One Week, One Palette: Juvia's Place Masquerade

For the seventh week of my one week, one palette project, I decided to go with the newest and most colorful palette in my collection: Juvia's Place Masquerade. 

As I mentioned in last week's post, the palette I was using became a little too dark and depressing for me as the days progressed, so I knew for the next week I wanted to try something fun and colorful. I should mention that before I started this one week, one palette project, I never wore color. Ever. But when I started challenging myself to use every color in these palettes, I was forced to try color. And I was shocked to find that I loved it! 

Since starting this project, the palette I've most enjoyed using is the Juvia's Place Nubian 2 palette. After using that palette and having so much fun with it, the Juvia's Place Masquerade palette started creeping into my thoughts. I would have never considered this palette even a few months ago, but I just loved the Nubian 2 so much and wanted to play more with color. When I saw that Juvia's Place created a mini version of the Masquerade, I jumped all over it. 

I used every shadow in this palette, but in order to do that, using this palette went significantly beyond one week. As I mentioned on my Instagram, I was traveling last week and put the blog on a temporary hiatus until I returned. However, I continued using this palette while I was away.

As for additional shadows I bought in, I used Inglot 351 matte (matte cream) on my brow bone each day. I also used some shadows from the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye palette on a couple of days, and used Make Up For Ever Pearl on the inner conner most days.

Below are 10(!) looks I did last week:

Look 1:

Makeda on the lid, Bori blended into the crease, Zobo blended to deepen the crease, and MUFE Pearl on the inner corner.

Look 2:

I followed this tutorial from KathleenLights.

Zola on the lid, Burkina and Zobo blended into the crease, Mali padded on top of Zola on the center of the lid, and Giza on the inner corner. Burkina, Zola, and Chi on the lower lash line. 

Look 3:

Chi on the lid, Ada blended into the crease, Zobo blended to deepen the crease, and MUFE Pearl on the inner corner. 

Look 4:

Dalia on the lid, Cairo blended into the crease, Zulu and Ada blended to deepen the crease, and MUFE Pearl on the inner corner.

Look 5:

Mali on the inner and outer lid, Giza on the center of the lid; Fulani, Ada, and Burkina blended into the crease; Zobo blended to deepen the crease; and MUFE Pearl on the inner corner. 

Look 6:

Casablanca on the lid, Zulu and Burkina blended into the crease, Zulu blended to deepen the crease, and MUFE Pearl on the inner corner.

Look 7:

Dahia on the lid, Kat Von D Ludwin blended into the cease, Kat Von D Succubus blended to deepen the outer corner, and Giza on the inner corner. 

Look 8:

Calabar on the lid, Zobo blended into the crease, and MUFE Pearl on the inner corner. 

Look 9:

Cairo on the lid, Casablanca padded over Cairo, Kat Von D Ludwin and Succubus blended into the crease, and MUFE Pearl on the inner corner. 

Look 10:

Bori on the lid, Cairo blended into the crease, Zobo blended to deepen the crease, and MUFE Pearl on the inner corner. 

I really, really enjoyed using this palette all week for the colors, finishes, creativity, and the color combinations. However, I was slightly disappointed with the performance of the shadows. I tried these shadows with three different eye primers—Milani eye primer, MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, and Urban Decay Primer Potion in Anti-Aging—and by about the six-hour mark, they creased every time. Shadows don't typically ever crease on me with a primer, so this was highly unusual. 

I hadn't before used the Urban Decay Anti-Aging primer, and I was really disappointed with it, so I will be retuning it in exchange for my favorite primer, the NARS Smudge-Proof Eyeshadow Base. Typically when wearing the NARS primer, a shadow will last all day for me, even into the next morning on the rare occasion that I fall asleep before having a chance to take off my makeup. When I get the NARS primer, I will test the Masquerade shadows again to see if that will work better. (It should be noted that I used the Nubian 2 shadows exclusively with the NARS primer before I finished the tube.) It's also worth acknowledging that while I didn't use my favorite primer, the Masquerade shadows still creased with the MAC Paint Pot and Milani eye primer, and I don't typically have issues with either of those primers. 

