Part One: Shimmer Plum Holiday Makeup with The Body Shop

Ah, Christmas...
A season when you have an excuse for wearing shimmer, glitter and frost.
I may be up 'til my eyeballs with schoolwork but I'm certainly not lacking of the Christmas spirit. To kick-start a series of Holiday Makeup Tutorials, I've done a Shimmer Plum look (inspired by JennisseMakeup) using The Body Shop's new Sparkling Winter Trend 2009 Make-Up Collection.

In this post, you'll also find short reviews and swatches for The Body Shop products used.



Read on for all that good stuff :)

Items Used:

Face:
Monistat Chafing Gel (primer)
The Body Shop Nature's Minerals Foundation in 03
The Body Shop Eye & Cheek Palette in 02 (blush)

Lips:
The Body Shop Shimmer Gloss in 02 Iced Candy

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
The Body Shop Eye & Cheek Palette in 02
K-Palette Eyeliner
The Body Shop Define & Sparkle in 02 Black
I Nuovi Pencil Eyeliner in Light
Revlon Fantasy Lengths Lashes in Flirty
Daiso Auto Eyebrow Pencil

Eye & Cheek Palette in 02 (RM89)

This palette contains four complementary eyeshadows and a blush. They're packaged along with a double-sided sponge tip applicator in a lightweight black velvet-finish palette

L-R: Blush, Caramel Shimmer, Pink Shimmer, Plum Shimmer, Chocolate Shimmer

For those who are into warm colors you'll like this palette a lot, as do I. All of the eyeshadows are smooth and have decent pigmentation although Caramel Shimmer is a little chunky compared to the others. They can be used wet for more intense coloration. To my huge relief, the colors weren't unbearably Quasimodo-eyed shimmery despite the name thus, they're pretty much safe for daytime and work. The rounded side of the sponge tip applicator actually works for blending despite feeling a little abrasive.
While the velvet-finish looks really classy, I kinda wished that the inside wasn't velvet because when the powders get on the velvet, it can look messy.


Define & Sparkle (RM68) is a nifty duo with a shimmering liquid liner on one end and a glitter top-coat mascara on the other.

The black liquid liner contains sparse silver shimmers that are festive yet subtle. I'm not too sure about the texture as it seems a tad chunky so creating a neat line may pose a challenge. I'd suggest using a regular liquid/gel liner underneath. The flimsy applicator brush doesn't provide much control.

On a more positive note, the Sparkle top-coat mascara side of this duo is quite interesting. You basically apply the glitter over whatever mascara you're wearing for some added glam. The effect isn't too outrageous though, if that's what you're expecting.

Pink is usually not my color but the Shimmer Gloss (RM49.90) in Iced Candy sure is pretty! This bubblegum-pink gloss contains fine gold shimmers that give you sparkly shiny lips without looking like a five-year-old.

The yummy apricot-scented gloss goes on smooth and doesn't feel sticky at all. I can't find anything wrong with this lipgloss except that it's missing that pretty flower logo!

The Sparkling Winter Collection is available now at all The Body Shop outlets. Look out for heavy discounts for this collection in Her World magazine (palette at only RM69!). If you'd like to WIN yourself products from this collection, there's a contest on The Body Shop Malaysia Facebook page.
US readers, this collection is available on The Body Shop USA Website. However, the collection is called Frosted Sparkle and I have no idea why the collection names are different.

If you're wondering about the artificial "glow", I'm trying to mask my imperfections. My skin has been giving heaps of trouble lately with the eczema. I've resorted to using steroid cream on my face and thankfully, it's getting better. Hopefully I won't have to use the "glow" effect in my next set of pictures.

Featured products in this post were provided by The Body Shop Malaysia for review and tutorial on Skindeco.Net