Anastasia Beverly Hills has released their latest palette, Subculture. 

And I won't be buying. 

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure if I would make this post or not because I flip-flopped almost daily between telling myself that I didn't need this palette and flat out deciding I was going to buy it. But, I've officially made the decision that I'm not going to buy this. 

Part of why it's hard for me to write an entire post about why I'm not going to buy it and hopefully help others who may not want to add to their collection is because there is so much about this palette and brand that I really enjoy. 

I like that Anastasia sent this palette as PR to several reviewers who only have a few hundred followers. I appreciate that they consider those opinions worthwhile instead of the same dozen or so. 

I like that this palette is something a little different in a market that is oversaturated with warm tones and reds. I like that when Urban Decay came out with the (boring as hell) Naked Heat, ABH comes out with this. 

But, I don't need to buy it. And here's why:

I do not like the ABH palette formula.

I repeat: I do not like the ABH palette formula. 

I have an entire post about why I returned the Modern Renaissance. And what it boils down to is:

• I bought it for the hype
• I already had all those colors in my collection 
• I didn't like the formula 

And guess what? I realized I was doing literally the exact same thing with Subculture.

You see, the hype was starting to get to me. I already have those colors in my collection. And I don't like the ABH formula.

And it's remarkable to me that after all this time blogging about what I'm not gonna buy, resisting hype, and talking myself out of unnecessary purchases, the excitement of the new "it" palette can still get to me.

But I don't like the ABH palette formula. I have a few singles from ABH (before they reformulated), and I love those shadows. But the MR formula was so soft and powdery that I found the shadows really challenging to blend on my specific skin type and eye shape. I found that the colors muddied together every time I used it, and instead of building on top of one another (the way the rest of the mattes in my collection do), the ABH ones mixed together in a really unflattering way. Everyone's skin is different, and I know many people love the ABH formula. But I've also started seeing more and more people admit the exact same experience I had of the shadows being too soft and muddy.

So why, then, would I even entertain the idea of doing this all over again?

Let's look at Subculture:

This palette was designed to be a "sister" palette to Modern Renaissance. Norvina, who also created MR, said that she was constantly reaching for darker shadows to add to her MR looks, so she wanted to create a palette to complement MR and fill in some holes. 

I find that explanation really interesting because I would never look at Subculture and think it's supposed to be a companion to MR, but I think it's really cool that it is. 

Let's look at swatches:

Looking at these swatches, there are definitely colors that I'm drawn to, like Roxy, Edge, Axis, All Star, and Destiny. And when I evaluate all the swatches, I can see that I would get use out of all of them. 

But let's look at the colors as just pigments:

What's cool about Subculture is that there are not dozens of other palettes that have this color scheme. So even when looking at the pigments, there is an illusion that the colors are pretty unique. And to a lot of collections, they will be. But to mine, they are not. 

And what I see even more when I look at these pigments is that this is not a palette (at all) that I would reach for on a daily basis, and I strongly suspect that to be the case for a lot of other people as well. 

But the main reason I am staying away from this palette (in addition to the harsh reality check I've had to give myself about the formula) is that I own Viseart Dark Matte:

In this palette, I have several of the dark/colorful matte shades in Subculture. And for the shimmery shades and lighter mattes, I have those elsewhere in my collection as they are less unique. 

Subculture looks like Lime Crime Venus II:

(I find it curious, by the way, that Modern Renaissance looks so much like Lime Crime Venus, which came out years before MR, and that Subculture looks like Venus II, which has also been out for a couple years.)

And NYX Olive You:

And Zoeva Matte Spectrum:

And ABH Master Palette by Mario:

Here's the thing. I think Subculture is very much a palette of the moment. I think ABH developed a cult following after Modern Renaissance and a lot of people find the brand a bit infallible at the moment. I also think a lot of people want to be "included" in the conversation and have the "cool" palette, even if it is not something they would normally buy. 

