Wanderess Escape by Wander Beauty

With the Australian borders more or less closed, and Hotel Quarantine now on the individual to pay for, international travel is off the cards for the remainder of 2020. Probably also for a good chunk of 2021, too. I mean I couldn't even leave NSW right now if I wanted to. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but it hurts me - I am an intrepid wanderer. Adventure is calling me. 

That in mind, I'm also a (very) amateur makeup lover. I'm not trained, I'm not an artist, I'm not a guru - I just like it, it gives me confidence and sometimes it can take me feeling like trash to feeling like I'm not too bad. Lipstick, eyeliner and eyeshadow palettes are my thing (to my fiscal detriment) and I've accrued a little collection. Which I also just decluttered a little so it doesn't creep out of control on me. 

So when I came across this brand its like it married two things that I love. 

Wander Beauty is a makeup brand that combines a love for travel with a love for makeup. They have developed a bunch of products designed for travellers to take with them around the world; all of their products are designed to be compact, multi-functional and easy to use. The kind of stuff that fits in your travel makeup bag, still works amazingly and won't literally weigh you down - us travellers know that minimising weight (in our luggage!) can make the wandering life so much easier.   

Check out their website here. 

So, online strolling through Sephora one day (because I got time right now) I came across the Wander Beauty Wanderess Escape eyeshadow palette. The colours looked so fresh and light, definitely wearable and complementary to my (virtually translucent) skin tone. But what caught my eye the most was the theme of the palette itself - its virtually a collection of memories of fans of Wander Beauty with each shadow inspired by a particular moment in time. Travels. 

You can read the full story and watch the video here.

It hooked me, brought back that a little piece of that travel high and brought back a lot of memories for me. So I had to pick it up - I decluttered recently so I had the space and it wasn't going to break my bank. 

Like I said before whilst I love makeup I'm neither a makeup artist or connoisseur, so when I say I think that the palette is really good be sure to take it with a grain of salt. That in mind: I love the palette, partially for the novelty aspect of it admittedly, but generally I found that the shadows were high quality, soft, creamy and blendable with rich pigmentation. The foils and shimmers like Flourish, Daydream, Santorini and Sea Glass applied best with a finger but looked amazing when I did. The looks that I was able to make with the palette were more neutral, understated and wearable when I wanted them to be, and more glam when I needed that. 

The shadows, particularly the mattes, gave a little bit of kick-back when I dipped in with a brush - evidence of how soft they are - so I did find that using a lighter hand went a long way in reducing the fallout. Nonetheless, they were still easy to work with as an amateur and they didn't muddy up on my eyes into one gross homogeneous colour (like Naked Smokey seems to do to me). I'd go as far to say I like the Wanderess Escape as much in terms of quality, wear-ability and application as much as I love my Two Faced Natural Nudes palette (my current favourite). Not as cheap as Colourpop, my favourite eyeshadow  generally, but worth the money nonetheless. 

I also want to note that I prefer not to purchase from companies that aren't cruelty free, which Wander Beauty is. Its important to me to do my best for sustainability and the environment, so cruelty free is one way that I've spent years working on. I'm not perfect - I do have some products that aren't cruelty free in my collection which were gifts, older purchases or products I haven't found a CF alternative for yet. A lot of companies change their stance on the topic from time to time as well, so companies I may have bought from previously may become inapplicable or unavailable. I keep track of cruelty free companies and the ones that sell in China (which require testing by law) with websites like Cruelty Free Kitty and the Happy Bunny app. Cruelty free is such a big topic I'll have to get into it another time. I'm not 100% cruelty free yet and I'm not vegan - its a work in progress. 

In addition, the Wanderess Escape palette is also BPA, paraben, phithalate, synthetic fragrance, mineral oil and gluten free as well. 

If I was able to go back in time with the palette, I'd definitely have taken it with me on my 6-month La Vie Europe trip back in 2014 (first post here). It reminds me of my time in Mykonos, Cannes and Monaco and makes me so damn nostalgic. 

If it sounds like something you'd be keen to try out, you can get it at Sephora AU here. Its truly an underrated neutral, natural palette and would be a nice summery addition to anyone's collection. Nothing to blow your socks off, but nice, comforting and simple, like a day on the beach in the Greek Isles or at sunset in the bustle of Monaco. 

They also have two smaller palettes available in Sephora Australia (which, yes, I will be purchasing) and a much larger collection on their website with a variety of products I've yet to try. 

Sam xox

*This is not sponsored by Wander Beauty - I wish! - but I genuinely love it so I still recommend.