Joining the Legendary Diversa line from Oden’s Eye, the Perfect World Collection is their new round of Influencer collabs. Makeup Just for Fun and Lauren Mae Beauty are two of the three YouTubers they worked with that I’m subscribed to, but it was only Amanda’s palette that I felt would add something to my collection. I was one of the early purchasers, so I was able to get the faux silk ribbon that came with it.
At the time that I’m writing this, Flora Story is the only one that sold out. It’s being restocked for one final time on March 23rd, so I wanted to make sure I included my first impression thoughts in this Swatchfest post. I also included two eye looks for this palette, as well as Solmane II, which is another palette the brand continues to restock. Cat’s Breath is still available, but I suspect it will be discontinued once sold out, just like the other items in the Freja Collection.
My previous reviews of other Oden’s Eye products can be found listed with links on this page here.
Oden’s Eye + Makeup Just For Fun Flora Story Palette
It’s interesting that the multichrome, Dawn, looks yellow and pink in the arm swatches when it’s purely orange on my eyes. In fact, this multichrome reminds me of Pink Chameleon from the Norn’s palette and Double-Sided from the Hela palette. I love being able to get multichromes from Oden’s Eye at an affordable price, but they tend to look a bit similar to one another.
These mattes are mostly easy to use, but they feel slightly thinner than I’m used to from the brand. They still give decent color payoff despite being soft muted colors, with the exception of Sage that ended up looking quite similar to Clover on my eyes, even though they look completely different in swatches. The issue is that I had a harder time building up Sage to something deep enough for my outer corner. Without being able to build it up more opaquely, there wasn’t as much distinction from Clover which was used first. Perhaps I would have gotten more color payoff if I used Sage first.
I used Orchid first in my second eye look, but I was disappointed that this turned out to be one of those types of purples that have a magenta tinge that when blended out gives me two different tones of purple and makes it look improperly blended or patchy on my eyes no matter how much I build it up. I still managed to create a look that I thought was beautiful, but I covered up some of the patchiness by throwing the shimmer on top. There might be a trick to using purples like these that I just haven’t discovered yet, and I only played with this palette for one day, so perhaps another primer could have also helped the situation.
As for the shimmers, some felt chunkier and wetter than others. Best Buds felt and performed the most like a typical Oden’s Eye shadow, but I was suprised that Misty was not very easy to smooth onto my lids. Despite being thick, it still had some spots I could see my skin beneath. Magnolia was thinner in consistency and didn’t have as opaque of a base either. It also gave me quite a bit of fallout. In using these shimmers, I suddenly remembered the complaints I’d heard about there being too much mineral oil or dimethicone in some of Oden’s Eye’s new single eyeshadows (inconsistently across the range). I’m wondering if they started increasing the amount of it in their formulas with these newer palettes from Christmas last year and onward. How wet it feels and the consistency doesn’t necessarily dictate how it will perform though because Lush was a little thick and wet, but did go on more opaque than the other shimmers.
It could be the case that these shimmers perform exactly the way Amanda intended. I think she prefers building up her shadows and likes color, but not too intense. For that reason, I wouldn’t want to judge this palette as any sign of the direction of Oden’s Eye. I just wanted to compare it to other palettes in the past so one can have an idea of what to expect.
The eyeliner in the Green look is from Melt Cosmetics.
Even though this isn’t my favorite formula, I still like the palette and the shades and it’s not too hard to come up with a pretty look with a little bit of effort. It’s not so much effort as to make me not want to reach for it though, nor consider it bad in any way. It’s very nice, just not on the level of amazing. I can appreciate though that the colorful nature of it, while still being in softer tones, makes it stand out among past palettes from the brand. I was right in thinking it would be something different from the kinds of palettes and color stories I usually get. Plus, the added wetness led to only the tiniest amount of creasing. The amount I consider negligible.
I bought both the Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas Palettes from Oden’s Eye and received two free ornament keychains with my purchase. I was very easily drawn to the Merry Christmas palette because of the greens and how on theme that color scheme is, but the Christmas Eve palette wouldn’t leave my mind. There was something so intriguing about the non-blue shades. I’m still in anti-blue mode, but I can feel that start to dissipate for now. At the time, I still felt it was worth getting the palette for all the other colors. That turned out to be a great decision because it was even more gorgeous in person and Oden’s Eye did not end up restocking these two despite the pleas from customers who I still see three months later asking for a restock on social media.
Christmas Eve Palette
Merry Christmas Palette
I’ve used these holiday palettes every so often since getting them, but mostly in combination with eyeshadows from other brands. That’s why I don’t have many photos of those instances (used on non-testing days). The hype is real on these! I love the shades. I love the performance. The shimmers are so bright and reflective. The mattes are still on the thin side, but blend and build beautifully. I think there are some similarities between these shades and past palettes, but I like having them in one place. I admittedly have only used half of the eyeshadows in both palettes, but so far so good! If other palettes hadn’t taken priority (ones actually available to purchase), I would have used these way more already. I wanted so badly to bring at least the Merry Christmas palette on the trip with me, but I didn’t have room.
Although the brand hasn’t said anything about restocking them, I think it would be smart if they waited until this coming Christmas to bring them back. As much as the demand is for them now, they are still holiday themed palettes, and it would make more sense to return during the actual holidays. As long as they keep the same formula (which does have some chunkier and wetter shimmers like in the Flora Story palette, but they’re at least fully opaque), I would recommend getting one or both.
Solmane II Palette
I only used this palette once so far, just before I left for my trip. In the eye look using the entire bottom row, I had a easy time applying everything until I got to Black Hole. Normally, I tend to love the black eyeshadows from Oden’s Eye (Colourful Black from the Norn’s palette is still one of my favorites to this day, plus I like Complete from the Hela palette), but this one was tougher to blend. I tried to build it carefully and slowly. I could still make it work, but it’s definitely not effortless.
Galaxy was also not the easiest to use either, similar to Orchid from the Flora story palette. However, I was in a rush doing that eye look, so I’m going to give that one another shot in the future. Meteor is more like a topper shadow, but still pretty. I could have used it on its own and been happy with the look, but it also worked to intensify the shine level on top of Hallucinations.
For being nearly pastels, I was impressed with how Soft Cloud and Dream looked on my eyes (more so Soft Cloud because of the opacity). Pastels aren’t the most flattering on me, from my perspective, but I’m interested to see how else I can incorporate these shades in future looks. They look and perform similarly to shades I own from Lethal Cosmetics.
I definitely need to use this palette more before I make up my mind about how I feel. Sometimes it only takes one instance to know, but not this time.
Cat’s Breath Palette
I don’t have any opinions on Cat’s Breath because I haven’t used it on my eyes yet. I just wanted to share the swatches. This palette and Solmane II are the ones I bought during Black Friday because I was attracted to some of the shades, but not all, and I didn’t think buying them at full price would be a good idea for me. Honestly, I wanted Cat’s Breath for the packaging artwork. I mean, how cute is it?
I hope this was helpful, even though it wasn’t a full-on review. As I mentioned in the beginning, I know the restock for Flora Story is coming in a few days, Solmane II was just restocked recently as well, plus a few of the Oden’s Eye singles. This will probably be when a lot of new purchases will be made, but I also wanted to remind the shoppers out there who love a good bargain (like I do) that Oden’s Eye usually has a decent sale during Easter, or at least they usually have some kind of deal like Mystery Boxes. That could mean wanting products from launches two weeks apart with shipping to consider. It would be a risk to wait if you want the Flora Story palette, but I wanted to at least give that reminder about Easter.
For those who may be wondering, I do consider myself a big fan of Oden’s Eye products, but I won’t be buying the individual shadows unless they make some announcement about they having a “new and improved formula,” after the major creasing and fading issues I’ve seen on Instagram. The fact that I’m on another low-buy this year is what saved me from potentially being in the same boat. I’m also disappointed about the lack of transparency about it and them not addressing it despite how many months have passed. Plus, I’ve heard customer service complaints have been ignored, which in my experience had always been good in the past. So, I’m not sure what to make of that situation. I think it’s important that I at least mention it because I don’t want anyone to make purchases without knowing potential issues that may arise with certain products or customer service.
From 2018 until 2020, Coloured Raine used to be my number one favorite brand for non-multichrome eyeshadows. What made me take a long break from buying their palettes was them discontinuing their eyeshadows to go full vegan. I’ve had issues with some vegan formulas blending away to nothing, or being too hard to blend, and being patchy. Some of the ones that did perform decently didn’t have an acceptable preservation method (tying in with the “clean beauty” anti-parabens movement), so I’d get hardly a year before the performance of the shadows changed and/or went bad. So, I was already skeptical about whether or not Coloured Raine’s new vegan formula could measure up to their old one. When they released their Juicy Boost Collection in August 2020, the reviews I watched with the demos were terrible! That was enough for me to want to steer clear of their eyeshadows until their 2022 Memorial Day sale in May. I figured that should be enough time for the brand to fix whatever formula issues they had, so I decided to give them another chance.
The formulas, textures, and how the makeup performs turned out to be different depending on the collection. In today’s post, I’ll be sharing my observations and experiences with these products. Just keep reading to find out which items I loved and which ones I should have avoided!
Coloured Raine Cream Blushes in Spicy (Original), Stiletto Rose and Copper Rose (Botanical Collection)
The first thing to know about these blushes is that despite them all sharing the description of “cream blush,” the original four that launched, which includes Spicy, are completely different from the two blushes from the Botanical Collection. The ingredient lists are different, along with the textures and pigmentation. The container of the originals are larger than the Botanical Blushes too!
Spicy has a waxy consistency that’s so tacky it lifts up when touched. It’s thicker and more opaque. Picking up a little is still too much, so I put it on the back of my hand and warm up a small section first before applying it to my cheeks with that finger in tapping motions and then a final light sweep of the finger across the cheeks to ensure it’s fully smoothe. A little product comes off underneath, but it’s so pigmented that it will cover up the missing spot anyway. A brush will pick up way too much, but it’s still possible to use by putting it on the back of the hand or a makeup palette first (or even tapping the excess off on a towel) to get a lighter even layer across the bristles before applying it to the cheeks. I still prefer fingers because I have more control that way and can also warm up the product.
The Botanical Blushes have a higher concentration of slip agents (various silicones) that feel a little more gel-like, but still like a softer wax once the heat of a finger melts that top layer. I keep my finger on top of a spot for several seconds before I start to rub to pick up the blush onto my finger and tap it onto the cheeks. It looks like it will be just as pigmented as the original line of blushes, but when blended, it sheers out a fair amount. So, it takes a few light layers to build up to my satisfaction. This product also lifts what’s underneath, but it still looks fine to me as a veil of color. In the spots with discoloration that lifts, I put concealer back on top of the discolored spot and pack a little more blush on top, and those additional layers help it to stay. I can use a brush with these, but it doesn’t pick up as much product without warmth.
These blushes remain creamy on the face. If I’m wearing something like the Rose Inc Luminous Foundation Serum, that wetter products tend to set well on top of, and apply the Botanical blushes in a thin layer with a brush, it can mostly set down. However, for the amount of pigmentation I want that isn’t just a flush, it’s going to remain creamy feeling on the skin unless I set it with powder. Spicy will absolutely not set on its own, plus easily transfers, so I only wear it powder-set. Setting all three of them with powder only temporarily makes them feel dry but at least does take down the creaminess enough that it won’t feel sticky or tacky. Powder-setting also makes the Botanical Blushes more transfer-resistant, but when it comes to Spicy it will definitely still transfer when touched, just a little less. Setting with powder has the final benefit of toning down the intensity level of Spicy, and even Stiletto Rose if I go overboard with that color.
These blushes will last all day, even without powder, as long as they aren’t touched. However, it’s just my preference to set them with powder, especially with a powder blush on top to add some nuance to the shades.
The photos above demonstrate the blushes with different foundations and at different times of the year. The middle three with the dark blue shirt were under the lighting conditions of my ring light. The others were with indoor lighting and some natural light coming in from behind the window blinds.
Had I completed this review three months ago, I’d have said, “These blushes require a little more effort, but are nice enough that I may still reach for them from time to time.” However, I’ve been going through my cream and liquid blush collection a lot more lately, and in comparison, these rank so low on the list. They still aren’t bad products, but I have so many options that don’t pick up product underneath, don’t require warmth or having to baby the formula, or do any other extra steps. Plus, my other blushes are in far more interesting colors. I’ve realized that I don’t like standard crayola type of blush colors like a pure orange, pure red, or pure pink. I love reddish browns, terracottas, pinky-orange corals, pinkish-browns, etc. Those type of colors look more natural on me. I expected Spicy to be a reddish orange with some brown, but it’s actually a slightly yellow leaning orange that may as well just be “orange.” Copper Rose sounded like it would be a fun copper-pink, but most of its warmth just comes from being picked up and mixed with my foundation and concealer while being blended on my cheeks. It’s not a very unique pink by itself. Stiletto Rose is a very common rosy red, although it’s the prettiest to me of them all. I always wore a combination of Stiletto Rose and Copper Rose (on the apples) together anyway, which is why I initially had a better impression of those blushes. However, if I view these as individual products, they’re not something I want in my collection anymore.
