Category Archives: Eyeshadow and Palettes

Indie Brand Spotlight: Fantasy Cosmetica

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I’ve always liked the fantasy genre, so this brand intrigued me from the moment I first heard about it. What took me so long to finally make a purchase was just the fact that my obsession with eyeshadows calmed down ever since my botched Low-Buy in 2022. It was easier to avoid overspending if I ignored trying new-to-me brands. Leaving the US also played a role, since I had less access to a lot of indie brands. However, I finally looked into Monolith EU’s website, and started trying different indie brands again through that online retailer.

I purchased the Druid Palette in September last year and loved it so much that I considered buying additional eyeshadows. The issue was that I didn’t love a lot of the full color stories of the others palettes enough to be worth the upcharge from Monolith beyond the 19% VAT. Although Fantasy Cosmetica sells eyeshadows individually on their own website, Monolith does not.
When Black Friday rolled around, I considered ordering their single eyeshadows and have them shipped within the US, but the discounted prices were such that it made more sense to actually buy the palettes in full! During my two week vacation, I tested out the Fighter, Warlock, and Bard palettes so that I could decide which of the eyeshadows I’d keep and which ones I’d leave behind, but I took them all!

All four palettes discussed today are part of the “Classes” series. At the time that I’m writing this, there are nine in total. I’ve played a few MMORPG’s in my early years, and it’s a bit funny to me that none of the characters I’ve been are in this collection of nine!
I love playing a healer type in any game whether it’s a main healer like a Cleric, a partial tank-type like a Paladin, or a damage dealer like a Mage or Psychic. I’ve played a Shaman, which I guess is closest to a Druid. I’ve also been an Archer and low level Hunter, which is closest to a Ranger. Mage is probably closest to the Wizard.
My point is that I’m shocked there still hasn’t been a Cleric, Paladin, or Priest! Perhaps one of those could be coming next.

First, let’s talk about the palette that turned me into a fan of this brand, which is Druid.

Druid Palette *NEW stained glass style*

I put “new stained glass style” in the title because that’s how it was listed via Monolith. However, I don’t know what the original palettes used to look like. The oldest videos I’ve seen have palettes that look similar to mine, so I don’t know what the differences are supposed to be.

I have learned, based on these four palettes, that the Fantasy Cosmetica formulas has the kind of balance I love between high pigment and ease of use. The mattes are opaque, easy enough to blend (minus Old Growth) and layer well on each other. It’s not on the same level as Pat Mcgrath or YSL, but it’s almost on par with Oden’s Eye, which is great. The array of colors in this palette excited me as much as the Earth Palette from Lethal Cosmetics, but I prefer how these eyeshadows from Druid perform way more!

Some of the shimmers are on the satin side, but always in interesting shades to create a statement in at least that way, while the other shimmers are sparkly and impactful without looking chunky. They are creamy enough to spread easily and smoothly, but not emollient or slippery enough to crease on the eyes. How the eyeshadows look at the start of the day is how they’ll appear at night.

As I mentioned, the only matte that is harder to blend out is Old Growth. Wherever the shadow gets placed, it doesn’t really want to move from that spot. I remember the time period when Colourpop used to make this kind of shade a lot, and many of them had this issue as well. I think it has to do with the red-brown pigments used.

The only shimmer to give me an issue is Regrowth, which has a tendency to try to hard-pan. This eyeshadow has a red base and gold shimmer, but the hardpan is how I ended up with a matte looking outer corner in the 4th eye look above.

The most “boring” shimmer is Bear Form which is a metallic brownish orange. It’s pretty, but doesn’t have any special effects. Another one that appears like it should be straightforward is Serenity, but it has a yellow to green shift. It looks lime green in the pan, but it looks very yellow on my eyes.

One of the stars of this palette is Balance, a transparent-based eyeshadow that can be used like a topper. It has pinkish-purple, aqua, and green shimmer. The other star is Transformation, the multichrome that goes from red to purple and then greenish blue. Green is the predominant color on my eyes.

This isn’t a perfect palette, but I really like it.

Fighter Palette

This is the most neutral color story available out of the Classes palettes. Therefore, I’m not surprised that this is also the palette with the most “traditional” type of shimmers. Glory is very much the standout. The base color is very sheer, but I can faintly see it’s yellow-brown, and the shift goes from pinkish-purple to blue. Might is also a fun color with its dark purple base and gold shimmer, but it looks like a very blackened purple when I use it on my eyes. I’ve noticed it hasn’t been as easy to see the gold on my eyes, and it looks like it’s wanting to hardpan like Regrowth in the Druid palette.

The three shimmers in the middle row of the palette are wetter and fairly thick. According to the brand’s description, Blade is a, “multidimensional shimmer – silver base with green and purple shifting sparkles.” Realistically, it’s a dark silver. I can faintly see purple specks if I rub the eyeshadow across my skin super thinly to sheer it out. I don’t think anyone would be able to tell there was any nuance to the silver when it’s on my eyes.

Fervor is a red with silver sparkles. The silver gives this eyeshadow more of a twinkling effect, but it’s still my least favorite color in the palette. It’s objectively pretty, but I’m not a fan of these kinds of reds.

And then finally, Victory is a, “multidimensional shimmer – warm brown with pink and silver sparkles.” Again, it looks pretty much orange to me. I can see some of the pink at a very sharp angle that I’m not so sure anyone else would be looking at me from.

Once more, the mattes are wonderful. Warrior is a little less blendable than the others, but it’s still good enough for me.

I go through phases of liking neutral palettes. Something about the curation of these colors and the way they look on the eyes paired together is very intriguing to me, no matter what my mood is. The only outlier for me is Fervor, but I can always swap it out with an eyeshadow single from another brand.

Warlock Palette

This palette is a surprise hit for me! Six of the shades are the kind of colors I only like when paired with certain other shades. This color story is thankfully grouped in a way that makes them all work. This was one of the biggest reasons I couldn’t just depot a few shades when I was planning which palettes to bring back with me.

The shade I was pining for the most was Ritual, a true multichrome that shifts yellow, green, and blue. It reminded me of a Clionadh shadow, but nothing I swatched looked close enough to it. It had a similar flip but didn’t look the same head-on. I think perhaps it’s like Weathered, but I don’t own that shade from Clionadh. In any case, it’s a gorgeous color!

The greenish shift that Patron has reminds me of Transformation from the Druid palette, if that one had a dark pink base instead. I’m not always into pinks, but this is the kind I can get behind!

Arcanum, with its “acid green to light blue shift,” and Offering, with its “deep blue to pink shift,” are listed as duochromes, but they’re not as nuanced on my eyes. When I hold Arcanum at a sharp angle, I guess I can see blue, but on my eyes I can only see yellow and green. Regarding Offering, I consider it a deep steel blue-grey with purple shimmer. I really can’t see pink.

There’s usually at least one problem child in the palette, and in this one it is Eldritch. It’s the same issue with it just having a lot of pigment and requiring a bit more time to blend. Technically, Profane is also not perfect since it’s thin and I have to build it up, but colors that are practically neon tend to be like this for me.

Overall, this is probably the palette that intimidated me the most, but I think it’s my second favorite (Druid is at the top).

Bard Palette

Bard might not look like a rainbow palette because of the way the eyeshadows are arranged, but it may as well be.

I still appreciate the brand’s choice in veering away from standard primary and secondary colors. For example, Performance is more of a golden and slightly orange leaning yellow. It’s similar to the Singe Beauty brand color. Stories is a super rich red, that is on the verge of purple. Enrapture is like a slightly toned down desaturated orange and Inspiration is a kind of murky muted green. Aside from needing to build up the yellow a green a bit, I have no issues with these mattes.

Mythic is a stunning orange color in a smooth texture. If Pat Mcgrath wanted to make an orange version of Gigabyte, I feel it would turn out looking like this.

Wanderer has a bronze base with red and pink shimmer. It’s thick with a squishy consistency. Legend has the same texture, but with a sheer purple base and blue shimmer.

Charismatic is a pretty peachy color that shifts from pink to gold. A color like this is common among indie brands and even mainstream ones, but I like this opacity level. Sometimes brands have an iridescent version of this color that I don’t think looks as flattering on me. Unfortunately, this is another shimmer that’s starting to form hardpan.

The final showstopper in this palette is Lore, which goes from a bright golden green, to greenish-blue, and then a darker cool blue.

I don’t know how frequently I will use this palette, but I am still glad I bought it. I’m pleased with having all four, though dealing with the shadow sealing or forming hardpan might start to annoy me in the future. I can try to avoid it by strictly applying shimmers with my brush, but the habit to apply shimmers with my finger is very strong.

Bonus Shades and Enchanted Autumn Tinted Lip Balm

Before we bring this review to a close, I just wanted to mention that I received two Fantasy Cosmetica singles from Monolith as a free gift when my Singe Beauty blush order was delayed. As I mentioned before, Monolith doesn’t sell singles, so it was interesting to receive them. They unfortunately don’t have names written on the sleeves, nor the pans. At first, I thought they were the gold and silver from the Fighter palette, but they aren’t the same. Now, I’m wondering if they are from the Enchanted Autumn palette that I believe launched around the same time. Perhaps they are the shades Libra and Harvest Moon. In any case, the beautiful colors are another reason I was so interested in trying more Fantasy Cosmetica eyeshadows.

I included a photo of Pomander, which I’ve reviewed before in my Battle of the Lip Balms post, mainly because it is still a Fantasy Cosmetica product and should be part of this brand spotlight. They have brushes, fragrances, lip products, and candles. So, Fantasy Cosmetica is branching out.

This has been a great experience. Among all the indie brand eyeshadows I bought between 2024 and 2025 (Nomad Cosmetics, Cosmic Beauty, Lethal Cosmetics, Fantasy Cosmetica, and ShellWe Makeup), the Fantasy Cosmetica quality is my favorite of the five, and will be a brand I continue to keep my eye on. Since their products are made in China, I hope they will be able to manage through this tariff situation. I heard they were among the first indie brands to alert customers of potential issues via social media.

That’s all for today! I hope you’ve found this post to be helpful!

-Lili ❤

Prada Beauty Eyeshadows and Highlighter

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I have been purchasing more luxury makeup than usual over the past year and a half, but there are some brands I have tried to avoid for fear of liking them too much and not having the self-control to stop myself from buying everything they make!
Prada is one of those brands that every single release has been hyped on social media as “the best on the market,” but as long as I didn’t take that first step in trying something, I was safe.