As far as colors are concerned, I pretty much loved everything about this palette. The only days I felt slightly less jazzed about my eyeshadow were the days that I did a completely neutral look. And that's so funny because originally when I looked at this palette (before I loved color), I thought it wouldn't be a good purchase for me because I would only get use out of the neutral shades. The neutral shadows were pretty, and there was nothing wrong with them, I just didn't have nearly as much fun using them as I did the more colorful shadows. 

My favorite looks of the week were looks 3 and 4, but I also really loved looks 1 and 2. Zobo was my favorite shadow from the palette as I felt it really paired nicely with most of the shadows. It is a matte dark pink/berry, and I didn't have any other similar colors in my collection. I also loved Dalia and Chi and thought they made exceptionally beautiful lid shades. 

The matte brown shades toward the bottom of the palette felt a little interchangeable to me. Burkina and Ada were my favorites, but there was not a huge difference between those and Zulu and Fulani. Calabar was the only shadow that slightly disappointed me, and it was because I was expecting a richer cranberry color instead of a brighter pink, which is how it looked on the eyes. 

I opted for the Masquerade Mini because I am not a fan of eyeshadows (especially palettes) that have a ton of product. In my entire collection, I have hit pan on one eyeshadow, which is Make Up For Ever Pearl. Even then, it will take me probably an entire year of daily use to use up the smaller pan that was downsized from the typical pan size. The pans in my Nubian 2 palette are huge and overwhelming, so I really appreciated Juvia's Place making a smaller version of the Masquerade palette. I've read some complains about the size of these pans, and I honestly don't understand them. These shadows are the same circumference as MAC, Makeup Geek, or Morphe shadows. It is not as though they are dime-sized or smaller. The Mini is a much more manageable palette size, in my opinion, especially for colorful shadows. 

Had these shadows not creased so terribly on me, this palette really would have been a home-run for me. But I was always so disappointed to see my shadows creased so badly by the evening when shadows typically last on me until I decide to take them off. Once I have my NARS primer back, I will see how these perform and make a decision from there. I am hopeful they will perform like any other shadow since that primer is so good, but if they don't—if they still crease—this palette may be a pass for me. And I hate saying that because I loved using this all week. But if I don't feel I can make it even six hours without the shadows looking terrible on my lid, then it really isn't worth it for me. 

But I will say that using this palette all week was so much fun, and I have had zero desire to buy anything new. That's the thing about using palettes consistently and using every single color. It forces you to look at your palettes a little differently, and when you see all the possibilities you have in just one palette, it makes the desire to buy something new go away. The Sephora VIB sale went on while I was using this palette, and I bought a brush to apply highlighter. That was it. And I've watched so many haul videos and have seen people bring in so much stuff, and I don't feel like I missed out at all. I have had so much fun playing with my palettes, and this week was the perfect example of that. There were so many more color combinations that I wanted to try with this palette, but I felt ten days of looks was probably enough and that I should move on to the next palette. But the Masquerade palette reminded me every day why it's so much fun to play with makeup and why it's so important to love and use your makeup rather than just buy and collect whatever is hot at the moment. 

One Week, One Palette: Juvia's Place Nubian 2

For the third week of my one week, one palette project, I decided to go with the newest palette in my collection. I purchased the Nubian 2 palette by Juvia's Place less than two months ago, but since I've started this project, it hadn't gotten much use. 

Juvia's Place owner Chichi Eburu, a woman born in Nigeria, has said about developing her makeup line, "I took a look at the beauty industry, and there was nothing that truly represented black culture. I feel like the market is here, we're [black women] are here, and we're beautiful and no one is listening. To me the idea of a Nubian queen is representative of a beautiful black woman, and that's what I wanted my company to show."

I purchased this palette because I thought it was a beautiful assortment of colors and felt it leaned very neutral overall while still having some beautiful colorful shadows. And I was incredibly inspired by Chichi and what she had to say about the systematic underrepresentation of black women in the makeup industry. The vast majority of the palettes in my collection (as well as those being produced) cater to light skin, and I wanted to add a palette that was specifically designed for dark skin. 

