You know what's crazy? A few years ago I would've never given a penny of my hard earned money on expensive eye shadows. Although I've always been a fan of makeup, I just didn't really care much for eye shadows. It's just something I never thought I'd use. Boy was I wrong! Lately I've been going eye shadow crazy--but mostly for the palettes. The most important thing for me is to incorporate as many diverse colors as possible. I'm not a huge fan of getting similar colors just for the sake of getting a similar color. I like having my palettes all be for different purposes. With that said, I've been going crazy with the really big palettes out there, like the Naked palette. I wanted something that was compact and a bit smaller, so it would be easier for me to switch out and carry around.
So when I saw these babies on sale at Macy's, I knew I needed to pick them up! I did get to swatch them a little bit while I was at the store, but everyone knows that department store lighting can be very deceiving. They were originally $35 but were on sale for $25. Each of these come with an eyeliner and mascara as well. They seemed decent when I tested them at the store, so I thought this was a great deal! And even better, they'd make great gifts! So let's see how they turned out at home.
There are 3 different palette options: Sparks, Cosmic, and Flash. I only got Flash and Cosmic. Sparks is a more neutral palette and since I already have a few neutral palettes, I didn't feel the need for another one.
This one is FLASH. As you can see, it's a very shimmery pinky neutral palette with 5 different colors. I really wanted this one, despite having the Naked 3 already, because I'm IN LOVE WITH PINKY NEUTRALS. I don't think you understand. I am just obsessed with pinks. Okay, let me stop myself before I go crazy again.
Swatches: (from Left to Right) plum, slate, purple shimmer, taupe, ballet pink, pink shell
I tried my best to show the most accurate color of the shades. These probably took about 3 or so swipes to show the colors off. And I did use a shadow primer.
The first thing I will say is, it does to have a bit of fall out. The formula of the shadows are not very hydrated at all, meaning they are mostly a powder formula. I'd say, the quality is an in between of drug store eye shadow quads and a more higher end shadow. The color payout isn't that great, but regardless, they are still very pretty shimmer colors that are good for neutral looks with a bit of sparkle.
Note: I haven't used these on my actual eyes yet.
The second palette is called COSMIC. And omg--I really like this one.
(From Left to Right: sapphire, smoke, aqua, luster, silver, sandstone)
Right off the bat, you can see that the color payout on this palette is much more pigmented! It might also be just because these are darker colors in general, but either way, I think these colors are quite nice. The last color, sandstone, looks almost like an invisible chalky color, but this is a great highlight color as well as silver. I'd like to think the two mixed together would make a really nice highlighter. My favorite colors on this one is definitely Sapphire and Aqua. They are so so so pretty in person!
Here's another look at Sapphire. YES. It is a black color with specs of blue-ish purple micro glitters! It's so beautiful in person!
This palette still has the same formula as FLASH though, so you'll expect some fall outs either way. But in terms of being a palette that I'd use, I see myself grabbing this one quite often! I love the neutrals that are in this as well and think they compliment my skin tone much better than the pink one. It's also quite versatile in itself. I can just look at this and think of all the Day to Night looks I could create with just this little palette. Plus it's compact!
Lastly, as mentioned, these each do come with a Smashbox Full Exposure mascara in Jet Black and Limitless eyeliner in Onyx.
I have yet to use this on my actual eyes, so I can't really say much about it besides the fact that it's not waterproof and the bristles seem dense and short, which would be ideal for my sparse lashes. I'm not a fan of non waterproof mascara though, so who knows.
The liner is also a non waterproof crayon liner.
I did a little a sample of it here.
In conclusion, I think they are pretty decent considering they're only $25. I mean, the palette itself should be worth that price. So the fact that you get two extra items is a great deal! I checked Sephora and the mascara itself is $19! So is the pencil. So that's $40 worth of product for free already. Like I said, I haven't tested the mascara and eyeliner, but how bad could they possibly be for a $20 product? lol. Knocking on wood.
Considering most drug store palettes aren't that great and the better ones are around $10-$15, this is totally a legit option for all you makeup lovers out there. Interested? You can grab these
HERE.
I'll eventually do some looks with all these shadows! So stay tuned.
*This is a non sponsored product review. All products mentioned were purchased first hand.