But the reason Modern Renaissance was such a popular palette is because it was extremely neutral with some berry shades thrown in. People were able to feel like it was "more than a neutral palette" while it was still very much a neutral palette. But Subculture isn't. 

And I have a feeling that what is going to happen to a lot of people who buy Subculture is the same thing that happened to me when I bought Venus II. You see, when I first saw that palette, I didn't like it at all. But then I started seeing people buy it, review it, and make looks with it. And I thought the looks were cool. And I thought this palette was going to break me out of my comfort zone and make me do something a little different. And do you know what happened? I used the palette once. ONE time. And then it sat there, unused, in my collection, making me feel guilty, until I finally sucked it up and decluttered it. 

Since then I have really discovered my love for color, but I have Viseart Dark Matte, so I don't need anything more than that. I think the colors in Subculture are a little more avant-garde than most palettes, which is cool, but I don't think most people are going to want to use those colors on a daily basis. 

A comment I have seen a lot with regard to this palette is: "I don't know how I would use half the shades, but I want it!"

Here's the thing. Instead, why don't you buy some singles of the colors you are drawn to and don't already have? Chances are you already have the colors you are most drawn to. And if you don't know how you would use half of the palette, it is very likely that you won't end up using those colors at all. So the only shadows you would use are ones you already have. A much better scenario would be to buy a few shades and get a lot of use out of them rather than to buy an entire palette that will go unused. 

So, I'm going to let this hype train pass without me. I already have the colors in this palette and, equally important, I don't like the ABH palette formula. And that's okay. The hype will eventually pass, and I'll be happy that I don't have another palette in my collection that is not getting use and that I will feel guilty over. I don't need Subculture, so I'm not going to buy it. 

Now that I've posted both part 1 and part 2 of my Freedomination overview, I can show you the looks I'm creating with this lovely collection. (Mind you, I have some previous looks I haven't posted yet, so I'll just alternate them in order to maintain my schedule!)

Today's look is inspired by MrDanielMakeUp (i.e. NABLA's art director), who created this makeup for the Freedomination Collection launch! I really loved the colour combination and I felt the urge to try it *__*
It gave me strong mermaid vibes (just likepart of the collection already did) so I named my version (which is slightly different from his) Free as a Mermaid. 
I think it fits, since mermaids represent, among other things, freedom (of life)... And this collection is all about freedom, right? ;D

(Screenshot from Daniele's video - you can watch it here if you haven't already!

In the picture above you can see Daniele's original look on the beautiful Marina.
As I already said, I kept the colour scheme (for the most part, I just added a couple of shades) but changed the shape a little bit, especially towards the inner corner, because it doesn't suits my eyes! 

After priming my lid I started off by creating the crease/outer corner blending. I applied Lotus first with a big, fluffy blending brush; then I applied Eresia (personal choice, as Daniel's original look doesn't include it), with a flatter blending brush; lastly, I applied Blue Velvet with a fluffy pencil brush. Every time I added a colour, I made sure I blended it carefully with the previous one.
I did the very same thing on the lower lid, and connected the blending on the outer corner - so at this point I achieved a soft V shape.
As I said before, I changed the inner corner shape as the original one doesn't suit my eyes - so I decided to do an half cut crease (I really love this technique!) instead, following my natural crease shape.
On the inner part of the lid I applied New Heaven, then I applied Virgin Island - in both cases, I used smaller, precise brushes to achieve that neat shape. 

Eyeliner time. First of all I applied Tattoo Liner in Trooper by Kat Von D Beauty and created my usual winged line. Then I applied Dazzle Liner in Crystal and drew a partial second line, that starts from the inner corner and ends towards the middle of the lid.
On the waterline I used my favourite black eyepencil (Feline by MAC Cosmetics), as I don't own a proper dark blue pencil; thus I added a little bit of black on my lower lashline too (Nocturne).
I used Millennium as inner corner highlighter, and Antique White on my brow bone.
Final steps: applied false lashes (Wispies by Ardell Lashes) and mascara (Extended Play Gigablack Lash mascara by MAC Cosmetics)