Well, I am no longer safe! I finally bought the eyeshadow palette that appealed to me most, and then shortly after bought the highlighter in the refill form.

Before we get into the reviews, I want to discuss the logistics of this refill system because many Influencers have been saying, “If it’s too expensive, you can save money by buying one with a compact and getting refills of the rest,” without even checking what that actually entails for the customer.

For starters, this is not like Charlotte Tilbury refillable products where the compacts have magnetic bases with metallic pans that are easy to pop in and out. The Prada “pans” are made of plastic. There is a triangular shaped gap in the back of the compact that one can press through to lift out the plastic pan. On the bottom of the pan is a rectangular section with adhesive on it.
This adhesive is what holds these pans in place within the compacts.

The bottom photo shows how flush the pan is to the surface, so adding a magnetic sheet to the bottom to turn it into a magnetic compact is not possible.


That adhesive will be exposed to the air and other elements if removed from the compact and set down on top of an object. So, something (perhaps scotch tape or the paper from another refill) will be needed to cover the sticky section. If the plan is to swap out products repeatedly, the cover piece has to be easily removable and not lessen the sticky power over time. The adhesive isn’t that strong to begin with. I’ve seen two people whose pans immediately fell out of their compacts, and mine continues to as well.

When one purchases an individual refill, it does not come in a plastic case/clamshell.
There is the cardboard unicarton and the extra bit of cardboard on the inside that keeps the product stable during transport. That’s it. There is a square paper tab on the bottom that keeps the adhesive section from sticking to anything else.
Alicia Archer demonstrates how the refill is stored here.

With mine, I placed metal stickers on the bottom of the plastic refill pan, so I could store it in any of my custom magnetic palettes. When using the square size metal stickers, at least two are required for it to cling well enough to the palette. The idea was to place them in areas that would not interfere with the lifter tab in the compact if I decided to swap out the eyeshadow palette and put the highlighter there instead. For anyone who only wants to buy refills and put them in custom magnetic palettes, adding metal stickers and keeping the adhesive spot covered is simple enough.

When I was ready to transfer pans, I stuck to the plan of covering the eyeshadow palette’s exposed adhesive spot with the new sticker off the highlighter refill, and then added metal stickers to the back of the eyeshadow palette. So far so good!
I placed the newly exposed highlighter pan into the compact and pressed down to secure it. It worked, but the extra weight of the metal stickers combined with the fairly weak adhesive power made it easier for the pan to plop back out if shaken not-so-gently upside down. I ended up removing the metal stickers off the back of the highlighter to give it its best chance to stay stuck in the compact. It does still pop out with every few uses, especially when jostled in my makeup bag. So, even if the goal was to make these easier to recycle, it’s an annoyance for the customer. When spending this kind of money, it should be securely in there. I wish they had just used magnets.

I am used to depotting things, so I have the necessary supplies. However, the typical customer might be surprised to find out there are more steps to the process than just pressing the back and popping out the pan. One can use the refills to replace an empty pan, use it in and out of the original cardboard packaging, or find a way to house it in a magnetic palette. Exchanging multiple products in and out of the Prada compacts though is not realistic.

I am at least glad they didn’t go the Hermes route (and other luxury brands). Hermes sells refills in pans, but the pans are aluminum and therefore not magnetic. I’ve had to add metal stickers to the bottom of mine. In addition, if one buys a compact with a product already inside, the compact is not magnetic and the pan is pre-glued. So, once you take out the original pan for swapping purposes, you will have to do something to either cover the glue or remove it. Then you’d have to glue in the next refill and hope you can still take it out once that replacement is done.

In some compacts, I have been able to place a magnet sheet on the inside and turn it into a custom magnetic compact, but if the sheet is too thin the magnetic hold might not be strong enough to support the weight of the pan. If the sheet is too thick, the pan could be raised too high up and one can’t close the compact. The Prada compacts, for example, are too flush with the surface and cannot be turned into an empty magnetic palette like how I’ve done with Hourglass palettes.

So, sometimes refillable makeup has limitations on the various ways someone can use them depending on how the brand does their packaging.

Prada Light Glowing Highlighter Powder in 03 Deep

A highlighter’s core function is to brighten the skin wherever it is used. Even a matte product can serve that purpose, as long as it’s lighter than a person’s skin tone. Therefore, additional attributes such as the consistency, finish, reflect level, etc are completely subjective. If someone has a list the traits that they seek in a highlighter, the product that checks off most of those boxes is considered to be “the best.” What is best for one person could be the worst on someone else’s list!

I can say right now that the Prada highlighter is among the best for me, and perhaps even in the number one spot!

There are three shades currently available: Champagne, Pink, and Deep.
I don’t consider Deep to be that dark, but it works for my skin tone. I would like to see the brand expand the range in both directions because I don’t think these three shades are that flexible. I have a cousin who would probably love this highlighter, but she’s considerably darker than me. There wouldn’t be a point in me recommending this to her because it would probably look grey on her skin from being too light. So, I think it’s important for brands to offer a wider variety of highlighter colors within a line, especially if it’s a more opaque type or if the pearlescent finish is strong.

This highlighter is satin-like to the touch. Most powder highlighters that achieve this level of smoothness are hybrid cream-powder ones or putty-like. They basically feel wet. The Prada highlighter is different because it still feels like a powder, but in the smoothest form. When applied to the skin, it practically melts in to the point that I can hardly see individual shimmer particles. It is ultra refined with the brand’s trademarked “Micro-Pixel™ Pearls”. The effect is as close to the performance of a cream or liquid highlighter without it actually being liquid. The moisture level within this product is perfectly balanced. I cannot imagine how a powder could be any more hydrating from the jojoba butter, maracuja oil, and squalane without venturing into dewy territory. Kudos to the lab that formulated this!

I’ve only used my natural hair brushes with this highlighter. They all pick up the right amount of product to start me off with a beautiful subtle layer, but I can build it up to the lighter side of medium intensity. When I swipe it across my skin, I don’t even need to blend it. It doesn’t leave a visible stripe. If I build it up, it still requires such little effort to blend.
This highlighter has no problem sticking to my bare skin on low-makeup days and still doesn’t look extreme over a dewy base. It lasts all day without diminishing in brightness.

I have always wanted a powder highlighter with the smallest possible shimmer particles that would provide the most natural lit-from-within glow. My perfect highlighter couldn’t be too pearly or metallic. I would have no other issues with the performance, and the packaging would look luxurious. These are all reasons why the Prada highlighter should be perfect for me. There is just one flaw for me, and it’s the added fragrance!

This highlighter contains parfum and naturally fragrant ingredients (limonene, geraniol, citronellol, and linalol). It’s not an unpleasant smell, but I can’t enjoy it either because of how strong it is. It hits me as soon as I open the compact, and it continues to linger in my brushes for a while. I can smell it on my face for several hours too. I hope the scent will dissipate and air out over time because it only takes me using it with one or two other strongly perfumed products, such as the Guerlain Parure Loose Powder, to induce a headache. The parfum is bad enough, but to have all those potentially skin sensitizing essential oils too is a huge drawback for me. I will continue using this because, if not for the fragrance, it would be my number one holy grail highlighter. Unfortunately, it’s just not the kind of scent that is easy to ignore.

I want a subtle highlighter 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, I want medium intensity at most. So, there are still moments that I reach for the Hindash Gradient Highlighter and Charlotte Tilbury highlighters instead. However, we have now reached the point where the Prada formula is so good that I cannot justify buying another highlighter ever again. The only time it would make sense for me to get a new one is for limited edition packaging or if I hear someone has identically duped the Prada one in a fragrance-free version. This is it for me!

Prada Holo Nude Eyeshadow in 09 Primula

Everyone said this formula is creamy, but my goodness, they were not exaggerating! They feel like cream-to-powder formulas. In fact, they’re so creamy that I’m amazed they are still solid powders. The most comparable eyeshadow formula I can think of that’s not technically cream-to-powder are the ones from YSL, but the Prada eyeshadows are more moisturizing and creamy.
These have a pigment level that’s between Lisa Eldridge Velvets and and her Seamless Mattes, but these don’t feel as firm/compact in the pan. I use natural hair packing shader brushes and the Sonia G Fusion Eye Builder to speed up the process of loading on the color, as the eyeshadow payoff is the soft buildable kind, but I also want a diffused edge without needing to spend as much time blending it out.

I am very unlikely to hit pan on these, but I would like to point out that the long rectangular strip across the top is quite annoying to fit my brushes into there. I hope Prada will come out with a different pan layout in the future.

I like that this color story is a bit sultry, but I can’t create as much depth and dimension as someone else could who has a lighter skin tone than mine. Primula still looks pretty on me, but after the testing phase ended, I started using the darkest shadow from VBB’s Victoria palette in the outer corner, but just enough to keep the overall look still soft by my standards.

Shade 1 is useful in blending out edges and keeping the area looking clean between the crease and brows.
Shade 2 adds depth. If that color couldn’t be deeper, then I wish the brand made Shade 3 a little lighter for a greater difference in color value and not just Shade 3 being warmer.
Shade 4 looks gorgeous in the pan. Based on photos I’ve seen, I do believe the shimmer in Primula is the prettiest of the three palettes in the Holo collection. However, even if I wet the eyeshadow, I still find it to be a little less impactful, shimmery, and shifty than I hoped. The red base just kind of blends in too much with the two warm toned shades, especially Shade 3. I like a gentle gradient sometimes, so this palette is great for those moments. In the phase I’m in currently, it’s a little less suited to my eyeshadow preferences.

I don’t want to take away from how happy I am that a luxury brand is including atypical colors in their palettes. And I do understand that putting a shade like Asteria by Devinah Cosmetics instead might be too bold for the kind of customer luxury brands try to sell to. I just don’t want to overlook the fact that what drew me to this palette in the first place can still be found in my collection. I can’t find mattes of Prada quality from indie brands, but the shimmers are another story. I don’t have to pay Prada prices to get it.

Because these eyeshadows are smooth, but not reliant on overdoing it with dimethicone to get that smoothness, I don’t have issues with creasing. I don’t have any problems with adherence or longevity either.

