In my Failed Low-Buy post, I mentioned that between Black Friday and holiday sales, there were 24 eyeshadow palettes I hadn’t even swatched. Although I’ve made several palette reviews since then, I still had so many untouched palettes. So, just before I left for my trip, I wanted to at least swatch some of them to help get the ball rolling.

Huda Beauty Em(power)ed Palette

Although I still haven’t used this palette, I wanted to say that Manifest It is that strange gel formula that Huda added to the Naughty palette, but the pigment is in cream form instead of the circular balls. In order to swatch that shadow accurately in this palette filled with all different eyeshadow textures, I had to take a cosmetic spatula and basically recombine the clear hard waxy gel and pigment together to get an even coating of color. Initially I pressed my finger into it, but then a giant chunk came out of the palette, and I figured I would need to fully mix it to get it to even adhere back to the pan without falling out.

Also, when I first saw this palette, I was so excited because I misread the cover and thought Huda was partnering with the (RED) charity, which puts (RED) on their products and I even used to have a shirt with EMPOWE(RED) on it. It was something I used to support when Bono was the face of it back in my high school days and early college days, having bought several merch items with it. Then I realized it was (Power) being singled out in the word and had nothing to do with it. I was disappointed, but still wanted the palette for all its textures, being a neutral color story that actually appealed to me, and to finally have my first of Huda’s larger size palettes and see if the quality is really that much better than the smaller ones as some people have said.

Lethal Cosmetics Evergreen Palette

I prefer to get individual eyeshadows of the exact shades I want from Lethal Cosmetics, but the amount of singles I wanted from Evergreen would have cost more than the full palette. Plus, with the Black Friday discount, I was able to get even more of a deal.

Lethal Cosmetics Eyeshadow Singles in Runic, Symmetry, Lithophyte, Volant, Parsec, and Nox

These were the singles that made more sense to buy individually. I also haven’t worn them yet, but I’m pleased with this selection. They weren’t intended to be a cohesive color story, but it’s a happy accident!

Glamlite Strawberry Shortcake Berrylicious Palette

In addition to the palette, I also bought the adorable strawberry sponge, which I have not used yet either.

I intended to review the Glamlite Happy Hour Collection, but I had such a difficult time dealing with the intense creasing (some of the worst I’d ever experienced) that I was too turned off by the palettes to review them. I stayed away from the palettes that came after, that is, until this one from Strawberry Shortcake. The shades (including those gorgeous Duochromes) were too pretty to resist and I used a code during the launch to make it even less of a risk if it didn’t turn out the way I hoped. We shall see how it goes with this one in the future!

Beauty Bay Dark Fantasy Palette

I’ve heard good things about this formula, so I waited until they had a color story that spoke to me to buy one. They certainly swatch beautifully! I’m hopeful that I’ll like it!

Buxom x Ash K Holm Palette

This is the exception to the palettes purchased during Black Friday 2022, but this palette was from November 2021, and I only used it once back in April 2022. I put one eye look on each eye twice, and never felt inspired to use it again. I like the color story, and as silly as it is, the shade being called Scorpio made me want to like this palette even more. However, the quality was just “fine.” It certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t spectacular either. I barely tried anything from Buxom, which is why I bought this palette in the first place. However, I’ve been debating so long whether or not to even keep this palette because I want more than just okay eyeshadows in my collection now.

That’s everything for today. Thank you for viewing!

-Lili ❤