Face

- MAC Cosmetics Pro Longwear Foundation NW15 (foundation)

Eyes

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Millennium"* (inner corner)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Virgin Island"* (upper and lower lid)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Blue Velvet"* (crease, outer corner, lower lid)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Eresia"* (crease, lower lid)

- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Lotus"* (crease, lower lid)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Narciso" (transition colour)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Antique White" (brow bone)

- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Nocturne" (lower lashline)
- NABLA Cosmetics Dazzle Liner in "Crystal"*
- Kat Von D Beauty Tattoo Liner in "Trooper"

- MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in "Feline" 

- MAC Cosmetics "Extended Play Gigablack Lash" Mascara

- Ardell Lashes Wispies Lashes
- DUO White Eyelash Adhesive

Eyebrows

- NABLA Cosmetics Brow Pot in "Mars"*

Brushes

- 239 ~ MAC Cosmetics

- 217 ~ MAC Cosmetics
- 213 ~ MAC Cosmetics
- 224 ~ MAC Cosmetics

- 2x Short Smudge (A13)* ~ Spectrum Collections (Marbleous Set*, BombShell Set*)
- 2x Fluffy Pencil (A12)* ~ Spectrum Collections (Marbleous Set*, BombShell Set*)

- Large Fluffy Shader (A06) ~ Spectrum Collections (Siren Set)

- Accent Brush ~ Real Techniques

- 2x Lip Liner (A15)* ~ Spectrum Collections (Bombshell Set*, Siren Set*)

Have you tried this look by Daniele too?
Hope you liked my version!

Mermaid kisses and starfish wishes ♥

*Disclaimer: Starred products are press samples, sent by respective brands for me to test and review.

This was a ridiculously hard work week for me, which is why I have been silent all week. Good news is I finally hit a major deadline I've been working toward for six months. I stayed at work very late almost every day, and as a result, I was exhausted and didn't really want to think that much about my makeup. That may explain why I gravitated toward certain colors. There were some old favorites and new things I used this week, and mainly, I was just happy to get through. 

Here are five looks I did this week. 

Look 1: Colourpop Rosé All Day

Rosé All Day on the lid and Zoeva Substitute for Love blended into the crease. 

Look 2: Fyrinnae It Beautifies! 

Fyrinnae It Beautifies! on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy) and Zoeva Substitute for Love blended into the crease.

Look 3: MAC Cranberry

MAC Cranberry on the lid and Costal Scents Fine Wine blended into the crease. 

Look 4: Dior Cosmopolite and Coloured Raine Moments 

Cosmopolite on the lid and Moments blended into the crease. 

Look 5: MAC Coppering and Sephora Pro Editorial 

MAC Coppering on the lid and Sephora Pro Editorial Amy and Eliza D blended into the crease. 

Colourpop Rosé All Day

Status: Keep

This is a newer shadow to my collection, and this was my first time wearing it. I thought it was pretty, and I liked it, but it is no where near as pretty as Fyrinnae Aztec Gold, which is the most similar shadow I have in my collection. Rosé All Day still has a place in my collection, and I like that it is almost gold, but not quite, and almost green, but not quite. I was boring and paired it with a warm brown shadow, but I would love to see this shadow (on a non-work day) paired with some of the colors in my Viseart Dark Matte palette. 

Fyrinnae It Beautifies! 

Status: Favorite

I've talked about this shadow a few times before, so I will spare you having to read about it again. Basically, I absolutely love this shadow. It 100 percent requires Pixie Epoxy under it, but it is such a gorgeous, shiny color. One of my absolute favorites. 

MAC Cranberry

Status: Favorite 

In case you were wondering why my face/eye was tinted pink in these photos, it's because I have a table full of plants and I forgot to turn my (purple) plant lights off before I took the photo. But I like that it was a berry look, so in a way the lights kind of flatter it. Cranberry has been a long-time favorite for me. Over the years, I have decluttered the majority of my MAC collection, but I still have a few singles left, and Cranberry was one that made the cut. I paired it with Costal Scents Fine Wine, which is a shadow I have really grown to love, and I think the look came out really pretty considering how easy and low effort it was. 

