Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Becca Balearic Love Collection

Last week, I ordered Becca's new Balearic Love collection from Zuneta, which was offering a Shimmering Skin Perfector (15ml) gift with any £40 purchase of Becca products. The GWP was so popular that it lasted just two days on the website. Thanks to the ELLE20 code (valid until 28 February), I also got a 20% discount off my order. The Balearic Love Palette (£35) is for me, the highlight of Becca's 10th anniversary collection. The slim case houses three powder eyeshadows and a brush for creating the perfect smoky eye look. Each eyeshadow is generously sized at 1.5g, the same weight as a MAC eyeshadow single. Zuneta has a short video demonstrating how to create gorgeous smoky eyes with it. The rubberized case isn't my favourite material because like NARS packaging, it can develop stickiness over time in humid tropical weather. The two photos below were taken under a bright spot light so the tones look slightly different compared to the photos above which were taken under normal room lighting. Atlas is a matte dusky tan that looks muddy on my skintone while Romal is a matte smoky blackened brown. Romal is incredibly well-pigmented, so tapping off the excess on one's hand is recommended before applying to the lids as otherwise the brush easily deposits too much product. Atlas takes a bit of layering and is the most sheer. Marcella, a shimmery dirty bronze shot through with micro gold flecks, is the most complex shade in the palette and my favourite of the three. Becca's description of this palette as containing "jewelled tones of bronzed plum and violet" does not seem accurate as the three shades are more bronze and brown-toned rather than plum and violet. Below is the list of ingredients. The Balearic Love Smokey Eye Set (£44) contains a Line & Define Pencil in Cabrera, Romanticism Eye Tint, the Ultimate Mascara and an Anti-Bacterial Sharpener. If purchased individually, these cost £20, £20, £18 and £8 respectively, so the set represents savings of £22. Romanticism Eye Tint is a sheer light bronze with a slightly shimmery finish. Zuneta has a helpful video showing how it adds a nice subtle gleam and dimension to the lids. Swatched on its own, it is not the kind of shade that wows instantly as it starts off very sheer and does not become particularly rich or intense even when layered. However, it did work very well as a base under the eyeshadows from the Balearic Love Palette and lasted through more than 8 hours of wear without creasing or fading. The Ultimate Mascara held the curl of my lashes well, and adding decent volume and length without clumping. The brush also performed well for coating the super short and sparse lashes on my lower eyelid. The sharpener is not something I would have bothered to purchase on its own as I'm happy with my Urban Decay Grind House sharpener. The blade is treated with a special silver and zinc based anti-bacterial additive to sanitize pencils with each sharpening. The box states that it has "one hole for creating a pointed tip and an adaptor for creating a rounded tip". However, I can't figure out which is the adaptor part! It also comes with a cleaning wand, which is definitely useful for getting the pencil shavings off the blade. The Line + Define Pencil in Cabrera is a smoky dark brown paired with a dark bronze. These had decent payoff but tugged a little at the skin. Ingredients lists. Below are swatches of the Balearic Love Palette, Cabrera pencil and Romanticism Eye Tint (with Baroque Eye Tint for comparison) done on bare skin without any primer. You can see more swatches on Perilously Pale and Indigo Kir Royale here and here. For this look, I used Romanticism as the base, Marcella along the upper and lower lashlines, Romal blended into the outer half of the crease and Atlas in the inner half of the crease with a glittery blue Shu Uemura eyeshadow on the lower lashline. I also used the Ultimate Mascara and Cabrera eyeliner. I also picked up Tempranillo Nail Color (£12), a deep blood red. Zuneta also has a video showcasing this polish. It's a chic hue that gets darker with each successive layer but similar shades probably exist in most nailpolish brands. Zuneta also offers three samples with each order, so I picked Becca Luminous Skin Color in Sand, and Rouge Bunny Rouge Highlighting Liquid in Sea of Showers and Sea of Nectar. I used to own Becca LSC years ago and was disappointed by the sheerness but I thought I'd just give it another try, to see if it gets along better with my skin. Unfortunately, it still does not sit well on my skin and started balling up when I applied it with my fingertips. Shopping at Zuneta is truly a breeze as they are so fast, reliable and prompt in responding to email queries. If you are outside the EU, the prices are also automatically adjusted to exclude VAT (after you create a profile and log in). This was my third order in two months and each time, the items arrived speedily in perfect condition.

7 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Hi! Long time reader, but have never commented, of course until now! I purchased the palette & the smokey eye set as well from Zuneta. I remember reading on IndigoKirRoyale's site that the adapter is that circle with the dent on the cleaning wand. You press the tip of the pencil in the dent I guess after you sharpen it too pointy to round it down. Haha, I was wondering the same thing as you - what the heck is this 'adapter'?! LolPS Great blog ;)

From your swatches, I love both of those eye tints. I'm very tempted by that nail colour, I'm so disappointed that I can't get involved with this collection because of my eyeshadow and nail polish no-buy! Thank you so much for sharing your pictures.

hi,The swatches of the two Eye Tints are quite heavily layered and they apply much more sheer on the eyelids. Baroque doesn't show up on my lids at all while Romanticism is a translucent beige brown. Wish I had your willpower to stick to a no-buy!