Coloured Raine Lip Liners in Pine (Secret Garden), The Bee’s Knees (Queen Bee), and Decadent (Botanical)
It was very difficult to tell the differences among the selection of lip liner shades on the website. I now realize it’s because the ones I wanted are so incredibly similar! Pine was the first one from Coloured Raine I tried and later bought a backup of because it’s the first shade I ever found that I can actually cover my full lip-line with and have it look normal. I have a very thick and pronounced lip line (Vermilion border) that is way lighter than my lips and surrounding mouth color. So, when I have used lip liners on my actual lip line (and not just the edge between the lip and lip line), it always emphasized that thickness and looked like I attempted to overline my lips because it sticks out, even when it’s still within the lines. The color is described as a “spiced brown” and I consider it like a caramel-pink-brown.
The Bee’s Knees is described as a “brick” color, but it looks more like a neutral brown to me on my arm. In fact, I looked at the website photos again comparing the other shade in the Queen Bee collection and The Buzz is supposed to be the neutral brown. I almost wondered if some got swapped in the manufacturing process because my lip pencil stick doesn’t have any red in it that I can see, like the ones below, and instead looks like the brown ones near it. However, on my actual lips I think I see some red tones after building up the color? Like maybe a splash? If so, it’s certainly not as red as I expected and less red than I’d expect from a brick color. When built up, it’s also darker than Pine. It’s pretty regardless.
The third and final lip liner shade is the darkest of the three and also the creamiest, which I find interesting since it’s the one that launched first. I’m guessing the brand decided to switch formulas after this collection, which is a very plausible theory based on a comparison of the ingredient lists. The other two glide across the lips nicely and aren’t too soft or too stiff, but I do prefer the feel of Decadent. This color is described as, “neutral brown with slightly cool undertones” and I can see that in the squiggle swatch. Also, the lip liners from the Botanical collection came with sharpeners at the bottom. The newer lip liners do not. Perhaps the brand didn’t feel it was necessary because of the formula differences.
I haven’t noticed any issues or differences with the longevity among them all. They suit my needs and because they’re all so similar in color, they all work for me and give me that ability to line my lips in a way that others I’ve tried haven’t. It’s very specific to me, but it’s a huge deal. In general, objectively, I still believe these are a nice comfortable long lasting product.
Coloured Raine Paint Base Eyeshadow Base in Wheat
I first tried this primer underneath the eyeshadows from the Coloured Raine Botanical Palette and was disappointed to see the shadows creased. After all, the eyeshadow primer is expected to work the best with the brand’s own eyeshadows, so that wasn’t a good sign for anything else I planned to use with it. However, in using it with my well behaved and favorite eyeshadows, and then as an alternative primer for eyeshadows I was testing that didn’t perform as well with my MAC Paint Pot, I realized it actually wasn’t the fault of the Paint Base! I’ll get back to the Botanical Palette in the next section, but basically every palette I tried with the Paint Base performed better or at least equal to my other primers! It quickly became one of the primers I keep in rotation along with the Gerard Cosmetics Clean Canvas and MAC Paint Pot. In fact, I bought a backup of it during the brand’s Black Friday sale.
I really like the ABH eye primer, but it is quite drying. That one helps to combat the oils that produce on my eyelids, but that’s sometimes to the detriment of buildable type of eyeshadows being able to stick properly. This Coloured Raine primer is similar to the ABH primer, but is less drying, which makes it the better of both worlds between combating the oils but still ensuring the eyeshadows can adhere properly. It’s fantastic! Because I bought the shade Wheat, it matches the color of my eyelids better and isn’t so stark against my skin, but still helps the shadows to pop. As with most primers, a little goes a long way (though not as long as the ABH and Gerard Cosmetics ones which are even more pigmented and thicker in consistency). Wheat still provides a good amount of coverage over the discoloration on my eyelids.
It’s interesting that the brand touts the squalane and sodium hyaluronate because I would have expected that to not go well with oily prone lids and would produce too much moisture for me, but it works somehow! The Paint Base sets on my lids to a natural finish. Perhaps those ingredients are what keeps it from being as drying as the ABH one.
When I’m working with an eyeshadow formula that’s not very creamy with a rougher texture, this primer can take a little longer to blend the shadows on it, but it’s a minor difference in time. That’s the extent of the negatives I’ve found in using this primer throughout the year, which made it an almost entirely positive experience.
Coloured Raine Botanical Eyeshadow Palette
I mentioned in the Eye Base review section that despite it being from the same brand, the Coloured Raine eye primer and this palette worked fine, except that it could not keep the shimmers from retreating from the deep line I have on my lid/crease. I have since used this palette with all my tried and true primers, and none of them stop this from happening. The best results I get though is if I set the primer with powder first. Then I’m much less prone to movement and creasing, but it’s not foolproof.
Cream Gerbera barely shows despite packing it on. I don’t mind, as I’d prefer a shade that light to be subtle rather than stark. Iberis and Leonidas have a decent amount of pigment and all three are decently blendable, but that’s a little bit of a letdown in itself because I remember how rich in color and buttery feeling Coloured Raine’s mattes used to be before they got rid of their single shadows. These are fine but not particularly special. The same goes for the shimmers. They are pretty and shimmery enough for my taste, but the formula is so much thinner, less smooth, way less impactful, less pigmented, and not vibrant like their single shadows once were. I mean, Coloured Raine shimmers used to be S-tier. Being “just fine” is going to be hugely disappointing by comparison. The quality of this palette reminds me of Colourpop, which is mostly good, but it’s not even like the best of Colourpop’s formulas.
These types of colors and this overall color story is a lot softer compared to what the brand used to release. I commend them going outside of their comfort zones. However, it isn’t just the color selection and lack of color saturation that makes it slightly underwhelming for me. There are so many brands that make satin shadows and have palettes with soft colors that still somehow look elegant and beautiful on the eyes. The literal texture of the eyeshadows themselves are so soft and buildable. These shadows don’t have those same qualities. They aren’t made the same way.
I also thought it was quite strange that the colors I expected based on how they looked in the pan did not look the same on my skin. Iberis was much more red than plum. Leonidas was a truer orange instead of terracotta. Rose Gold also had a stronger red tone, like a burgundy, when I was expecting a shimmering plum. The colors are still pretty, but when other eyeshadows like from Oden’s Eye and Sydney Grace give me a visceral excited reaction to using their palettes, I don’t see why I would want to reach for this one that doesn’t spark joy. It’s a new year. Being a decent, nice, workable palette isn’t enough. On the bright side, this isn’t one of Coloured Raine’s newest palettes and I believe they’ve continued to work on their formulas since the next palette is one that I actually will be keeping in my collection.
I forgot to mention in the last look that a tiny spot of Primavera is in the center of the lower lash line too.
Coloured Raine Queen Bee Palette
Unlike the Botanical Eyeshadow Palette, this one does not have “Eyeshadow” in the name, which is because it contains pressed pigments. Considering my experience with the previous palette, I was so nervous that the bump up in intensity with the mattes would mean the shadows would perform worse, but that’s not the case. Honeycomb is actually very soft and smooth feeling. I absolutely love this color of orange. Beehave and Pollen in Love are a little rougher to the touch, but they pack on the lids well and blend fairly well. I’ve had a little trouble building Bee-Witched on the other shadows at times, but it just takes a little more effort to get the definition I want without overdoing it or having it look unblended. It’s definitely not my favorite black matte, but it’s workable. Using Honeycomb and Beehave together in the same eye look can be a bit tricky because I get a lot more pigment from Beehave right off the bat and it can easily overshadow/overpower Honeycomb, so I have to be careful with its placement.
The two shimmers look like they would have the same texture, but they’re definitely not the same formula. Unbeelievable is a chunkier and flakier shimmer that gives me a lot of fallout. It’s a foil shadow, but even applying it damp doesn’t give me the smoothness I want. I don’t enjoy that shadow at all and won’t be using it again when I open this palette. It’s a shame because the color is so pretty. On the other hand, Mind Your Beesness is an almost glowing green-gold duochrome with more slip to it so that it glides easier across the lids. Because the binding solution is better, I get less fallout with this one. Honeycomb, Mind Your Beesness, and Pollen in Love are the colors that make this palette memorable and make me excited whenever I use it. This is the one that gives me hope for even better palettes in Coloured Raine’s future.
Black liner was also added to the upper lash line of the last look.
The eyeshadow primer and lip liners are absolute wins for Coloured Raine. The blushes aren’t the best and I have mixed views on the palettes. Considering what I paid, it was worth it to me to give them a chance and figure out how I feel about what the brand produced in 2022. At this point in time, I have hope for them in 2023 and I am truly rooting for them. However, the competition among indie and mainstream brands alike is the toughest it’s ever been. I recognize that they’ve lowered their price point, but I’d rather spend more for better quality. For me to continue purchasing from them, their products have to be truly special or incredibly appealing to my tastes. I look forward to seeing what they’ll release this year and I hope others will still give them a try. I heard positive reviews about their Rebellious Nudes palette, so I feel they’re on the right track. Here’s hoping!
Today’s post will be a long one. There are tons of other reviews about this new holiday launch, but I believe I can add a little more to the conversation with all the comparisons of colors, textures, sizes, pricing, and more that I’m including. There are a few additional items that I wanted to purchase from the brand, but they’re out of stock and will not be available again until 2023. I’ve heard that the brand also intends to expand on the eyeshadow range (along with making the eyeshadow system fully customizable with some form of empty palette option), so there will be a Part 2 at some point next year.
Whenever I review an Influencer/MUA/Celebrity owned brand on this blog for the first time, I include a disclaimer for those concerned about possible biases. So, first, I will say that I’ve been a subscriber of Lisa’s YouTube channel for eight or nine years. I’m not a very consistent watcher, but I’ve had a long time respect for her makeup knowledge, skills, and I own her Face Paint book. Her love of Suqqu, Hakuhodo, and other natural hair brushes is part of the reason (along with Wayne Goss, Tati, etc) that I was motivated to try Japanese brushes for the first time. I’m not following Lisa Eldridge on other social media platforms. I’ve had no personal interaction with her. When it comes to the cosmetics brand, I have only begun purchasing things as of a month ago despite it being around for about four years. So, while I do respect her and like her, I feel I’m still detached enough to review these products objectively. However, the Lisa Eldridge brand is a luxury one and whether I believe the items from a luxury brand are worth the money or not is a lot more subjective due to the nature of things like packaging, special ingredients/formulas, ordering experience, and other extras factoring into the cost. In other words, the value placed on packaging (for example) and its usefulness vs its worth in beauty is going to differ from person to person.
Lisa Eldridge Eyeshadow Formulas
When it comes to these shadows, the colors are secondary to the finish, which is the best indication for whether or not they’re worth buying. There are a few outliers, but the formulas are overall consistent. So, I recommend deciding on the finish and then choosing the shades within those categories that are the most appealing. The single shadows I chose to buy are a hint to my personal preferences: the Velvets and Seamless Mattes.
*The numbers next to the finishes indicate how many I own out of the total of each type available.
Velvets (7 of 9) – I can’t think of any other brand’s eyeshadows that feel like this. The closest comparison is Natasha Denona’s Cream Powder formula, but smoother (or as the name suggests, more velvety). These give an even but thin layer of color. A soft look is fast to achieve. If I want the shadows built up to the full color displayed in the pans, that takes a little extra time and sometimes needing to reapply one shade over the other. However, this is worth it to me because of how perfectly they blend into each other and blend on the eyes. The darker shades are great for adding a smoky effect and definition, but the overall look will still mostly be soft, even with the more vibrant shades, like Victorian Trim.
I alternate between using my fingers and brushes with these eyeshadows, and using a finger sometimes causes too much product to bunch up and gives the surface of the pan a mottled looking texture, but it doesn’t seem to be effecting my ability to use them.
Seamless Mattes (2 of 6) – These feel even closer to the Natasha Denona Cream Powder shadows, but ND’s older formula that’s creamy on the surface but isn’t as wet as her newer ones. This means that the Seamless Mattes are similar to the Velvets, but with more color payoff. Ironically, the Velvets have a more matte looking texture than the Seamless Mattes, which have a little bit of a sheen to them. Although I use certain Velvets to create depth, I think the Seamless Mattes are better suited to that task because of the increased pigmentation and that sheen which looks better when applied on top of the shimmers/metallics I use on the lids.
I also alternate between using a brush and my fingers. I prefer to use a brush for precision and quicker concentrated packing of the shadows. With repeated use of my fingers, the surfaces look like they are forming hard-pan, but they haven’t actually solidified, so I don’t think they will. My older Cream Powder ones are like that too and haven’t become hard-panned either.
Luminous (1 of 3) – Mercurial is the only Luminous finish shadow I have, but it’s a duochrome. I don’t know if the others are as sparkly as this one, but the website description about giving either a light wash or intense top coat effect is accurate. This finish is way more impressive as a topper than the actual Top Coat shadows and is a bit grittier (just in comparison to the insanely smooth texture of some of the other shadows). It’s also easier to build up the opacity than the shade Grotto, which is supposed to be “full on [and] glittery.” I usually prefer to apply shimmers with my fingers, but I get a little fallout with Mercurial, so I tend to start with a brush and then pack on an extra layer with my fingers. Sometimes, I’ll just use it on top of Glitter Glue/Primer.
