaged in a slim cardboard case with a magnetic closure. It's a bit on the flimsy side, especially the clear plastic window, which is thin and sort of crinkles in when you press on it. I normally like cardboard packaging because it's soft, yet durable (like the Balm's packaging for example) but this one feels a bit cheaper than that. But at the same time, this palette is only $7.99 so I can give it a bit of a pass when it comes to packaging.

Inside, there are ten shades and a double-ended sponge tipped applicator. There are five matte and five shimmer shades and they all have Paris-themed names...cute right? 

There's a beautiful mix of warm rosy tones here, including dusty pink & mauve, violet, brick red, maroon, warm beige, charcoal, and white. The formula feels soft and a bit powdery with quite a bit of fallout on most of the shades.

Unfortunately, these didn't swatch nearly as well as I thought they would. I've tried City Color's eyeshadows in the past and have been really impressed by them, but these fell flat. I tried them on bare skin first, which is what I normally do to really test pigmentation without the help of primer. It took several swipes of each shade just to get them to show up the way you see them below.

But I didn't want to give up on this palette just yet, so I tried them again over primer and...success! These swatches are two swipes of each shade over Laura Geller's Spackle and the results were much better. The only shade that didn't fare so well was the white shade, Mona Lisa. I just couldn't get it to show up no matter what.

Overall, I love the shade range in this palette, but they definitely make you work for them and it doesn't seem to be on par with the other City Color eyeshadows I've tried in the past. Bummer!

To purchase, visit CityColorCosmetics.com and use code BudgetBeautyBlog for 10% off!

City Color Highlight Trio Review

I recently picked up the City Color Highlight Trio ($8.99) during a recent haul and figured I would share a (very) quick review with you guys. It's not the sort of product I need to go super in-depth with, but I still wanted to post some swatches and let you know my thoughts. So let's get started!

The Highlight Trio is packaged in a slim black case (no mirror) and contains three large highlighters inside. There's a true gold shade, a pearl shade that's more off-white than pure white, and a pinky-peachy highlight.

All three shades pack a lot of punch...these aren't a subtle highlight at all. I think they're great for those of you who really want your highlight to show up easily on the skin because they're so pigmented and don't take a lot of effort to create a bold cheekbone. They have a very finely milled shimmer, so there's no chunky glitter...it's more of a sheen.

There's also a darker version of this palette if you like a more bronzy-looking highlight.

If you're looking for bold, pigmented highlighters at a great price, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up the City Color Highlight Trio during your next haul. I was recently swatching the new Tarte Skin Twinkle palette ($42) and I think this City Color palette was right on par in terms of pigmentation and feel. Of course the Tarte packaging is much more luxe, but if you don't care about that sort of thing, this is a great alternative!

You can grab this now at CityColorCosmetics.com and be sure to use code BudgetBeautyBlog for an additional 10% off! 

iKateHouse Haul

If you've been reading this blog, you probably know how much I love City Color's Be Matte Blushes. I'm obsessed! It's the best drugstore matte blush formula, hands down and you can totally compare them to higher-end blushes! They're so pigmented, soft and blendable with a natural-looking matte finish that doesn't accentuate pores.
I previously purchased 7 of the 12 shades and posted a full review a while ago (click here if you want to check that out), but City Color has been out of stock on the other 5 shades for quite some time. I kept checking their website periodically but had pretty much given up, thinking that maybe they're discontinuing those shades or something.
Then last week, I was catching up on some of my vlog subscriptions and saw one of my favorite YouTubers, EmilyNoel83 post a review of some palettes she got from a website called iKateHouse (see her video here). She mentioned that they carried City Color and seemed to have a good experience with them, so I went to their website and saw that they had the Be Matte shades I wanted in stock...and they're a dollar less than they are on the City Color website at only $3.99 each. Score!

I'm happy to say that I also had a great experience with iKateHouse. My order arrived in only 2-3 days (they ship from NY and I'm in CT so it didn't have to go far) and everything was really well packaged in thick bubble wrap and that was wrapped in pretty tissue paper. By the way, this isn't a sponsored post and I'm not getting anything for referring you guys to this site...they have no idea I'm even doing this post. I just had a good experience and wanted to share...they have so many affordable niche brands on the site, and I had a lot of fun browsing. I'll definitely be back to check out some more products.

Anyway, back to the blushes! Here's a close-up of each shade I got in my iKateHouse order...

These shades are all more muted colors than the original seven I got, which included a few brighter shades. I'm in love with the first shade I swatched below, Sweet Pea. It's the perfect pinky nude for my fair skin! The second shade, Fresh Melon is a really pale peachy pink and for some reason, it applied a little bit patchy and needed to be built up. This is the only one out of all 12 shades that behaved that way...not sure if I got a dud or if this particular color does that. The other three are a bit on the darker side for me (it was hard to tell from the website) but I can still use them if I sheer them out a bit.

Left to Right: Sweet Pea, Fresh Melon, Sunset Safari, Zinnia, and Hibiscus

Here's a look at all twelve shades...I think my favorites are Sweet Pea, Guava, Pink Grapefruit, Blackberry, and Papaya because those are the shades that work really well with my pale complexion. I can still wear the other shades if I use a light hand, but they are definitely more work to apply, so I tend to reach for my favorites most often.

Overall, I'm really happy to have found iKateHouse so I could complete my Be Matte blush collection! You just can't beat them for $3.99...I've had my original seven shades since last Spring and I've barely made a dent in them. They're so generously sized and pigmented so they'll last forever! 

You can check out the entire collection at iKateHouse.com.