Well because ACW has a relationship with Stars Makeup Haven, SMH created five new eyeshadow shades exclusively for ACW.

And since SMH has been gracious enough to let me swatch all their shades so far, ACW asked if I would like to complete my library by swatching these as well. You bet I would!

The first four shades are pigmented, smooth, really soft, and shimmery/frosty. Squeak is peachy beige.  Bayli (my favorite) is a soft grey-brown. Ally Cat is also taupe, but it’s darker and more brown. “7″ is plum brown. As a matte, Taz is a little chalky; it’s a browned wine color. SMH shadows are $6 each, and they’re the same size as MAC’s eyeshadow pans.

But wait, there’s more!

ACW has created a sale code just for KarlaSugar.net readers! From now through midnight Pacific Time on September 26th, take $10 off your purchase of $100 or more with code karlasug10. This code is valid no matter where in the world you live.

AND (because I want you guys to try these new shades and tell me what you think), I have two sets to give away. Two randomly selected winners will each receive all five shades (though one of the prizes has been swatched… sorry).

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this post and tell me what you think of the five new shades. You may enter this contest only once, subsequent entries will be disregarded. Naturally, anyone in the world can enter. This contest ends at midnight Central Time on Sunday, September 26.

Stars Makeup Haven shadows are sold as pans (which fit into their own 12-, 15-, or 28-pan palettes, or MAC’s 4-pan or 15-pan palettes. Or Elf palettes). They’re $4.95 each, and you can buy them at StarsMakeupHaven.com or AllCosmeticsWholesale.com.

As you know, I swatch everything without a base. By swatching under identical conditions, I feel I can compare one set of swatches to another — seeing what was creamy, what was chalky, etc.

When I first “met” Stars Makeup Haven, I was most impressed by their absurdly pigmented eyeshadows — even without a base, the colors were brilliantly intense and creamy. But several of the new shades are a different formula. They’re more like MAC’s Mineralize Shadows, and without a base, they don’t stick very well.

I thought Primal, Charisma, and Rebel Yell did just fine, even without a base. Vintage, Protege, Aurora, Black Forest, Peri-wink, and Paramour held up pretty well, too. But I felt I was doing these shadows a disservice by not swatching them under realistic conditions.

So I reswatched, using moisturizer as a base (Nivea Original Lotion — nice for your hands, not for your eyelids). I think you can see that using a base made a huge difference. The shades are really vibrant — almost at a Solar Bits level of intensity. If Mineralize shadows and Solar Bits are products you love, definitely check these out.
So about that contest. I have two sets of the 15 new shades, and I’m going to give one away to a Facebook friend, and one to a Twitter follower.

If you follow me on Twitter, leave a comment here with your Twitter name.

Facebook friends, further instructions will be posted on Facebook.

This contest ends on Friday at midnight, and is open to readers anywhere in the world.

Today concludes our swatch-look at the 32 newest shades of SMH eyeshadows — and true to the brand’s beginnings, there are some really bright new shades. These shadows come in 1″ pans (the same size as MAC shadows), and are $4.95 each — though from now until Sunday, you can take 15% off your order with the code karlasugar. Stars Makeup Haven also ships anywhere in the world, so don’t let your location keep you from placing an order.
Fireflies is a creamy, matte, dirty yellow. Call a Treuse is a matte chartreuse. X-Treme is fluorescent, matte, highlighter yellow (and not as effortlessly pigmented as some of SMH’s shades. I’ve gotten used to “kicking it up to eleven” in just one swipe).

I think of all the new shades, I heard the most whispered excitement for Teal Tuesday and Scandalous — but I just don’t know if these two were as smooth and creamy as, say, Evergreen and Regal. Rush Hour is a very white, frosted mint. Southern Belle is a satin pale pink. Bombshell is matte pink-melon (which reminded me a bit of Paradisco). Sparks is a frosty red/orange-copper. Cat’s Meow is frosty bubblegum pink; Euphoria is matte fuchsia.

To check out the entire catalog of Stars Makeup Haven Eyeshadow, click here.

Now, about today’s giveaway. Now that you’ve seen all the shades, I’d like you to put together a fantasy quad and give it a name.

Leave your entry in a comment below — tomorrow I’ll announce all the winners from this past week, and then they will be responsible for emailing me over the weekend (or I’ll pick new winners on Monday). That way nobody’s email address is exposed to spambots. Cool? Cool.

Today’s prize shadows are Rush Hour and Call a Treuse. The prize shadows have been swatched (sorry). The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, and it ends tonight at midnight, CST. Good luck!

P.S. Look for bonus giveaways on Facebook and Twitter! Just sayin’

I’ve previously mentioned how ridiculously creamy and pigmented SMH shadows are — not all of the new mattes are quite as lush (I guess it’s easier to make a frosty shadow uber-creamy).

And this just in: Stars Makeup Haven has offered to reactivate the karlasugar code. Take 15% off your order (at StarsMakeupHaven.com) from now until Sunday — no minimum purchase!
Fantasy is a shimmery Cinderella-ballgown blue. Calypso is a smoky cerulean. Striptease is a shimmery blue violet. Ultra Violet is an intense, shimmery violet (as you’d expect). Pandora, the curious Greek girl who opened a box and let trouble and worry escape into the world, is a slightly shimmery lilac. Fifi is a slightly shimmery violet-blue duochrome. Foxy is an intense, frosty violet. Raisin’ Cane is a matte smokey greyed purple. Glitz (ironically?) is a raisiny red-brown purple. Chic is a grape-juicy red purple.

