What I'm Not Buying: Colourpop X Kathleenlights Dream St Palette

Colourpop and beauty influencer Kathleenlights have teamed up once again for the Dream collection, which includes a lip bundle and the Dream St eyeshadow palette. 

And I won't be buying. 

This post will focus on the eyeshadow palette, but I will not be buying anything from this collection. 

To start off, I just want to say that I really dislike writing posts about beauty influencer collaborations. Personally, there is not a single person who I watch on YouTube or whose blog I read that I feel so connected or dedicated to that I will buy whatever they attach their names to or recommend, and certainly no one who I will defend as if they were a member of my family. 

I have been watching YouTube for eight years at this point, and I have seen the beauty community evolve from one of authenticity to one that is corporate. I've talked about this before, but when we watch a commercial for CoverGirl or Maybelline, we know that we are watching an advertisement. We know that Katy Perry is not really using CoverGirl makeup in her daily life in the same way that we know that Nicole Kidman is not slathering on Neutrogena skin care every night. But YouTube started as a different platform, and most big influencers got where they are today but building a more authentic platform when they first started. So now when people see Jaclyn Hill or Kathleenlights or Tati recommend something, they already have this viewer relationship to them that they had when each was a smaller channel, and people don't necessarily recognize that these promotion of products are not all that different from Katy Perry or Nicole Kidman ads. 

By far, the most negative comments I receive on my posts are the ones I make about influencer collaborations. And although I recognize that the majority of these people are very young, impressionable, and, frankly, immature, it still baffles me why there is such an intense need and desire to defend someone whose only connection to you is that they make makeup videos that you watch. 

And I suspect that this post will especially touch some nerves because, yes, I will be discussing Kathleen's recent use of a racial slur on social media and subsequent apologies.  

But first, let's talk about the palette.

What's interesting is that I first heard about Kathleenlights because of her first collaboration with Colourpop, which was the "Where the Light Is" collection of Super Shock shadows. I purchased that collection of shadows at the time because I wanted to try the Super Shock shadows (I don't like them and will not purchase any more, FYI) and I liked the color scheme. 

Coincidentally, I have since purchased another Colourpop and Kathleenlights collaboration, which is the lipliner in the shade Lumiere. I did not purchase this lipliner because it was attached to Kathleen; rather, I was looking for a lipliner for one of my all-time favorite lipsticks, NARS Anna (Maybelline Touch of Spice is really similar). Because of the color, this is easily my most used and favorite lipliner, and I am almost finished with it. 

Furthermore, I have also purchased from KL Polish, which is Kathleen's nail polish brand. Generally speaking, I really like the polishes, but some of the colors did not flatter me and have since been decluttered. I did not purchase these polishes because of Kathleen; I had read excellent reviews about them and they had a few colors I felt were unique. 

It's funny because in my head I think I have never purchased a beauty influencer collaboration before, and it's because I have purchased products that seemed interesting to me that happened to be designed by Kathleenlights. 

I've recently been gifted a few palettes, which, ironically, include two palettes that I have written anti-haul posts on—KVD Saint and Sinner and the Morphe Jaclyn Hill palette. (It's interesting receiving makeup as gifts because people know that I love makeup and write a blog about makeup, so it makes sense that they think to give me (popular) makeup as a gift, but then I am in an interesting situation since I write about why I don't need certain makeup.)

So that is the extent of influencer collaborations I own or have owned, and I did not acquire any of them because of any personal feelings about the influencer attached. But I also mention this to say that I don't have any personal vendetta against these influencers when I write a post about why I am not going to buy their products. 

Had Kathleen not been associated with the Dream St palette, I still would not have purchased it because I have comparable shadows in my collection. But I will still start off with some positives about this palette, which include the price ($16) and the fact that Colourpop pressed shadows are typically quite nice. 

Here are swatches from Kathleen:

When I look at these swatches, the first thing that comes to mind is the NYX Fire palette:

I also think it looks like a mix between Colourpop Yes, Please!:

And Colourpop My Little Pony:

Furthermore, I think it also looks a lot like the Mophe Jaclyn Hill palette:

I now own every single one of the above palettes, so I absolutely have this color scheme covered. And if you have any of the above palettes, you have the majority of the shadows already covered as well. 

Since Colourpop palettes are so inexpensive when compared to other palettes (ranging from $16 to $18), I think it can become really easy to justify collecting them, even when you already own the shadows. Personally, I struggle with owning both NYX Fire and Yes, Please! since the two palettes are so similar. However, I use both, so at this point I do not want to declutter either. But it is a lesson I have learned that just because something is inexpensive, that doesn't mean you need to buy what you already own. (For the record, I purchased Yes, Please! first—lesson still applies.)

