Is There Anything to Love About Kim's Kardazzle Palette?

I'll be honest, I'm not a Kim Kardashian fan. At all. In fact the entire Kardashian klan (couldn't resist) definitely aren't on my Christmas card list. However, I've heard of Khroma, the line started by Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe, and was definitely excited to try this.

I picked up Kim's Kardazzle Palette, and whoever named it needs to be fired, but nevertheless I'll let it slide.

The palette packaging is undeniably gorgeous: grey snakeskin effect with the Khroma logo in silver on the bottom right hand corner. The lid opens up to reveal a mirror and the eight shadows, while the face powders slide out from the bottom. It's around the same size as a credit card so perfect for travel, and doesn't come with any brushes. Probably a good thing seeing as most palette brushes are rubbish.

This palette contains eight eyeshadows (four shimmers and four mattes), and a blush, highlighter, and bronzer.

None of the individual colours are named, so for convenience I've numbered them 1-8.

They range from a matte light, dove grey to a carbon black shimmer, with teal and navy thrown into the mix. The mattes definitely let this palette down with very little pigmentation. 

1. Matte black. Pigmentation was good, and it applied very smoothly.

2. Light dove grey matte. Absolutely terrible pigmentation, very dry and stiff. Lovely colour, but a pain to use.

3. Charcoal matte grey. I absolutely love this colour, however pigmentation was ever so slightly lacking. Still, it was easy enough to build up, and way creamier than #2.

4. Matte teal. Very similar to #3 pigmentation-wise. Teal was definitely a nice addition to the palette, but not an essential. It honestly looks a lot better in the pan.

5. White shimmer. Awful awful awful. Crumbly, cakey, and the fallout was intense. A lovely highlight colour, but a nightmare to use. It took ages to smooth out and even then, it still looks patchy.

6. Navy shimmer. Definitely one of the best colours in this palette. Smooth, creamy, and so easy to work with. Really helped make up for the disastrous white shimmer.

7. Silver shimmer. Yet again, creamy, easy to apply, and a smooth finish.

8. Black shimmer. Brilliant pigmentation, and would be a real star if it weren't for the masses of fallout. I didn't even apply much product to my brush, and there were little specks flying everywhere. Definitely one to apply before doing the rest of your face 

This palette was designed with smoky eyes in mind, similar to those of Kimmy K. While they definitely have the dark colours and highlights there, I was very disappointed with the lack of transition colours. One nude would have been a welcome addition (or replacement for that darn light grey).

As for the blush, highlight, and bronzer, these absolutely steal the show. Pigmented, easy to apply, and in lovely shades.

Blush. The blush is a very pigmented, vibrant bubblegum pink. It was very easy to build and had a very smooth finish. Due to the vibrancy of it, I'd recommend building up bit by bit (this has clown-cheek syndrome written all over it).

Bronzer. Light terracotta would be the best way of describing the colour of this. It applied lightly but was easily buildable. While the product consistency is good, I'm a bit iffy on the colour. It has a slightly orange tinge to it, so could be a risk on fair skintones.

Highlight. White gold with a hint of champagne, super easy to apply and very pigmented. 

So while the blush and bronzer are in my opinion so- so, this highlighter is HEAVENLY. It's a super useable colour that would suit most skintones and was a total pleasure to use. There's also a gorgeous iridescence (that my camera skills don't do justice to) under certain light. Definitely the star of the palette and I wish it was available separately.

Just look at it! Absolute champagne gold perfection.

Speaking of availability, Khroma is a difficult enough brand to track down Ireland. I was lucky enough to find this in TKMaxx, but have never actually seen it anywhere else. The website names Cloud 10 as a stockists, but it's not in the brand selection there. 

Now I did get lucky and only paid €5.99 for this, but after doing a bit of detective work I found that these usually retail for €16.95. Which I think is a bit of a ripoff. For the quality of the eyeshadows (that damn light grey) I'd be happy to pay €12/ €13 at most for this. 

So what do you think of this palette, or any other Khroma products? Also, I'd love to hear and better (or worse!) possible alternative names for this palette.

Claire x

Sally Hansen VitaSurge Strength Gel Review

I guess I should start by saying that my nails are not pretty; never have been and never will be. I bit them, pulled at them, scraped and chipped nail polish off them for thirteen or so years. Nothing could stop me. Stop 'n' Grow was useless. I was an anxious child on a mission, and my nails paid the price. 

That is, until I was seventeen and I decided that I'd had enough. No more short little stubs that looked awful, thanks very much. I wanted long nails and that was that.
Or so I thought.
What I got were weak nails, that broke constantly; either coming straight off or cracking at the sides. I can't count the amount of money I spent or products I tried, to no avail. A month ago things got super bad. Eight out of ten nails broke within a few days of each other, and the ones that didn't were threatening to crack. The ring finger on my right hand looked about to split right down the middle. So after a recommendation from one of the girls in work (my hero) I sped to TKMaxx in search of products from the Nail Goddess- Sally Hansen.

The VitaSurge Strength Gel promises 'a fast absorbing gel formula for weak nails that split and peel. Dries clear. Stronger nails in 5 days. Vitamin C formula for strength and resilience. Multi-active bead infused gel formula instantly releases a surge of nourishing vitamins C and E for stronger more resilient nails. Helps increase flexibility so nails resist splitting and peeling'.

Naturally, after reading that I was sold, and the amazing turquoise colour made it even better. 

Application is simple. Just apply some of the product to your nails- bonus points if you get the little balls (no laughing) and rub it in either with a finger or the applicator. It dries in within two minutes or so, which is perfect for on the go use.

As far as I can tell the little white balls are the vitamins C and E and if you press down on one they break up and disperse. 

Now, I suppose the big question is did it work in five days? For me, no. But after one week of usage every night before bed I did notice a small difference. Now a month later my nails aren't splitting or peeling as much, although the problem hasn't been completely alleviated. Strength- wise I've not noticed a huge difference as my nails were actually pretty strong to begin with.

Possibly for someone with normal nails that  only occasionally break this could be perfect, but if you have severely damaged nails I wouldn't necessarily recommend this.

Have you tried it? If so, let me know and tell me your thoughts.

Claire x