What I'm Not Buying: Viseart Warm Matte

Photo: Temptalia

Viseart recently released their latest all-matte palette, and to the excitement of everyone (other than me, apparently), it was warm-toned. 

And I won't be buying. 

I will preface this entire post by saying that I love Viseart shadows. I own more palettes from Viseart than I do any other brand, and at $80 each, that's saying something. I am specifically a fan of Viseart's matte shadows, and I love warm-toned peaches and browns, so it seems very much like this would be a winner for me, right?

I am just as surprised as you when I say: No. 

Here's the thing. I don't understand this palette. I don't understand what new thing it brings to the table for eyeshadow palettes, for Viseart, and even within itself as a palette. When I look at this palette, I see at least five shadows that probably won't look all that different when applied to the eye. And at first I figured maybe that was just me, or maybe the product's promotional pictures weren't that great or true to color. But then I saw swatches on Temptalia's blog. And when I read her (very positive) review, I noticed that a lot of dupes that she listed were for other shadows in the palette. I could be wrong, but I have never seen that before on her blog, where the best dupe for an eyeshadow is another shadow in the palette. 

And I know that Viseart palettes are meant for makeup artists and that I am being incredibly ridiculous and over the top wanting to use them on myself. And I recognize that a subtle difference in color can be significant for a makeup artist in trying to achieve the perfect look for a client. But largely, I think a light brown is a light brown is a light brown. And I think having so many of them in one palette is a waste. 

I don't know what this palette brings to the table in terms of an all-matte eyeshadow palette because, even though there are a few select shades that could be considered more "unique" than most, the majority of this palette is nothing outside the realm of the Shade and Light Eye palette:

Photo: Temptalia 

If anything, I would say that the Shade and Light Eye palette brings a lot more to the table than the Warm Matte palette. 

Finally, I don't know what Warm Matte brings to the table that is new for Viseart. This palette looks like a less interesting, less versatile version of the Neutral Matte palette:

Photo: Temptalia

And Dark Matte:

Photo: Temptalia

I already own both of these palettes (and the Shade and Light Eye for that matter) and yet I still found it difficult to say no to Warm Matte, even though I didn't think it was all that interesting and felt Viseart could have done so much more with it. I love Viseart quality, and I felt it just made sense that I would love the "warm" matte offering. 

But then I watched Tarababyz review and swatches video and saw her compare the Viseart palettes side by side.

Here's Warm Matte and Neutral Matte:

Photo: Screenshot from Tarababyz video

And here's Dark Matte and Warm Matte:

Photo: Screenshot from Tarababyz video

So. Pretty much all of the brown or "staple" neutral shades in Warm Matte are duplicated in Neutral Matte, and the really great "unique" shades are duplicated in Dark Matte. 

When I saw that comparison, my jaw dropped and I was immediately talked out of wanting Warm Matte. And on top of that, I felt so foolish for even needing to talk myself out of this purchase. The shadows are all the same! And, frankly, I feel like either Neutral Matte or Dark Matte is superior to Warm Matte. Neutral Matte is significantly more versatile for a neutral palette and provides more options for the money, and Dark Matte has all the parts that make Warm Matte interesting while also being ten times more interesting. 

Honestly, this palette is an incredible disappointment for me. I feel like these warm reddish and orange shades are so popular right now, and in an attempt to be "on trend," brands are rushing out and trying to replicate the color scheme at any cost. And the thing is, had Warm Matte been equally as interesting as Dark Matte, just with an intense warm theme, I probably would have purchased it even though I don't want to add any more eyeshadow to my collection. But Viseart didn't make an interesting palette. They made a palette with shadows they already had in other palettes and then duplicated the same shadow a few times over. It's great that it seems as though Viseart did not compromise on the quality, but I don't understand why this palette is getting any attention at all. It's an $80 palette with essentially five or so unique shades. It's not interesting, it's certainly nothing new, and I won't be buying.