Dior Cosmopolite

Status: Favorite 

This is another shadow that I have written about many times before, so I will again be brief. It is also one of my all-time favorite singles. It is one of the shiniest singles I own that doesn't require any special base. It is just that good on its own. I paired it with Coloured Rain Moments, and I like how the look came out. Moments is one of those shadows that can lean brown or cranberry depending on what it is paired with, and I was surprised to see how much it pulled cranberry when paired with Cosmopolite. I've typically only worn warm browns with Cosmopolite, so this was a nice change for me, and I really enjoyed it!

MAC Coppering

Status: Favorite 

So I'll get Coppering out of the way by saying that it is also one of my favorite shadows, and clearly one of the few shadows from MAC that has stuck around. I would like to instead talk more about the Sephora Pro Editorial palette. Last week, I was really digging this palette, but I had really only used the most "wearable" shadows in it. I wore this look on Friday, the day after I hit the major deadline at work. I did not care what anyone thought about my eyeshadow. I was celebrating, and I wanted to do so with some bright eyeshadow. I never intended on using Coppering. I wanted to use Karoline, which is the fourth shadow on the bottom row of the Editorial palette. It looked like a chunky glitter shadow, so I was curious to see how it wore. It was AWFUL. I tried it with two different brushes (one synthetic and one natural hair), and it looked terrible with both. So then I applied it with my finger, and it still looked terrible. There was fallout everywhere. I didn't want to have to wash off all of my makeup and start over (and be late for work), so I slapped Coppering on top of the Karoline mess and finished my look. To be completely honest, seeing how bad that shade performed (and knowing there are five or so of those kind of shadows in the palette), made me want to return it. And I am honestly still on the fence about if I want to or not. I really love the mattes I have used and love how vibrant they are. The shimmers that aren't the chunky glitters are great as well. But still. Oh, and another one of the chunky glitters (the silver in the top right corner) just totally broke out of the pan. I was able to press it back in, but it just fell out for no reason. So, yeah. I'm not sure how I feel about this palette. 

But, Coppering was fantastic and really pulled this look together (and saved it), which is one of the many reasons it's a favorite in my collection. 

{Disclaimer: this post is an overview about a collection I got for free as press sample. I'd like to thank NABLA Cosmetics for the opportunity, anyway my evaluation policy doesn't change and is always based on real use and in-depth testing of the product(s)}

Last week NABLA Cosmetics, on time like every year, launched their summer collection: Freedomination, which is the biggest collection they ever released so far. 
It consists of 10 eyeshadows, 4 Diva Crime lipsticks (featuring a new, limited edition packaging), 2 Dreamy Matte Liquid Lipsticks (introducing the new metal finish),  2 Dazzle Liners, 2 Blossom Blushes, 2 Shade&Glow (one highlighter and one bronzer) and two limited edition Liberty palettes.

After showing you lipsticks and face products (here), it's time to show you the eye products: all (well, almost all) the new eyeshadows and the eyeliners! 
Ready, set... splash!

The Freedomination Collection includes, as I said, 10 eyeshadows, 2 Dazzle Liners and also two limited edition Liberty palettes with the most beautiful (in my opinion) decoration so far.

I mean, seriously, look at them! *_* The artwork is stunning - watercolour vibes, reminds me of the sea waves and water flowing in general, and the gold detailing is simply precious.
Also, this gold serigraphy looks more resistant than the one of last year's Mermaid palettes (which was fading quite quickly so I put them away and stored my least used shadows in there).
(Background is the mermazing matching Freedomination Box collector's edition - sadly already sold out! - which is so pretty I might turn it into a jewelry box)

How pretty and mesmerizing is this design? I could stare at it four hours - and never get tired of it (yeah, these are my favourite so far!).
Along with the classical Liberty Six (featured in every collection of the past two years), they introduced a new size: the Liberty Four, which can contain 4 eyeshadow pans (or 1 blush pan).
Personally I'd preferred a Liberty 12 instead - having many, many pans the bigger the palette, the better - but I can see how a Liberty 4 could be handy for those who don't own/use many eyeshadows.
Anyway, I'll definitely buy at least one more Liberty Six (and one more Liberty Four for my mom).