Metallic (2 of 2) – The Metallic category, at launch, didn’t have the Satin/Metallic subcategory, but I’m glad the brand updated that distinction on the website because I immediately noticed a difference the first time I tried Grotto and Madrigal versus Swansong and Mage within my Sorcery palette. Grotto and Madrigal have a visibly sparkly texture and are more reflective. Madrigal is the most special of the Metallics and Satin/Metallics, but that’s because of the tone of it and being more impactful and shiny on the eyes than the Satin/Metallics. It’s good, but I can name tons of shadows that can do the same or better at a better price. Plus, the glimmer effect dims a little as the day goes on. I’m glad it doesn’t dim down completely or fade off the eyes, but for $16 each, I expect more. Grotto is a shadow I really despised in the beginning. It’s much thinner than Madrigal and I have to apply more layers to get it to show the color and not just the sparkle. The website says, “Both metallics can be applied with fingers for full opacity, or as a wash with a brush,” and Grotto is much more prone to being a wash. I hated that quality at first because it was getting lost in my eye looks and blending too much into the other shades, but I’ve grown to appreciate it slightly more with time. The main reason being that it makes it easier to transition between other shades and also can add a greenish tinge to shadows for an interesting twist. I don’t like that this one fades, but it stays pretty for a while. I would still prefer to use many other greens in my collection over Grotto, so that one isn’t worth it. Madrigal, may be an exception. I still haven’t decided.
Satin/Metallic (4 of 7) – What makes the Satin/Metallics different is the smaller glitter particle size and smoother (satin) texture. These have much lower reflect than the shimmers and metallic shadows I’m used to, though they are a little more sparkly than satins from most other brands. The shimmering quality isn’t intense enough for my liking at all. What they have going for them are the pretty shade offerings and the opacity level. They aren’t “chunky” but a little goes a long way in spreading across the lids, but trying to build it up won’t make it any more intense. As flattering as the tones are, they’re not worth the single shadow price to me.
Top Coat (1 of 2) – This one I genuinely hate, and I don’t use the word “hate” lightly. It’s so difficult to pick up the product. Then, it hardly adds anything to the look after packing it on the lids, no matter how many times I try to build up the layers or even if I apply it wet or with a glitter primer. To be fair, in the website description and in Lisa’s launch video, it’s made very clear that the Top Coats are intended to be subtle. However, a good top coat eyeshadow for me is one that is the opposite and is the most glittery and sparkly type of finish of them all. I didn’t even wait for this review to be posted before I replaced it with Cherubim in my Myth palette. I will never buy one as a single from the brand.
Illusionism also keeps giving the appearance of being about to hard-pan, but since I’ve had trouble packing on the shadow from the beginning, I can’t tell if it actually is starting to or not.
Lustre (0 of 1) – This one I don’t own, so I cannot say what it’s like. I would have purchased Taffeta Fan to try out if the refill option hadn’t sold out. According to the website, “The densely packed, smooth and extra small pearls gives this texture a soft lustrous, pearly finish.” Since the “soft” shadows or shadows with the option to be applied softly haven’t been entirely worth it to me to purchase, I may have lucked out in not being able to buy it, as it sounds like it won’t be my preference.
I’ve had the most success using these shadows with the Gerard Cosmetics Clean Canvas and Coloured Raine Eye Base. MAC Paint Pot and the Makeup by Mario Eye Prep had a tiny bit of creasing, but nothing that obvious. They worked better when set with powder though. So, I recommend using a primer that fully sets but isn’t too drying either. This prevents creasing and aids in longevity. In addition, wetting the non-mattes helps to bring out the shine in the eyeshadows, but it’s a temporary fix. After a while, it goes back to looking however intense it was prior to being dampened.
Also, I have been enjoying using the Velvets and Seamless Mattes with eyeshadows from other brands too. They layer well and the Velvets work like paint in being able to make shadows a little more pink, purple, etc when added on top.
SorceryEyeshadowPalette
Just looking at the pans, the textural differences between the Seamless Matte, Luminous Duo, the two Metallics, and two Satin/Metallics are evident. The Luminous is most sparkly of all and the Metallics have larger particles than the Satin/Metallics.
Sorcery was the first palette to sell out, which is unsurprising to me because it contains the brand’s only duochrome and this has been the year of the green eyeshadow palettes. All of these shades appeal to me (although I’m still in an anti-blue phase but I can still even appreciate the beauty in the vibrancy of Swansong).
I understand that the inspiration for this palette was a peacock tail, and so the blue was necessary. The fact that Troubadour is a very blue leaning green helps to tie Swansong to this palette, but that makes both deepening shades in here blue. I found myself wishing I had either a dark brown to tie in with the greens and gold, or wishing for a true deep green. That’s why I ended up purchasing Deep Ochre and Fired Earth in the event that I wish to remove Swansong entirely.
As a standalone palette though, Sorcery is fantastic and the one I recommend the most. Having such a special shade like Mercurial, plus a unique tone of gold in Madrigal, getting an uncommon (at least in my collection) color like Mage, and one of my favorite formulas in Troubadour makes this especially desirable out of the premade palette options from the brand.
The first four eye looks were using the Sorcery palette alone. I felt that Swansong was quite overpowering in making the blue the focus point when the other shades were the ones I wanted to stand out. So, in the future, if I use Swansong, it will be as a slight pop of color on the outer corner or lower lash line.
Since I purchased the brown shades, I wanted to show how I would likely use them with Sorcery. I then wanted Madrigal to look a little more green, so I added Grotto to one of the looks for a subtle tinge difference. Also, I didn’t feel that I showed off Mercurial enough, so I made sure to include an eye look using it by itself and then as a topper with other shades.
Myth Eyeshadow Palette
I bought Myth later in a separate order. Once I tried the Seamless Matte from Sorcery and heard other people saying the Velvets were like it, but even creamier, I knew I had to buy this palette. Doing it this way was the easiest (and most cost effective) option to get the majority of the Velvet Mattes from the brand. Natasha Denona’s Cream Powder shadows are one of my top favorite formulas, which I’m often tempted to buy whole palettes just to get. So, even though I have shades like Victorian Trim, Violet Stone, and Nocturama a hundred times over in my collection, it was worth getting Myth to have those shades in the Velvet finish. I didn’t own Natasha Denona’s My Dream Palette at the time though, so I didn’t realize I’d be getting two shades similar to Victorian Trim, but more on that in the comparison section later.
Mauve Decade is a shadow I barely have in my collection. The only shade I can think of that’s comparable to it is Naaru from the Kaleidos x Angelic Nyqvist Club Nebula palette. Anything else that looks remotely similar has too much white base in it, turning it pastel, and then it ends up looking ashy and unflattering on my eyes. So, Mauve Decade is extra special and unsurprisingly one of the first single refill shadows to sell out.
I don’t have a lot of shades like Faded Amethyst either, but that’s because I’m not usually interested in that color. I can admit that it looks pretty with the others in this palette though, so I don’t mind having it. Illusionism is the only shadow I knew I wouldn’t want ahead of time, but it was coming with the others anyway. I could see in the launch video that it just wouldn’t give me the oomph I wanted. Even if someone wants a sheer and subtle topper, I can’t see how it’s worth the refill price with the myriad of other indie brands that make phenomenal topper shadows that can be applied sheer or more impactful if built up. Toppers with duochromatic features. I will give Illusionism praise though for not leaving me with much fallout. Perhaps that is enough to make someone desire the Top Coat formula from the brand, but the trouble I had picking up the product to get it on my eyes is a bigger deal to me.
The look above was inspired by the one Lisa did in her launch video. I tried to create some variety in the examples below, but I would realistically do the same one above every time I open this palette (minus Illusionism and just applying Faded Amethyst wet for more impact). I’m obsessed with the combination! I would have never thought to do a magenta pop of color in that spot had it not been for that video. Lisa’s look in the launch video pretty much sold me on the palette.
Since the Muse palette leans pink, the shades from there pair very well with the ones from Myth. So, I wanted to include an example of that in the final eye look above. Also, I wasn’t sure which section I should put this message in, but I wanted to warn about the reddish purple type of shades in this palette. I get teary eyes often and when I’ve worn the shades Vintage Mulberry and Victorian Trim, and had to wipe the corners of my eyes, the tears were pink. It happens every time my eyes decide to be watery. Those two shades basically run on me like non-waterproof mascara can. They haven’t hurt my eyes, but I just wanted to forewarn those in rainy climates or who have watery eyes like me that it could happen. I’ve continued to wear those two shades in my outer corner for depth, but I no longer put them on my lower lash line. Because my eye shape makes me prone to easily getting mascara and shimmer particles in my eyes while taking off my makeup, I’m not quite as concerned when the pink from Victorian Trim gets in my eyes as well, but I felt it was important to mention that the color is easily transferred to the liquid when wet.
Eyeshadow Palette Refills:
Cherubim and Vintage Mulberry (Muse) plus Deep Ochre, Fired Earth, and Bronzite (Cinnabar)
I didn’t buy these shades all in one order. I started with Cherubim first because I was in love with that color. Most pinks look lighter on my skin, and finding a light-medium pink that will show up looking like a soft pink and not ashy isn’t that easy for me to find. I also knew this was the shade I wanted to replace Illusionism with in the Myth palette. Then, because I wanted a shade to add depth without looking so dark and plum like Nocturama, I bought Vintage Mulberry. Vintage Mulberry ended up not looking as dark on my eyes as I expected, so it’s darker but not enough to add as much structure as I wanted. Considering it’s a Velvet, I’m still glad I got it. Then, I couldn’t decide which brown I wanted to use with the Sorcery palette that wasn’t cool-toned, so I added both Deep Ochre and Fired Earth to another order. By the time I bought Bronzite, I already knew the Satin/Metallic finish wasn’t my favorite, but I wanted to give it one more chance and also I wanted a neutral shimmer option. I didn’t realize it would be so orange in person and also so intense! That was a surprise, but still a nice one.
The singles came in their own individual boxes. There are no magnets or plastic used. I just peeled off the sticker keeping the flap securely closed, lifted the flap, and flipped the eyeshadow pan out into my palm. Most of them I had to clean off excess shadow powder around the edges and bottoms of the pans. They are not labeled, so I added my own handwritten sticker labels to them. Some pans are fully flat whereas others have bumps on the bottom. I’m not sure why they aren’t all the same. I can’t help but wonder if the bumped ones were intended for the palettes in the early stages of developing the eyeshadows, but then they decided to offer refills individually and just made all the rest smooth? Or maybe the bumped ones come from a different lab? Perhaps stock of one type of pans were purchased first and the others were found at a better price and purchased after? I’m throwing out complete guesses in the dark. It’s a curious thing that really doesn’t matter at the end of the day. They both stick just fine to magnetic palettes, so that’s what counts.
For the eye looks using my refills, I felt it necessary to show the step by step process because the shade and depth differences are so subtle and I felt it would be too difficult to tell which shades had the most dominance over the look if I only showed the end results.
Shade Comparisons to Natasha Denona’s Cream Powder Eyeshadows
To make things a little easier in this section, I color coded the shade names.
Yellow = Lisa Eldridge Green = Natasha Denona Metropolis Palette Purple = Natasha Denona My Dream Palette Red = Natasha Denona Love Palette Orange = Natasha Denona Bronze Palette
Troubadour, the “deep inky teal,” looks exactly like Symbol in the pan, but it’s much closer to looking like Enigma because it’s closer to blue than green. I would love for Lisa Eldridge to come out with a green like Royal. Actually, I’d love a dupe for Lethal and Troop too.
I didn’t realize the Cream Powders from the My Dream Palette were so similar looking. Instinct is the closer dupe for Victorian Trim, but it’s more pigmented. Had I realized this ahead of time, I might have reconsidered buying the My Dream Palette since I already owned Myth. At the same time, I can see that an argument could be made in favor of the Natasha Palette at $69 (around $58 with the 20% off discount at Sephora plus tax) for 15 shadows versus the Myth Palette at $68 for 6 shadows. I can’t say which one I prefer because I’ve yet to use the My Dream Palette other than swatching Instinct and Edgy.
The shades from Metropolis are the oldest of the Cream Powders I have in this pan size. They are starting to not swatch as well, but they are a month shy of being two years old, so they aren’t that bad in terms of age. However, I have been wishing for a replacement and I’m thrilled to be able to get them from Lisa Eldridge as an alternative.
Having Chrism is why I didn’t buy Raw Sienna or Tea Room, since I thought those two might be too light for my liking and Chrism is right on that border and can be used in place of those two in the eye looks I wanted to create. Deep Ochre and Antique are quite similar but, again, it’s from my Metropolis Palette that is getting up there in age. So, I don’t regret buying Deep Ochre. Fired Earth is a great choice since I didn’t have a dark neutral brown in this type of formula.
The Cream Powder shadows and the ones from Lisa blend and build perfectly together. So, I’m feeling a lot more with satisfied with the amount I have and feel like I can even skip buying Natasha’s Palettes (especially in light of the many controversies the ND brand has had even just this year alone). I’m more content with waiting for Lisa to release even more shadows with these finishes.
