I can't say I stumbled upon Coastal Scents (www.coastalscents.com) myself. I had heard a few people mention it in passing and had seen a number of YouTube tutorials using the palettes, in particular. Since it was so affordable and, for the most part, was getting good reviews I decided to order some stuff a couple weeks ago.
To my surprise, my package of goodies came in only three days. I was concerned about shipping to Ontario, since the product was coming from the States and it was the holiday season so I got the FedEx International Priority shipping option. It was $19 but it was definitely worth it, since I got my product so fast and I heard the standard shipping could take up to three weeks.
Based on the quick service alone I would order again. I got a tracking number to follow my package, and within hours it was already ready to be shipped out.
Listed below (with pictures and prices) are the products I ordered and my reviews on each product. If you have these products, comment and let me know your thoughts as well.
1. 88 Piece Makeup Palette (Matte) $18.95 USD
I find a lot of times when you order cheaper palettes you get a lot of useless colours, ones more suited for clowns. However, most of these colours are wearable.
PROS: Highly pigmented colours - you only need a little bit of shadow, so even though each shadow is small in size a little will go a long way. Mixing colours - you can mix two or three colours together to create newer, darker or softer shades. Blending - these colours are very blendable which is good for creating a cleaner look. Matte - I opted for the matte palette instead of the shimmer because I find matte shadow is more appropriate for daytime and as some of the colours are brighter or more dramatic to add a shimmer on top of that can look almost too much, if you catch my drift. Packaging - simple and good size palette. Thin and sleek with a big mirror. Comes with two double-ended shadow sponge brushes, however I would recommend using a shadow brush rather than a sponge for a better, more even application.
CONS: Shipping - one of my brown shadows was broken in the kit and had left little bits of brown shadow on the mirror and in some of the other shadows. More bubble wrap and better packing would have easily solved this. Although it wasn't a big deal, just more of a pain to clean up. Not pressed enough - also not too big of an issue but when you use the shadows you will find excess bits of shadow will be left on top of the shadow or around the shadow on the casing as the shadows aren't pressed hard enough and separate a bit when you put your brush on them.
Overall this is a great palette, especially for beginners. It has a wide selection of colours and is very affordable. I would recommend this to anyone.
2. Contour & Blush Palette $18.95 USD
I had recently been introduced to the concept of contouring from makeup gurus on YouTube and this is why I purchased this palette. I think I am going to do a separate post on contouring and show you how to get the most out of this palette.
PROS: Similar pros to the 88 palette, it is convenient to have these colours in one palette and there are useful colours for most skin types. I also like that you get a lot of each shade.
CONS: I find colours to be a bit too pigmented, when you are applying things like powder and blush you want to start with less and build the colour on so it doesn't look harsh or clownish. You need to be careful with this palette because starting out with a little is sometimes too much already and you will need to blend it out to make it look more natural. The two blush options I find to be almost identical and the powder options I find to not be that good of a match for my skin. They are alright but I still stick to my Cover Girl pressed powder because it's not as heavy and the colour matches me better.
3. Brushes (note: the names on the brushes are different than the names on the website)
From top to bottom:
a) Tapered Crease Eye Brush $2.24 USD - This brush is good for the crease. It is soft and the bristles are fairly compact so it can hold a lot of shadow and can create a precise line for defining the crease neatly.
b) Italian Badger Pencil Brush $2.96 USD - This brush I use for the "outer V" or the outer corner of the eye. I like that it has a pointed tip (that holds its shape well) so you can do precision work with this brush and I would use a dark shadow here just to create more depth in the outer eye area.
c) Italian Badger Blender Brush $2.65 USD - This brush is basically junk. The bristles aren't dense enough and they are way to soft to be doing anything with. I bought it to use for blending but its so soft it doesn't blend anything. When you use the bristles just separate and do absolutely nothing. Waste of money, do not buy.
Taklon Liner and Brow Shader Brush $1.97 USD - I bought this one to use for filling in my eyebrows (I use a medium brown shade from the 88 palette). This is a great brush, would consider getting another to use for actual liner. The bristles are nice and stiff which allows you to draw steady lines, so it would be really good for doing liner with eyeshadow. (tip: turn any eyeshadow into liner by putting some water on the brush and dipping it into eyeshadow, but try not to get too much water in your shadow, this will ruin it. Just dip your brush on the edge or corner of the shadow).
Overall, I was really happy with the service, quality and price of the products. I will definitely be ordering again. I was just on the site and saw some new brushes that look pretty good! Please let me know if you found this useful and if there are any tutorials/demos you want me to do using the kits or brushes. If you have any questions post them in the comments section and I will be happy to answer them.
Thanks for reading, stay pretty xoxo.