This year's eyeshadow range is really well put together, overall. There are two new Celestial shades (can be used alone or as top coat over pencils or other eyeshadows), three Satin, one Bright and four Super-Matte. (No new Super-Brights, sadly)

The theme, inspiration of this collection is freedom - freedom in every way (thoughts, creativity, expression...).

Personally, between the palettes design and the colour range of the shadows, I can't help but think that this collection is subtly connected to last year's - the  Mermaid. Which totally makes sense, since mermaids are a symbol - among other things - of freedom.

Let's see the eyeshadows now! (My very favourite makeup product ♥)

I'm going to show you nine of the ten new shade - all except Alchemy, which was already sold out when I went to the local retailer.

The marked (*) products are the ones I got as press sample. The un-marked ones where purchased by me.

*Virgin Island: "Turquoise with light blue, pink and violet reflects". Celestial

Love at first sight, since it was revealed in MrDaniel's (NABLA's art director) Instagram Stories. In two words: dream eyeshadow. 
It's so bright and pigmented (the most pigmented of all the Celestial, so far) that I mistook it for a Super-Bright at first. 
The shade is beautiful and extremely mermaidy: a bright turquoise/blue filled with millions of pink and violet sparkles. Its name is SO appropriate *_*
I've already tested it in quite some looks, used alone, as top coat and applied over a black base. Either way it's stunning - I highly recommend trying it applied on a black pencil: it gets darker, but the sparkles stand out even more!

Freestyler: "Baby blue-gold duochrome". Satin

This shade wasn't revealed until the press release, but caught my attention right away. It's an interesting shade: baby blue, muted, with a gentle gold duochrome.
Really pretty, nicely pigmented and silky. So glad they added a light blue shade, it was highly needed in the range!
For a second, when I saw the pictures on the press release, I thought it could be a little silver-ish - but it's not. It's a real baby blue!

*Mystic: "Metallic mauve with pink-champagne reflects". Bright

This eyeshadow is a big surprise: in all honesty, I wasn't that excited when I saw it the first time (on NABLA's Stories). I'm not a fan of mauve, first of all, and this shade didn't seem special.
But I was wrong. It's mauve, yes, but it has quite some pink in it - and is so bright and shiny. To the point I almost thought it was a Super-Bright.
Not exactly a groundbreaking shade in NABLA's range (one similar shadow is Entropy, for example, see swatches) but thanks to its texture it manages to stand out. 

*On the Road: "Bronze brown". Satin

This is the only shade that looks a little out of place. Bronze brown, simply as that - buttery, pigmented, bright even though it's a satin (just like Freestyler). Perfectly matches with Goa, they're a great eye/lips combination.
I've yet to do a proper look with it but I do have a some ideas already, I'm getting used to shades that are out of my comfort zone (like this one) and it's fun to try new colour combos :D
I just need to decide which one to do first XD

*Millennium: "Light gold duochrome with coral-pink reflects". Satin

The eyeshadow highlighter of this collection: the description perfectly fits, as it's a really pale shade of gold filled with pink reflects. So filled, that once applied they almost overwhelm the base colour - making it look like a bright pink/coral shade. And that's what happens with Obsexed too - in my skin, at least. They look so similar (in terms of reflects) that once applied I struggle with telling them apart. Guess they'd perform much better on tanned/darker skin tones. 

