Review: Nabla Eyeshadows - Caramel, Petra, Clementine and Pegasus

A while ago a new brand came to Slovenia and I was interested in trying it out, because Nabla offers individual shades that come as refills, so you can actually create your own color palette. I am always up for buying new interesting shades that I can complete my eyeshadow collection with. Apparently, Nabla is quite well known indie brand that was born in Italy. It's cruelty free and vegan. I bought three shades myself and I got one as a gift from a friend. 


Their refills come in a simple paper box. It almost looks like a tester. The pan is inside a cardboard square and there's a transparent foil protecting it, but making it visible through the packaging. My complaint is that the eyeshadows can get easily squished while travelling, so a harder packaging would work better. 

In each refill is 2.5 grams of product and the price is 6.59€. I bought all of my shades on Ličila.si.




The bottom of each refill is metal so you can put it in any magnetic palette. Size of these are for example bigger than Morphe Brushes single eyeshadows. They also have more product in them and are wider than eyeshadows in Zoeva palettes, theBalm and Too Faced. On the bottom of each eyeshadow is a sticker with the name of the shade. 




They also sell individual eyeshadows in plastic packaging. The packaging is black with transparent lid. You open it by pushing a small button in. I believe you can also put refills in these, but I haven't tried it yet, because I didn't wanted to ruin eyeshadow. 

In each is also 2.5 grams of product and the price is 7.99€. You pay higher price for the sturdy packaging as it's not a refill. 






So far I own four of their shades. I've noticed that matte shades have better pigmentation and apply smoother. They don't have any fallout and with one swipe you get a good color payoff. While shimmery shades seem less pigmented or the formula is just not as smooth and you need to layer it in order to look bright on the skin. Shimmery shades also don't have any fallout. 

I always apply my eyeshadows over eyeshadow primers and that way these also last the whole day, although again I notice mattes being more long lasting and stay true to the intensity throughout the day. 

Matte eyeshadows have dry texture to them, they feel really smooth to the touch and the pigmentation is surprisingly good. It's still not as pigmented and as intense in one swipe as for example Zoeva, theBalm or Too Faced matte eyeshadows. These all have more of a buttery and wet texture and give more color payoff at once. 

Shimmery eyeshadows have a slightly more wet texture, but it seems harder to the touch, so you need to layer it, because one swipe gives you a sheerer color. It's nothing compared to high pigmentation of Zoeva shimmery shades or theBalm. They seem more similar to Too Faced shimmery shades, as I find that these also give you a bit sheerer layer at first, but they're still more pigmented than those by Nabla. 


Caramel - matte light warm caramel brown. It has a lot of yellow and orange undertone, but could still be categorized under a brown. 
Petra - matte medium redish brown. Also one of those browns, but it has a very noticeable red undertone in it. 
Clementine - shimmery light yellow orange with golden shimmer. 
Pegasus - shimmery pastel lavender duochrome with golden champagne sheen. 


I compared some of my other shades, but found no dupes. These are more for you to compare, if you own any of the shades that I have.

Zoeva Cocoa Blend in shade Substitute For Love is also a light warm brown, but it's more brown and less yellow toned than Caramel. Zoeva Cocoa Blend in Freshly Toasted is light brown with just slight red warmth to it, but it's more of a chocolate brown than Petra. I also swatched Zoeva Caramel Melange in Alchemy, but it's more orange toned than red toned and also lighter. Zoeva Caramel Melange in 182°C is more orange than Clementine and has less sheen and shine. There's no color that would be similar to Pegasus, but I swatched it next to Zoeva Cocoa Blend in Sweeter End as it has that same golden sheen, but the base is darker and more pink mauve. 

In the next photos I applied each shade on my lid to give you an idea how it looks like on me. I have about NC15 skin tone and have naturally pretty yellow toned skin, so shades usually look warmer on me than they would on someone that has more neutral tone. 

Caramel

I applied Caramel all over the lid and it looks very warm and yellow toned on my skin tone. I absolutely love the warmth and lightness of this shade. I would mostly use it in the crease to warm up other shades or just on its own. 






Petra


I also applied Petra all over the lid on its own. On me it blends out a lot warmer and a lot more red toned than it looks swatched. It's one of my favorite red toned browns so far. I love the warmth and rich color that it has. It's perfect as a base or in the crease. I have a special love for it because of its name Petra as this is my name also. I believe the shade quite suits my style, so I'm even happier for that reason. 