After comparing all these swatches, I see that I’d love to have some yellows, an orange, and more green tones as Velvets or Seamless Mattes from Lisa Eldridge. These are the ones where I feel the refill price is worth it for me. I also see the potential usefulness of having Lamp Black and Smoke & Mirrors, the only two shades from the Vega Palette that caught my interest. Perhaps those will end up being reviewed in Part 2 next year, if I get them during a restock.
Eyeshadow Pan Size and Palette Size Comparisons
I was extremely interested in the idea of being able to use the gorgeous eyeshadow palette container for traveling with Lisa’s shadows, plus shadows from other brands, but the wells are too short to fit my Clionadh shadows and even my medium sized Viseart pans. The Natasha Denona midi pan sizes can fit though, so there’s one saving grace. All the other square pan single shadows in my collection are far too large to bother trying to fit them in. Technically, I could put the small size Viseart pans in here, but that would feel like wasted space.
The “Extra Large” size of Make Up For Ever Artist Color Refillable Makeup Palette from Sephora (only 4 inches wide), not to be confused with the Refillable Pro Makeup Palette which is much larger and from MUFE’s website, is slightly bigger than the Lisa Eldridge palettes. For the sake of storing the two Lisa palettes and refills together, the Extra Large MUFE palette came in handy. I don’t know if Lisa Eldridge will make the empty palettes themselves be available for purchase, or if customers will have to buy six refills in order to get the palette with it. If I end up not being able to buy the empty palette alone, the MUFE one will have to suffice.
The comparisons of Lisa’s eyeshadow price per gram to Pat Mcgrath, Charlotte Tilbury, Natasha Denona, etc have been done by others. There’s no denying her shadows are extremely expensive. The palette I feel compelled to discuss instead is the Olivia Palermo Eyeshadow Palette in Regalia, since the Olivia Palermo brand is also in the luxury sphere, has similar sized palettes with six shadows, and is at a near enough price point (on the surface).
Regalia is $58 for 7 total grams of product at around $8.29 per gram. Sorcery is $68 for 5.7 total grams of product at approximately $11.93 per gram. I’d like to note that the industry standard is at least 1 gram per shadow and Lisa’s are slightly under that at 0.95 grams. So, this math just doubles down on what we already know about not getting one’s money’s worth in terms of the amount of product contained within these palettes. The customer’s view on the formulas, shades, likeliness to use up the eyeshadows, and more are the determining factors in the “worth” of them for the price. Honestly, I don’t mind having eyeshadows with less product because my collection is too large to ever hit pan on them anyway.
Then, regarding the packaging itself, they are both beautiful luxurious looking gold palettes. Lisa’s are aluminum or some other kind of lightweight metal. The shadows are interchangeable and that’s a bonus factor in being able to use them for travel and take up less space and weight in a travel bag or purse. Olivia’s is weighty like a brick! It’s some form of very heavy metal. Two of Lisa’s palettes are literally still lighter on the scale than a single one of Olivia’s palettes. In fact, it would take three of Lisa’s to surpass the weight of Regalia alone. However, this is kind of like a display piece. It wasn’t intended for travel or being on-the-go. Whether someone wants a custom designed weighty luxurious product to keep on the vanity or a bespoke unique and functional product is up to the customer to decide which factor is most appealing. I personally love the weightiness of Olivia’s palette because it screams luxury, but I can’t deny that Lisa found a way to make hers elegant while being a lot more practical.
Weight depicted on the scale above is in ounces, not grams.
For the price point, Olivia’s palette is what I expected from Lisa, but I think I’m happier with how Lisa’s actually ended up being. I still don’t think it would have been worth the price without the Velvets and Seamless Mattes though.
Palettes Rearranged
Of course, now that I have the extra shadows, I played around with the different color story possibilities. Below are my favorites.
The first palette of the bunch is what my Myth palette currently looks like. For now, I left Sorcery as is. However, I am the most likely to change it to the last arrangement out of my examples above.
Lisa Eldridge Lip Products
I have to post the disclaimer that I am NOT a lipstick person. I buy them and most of the time end up not wearing them. I’m a gloss person through and through, but it’s really difficult for me to want to shell out anything above $20 for a gloss and I usually wait for a sale that I can buy a higher end gloss below my $20 preference. However, for the sake of science and my interest in the way the Gloss Embrace formula was described as being nourishing for the lips, I bought one. As for lipsticks, anything over $25 is…well it just doesn’t happen! Prior to my purchase of the True Velvet Lip Colour, the most expensive lipsticks I ever bought were from Bite Beauty for I think $26. I never expected to be so drawn in by the rave reviews, massive hype, and my growing curiosity in the brand that I would spend $36 on one from Lisa before even trying the other luxury lipstick brands I’ve had for ages on my beauty bucket list. But here we are!
True Velvet Lip Colour in Velvet Affair and Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss in Blush
I love the gold on both the lipstick and lip gloss. 10 out of 10 for packaging. I especially like the magnetic closure of the lipstick cap which adds to the weightiness of the product (but isn’t too heavy to make it inconvenient to take on-the-go). I also like the embossing around the bullet in the attempt to make it look like actual velvet.
Despite how dark the bullet of Velvet Affair looks, it’s too light for my comfort level to wear by itself. I saw the wonderful array of model photos on the website and purposely intended to get a near-nude lipstick shade. It just ended up being the kind of color that I only like when paired with a darker lip liner. I heard the lipsticks can be used on the cheeks for blush, and when I really pack the color on, I think it does work nicely for that purpose. I’ve only tried it twice and didn’t do a full wear test, so I’m not sure if there are any issues with transferring or fading when using the lipstick on the cheeks. However, I liked it for the short times I wore it that way. On my lips, I also have only worn it so far for a short time and haven’t done a full day’s wear test. I intend to update this post with my thoughts once I do.* At this moment in time, I see why people like it because of how comfortable it is to wear a lipstick this matte. I may one day try another color if it’s the perfect shade that I can wear without lip liner, but as a non-lipstick person, I don’t think it’ll be worth it for me to have more than one of these Velvet lipsticks. The times I’ve actually loved lipsticks have been with more satin type of formulas and sheer buildable ones. So, perhaps the Lucents will capture my heart even though they are less hyped up.
*UPDATE Dec 26th, 2022: It remains comfortable feeling all day, and surprisingly there’s a lot left on the lips after a meal. Despite it not feeling drying, it does still dry my lips. I still like it, but this isn’t the product that will somehow turn me into a lipstick lover, unfortunately!
The lip gloss is really nice! I love how long I can feel the sealed hydration effect on my lips, even after the top layer of the gloss is gone. I have only worn it a few times, but I do like it. I wish I had more colors, but that price tag is deterring me. I haven’t yet decided for myself whether the gloss was worth it. I would say yes if it was the only one in my collection, but considering the others I own and love like from Fenty and Pat Mcgrath, perhaps it’s not.
In addition to photos of lip swatches up close, I like to also show a pulled back photo to show how well or not the lip products compliment my complexion. In these photos, I’m wearing the Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation, Lisa Eldridge eyeshadows on both eyes, Velvet Affair lipstick on the lips and cheeks, my mix of lip liners around my lips. I also have on the Melt Cosmetics Ultra-Matte Bronzer and the MAC x Whitney Houston highlighter.
I have the Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colour in Meet Me in Berlin on my wishlist for the same reason as the Liquid Lurex Eyeshadow in Liza…because of my difficulty with resisting products that I have a personal connection to. In the case of the lippie, it’s because of my boyfriend in Germany. In the case of the liquid eyeshadow, it’s because it’s my sister’s name (though pronounced differently). Truth be told, I’m not a single eyeshadow (unless depotted) or liquid shadow type of gal, but if I were, it would be Titania and Zora that would be more my speed. So, it’s very likely that a review of the Liquid Lurex, Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colour, and additional Eye Shadows from a future launch can be expected in Part 2 in 2023.
Velvet Makeup Pouches
These can normally be purchased for $25 each in various colors. However, there is currently a deal that a free bag will come with every purchase of three or more items. The Pompadour color was available with the eyeshadow launch. At some point they ran out and I saw the blue one there for a short time, the cherry red one for a short time, the Emerald which I made a purchase to get, and then the Pompadour shade returned. There was one point where no bags were in stock at all and therefore no gift with purchase option with it.
I didn’t think these were that special until I actually got the first one in my hands. I love the luxurious texture of the bag, the pretty logo, the variety of colors, and the zipper. I actually keep my Lisa Eldridge products together in one because of how well they fit in it. I can see why these are collectable to some people and if a purple variation was released, I would likely be willing to buy it outright! For Oden Eye’s Saga of Freja collection, they had an exclusive sage green velvet makeup bag for those who bought the entire bundle and I just couldn’t do that when I didn’t want the majority of the collection. So, I’ve had the dreaded feeling of having missed out. In a way, the Emerald bag from Lisa Eldridge has finally filled that void even though they are different sizes and shapes entirely.
Ordering Experience
Apparently, the brand has a distributor in the US and worked out some kind of deal to keep the shipping free for US customers. That has been one of the reasons it’s been so much easier for me to talk myself into making the additional purchases (when I told myself I’d only buy the Sorcery palette and nothing else).
Ordering from the website was hassle free. The shipping is fairly quick and so far has taken anywhere from 3-7 days to arrive. It only tends to be longer if I made a purchase just before the weekend.
The items are well packed and instead of generic cardboard boxes, they are white with the brand’s logo on the inside. I haven’t had any order mixups and everything has arrived intact. For that reason, I’ve had no need to interact with customer service, but I’ve heard they’re great.
The only thing I wish was that I could actually create a customer account so I could see my order history in one place and keep a wishlist on the website. However, it might be for the best not to have that kind of thing stored.
So, overall, my ordering experience has been great with this brand. The prices are a bit hard to swallow, but my interest in Lisa Eldridge makeup has increased a lot and I look forward to seeing more.
That’s everything I’ve got! Thank you for reading! Also, if I messed up the shade names, please excuse that. I have been calling several shade names the wrong thing for three weeks and only in this past week I realized my mistake and had to fix all the errors I could spot.
Unearthly Cosmetics is the new rebranded name of Alien Cosmetics. I made my first purchase from the brand round July 2021, but soon after I heard there were reformulations, palettes getting new packaging, and other changes that made me decide to take a pause before talking about them here. I purchased the Gigi blush when I thought things were settled, but once again found out news that the brand was allegedly forced to change their name. So, I continued to hold off on talking about them until they had their new name secured and were officially finished selling products that still bore the Alien Cosmetics name.
Considering their track record of making changes to products seemingly out of nowhere, I have no clue if my products from 2021 are the same as what someone will get from Unearthly Cosmetics now. In case they are, I hope this review will still be valuable, but I needed to put out this disclaimer that it’s possible the quality is different.
Lore Palette
As I mentioned above, I intended to review this palette well over a year ago. I have additional eye looks and a video showing the color shifts of the multichromes in this Instagram post.
These mattes are very dry. I remember them being a bit like this when I first bought the palette, but I think over time, before even a year had passed, the mattes got drier. Minotaur is especially stiff and doesn’t want to move from where I place it, but Cerberus and Centaur blend decently. Cerberus just requires slow building since it can get intense fast depending on the brush used. Faun is one of those matte formulas with glitter specks in it where the glitter mostly dusts away when blended on the eyes. This shadow is quite thin, so to even get the base color to show takes a lot of building up on me. I wish Faun was either a bit more yellow or that Centaur was a deeper orange because the two shades look nearly identical when used together. Ironically, during the first launch, the brand sent out palettes with a brown shadow listed as Centaur and then mailed everyone who got the wrong shade the correct orange one. Perhaps I would have liked that accidental shadow better.
I was very excited to have duochrome and multichrome options in this palette, but I wasn’t expecting such near transparent bases to the point where three of the five shadows nearly function as toppers for me. Serpent‘s base is the faintest of all and looks like it’s just a sheerer version of the somewhat more visible hot pink base in Sphinx. I use Serpent when I want blue, green, and purple shifting sparkles with cool toned looks and Sphinx’s aqua, green, and gold sparkles look best with warm toned ones. Whenever I plan to use them in the palette, I have to swatch them first on my arm to remember which effects they give because I really didn’t like the times I’ve chosen the wrong combo. My favorite multichrome of the three is Medusa, which has a dark but still semi-transparent base. It pairs so well together with the deep blue-green shimmer shade called Basilisk. Medusa and Basilisk are my two favorite shadows in this palette. All the shimmers have a smooth texture except Griffin, which is a little chunkier, but has a very high-shine look to it. It’s like a less obvious color-shifting version of Centaurus from Devinah Cosmetics.
Showing the transparency of Medusa.
Regarding how they wear on my eyes, I didn’t have anymore creasing than usual. I didn’t have any extra fallout. The shimmers didn’t dull down as the day went on and they looked decent still by the end of the day. To anyone interested in this palette, I recommend it based on preferences. In general, with it not completely meeting what I want, $33 isn’t a bad price (it was $30 at the time I bought it with $5 shipping and no tax, but I used the influencer code ANGESCHKA), though it would be more like $38 now.