*Blue Velvet: "Night blue". Super-Matte

Most appropriate name ever: looks like it's made out of velvet.
Finally, finally a matte blue shade! In the last couple of years I understood how necessary matte shades are - especially for blending and transitions. I will be forever a huge fan of shimmering eyeshadows, but know I really appreciate matte shades and I always look for new ones. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw that NABLA was about to release 4 new Super-Matte shades in such fun and bright colours!
Since I use blue a lot, Blue Velvet is more than welcome in my stash. It's dark - but not black - wonderfully pigmented and blendable (like all the other Super-Matte shades). Perfect to add depth, to create smooth blendings/transitions.

*New Heaven: "Aquamarine". Super-Matte

Another mermaidy shade, it's my favourite of this collection and potentially my new favourite NABLA eyeshadow.
Pure and simple - so to speak - aquamarine, another dream eyeshadow came true. This is what I meant when I said (last year when the Mermaid collection launched) "we need a Caribbean blue"! *_*
The pigmentation of this eyeshadows is unreal, so intense and rich. (I'm pretty sure I've already used this same words to describe it but oh well, that's the way it is!)
You don't really need to layer to achieve this bright shade, it's a true-to-pan eyeshadow (just like the others, by the way).

Lotus: "Cool pastel pink". Super-Matte

Another unique shade, more than welcome in my stash!
Such a dreamy and romantic eyeshadow, in my opinion. If Virgin Island and New Heaven are mermaid shades, Lotus is definitely an unicorn colour!

Finding pigmented pinks is really hard, but this one it's very true-to-pan and doesn't need layering. Needless to say, it's so easy to blend! I love to pair it to Eresia (they're made to each other) but it really gets along with both Blue Velvet and New Heaven as well!

Eresia: "Warm purple". Super-Matte

Arm... Warm?
On my skin is quite cool toned XD 

Anyway, great purple shade: intense and rich, not extremely dark, very pigmented. Another highly, highly needed shade in NABLA's range. Yeah, we already have Mimesis, but as you will see in the swatches, it's a completely different shade of purple. 

I am seriously in love with this Super-Matte texture: beyond silky, so easy to blend. It's like they blend all by themself, it's unreal. I think I've already said this in the Sea Goddess post but, since I didn't buy Paprika and Radikal (the first ever Super-Mattes released with the winter collection), those are my first shades in this new texture and thus I was so excited to try them, at last. To me they're BOMB, nothing like the Soft Matte - good eyeshadows, mind you, I use them all the time (Nocturne, Narciso, Fossil & friends)... But the difference in blending is noticeable. I would love to see them turned into Super-Mattes!
Back to this new four shades, they've already become must haves of mine - all of them. 

Alchemy is still missing, sadly. I was very curious, although I wasn't 100% sure it could fit me - mostly because of its base shade ("burnt peach")... The more I look at it in other girls looks, though, the more I get convinced it looks really really pretty with its fuchsia & teals sparkles *-*
But as I said, it was already sold out! Next time, perhaps.

I'll admit it - I squealed with joy when they announced that this collection was going to include two more liquid liners aka Dazzle Liners. You know how much I love Klimt, the Dazzle Liner from the Goldust Collection - no wonder I was so excited XD

*Purity: "Mother-of-pearl duochrome"

As I said in the previous post (Sea Goddess Makeup Look), Purity seems to be made out of pure magic. 

Might look like a simple white eyeliner - but no, oh no. Depending on the light, I change to a pinkish white or a bluish white.

Might not look rich or pigmented, but it is - I recently did a makeup where I used both Purity and KVD Tatto Liner - the latter being just an outline; at some point I noticed I had to thicken Purity's line, so I had to apply it on top of Trooper - and honestly I wasn't sure it could cover it up... But it did, wonderfully and easily. Once I was done, I couldn't tell that, in that point, there was Trooper underneath.

Its texture is slightly thinner and lighter compared to Klimt, but this doesn't affect pigmentation or application at all.

*Crystal: "Light blue duochrome with a gold-silver sheen"

Another favourite piece of this collection! Mermaid eyeliner, anyone? xD

I've never seen such a bright light blue liquid liner. It shines like a gemstone - throw it in to even the simplest look to add a special touch to it.