Clementine

I applied Clementine on the lid and I also applied some warmer redish browns in the crease to make it a bit more wearable. I find that Clementine can look really bright on my fair skin tone, but I adore the strong yellow undertone in it. The shimmer is not too obvious which makes it really wearable. This shade always makes me look brighter.







Pegasus


I had this on my wishlist, because it looked like such a fun twist with the lavender base and golden sheen on top. On me it doesn't come up as lavender, because the base is so pastel. It mostly just looks like a golden sheen. There's just a hint of purple peeking through it that's why I like to pair it with purple shades. Here I applied it only on the center lid. It's also good for applying over other shades, as it's so light and sheer that it gives you that golden sheen. It also has duochrome feel to it, because it looks different from different angles. Sometimes golden sheen is more obvious and sometimes you see more of that pastel lavender. 






All in all these are some good shades. I still think that Zoeva, Too Faced and theBalm make more pigmented shades and the formulas are more buttery and wet, which I prefer, but Nabla sure can make great shades as well. I would definitely recommend you smooth and pigmented matte shades. The shimmery ones are just a bit too sheer for my liking and too hard to the touch. I like that Nabla offers a wide range of different shades that you can't always get in regular basic palettes. I still have some other shades on my wishlist that I would like to try out. Those are Peach Velvet, Madreperla, Selfish, Aphrodite and Water Dream. 

Nabla brand is also great option, if you're looking for a more vegan friendly and cruelty free brands. All their products are made in Italy. 

I haven't tried any of their other products, but I hear their bronzers and blushes are also really popular. Their Limited Editions also seem to offer interesting variety of shades. Have you tried any of their products and would you recommend them?

Review: H&M Makeup Sponge (Unicorn, Bunny)

Makeup sponge is still my favorite makeup tool for applying foundation. In my opinion it blends the foundation best, makes it look natural and it almost pushes it into the skin better than any brush. That is why I prefer sponges over any brush, but sometimes the brush is quicker and easier to grab. I've found my new favorite affordable makeup sponge and surprise, surprise, it's by H&M.


Let's talk about how cute is this packaging. Really cheap, but really cute. I bought it just because of the cute design and later realized how good it is. It comes in a plastic transparent box and it has unicorn drawn on it. There's also another version with what to me seems to be a bunny. Unicorn sponge is mint colored and the bunny is pink colored. 

The price of it is 2.99€. 


I've only tried mint one, because I didn't wanted to dirty pink as well, since I usually just use once at a time and then throw it away after I've been using it for a while or if it tears up. My review is based on my use of the mint one, but I'm sure pink is the same. I've touched them both and they both seem like they're made from the same material.

It has that double curve design that I really like. I usually use bottom wider side to pat foundation into the larger areas. The tip is a bit pointed and it's perfect to press foundation in those little corners like around the nose and under the eyes. I also use this side to blend in concealer, although I squish it between my fingers to make it even slimmer. I usually hold it in the middle part, as it seems like that's the point of this shape. 


It feels soft to the touch when it's dry, but once you wet it, it becomes even softer. This is by far the softest makeup sponge that I've ever tried (I didn't tried the famous beauty blender yet). 

When you wet it, it increases in size by almost half of the whole size. Material is ultra soft and the texture is even all through the sponge. It has very tiny holes. 

It blends foundation with ease, but it does soaks up a bit of it. I think it also depends on foundation. Water based and lightweight foundations will automatically soak more into the sponge. Sponges usually give you more natural finishes and the application is lighter which also results in a lighter coverage. The heavier and more pigmented foundation you have, the better coverage you get. But I feel like with this sponge, you can get very light coverage, if you wet it more. 


Since I got it, I've washed it about 8 times and it washes out well. Revlon Colorstay foundation is the one that is the most stubborn to wash out and it leaves a bit of stain on those parts of the sponge where you apply it densely. That's the only negative thing, but then again, Revlon is so stubborn that I can't get it completely out of any sponge and sometimes even brush. 

I was quite rough with it, especially when cleaning, and it hasn't tear up or developed any unwanted holes, so in my opinion the material is durable. 


I also wanted to show you my new pedestal for makeup sponges. I've seen these on Aliexpress, but I bought mine in Kik. It's a standard egg holder and it prevents your makeup sponge to roll off of your table or pick up any unwanted dirt. It's so lovely to store the sponge in, when I'm not using it. This way I also always know where to look for it. 