Overall, the quality is fantastic. I purchased this at a discount from Douglas, but it’s still quite expensive for a quad. I won’t say that I’m never purchasing another one, considering I’ve purchased Gucci and Guerlain palettes for a similar (discounted) price, and the Prada quality is superior to theirs. I would just need to stick to my normal criteria in being excited about the majority of the palette colors, if I were to buy one more.

I mentioned that I am no longer safe from being tempted into buying more makeup from Prada, but that’s in the future. For now, I’m content with the two products I have, especially the highlighter.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading and I hope this has been helpful.

-Lili ❤

Lisa Eldridge Summer Colour Story Collection

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Lisa Eldridge recently launched her summer collection consisting of an eyeshadow palette, three lipsticks, and two tote bags. The only items I’m missing are the Toasted shade of lipstick and the Olive/Lavender tote.

There are currently three tiers in the brand’s reward program, with Emerald being the highest. Emerald members were able to shop a day early and could add one of the bags to their orders for free without a minimum spend amount. Otherwise, all other customers could get the tote for free with a purchase of €90 or by paying for it outright at the cost of €18. So, I ordered the Desert Gleam palette and Rae from the official website and added the free Olive/Camel tote.

Niche-Beauty sells Lisa Eldridge products, and frequently has 20% off codes available, but one can only get a tote there by hitting that €90 minimum spending price. So, it turned out for the best that I placed my original order with the Lisa Eldridge website, and then when the new products launched at Niche-Beauty a week later, I bought Lili.

Desert Gleam Palette

Dunes and Acacia are Seamless Mattes. I wrote in-depth descriptions of the different formulas in a past review, but the short version is that these mattes are similar in texture to Natasha Denona’s cream to powder formula, they are more pigmented than the Velvets, and have the tiniest bit of a wet (but not shimmery) sheen. Dunes is very difficult to see when applied to my eye area because of my skin tone, but I can tell it’s there because of the blurred look it has, especially when applied to the edges of a darker shadow to soften it up.
Acacia is now my darkest matte from Lisa Eldridge. Although I wish it was the tiniest bit darker, it at least successfully adds depth to my eyeshadow looks and I can build up the intensity.

Most of the time, the Seamless Mattes are creamy and a joy to work with. However, the shade Supernaturally from the Fawn palette was stiffer, drier, and less pigmented. So, that shade is one I stopped using out of frustration. Within the Desert Gleam palette, I got hard-pan on Dunes*, and I’ve had to scrape off some of the surface after just a week of use. It is normal for all the mattes to look like they’re going to hardpan, but this is the only time I’ve actually been unable to pick up product and needed to clear off the surface. I alternate between using brushes and my fingers with all Lisa Eldridge eyeshadows, but this is the first time I’ve encountered this problem. Going forward, I will just use brushes with this shade to try and mitigate the issue.
I’ve had no troubles with Acacia though.

*Update: I was chatting with Fedaro Beauty, who has reviewed this collection as well, and I remembered one change I made this week that could have affected Dunes. For many years I’ve been using the officially branded Makeup Erasers that are microfiber cloths. However, I switched to using Marushin cotton cloths that were free gifts with purchase from my Fude Bobo orders. Microfiber absorbs more oil than cotton, so it is actually possible my fingers had more oil residue left on them between uses than usual and could be responsible for the hard-pan on Dunes. This may be a long shot in providing an explanation, but since this is a possible cause, I felt it was important to share this theory.

Dunes after I scraped off some of the surface.

Sahara is in the Velvet formula, which gives an even and soft layer of color. I prefer to use my brush to pack on the shade and build it up. I’m honestly surprised it shows up as well on me as it does, because I thought it might be too light of a color. I’ve also seen how this shade can look a lot more khaki-yellow on some people, but it’s greener on me.
The Velvets are smoother in feel, and swatch beautifully, but over an extended amount of time, I have noticed mine got drier. Sahara is too new for me to have this problem, but it’s something I wanted to mention that I have noticed out of my oldest Velvet eyeshadows. I can still use them, but building up the color to get the payoff I want takes more effort than before. For those that enjoy soft or muted eyeshadows, this is unlikely to be an issue.

I forgot to mention that in the first eye look in this photo, Sahara was used on the lid before I added Chrysina on top. So, it looks warmer and slightly darker than the first eye look in the photo below where only my eyeshadow primer is under Chrysina on the lid.

Chrysina is a Luminous shadow. It looks silvery green in the pan, but there’s still a touch of gold that I can see at certain angles in the light. For this reason, I like this shade more than I expected. I would go as far as to call this a duochrome, though it’s nowhere near as intense as Mercurial, which is another Luminous eyeshadow.

Ablaze and Firefly are Metallics, but Firefly looks so much smoother in the pan, as seen three photos higher. The textural differences don’t affect anything. I just thought it was interesting.
Ablaze is an easily wearable golden brown that is perfect for creating neutral eye looks. I have a lot of warm golds in my collection, but I don’t have many shades of gold with this tone, as silly as that might sound. It’s still not a necessity for me to have in my full collection, but I think a shade like this aids in keeping the palette color story versatile.
Firefly seemed intimidating to try and incorporate into my eye looks, but as long as it’s framed by Sahara or Acacia in the crease, it works. Ablaze is also neutral enough that it doesn’t clash if they are used next to each other.

I have no issues with longevity or creasing, I can use these with any of my eyeshadow primers, and I can use the shimmers with a damp brush to build intensity. I have no problems with these eyeshadows, other than what I already described with the shade Dunes and the Velvet formula in the long-term.

When I first saw the Desert Gleam palette, there was no way I could talk myself out of getting these shades, despite it reminding me of my eyeshadows from Natasha Denona. It has a similar vibe to the Mini Gold, it reminds me a lot of my custom version of Metropolis, and I also have the Yucca palette. However, when I actually swatched the shades and compared them, they were different enough on my skin tone for me to not consider them dupes.

Please excuse the fact that the skin under Bia wasn’t completely dry, so it looks a little more intense than usual.

If I’m being 100% honest with myself, I prefer the Natasha Denona Mini Gold Palette over this one. I’ve come to accept that high contrast makeup looks better on me, and there are greater depth differences and more color/shade distinctions between the eyeshadows in Mini Gold than Desert Gleam. I’m still attracted to the Desert Gleam colors, and I’ve gotten quite a lot of compliments while wearing the products in this collection. However, I think the ND shades are even more my style. In terms of performance, the Mini Gold eyeshadows aren’t creamy feeling, but they still blend very well, layer well, and build quicker because they’re more pigmented. It’s kind of a moot point because I believe the Mini Gold has been discontinued, so it’s not an option to purchase for anyone who doesn’t have it already. What I’m essentially trying to say is that even though I have products I technically like more than Desert Gleam, I would still feel like I was missing out if I didn’t pick up this palette.

Rouge Refillable Lipsticks in Lili and Rae

Lisa Eldridge and I share the same nickname! Even though I rarely wear red lipstick, I still wanted this one for the name. What can I say! I’m easily swayed!

The way this lipstick performs is no different from the first round that launched at the beginning of this year. They glide over the lips easily and feel like a cross between a balm and a lipstick. This shade is vibrant, but I can still see the discolored/darker pigment spots on my lips underneath if I stick with only one swipe. So, an additional pass or two is needed to be opaque. It feels quite comfortable on my lips, though I get minor chapping by the end of the day.

I own an engraved lipstick case already, so I only needed to purchase these in refill form. My cap/lid for Lili is very loose, so I keep it stored in all the original packaging to prevent any accidents in my makeup pouch, but I’m contemplating raiding my husband’s tools to find pliers that will tighten the cap a little (hopefully not too tight to the point that I can’t pull it back off)!

For some reason, Rae feels much creamier than the other four lipsticks I have from this line. It feels more moisturizing as well, which increases my comfort level while wearing it. However, this one does not have the same kind of grip to it that keeps it longer-lasting like the others. Even if I’m not eating or drinking, within a few hours there is noticeably less lipstick on my lips. I think my skin absorbs it. So, I find myself needing to reapply more frequently. I can’t explain why this is happening because Rae has the same ingredients as all the rest. It’s my favorite shade though, so I’m going to just deal with it! I normally don’t like wearing dark lipsticks because I feel like most of them age me, but this is an exception!

So, that is everything reviewed except the Tote bag. I don’t have much to say about it except that it’s made of a nice material, feels sturdy, and it has a cute and functional zip pocket on the inside. It terms of size, it’s a few millimeters smaller than my smallest canvas shopping bag. I wanted a fancy reusable grocery bag, but this looks almost too nice for that purpose. That’s all I use totes for, so perhaps I could reserve it for times I shop at the city market instead.

I don’t think I’ve shown the pencil case before, which I also like from the brand. I find myself using and liking the Lisa Eldridge accessories, so it’s a big draw for me continuing to purchase from the official website to get them.

Now, that’s everything! I hope this post has been helpful. I tried to complete it as soon as I could, and it helps that I’m already familiar with these formulas from Lisa Eldridge, so I don’t have to test them for as long.

Thank you for reading! Tschüss!

-Lili ❤

Surprising Makeup Hits and Misses ft Rare Beauty, Glossier, Dior, and More

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I visited the US in April and was reunited with the rest of my makeup collection, along with all the things I shipped there during 2024. Those products consisted of Japanese brushes that I didn’t want to pay extra customs fees for, reward point and gift card redemptions only applicable to US sites, products only sold within the US, etc. I had older makeup I still wanted to bring back to Germany, but I needed to decide which of the newer ones were worth coming along too. That’s how the idea for this post began! However, some of the makeup I brought back will be discussed in other posts, and I added some of my newer makeup purchases to this review instead.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush in Worth

It was difficult to photograph this color accurately because it looks darker in the pan than it actually is. I own the liquid version of Worth, and have reviewed it before, but I left it in the US. Since the liquid is sheer, I wasn’t surprised that I also needed to pack on a lot of this cream-to-powder version to get it to show up on camera.

I’ve been into subtle and/or nude blushes lately, so I expected to love this. I tried pairing it with so many different things expecting that perhaps my foundation shade mattered or that the undertone was clashing, that the color of my eyeshadow looks could be throwing it off, etc. I just wasn’t enjoying wearing it. The answer I settled on as to why that was the case is that it’s matte. I knew it would be from the name, but I’ve used shimmer-free creamy and bouncy type of blushes before that still had a natural emollient gleam to them from just being a cream product. Examples of this are the MAC Glow Play Blushes and Armani Neo Nude Color Melting Balms. Even within the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush line that comes in dewy or matte finishes, the matte one still has some life to it. So, I wasn’t expecting this blush to have zero shine, especially from a product that has Synthetic Fluorphlogopite as the first ingredient.

