AOM: It will make your heart flutter

Artist of Makeup: never have I anticipated a product launch more. If you know of Zukreat Nazar, you might know what I'm talking about. She has glorious makeup tutorials, which I adore for her elaborate Arabic style. The way she does eyes up is simultaneously too much, and just right. That sweet spot.

Anyway. She used awesome products in said videos, right? Contouring sticks, eyeshadows, blushes. And they looked pretty excellent but they were from her upcoming makeup line...WHICH TOOK FOREVER TO COME OUT. The wait period was excruciating!

When the site was finally up and running, I spent an hour(s)(s)(s) hunched over trying to figure out what to get. It looked so GOOD! Some of it didn't appeal to me, admittedly (the blushes-not a blush person, honestly. And foundations...I will never cheat on Vichy Dermablend! Never! Never! Except with Shiseido!). I toyed with the idea of maybe spending baby's university diaper fund on the magnificent pro HD eyeshadow palette and big fat professional brush kit. But...I'm not a pro. I'm an aficionado.

I got five neutrals loosely inspired by my Dior Rosy Tan. Neutrals, to better suit my warm, medium toned skin. Although I use the Dior palette daily (it is a perfect, harmonius blend of understatement), I have issues with 1. pigmentation 2. the tone (it was definitely made with lighter skin in mind) 3. creasing.

These were meant to pick up where that lacks.

So.

They are, in a word, though I despise the word, fabulous. Tres so. Substantial pigment yet they blend beautifully.

Cast:

1. Bare Canvas - a creamy, smooth pale peachy-pink (a warm pastel pink), with a sheen. The texture is similar to Wet 'n Wild's Brulee eyeshadow, but...smoother, if that is possible. I would compare it to NARS' All About Eve palette, the texture is something like that. It is almost overly-smooth, by which I mean your brush may pick up too much. You may have to dust it off a bit, if you are into more subtle looks. This is my favourite because it brightens the eyes so well.

2. Hush - A scrumdiddlyumptious soft mauve, similar to the top shade in Guerlain's Les Fumes, but with gentle micro-shimmer running through it. Satin finish. This is well-suited for hazel and green eyes, particularly, and I can't wait to try it on my mother, who, indeed, possesses such a pair.  [edit: OMG, I DROPPED IT REALLY BADLY, AND IT CRUMBLED TO DUST JUST NOW!! :'( I should've gotten a palette to put it all in...]

3. Nutmeg - Warm matte. Soft. Smooth. No issues with chalkiness or powderiness. Maybe a bit too warm to be an everyday crease shade for EVERY look for me, but I can see it working on some people. It plays reaaaally well with the other characters in this movie, though. (edit: just wanted to add that I have seen Zukreat use this several times as a bronzer/contour shade, so it is multi-purpose!)

4. St. Tropez - Bling. Zing zang zoopity zoop. A mixture of fine shimmer and glitter, which adds dimensional interest to what could otherwise be a dull Mac Woodwinked dupe. Very very gold. It actually matches my gold wedding jewellery perfectly. A good pick for desi brides, then. Very smooth, and it picks up the warmth of aforementioned Nutmeg, they make a good team. A+.

5. Espresso - Matte cool-toned brown. It blends out into almost a plummy shade. No issues with patchiness, which was my main concern.

So...following are some swatches, apologies as I have naught but an iPhone cam. :(
They look soooo much nicer in person. Swiped on with fingers, and no primer.

Nutmeg, Espresso, St. Tropez, Hush, Bare Canvas

See how nicely they sit on the skin? Particularly the mattes; rare to find mattes like this. On the lids, they blend and sit beautifully, perfect for a minimalist look as well as a standard "brown smokey"--and things in between (cut-crease, the Old Hollywood eye, etc). I went over the swatches a couple of times (did the same for the following Dior ones), because this is my first time swatching and I barely touched the product for the first swipe.

Arrogant comparison to Dior Rosy Tan shades (right of each AOM shade), although they are not supposed to be dupes, I just wanted to compare the colours.

(As you can see, the Dior is very well put together, almost too well put together, as it looks like a haze of meh on my lids.)

I'm wearing 'em today. No primer yet no creasing.

On my way to the pediatrician, not a calculus exam, although you'd be forgiven for thinking so, given my odious expression.

Lizzy Arden's smoky black pencil, L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes 'scara, aforementioned Artist of Makeup e/s,

Omorovicza tinted moisturizer mixed with Shiseido Perfect Refining foundation,

Guerlain Terracotta liquid blush in Spicy Coral, Omorovicza Sunkiss bronzer, Essence Bronzer in Blondes,

Dior Nude glow sculpting powder in a shade much too pale for me, and ....Dior Nude "lip blush" (eye roll) in Trench.

 So in conclusion:
1. Get these. If not today, next Sunday.
2. Don't be une massive dope like me--acquire one of the empty (9, 15, or 30) palettes, so you don't end up dropping the unprotected little shadow and have to repress it. *weeps*
3. Well done, Zukreat.