It's supposed to have both a gold and silver sheen, but on my only the silver one shows up. Anyway, it's stunning - pigmented and long lasting just like Klimt (same goes for Purity).

Apart for the slight texture difference, and the different colour of the cap (that matches the collection) there're no more differences with Klimt. The packaging is the very same, as well as the brush included. Made out of bristle, really fine and precise - a big yes for me!

Needless to say, I'll be getting backups of both Purity and Crystals since they're limited edition. Why NABLA, why? ç_ç

Natural lighting, eyeshadows were applied dry with no primer underneath. Click to enlarge!
My skin tone is NW15

Let's start with a big family portrait of all the eyeshadows (above) and a close up of the two liner (below)!

All the shadows where finger-swatched, they're all silky/buttery and well pigmented. The liners, as I said, have a thinner texture so they might not look rich and full on the arm swatch - but they're on the lids, they really are!

~ Comparisons ~

I love this picture, because those are basically the colours of my mermaid tail XD I need to do a mermaid look using them all!

New Heaven VS Shore Thing by MUG: they're different in both shade and pigmentation: Shore Thing is way lighter, greener and less pigmented compared to New Heaven - which is purely aquamarine and is so intense.

Virgin Island VS Poolside by MUG: completely different shadows, as Poolside is shimmer but nothing like Virgin Island which is literally full of light. Poolside is also quite hard on the pan (it's my only MUG shadow like that luckily), while Virgin Island is beyond buttery.

Eresia VS Mimesis: this is pretty self explanatory! Two completely different shades, a dark eggplant vs a bright purple - and also two different types of matte. 

On the Road VS Unrestricted: another quite different colours, with On the Roady being a bronzed brownish shade with a gentle sheen, and Unrestricted being a deep burgundy with strong golden sparkles. 

Lotus VS Lilac Wonder VS Calypso VS Hopscotch by MUG: Hopscotch has more blue in it than Lotus, much like Lilac Wonder which is a pale violet shade. Lotus looks more related to Calypso - a pink purple shade. (I need to try those two together!)

Blue Velvet VS Baltic VS Boo Berry by MUG: Blue Velvet reminds me a lot of Baltic, as they're both dark and intense. Anyway, Blue Velvet looks a tad 'brighter' - I think it has less black in it than Baltic. Boo Berry is a completely different shade of blue, instead: a medium denim blue that I think could easily get along with Blue Velvet.

Mystics VS Entropy VS Chemical Bond: here you can clearly see what I meant before. Mystic, compared to both Entropy and Chemical Bond has more pink in it. Both Entropy and Mystic are mauve, and they look quite similar, but that pink addiction helps Mystic stand out. Entropy has a golden/taupe base, while Chemical Bond is a bronzed platinum shade.

Monoi VS Obsexed VS Sugar VS Sensuelle: capturing in picture Monoi and Obsexed is a mission impossible, my phone and I almost freaked out. This picture just shows you the base colours of both - peachy for Obsexed, the palest gold for Monoi - but not the strong pinkish sheen they both have (that on my skin looks almost the same). 

Anyway, the look different from both Sensuelle and Sugar, as they have a light pink base and gold sheen/sparkles.

(If you need a specific swatch/comparison let me know in a comment!)

My very first impressions about this collection (regarding eye products) are extremely positive, I'm really really happy with the eyeshadow range - so many new interesting and useful shades - and of course I'm over the moon because of the new Dazzle Liners. This collection definitely is my favourite on a tie with the Mermaid - which is no small thing ;D Kudos, NABLA!

The Freedomination Collection is available at www.nablacosmetics.com (and authorized retailers) and there's a special promo (ends on July 23, 2017):

~ 10% off all eye makeup products

~ 50% off worldwide shipping

~ Up to 20% off the bundles

What are your thoughts about this collection?
What's your favourite eyeshadow/liner? Have you already bought something?

Tell me everything ♥

Mermaid kisses and starfish wishes ♥