The longevity is fine. The blush blends into and becomes one with the skin. For the best results, I use my densest synthetic brushes with it.

I borrowed the photo above from my Charlotte Tilbury x Genshin Impact post where I reviewed the Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray. By the time I started using that spray, I already knew that my issue with the Rare Beauty Blush was the fact that it’s matte. However, I was still taken aback when I saw with my own eyes how much of a difference some extra shine truly makes. I love how this blush looks when I use Charlotte’s spray over it. So this product changed from a miss to a hit for me!

Eadem Le Chouchou Exfoliating + Softening Peptide Lip Balm in Fig Sauce

I mentioned in my Project Pan that there are only 5 brands I’m purchasing from in the lip category this year. One exception was this balm because I would have bought it ages ago if it was sold in Europe. I could only find one website that would ship it to me, but then I would have had to pay at least double the price.
The tradeoff for having to wait a long time to get it from USA’s Sephora was that I could buy it on sale and with a gift card.

I have to talk about the metal applicator because it feels amazing applying this lip balm! I don’t like when products have a cooling ingredient that makes my lips feel cold for 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the brand. Instead, I only get that wonderfully cold sensation during the application process and then I can go about my day. This really adds to the experience, so much so that I’ve even put other products on my lips and then used this applicator to spread it out! Perhaps one day I’ll buy some empty tubes off the websites I’ve found by typing, “metal applicator cosmetic tube” into Google and transfer some other glosses into them.

This is a very nourishing product and lives up to its reputation as a lip treatment. It fills the lines and smooths over the lips. It’s thick, but not goopy in a gel or oil way. It has more of a creamy-waxy feel. It adheres fairly well to the lips, which helps it to last longer before needing to be touched up or reapplied. I still consider this a little sticky, but it’s not to Ami Cole levels. It has decent color payoff, enough for me to understand someone wanting to buy multiple shades, but I wouldn’t want to buy more than one extra.

The results I get are similar to Ami Cole glosses, which is to say my lips feel softer and more hydrated the next day, but this does not completely remove all of my chapped skin. I can always spot a few areas on my lips that are still chapped the next day.
So, this hasn’t claimed a spot in my top five, but I still like it a lot.

Gxve Beauty Eye See in Color in Rich Girl

This was the only quad from the brand that I found appealing, but my immediate issue is that I don’t get enough depth from the darkest brown in this palette. While it theoretically shouldn’t be a problem to grab a dark eyeshadow from any other brand, I know I will subconsciously not reach for this palette since it is technically incomplete for me.

The completed look is pretty, but I couldn’t bring myself to choose this to pack in my suitcase over my many other options.

If the eyeshadow formula was superb, I would have considered taking this with me anyway. My issue is that the shimmers are a bit lackluster. There is still beauty in a lower impact shimmer if the intended eye look is supposed to be sophisticated or demure. I think the quality is fairly good, though it could have benefited from being a bit creamier. The mattes were fine. My brush picked up a lot of product, but with how soft they look on my eyes, I think someone would be surprised to know how much I tried to build up these eyeshadows. They are drier shadows that appear to be finely milled, but something about the formula just doesn’t feel modern.

This palette is long-lasting on me. It doesn’t take long to get a blended look. However, this isn’t for me. I do appreciate that the holder of the pans is easy to remove, so I could technically keep the compact or turn it into an empty magnetic palette if I inserted a magnetic sticker sheet. I could also technically add metal sticker pans to the bottom of the eyeshadow holder to pop it into a larger empty magnetic palette. Removeable packaging is always interesting to me.

In any case, this quad wasn’t a flop, but it also wasn’t good enough to keep around.

As a random side note, the Gxve Beauty website used to sell merch as well. I ordered one of the Signature Hoodies during a 50% off sale (just like I did with the palette). It has fleece lining on the inside, so I’m excited to wear it come winter. The website says products are now exclusively at Sephora and things are so frequently for 50% off that I really don’t know how the brand will continue to stay afloat.

I don’t know where these are being sold now. If they are discontinued, I’m glad I was able to snag one as a piece of makeup history.

Glossier Cloud Paint Bronzer in Coast

I liked the Glossier Solar Paints, but wished to have a version without shimmer. The Cloud Paint formula is one of my favorites for cream blushes, so to have a matte Cloud Paint in a bronze color seemed like it would be an instant win.

I picked Coast because it is the second darkest option and has a golden tone, which I wanted. The darkest color, Drift, looked like it would be too red for me despite being labeled by the brand as a deep neutral bronze. Coast is just too subtle for my skin tone right now. While I was in Florida, I didn’t do a good job of reapplying sunscreen. My skin had a slightly redder tone and was darker, so the bronzer really isn’t visible in photos as it was already so subtle in person. I have a photo below, but I apologize for the lighting being very off. I couldn’t get a clearer picture during the trip and my skin looks even redder in the photo than it was in real life (plus I was wearing the Beekman 1802 skin tint that’s red).

I don’t mind having a subtle bronzer, but my biggest issue wasn’t the color. I felt it just didn’t blend seamlessly enough into my skin. While it’s true that I didn’t bring my holy grail synthetic bronzer/contour brush with me, I came to realize that the watercolor kind of finish that’s beautiful and natural in a blush isn’t what I want in a bronzer. So, I left this behind. What a shame!

Tarte Tartelette Tubing Mascara vs Too Faced Ribbon Wrapped Lash Tubing Mascara

Back in 2014, during my short lived time making YouTube videos (all listed as private now), I kicked off my Mascara Showdown Series with a battle between Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes and Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascaras.

I determined that Tarte was the winner because of the length, but the mascara I actually repurchased the most was from Too Faced. I don’t know if it’s because I ended up preferring the balance between length and volume or if I was just able to get the Too Faced mascara on sale more frequently. I eventually stopped buying the one from Too Faced because I started to get clumping and flaking issues that I never had before. I don’t know if the formula changed or there was a switch in manufacturers, but I moved on from that mascara.

The KVD Full Sleeve Long + Defined Tubing mascara made me interested in tubing mascaras again. I had a deluxe sample of the one from Tarte, so when Too Faced released theirs I thought why not…let’s do another showdown between these brands over a decade later!

I never curl my lashes, so sometimes the mascaras look better or worse depending on how my eyelashes are naturally shaped that day. I’ve used the Tarte mascara five times and I can say that even if it had amazing results, what puts me off from it is how long it takes to dry. If I try to layer up even more product, then it takes even longer. I can touch my lashes thirty minutes later and it still doesn’t feel fully set. This is a big problem when I’m trying to photograph multiple eye looks in a day and in the process of removing my eyeshadow with a Makeup Eraser cloth and Bioderma, my eyelashes clump together, the color smears, and the stickiness makes it difficult to remove the rest. Part of the benefits of tubing mascara is the ease in which one can remove it with warm water. I can remove them with micellar water as well, so I’m not surprised that some of the Tarte mascara comes off. The annoying part is the weird middle ground where some of it comes off and smudges while the rest still clings on with a tight grip. It makes it so that I am forced to fully remove it every time when I want to do a new eye look, whereas with other tubing mascaras and even regular mascaras, it’ll come partly off and I can easily reapply more mascara because they didn’t turn my lashes spidery and hard. This is a makeup reviewer problem, but having to wait so long for it to fully dry is an issue overall. One time I made the mistake of applying this mascara not far enough in advance of watching a heartfelt scene in a show. The side with the Tarta mascara was a mess and got in my eyes. The side with Too Faced did not.

I didn’t like the Too Faced Ribbon mascara when I first tried it, but every time after that (at least 15 times so far), I have enjoyed it. Just like the showdown from many years ago, I found that Tarte’s mascara was better at lengthening, whereas Too Faced’s mascara was better with building volume while still giving nice length. It can start to clump if I build this up a lot, so I have to be careful about finding the balance between satisfaction and knowing when to stop.

I like the one from Too Faced, but I think I still prefer my tubing mascara from KVD. It gives better length than Tarte and if I’m patient enough I can build up the volume to similar results as Too Faced, though it can also start to form clumps if I take things too far.

The Tarte mascara is a miss. The Too Faced mascara is a hit.

Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Blush in 077 Candy

I reviewed the cream blush stick version of Candy already, and updated the original post, but this still feels like a good place to talk about the powder blush since it’s a miss for me.

This new powder formula is definitely an improvement on the original formulation and first reformulation, in terms of being more pigmented and less hard-pressed. I also think this square packaging is cuter and easier to use with larger cheek brushes. The reason it’s a miss for me is purely due to the color. I loved the addition of shimmer in the Bronzed Glow shade from version 2 of these blushes, but the base color of Candy being so light means that it unfortunately does the same thing as Nars Orgasm on me. I can see the pink shade at one angle, but when it hits the light, the gold reflect is nearly all I can see. So, it appears as if I tried to use a highlighter as blush! This kind of shimmer is not that refined either, which makes it unsuitable for my preference as even a blushlighter or blush topper.

The saving grace for me is that I can add the Candy blush stick on top to help the shimmer become one with the skin, plus boost the appearance of the pink color.

I’m happy using the Candy shade of Glow Stick on its own, but going forward, I will never wear the powder version of Candy by itself. Based on my continued enjoyment of the previous powder blush reformulation, and acknowledgement that the new one has improvements, I still recommend the powder blush. I just can’t recommend Candy or Toffee to anyone close to my skin tone because of that highlighter effect. Bronzed Glow still gives me hope that Dior can nail a shimmery blush in this new formula in the future if the base color is darker.

That’s everything I have for this week. Thank you for visiting and reading!

-Lili ❤

The Very Special Pat Mcgrath Labs Mothership XII: Petalmorphosis with 10 Eye Looks and Comparisons

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This palette is my first Pat Mcgrath purchase in the year 2025, and also the first thing I’ve bought from the brand in the past fifteen months. I usually encourage everyone to wait for a sale when it comes to expensive makeup, but once PML says something is limited edition, I don’t take chances. Prior to getting this palette, my most precious Pat Mcgrath item (and one of the most precious makeup items in my entire makeup collection) was the Divine Rose II palette in the limited edition pink chrome packaging. This limited edition lavender palette with Dame Pat Mcgrath’s signature on it is priceless to me!

