What I'm Not Buying/Duped: Kylie Cosmetics Blue Honey Palette

Kylie Cosmetics has released their latest eyeshadow palette, Blue Honey. 

And I won't be buying. 

I have a lot of valid reasons for not wanting to buy this palette, and I'll get to those in a bit. But in the spirit of transparency, I feel it necessary to say that I highly doubt I will buy anything from Kylie Cosmetics in the near future, and that is because this is a brand that I really don't like. I find Kylie herself to be incredibly problematic for a number of reasons, but I very specifically don't like what this brand represents, which is targeting a young demographic and charging a lot of money for a name instead of high quality products. 

And let me just step in right here to clarify that I am not saying that Kylie Cosmetics products are bad. I am saying that the price of these products is not related the quality of them. 

Kylie Cosmetics and Colourpop are owned by the same company and come out with extremely similar products and formulas, which is normal for brands under a parent company. The main problem I have with Kylie Cosmetics is what is so fantastic about Colourpop, which is the model of manufacturing trendy makeup at affordable prices. Kylie Cosmetics is a company that takes those same trendy products and upcharges more than double to have a famous person's name on it. 

And while I have never tried anything from Kylie Cosmetics because it's not a brand that I like or particularly want to support, they also have not released anything that personally appealed to me. 

Until Blue Honey. 

If this was a Colourpop palette, I feel like I probably would have purchased it right away, without even considering what else was in my collection. And that is so disappointing because I know better by now! But luckily, Kylie Cosmetics released it and charged way too much, which brought me back to my senses. 

Let's look at the palette:

Do you know what I like so much about this palette? That it doesn't look exactly like every other palette that is available. I think it's really fantastic, truly, that we are hitting saturation in the makeup community. It has been an interesting phenomenon to watch people complain about new releases because they have similar/exact things already and they want to see something new, all while they are sitting in front of a miniature version of Sephora in their own homes. And I don't say that with any kind of malice, because I also have a large makeup collection. 

The fact is, for those of us with large collections, there just isn't really going to be much, if anything, that can be released that we don't already own in some way. People who still have a spending/makeup addiction or are caught up in the euphoria of buying new things will find saturation unpleasant. They have an itch to buy, but there isn't anything left for them to buy. And it is at this stage that we need to look inward to what we already have (which is, essentially, everything) and use that instead of always looking for what's coming next.

Blue Honey doesn't so obviously look like something I already own though. It looks different, and I like different. But for $38 (not including tax and shipping—we will get to that), I also know that this palette is not worth that price. 

Let's look at the colors as pigments:

When I look at this picture, I see a lot of things that I already own. I see a lot of red-toned warm brows, a taupe, a copper, and some blues. Breaking it down like that, I realize that I already have these types of colors. What drew my eyes in the most were the blue shades, but if you take those away, this is the same as everything we've seen before. It's a warm-toned neutral palette. 

So, I looked at my own collection to see what I had that was similar. I recently reorganized some of my custom palettes into warm-toned and cool-toned singles:

And I realized that between these two palettes, I probably had adequate duplicate shadows.

And I did. 

Here is Blue Honey:

And here is my duped version of Blue Honey:

I found that the pictures of Blue Honey were a little misleading in terms of what the actual shadow colors were (which is unfortunately not an abnormal occurrence in the makeup industry), so instead I referenced various swatch pictures. 

Here are the colors I used:

Top row: Zoeva Bitter Start, ABH Pink Champagne, and Makeup Greek Desert Sands

Middle row: Colourpop Two Birds, Urban Decay Boom, and Costal Scents Lakeshore

Bottom row: Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear, MAC Coppering, and ABH Fudge

Out of these shadows, two were depotted from existing palettes: Zoeva Bitter Start (from Cocoa Blend) and Urban Decay Boom (from the Jean-Michel Basquiat palette). The rest are singles. 

Additionally, if you own the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill palette, you also already own Blue Honey:

I've enlarged and circled in red the shadows that I feel are duplicates of those in Blue Honey. They are:

Blue Honey Row 1: Enlight (Raw), Obsessed (Buzz Off), and Creamscicle (Sweet Like Honey) 

Blue Honey Row 2: Queen (Bumble), Jada (Blue Honey), and Pool Party (Royal Jelly)

Blue Honey Row 3: Roxanne (Busy Bee), Firework (Sweet Thing), and Jacz (Honeymoon)

The only shadow that isn't quite a dupe is Morphe Enlight, which is a shimmer, because Kylie Cosmetics Raw is matte. Otherwise, these colors are pretty close. 