I used every color in this palette this week, which was a first in this project, but did need to use a matte brow bone shadow every day as well as bareMinerals Velvet Pecan to blend in the crease on several days. 

Below are six looks I did this week.

Please note, I used Make Up For Ever Pearl on the inner corner and Kat Von D Laetus under the brow bone every day. 

Look 1:

Cleopatra on the lid, Morocco and Madagascar blended into the crease, and Kenya padded onto the outer corner and blended into the crease. 

Look 2:

Nairobi on the lid, Jezebel blended into the crease, and Leyla lightly blended into the outer corner.

Look 3:

Yaa on the lid, bareMinerals Velvet Pecan blended in the crease, Morocco and Jezebel blended into the crease. 

Look 4:

Egypt on the inner and outer lid, Zuri in the center of the lid, bareMinerals Velvet Pecan blended into the crease, and Kenya lightly blended into the outer corner.

Look 5:

Nefertiti on the lid, bareMinerals Velvet Pecan blended into the crease, and Jezebel padded onto the outer corner and blended into the crease.

Look 6:

Sheba on the lid, bareMinerals Velvet Pecan blended in the crease, Madagascar blended in the outer corer, and Kenya lightly padded onto the outer corner and blended into the crease.

I had an absolute blast using this palette this week, and I have never consistency worn such strong, colorful looks. I loved it. Jezebel was my favorite shadow in the entire palette, but I did enjoy the shimmers on the whole more than the mattes. The mattes were a little dry and stiff compared to what I typically prefer, but they were far from unworkable. I did have to work a little harder with them than my Kat Von D or Viseart Mattes, but they were still fairly easy to work with. There wasn't a typical transition color for my skin color in the palette, so I needed to pull in Velvet Pecan pretty often, but I absolutely love that shadow and was happy to do so. 

I saved Sheba for the last day because I assumed it was going to be my favorite shadow in the palette,  and I thought the look certainly was beautiful, but compared to the rest of the looks I did all week, it seemed a little boring to me. My favorite looks of the week were Look 2, Look 4, and Look 5. I really loved how the yellow and orange golds paired with the magenta in Jezebel. I thought it looked gorgeous on my warm skin and blue-green eyes. I also really loved the blue and orange look, but thought it would have been better suited for a night out instead of a casual Sunday. 

I think this palette would be absolutely stunning on deeper skin tones, but I also love that several skin tones are flattered by the color scheme. This is something that I hope most brands pay attention to. Not only does this palette work for women with skin tones largely glossed over and ignored by other brands, but it is also comprised of really interesting colors that we haven't seen done to death. 

Each day I used this palette was a treat to see how creative I could be while also creating a neutral-enough look for me to feel comfortable. But since the majority of these colors were unique to my collection, I had a blast playing with them. I didn't even set out to use every color in the palette, but the palette is so cohesive and well coordinated that it was natural that several would go together and complement a look. 

I was incredibly pleased with the quality of the palette and felt the shadows outperformed those from Morphe. (There was speculation for some time that Juvia's Place shadows were private labelled same as Morphe, but from my experience using both, they are entirely different formulas.) There wasn't a single shadow in here that I felt performed badly or that I would consider a dud. And considering I used every shadow in the palette, the fact that all of them are great quality is incredibly exciting. 

This is definitely a palette I would recommend for someone who wants to add some color and something interesting to their collection. Juvia's place also sells the Nubian 1, which is a typical neutral palette, and the Masquerade, which is incredibly colorful. The Nubian 2 was the perfect marriage of both for me. Potentially, if you have very light skin with cool undertones, the Nubian 2 might not be the best palette because of all the strong warm undertones, but YouTube reviewer Stephanie Nicole has light, cool skin and mentioned this was also her favorite of all three offerings from Juvia's Place. 

I know I've said this each week, but using this palette all week really curbed any cravings to purchase any of the holiday palettes releasing right now. I definitely did not expect to enjoy using the Nubian 2 as much as I did, and it makes me excited and hopeful that more brands will expand their lines to include all people and skin tones.