If you already own the majority of these shadows or all of them, buying this palette, even at $16, is still a waste of money. Colourpop offers free domestic shipping on orders over $30, so you will either pay an additional $5 for shipping, or you will spend an additional $14 to get "free" shipping. And at that point, it really starts to feel like a waste of money to buy shades that you already own. 

I don't find the color scheme of the Dream St palette to be entirely inclusive as I feel like the lighter colors will look very similar to each other on medium to deep skin tones, but the color scheme is no where near as egregious as the Too Faced White Chocolate Bar palette, for example. 

I think Dream St is a fine collection of shadows, but there is not a ton that is all that interesting, unique, or new about it. I've seen most people comment on the teal shade, but similar shadows are found in NYX Fire, Colurpop My Little Pony, and Morphe Jaclyn Hill. And if that is the one shadow that is attracting you to the palette, there is always the (better) option of trying to find that one shadow in a single. 

To end this post, I would like to talk about the desire and sometimes need people have in "supporting" their favorite influencers. 

And to start off, I would like to address Kathleen's use of a racial slur on social media. For those who are unfamiliar, Kathleen used the n-word while drinking in a video Jaclyn Hill posted to Snapchap. Immediately upon saying the word, she asked Jaclyn to not post the video. Kathleen has since apologized for this on several social media platforms, but not on YouTube, which is her main platform. Kathleen also said that she made "one mistake" and that she used a "bad word," which, in my opinion, gravely undermines the deep significance of this word as a slur to degrade an entire race. 

In my personal opinion, every person knows that word is a racial slur. For people who use that word, I believe that they use it willingly. And I personally find it difficult to find an apology authentic when Kathleen made the decision to not apologize on her biggest platform with the most viewership and potential to reach her audience.  

I also find it very upsetting that the majority of people who vocally "forgive" this entire situation or accept the apology are those who are not people of color. It is not up to those who are not part of the affected community to determine if something is a big deal or not to the affected community. 

In previous blog posts, I have commended Kathleen on her highlighter palette collaboration with Makeup Geek because she made a palette that could work for multiple skin tones. Many people with light skin complained about the palette because they could not use all of the shades, which I think speaks volumes to the amount of privilege and ignorance that exists in the beauty community. It is not my intention with this post to label Kathleen in any way, and it is also not my place to comment on if people should "move on" or not from this. I will just say that I do not subscribe to Kathleen's channel or watch her videos, which is my personal choice. 

Coming back around to this notion of supporting beauty influencers, that is a personal choice. I will say again that a lot of people who feel this need to "support" their favorite influencer by buying their latest collaboration tend to be younger. I have mentioned this before, but when I was a tween, I would have purchased anything that had Justin Timberlake attached to it. I have been young and impressionable, so I understand being that way. It is still worth mentioning that just because someone you like has collaborated on a project, that doesn't mean that you need to spend your money "supporting" them. Buying this palette will not make you friends with Kathleenlights in real life, nor will she know that you personally bought this palette to "support" her. 

If you genuinely love this exact color scheme and don't have anything else like it in your collection, Colourpop pressed shadows tend to be quite good, and the palette is only $16. Something I like about a lot of Colourpop's collaborations is that they don't hike up the price compared to other similar products to pay the "influencer fee" (like with the Morphe Jaclyn Hill palette). 

For me, I have all of these shadows already and don't have any need or desire to add any others to my collection. So, I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Too Faced White Chocolate Bar Palette

For the holiday season, Too Faced has released the latest in their Chocolate Bar gimmick series, the White Chocolate Bar. 

And I won't be buying. 

I'll just be honest, this isn't so much an "anti-haul" at this point, but rather a roast of Too Faced because I sincerely doubt too many people are conflicted over buying this overpriced, uninspired, poor quality palette.

You may have noticed my absence over the past few weeks (or maybe you didn't) and that is because I was enjoying life so much and felt completely burnt out by the makeup and beauty communities. To clarify, my blog was not the thing that made me feel burnt out—I really enjoy writing this blog as well as the interaction I get from readers. It was the communities in general as well as discussions surrounding the Sephora VIB sale and upcoming Black Friday sales that left me feeling like I wanted a break.

I wish I could have made an anti-haul post about the Sephora VIB sale, because I personally felt inundated by all of the videos and posts I saw that were "guides" to the sale or recommendations for what people should purchase. And 20 percent is just not a substantial enough discount for me to think it really "justifies" how much people buy during the sale. Because sales like that are not designed with you in mind. Sephora makes bank during the sale because it prompts people to buy stuff they normally wouldn't. Hardly anyone can resist the notion of "getting a good deal," even when it's not a good deal.

