Weekend Looks: NYX In Your Element Fire Palette

It was recently my birthday, and I received some makeup. August was a really terrible month for me because I was recovering from surgery, and having two major surgeries within two months of each other is probably one of the most physically challenging things I've ever done. And with a summer of surgeries, being temporarily disabled, and then having a birthday, I received some new makeup. And that puts me in an interesting place because I won't want to necessarily keep everything. I've tried to keep a mentality of "if something comes in, something has to go out," and while I have done some decluttering recently, the amount of new stuff coming in (compared to what it has been) has felt a little overwhelming. 

One of these new makeup items is the NYX In Your Element Fire palette. I know there is some controversy (is that the right word?) surrounding this palette because of the price, and I'll talk about that. 

I haven't worn makeup for the better part of the last six weeks, so I have to admit that I feel a little rusty in application as well as writing these posts. But I figured people would be interested in hearing how this palette actually performed (as opposed to just talking about it being overpriced).

Here is the palette:

And here are two looks I did this weekend. 

Look 1:

1 on the inner lid; 5 on the outer lid; 7, 9, and 4 blended into the crease; 3 blended above the crease; and 10 padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 2:

7 on the lid, 9 blended into the crease, 2 blended above the crease, and 10 padded onto the outer corner. 

So, I've gotta say: I really like this palette. A lot. But with that said, if you have the Colourpop Yes, Please! palette, like I do, then you really don't need this palette. Of the two, I would probably recommend Yes, Please! more because you get the same number of shadows for half the price. 

However, it is worth mentioning that the NYX palette has nearly double the amount of product as Yes, Please! (Yes, Please! has 0.85 grams per shadow and Fire has 1.41 grams per shadow), and the NYX palette also has much better packaging (a strong plastic case with a huge mirror versus a thin cardboard case with no mirror).  

NYX Fire retails for $30, and this price has made people angry in a way that I haven't seen in a long time. I'll say upfront that this is my first experience with NYX eyeshadows. And I think this is important because if NYX shadows always performed this good, had great packaging, and were available at a lesser price point, I can definitely understand the anger. I cannot speak on how these shadows compare to the quality of other NYX shadows, but I can say that I think this packaging is much nicer and better than other NYX palette packaging I have seen. To put things a bit into perspective, this packaging is significantly better than anything from Natasha Denona, and yet people are unbothered by the utterly outrageous prices of those products.

I have tried all of the mattes in this palette, and they are fantastic. I haven't tried all the shimmers (and if there was to be a weak point in this palette I would guess it would be a shimmer), but I have been happy with the couple I have tired. From my experience, I would put the quality of this palette to be in line with Yes, Please! as well as other great palettes. There is nothing that feels "cheap" or "drug store" to me, other than the brand's name.

It is very disappointing when a brand is unreliable. Most of the time, we equate that feeling to quality of products. But it also has to do with price. If a brand is known for consistently putting out quality products at a certain (lower) price, it is disappointing when they raise their prices without giving reason. It makes the brand unreliable. And I think that's where a lot of the anger is coming from. I know people felt similarly when Makeup Geek came out with face products that were over $20 each. Even if it's a great product, it's not what people have come to expect from the brand. And it feels hurtful to a loyal customer base when a brand decides to up their prices.

So, I absolutely get all of that. And I think that is a valid criticism of the In Your Element release. I think it would have been a smarter move on NYX's part to lower the price by about $7. The packaging is nicer than other NYX packaging (and includes the great mirror), and if you take into consideration the amount of product as well as the upgraded packaging, this price really is in line with Yes, Please! in terms of value. But, when you have a ton of makeup in your collection, sometimes it doesn't pay to have a palette with a ton of product. And in that case, a $16 palette of beautiful quality is a much better value.

Personally, I would pay $30 for this palette. And I am happy to own it. Since I own Yes, Please! also, I'll really have to evaluate both palettes to see if I want to keep both. I absolutely advocate for not buying both, especially if you already own one of them. I will say that owning this palette has really piqued my interest in NYX, and I would be curious to try some of their other palettes at some point. I don't plan on purchasing any other In Your Element palettes as I have suitable alternatives in my collection (maybe I'll write some anti-haul posts), but I hope—considering the anger over the price—that all of them are as good as Fire.