Palladio Paris Pink lipstick

In South Africa, I came across a few cosmetic brands I’ve not seen in New Zealand. Actually, that wouldn’t be hard as the variety of brands here isn’t vast. I’ve heard of Palladio Beauty, which is marketed as a herbal and vitamin-enriched cosmetic line, and spotted the range at a Dis-Chem pharmacy in Johannesburg. It’s an American cosmetic line that boasts cosmetics enriched with green tea, chamomile, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, aloe vera and anti-oxidant vitamins.

I bought their mosaic herbal powder in Desert Rose. The mosaic can be used as a bronzer, blusher, eyeshadow or highlighter. A multi-tasking product, which is always a bonus for me. I liked the peaches, pinks and golds in the Desert Rose mosaic. I also picked up a herbal eyeshadow trio in PTS07 – Chocolates (which basically looks a lot like NYX packaging to me) plus a herbal lipstick called Paris Pink. Actually, this lipstick has become a huge favourite – so much so, I picked up a second tube.

So to the review of the products. I’m not really convinced of the herbs and vitamins business. I don’t find the products doing anything special for my skin. The mosaic powder consists of six shades of peaches, pinks and golds, which you swirl together. I prefer to use this over a bronzer (current fav being the E.L.F. Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder). The colours are subtle so you can build up to the desired intensity. No messy flying around of powder. But it’s nothing sensational really. I much prefer the E.L.F. product. I’ll use it up but wouldn’t repurchase.

The Chocolate eyeshadow trio, however, is lovely. The middle pinkish colour is quite flesh-toned, at least on my oh-so-pale skin, and makes a good base colour. It’s a bit shimmery but not so much you look like you’ve been hit by a glitter bomb. To tone things down a bit, I layer some of the matte light cream shade over this and then use the dark suede brown colour in the crease. The cream shade also goes on the brow bone.

I used my fav eyeshadow primer first, which is MAC’s Painterly Paint Pot. I find if you don’t use a primer, these shadows tend to crease but with a primer they stay put all day. The eyeshadows are silky smooth and easy to apply. All three colours work very well together. Normally, I’m not a great fan of those silly sponge applicators you get with eye shadows but the double-tipped one provided is pretty handy for getting into the corner of the eye. If you apply a light colour to the inside corner of your eye, like the cream shade from this trio, it opens up your eyes.

I’m using this trio quite a lot at the moment and this tells me it’s a great palette for that neutral daytime look. I’d certainly buy it again but, since Palladio isn’t available in NZ to my knowledge, will have to source online.

The Paris Pink lipstick is a beautiful soft, semi-matte pinky peachy colour. Totally love it and it stays on through a few cups of coffee, albeit fading a bit. But I do find it somewhat drying even though it’s quite creamy. It works fine if you apply a lip balm first. Just one slick is enough and I like to wear it on its own – although I’m tempted to chuck a pink lipgloss over it to see how that would work. Something like MAC’s Fresh Air lipglass, which I’ve been tempted to buy for awhile.

I so love this lippie that I bought a second one just in case it’s discontinued or I can’t get it in the wilds of New Zealand (or worse, Palladio don’t do international shipping to NZ).

For the FOTD, apart from the Palladio products already reviewed and the MAC Painterly Paint Pot, I used Revlon PhotoReady liquid foundation in 002 Vanilla; Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara in Black; for concealer, it’s Rimmel Stay Matte Dual Action Concealer in Ivory; and to fill in the brows, I used Elizabeth Arden Dual Perfection Brow Shaper and Eyeliner in Soft Blonde.