For those wondering how I got a signed copy, there was no announcement from the brand ahead of time. I logged into their website prior to the palette launch time and saw that it was already available to purchase. There was a box on the product page with a check mark indicating that I was opting in for the chance to win a signed palette. Later, I noticed that box was actually edited to clarify that the first 100 people buying the Lavender case (not the permanent black version) would be getting it. I had already assumed it would come down to whoever checked out first, so I completed my purchase even though the discount code didn’t work prior to 8:00 am EST. I didn’t notice until later that my palette was purchased at the US equivalent price, but it rose 9 Euros the very next day. So, I didn’t bother contacting customer service as I had already technically gotten a deal. It was also the next day that I received an email confirming I was one of the lucky ones!

What I found appealing about this palette is the colorful nature, the inclusion of greens, and there technically being less pinks and golds (a peach, a pink-mauve, and a black-based yellow is admittedly not that far off).

Although I’m very happy to have this palette, and I’m happy that PML gave us a palette different enough for me to justify finally buying another Mothership, I do have a few critiques about the colors chosen. For instance, there are only three mattes. Technically, Lunar Nectar is one of those sequin/matte-with-glitter-specks eyeshadows that look fully matte on the eyes because the glitter gets dusted away while blending. I hate that type of eyeshadow, but I can put that feeling aside. What I have an issue with is how similar Lunar Nectar and Twilight Lilac are. At least they are distinct enough that I can tell them apart on my eyes (when used separately), but orchids and mauves being in the same color family means one of them would be good enough alone to pair with the purple-pink shimmers in this palette. I don’t see why having both was necessary.

That being said, the quality of both of these shadows are nice. They feel a touch silkier than the mattes in my older Mothership palettes, making them slightly closer feeling to the Natasha Denona mattes (but thankfully not that far, as I still prefer Pat’s to Natasha’s). Even though they’re both pigmented, I find myself having to build up more layers to get Lunar Nectar to show on my eyes to the same level as Twilight Lilac.

My second color issue is that so many of us have been begging for greens, but putting Nocturnal Bloom and Blitz Radiant Rhapsody together in the same palette is like including a duplicate despite them having different finishes. When I use Nocturnal Bloom as an eyeliner on top of Blitz Radiant Rhapsody or using it in the crease with the shimmery green on the lid, it looks like I used one single eyeshadow instead of two. There’s not enough definition and distinction between them when used together in a look. I believe that Nocturnal Bloom is the more useful of the two. It serves as the deepening and smokey element in the palette. It can be used as liner. The blendability and smoothness is on par with the other mattes, which is great considering what a disaster of a shade that deep green called Altered State was from the Mega Mthrshp Celestial Nirvana palette. This shade layers well on top of the mattes and shimmers equally. Both Blitz Radiant Rhapsody and Astral Eden Envy are a little thicker than the other shimmers in the palette and seem to have stronger adhesion, which requires a little more work to get those two shades to merge seamlessly into any other shimmer. Particularly with the former, I have to pack on additional layers and mix with my fingers to create an even and well blended gradient of one shimmer going into Blitz Radiant Rhapsody. Plus, cool greens are less loved by me than other tones of greens. So, I wouldn’t have minded having a green multichrome (like a green-purple-blue or green-yellow-gold to match the theme) or a different toned deep green as a replacement eyeshadow. Even a light spring matte green or matte chartreuse would have been welcome to me.

I find it interesting that Astral Eden Envy looks so yellow in the pan, but it looks like an antique olive on my arm, while being gold (or at least golden-olive) on my eyes. I was concerned that it would be too similar to Pat’s iconic shade Gigabyte, but thankfully they are different.

Divine Dawn fills the position of Pat’s typical Skinshow type of shadows that are most often used in the inner corner, to highlight the center of the lid, or brighten under the brown arch. Even though this kind of shade is typically on the thicker and squishier side, Divine Dawn feels even thicker and grips the skin more, making it less easy to spread as smoothly as the Skinshow shades of the past.

If eyeshadow is going to disappear on me, it’s most likely going to happen to my inner corners, so perhaps this slight change of formula is a good thing. For my own personal use though, I can’t recall ever having an issue with longevity when using PML eyeshadows including in my inner corners. So, I would have preferred for this shadow to be a little creamier.
Also, this looks like a pale cream in the pan, but it’s more of a silvery pink-purple on my eyes.

Cosmic Fantasies is quite possibly my favorite eyeshadow in this palette, which I never saw coming. It’s a beautiful reddish purple with a dark base and no chunky glitter particles. It is a smooth metallic with enough binder that I can use it as an eyeliner without worrying about fallout. It layers easily with the other shadows and is the only other deepening shade in the palette. At the same time, the shine is just enough that I can use this eyeshadow solo and it doesn’t feel like a smokey shade on my skintone, even though it pairs well with those kind of looks.
This doesn’t feel super unique because there are similar shades to this in some of my other palettes from the brand, but Cosmic Fantasies has the tone, depth, and finish to help it stand out.

Blitz Bronze Supernova is the most neutral shade in the palette, but it’s far from boring. This shadow is super sparkly with a mix of different shimmer particle sizes. In order to make it look smoother and to minimize the fallout, I apply it with a damp brush. Although it doesn’t surpass my two ultimate PML browns (Divine Dahlia and Bronzed Mink), it’s still a very pretty color and a great addition for the lighter eye looks.

While I have some misgivings about some of the shade choices, I think all of them are pretty. However, when it comes to the one that is actually the hardest for me to incorporate into my eyeshadows looks, it has been Astral Sunset Splendor. By the time I started working on the first draft of this post, I’d done 15 eye looks (some of them repeated on different days). Six of them involved using this peachy shade and three times I had to cover it up with another shadow because I didn’t like how it turned out. It pairs very well with Cosmic Fantasies, but it’s such a thin shadow that it gets overpowered by some of the more pigmented shimmers. Three failed attempts really isn’t a lot compared to the number of shades I could still try it with, plus with eyeshadows outside of the Petalmorphosis palette, so it’s possible I could like this color a lot more in other scenarios. I just typically prefer fully opaque eyeshadows, so this is currently more of an inner corner kind of shade for me when I apply it damp to control fallout. I think the shade Coral Kiss from the Nude Allure 5-pan palette is a much more interesting eyeshadow, and it’s not even an Astral!

The star of this palette that adds the most drama and color impact is Astral Iridescent Iris. This is a topper kind of shadow that looks silvery lilac in the pan, but pops to a brighter cool purple and silver on the eyes. The texture of this is closest to how the “special” shades in the Mothership palettes usually feel, which is to say on the drier side and a gritty-flaky kind of feel to them that will absolutely have fallout unless applied damp or over a glitter glue. I’ve dipped my finger into the pan at least six times, and I worry that it could be starting to hardpan. It feels like it’s starting to compact or compress itself into the pan, but so far I am not having issues picking up the product. This is something I will continue to monitor and will update if it becomes a problem.

Overall, I think the quality of this eyeshadow palette is great. I’ve had no issues with creasing or longevity. I have no patchy issues and most of the shades are super easy to blend (the worst performing ones are simply “easy” instead of “super easy”).

I know there is a huge debate going on about the “special baked formula” that the brand abandoned in Mothership X and onward. While it is likely that the process of making those four pan-less eyeshadows in that particular Italian formula might have contributed to the higher cost of the palette, I was never a fan of the texture and consistency of those eyeshadows. I loved the effect, but did not enjoy the dryness or fallout. The effect of these new Astral and Blitz formulas feel similar to the OG, but with more binders that make them easier to use. Some people, like me, prefer that. Others swear this new version isn’t as impactful and are willing to put in the extra effort to work with the OG eyeshadows we’ve been accustomed to over the course of seven years.

I think the OG lovers have some valid points in wanting there to be “special shades” in every palette, especially with price increases, but I don’t think the Motherships need to have baked shades in order to fulfill that wish. Ultra shifty multichromes are some of the most expensive pigments to make into an eyeshadow and having some in Motherships should at least satisfy the ones that want to feel their expensive palette isn’t expensive just for the packaging alone. This is coming from someone who refused to buy the beautiful Decadence palette because it contained solely metallic shades. In comparison, I think Petalmorphosis formulas are at least more expensive than Decadence. But for anyone who feels the Motherships are only worth buying if there are baked shades, then by all means don’t buy Petalmorphosis. Vote with your dollars! It’s odd to see Influencers and other Enthusiasts with the same complaint about three or more PML palettes while continuing to buy every single one. Then of course the brand won’t change course if they’re still making money off these “inferior” palettes! No judgements to anyone who wants to buy them all as a fan or collector. I’m just saying hurting a brand’s wallet has more impact than hurting their feelings. Influencers who talk about losing their love for PML while still buying all the products are sending mixed messages to their audience. In my opinion, giving a brand no attention is worse than talking badly about them. “All press is good press,” is a saying for a reason.

Two of the most interesting and contrasting viewpoints on the topic have been by the YouTube channel Alexis and Christina (I believe formerly known under the handle Lipstick Lesbians) and Mariam A also on YouTube.

I did a Pat Mcgrath Palette Ranking post last year and if I were to include Petalmorphosis among the rankings, it would probably be at #5, just barely above Nude Allure purely because this palette has additional shade options. I would also move Huetopian Dream to 7th place, just under Nude Allure as #6, because over the course of time, I missed having that palette more than the other two quints.

Pat Mcgrath Labs is one of my most loved makeup brands. I have been quite critical about certain decisions they’ve made, and therefore skipped many releases, but I haven’t given up on them just yet. I was worried when nothing interested me from them in all of 2024, but I’m hopeful this is just the start of exciting launches in 2025.

Thank you for reading. I hope this has been helpful and that you didn’t mind my unfiltered opinions!

-Lili ❤

Is This Redemption For Nomad Cosmetics?

