Violetvoss – Ms. Mimsy Reviews

Good afternoon my darlings. It appears we have made it to the middle of the week and are peering into the end of the month. Wow September flew by, didn’t it? It certainly feels that way here. Especially since I had an unexpected chunk knocked out of my day yesterday. Don’t get me wrong I am incredibly grateful for the earlier appointment. I just hadn’t planned on it and am now playing catch up.

Plus last night I had dental themed nightmares.

I’m not terribly surprised though. To check that the post set well the dentist took a tool that looked like a small pair of pliers, put them in my mouth and tried to wiggle the post. While everything was fine my nightmares last night featured people with pliers coming at my mouth. Understandable of course, but not pleasant.

Hopefully by brain worked that loop out and it won’t be recurring. Other than that, there was a walk today because it is absolutely beautiful out today. 70 degrees with a light wind and sun. Perfect weather to be outside. I snuck in the one long walk and then I had to go back to my desk and turn away from the windows. Because I need to play catch up from yesterday.

But catch up I will. And then I might try and sneak in a second walk later this afternoon. It really is just too nice to be stuck inside today.

Today’s Look:

Foundation: IPKN Moist and Firm BB Cream

Bronzer: Trestique Vegan Stick Bronzer

Blush: Illamasqua Colour veil gel blusher

Highlighter: Milk and Honey palette by Beauty Bakerie

Powder: Pink Haze by Becca

Eyeshadow: KVD (Lolita) and Violet Voss (Magic Hour) Single Shadows

Mascara: Florence by Mills Built to Lash Mascara

Lips: Bare Minerals Mineralist Lip Gloss in Sincerity

Setting Spray: Lise Watier Magnifix Setting Spray

This was the last day for the setting spray. The sample is done. The Magnifix spray did lock things into place well, but the spray was kind of clunky. there were almost always drips from the spatter that had to be tamped down by the makeup sponge. So it is a good product, but i prefer a finer spray so this will not be a repeat purchase for me.

You may notice that there is no primer listed above today. That’s because I realized I hadn’t tested out this BB cream without a primer and wanted to do so before I made my final judgement on it. So I put it on with no primer underneath. It worked pretty well actually. It is definitely a low key look, but that was kind of where I was going today.

Because of the low key look I picked up the Colour veil gel blusher from Illamasqua. It is nice over the BB cream and gives a subtle blush. I’m not so sure how it would fare over an actual foundation. I’ll give it a go, but I think this gel blusher may end up falling into the more natural looking days.

The Trestique bronzer i live as I can make it as subtle or dramatic as i want. This isn’t my first Trestique stick bronzer and it won’t be my last. It remains on my repurchase list. Now however, it comes in a refillable case. Seriously how cool is that? While I will repurchase this bronzer this is my last disposable one. After this, I will be purchasing the refillable case and then just picking up the refills. I love that Trestique is going refillable on pretty much all of their products it looks like. Very happy with the product and at the moment very happy with the brand as well.

The Becca powder I like but because it is no longer being produced because Becca is no more, I am using it up and letting it go. I’m trying to remember to roll it in more often so that I can use it up. You’ll notice that above there is no link to the product page. The site that did have it listed for sale now has it listed as unavailable so there is no link. (In case you are wondering I mostly just link back to the company websites for products. I try to link directly to the brands where possible. A few of them are affiliate links so if you do click on them and purchase something i may make a small amount. So feel free not to click on them if that makes you uncomfortable).

I am also trying to remember to reach for the single shadows that made it through my last declutter. Today I took out the KVD matte and a Violet Voss shimmer. I love the formulas of both and enjoyed using them. It was also quick and easy to do as it was just one matte and one shimmer. Not a lot of staring at a palette and figuring out what to do.

Today I also reached for the Florence By Mills mascara. I keep trying to like it, but I don’t. It darkens my lashes which is good, but that is really all I have to say about it. and quite honestly I am done trying to like it. It made a sort of hollow popping sound when I used it today letting me know that it is starting to get empty, but I feel no need to use every drop of this product so I am sending it to the empties bin. I am done with this mascara and it will not return. If it shows up in a subscription box, I know to pass it along unopened. I just don’t like it.

