Thursday, March 22, 2012

Ulta Seashell (eyeshadow) & Exposed (blush)

As promised, I have swatches and a mini-review of Ulta eyeshadow in Seashell and blush in Exposed, featured in yesterday's Five Minutes With a Bombshell post. 

These were BOGO free, so I ended up paying $7 for both of them, although they normally retail for $7 each. I think I might go back while the sale is still running and pick up a couple more; I have a $3.50 off a $10 purchase, and a $5 credit from my Ulta rewards points. Not too shabby! Both compacts are the same size and design, with a black plastic base and clear plastic top, which is very nice since you can see the shade through the lid. These are also a vast improvement over the packaging for the older Ulta eyeshadows I own, which had silver painted plastic containers.They each have .08 ounces of product in them. The pigmentation on these was very good, and the product feels smooth and creamy. 

Seashell (the eyeshadow) is a pink with a golden sheen to it. I have been looking high and low for a shade like this. I have a really old Trailer Trash palette by Too Faced with the most flattering golden pink in it, and I haven't been able to find a dupe for it in years of keeping my eyes peeled. This is very close; the Too Faced shade is lighter, but the effect is very similar, and I'm sure I could layer this over a pearly white or white/gold duochrome to get the same effect on the eye, even if they look slightly different when swatched. 

Exposed (the blush) is a vaguely glowy/iridescent pale peachy pink. The finish is just a teensy bit glowy, so it's not going to look glittery or frosty on; just a little more "soft-focus" than a matte. It looks like it has just a touch of a neutral taupe or tan in it, which makes it look very natural on the cheek, rather than a bright pop of color. I have to say, it is surprisingly gorgeous on the skin. It applies sheer, but can be built up to a more noticeable color. You're not going to be able to get this SUPER bright, because it's just not that kind of a shade. It's perfect for a subtle flush you cannot screw up, and I think it would be flattering on a lot of skin tones; on pale skin, it's a warm flush, on medium skin tones it would probably add just a subtle glow, and I bet it would be lovely on darker skin as a highlight. Can you tell I'm kind of over the moon about this color? I want everyone to have it! 

Ulta blush in Exposed

Exposed

Ulta Eyeshadow in Seashell

Seashell

I swatched over my veins so you can get an idea about what kind of opacity you can get these built up to.

Seashell on the left, Exposed on the right

And this picture shows the glowi-ness better:

Seashell on the bottom, Exposed on the top

Finally, some comparison swatches. I always find these helpful since monitors display color differently; if you have any of the other shades, you might get an idea of where on the peach-pink scale these colors fall:

Left to Right: Urban Decay Snatch, Too Faced Trailer Trash shadow, Seashell, Exposed, Coralista 

Summary: I am really happy with both of these products! The colors are incredibly flattering and wearable, and the quality seems top notch. I had no problem with these staying put over eyeshadow primer (for the eyeshadow) and foundation. (for the blush). These can definitely compete with higher-end formulas, and frankly I'm surprised that Ulta's line of cosmetics hasn't gotten more buzz, at least based on my experiences with these. You'll notice I use another older Ulta eyeshadow in Sandstone in some of my looks; it's another favorite color with a great formula. Overall, I've had really good experiences with their products. Have I just gotten lucky? Or have you guys had the same experience? Let me know if you guys have any tips on things to check out or avoid! 

10 comments:

  1. Surprised how pretty these are considering they're Ultra brand! :^) They look awesome.

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  2. Pretty blush, I love those that deliver a subtle glow - makes you look alive (:

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    1. I know, glowy blush is the best! So flattering.

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  3. I've read some rave reviews on their blushes and eyeshadows..but you got them so cheap from sale thats where you got lucky:)

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    1. I know, it was lucky! If I know a certain brand tends to go on sale, I always wait for it to! I actually keep a list of "must have" items on my phone so when I see a brand on sale, I can check and see if there's something I wanted from them! Lol!

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  4. Ooooh, that blush! Lovely. My experience with Ulta stuff is extremley limited - 4 of the shadows in the silver containers and a gel liner - but I really like all of them! And I see so much 'meh' about thier stuff. Who knows? Maybe they're upping thier game!

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    1. Haha, I don't know, maybe they are! My mom bought me a giant kit of their stuff a long time ago that wasn't that great, but all of the things I've bought that were sold individually have been much nicer quality. Maybe you and I have just had really good luck with them, but I'm glad to hear someone else agrees with me and I'm not on crazy pills :P

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