This palette would be a fantastic option for someone who likes grungy colors, high shine duochrome/multichromes with no dark bases, and is mostly in it for the shimmers so they don’t mind reaching for other palettes for better mattes.
Gigi Blush
I’m not sure why “blush palette” is written on the packaging when it’s just a single blush, but in any case, I saw this shade and that Scorpion on the inside and I had to buy it! It’s aptly described on the website as a, “satin finish rosy terracotta,” blush. If I remember correctly, the brand is run by two sisters and this blush is named after Gigi and the highlighter that was released at the same time is named after Dani. I didn’t purchase the highlighter because I thought it would be too light for me, but it has a silver to gold shift. So, the gold would probably have looked nice, though I don’t know if the silver still would have been too much. While there is visible dark pink shimmer in the blush, after all the blending that is required, I don’t see the shimmer on my cheeks.
Light-Medium application of Gigi blush to the cheeks.
I’ve tried to love this blush because it’s such a pretty color, but it’s super pigmented and not very blendable, regardless of the brush I use with it. I’ve tried my synthetic brushes like the Smashbox Sheer Buildable Cheek Brush, my MUFE Highlighting brush (basically blush size). I’ve tried my very expensive brushes with different types of natural hair suited for pigmented products, but the issue is that it sticks where it’s blended, but is also a thin powder so it’s also sheer in some places at the same time. It needs to be buffed properly to smooth it out. It’s not a terrible blush, as I have the tools to lightly apply it and switch to another brush to blend it out and make it look nice. However, with my huge blush collection, I don’t feel that it’s worth the effort for me, when I can get a smooth flush in a snap with other blushes out there. I have tried powdering my cheeks first before applying the blush and that just prevents it from wanting to blend properly into my skin. Applying it to my cheek and then buffing with a finishing powder after also works, but again, it’s extra work.
One thing that this blush definitely has going for it though is the longevity. Using my normal application methods, this will last on my face all day without fading.
Unearthly Cosmetics released additional single blushes and highlighters in April of this year, so perhaps the formula is better than before. You really never know with their brand!
That’s all for today! Thank you for reading.
Note:This is my last completed pre-scheduled post. I had surgery September 15th and due to the long recovery period for this surgery, regular Monday postings will be interrupted/inconsistent for the rest of this year. I still have about 20 partial posts that were started prior to surgery, and therefore I will still have content coming to this blog, just not at a stable predictable rate. There may be a few weeks or a month gap without posts, but if you’re following via email, you will be notified of every post. Thank you for understanding.
I first heard about the brand when it arrived at Beautylish as a pop-up with two pre-made sets. Neither one had enough colors I wanted in them to be worth purchasing, which is a shame because those bundles are a significantly better value. For $75, a customer can get a mascara, lipstick, and either the “Soft” or “Rich” 4+ pan palette. The best deal I saw from MOB Beauty’s own website costs $85 after using a promo code and involves creating your own custom 4+ pan palette that does not include a mascara and lipstick, just two free samples. I was especially tempted to get a pre-made set anyway, considering Beautylish was advertising back in March that once these restocked sets were gone, they’d be gone for good this time. Yet, here we are in September and there’s a “returning soon” notice for one of the sold out sets. I like Beautylish, but it appears that they pulled a ‘limited edition’ marketing stunt again.
Eventually, when the items became available individually at various places, I made separate orders to HSN, Beautylish, and the official MOB Beauty website to make these purchases as affordable as possible for a custom palette. If I had just stuck with my original 4+, it would have been fine, but I ended up spending extra by changing my mind afterwards because I wanted to try the cream formulas too, and the refills would be exposed to the air if I didn’t get additional packaging to store them. MOB Beauty is a “Clean” brand, but the part that really interested me about them is that they are big proponents of recycling and sustainability. In the next section, I will show the cardboard packaging that each product arrives in, which is great for that recycling factor, but because the refills are surrounded in post-consumer recycled plastic (50-100% PCR, PET or PP Resin with the percentage of PCR getting lower the larger the palette is), it’s not possible to store the pans in something like an empty magnetic palette, which is a system that the majority of people who want to make custom palettes use to do it. And once the refill outer packaging (40% FSC bamboo and 60% recycled paper) is opened, there’s no way to keep it properly sealed after because the sticker layer is what keeps it together. So, one ends up having to purchase either single compacts that will take up space or pay for the larger custom palette and have the smaller one sitting around in case someone wants to take a smaller set traveling and just being generally unused. The need to buy more empty palettes is the downside of the attempt to be sustainable. I appreciate the effort, but it’s far from a perfect system and it’s the customer that has to take on that additional cost because of the brand’s decision to make unique packaging that can only be used with their own products exclusively, similar to what Hourglass did with their “Curator” system. In addition, the outer packaging is easy to recycle, but there are additional steps for those wanting to recycle the makeup pans afterwards, as noted on the MOB Beauty website:
They can also be turned into a Pact recycling bin inside any Credo store in the US, provided you live near one of their ten locations within the country, or Hudson’s Bay store in Canada.
The refills have holes in the back, so one could potentially push the metal out of the plastic and commit to using the products exclusively in a Z-palette and avoid needing to buy MOB’s custom palettes, but they’re glued down. Also, since they are made of aluminum, they aren’t magnetic and would need a metal magnetic sticker to be attached to the bottoms of them in order to not slide around in a magnetic palette. The mini samples of mine were glued to the cardboard since they don’t come with the plastic bottom like the others. So, I peeled off the label stickers with the shade names and cut them into small squares before I unstuck the pans and attached those stickers onto the backs of them to at least keep the glue from sticking to things before plopping them into a Z-palette, even though they’re free floating in there. I just needed to keep them somewhere they wouldn’t get lost while I was testing out the products, and I could continue to test for an extended period instead of just once. Again, I’m not sure what a better alternative would be. I give the brand kudos for being perfectly upfront about everything though and that they have clear instructions on how to recycle these properly.
Custom Palette Packaging and Components
The photo above shows how the items for my custom 4+ palette arrived, including the two samples and two slips of paper with the ingredients listed on them. The box on the left is what they were all shipped in, so there was no wasted space, which is something I really like to see in shipping materials (provided the items are still properly protected to prevent being damaged). The brown paper below all the items was the folded up paper layer in the box. This packaging was delivered by MOB Beauty, but if you order from HSN and Beautylish, the items will come in those retailers’ typical packaging.
This is what the 6+ pan and 4+ pans look like in the back when filled vs empty. The hole used to pop open the grate to place the pans inside are visible from the back.
I used one of my clay shaping tools to do the job of opening what I call the sealing/securing lid.
Once the plastic clear lid has been lifted and the hole in the back of the palette has been poked through in order to lift the second lid, the pans can be loaded in by aligning the two protruding rectangles with those empty spaces. They do not snap into place. They have to just be gently laid on top enough to stay put until every pan is on it and that second lid can be placed back on top to secure all the sides. This is the point where at least one snap should occur, so every edge plus the center should be touched and pressed to ensure that everything was locked into place and can only be opened again via the hole in the underside of the palette.
Additional photo of an empty versus filled palette.
Despite the 6+ pan being longer, I still consider it to be a travel-friendly size from the way it fits in my hand.
Important Tip About Choosing A Shade
Since the idea is to not be wasteful, choosing the best suiting product based on the brand’s photos is crucial. There is quite the difference in depth between how the color appears in their pans versus those arm swatches, and especially depending on the model bearing the swatches as well. The way these shades ended up looking on my skin was represented the most accurately on the tan (dark-tan) model across all formulas. I wanted to mention this for those who are around my skin tone and may have been wondering whether the model closest to our skin tone does the best job indicating how it will look on us or whether the swatches have been manipulated to look more saturated than they actually are and therefore we should make purchasing decisions based on the first model pictured below. I’m happy to report that MOB Beauty did a great job accurately reflecting the swatches, unlike many other brands that want to pretend their shades look the same even on deep skin and digitally manipulate the photos to prevent showing how ashy they’d be. So, I recommend feeling free to base purchasing decisions based on the swatches of the models closest to your skin tone.
I still found it useful to compare how the swatches looked on the other models in order to figure out what the starting undertones and depths were, and see at which point the shades start to look distinctly different from each other. For example, as seen on the third model, the M49 and M50 highlighters are the same depth and only differentiated by M49 being a pale pink and M50 being a pale gold. So, on tan skin and darker, the different undertones make no difference and those two highlighters will essentially look the same on the face. On the first model, the rose-gold M51 being a couple of shades darker than M49 still looks essentially like the other two highlighters, but on me, if I wanted all different looking highlighters, I would need to choose between M49 and M50 for the first option, then M51, then M52. If I removed the choices that look different in tone, but would look too stark on me, M51 and M52 are realistically my only highlighter options.
I continued this practice for each product. I looked at how they are supposed to look on the third model, where they start to look ashy or at least too similar to each other on the first model, and then narrowed down which of those remaining options looked prettiest on the second model.
Cream Clay Formula
As seen in the photo of the Cream Clay Bronzer in M78 on the left, the creams look as if there are bubbles under the surface, but that top layer is completely smooth. Since this looks like it was poured in while hot and then set, it’s possible those are air bubbles and not an indication of anything weird happening while in transit. Or perhaps they’re just condensation marks from it starting to sweat and melt in those hot delivery trucks, but then it cooled and imprints of the droplets were left on the surface. An example of the sweating is in the mini samples section.
When it came to selecting a bronzer, there were a completely different set of models, none of which were anywhere near as dark as me. However, based on the arm swatch photo, M78 and M79 looked like they would work for me. They are the same depth, so it was just a matter of an undertone difference. M78 was described as a “rose chocolate brown” and looked warm, but leaned closer to neutral than the “espresso brown” shade M79, which looked redder. M78 was certainly the better option because I would not have wanted it any warmer. It shows up easily when I apply it to my skin, but it sheers out a fair amount as I blend, so I have to really load on the product to get the impact level that I like. In addition, my dry skin soaks up these cream products. If I try to keep the bronzer looking subtle, it’ll be significantly faded within the hour. So, I have to actually over-apply in order to get it to last on my face. The nice thing is that if I can accept it looking heavy in that first hour, I know it’ll at least look normal the rest of the time after that. It will still fade as the day goes on, but at least the fading is at a slower pace and will still be there at least 8 hours. I have tried so many times to wear this over a very moisturized face and different primers, but it still does this. For that reason, I use this product the most with my Patrick Ta Contour Brush because I can load it on and blend it out quickly. It essentially allows me to use this cream bronzer the way it was intended. My usual Sonia G Mini Base is actually too good with the blending. In the amount of time it takes for me to keep building up layers with that brush, it’s trying to set and then I can run into the issue of it starting to look a little patchy. And when I say “set” I just mean setting into place, as it doesn’t fully dry, but it’s at least not sticky. It just gets a little less easy to budge, but will still have some transfer. Applying powders on top hasn’t been successful in setting my face either, and my powders also make the bronzer and blush more subtle in the process. Sometimes I use the cream and powder bronzers together, but then I feel like that’s adding an extra step I wouldn’t have to do with the other products in my collection.
I like the tone of the cream bronzer and the ease of use with the right brush, but if I put the complication with my skin type aside, one of the things I find lacking is that the cream bronzer ends up looking matte even without being set with anything. I personally would prefer that if I’m bothering to use a cream product, I want it to look a little dewy or have a sheen. The glow of the product in the photo is literally a combination of my sweat and my semi-dewy foundation. For these reasons, my feeling about this product is that it’s just okay. The positives and negatives cancel each other out. I don’t feel any excitement when I use this, like I do with plenty of other cream bronzers I own. Also, this formula is the type that forms a little bit of a stiff layer on top between uses, which is why I mentioned it’s imperative to keep it away from air exposure as much as possible. It doesn’t cause me any problems using the product, but it makes the experience using it slightly less enjoyable. That top layer issue at least isn’t as thick as the Danessa Myricks Power Bronzer that I love can get though, so I give the formula some credit for that. Overall, this tends to happen with vegan formulas where the ingredients are what the company says are better, but something gets sacrificed, and for me it’s the experience when using it. It doesn’t have any wow factor for being extra creamy, leaving a beautiful finish on the skin, etc. I’m at least glad that the performance is solid. I think that’s what MOB Beauty was hoping to achieve the most, but there aren’t bells and whistles to go with that in my opinion.
The Cream Clay Blush in M74 looks, feels, and performs the same as the bronzer. They both have a decent amount of pigment and blend easily, but I also need to over-apply this product to keep it lasting on my face at least 8 hours. I also find myself having to touch up the bronzer again after I apply the blush on top. I like that it blends in so seamlessly with the bronzer, but it’s almost too much. Perhaps if I picked a more vibrant and less natural-looking shade, the blush wouldn’t look like an extension of the bronzer. I still think it’s pretty, but I do enjoy pairing it with other blushes right on the apples of my cheeks to add a lighter and brighter pop. This means that my favorite way to use it involves me adding another step. It’s nice to know that it plays well with the cream and liquid formulas from other brands though.
Just like with the cream bronzer, I could apply MOB’s powder equivalents on top so that it helps with the longevity issue. However, that would also be adding an extra step and since doing that takes away the tiny bit of dewiness the cream blushes have over the cream bronzer, it would make the point of wearing the cream at all pretty pointless. I may as well just stick to using the powders, right?
