It’s been ages since I’ve done a look of the day, and this one isn’t really a LOTD. I am home on a dark, gloomy, rainy day, and it was a good opportunity to get out a couple of new-to-me makeup products that I’ve been playing with for a little while. Since I had to go out to the post office, it wasn’t a full look. I don’t think the Beverly Farms Post Office could take too much makeup, lol.
I like Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara so when I got a full size tube of Maneater Mascara in my first Ipsy Glam Bag Plus, I was excited to try it.
Maneater has a gigantic wide, non-tapered wand with lots and lots of plastic teeth. Though I like wands with plastic teeth, this one is just too big and too wide/bulky for my eyes.
The formula in the full size tube was rather dry, and it didn’t do much for my lashes. In fact, I could hardly tell if it did anything for my lashes. I thought maybe Ipsy was sent a batch of old product. I tossed it.
Then I managed to get a travel size tube of Maneater recently. I don’t remember where I got it, but I thought I’d try it again. Of course, it has the same big wand, but the formula seemed wetter and easier to apply. It was much better than the full size tube. My lashes looked better, but still nothing exceptional. I had to apply a lot of coats for them to get built up. I would say it’s an OK everyday mascara.
The wand size and the formula doesn’t suit my lashes and eye shape very well so I won’t be purchasing it. I’m curious to hear from others who may have tried it. Did you like it? Why, why not?
Natasha Denona Mini Star Palette Duochrome “Orion” vs. Makeup Geek “Insomnia”
During the Sephora sale in early December, I was trying to spend enough to keep my VIB status for another year. I almost bought another small Viseart travel size palette, but then my eye fell upon the even smaller Natasha Denona mini palettes. Since I don’t find the Viseart travel palettes to be quite as fabulous as their full size, I decided to try the Natasha Denona Mini Star Palette.
I love the tiny size: an inch and a quarter by 4 1/2 inches. Fits perfectly in even a small Ipsy size makeup bag that goes in my purse. Yes!
The 5 shades looked nice and it was perfect for travel with a mix of finishes and mostly neutralish colors: 2 mattes, 2 shimmers and 1 duo chrome. The shades are from left to right:
- teal green/brown duo chrome: Orion
- medium transition nude matte: Atik
- what Sephora calls “nude metallic” that I would say is rose gold shimmer: Bellatrix
- dark brown matte: Earth
- golden olive that I think is more gold than olive shimmer: Cosmo.
The shades are nicely pigmented, they don’t crease, and Sephora says you don’t even need to wear them over primer. They feel buttery and are easy to blend.
The palette cost $25, so each of the little pans – size 0.028 oz/0.8 g – is kind of pricey at $5 each. But I wanted to try the brand, and it looked like it would be very portable, great for travel, and it is.
Not surprisingly, the shades I’ve been wearing most often are the four neutral shades. But today, since it was a gloomy dark day, I wanted to raise my spirits so I decided to try the duochrome, Orion. I had already applied the pale pink beige cream base Painterly, the MAC Paint Pot to my lids first because I thought I’d just be covering my red lids today. Like the other shadows, it went on easily. I just wanted to wear the single shadow on my lid to really see what it looked like. It looked teal on some parts of my lid and brown in others. I liked it.
The shade Orion looked really familiar. I took out my magnetic palette where I keep my Makeup Geek singles and some others, and there it was, MUG Insomnia.
Is it a dupe for Natasha Denona’s Orion. I decided to swatch them and find out.
MUG Insomnia is even more buttery, more shimmery, covers better, and has a little more oomph and pigmentation than Denona’s Orion. Insomnia’s shade has a bit more red than brown so the shade itself is ever so slightly different from Orion. The pans are about the same size, though I don’t have the exact size. I bought Insomnia during a sale and paid either $5 or $6 for it. Sadly, it is discontinued as a single, but it is part of the beautiful MUG Stroke of Midnight Palette in which you get 9 gorgeous shades for $35.
Here are the swatches side by side.
And here’s my LOTD wearing Orion on my lids and Tarte Maneater Mascara on my lashes.