As for me, I bought two things during the sale: A replacement cleanser and a replacement Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light (I used up an entire full-size container of it). That was it. And I would have purchased both of these items regardless of a sale.

I just became a little overwhelmed with it all and wanted a break. I was also traveling for the past month and really enjoying myself, and I just wanted to be present instead of thinking about new makeup and getting absorbed into the less enjoyable sides to these communities.

But this White Chocolate Bar palette has been on my mind for several months. Not in an "I'm considering purchasing this" kind of way, but rather a "What is Too Faced doing?" kind of way. And now that people are starting to get their hands on it and have confirmed what I've suspected for a while (that it's bad), I wanted to make this post.

So, this is the White Chocolate Bar palette:

And this is the Too Faced White Chocolate Chip palette:

If you think these two palettes look similar, it's because they do. If fact, they share a whopping TEN shades in common. Yep, 10. And, yes, the White Chocolate Chip palette has a total of 11 shadows. Meaning, every single shadow in the White Chocolate Chip palette (except Ambrosia, which is the top shade on the third column) is also in the White Chocolate Bar palette. 

The White Chocolate Bar palette has 16 shadows, so there are only six "new" shades in this palette. 

Personally, I don't really have any positive thoughts on the White Chocolate Chip palette. I think the quality is horrendous and insulting for the amount of money charged, and I feel like the color selection is ignorant at best and utterly laughable. This is not an inclusive palette whatsoever as these colors would only show up and look potentially distinguishable on the lightest of light skin tones. I have a light to medium skin tone with warm olive undertones, and these shadows did not show up on me when swatched. 

This is also one the worst reviewed palettes sold at Sephora and released by Too Faced. So it is utterly baffling why Too Faced would choose to include nearly every single one of these shades in another palette. 

Except, of course, if they just don't care. Which, in all honesty, is what this feels like. 

For months I have watched people's anti-haul videos on YouTube and heard nearly everyone mention this palette. But the main reasoning I heard for why people were not going to buy it was that the color selection was "odd." And what I think that means is that it has a green in it. Because when you take that color away, you're left with the most neutral of neutral palettes: the White Chocolate Chip. 

Adding insult to injury, the quality of this palette seems to be pretty atrocious. I highly recommend reading Temptalia's full review of this palette. I specifically applaud her for how she ended the review:

"The palette shares the bulk of its shades with last year’s palette, and there was little to no room for improvement from palette to palette, so this seemed like it was just a waste of time and money for all involved. It’s actually more frustrating to see a brand completely disregard customer feedback. It makes me feel like the brand doesn’t care, takes no pride in their products, and has no desire to improve their products."

Too Faced, in my opinion, has been in decline for the better part of two years, specially leading up to and after selling their company to Estée Lauder. Every single one of my Too Faced anti-haul posts has had a similar sentiment, which is that this brand so obviously cares more about the gimmick of the product, theme, and packaging than they do about actual quality. 

I have not purchased anything from Too Faced in a long time, and the only products I have left are five eyeshadows that I depotted from the Chocolate Bon Bons palette. I momentarily flirted with the idea of purchasing the Peachy Mattes palette, but I was able to easily dupe that palette with shadows in my own collection (and make what I consider improvements to the color scheme), and that duped palette remains the most used palette in my collection.

Something that's worth mentioning is that the White Chocolate Bar, unlike the existing Chocolate Bar palettes, is limited edition. And it's in these limited edition products that I feel Too Faced really just doesn't care. The White Chocolate Bar costs $49, and I think it is pretty terrible for a brand to charge that kind of money on poor quality. That is blatantly a ripoff. This isn't a case of some people will like it and others won't—this is objectively a bad product from shade range to quality. And when you think about other palettes within the $50 range, it is laughable to think that Too Faced put out a crap product and expect people to buy it simply because it is serialized within the Chocolate Bar range, smells like cocoa, and comes from Too Faced. 

With that money you could buy almost any other quality eyeshadow palette, so it's a wonder why Too Faced thinks that people would spend that kind of money on a bad product. 

Palettes with this color scheme (but done better) include Too Faced Chocolate Bar:

Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons:

Lorac Unzipped:

Urban Decay Naked 3:

Tarte Tartelette in Bloom:

And several others. 

Finally, and this is something that I touched upon earlier, but the White Chocolate Bar is not very inclusive. Even under the best of conditions, if the palette performed well, it still has a color scheme is that is suited for the lightest of skin tones. And at this point, that is just ignorant and irresponsible. 