Powder Formula
Just like the cream bronzer M78, this powder version in shade M42 is described as a rose brown. However, M42 is the only one that I can actually tell has a rosy undertone on the skin. The powder feels somewhat soft to the touch, but it’s not as smooth or silky feeling as say the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Matte Bronzer, Mented Cosmetics Bronzer, or even the newest one from Jaclyn Cosmetics. Again, I’m guessing it’s because of the consequence of not being able to use certain ingredients for clean, vegan, and sustainability reasons. The “Show Full List” option on their website’s list of exclusions reveals how extensive it gets. It still performs well enough. It’s a buildable formula but it only takes a small amount to finish my face the way I like. M42 is lighter than the cream bronzer (both are the third to last shade in their respective formulas), yet it looks even darker than M78 when built up.
When it comes to blending, I don’t have any issues unless my skin is dewy from wearing some of my favorite foundations, sweating, etc. In that situation, where I would normally apply and blend via using long sweeping motions back and forth, instead it sticks where I put it and ends up with tiny patches that are lighter than the rest because more of the powder stuck to other spots. I’ve had products with the sticking issue before, and this one isn’t as bad with it as others. Trying to blend it out fixes it enough to be passable, but not looking airbrushed and not good enough for me to feel comfortable leaving it as is. One remedy is to use a brush that deposits an even amount to the area at the same time, like the Patrick Ta Contour Brush, before blending it out. The other is to switch up my technique and apply in a circular buffing style while moving across the area I want to bronze. This one tends to be less precise, but the blush will cover it anyway. The third trick I can use is to do a second light layer of bronzer to cover the patches and then use a finishing powder to soften up the look. This last one is my preferred method because my finishing powders with a blurring effect really elevate the look overall and add that sheen I prefer anyway. Considering how often I wear my dewy foundations, I end up needing to use at least one of these ways the majority of the time. Because that adds to the extra time I need to spend on it, I like using the powder even less than the cream despite knowing how to get it to look pretty every time. I admit that it’s a minor inconvenience, but with the amount of makeup I own, minor inconveniences are enough to get me to not use some products, and then it ends up being a wasted purchase in more ways than one.
I get a nice amount of pigment from this M20 blush, but it’s a thin formula and prone to a patchy look on dewy skin just like the bronzer. This is especially noticeable if I’m wearing a low coverage foundation where my skin peeks through the blush and it looks a bit odd seeing such a strong color, yet is see-through like a blush tint. So, I end up using the same techniques to combat it, just like the bronzer. However, because part of the bronzer gets into the blush zone, I feel that I have a quicker time making the blush look blended again, which makes it less inconvenient and therefore I’m still likely to reach for the powder blush if the palette is already out and open.
Also, no matter what the situation, I have no longevity issues with the powder bronzer and blush. They stay put all day. The powder blush does fade a little over time, but not enough to be considered abnormal.
Highlighter
I purchased the powder Highlighter in M52 because the third darkest option has a pink undertone, which I don’t usually like on myself, and everything else would look ashy on me. If I use a light hand, this one matches well enough, but if I’m too heavy handed, it’s obvious that it’s a little dark for me. The shimmer flecks are not, but the overall base color is a little deep on me for a product that is intended to highlight the face.
As has been the case with the powder blush and bronzer, this product sticks, but even more intensely on my face if I wear dewy products in the areas that I highlight. That’s handy for helping it look like it’s one with my skin, but then it’s hard to blend, even with my best brushes. The upside to it sticking is that it lasts on my face all day. Of all the powder products from MOB I’ve tried, the highlighter is the messiest with the most kickup. The times when my face is actually dry, and therefore the highlighter remains dry, is when I have longevity issues where parts are suddenly missing as the day goes on.
I think I would have liked this highlighter more if I had one that was the same color as M52, but slightly lighter. As it stands, it’s okay. Because I only have two eyeshadows, I sometimes use the powder bronzer as an additional brown shade and this highlighter as an additional shimmer.
Eyeshadows
These are the two I chose. M48 is a shimmery olive. I like the color, but the shimmer particles are very low shine and not nearly reflective enough for my taste. Even when I apply the shadow damp, apply with my finger, or over the Nyx Glitter primer to crank up the intensity and pack on the shadow, it looks nearly unchanged afterwards. This is one of the rare times that my usual tricks fail to improve the eyeshadow look at all.
The M64 matte burgundy shadow is a bit stiff. Blending it in the crease takes some time and looks very drying on my eyes.
The shadows are my absolute least liked thing I bought from the brand. They’re way too lackluster for me. Anyone can make them work, so they aren’t completely terrible and it’s not like they don’t have pigment, but they are not enjoyable to use. There’s no creaminess to them, no smoothness or aid in the ability to be spread across the eyes. They’re able to be blended, but not as easily as I prefer. Preferences aside, I still don’t believe these are worth $12 each. I do not recommend purchasing the MOB Beauty eyeshadows.
Main ProductSwatches
Free Mini Samples
The mini sample of The Cream Lipstick in M58 had a pretty sheen on the lips but felt surprisingly dry, like it was drying out my lips from the inside. Also, this isn’t the kind of formula that that you can put over chapped lips and have it smooth things over. It sinks into every spot where the skin starts to pull up and just makes lips in poor condition look worse. The photo example is after I exfoliated my lips, so I could showcase the product in the best light. It was from my second batch of pictures because my original photos of M58 looked horrific and just too bad to show, especially with my lip split on one spot. If you don’t have issues with lips being dried out frequently and you can keep them conditioned regularly, you might like the formula. Because it made mine drier, I don’t recommend it.
By the time I got around to trying the mini of The Cream Clay Blush in M71, I forgot it was a blush and not a matte lipstick. So, I have a demonstration of what it looks like on my lips, but not my cheeks. I apologize for that. Shockingly, despite how drying it looks on my lips, it actually feels less drying than the cream lipstick! I actually like this color on the lips, but it’s not my usual type of blush color to wear. Also, by the time I remembered it was a blush, my sample was especially dried out, so I didn’t bother trying to wear it on my face or take photos. It already had cracks in it the day I got it, so one can imagine how dry it was weeks later.
Final Thoughts
One would have to know ahead of time exactly how many products they want currently and in the future in order to not have extra MOB Beauty palettes sitting around. This isn’t easy considering it’s still a fairly new brand, so their options are still a bit limited. How can one make space for a potential setting powder or cream foundation in a pan, like the Patrick Ta Creme Foundation and Finishing Powder Duos? What about powder foundation? What if you think you just want a bronzer, highlighter, and two blushes, but then they release a new product that you want and now would have to upgrade to a 6+ palette or hold onto a separate single? Perhaps this is just a me problem, but when I decided I wanted those 5 face powders, I instantly had to get the eyeshadows too in order to fill the palette. Holding onto a 6+ with only 5 of them filled for who knows how long was just not an option for me. It drives me nuts to have designated spaces for a product but to keep one or more slots empty. I need to have them all filled up. So, essentially, I purchase more things that I don’t need and spent more money because of the type of organization system they’ve got going on. Creating a new brand and a new line of products is still adding to the world’s over-consumption problem. And the truth of the matter is that I’m never going to use up these products enough to need to replace them. I love what the brand is trying to do, but unless I make MOB’s products and system the only makeup I will ever buy again, I’m not making use of their refill aspect. If MOB does expand the range and make my perfect highlighter shade in the future, wouldn’t it be wasteful to try and get that one while I still have the old one? Would I just toss out the product and recycle the rest? I can’t actually send it in to recycle without there being 5-10 empty products, so I just hold it all indefinitely? Wait for everything to expire before trying to recycle things?
As someone who doesn’t use exclusively vegan products, clean products, and doesn’t have a firm stance on buying from companies that are not considered “cruelty free” because of the selling products in China regulation debate, I find myself feeling like I haven’t gained much by having these makeup items in my collection. I feel good about supporting a brand that cares so much about the environment, but without planning to make serious permanent changes, it’s just adding yet another thing to my collection and their best performers don’t top any of my favorites by a long shot. So, rather than continue pursuing my perfect palette I spent so much money trying to create, it’s best if I leave things where they are.
For those who are very strongly about minimizing their makeup collections and only using vegan, “clean,” and less waste products, this brand could be the miracle you’ve been looking for. They could be offering something that makes you want to give up buying from anyone else. So, for those people, I’d recommend this brand and their products. But for anyone else just curious to have great makeup and create their own custom face and eye palettes with the thought of continuing to buy from all other brands and their new releases (like me), I’d say perhaps the best thing to do for the environment is to actually just skip this one.
I hope I’ve conveyed my thoughts on this tactfully and clearly. I really do wish current brands were so dedicated in helping out the environment and I wish this could be the end all be all for me when it comes to makeup, but it’s not for me. I hope I will continue to get some use out of these products, but chances are high that I’ll keep using my favorites. However, as my ongoing attempts at a low-buy suggests, I am trying harder to make fewer makeup purchases. And in a way, that’s me attempting to do my part the best way that I can.
R1 (left to right): Etched, Monarch, Estate, Noble. R2: Niello, Coat of Arms, Citron R3: Bronze Fountain, Wall of Ivy, Royal Plum, Estate, Hedge Maze, and Iron Gate
The long awaited expansion to Clionadh’s massive Stained Glass Eyeshadow Collection is here! 54 new shades were released on August 8th. This new batch of multichromes extends the current formulas already available, in addition to ones we haven’t seen before. Also, Ciel and Glaziers Mark were reformulated.
I would have loved to purchase more than the thirteen I selected, but considering the shipping cost and Route Package Protection fee, I couldn’t fit more in the budget. Clionadh has the permanent promo code CROSS FORMULA which saved me $10 off my order of 10+ Stained Glass Eyeshadow singles. All bundles are already discounted, and therefore exempt. Influencer codes also only apply to the brand’s standard eyeshadows.*
*Update 09/2022: Clionadh announced that some influencer codes were newly affiliated. At that point, I noticed that certain influencer codes did include the Stained Glass Collection in the discount. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not.
My goal for today’s post is to show the shades and swatches to the best of my ability. I tried to get this out at quickly as possible to help those who are still trying to decide before the favorites go out of stock. At some point in the future, I plan on doing a follow-up post featuring any additional shades I purchased, along with the closest shade comparisons to multichromes among Clionadh and from other brands, and examples of how I’ve worked each shadow into completed eye looks.
Unless specifically stating otherwise, the majority of these shades were applied on eyelids and arms with no primer and not applied damp. I used concealer in certain areas to counteract the discoloration around my eyes, but it was not used enough to qualify as a primer either. I also applied the multichromes with a combined technique utilizing my finger and a brush.
Shadow Close-Up Videos
First Impression
Earth Vibrant Multichromes in Bronze Fountain, Wall of Ivy, Royal Plum, Estate, Hedge Maze, and Iron Gate
I purchased six of the eleven multichromes in this highly anticipated new formula from Clionadh. Having “neutrals with a twist” is ideal for me in my current makeup phase, so it makes sense that I was drawn to the Earth Vibrant Multichromes the most.
I find it quite interesting that these shades are super shifty (as seen in the pans), but because they aren’t drastically different on the color wheel, likeEstate’s yellow-gold to lime to greenish aqua, most of the shifts aren’t as obvious on the eyes and can pass for one solid color if there aren’t various sources and angles of light. The Earth Vibrant shadows remind me of the Pastel Multichrome formula in terms of the texture and smoothness of the shimmer, but these are shinier with more shifts.
Bronze Fountain is one of my favorites out of the entire bunch that I purchased! It’s the terracotta base that shows through underneath that makes this shade extra special to me, especially with the lighting in the house. The bronze tone with the lime and gold shift and even more subtle aqua shift is the ultimate middle ground between loving colorful eyeshadows and neutrals.
Whenever I come across a green-blue-purple multichrome, like Wall of Ivy, I can’t help but compare it in my mind to Verte, which is perhaps my single favorite eyeshadow from Clionadh. The main differences between the two are that Verte has a cool tan base versus Wall of Ivy’s warm brown one, in addition to the green in Verte being almost like a radioactive color. Wall of Ivy is still vibrant, but looks like the color mint. Because of how light the shimmer appears on my eyes, a shade like this will stand out more on my skin tone.
I can’t wait to try Royal Plum in a purple-smoky eye look! It has a fascinating grey-plum base, which gives it the overall gunmetal-esque look on my eyes, though I can still see the pink-purple going into aqua. This shade is one of the most unique multichromes in my whole makeup collection.
As I mentioned earlier, the “golden yellow-lime-aqua shifts” in Estate still mainly looks yellow or chartreuse. So even though it could pass for a “normal” eyeshadow to someone who isn’t staring intently at my eyes, how vibrant the yellow and lime elements can get depending on the light are still interesting aspects of this shade.
I knew Hedge Maze wasn’t going to have a dramatic shift, but because it has a grey base, I expected it to look smokier, like Royal Plum, and darker. In the end, it looks mainly like a medium-dark green with gold shimmer. Because that’s a very common type of color in my collection, I’m not as impressed with this shade. In addition, when I wear it outside, it looks quite similar to Wall of Ivy, but even less shifty.
