By Terry Ombre Blackstar "Color-Fix" Cream Eyeshadow Swatches +

I told y'all that there will be some By Terry reviews... I remember doing a post of my swatches of these, but I think I accidentally deleted the post. 

Moving on...these are eyeshadows that don't need a primer, that glide on like butter, not to mention they wear like IRON. These items don't need much of a review because they are one of her (many) standouts from her line.

It's probably easier to have all of the swatches in one post, especially if you want to see color and finish comparisons.

Here's what I personally own, all of them were purchased by me, except shade #13 Brown Perfection which was a gift. :)

Picture taken with flash, to see the finish. The color representation is pretty accurate. 

Black Pearl (1), Blond Opal (3), Bronze Moon (4), Misty Rock (5), Frozen Quartz (6), Velvet Orchid (9), Beyond Gold (11), Black Matte (12), Brown Perfection (13)

*Black Pearl and Misty Rock are the ones with the most sparkle. 

*Bronze Moon, Blond Opal and Brown Perfection are probably my favorites. 

*Velvet Orchid is the most unique due to it's finish and color. 

Price and Size: $43 for 1.64 grams, or 0.058 oz

By Terry Terrybly Densiliss Foundation (#7 -- Golden Beige): First Impressions:

Once upon a time, in a not-so-long-ago past....my first true luxury foundation was By Terry Lumiere Veloutee. Looking back at this review, I never really expressed how much I loved this foundation. It was go-to for weddings, special occasions, and any event / reason where I would be photographed. 

It was a medium to full coverage foundation, it glided on like a dream, blurred all imperfections and it was far from a chalky or flat matte foundation. It was $106 at the time. It was (and still is) a beautiful foundation. The downsides to it ... it would begin to separate on my forehead area after many hours, not to mention it was a heavier formula. It wasn't heavy where it was uncomfortable. You could definitely feel that you had a foundation on. I couldn't complain, it would last so well and oil wouldn't break through, plus it was a medium to full coverage. Not to mention it was lightweight compared to many full coverage foundations at the time. 

Then two years ago, it was discontinued. I was heartbroken. That was around the time when I had met Terry de Gunzburg for the first time. Cover Expert was released and I purchased it. It was basically a foundation that was stripped from skincare benefits (aside from hydration). To be honest, it was no replacement for Lumiere Veloutee. It's gorgeous, has a nice finish, but it simply was not the same. I never reviewed Cover Expert because all that would come to mind is that "it's nice and pretty, but it's not Lumiere Veloutee". It's definitely worth the $65, but it's still no Lumiere Veloutee.

Little did I know, Terry herself was revamping the formulation of Lumiere Veloutee. What prompted her to do so, I have no idea as to the exact reason. What I can say is that Terry herself takes pride in always reformulating her items for it to be better, more efficient, and more effortless. Some people may hate her for constantly changing her lineup, but I can't be mad, she's always on the search for something better. Two years later...it's finally here. I know die-hard fans who used to use Lumiere Veloutee are asking the question, "Is it Lumiere Veloutee's (LV) replacement"?

In some ways it's Lumiere Veloutee, but it's definitely not in other ways. It's better.

Coverage: Densiliss is definitely a medium coverage finish. It's matte, but imagine that radiance that Lumiere Veloutee had, but on steroids. Your skin has a serious halo. It blurs imperfections and lines like LV does, but your skin still shows through. There's some aspect of transparency where it highlights your skins best features, all the while covering the imperfections. LV in comparison just covered everything. 

Color selection: Terry has definitely made strides in this department. LV I used to be shade 3, but it wasn't an exact match, it was a bit too peach for most people. It worked for me since I used to have a lot of redness in my face, and the peach would help blur out the redness. In Cover Expert I am shade 8, but in Densiliss I am shade 7. There's 3 darker shades...I can say shade 8 is somewhere in the NC35 range. I was initially matched in shade 8, because at first it looked like a good match. Less than a minute later, the color did some adjusting, and it was definitely too dark. Shade 7 at first looked off, but same thing happened, in a matter of 30 seconds it became a match and stayed that way. Terry's biggest area of development when it came to base products was that she didn't make dark shades. Three extra shades is a start. The lighter shades are not necessarily numbered from light-dark, there's also different undertones in all shades, so you should get matched at a counter first.

Lasting Power: Last night was my first night using Densiliss, and I was lucky enough to test it with Hourglass No. 28 primer. Let's discuss why the Terry primer wasn't used -- it pills off on a lot of sections of my face. It's a beautiful hydrating primer, but on me it pills off. It could be the change in skincare or just the nature of the primer itself. Either way it's interesting to see if Densiliss plays nice with other primers. I was testing it out at first with no primer in the morning and it lasted about 5 hours and no drying feeling / separating like most matte foundations. Then my face got re-done and I went out to have drinks. In a span of approximately 12 hours while I was out with the primer, no fading/separating on my t-zone (forehead). I'm SO THRILLED with this foundation.

here are some comparison photos:

Left to Right: Lumiere Veloutee, Cover Expert in #8, Densiliss #7. Natural lighting, no flash

Left to Right: Lumiere Veloutee, Cover Expert in #8, Densiliss #7. Dark lighting, heavy flash.

Price and Size: $115 for 1 fluid oz.

Verdict?: Goodbye Cover Expert and Lumiere Veloutee, you have been replaced. 

Things I've gotten as of late +

Hi all!

It's been a busy month for me, and it seems like the next few months will basically be the same trend. Working like crazy, plus before we know it the holidays will be around the corner and pass...you know how it is.

Anyway, I've cut down on the makeup spending, not by force, but I feel like I'm arriving at a standstill. Whenever I shop at say, Saks, Barneys, Bloomingdales...there's very few things I want at this point. My wishlist has been getting smaller and this has been the trend for over a year. I do buy seasonal things, but the overall things I want are minimal, and those items are not sold in the USA. I think after a while, my blog will just be swatches of what I own. I hate to say it, but I don't know how much longer I can keep up with this blog, main reason being nothing just calls my attention. I feel like I've almost bought all the things I've wanted. 

So without further blabbering, here's what I've purchased:

top row:

By Terry Hyaluronic Blush in Bubble Glow (her newest blush)

By Terry Eclat Opulent in Nude Radiance (it now comes in 3 shades!)

By Terry Hyaluronic Sheer Rouge in Be Red (one of her fall lipsticks)

Bottom Row: 

Hakuhodo J5523 BkSL

Hakuhodo J142 BkSL

Hakuhodo J5522 BkSL

Addiction Rose Bar Cheek Polish

Addiction Tadzio Cheek Polish

Addiction Tea Rose Cheek Stick (my friend took my original one)

As for the brushes, I got those since I plan on doing a future brush review doing more comparisons. They were the items I least cared about, but all the other items I purchased were new releases. The Terry items were items that I've planned on getting since the spring (except the foundation). Considering I got no seasonal makeup during the summer, I think the splurge is okay. The Addiction was a bit of a surprise since I didn't know about these until the last minute. 

I hope this post isn't too disappointing, but I hope you understand at the stage that I'm in when it comes to makeup. 

As for future posts: I do plan on making an Addiction post with just swatches of what I own. I did purchase Wayne Goss' brushes, but they won't arrive until DECEMBER. As much as I respect him as a youtuber, I'm a bit disappointed in the wait. I may do a review on his brushes, so let's just wait and see what happens. 

Any ideas as to what I should write about makeup wise?