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In 2020, I reviewed my first Nomad Cosmetics product: the Tokyo Harajuku Palette. It is one of the worst palettes I ever owned, which is a shame because the palette art was so cute and I tried so hard to make it work on me. It was bad enough to scare me away from purchasing anything else from the brand. However, in the last 2-3 years I’ve heard nothing but good things about the brand’s eyeshadows. Beauty Influencers and other makeup enthusiasts that I trust all seemed to like their palettes. Granted, not a single one of them ever reviewed the Tokyo palette and even the people who owned nearly all of them coincidentally were only missing that one. I always found that to be strange considering the Tokyo palette was extremely hyped up when it first came out and it was the reason I even discovered that Nomad Cosmetics existed.

Pastels are notoriously tricky to make look good on dark skin, so I was willing to accept that factor could account for the particularly bad experience. I had also heard their formula “got even better” over time. So, at some point I made up my mind to give them another try, especially since I felt bad that their only review on my blog was a negative one. The problem was that none of the color stories were of interest to me until the launches of the Haunted Europe and Royal Europe palettes. I also didn’t want to spend so much money on a palette when the potential was high that I might not like it. So, I finally caught Haunted Europe in stock during Black Friday/Cyber Week!

Before we get into the review, I just wanted to mention that this palette was delivered to me in Germany via GLS. This was my first and hopefully last time having to deal with that service. I was literally looking out the window as the delivery van passed my building and stopped somewhere else to deliver a package, then continue driving away. At the end of the work day, they updated tracking with a note that my package couldn’t be delivered because I was on vacation, instead of them just admitting they forgot to stop at my place.

I sent an email to GLS customer service. My package was delivered the next day, but they never responded to that email. I found plenty of complaints about GLS online, so this wasn’t an isolated incident. If you’re ordering something that uses them as delivery partners, just be forewarned!

Haunted Europe Palette

I was so relieved to discover that this palette is leaps and bounds better than the Tokyo palette!I’ve been able to create quite a few pretty eye looks. This has a nice mix of neutral and colorful shades, but the matte colors are a bit muted. The mattes are soft to the touch and powdery. They are all opaque and apply smoothly without being patchy, but they create a soft and hazy kind of look. The brand describes all their palettes as “intense,” including this one, which surprised me because these aren’t vibrant colors. I can’t think of a single indie brand whose eyeshadows are less saturated than these. For example, Spandau Citadel looks reddish brown in the pan, but it’s a medium pinky-orange on my eyes! Bloody Mary looks so promising in swatches, but it’s so much less impactful on my lids.

I’d like to clarify that I don’t think this is inherently a bad thing. It’s about preference and I think a palette like this is perfect for the neutral lover who wants to dive into color, but gets easily intimidated. This could also work for someone who likes to combine neutrals with colorful shades and without the overall look being too bold. Someone that likes smokier type of colors might enjoy this as well. It could also be the case that these look more intense on people with lighter skin or someone who uses different primers or bases. The ones I use with this palette are MAC Paint Pot and Lisa Eldridge’s Liquid Silk.

These mattes have a hazy effect that make them look well blended. It is easy to get a gradient look from a single shadow, but they aren’t easy to build up, nor to they layer well on top of each other. If I want real depth, I have to start with the darker shades first and work backwards from my usual order of eyeshadow application. Black Forest is the most pigmented shade in this palette and is the one that layers the best. Using that shade or the dark shimmers is the quickest way for me to deepen my looks with the least amount of effort. Grendel has the second strongest amount of pigment, but it’s not as easy to blend as Black Forest.

Houska Castle is a yellow-gold and Boogeyman is orange-gold. To keep them from feeling redundant, I think Nomad could have benefited from giving them different finishes instead of making them both smooth metallic shimmers.

The golds are fairly smooth, opaque, and vibrant. Highgate Cemetery and Merry Cemetery have bigger sparkle particles, but I can see my skin through them. I can fix that by wetting them so that they apply more compact on my lids. The Catacombs and Bloody Mary have more opacity and more obvious shimmer, but they’re not able to complete with brands like Pat Mcgrath or Natasha Denona with intensity, let alone other indie brands. Big Bad Wolf and Krampus stand out because of the multi-colored shimmer, but they aren’t duochromes and they look smoother than the previous four I mentioned. Hoia-Baciu Forest is the smoothest of the shimmers and what I prefer to use as the highlighting shade, especially in the inner corner. It pairs well with nearly all the eyeshadows in this palette. To me, the shimmers are just fine. They don’t crease on me though, so that’s a plus. I also get an acceptable amount of fallout throughout the day, as it adheres to my lids pretty well, but after that it’s impossible to remove all the shimmer particles with micellar water and a microfiber cloth alone.

Since the theme of Haunted Europe is supposed to be spooky and smokey, I assume this is why the colors are muted and that Nomad’s other palettes are more saturated. That could mean that I still have gaps in my knowledge regarding the brand’s eyeshadows, and therefore shouldn’t assume the others perform like this one.

Haunted Europe is good enough to have redeemed Nomad Cosmetics in my eyes, and I can see how people would like the quality, but this is still in the middle of the road among the palettes in my collection. There are too many aspects that aren’t a perfect fit for my makeup preferences, so this is probably where the journey ends between Nomad and myself. My curiosity has been sated.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Charlotte Tilbury Beautifying Eye Trends Palette Review

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I don’t have any interesting tidbits to open this post with, so I’ll just get right into the review.

Charlotte’s Palette of Beautifying Eye Trends in Emerald Effect

The first thing I noticed was that the Matte Silk eyeshadows feel like the mattes from Natasha Denona’s midi palettes (within the last couple of years). They are silky feeling rather than creamy. They are pigmented and blendable, but not my absolute favorite. They are great, but not superb. Shade 2 is a light beige brown that doesn’t show up strongly on me, but I can see it in my eye looks. Shade 6 is the depth creating neutral brown shade, which is dark enough to work, but I do wish it was a touch deeper. I used both of these eyeshadows together nearly every time I created a look with this palette, but now that the testing process is over, I’m going to use something else instead of Shade 6.

I’ve used these eyeshadows with concealers as bases and it works as long as there’s a thick enough matte powder layer in my crease before adding the shimmer. By “working,” I mean that the migration/creasing in my deepest line is at acceptable levels. However, my KVD Good Apple Concealer doesn’t play well with a lot of products and has more obvious issues with these eyeshadows than when I used the Natasha Denona Hy-Gen concealer as primer. I tend to blend excess concealer into the inner corner of my eyes, so even if I use a regular primer from my lids and upward, I still have to be careful about my concealer placement or else it could interfere with the eyeshadows. In general, I just recommend using a regular eye primer. These worked nicely with MAC Paint Pot and the Lisa Eldridge Silk Canvas as bases.

Shade 7 (spring yellow-toned green) and Shade 8 (dark blue-based green) are Crystal Pops. I wondered if they are supposed to be similar to the formula in the brand’s Pop Shot singles, but I don’t have those with me to confirm. Based on what I remember of them though, I think these don’t pop as much on the eye as the Pop Shots.

I had to redo three of these eye looks because the Crystal Pops did not want to show true to color in photos. I think it has to do with the type of shimmer used and how it reflected from my lights, combined with them not being fully opaque.

The Diamond Dimensions are softer pressed, flakier, and are basically sheerer toppers, so I expected to have a hard time seeing the blue tinge from Shade 9. Shade 1 looks white in the pan, but it has a gold reflect.

I can get stronger color payoff from the Crystal Pops and Diamond Dimensions if I apply them with a dampened brush, but I don’t do it to intensify the appearance of the sparkles. I am satisfied with the shimmery effect of all of them in their dry state. Also, the Diamond Dimension shadows remind me of the topper shade from Guerlain (#2 from Royal Jungle) because of the flaky glittery high shine nature to them, but Guerlain had it in a baked formula, which solidified it in a way that made it harder to pick up. I’d rather not have topper eyeshadows in palettes, but I at least prefer the way Charlotte Tilbury made these.

Shade 5 (antique gold/borderline chartreuse) is the Crystal Chrome which seems like a more opaque, smoother, wetter version of the Crystal Pop. Both eyeshadow types stand out on the eyes, but the Crystal Chrome achieves that effect without the large shimmer/glitter particles. This is the standout eyeshadow in the palette and it made me think of other shades similar to this that I have in my collection (photo below).

The light golden brown color called Shade 3 and chocolate brown Shade 4 are called Molten Satin. They feel like the Crystal Chrome, but with slightly less slip to them. From name alone, the Crystal Chrome is clearly intended to be more impactful as a shiny metallic. Although I usually prefer the wow factor of a great shimmer on my lids, if I’m in the mood for wearing brown, it’s usually because I’m going for a low-key look. Shade 3 is something I’d use in my inner corners or under the brow arch, and I prefer for shades used there to be smooth. So, I’m pleased with these being in the palette.

The most similar feel and finish of an eyeshadow to the Crystal Chrome comes from Devinah Cosmetics. Devinah’s is insanely smooth, but I believe it has a little bit of a darkened base to help it look more intense, plus it’s just overall more pigmented. That swatch went on so far for such little product. Nefertiti leans more golden-orange than Shade 5’s kind of antique gold. Pat Mcgrath’s Gigabyte is one of the baked special shades, so it is drier and flakier, so it looks less opaque unless applied damp or on a glitter primer. Clionadh’s Burnish is one of the Stained Glass Multichromes, so it has a dark base, is smooth, but has a slightly more shimmery finish. The fact that this shadow can even compete with indie ones proves to me that some of the high price tag went to the formula. I don’t think Charlotte Tilbury cheapened out on the formula, even if the brand reduced costs with the packaging.

I love greens, but I realized this palette has some similarities to some of the Devinah shadows I keep in one of my custom travel palettes. This is probably why I couldn’t let my desire for getting the Charlotte Tilbury palette go despite owning similar things. These are some of my favorite types of colors!

When I compare the swatches, I honestly do prefer Devinah’s over these. Shade 4 is the most different. Lurican is more pigmented and less sparkly. Odium is also far less shimmery, but since I would typically use this on the outer portion of the lid, I’d prefer for it to be this way. Devinah has discontinued some of their older shades (like Odium and Nefertiti), so I guess it’s a moot point. I just figured it would be interesting to compare because it’s not everyday when high end or luxury shimmers are even worthy of comparing their eyeshadows to ones from non-mainstream brands.