Just so you know, I’m adding these new swatches to the Stars Makeup Haven Eyeshadow Recap as I post them (so that recap remains up-to-date).

Now, about today’s giveaway. Today I’d like to know what product would you like to see Stars Makeup Haven produce next? It can be a new shade of eyeshadow or a different product entirely.

We’re doing today’s contest the same as yesterday’s: you don’t have to leave any contact information. On Friday I’ll announce the winners in a post, and then they will be responsible for emailing me over the weekend (or I’ll pick new winners on Monday). That way nobody’s email address is exposed to spambots. Cool? Cool.

Today’s prize shadows are Foxy and Raisin’ Cane. The prize shadows have been swatched (sorry). The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, and it ends tonight at midnight, CST. Good luck!

P.S. Look for bonus giveaways on Facebook and Twitter! Just sayin’

I was discussing SMH shadows with Aradiapdx (in preparation for her recent tutorial), and I loved what she had to say about them:

They really are like using pressed pigments in many ways (good and bad… mostly good, but I love pigments and am accustomed to them). First, they are super pigmented (really awesome). I went to Sephora wearing them, and multiple salesgirls asked me what brand the shadows were — they marveled at how intense the color was. (The Dior sales associate at Nordstrom thought it might be one of the Chanel quads.) I applied these completely dry: no mixing mediums/intensifiers, no moisture whatsoever on the brushes. When I told them how cheap they are, they were shocked (and asked for the website). Like dealing with pigments, however, there is a good bit of fallout. Be sure to keep a big fluffy brush handy so you can brush fallout off carefully as it happens (especially with the darker colors). Obviously, if you apply the shadows wet, there will be less fallout and even more color intensity. Overall, I am really impressed with these — they really work better than some of the expensive shadows I have. All in all, a fun and cheap addition to my collection.

Stars Makeup Haven shadows come in 1″ pans (the same size as MAC’s), and they’re $4.95 each. You can buy them at either StarsMakeupHaven.com or AllCosmeticsWholesale.com — or you could win some in today’s giveaway.
Carnal Knowledge is a shimmery sand. Sin-sational is a shimmery pale pink. The aptly named Breathless is a shimmery muted purple. Bamboo is a fabulous matte greyed-purple. Sex Pot is like a matte version of Breathless. Ciao Bella! is a very slightly shimmery stone. Icon is a matte yellow brown. Charade is a matte cool brown (with maybe a hint of purple in it? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?). Shameless is a matte red brown, slightly warmer than Charade. Couture is a shimmery, frosty yellow brown. Two to Tango is a bright frosty ginger copper.

Now, about today’s giveaway. As you know, I’m behind the times. Especially on YouTube — but I want to catch up! So please, leave me a comment and tell me who I should be watching on YouTube. (You can also tell me what you think of these shadows.)

The free contest widget I’ve been using limits the number of contests I can have in a month, so here’s how we’re going to do this one. There will be one-day contests like these today, tomorrow, and Thursday. You can enter all three. On Friday I’ll announce the winners in a post, and then they will be responsible for emailing me over the weekend (or I’ll pick new winners on Monday). That way nobody’s email address is exposed to spambots. Cool? Cool.

Today’s prize shadows are Sin-sational and Breathless. The prize shadows have been swatched (sorry). The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, and it ends tonight at midnight, CST. Good luck!

P.S. Look for bonus giveaways on Facebook and Twitter! Just sayin’.

Lights
Warms
Greens and Blues
Blues
Pinks and Purples
Neutrals and more Purples
Just Purples
Colors! (assorted)
All Cosmetics Wholesale Exclusive shades

I also got a question yesterday about ingredients. Each shadow has its ingredients printed on the back. I haven’t been posting them because I thought that would make for the longest posts ever. If you need to know ingredients before making an order, email me and I’ll send you back the results.

And just in case you forgot, the code karlasugar at Stars Makeup Haven (15% off your order, no minimum) expires this Sunday, August 16.
V.I.Pink is a reflective, stargazer lily pink. Starlet is a satin-finish rose-mauve pink. Shimmerbrick is a shimmery, sparkly brick red. Showstopper is a matte, warm pink-purple brown. Wine Not? is a high-shimmer grape. Dominatrix is sheeny, darkly shimmery plum coffee. Cocoa is low-sparkle yellow brown, like milk chocolate. Frenzy reminded me of Urban Decay’s Underground liner in both sheen and color. Warm & Fuzzy is similar, but a little more yellow/golden. And Plum Crazy is a sheeny blue-purple.

For those of you just joining us, this week we’re admiring all 50 shades of a relatively new makeup line. SMH got its start as a website selling pigment-pressing supplies and empty palettes — and though they still sell those items, they’re applying their wealth of cosmetics experience to developing their own line. They’ve started with these remarkably soft, and incredibly pigmented eyeshadows — $4.95 each, sold in pans the same size as MAC’s (1″ or 26mm).

For the rest of this week (ending Sunday, August 16), SMH is also offering you readers a special discount: 15% off your total order with the code karlasugar.
1492 is an intense, reflective, Dodger blue. Pacific Rim is matte smoky blue. Walkin’ After Midnight is a shimmery blackened sapphire. Dress Blues is a reflective, shimmery cerulean. Steel Away is a shimmery country gingham blue. Electra-fied is a very sparkly, shimmery silver. In a Bind reminded me of MUFE’s Star Black Aqua Eyes liner, and I think it’s just slightly warmer than Smoke & Mirrors, which is cooler and more silver. Unzipped is matte black; The White Shadow is the matte white I alluded to earlier in the week.