I do however like the bareminerals lip gloss. I’ve tried several items from the mineralist line and I have to say I like each and every one of them. I think bare minerals is one of those brands people don’t talk about enough. I pick them up periodically when I see their products and I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad product from them. It is a brand that should be talked about more because it is really good.

And that my darlings was today’s look. There is no jewelry and no really dramatic , well, anything really. It is just me today working at my desk trying to catch up and wanting to be outside in the sun. So now I am getting back to work so that I can finish up and hopefully get back outside before the day goes away. I’m not too worried though as the weather forecast predicts another three days of this. While weathermen occasionally lie, I figure that if they predict three days we might at least count on one. So even if I can’t make it out again today, I’ll be aught up and can enjoy tomorrow. At least that’s the plan.

I have been putting this review off for a while now because I really wanted to like this palette. It looks like it would be an excellent fall palette and has a shade range that can be worn in daily life with a few pops of color to jazz it up. It seems like something right up my alley.

But looks can be decieving.

So can finger swatches.

At best this is a mixed review because each color had to be looked at on its own and to be honest, I think how you intend to use it will determine how much you like it. I’ll explain as I go.

First off, the shadows are very soft, but not overly powdery. And when applied, they stay in place all day. That is a big plus.It is an excellent formula that doesn’t crease or disappear. Which is why I kept wanting to like it far more than I did.

First the mattes.

The mattes are amazingly pigmented yet easily blendable. As I tried to work with this palette I found myself dipping into Dusty Rose as an all over shade for a one and done look. It is excellent for when you are in a hurry or doing a very low key look. Sand, while a little light on my skin tone is also one of those shades that can easily be used as a stand alone. Cinnamon is fantastically pigmented so a little goes a long way. Dip once, tap the brush and use a light hand. Terra cotta has the same impact, however it comes off as pumpkin-y orange on me. I was able to tone it down with the Cinnamon, but unless I was doing a Halloween look, it was way too orange to wear on its own The last of the mattes is the Black and it is exactly what its name implies. It is a straight up black. It too is highly pigmented and can be blended out beautifully whether you are using it to create a smokey eye or to tone down the terra cotta orange.

Then we get to the shimmers.

These are swatches from the Emerald shadow. The one on the left is a regular finger swatch. The second one is a swatch with a brush. The third is me really working with the brush to add pigment and the final swatch on the right is with a wet finger. Perfect for St. Patrick’s day, not so for the office.

And here is where finger swatches on the arm fail you.

With the exception of Plum Berry. Despite being a shimmer, I found it could be used as an all over the lid shade and was not prone to the issues of the other shades. I will actually be wearing that one and Dusty Rose more than anything else in this palette.

Because the other shimmers, oh the other shimmers.

So pretty in the pan, so stunning on an arm swatch, so absolutely nothing with a dry brush and then far too much with a wet one.

Green on the eye after working for a while. The color is muddy and not very pretty but when applied wet far too rainbow bright for an everyday look for me anyway.

Trying to work with them about drove me mad.

If you try to apply them with a dry brush, the shimmer pigments barely show up. You have to work with it and unless you cut your crease, something I rarely do when I am trying to get out of the door in the morning, the color pay off is very little.

If however you wet your brush and then apply, or wet your finger and then apply, the color is far too intense for an office look.

And I think that is the biggest problem with this palette. It is listed as a kind of updated neutrals palette. I look at a neutrals palette as something I could wear to the office. Something subtle where the shimmer shadows provide a little color, but nothing too ostentatious. When dry the color is not worth bothering to apply as it is far too light and when wet it is far too bold for most offices.

In my attempts to use this palette I actually looked up all sorts of tutorials. Most of those I found created bold rainbow looks that I can’t see anyone wearing in a professional office setting. They were stunning, but not neutral. I think this tries a little too hard to be an everyday palette and fails miserably. If using during the day, I would use Dusty Rose, Plum Berry and that delicious Black. Seriously, it is almost worth buying the palette just for that black. The other colors I would dip into when creating a look for a night out and I would use a damp brush or finger to apply the colors.

I will say that despite my color issues, I really like the actual formula of the shadows, I just don’t think this color story is for me. I will still use it, but I will be picky about when I reach for it and what I do once I pick it up. I will also be looking into different palettes from Violet Voss because I think that because of the excellent formula and its staying power, it is worth looking for a color story that is more suited to my tastes.