What is shown above is ultimately why I ended up buying this palette despite my best efforts to tell myself I didn’t need it. I already had the Dior Backstage 008 Khaki Neutrals palette that I hardly used after the review. There are way more interesting green palettes in my collection. The color variety still interested me, but these satins and “glitter” eyeshadows were just too subdued for me. I wanted so much more shine and impact. In trying to use the palette again, I realized Charlotte’s might be the version I wished for. The perfect combination for me in Emerald Effect would have been if the brand replaced the light green or the flaky pale blue with a light green matte shade like Shade 6 from Dior. Or, since the dark green shimmer from CT isn’t fully opaque, I’d have liked a dark green matte as well. Perhaps since I have both palettes with no intention of getting rid of either, I could just use them both together.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Victoria Beckham Beauty Eye Wardrobe Review

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I’m no stranger to luxury eyeshadows, but I usually wait until I can buy them at a discounted price. I don’t know how to explain why I chose to purchase the compact and refill at the upcharged price from Selfridges. Call it temporary insanity I guess.

I was very interested in the Victoria color story, which is the only one I purchased, and the palette called Olive. This is finally the year of greens with Charlotte Tilbury releasing the Beautifying Eye Trend in Emerald Effect and Tom Ford launching Olive Smoke at around the same time. I painfully held off on buying them because I already have the Viseart Peridot quad, Dior Backstage Khaki Neutrals, Bobbi Brown Jadestone, Melt Gemini II, Natasha Denona Mini Gold and other of ND’s greens, plus all of Oden’s Eye’s greens, etc. I’m trying my best to use the makeup I already have, but I was super curious to find out whether I would like this brand’s eyeshadows or not. Although I know I could find similar shades to Victoria across all my palettes, I didn’t think I’d have them all in one place and one quad. So, this felt like the best choice for me out of the four available.

I was also eager to finally buy something again made by Victoria Beckham Beauty. The only other makeup items I own from the brand are the Cheeky Posh Cream Blush Stick and Matte Bronzing Brick.

After seeing Victoria in person, I realized that I do have a palette that gives a similar vibe. It’s the Huda Beauty Wild Obsessions Jaguar palette.

The biggest difference between the two is certainly the quality. With Huda’s palette, it gives off a lot more pigmentation and opacity. It blends well, but noticeably takes longer to complete the look than Victoria’s. In the grouping of three photos below, the eye looks on the top and bottom are with VBB shadows, but the one in the middle is with Huda shadows. Even when I build up Victoria’s shades to be more dramatic, the color values and depths from Huda’s colors are more distinctly different from each other, so they naturally pop and stand out more. Huda’s shimmer particles are also much larger. The finished looks are both beautiful to me and have their place. It’s a matter of whether someone wants more impact or wants more seamlessness.

The Jaguar palette is still available for $35 at full price, versus Victoria for $75 (or $50 for just the refill). In my Huda Beauty Palette Ranking post, Jaguar took and still holds the top spot. So, I just wanted to offer this alternative for anyone who wants similar colors at a more affordable price.

Victoria Beckham Beauty Eye Wardrobe in Victoria

This is described as a neutral palette, but my eyes are picking up a little warmth to the shades. The first one in the biggest pan is what I would consider a beige-taupe. It looks like a pale brown, but it goes the tiniest bit grey on my skin, so I would consider it neutral. The shimmer shadow has a dark brown base with a little red that adds the tiniest of warmth underneath the silver (and maybe even fine gold?) sparkle. The third color and neutral is what I would call a soft black or an incredibly deep purple-tinged brown that is practically black. The last shade is a near-neutral warm-leaning dark brown or mahogany.

These eyeshadows are soft to the touch and create low or medium kickup depending on the brushes used. They’re not quite as buttery as YSL’s eyeshadows, but these are still incredibly good quality! They are pigmented, but so easy to control. They give enough pigment for me (excluding Shade 1 that doesn’t show up as much) right from the start and can be built up a bit. There is just enough difference between the shades to avoid feeling redundant in the palette, but they also blend seamlessly into each other and create a smokey hazy effect without putting much effort. I am so impressed!

I’ve tried this on three different eyeshadow primers/bases and had no issues with longevity. How my eyeshadow looks in the morning is exactly how it will look at night. These don’t fade on me. I don’t get creasing from the shimmer, which surprised me because it feels creamy and that can sometimes lead to migration on my lids from other brands’ eyeshadows. I also get very little fallout from the shimmer. It adheres well to my eyes without needing a glitter primer and I haven’t felt the need to spray my brush with it either. If I do want more impact and for the shadow to look more silver, applying the shadow to my lids with a damp brush turns it creamier, smoother, and opaque. Although I usually prefer a more intense shimmer eyeshadow, it’s nice to have one that is a bit…demure.

For more impact, one can start with the darkest color first and then work from lightest to darkest again.

When I did a side by side comparison of Jungle to Victoria, it made me think about how well this palette would look paired with a purple, so I tried that and liked how it turned out. For Valentine’s day, I combined the colors in Victoria with eyeshadows from other brands as well, and can confirm that they all play well together.

I may have similar colors to the Victoria Eye Wardrobe, but the ease of use and control that I have on building up the colors makes this palette much more valuable to me. YSL makes my favorite matte formula, but I can’t build up depth in the same way because the only shade deep enough is the black shadow from Over Noir and that is much more intense than Shade 3 in this one. My best palette for that task was previously the Hindash Beautopsy palette, but this one has an even easier formula to work with. Victoria, for my skintone, is still best for building subtle depth and not for intense drama. There will be times when I want more out of my black eye shadows.

Regarding the size, the eyeshadow palette is significantly smaller than the bronzing brick.

The bronzing brick compact is also way easier to open and close. I can open it with one hand, whereas it’s much harder to try that with the eyeshadow component. I don’t know if my empty palette is supposed to have such a stiff hinge, but I know for sure that I shouldn’t be having so many issues with mine closing and staying closed. There appears to be a slight defect because mine clicks back open again and I have to press it back down 2-3 times before it will remain closed. However, I can also press or hold the front part of the compact (not touching the button) and sometimes the pressure of just picking it up makes it pop open.
The Selfridges rep agreed with me upon reviewing the video I submitted to them and they reimbursed me for the cost of the empty palette. So, if mine continues to get worse with repeated use (it went from needing to be reclosed 50% of the time to now 100% of the time) or I’m unable to shut it at all, I could try my luck and buy another one.
There is another option, which is to stick this in a regular empty magnetic palette because the refill works in those. However, the reason I bought it is because I specifically wanted the luxury packaging.

In my review of the Lisa Eldridge Pinpoint Concealer Pencils, I explained that it performing better on my smile line than any other concealer is the only reason it was worth buying for me. In the case of this palette, the eyeshadow quality is among the crème de la crème in my collection. However, how much I like this or will use this depends on my mood. I might reach for a Pat Mcgrath eyeshadow instead because it delivers stronger pigment. I could choose a Natasha Denona shimmer because it’s more eye-catching. The best quality doesn’t automatically mean it’ll suit someone’s preferences. So whether this palette is worth buying is going to be subjective and up to each individual shopper.

I think the quality is top notch. I think the compact is elegant and weighty (although I was unlucky to have an issue). I am still open to the possibility of buying refills in the future, but I don’t know how likely that will be considering I still prefer YSL’s formula and I can find their permanent quads for at least 10-20 Euros cheaper. Those compacts aren’t as heavy, but they are still luxurious to me. I would rather wait around and hope for YSL to release a color story similar to Olive. Tom Ford is the most comparable brand I can think of in terms of pricing, and I prefer VBB quality over theirs (excluding the wet/dry formula), but even Tom Ford’s quads can be found at a CCO/CCS for 40% off or more. I prefer VBB over Lisa Eldridge, Guerlain, and Gucci palettes that are comparable to the price of VBB’s refill alone, but it’s not always about quality. There are some shades I love that I know I will never see made by certain brands, so I will continue to seek out eyeshadows from other cosmetic companies.

I’m content with my singular Victoria Beckham Beauty Eye Wardrobe, but if they release a breathtaking color story, I could be swayed to purchase another.

That’s all for today! Thanks for reading!

-Lili ❤

Ranking Melt Cosmetics Palettes

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Continuing with my Eyeshadow Palette Brand Ranking Series, we have Melt next! This was very tough because the quality is so similar across the board. It really comes down to color story for this one and how often I actually use the eyeshadows, not just look at them admiringly.

Melt Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette Ranking: (Most Favorite to Less of a Favorite)

  1. Gemini II
  2. She’s in Parties
  3. Rust
  4. Amor y Mariposas
  5. Bad Side Zodiac Earth
  6. Bad Side Zodiac Air
  7. Smoke Sessions

The Bottom Three

Being in the bottom three of something never sounds good, but I had very few issues with these palettes, save for Smoke Sessions. Melt Cosmetics is known for having, at the very least, a stellar matte formula. It’s a bit ironic that the most hyped non-limited edition palette from the brand is the one that is the worst performing on me. That being said, I still consider it a decent product. The reason it’s on the bottom is because it’s the only palette from Melt (in the rectangular pans) that had mattes that are stiff and took a bit of time to blend. The shimmers are not impactful without being dampened and are the only ones from Melt that give me any creasing. As for the color story, I love half of the palette and completely ignore the other half (the cool-toned blue-green shades). The first two photos at the top of the page were taken before I left the US. Because this particular palette is known for having the most problematic formula in terms of how long it can last before it goes bad, I was worried it wouldn’t last. However, I haven’t had any issues with any of my Melt palettes all this time. I consider myself lucky!

The Zodiac palettes have only the slightest lower matte quality than the top 4 in the ranking. The color stories are beautiful, but not unique, which is why I didn’t reach for them as often as the others. The shimmer quality of these is actually better, but having a good shimmer isn’t as impressive of an achievement as a good matte. These are the only reasons I put them lower. They just have so much competition in my eyeshadow collection that they are the last palettes that come to mind when I think to reach for some Melt shadows.

Mi Amor

I like the performance of the shimmers in the Amor y Mariposas palette more than the top 3, but that wasn’t enough to get the palette to be bumped up higher on the list. 4 of the 14 mattes take extra time to blend because they are pressed pigments. They aren’t shades I use that much, so it isn’t as strong of a negative point against this palette. The color selection is beautiful. The pans in this palette are the same size as the Zodiac ones. I had the idea to depot them into those smaller palettes a bit too late. As much as I liked the colors, I didn’t reach for the palette as often because of its large size and how I inconveniently stored it. I didn’t use this palette enough, which is quite telling where it stands with me.

