I'll start off by saying I like this palette, I'm going to keep and work with it. It requires work. This is not a palette that you can bring on the go, not use primer or a brush, and call it a day. The shadows need work (they remind me of Bobbi Brown shadows, which I do NOT personally enjoy), but I do enjoy the color payoff once layered. They need a primer, there's no other way to put it. A primer will enable these colors to really adhere to your eyelids, and prompt a more put-together look.
I want you to have an open mind when looking at this palette. The addition to "textured shadows" is great for this line, because the top shades are extremely textures. They're rough, a little uneven, thus seemingly act as a dud. This is not the case, to me. The shades are (mostly) great on their own, and they're all great layered up with the matte shades in the palette.
I want to mention, at first glance, these shades swatched look awful. I was extremely apprehensive to pick it up, due to the inconsistency in swatching.
These colors need work.
I am not denying that. And for the price point, some may not bother to want to make it work, and I don't blame you. I'm extremely picky with my products, and I believe that there is so much out there, so many brands and textures and shades, that no one should settle on something based off of hype alone. I've gotten better and picking what I know I'll wear, and what I think I'll wear but will never pick up. Based on these colors, I think this can be a palette that I use often enough.
With that said, I do like this palette. Upon blending and layering, I love the looks that can be created with this palette. I think in order to get something out of this palette, you should really love the color payoff. If you only like a few colors, I'll go ahead and tell you I don't think it's worth it. To me, the colors are unique enough that I'm willing to make it work.
Let's talk more in depth about the product itself.
The packaging:
I enjoy the packing, weirdly enough. It comes in a cardboard sleeve, and you pull the palette out, and can clearly see the shades through the top. I like that. There is a clear film that I would recommend keeping on, just for the sake of not having your colors mix, as the glitters WILL have fallout. I can see a potential issue with this palette as not being sturdy enough to withstand a drop. The magnetic closure doesn't seem as strong as I would hope, but it is not flimsy. I can see this palette not reacting well with any sort of moisture.
pros: clear plastic on top, plastic sturdy and thick, plastic sheet included to prevent fallout, optional sleeve to keep palette contained and not stained
cons: does not seem sturdy to withstand hard drops, cardboard packaging not weighted, seemingly does not withstand moisture
Price/availability
I wanted to touch on this, and will try to include this in my reviews going forward, because hot ticket items are normally a pain to acquire. This was no different. The palette will be available on Sephora's website next month, which is what I would recommend doing. Huda Beauty's website is atrocious. There were constant lags, inability to click or go to the cart, difficulty following through with the purchase. It took over an hour for me to be able to purchase mine. I tried different browsers, different devices, going incognito, but ultimately what worked best was refreshing the tab until the order went through. I'm not sure why there was so much difficulty in assuring a user-friendly checkout, especially since the release was prolonged (and then magically appeared to work out of nowhere). They were desperate to launch the product, without doing it right, and that is always a big turn off with brands. I love the accessibility and smoothness of going through Sephora, and would always suggest going through them for security and overall ease of purchasing. Not to say I don't support buying through an individual's site, but sites like these make me very weary. Let's also talk about the price point. It's $65 dollars for 18 shades, not terrible in the grand scheme of makeup, when you break it down it's almost $4 a shadow. I'm unable to pull up how much is in each pan, but I'm assuming it's nothing more or less than a standard palette. Nothing crazy, no great deal, it is what it is.
pros: paypal accessible, quick shipping (live in US, shipped from Dubai, only a few days)
cons: non user friendly site, lagged greatly, unsecured sytem..my browser alerted me several times to not go to this site. I didn't listen 0:)
The Shades:
What really sold me, aside from wanting to try more from this brand, was the rose gold conception. I love rose gold in makeup items, I love that it's been on trend for a while now. Stepping back from the formulation or wear of these shades, they are beyond beautiful to look at. The colors on top are all glitter. There are 8 glittery/satin shades, 10 mattes. I like this array, as I think mattes help more or less to complete a look. The glitters themselves stand out. I'll go ahead and note that there is inconsistency in the formulation, something I loathe but is seemingly unavoidable with most brands.
Glitters:
The glitters are interesting, and as I noted before, very textured. Dubai, Fling, Trust Fund, Angelic and #Blessed can absolutely stand on their own. 24K and Rose Gold definitely need some sort of base to work. Before swatching the rest and playing around, I didn't like 24k or Rose Gold. After layering it with other shades, I'm in love. 24K is very similar in feel and texture to a gold flake one would put on nail or lip art, to create that essence of a textured look. I love it. It blends much more effortlessly once applied to a base coat of a shadow. I can definitely see myself adding in to the center of the lip to create a dimensional lip look as well. The glitters, to me, are all rockstars in their own ways. While the consistency is something harsh and piecey, I enjoy the finalized look to these.
Mattes:
The mattes have striking colors that I think are cultivated perfectly to the "rose gold" theme. There's some neutrals, some bolds, and the basics. All of these work well under the glitter colors in the palette, but can perform solo with some work. I think a densely packed, smaller brush would work the best in crease, outer v, etc, as the colors really need a few layers before doing something great. These are not one swatch and done colors. They need work, for sure, maybe even more than the glitters. The pigmentation is pretty on par throughout the mattes, they all need a few layers in order to look their best.
Swatches
colors (from left to right): Dubai*, Fling*, 24K, Rose Gold, Trust Fund*, Angelic, #Blessed, Bossy, Flamingo, Shy, Bae, Moon Dust, Black Truffle, Suede, Coco, Maneater, Henna, Sandalwood.
** are personal favorites.
~My least favorites were: Black Truffle and Flamingo.
The color swatches have one color swipe on top, and two on the bottom.
24K (pictured above)
Rose Gold (pictured above)
Trust Fund (pictured above)
Angelic (pictured above)
#BLESSED (pictured above)
Bossy, Flamingo, Shy (Pictured from top to bottom)
Bae (pictured above)
Moondust, Black Truffle, Suede, Coco (pictured top to bottom)
Maneater (pictured above)