I thought it was very strange how Iron Gate looked grey-olive-gold when worn indoors, until I looked at the pan photos I took and saw how in one split second in the light, it did turn that color. In other types of lighting, this shade is mostly gold-lime, and is like a toned down version of Estate. There are supposed to be peach and aqua shifts as well, and the base color is “grungy mauve” which likely accounts for how it managed to have that greyish tone I noticed while I wore Iron Gate inside the house. I’m still not sure how I feel about this shade, and I think I need to see how it pairs with other eye shadows in order to finalize my thoughts on it.
Bronze Fountain, Royal Plum, and Wall of Ivy are easily among my favorites and were absolutely worth the purchase for me.
Electric Multichrome Pigment in Niello
I surprised myself by choosing only one of the twelve shadows in this brand new formula. Several others interested me, including Mural which was the first of the new Stained Glass shadows to sell out on the website. However, there were so many swatches of Mural and other Electric Vibrant shades that I liked or disliked out of all the photos and videos I watched prior to the release day, that I wasn’t confident I would think anything other than Niello was worth buying.
However, now that I’ve seen Niello in action, I do wish I bought a few more of the Electrics I considered getting. Every shift is so pretty and even when it looks the most lime, which is perhaps the least interesting part for me out of the “dusty purple base with gold-lime-aqua shifts,” in a completed eye look, it’s the lime that turns super bright and electric, which helps make the look pop.
In the double eye look photo, I have just Niello alone on the lids in the first look. The second look was created using the Clionadh Tropico Highlighter on the inner corner. The rest were used with the Natasha Denona Metropolis Palette with Ripe on the lower lash line, Enigma on the outer third of the eye, a tiny bit of Royal in the center (which didn’t add much to the look and I skipped it in my version on Instagram), and Lethal on the inner third as well as blending out most of the crease.
Glitter Vibrant Multichromes in Empress and Noble
This formula combines the large glitter particle size of some of the shadows in the Glitter collection, as well as the bright base and “intense colour shifting reflects” of the Vibrants. I bought two of the five newly released shadows, but the shade Regal was introduced last year and shares the same formula. I don’t own that shade, so this is my first time experiencing this category of multichromes for myself.
This formula is the kind I will only apply damp or with the Nyx Glitter Primer (as demonstrated in the outdoor closed eye swatch picture). For the open and closed eye swatch worn indoors, I applied them to bare lids to show how this formula can be a bit flaky and messy without some sort of aid to keep it in place. Empress has “a pink-red base with pink-peach-gold-lime shifts,” which I can certainly see in the pan. It has a similar vibe to the shade Bronze Fountain, but with more emphasis on the pink, peach, and gold. The lime is subtler. I like this shade, but I still need to compare it to a lot of other shadows in my collection because I’m not sure how much more different this really is.
Based on the description of Noble as “a warm violet base with pink-peach-lime-aqua shifts,” it sounds like it’s meant to be the purple equivalent of Empress, but this color doesn’t shift as much. I knew that ahead of time, thanks to seeing swatches in advance on Clionadh’s Instagram, but I wanted it anyway. I figured pink-purple-aqua would still be a pretty combination, but the pink is so pale on me in certain lighting situations that it looks silvery. I really don’t like that aspect.
Glitter Multichrome in Etched
My current Glitter Multichrome collection after being whittled down. Etched is on the bottom right.
Quite a few shadows that I own in this formula ended up looking much different on my eyes than I expected. So, I ordered the shade I wanted most out of the eight new ones, and decided that if I still want others after I see how they look on more people, I can get them at that later date.
This shade is mainly blue, which rates low as an eye shadow color I like to wear, but because it has that beautiful pink-violet shift and it’s all with a purple base, I really wanted to get Etched anyway. It’s certainly pretty and even though I could have been fine without this shade and likely won’t use it regularly, I’m still happy to own it.
Vibrant Multichrome in Monarch
My Vibrant Multichromes with Monarch at the top.
Monarch was the only shade I wanted of the four new additions to the Vibrant Multichrome category. I am absolutely thrilled with it! It’s like a more orange toned version of what I wanted Bloodline to be on me. In fact, both Bloodline and Royalty have a silvery look to the shimmer on my eyes. I was so relieved to see that this did not happen with Monarch. The base color in this is red, but all that gold makes it look orange.
I can certainly see the gold shift and subtle bit of lime, but not the aqua described on the website. I don’t mind because the way it looks is gorgeous enough for me.
Deep Iridescent Multichrome in Citron
My Deep Iridescent Collection with Citron in the middle.
I only purchased one of the seven new DI Multichromes, but there are several more on my wishlist that I wanted and only stopped myself from getting them because the other shadows on my list seemed more color-shifting and unique. However, don’t be surprised if/when you see additional Deep Iridescent shadows in a future post!
All of the Deep Iridescents have a unique finish to them, as seen in the close-ups of the pan, and Citron is no different. Putting that shade on my eyes reminded me why it’s one of my favorite formulas from the Stained Glass Collection and I instantly regretted not taking the chance on getting more of them. I love how smoothly they apply and look on the eyes. Citron in certain situations looks quite unique because of that “cool taupe base with chartreuse-lime-aqua shifts,” but in the type of lighting I’m most commonly in, it reminds me yet again of Verte, which is part of this collection. More than just aqua, the shift in Citron looks borderline purple on me. Since, I love purples and greens anyway, I don’t mind. While it does remind me so much of Verte, the fact that Citron looks mainly chartreuse/lime when I’m outside keeps it distinctly different and justifiable to have both.
Hybrid Multichrome in Coat of Arms
My Hybrid Multichromes with Coat of Arms at the top.
This is one of the three new additions to the Hybrid category. I was interested in the others, but since the Hybrid formula is one of my least favorites in the Stained Glass Collection, I didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment and stuck to just one. Also, even though I say this is my least favorite formula, I clearly haven’t had the heart to declutter any of them, so that’s an indication of how much it’s a preference issue and not due to lack of quality.
Coat of Arms is certainly not as deep and rich on my eyes as I expected, but thankfully it’s still a very pretty color. I’m actually glad it’s not as dark as it looks in the pan because I was concerned it would be too similar to Tapestry or the Jewelled Multichrome Spire, but it turns out those other two lean much more on the blue side. It’s quite similar to how Shard looks on me, except that Shard has a warmer purple look to it, whereas Coat of Arms is deeper and the stronger blue shift gives it a cooler toned look to it. For a Hybrid Multichrome, I’m pleasantly surprised how much I like it. However, I feel quite certain I have shades like this in my collection, so I haven’t decided if getting this one was worth it.
Arm SwatchVideos and Photos
Sometimes it takes a long time to process in HD, so if for some reason it doesn’t load, here is the link to the unlisted YT short.
Closing
The only categories I did not purchase anything from were the Series 2 Iridescent Multichrome expansion and the newly released Pearlescent Multichromes.
As for the shadows I did purchase, I’m happy with my choices, though I still can’t help but want the few additional shades I had left on my wishlist. When I decide to look through my multichrome collection again to see if I have colors that are similar enough, perhaps I won’t feel that way. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I wanted to share the most important photos as soon as possible, but I also want to take my time enjoying this collection at a leisurely pace since I don’t think any other eyeshadows this year are going to top these. I want to have something new to look forward to trying out for weeks to come.
Thank you for reading and hopefully sharing in my excitement over these gorgeous multichromes! If you want to see my previous Clionadh reviews, I have links to them in this index post.
I shocked myself that I “only” bought three blushes and two eyeliners from the Solmane 2 Collection. The palette was quite beautiful, but not unique enough to add something different to my large eyeshadow collection. The highlighters are iridescent, sparkly, and pale, which isn’t flattering on me. However, I noticed that the shade Sienna Lustre in the shimmer blush formula seemed perfect for me to use as a highlighter. So, I feel like I’m still getting to experience a highlighter from Oden’s Eye that just happens to be in orange packaging instead of the purple ones. As for the eyeliners, I only added them to my cart so I could qualify for free shipping after using an influencer code to lower the price total. The brush came free and is one I already have and reviewed before, so I will not be reviewing that one here today.
Sunlight Love Blushers in W102 Peach Gleam, W103 Sienna Lustre, and B103 Orange Sunny
Other than the eyeshadows from Oden’s Eye, their blushes have always been my second favorite category of makeup from the brand. I’ve raved about the Alva blushers in the past and always wished they would expand the range, so I am very happy that they have, especially in this updated beautiful packaging.
Because the Alva Flower blushes are among my top favorite shimmer blush formulas, I’m happy to see that the Solmane II shimmer blushes are just as great. The Solmane II mattes are even better than their matte Alva Fruit blushes since they are softer and less powdery.
Peach Gleam
Peach Gleamshows more true to color with a white background.
The shimmer in this is ultra refined, to the point that it looks closer to a satin formula with a golden sheen. The larger size glitters on the right side of the pan don’t really stay on the face, which is something I’m grateful for as I love the sheen-like shimmer finish. It looks like a satin head on except where the light directly catches it, giving it such a beautiful gentle radiance rather than a harsh metallic reflect that some brands opt for in their shimmer blushes. Peach Gleam is what I wished Taj Mahal from Nars would be like on my cheeks!
I struggled trying to decide between Peach Gleam and Orange Sunny, which is how I ended up just choosing both. Their finishes aside, the main difference is that Peach Gleam is a red-leaning orange. Because it has that golden shimmer though, it works with both red-warm looks and golden looks. Orange Sunny is a yellow leaning orange and I only liked it when paired with gold, neutral eye, or other eye looks that compliment yellow. When I wore it with a red toned eye look, Orange Sunny didn’t look as pretty to me as Peach Gleam did. So those are some things to consider.
Sienna Lustre
Sienna Lustreshows truer to the pan color with a white background.However, this blush on the skin is a medium tone peach, which looks more similar to the photo with the colorful background.
There are simply “shimmer” and “matte” categories for the Oden’s Eye blushes, but I can see a textural difference between Peach Gleam and Sienna Lustre, which are both considered shimmer blushes. Sienna Lustre clearly looks more shimmery in the pan and in swatches, but I can see and feel the extra slip it has to it more than Peach Gleam.
This is a close up of Peach Gleam (left) compared to Sienna Lustre (right).
Silver in highlighters rarely look flattering on me, but I am happy to see that Sienna Lustre just takes on a peachy golden look on my skin and all that visible silver sparkle doesn’t show on my cheeks. The silver is basically an overspray, but without impacting the color overall. Admittedly, whenever I use this blush/highlighter, I try to avoid picking up product from the right side of the pan, but I did thoroughly rub my finger on that right side for the swatches and it still didn’t look silvery on my arm.
Because this has visible shimmer particles, I prefer to use Sienna Lustre as a highlight. I also prefer using it on top of Orange Sunny instead of Peach Gleam, since I personally believe the peachy tone looks better as a highlighter over a yellow-orange blush than a red-orange one. It still doesn’t look that bad together, as seen in the face photo above.
One other thing I noticed is that although I have no longevity issues with Peach Gleam and Orange Sunny, Sienna Lustre starts to dull down and disappear from the skin as the day goes on. I still have most of it on by the end of the night, but sometimes I’ve noticed missing sections where I assume I must have touched my face at some point in the day.
Orange Sunny
Orange Sunnyshows true to the compact color with a white background.However, the photo on the left is still relevant in revealing the yellow-orange tone of this blush as opposed to the terracotta orange-brown I expected.
As I mentioned already, I believe the matte formula in the Solmane line is even better than the Alva blushes because it’s richer in pigmentation, softer, not as powdery, and blends better into the skin. I hope Oden’s Eye continues to expand on their blush line to include even more shades and darker ones as well. The ones I have are as deep as they go. In my photo wearing Orange Sunny, I could have applied a little more product, but it doesn’t get much deeper than what is already shown.
Although I think the matte formula from Oden’s Eye has improved, I am still the most impressed with Peach Gleam. The brand’s shimmer formula continues to rank among the best in my substantially large blush collection with Peach Gleam, Little Jasmine, and Sweet Tulip being the ones I use.
Gel Liner Pencils in 002 Orange and 012 Golden Brown
These pencils are creamy and a bit on the soft side. I accidentally broke off the tip of Golden Brown while trying to swatch it on my arm, and I wasn’t even being rough with it. It’s nice that they included a sharpener at the other end of the pencil. I discovered that as I accidentally tugged off the back.
I’ve tried both of them in my waterline and they don’t last. My eyes are just too watery. They last quite well as liner for my upper lash line, as well as an all over shadow for the lids.
Even though I added these to my cart solely for the free shipping minimum, I’m not upset at getting them. I feel like I would have been more impressed with these if I hadn’t just used the Amor y Mariposas gel liners from Melt Cosmetics, which have phenomenal staying power and remain intense, sparkly, and shiny. There is a huge gap between the retail price of Melt’s liners versus the ones from Oden’s Eye though. I can also say I like these more than the pencil liners I’ve purchased in the past from Colourpop.
That’s everything for this review! I didn’t have a ton to say because there wasn’t much to critique. I really like the products I bought from Oden’s Eye’s newest collection and I definitely recommend them.