The Top Three

The palettes in this category have all been partially depotted at some point during my ownership of them, and I’ve taken them traveling as part of custom magnetic palettes. In fact, the flatlay photo above shows which ones were taken from a previous trip.

Rust is a beautiful warm neutral palette. I love the mattes in there to use as the transition and crease shades for a starting eyeshadow look. I usually pair them with a Clionadh shadow or other special shimmer, duochrome, or multichrome shade from my collection. The reason it’s number three is because the shimmers don’t give enough impact, even when applied damp, and I have sealing issues with the shades Tarnish and Ravage.

I love purples, so it makes sense that I like She’s in Parties. However, it’s warm purples I prefer and this palette has a mix of both cool and warm shades. The matte quality is fantastic. The shimmer quality is fairly decent in terms of performance and with passable levels of sparkle. This palette has light and dark shades, but it’s hard to get something in the middle. I may not use She’s in Parties as much as Rust, but the quality is overall better. So, it ranks second best.

Gemini II has green shades that I adore! Almond Eyes and Matheo are some of my favorites from my entire collection! I can also get tired of pinks pretty fast, but the ones in this palette are the kind I love! Warmer pinks are great! The matte quality is superb, blendable, and pigmented. The shimmers are as good as it gets from Melt.

When it comes to using the Gemini II palette, I never use the pinks and greens together. Technically, that means I don’t consider it as cohesive of a palette, but I get a lot of use out of it by pairing it with other palettes and single eyeshadows. This gets the number one spot due to having the best quality and me liking every color in this one.

Another indication is that I only depotted Love Sick and Boy Mum, then took the entire rest of the palette with me when I moved! My most used shades from She’s in Parties and Rust came along in a custom palette as well, but the largest number of Melt eyeshadows came from Gemini II. The photo below shows all the long rectangular pan eyeshadows I ended up taking with me to Germany.

I created the custom palette as well with a mix of Zodiac Earth and Amor y Mariposas shades, but when my luggage went over the weight limit and I needed to leave some makeup behind, that one was unfortunately the one that had to stay back.

What can also be spotted are four Smoke Sessions shades. This is because those were my favorite colors from the palettes, but mostly also because I waited so incredibly long to buy that palette. I did not want to leave all of them behind. So, it’s a matter of principle and less about thinking I would miss them. My top three are the ones I would miss most because of the mattes. Melt’s mattes are within my top five favorite formulas of all time! It’s a shame I don’t feel the same way about most of their shimmers, but I have more than enough shimmers I love. It’s much harder to get me excited about mattes, which this brand certainly nails most of the time.

The final point I wanted to discuss is the acknowledgement that I have zero palettes from Melt that came out between 2023-2025. The only two that interested me were Smoke Sessions II and The Bride of Frankenstein. I skipped getting Smoke Sessions II because those are still not the kind of purples I wear often enough, plus my concern that the quality could be similar to the original Smoke Sessions that ranked last on my list. I would have absolutely bought The Bride of Frankenstein Palette if it was available to purchase in Germany. The only retailer I know that sells Melt Products is Purish, and they did not stock that one. I looked into international shipping from Melt’s own website, and it’s just too costly. So, only the future will tell if I ever get my hands on that one.

That’s all for today! Thank you for reading!

-Lili ❤

Did Kiko Milano Dupe Pat Mcgrath? Drugstore Reviews

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I was not the only person confused when I was scrolling through the GlamJunkiescom Instagram page thinking I just saw a newly launched collection of Pat Mcgrath 5-pan palettes, only to read the description and realize it’s a collaboration trio of palettes between Kiko Milano and Sara Sampaio!

I haven’t purchased a single thing from Pat Mcgrath in 2023, which is wild considering what a huge fan I am of the brand. The color stories just didn’t entice me enough. However, the Kiko Milano Dazzling Drama palette seemed practically made for me, so I bought it. In the collection, there is also Dazzling Sunset and Dazzling Daydream, but I didn’t get them because they had colors too similar to what I own from Pat Mcgrath. I just wanted to see if Kiko managed to recreate the look and performance of PML’s shadows for less money. If you’re curious, please continue reading! Also, I’ve included a few bonus reviews at the end of this post!

The palette sizes, unicartons, and packaging materials are identical. The texture of the shimmers and press/ribbon pattern on the non-shimmer shades look just like the 5 pans from Pat Mcgrath. Visually, the only identifiable difference is that Kiko’s pans are smaller.

The palettes from both brands are made in Italy. From what I can see, the ingredients are the same too, just in different amounts/order. The biggest discrepancy is that the “mattes” from Kiko have silica and kaolin as the final ingredients. Bold Bordeaux looks like a matte shadow in the pan, but it’s a satin. It’s smoother than Purple Passion, which is the actual matte. Despite having such similar ingredients, Purple Passion doesn’t have the same creamish-powder feel that made me fall in love with Pat Mcgrath’s cream-powder formula from her quints. Kiko’s feel stiffer, less creamy, and not as smooth or easy to pick up, but the finish manages to look the same.

I would be fine with the “mattes” feeling different, as long as they performed as well. Unfortunately though, these two shades end up looking identical on the eyes because the vibrant color (Purple Passion) darkens and Bold Bordeaux turns smokey dark grey-purple when blended. It’s like there’s a dark base in them that’s used to create the illusion of opacity, but when I attempt to blend the shadows on my eyes, the purple tones get blended away and I’m just left with the darkness.

In the first eye look, Purple Passion is in the inner half of the crease with Bold Bordeaux on the outer half. In the second eye look, I used Purple Passion in the crease alone and tried my best to not blend it as much, yet it still darkened. I’ve tried different eyeshadow bases and using no base at all and it didn’t change the outcome.

I used Jade Journey on the lower lash line in the first look and all over the lid in the second look. In that second look, I put Illuminating Nude in the center of the lid and inner corner too. Radiant Plum is the lid shade in the first eye look.

The Kiko palette swatches beautifully. If I saw these swatches alone, I would have thought the quality of this palette was the same as Pat Mcgrath’s, but it’s only a match for the shimmers. I was able to show the vibrancy of Purple Passion because I didn’t have to swipe or blend back and forth on my arm, which would have caused it to darken. I am most disappointed by those, but the shimmers are great. Kiko’s shimmers don’t feel as wet, but they have nearly the same pigment level and sparkle as Pat’s quint formula.

I love the green shade! It is pretty much a dupe of Galactic Conquest from Pat’s Sith Seduction palette that I skipped buying because I only wanted that green. Now, I don’t feel FOMO since I have a decent substitute!

Radiant Plum and Illuminating Nude are the kinds of colors I see from all brands and I have similar enough shades from PML too, so they aren’t as special even though they perform well. In fact, this whole color story reminds me of Viseart’s London Etoile. Ever since making that comparison, I became less excited about this palette and just wished to have access to that one again. In some countries, that palette ranges from 24 to 28 Euros compared to Dazzling Drama costing 26 Euros. I would recommend the Viseart palette over this one.

Compared to Pat Mcgrath, Kiko’s eyeshadow is 7.7 Euro per gram vs 9 Euro per gram, so I see the price savings. It’s a collab product, so it should technically be cheaper if it wasn’t tied to a celebrity. However, is it really saving money if I only use the shimmers? With Pat Mcgrath, I normally don’t have to worry about shadows not being true to color. For me, I’ll stick with PML.

As promised, here are some bonus reviews. Since Kiko is on the more affordable side of makeup, I thought I would include some of my previously unreviewed drugstore purchases from this year.

Nyx the Marshmellow Setting Spray

This has the same smell as the brand’s Marshmellow primer, which I like, but the scent is strong. I can still smell it for several hours after putting it on, which is why I count this as a negative aspect.

It’s a mattifying setting spray, but it’s only semi-effective. I don’t know how well this would hold up on someone with oily skin. It doesn’t feel like it dries out my skin and it doesn’t leave it feeling tight or uncomfortable. It prohibits my dry skin from letting moisture break through if I pair it with a foundation that essentially does the same thing, but if I’m using a dewy foundation, then my face will continue to glow (just less than usual). It basically helps low transfer makeup to improve on the transfer resistance, but it’s not tough enough to make an easily transferring foundation become transfer proof.

I decided to put my theory to the test and use the same foundation all over by face, but only spray one half of it. I waited four hours and then pressed a napkin to my face. The left half (the side with no spray) has slightly more transfer than the right half that was sprayed. However, the difference isn’t enough to make me want to use this product and I am content with just skipping the setting spray step altogether. If there’s a time when I need my makeup to be locked into place, I’m going to reach for others first.

My only other complaint about this product is the sprayer. A lot comes out, and forcefully at that. I wish it would spray like a mist, but I’m considering transferring the liquid into a different bottle so it will be more enjoyable to use.

Essence Call Me Queen Mascara and Essence Lash Without Limits Extreme Lengthening & Volume Mascara

Both of these mascaras gave me an initially bad impression. I discovered that opening and closing them, then setting them aside for at least a week was the trick to getting a better outcome. When I first opened the tubes, they were too wet. The formulas had a hard time building on my eyelashes. Two weeks is the sweet spot for the mascaras to thicken, which is enough to get at least satisfactory results. Unfortunately, within a month of opening each, they both started to form clumps and started to be a bit too thick. It takes me five minutes to get them looking nice per eye. Ten full minutes to apply mascara is too long for me, especially when I can get it done much quicker with my favorite Essence mascara: Volume Stylist 18h Lash Extension Mascara.

Lash Without Limits gives me a little more volume and a fluffy look to my lashes. Call Me Queen still gives volume, while also adding the tiniest bit more length, but the shape of the applicator makes it slightly harder to apply mascara to my innermost lashes.

I would consider the amount I used in the photos to be two coats, even though I repeatedly went over the lashes so many times. Because these mascaras are so wet, they are both prone to smudge onto my lid/lash line if I squeeze my eyes shut too tightly before the mascara has time to dry. I don’t notice flaking, but any clumps that stick to tips of my lashes have the potential to fall on my face later in the day.

My preference between the two is the Lash Without Limits, but I would not repurchase either of them purely because of how long it takes to get them to look separated, as clump-free as possible, and with enough length and thickness built up.

That’s all I’ve got for today! I hope you’ll return next week to check out another new post!

Happy Holidays!

-Lili ❤