So I think I’ll use the mascara for everyday, and I still like both of the similar duochromes.
LOVE this look on you, Allison! What a pretty palette! The duochrome finish is stunning!
Thank you, Helen! You are so sweet. I don’t usually wear shades like this, and next time I will wear it over primer to see how that looks. It was fun to see how the different color shift showed up on different areas of my lids. Fun makeup!
The swatches look really similar! And good to know that MUG version performs better. I know Insomnia is a very popular shade, I wonder why the single was discontinued?
I was shocked when I went to the MUG website and discovered that Insomnia is only available in a palette. Like you, I thought it was one of their best sellers. I am still glad I tried the Denona Mini Star because of the portability factor, but I do think that the MUG shadows are superior!
I have not tried that mascara, but that type of brush rarely works for me. I much prefer the fluffy ones with hairs. I guess these stiffer brushes work best for people who have naturally thick and bushy lashes because they separate really well.
I prefer mascara wands with plastic teeth, but the wand itself was just way too long and wide for my eyes. Trying to use it on my lower lashes was even worse. Ick.
These look like an exact dupe to me. I wonder if I have Insomnia. Once I put the shadows in a palette I don’t remember the names of them. The Tarte mascara really isn’t very special on you. I got one in a subscription box but I doubt I’ll bother with it now.
Tarte Maneater really is a disappointment especially since I really liked Lights Camera Lashes. Put it in your giveaway pile! That’s what I should have done with the travel size after trying the full size and being disappointed. You will recognize Insomnia if you have it in one of your magnetic palettes. It’s a standout! Hope you find it coz it’s so pretty, and even nicer than the Natasha Denona version.
I had a mini tube of Maneater and liked it for awhile then fell out of love. I recently bought the Nude Natasha Denona palette but haven’t tried it. I agree it’s a wonderful way to try the brand.
I’ll be curious to hear what you think of the ND Nude palette. I am very happy with this little Mini Star especially for travel.
I love the last photo of you. I’m not a big fan of huge mascara wands either. They get messy and maybe im clumsy or not careful but they end up being a pain. haha
Thank you, Claudia! Plastic teeth on a mascara wand are good for my lashes, but this wand was just so long and wide – too hard to handle.
This palette is pretty and like the look you created with it.
Thank you, Erika. That ND Mini Star Palette is a terrific travel palette. On my old eyes, a single duochrome is enough going on so it wasn’t much of an eye look but I had fun wearing it!
Great dupe! I love the MUG version as it leans blue more than green.
I probably never would have thought to wear that shade of eyeshadow, but now I think I need to look at it at my Sephora. Very pretty!
Me too, Stacie. I think I bought MUG Insomnia because I was inspired by one of Courtney’s posts about MUG, and I hadn’t tried any duochromes. Truth be told, I still hadn’t worn Insomnia. But when I bought the Natasha Denona palette, the shade looked so familiar to me and I realized I owned a dupe from MUG. The MUG shadow is a bit superior to the ND. And I thought it would be too weird to wear out here in conservative suburbia, and it probably is, but I had fun wearing it anyway and I will again. Hope you try a duochrome like this some time!
Insomnia is so pretty! I’m super into that finish/color right now! There is a color called ride or die in my new Morphe palate and I LOVE IT
The shimmers in that palette are so pretty! And wow that duochrome! You definitely found a dupe!
I love that shimmer!!! Very pretty shades, both are a close dupe but still slightly different.
Yes, the MUG Insomnia is a little redder and Natasha Denona Orion a little browner. Both pretty, but I think the Makeup Geek is the winner 😉
I was never a fan of Tarte Maneater, but wow that Natasha Denona palette looks stunning! I love that green/brown duo chrome shade and it’s so awesome that MUG have created almost the same color. Now I’m not sure if I should get the ND palette or get a single MUG eyeshadow 🙂
Thanks for sharing the swatches! <3
Ava, sadly it seems that MUG discontinued the Insomnia single and now it’s available as part of a 9 pan palette. That duochrome is gorgeous so going with either the ND mini star palette or the MUG palette wouldn’t be a mistake!