I normally post reviews exclusively on Mondays, but this post is more of a show-and-tell. I consider it a bonus!
Clionadh Cosmetics Fruitlighter in Tropico
This highlighter, or fruitlighter as it is cutely called, is part of the collaboration Dragon Fruit Collection between Clionadh Cosmetics and Emily Violet Marie. Although I’m not following Emily on any social media, I have seen some of her videos discussing Clionadh products and I think it’s fantastic that the brand liked the concept she came up with long ago and decided to work with her. The entire collection is fun and summery, but I’m on a low-buy and a bit of a neutral phase, so I decided I would just get the two most unique items: the Fruitlighters. Unfortunately, the shade Pitaya sold out as I was checking out, but I still managed to get Tropico. I don’t think I can pull off duochrome and multichrome highlighters on my face, but I plan to use Tropico exclusively on my eyes.
I am very happy with this purchase and I know I will get some use out of it because I transferred it from the compact to my custom magnetic palette with my other Clionadh multichromes. When I was swatching Tropico, I observed the pan spin around and I figured out that it wasn’t glued in the compact, just stuck there via a magnetic bottom. So, I’m able to lift it out (gently with a thin object) and put it anywhere I want.
Tropico is in the palette on the bottom right.
In terms of longevity, I have no issues using Tropico on my eyes, nor the cheeks. It lasts all day wherever I put it. Clionadh highlighters in general are a bit glittery, which is why I prefer using them as eyeshadows, if it all. Part of why I was drawn to this shade, as can be seen in the swatch video, is that at a sharp angle you can get a partial rainbow colored shift of yellow, green, blue, and purple. I cannot recreate that effect indoors on my eyes, but it’s gorgeous all the same.
Clionadh Cosmetics Britt’s Birthday Trilogy Eyeshadow Trio Set
Leigh (aka Britt) and Maggie are the two Founders of Clionadh, and it was for Leigh’s birthday that this eyeshadow trio was created. I really wanted the green shade, and when I read that Nightmare was similar to Gum Tree (one of my favorite Clionadh shadows), I planned on purchasing the set whenever I had a bigger order to make. Somehow, I missed the part about Nightmare also having a similar vibe to BrittBritt, another shade that I also already own. So, the reason I haven’t swatched it with the others above is because I decided I won’t be keeping this shade.
The main differences between the three is that BrittBritt is a little more on the bronze and plummy side, Gum Tree is closer to a gunmetal dark-grey, and Nightmare is essentially just like Gum Tree but much darker in tone. So, I gave an example below of what Nightmare could potentially look like by combining the shadow Koala as a base, which is a dark grey-black, and putting Gum Tree on top. BrittBritt, Gum Tree, and Koala are all discontinued eyeshadows that were sold to contribute to various charities. If I did not already have all of those, I would have happily kept Nightmare. This Birthday Set is still limited edition, so it won’t be around forever!
It’s very important for me to not just keep makeup for the sake of keeping them. I really want to ensure I get more use out of my products, which is why I made the decision to just keep the Clionadh products I will actually use. I’ve barely made dents in my shadows despite how often I’ve used them because a little goes such a long way and I’ve calculated that even if I used a different shade every day, between the Stained Glass Collection and Clionadh’s standard shadows, I’d only be able to use them 5 times at most per year.
Below are the comparisons to the darkest greens and deepest reds in my collection with the new shades. One thing that really stands out with Mythology is that it has a lot more sparkle to it than the other greens. As for Bratty, it’s different enough from the others to want to keep, but between the reds and pinks I do have, it’s part of the reason I opted out of the Dragon Fruit palette. I do have a lot of those kinds of shades.
Per usual with Clionadh, these shadows remain opaque and pigmented on my eyes all day.
That’s everything! Thank you so much for reading! If you’d like to check out more of my Clionadh reviews and other indie brands, I have several of them categorized alphabetically here.
-Lili ❤
*DISCLAIMER: All products in this post were purchased by me with my own money.Non-highlighted links in bold blue font (Example) are non-affiliate links that will not generate commission. Links marked in bold black font with a light blue background (Example) are affiliate links. Affiliate links allow me to get a commission if purchases are made directly using my links.There are no affiliate links in this post.
I typically post once a week (Mondays) and if I ever have a bonus post it usually goes up on Thursday, however, posting on 2/22/22 at 2:22 EST was too poetic to skip.
This quick review is an update to my Devinah Cosmetics Collection. They have released plenty of new formulas of eyeshadows, but I held off on buying all the ones I wanted since I know Clionadh is expanding their Stained Glass Collection. I want to see what Clionadh releases first before snapping up some of the recent duochromes and multichromes that have launched from other indie brands.
The first of the three newest Devinah Shadows I bought is called Fairy Fire. It’s listed as a pressed pigment, but I’m not sure if it belongs to any particular collection of theirs. It looks yellow in the pan but on my eyes it’s this intense glowing green, or at certain angles it’s more of a blue or pink. There is nothing subtle about a shade like this! On camera, the pink and blue are easier to see. The intense green could only be captured when out of the direct light and partly dark.
The next two, Zombi and Seance, are from the Laveau Collection. There are four shadows in total in that collection, but Zombi and Seance looked the most duochromatic of the bunch. I am a little disappointed in Zombi because the base color is so dark that the deep aqua/green it’s supposed to have barely shows through and the cool deep purple just looks black on my eyes when used alone. I’m happier with Seance, although the blue and purple are prettier and pop more in person than in my photos.
One more thing to note is that I stopped using Glitter primer as often and lately I can’t be bothered to spray my brush before applying shimmers, but with these shadows you definitely want to use something to help them stick. There is so much fallout! Devinah has some shadows that are on the flakier and chunkier side, like the Xploders and Sugar Drops, that are obvious that they need something to keep them in place. I find these three new shadows (more specifically Zombi and Seance) to be much smoother than those, which led me to believe they didn’t need the extra help. I was wrong! Fallout gets worse throughout the day and with these particular colors it is extremely obvious that it’s not supposed to be all under the eyes and all over the cheeks. I looked crazy the two times I wore them and I will not use them again in the future without some kind of aid to keep the fallout to a minimum. I’ll leave the glitter under eyes look to Ed Sheeran.
Well, that’s it for the review! Short and sweet! Thank you for reading.
Today I’ll be reviewing the full trio of Deep palettes in the collection, as well as the single eyeshadow called Dear Reader. I will also swatch the best comparisons I have between the shades Temptalia chose to the other 103 Sydney Grace shadows I own, previously swatched here. I purchased this collection on launch day, so this is definitely not a first impression review.
Each palette consists of multiple types of finishes and textures: mattes, metallics, shimmers, duochromes, creamy shades, stiffer packed colors, grittier shadows, etc. Regardless of these differences, they are all highly pigmented shadows. Sydney Grace products always give great color payoff, but I find that these are even more intensely pigmented. Good eyeshadows will have staying power on the lid, but these looked practically the same from the start of the day to the end of the day. There’s no fading or dulling down of the shine.
There is a bit of a tradeoff though regarding the boost in pigment. The mattes give me saturated color right away, but it can look patchy initially if I don’t give a little extra blending time. It isn’t significantly more time, but it was enough to make me notice, particularly with the deeper shades like Interstellar, Sublime Reverie, Midnight Courage, and Umbra. Those blue-green mattes especially give me more kickup in the pan despite my efforts to be gentle and pick up a small amount at a time. With the shimmers, one may want to do the eyes first before the face because I get fallout during the application process, though there isn’t too much extra fallout throughout the day (at least not unless I happen to rub my eyes more than usual).
Quintessence Palette
Quintessence has my favorite color story of the three and it’s the one I knew I absolutely had to get. Ironically, I had the most difficult time creating looks I liked that weren’t monochromatic, so I sought inspiration from Temptalia’s website. For swatches, eye looks, details of the shades, etc. there is no better resource than Christine herself, so I will link the blog here and recommend giving it a look if you need additional help and information.
The last two looks were the ones I attempted to recreate (but tweak the tiniest bit) from Temptalia.
A color guide to the swatches is that yellow font = Temptalia collection, orange = the Chase Your Dreams palette, blue = individually sold eyeshadow, and green = the Tiny Marvels palette.
This palette had a few similarities (pictured above), but Temptalia mentioned that the shade called The Greatest Gift is the one she specifically wanted to keep as is, but make it more intense and shimmery.
I initially wrote off the comparison of The Greatest Gift and The Mielke Way when I was seeking dupes because the silvery shimmer in The Mielke Way gives it a completely different look. I’m not the biggest fan of icy shades, so I prefer having just the gold shimmer with the raspberry base over the added metallic sparkle. This highlights an important aspect though, which is that there are other shades from Sydney Grace’s line that I decided not to post as similarities because the intensity of the shimmer in the Temptalia collection gave it a different effect. Or if the shadows shared the same base color, the shimmer additions were different enough justify having both in my collection. I also estimate I probably have less than half of the Sydney Grace singles (at least before many were discontinued) so there may be other shades that are close. However, I don’t think many have the exact undertone or as much sparkle. I believe Temptalia owns the full collection of Sydney Grace eyeshadows, so she probably made sure that hers were different enough as well.
On the Horizon Palette
The outer packaging for this palette was too beautiful to skip. I knew instantly (and I did end up doing it) that I was going to transfer all of the Quintessence shades into this packaging so I’d have my favorite color story in my favorite palette artwork. Between the three palettes, the On The Horizon color story was the one I didn’t like and felt like I could skip. So, imagine my surprise when I ended up loving every look I’ve created with this! It opened my eyes to new color combo possibilities.
These colors are a little more subdued, but Temptalia described the intention for these to be almost like neutrals with a twist. And because I mentioned these are not the kind of shades I typically go for, it makes sense that I was unable to find similarities in my collection. I did compare it to the Dear Reader shade that was part of the collection but sold as a single because her followers seemed to love it in the sneak peek of it, but Lunar Illumination was already chosen in its place as a better compliment to the other shades in the palette.
I actually put Dear Reader with the OTH shades and moved Lunar Illumination into my custom palette with the rest of my Sydney Grace collection. I prefer it too!
Radiant Reflection Palette
Radiant Reflection reminds me so much of the Coloured Raine Cheers to the Beauty Palette because both of them possessed shades I tend to like, but the tones weren’t as appealing as I imagined once I saw them in person. I love greens, but not quite like those in Radiant Reflection. I like golds and blue-purples, but not quite like the ones in this either. Then the other shades in the palette were similar to others shadows I already have many times over in my eyeshadow collection, and not just among Sydney Grace shades. So, I ended up selling this palette. I knew I wouldn’t reach for it again because that’s exactly what happened to my Cheers to the Beauty palette which I depotted and sold most of the shades from it. I don’t regret buying Radiant Reflection because I needed to be certain I didn’t want it, as odd as that sounds. The Our Starry Night shade was so unique, Dearest Constant deep version is my type of orange eyeshadow, and Forget-Her-Not had me curious to see it in person. Once that happened, I could put the curiosity to rest.
Final Thoughts
I do feel like this trio of palettes all have similar sort of shades, but I still couldn’t talk myself into getting Quintessence only. I fell into the trap of wanting to possess all my favorite shades from the Temptalia collection and envisioning how I could mix and match the palettes with my other Sydney Grace singles. Funny enough, I only swapped three shades: Mango Tea for Sirius Starlight (placeholder and not a solidified decision), Dear Reader for Lunar Illumination, and Adore Me for Infinite Echoes (Deep). That last swap actually makes the palette more similar to the light version of On the Horizon!
Speaking of the light version, I find it amusing that my gripe with most eyeshadow palettes is when they have a disproportionate amount of light shades and mid-tone neutrals. When I used these palettes exclusively, which is how I prefer to do the testing process, I found myself actually wishing for a light matte to blend out edges and a medium brown. Temptalia intentionally left out brow bone and transition shades because it’s unlikely that anyone purchasing her palettes would not already have plenty of those types of shadows in their collection. So, in a normal situation this wouldn’t really be a problem except for those who like to have every palette being a complete palette.
As much as I think I don’t want palettes that are very similar in color story, I found myself not wanting to make any major changes to them, or even wanting to switch these around. I’m very satisfied with Quintessence and On The Horizon. The minor inconveniences for using the palettes, such as fallout and spending a little more time on my eye makeup, are fine with me because I know I will be able to make very impactful looks with phenomenal longevity. $40 per palette is a fair price, but the fact that I was able to use a promo code on top of the bundle discount made this all very reasonably priced. These palettes were even eligible for Sydney Grace’s sale/discount offerings during their annual Christmas in July sale. While I don’t recommend getting all of them purely for the sake of having a complete collection, I think they’re great quality and do recommend picking the one(s) that really speak to you.
Thank you for reading! I hope it has been helpful!
-Lili ❤
*Disclaimer: When it comes to collabs or creations from influencers or other public figures, I always disclose any affiliations I may or may not have with them. In this situation, I have no personal or public ties to Temptalia, but I am a frequent peruser of her blog. I consider her an invaluable resource within the beauty community as her dupes and comparisons feature on her blog has impacted a lot of my purchasing decisions as well as her reviews, which mostly tend to align with my own opinions. I respect her as a blogger, but I don’t know much about her specifically.
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