H&M Makeup Sponge has more than impressed me. I didn't expect anything from it, but it turns out that it's the softest sponge that I've tried so far. I love how it blends in my foundation, it washes out well, doesn't have holes after first wash, feels like a cloud and looks adorable to gift to someone. The only negative thing is that it does soak up a bit of the foundation, but I actually don't mind it, because I love the finish that it gives me. For the price, you really can't go wrong by just trying it out. I hope these are permanent and that they won't discontinue them. 

Festival Makeup (Gold and Blue)

Warmer days are here and so is the festival season. I don't plan on going any, but I am always up for fun and sparkly makeup looks. In this look I've tried to combine all the latest trends that I've been seeing. I actually love how it turned out. Pop of blue eyeliner matches so well with gold details and yellow nail polish that I currently wear. 


Eye makeup is very simple and kind of neutral. The big pop of color comes only from the winged blue liner. I started by applying eye primer and setting it with a matte bone colored shadow. I used light warm matte brown in the crease to make it easier to blend out other shades. Then I made it even warmer with a matte yellow toned brown shade. On the lid I applied shimmery yellow gold. 


I used a bit of slightly darker matte brown and deepened the very outer corner of the eye to give me some more definition. My eyes can look quite flat otherwise. I used metallic bright blue liner to give this look the needed pop of color. Around lower lash line I applies the same matte browns for subtle definition and then went in with mascara on top lashes. In the inner corners I used yellow golden shimmery highlight. 


I used natural looking lashes that gave me a bit more of that length that I don't have and a slight change in volume. 


On my face I applied foundation first and then concealed anything that needed to be concealed. I decided to draw on fake freckles, because these are quite popular right now and I love how cute and youthful this makes me look. I have a few of my own, but usually more in the summer. For that I used my usual grey toned eyebrow pencil. I powdered over them, to make them appear more natural and part of the skin.


If you'll be going to festivals, you can't forget about highlight. It's definitely one of the excuse situations when you can go crazy with it. You'll probably sweat it all off anyway. I went for a really glowy yellow gold highlighter. I also used a more champagne version on the highest point of highlight. I highlighted tops of cheeks, above the brow, down the nose and on the upper lip. I also bronzed up my skin with a luminous bronzer and didn't apply any blush. I just wanted the skin to look bronzed and glowy. 


For the fun element that made this look so much more enjoyable, I used gold flash tattoos. Stars, to be exact. Apparently star stickers are also very popular right now. As I didn't have any normal stickers, I just went in with flash tattoos. You can always remove them with oil based cleanser. I also used creamy golden shimmery shadow to apply it all over the stars for that fairy dust effect and an additional highlight. 


On my lips I used a mix of nude and slightly peachy lip liner for a matte nude look. I also used gold eyeliner and put it on top of the upper lip as a super highlight. 



 


I felt like this shimmery dreamy look needed wavy hair, as it makes it look more romantic. If you'll be rocking similar look to any upcoming festivals, don't forget to highlight your collar bone and shoulders. It brings the look together.



I should do these dreamy looks more often. It's so fun to create and glitter always makes my day. What do you think about this look? Will you be going to any festivals this year?



Products used

Face:
Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream 21
Revlon Colorstay Foundation 150
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation 51
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC15
Catrice Transparent Mattifying Powder
Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer - Bronzer
Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter - Golden Lights
Essence LE Metal Glam Highlighter - 01 Gold Digger

Eyes:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Original
Zoeva Caramel Melange - Wax Paper
Zoeva Caramel Melange - Universal Delight
Nabla Eyshadow - Caramel
Zoeva Caramel Melange - Almost Burnt
Zoeva Cocoa Blend - Substitute for Love
Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter - Golden Lights
Avon Liquid Chrome Eyeliner - Electric Blue
Catrice Lash Dresser Comb Mascara
Duo Adhesive
Cherie Lashes - Extra Lovely
Primark Live Laugh Love Sparkle Glitter Eye Cream Palette - gold
Flash Tattoos - gold stars
Catrice Eye Brow Stylists - 020 Date With Ash-Ton (freckles)

Lips:
Catrice Lip Foundation Pencil 030 Addicted to Cafe Au Lait
Terra Naturi Lipliner - 03 So Nude
Catrice LE Treasure Trove Liquid Liner - C01 Golden Grace

Nail polish:
Avon Nailwear Pro+ - Lemon Sugar