Hello, my pretties!
Thanks to BrandBacker and their Team, I was accepted into the program to review an eyeshadow palette by BA Star Pro Makeup. So, just letting you all know first and foremost, I RECEIVED THIS EYESHADOW PALTTE BY BA STAR PRO MAKEUP FREE OF CHARGE IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST PRODUCT REVIEW.
I am new to BrandBacker and for those of you who have never heard of it, it is a service that sends you emails filled with companies who need reviews done on their products and you apply for the ones who interest you. You might get chosen and you might not. They decided if your blog is suitable to review their content.
At the time I joined BrandBacker, BA Star Pro Makeup was the only one that had anything to do with my blog. I applied to review their eyeshadow palette and I got chosen! The rest is history and so now let's move on to the good stuff.
I had never before heard of BA Star Pro Makeup before BrandBacker. That is why I love reviewing for companies I have never used before. You might never know what you've been missing out otherwise.
BA Star specializes in makeup and accessories for "cheerleaders, dancers, competitors, and trend setters" according to their website which you can check out at BASTAR.com.
This is the eyeshadow palette that BA Star sent me. At first glance, I immediately thought that this palette very closely resembled the NYX Glitter Cream Palette! The difference is that the NYX palette contains 5 glitters and BA's contains 3 shadows and 2 glitters. There are four of these palettes to choose from. I received the Natural Shadow Palette but there is also a Smoky Shadow Palette, Pretty N Pink Shadow Palette and a True Blue Shadow Palette which you can see here: http://www.bastar.com/category_s/1887.htm These palettes sell for $8.75.
Here is a close up of the three eyeshadow shades. These are pure love. I adore these colors. I am so happy that this is the palette I received. I knew that I would get more use out of this one. These are great everyday colors. They are also work appropriate.
And now on to some swatches:
The texture of these shadows is smooth and almost creamy. They remind me of my Prestige eyeshadows which are very cheap but work so well. All three shadows blend out very nicely and are greatly pigmented. The trio coordinate very well together. As for staying power, I applied my Avon Eyeshadow Primer before and once these shadows were applied, they stayed on. Did I forget to mention how shimmery these shadows are!? If you don't like shimmery shadows then these are not for you!
Included in the eyeshadow palette were also two gel glitter bases to use on the eyes as a high light or to add over eyeliner or just to add a little something special.
And now on to the swatches:
The packaging may be reminiscent of the NYX Glitter Cream Palettes but these glitter gels are much more creamier. The NYX Glitter Cream Palette I own (GCP07 Royal Violets) is much, much drier. The NYX glitters are more coarse. The BA glitter gels are creamy--oily??--to the touch and apply fairly easy. At times it was hard to apply the glitter without removing too much of it while trying to blend it out. The glitter adheres better if you pat it on.
While I am a fan of the shadows and the glitter gels weren't that bad, the brush on the other hand was not good at all. It is stiff and the bristles are not soft at all. It has a very plastic-y feel to it and feels rough while brushing the shadows on your delicate eyelid skin. I ended up using my own E.L.F. brushes to apply these BA Star eyeshadows.
The sponge tipped applicator was not as bad as the brush. It worked much better and the quality was good. It is soft and feels durable.
As a little something extra, I cooked up a little pictorial for you to show you how I used these lovely shadows.
And just so you know, I used the pearlescent glitter gel on my lips. Now, these glitter gels were made for use on the eyes. No where on the palette packaging does it say that you can wear the glitter gels on your lips. I did this on my own.
But...I wouldn't recommend it. The glitters feel gritty on the lips. The gel itself feels "greasy" for lack of a better word. So I say, just leave the glitter gels to the eyes.
I also wanted to mention that in Step 5, I added the gold glitter gel to my lower lash line and in person, it sparkled so beautifully. It was impossible to get the shine to show up with my camera which left me very disappointed. I wanted to desperately share with you how wonderful it looked.
And the same thing happened when I tried to photograph the pearlescent glitter gel that I used on a different day while wearing purple shadow. The colors reflected off the pearlescent glitter is exquisite. There are pinks and purples and blues. Truly beautiful but it did not transfer well in photos.
As far as I can say, the BA Star Pro Makeup Natural Shadow Palette is a pretty good palette. The eyeshadows blended well, wore well, and were nicely pigmented despite their only downfall which is their scent. To me they smell like "cheap" makeup. But once you are wearing them, the scent is undetectable.
I can see myself using these shadows often but maybe not the glitter gels so much. They are pretty, that's for sure, but one thing I totally forgot about is that I wear contact lenses so glitters around the eye area is not such a good thing. It's not really safe. For those of us who were contacts, we know that any little grit of dirt or glitter can be excruciating. It might also tear your contact lenses.
But I will say that I didn't have any problems while wearing the glitter gels. They stayed in place and therefore my eyes were safe! Once the glitter gel dried, the glitters did not budge. As a matter of fact, when I removed my makeup at the end of the night, the shadows removed easily but the glitters were more stubborn.
And there you have it. Is this your first time hearing about BA Star Pro Makeup too? Are you going to try it? Here's a little incentive... Get a 50% discount when you enter BBSmoky at BASTAR.com
Learn more about BA Star by checking them out here:
Website: http://www.bastar.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bastarmakeup/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BASTARMakeup
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BASTARMakeup
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