Something I always like to consider when thinking about my anti-haul posts is what, if anything, a particular product is contributing to the makeup community. And this palette contributes nothing. I don't know any person who feels like their makeup collection is lacking very light neutrals, especially in a palette of poor quality shadows. 

This was a lazy release by Too Faced, and it honestly makes me think poorly of the brand. It feels like they expect me to just hand over substantial amounts of money just to have the "pleasure" of having a product with their name on it that is chocolate scented and themed. It feels disrespectful to consumers because the product is in no way worth the price they are charging. And I think they know that, which makes it that much worse.

I'm disappointed to see Too Faced have such little regard for their customers. With the rise of brands like Colourpop, that offers good products at reasonable prices, and Fenty, that offers beautiful packaging and inclusivity, there may not be a place for Too Faced in coming years unless they step up their game in a major way. This palette is garbage, and I won't be buying.

What I'm Not Buying: Pat McGrath Labs Mothership Palettes

Pat McGrath Labs has released three "Mothership" eyeshadow palettes at a whopping $125 each. 

And I won't be buying. 

Pat McGrath is an unbelievably influential makeup artist, and since she first started her brand, I have wanted to support it. However, I haven't found anything from the brand that I have wanted enough or that I have felt was special enough for me to justify the cost. 

The price point of these palettes is in line with Natasha Denona, so I would just like to compare the two brands a bit. 

• Pat McGrath has been called "the most influential makeup artist in the world" by Vogue. 
• According to Natasha Denona's website, Natasha Denona is "an internationally renowned makeup artist and trendsetter." I couldn't find any other source discussing Natasha Denona's influence as a makeup artist. 
• Pat McGrath Labs palettes cost $125 for 10 shadows. 
• Natasha Denona palettes cost $129 for 15 shadows. 
• Pat McGrath Labs palettes have incredibly lux packaging. Several reviewers have commented on the quality, heft, and luxurious nature of it. 
• Natasha Denona palettes have some of the cheapest packaging that I have personally seen. I would not call the packaging luxurious by any means. 

While I would have a difficult time paying that kind of money on any eyeshadow palette, I personally feel like it makes more sense for Pat McGrath's brand to have a luxury price tag than Natasha Denona. 

With that said, $125 is a ton of money to pay for an eyeshadow palette with 10 shades. On the Pat McGrath Labs website, you can buy all three of the Mothership palettes for $300 and save $75. Spending $300 on three palettes blows my mind, and I just really feel like there are so many other eyeshadows that can be purchased at a lower cost instead.

With that said, price is relative. With the "discounted" price of buying all of these palettes together, the price comes out to $10 per shadow. Makeup Geek foiled shadows cost $10 each. Natasha Denona palettes come out to $8.60 per shadow, and, for comparison, Colourpop Yes, Please! comes out to $1.33 per shadow. Tom Ford eyeshadow quads come out to about $21 per shadow, and I own two quads. All of that is to say that price is relative. Singles are typically more expensive than palettes because you are paying for the convenience of selecting your own shadows and not being at the mercy of whatever is in the palette.

Let's look at the palettes.

There's Mothership I:

Mothership II:

And Mothership III:

A few things to note about the palettes. There's a variety of finishes, including matte, shimmer, high shine, and glitter toppers. Xtreme Black is repeated throughout all three palettes, and Astral Ghost Orchid is repeated in Mothership II and III. So, even if you were to buy all three palettes, you would be getting 27 different shadows, not 30. 

Let's look at swatches.

Mothership I

Mothership II:

Mothership III:

Yes, there are some really shimmery and sparkly colors in these swatches, but it is also important to keep in mind that swatches provided by the brand are nearly always unreliable. There are certainly pretty colors here, but I don't feel like they are all that unique. Even the "special" shades aren't especially unique, and I feel like suitable replacements could be found in single shadows from brands like Makeup Geek, Coloured Raine, and Colourpop (let alone indie brands like Fyrinnae and Notoriously Morbid). 

These palettes, like all of Pat McGrath Labs products, seem most appropriate for editorial looks, which is also how Pat McGrath Labs advertises the products:

For professional makeup artists who specialize in editorial looks, I'm sure these palettes could be a worthwhile investment. But even then, from what I have seen in reviews, there doesn't seem to by anything all that special about these shadows that they can create something that significantly cheaper shadows couldn't also achieve. 

The color schemes of all these palettes remind me of Kat Von D Saint and Sinner:

As well as Metal Matte:

The color schemes also remind me of the Make Up For Ever holiday palette from 2015:

As well as the Make Up For Ever holiday palette from 2016:

Mothership I has similar tones to NYX Wind:

And Mothership II and III have similar tones to NYX Earth:

I started the post by discussing comparisons to Natasha Denona, and that's because I do believe that with the Mothership palettes, you are absolutely paying for the Pat McGrath name. Just like in my Tom Ford quads, I'm paying for the name. It's nice that the quality is also great (unlike a lot of Dior and Chanel quads and palettes), but if we are being real, the quality isn't so spectacular that it justifies the cost when there are alternatives like Colourpop and Makeup Geek. The Pat McGrath name means something to me, unlike the Natasha Denona name. And that is just my own personal opinion. That is not at all to imply that Natasha Denona is not a talented makeup artist. And clearly the brand she created makes some stunning eyeshadows. But for me personally, the name alone is not worth me paying an insane price. 

I would eventually like to get something from Pat McGrath Labs because of the respect I have for Pat McGrath as a makeup artist. But, I am also a smart(er) consumer at this point, and I only want to buy things that would be additive to my collection or are truly unique or special. And I haven't yet found anything that meets my own criteria. I was happy to see that these Mothership palettes have very lux packaging, because for the price, they absolutely should. From what I can tell, the packaging blows Natasha Denona out of the water (but then I think brands like Tarte and Too Faced easily do that) and is better than Tom Ford, Chanel, or Dior. If I was a professional makeup artist, I can see how owning one of these palettes would be satisfying. As a makeup enthusiast, the product itself is not so special for me to justify the cost and adding it to my collection. 

Personally, I am most drawn to Mothership II. It has the warmest color scheme overall (which is my personal preference), and it has tones that I really enjoy, like gold, green, and pink/mauve. But when I look at the colors in this palette, there is not a single shadow that I don't already own. 

Mothership I has, in my opinion, the least interesting color scheme. There are a few pops of interesting colors (like the blue), but even then, it's not difficult to find a nice blue shade. For the exception of the NYX Earth palette, all the palettes I listed above have a shimmery blue. The color scheme leans way too cool-toned for me to personally be really excited over, but that is just personal preference. I think this palette has the most "dupable" shades, and I think it would be pretty easy to replicate this palette at a cheaper price.  

Mothership III also has a color scheme that I find interesting, and I suppose out of all three palettes, this one has the most unique shadows, but I still feel like I already have all these colors. The three colors I find most interesting—the cranberry, olive, and blue—remind me of Fyrinnae shadows:

Octopus:

Aztecs Gold:

And Because Cats:

I'm not too fussed with the duochrome shadow that is repeated in two of the palettes, Astral Ghost Orchid, because I have suitable replacements throughout my collection. And I probably don't even need to mention how unnecessary it is to have the matte black shadow repeated in each palette. It's interesting to me that Pat McGrath chose to include these shadows in each palette, because it tells me that the brand assumes that most consumers will only be purchasing one of the palettes. And since some of the shadows are meant to be layered over a black, it makes sense to include that shadow in each palette. What's nice(ish) about this is that it is kind of a deterrent from feeling the need to buy all three. 

This is something that I have noticed a lot in Pat McGrath Labs kits. A kit will include five or so products (making the price very high) and the only thing that will be different from kit to kit is one product. So if you want to buy more than one, you will be buying a lot of excess. I'm not a fan of kits in general and find that to be a really obnoxious practice, but I think it does curb the idea to buy everything just because. It almost forces a consumer to practice a "healthy" habit of selecting the one item that they like the most and that being the only one they own. 

One final thing I would like to touch on is a huge positive: the inclusivity in the shade selection. When I look at all three of the Mothership palettes, I truly see shades that will work for an array of skin tones. I don't find this surprising, however, as Pat McGrath is a woman of color. This is something that I have really noticed, which is that the brands that have the most inclusive shade ranges are owned or creatively directed by people of color. 

I personally prefer to support brands that value inclusivity, compared to brands like Too Faced that released a palette that could only work for the lightest of skin tones, the White Chocolate Chip palette:

I'm interested in keeping an eye on Pat McGrath Labs to see what they come out with in the future. I certainly think the Mothership palettes are beautiful, from the packaging to color selection to quality. The price point for these palettes is hard for me to justify, especially when there are so many cheaper alternatives. I've always felt that there is a lot to like about Pat McGrath Labs, but they haven't yet put out a product that is practical enough for my daily life. And they don't necessarily need to. I think it's kind of cool that this brand is so editorial—and it also saves me money. The bottom line is that I already have all the colors in the Mothership palettes, so I won't be buying.