Here’s a swatch on my hand with a flash
I really, really like this lipstick. I’m happy with both the color and the texture. I couldn’t tell from just looking at it, but there’s a bit of shimmer but not enough to make it frosty. It glides on really smooth and feels hydrating on my lips. I know I’ll have to get a full size soon. Sending this free sample was a good idea from Black Opal.
I used my new Black Opal Eyeshadows to create this Inexpensive Look Of The Day last week. I later realized that I didn’t do actual swatches of the colors. I’ll show you what each of the four colors look like in this post.
The first color I’ll show you is Emotional Me. It’s a frosty golden yellow.
Below is what it looks like on my skin.
The next color is Illusion. It’s a gorgeous frosty light gold. Illusion reminds me of MAC Vanilla Pigment, but it’s a tad bit darker. 
I’ve been using this color a lot on both my eyes and as a cheek highlight, however, it didn’t really photograph well on my hand. 
With the flash above and without the flash below
Next up is Ring a Ding. 
I’m in love with this color. It’s a wonderful matte orange. I have another matte orange that I use in my 42 Matte Coastal Scents Palette, but this color is more toned down and also darker.
With a flash above and without the flash below.
It’s great for the crease and it blends really well.
The last Shadow is Nookie Cookie. That name makes me giggle. Ha ha! ;-p 
This color is a nice matte dark chocolate brown. When I saw it online, I thought it was going to be like MAC Embark, but it’s not as red. 
The picture above is with a flash and the one below is without a flash. 
For only $5, I’m very pleased with these Black Opal Shadows and I do want more of them. I’ll check my local Beauty Supply stores to see if I can get them there. So far, I haven’t seen them at Wal-Mart, but I’ll keep looking.
I’m always experimenting with inexpensive products to see what alternatives I can recommend to my readers and clients. I recently purchased four eyeshadows and two more foundation sticks from Black Opal.
Now if you’ve been following me or if you’ve ever had a conversation about makeup with me you already know how much I adore Black Opal Foundation Sticks. They’re an absolute staple for my personal use as well as my professional kit. HOWEVER, I was not pleased at all with their Oil Blocking Powder. Click here on my thoughts. It was a risk when I decided to try these new eyeshadows.
Here’s the look I created with these colors. Even though they’re pretty bold, I wanted a softer effect. Now, it’s very important for me to point out that I did NOT use a primer or base before applying the Black Opal eyeshadows. I wanted to see exactly how pigmented they were. I have to say I was very pleased with the results. I didn’t have to build up the color a whole lot either. Quite impressive for $5.
I decided to try them out with some other inexpensive products such as Elf, NYX, and Cover Girl Queen Collection to complete my look. Below is everything I used. Even my brushes were inexpensive. They’re a combo of Coastal Scents and Crown Brush. 
Now granted I did still incorporate some MAC, Clinique and NARS but overall my look was pretty cheap. 
So to answer the question “What Happens when you use inexpensive products?” My answer after using these would be that you get great results.
I’m a firm believer that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to achieve a pretty makeup look. This look validates my belief that technique and quality trump prices. ;-p
Do you only use expensive products or do you venture out and try drugstore brands?
In this post I’ll be featuring two of my favorite M.A.C. eyeshadows that I listed in this post. I used Arena and Sketch. Check it out below.
I used Arena as my brow highlight. Sketch is on my lid and lower lash for a smokey effect.
Other products used:
