Weekly Looks: BH Cosmetics Zodiac and Singles

I've had an interesting revelation over the past few weeks, which is that for all the time I spent obsessing over eyeshadow palettes, looking up swatches, and watching reviews—and all the money I have burned buying them—I really just don't like many of them.

In every palette I own, there are colors that I don't like and don't use. There was a series going around YouTube for a while were people talked about their least favorite shadows in every palette. Because it is impossible for a brand to put out a palette where every single person will love every single shade. And it is also very rare to come across a pre-made palette where you love every single shadow and wouldn't change anything about the color story.

And I noticed that in the palettes that I have duped or put together myself, I don't typically have a least favorite shadow because I replace any shade I don't like with one that I do.

Because of this, I've been using my palettes less and less and favoring my singles or palettes I've made myself. But toward the end of this week, I used an old favorite and was reminded of how how great—and rare!—it is to find a palette you really love.

Here are six looks I did this week.

Look 1: Fyrinnae Aztec Gold

Lid: Aztec Gold

Transition: Viseart matte warm brown

Crease: Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear

Inner corner: Make Up For Ever Pearl

Brow bone: Viseart matte white

Lower lash line: Aztec Gold

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Fyrinnae's Aztec Gold is one of my absolute top favorite shadows and one of the most unique in my collection. It has been a while since I used this shadow (mainly because I haven't been doing as many "neutral" looks), but as soon as I put this on, I was kicking myself for not using it more often. I just love this shadow and think it completely complements my warm-toned olive skin. 

Look 2: Duped The Wants

Lid: Makeup Geek Mai Tai

Transition: Costal Scents Petal Peach

Crease: Viseart shimmer purple

Outer corner: Coloured Raine Queen Mother

Inner corner: Make Up For Ever Pearl

Brow bone: Viseart matte white

Lower lash line: Ardency Inn Violet

This was an experiment, and I liked the look more in theory than in application. I really liked Mai Tai paired with Violet, but the Viseart shimmery purple in the crease made the look a little too warm-toned than I was wanting. 

Look 3: BH Cosmetics Zodiac 

Lid: Cancer shimmer

Transition: Virgo matte

Crease: Cancer matte

Inner corner: Center highlight

Brow bone: Center highlight

Lower lash line: Taurus matte

I pulled out BH Cosmetics Zodiac by the middle of the week and immediately remembered how much I love it. I wanted to use some shadows that I hadn't used before, so I started with the Cancer shimmer. This isn't typically a color that I reach for, but I absolutely loved it paired with the lilac shades. The Virgo matte shade is easily one of my favorite shadows in the palette and most loved transition color, and I enjoyed how it gave a little warmth to an otherwise cool look.  

Look 4: BH Cosmetics Zodiac 

Lid: Capricorn shimmer

Center of lid: Center highlight

Transition: Aquarius matte

Crease: Capricorn matte

Inner corner: Center highlight

Brow bone: Center highlight

Lower lash line: Capricorn matte

This was also a look that I loved, though I partially wish that I would not have used the center highlight shade in the middle of my lid. I thought it was going to be more light-reflective and transformative, but it ended up making the olive look a little too gold. This was the most "neutral" of all the looks I did with this palette, but I still thought it was interesting and pretty. 

Look 5: BH Cosmetics Zodiac 

Lid: Aries shimmer

Transition: Virgo matte

Crease: Cancer matte

Inner corner: Center highlight

Brow bone: Center highlight

Lower lash line: Taurus matte

This look is a bit similar to one I've done before, but I typically use a blue with a lot of gold in it instead of one that is more cool-toned. I received a ton of compliments on this look, and people told me that they felt it really showed off my eye color. I found that interesting because if I want my eyes to stand out, I usually wear gold or olive colors, but I appreciated the compliments. I felt a bit like a mermaid when I wore this look, which is never a bad thing. 

Look 6: BH Cosmetics Zodiac 

Lid: Taurus shimmer (applied wet)

Transition: Virgo matte

Crease: Gemini matte

Outer corner: Taurus matte

Inner corner: Center highlight

Brow bone: Center highlight

Lower lash line: Taurus matte

For this look, I was inspired by the Taurus section of the palette, which has a shimmery champagne and a dark purple matte. I knew that I didn't want the look to be overly dark, so I went with a cool-toned lavender in the crease and darkened that with the deeper purple in the outer corner. This is a look that feels neutral to me but also bright and colorful, which I love. 

I'm glad to have "rediscovered" my BH Cosmetics Zodiac palette this week, and I feel confident to say that if I did a complete purge of all of my pre-made eyeshadow palettes (which I might do!), this would be one that would stay. 

This is also why I personally was so disappointed in the Makeup Revolution Emily Edit: The Wants palette. About the formula and quality, I've heard so many people say, "What do you expect from a $20 palette??"

Well, THIS is what I expect. 

I expect rich pigment, metallic shimmers, smooth mattes, and saturated looks. I bought BH Cosmetics Zodiac for $24, but at the time of writing this post, it is on sale for $18. This palette, I think, has phenomenal quality, and this is what I meant when I said that I was not going to spend time to make shadows in The Wants palette work when I already own great shadows that perform well on their own (even those from less expensive brands). 

This palette is such a winner for me, and I still love it close to a year after I bought it. 

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