Without knowing it, I not only already owned Blue Honey (which I thought was a really unique color scheme), but I actually owned it twice. (For those wondering, the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill palette was given to me as a gift.) And, yes, it did look like a unique color scheme to me, but that was only because the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill palette has more shadows in it. That distracted my brain and didn't allow me to see that Blue Honey was embedded into it. 

And there are other palettes with similar shadows and color schemes, like Juvia's Place Zulu:

Juvia's Place Festival:

Juvia's Place Masquerade:

NYX Earth:

NYX Water:

And ABH Subculture:

Remember earlier when I mentioned that Kylie Cosmetics and Colourpop are owned by the same company and come out with really similar products? Well, Blue Honey looks a lot like the Colourpop x Kathleenlights Dream Street palette:

Let's compare:

While Blue Honey and Dream Street are not exact dupes, they both have:

• A matte cream
• A matte mustard
• A matte blue-green
• A shimmery blue-green
• A shimmery gold
• A shimmery taupe
• A shimmery copper
• A matte warm brown
• A matte reddish brown 

They share nine shades in common, and in case you missed it, Blue Honey only has nine shades. 

I don't advocate to buy Dream Street instead of Blue Honey (for those reasons, please reference the anti-haul post on Dream Street), but it is pretty telling that Dream Street costs $16 for 12 shades, and Blue Honey costs $38 for nine shades. 

To make matters even worse, Kylie Cosmetics only offers free domestic shipping on orders over $40, and Blue Honey just misses that mark by $2 (and in case you're wondering, yes, this is intentional). And Kylie Cosmetics shipping costs a staggering and criminal $8.95 for domestic shipping and $14.95 for international shipping. 

So that means that the already overpriced $38 palette is really $47, not including tax, which would push it to over $50. And for that, you can buy a palette of better quality with nicer packaging and more shadows. 

Like Colourpop, Kylie Cosmetics does not accept returns or exchanges, and all sales are final. Colourpop claims that they do this in order to keep their prices low, so I can't see the reasoning for this with Kylie Cosmetics. And this means that if you spend the $50+ on this palette and don't find that it lives up to that price, you cannot return it and will be out that money. 

Blue Honey, in reality, is not that unique of a palette. And like I said at the top of this post, at this point, I think it would be difficult for a brand to be able to come out with a totally unique palette. Since Blue Honey only has 9 shades, it makes it pretty easy to dissect it and see how many basic, non-unique shades there are. And in my opinion, there is only one pretty unique shade, and that is Blue Honey, the matte blue-green. And if that is the shade that is drawing you to this palette, I would highly recommend looking into singles instead. Coloured Raine has two that are really similar, with one leaning more blue and one leaning more green.

They are Majestic:

And Gumby:

I know I say this in every post about Kylie Cosmetics, but I understand the pull people (especially adolescents) have to their favorite celebrities. And I know what it feels like to be young and want to buy whatever that celebrity attaches their name to. But those celebrities also know that they have this power, and often times they exploit it. (Why else do you think Justin Bieber came out with a perfume when he was 17 and at the height of his popularity?) I can say with close to absolute certainty that there is nothing about Blue Honey that makes it any better or more luxurious than products from brands like Colourpop or Morphe other than Kylie's name on the front and pictures of eyes. 

And while I can appreciate the slightly different color schemes that Kylie Cosmetics are bringing to the table, I just can't endorse them due to their grossly overpriced products, absurd shipping costs, and terrible return policy (or lack thereof). 

Recently, I have noticed that my collection of pre-made non-companion palettes is declining. That is because I have been focusing on my collection of single shadows, and I reorganize them to fit different trendy color schemes or color stories that I find inspiring. I currently only have five pre-made "complete" palettes (not including ones I consider to be companions). I also have five custom palettes full of singles (three of which are "dupes" of popular pre-made palettes), and I have found that I get far more use out of the custom palettes than I do the pre-made ones. This is relatively new to me as my singles used to be the most ignored shadows in my collection. But I'm so glad that I have discovered my love for them because they are the biggest reason why I don't buy new palettes. 

Blue Honey is a great palette to try to replicate at home. My guess is that most people would be able to come close to duping the entire thing. And if you need to buy one or two singles, look into brands like Coloured Raine, Colourpop, or Costal Scents. You might spend $10 or $15 on singles, but that's far cheaper than spending $50 for this palette. 

Like all of Kylie Cosmetics products, Blue Honey is overpriced. It's a palette that is easy to replicate and one that I have at least two times over in my own collection. Part of being a smart consumer is recognizing when brands are going out of their way to gouge you, and that is certainly what is going on with Kylie Cosmetics. They offer cheap, cardboard packaging and shadows that can be found for less money elsewhere, and I don't personally care about the Kylie name to look past that. I don't need this palette, and I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Kylie Cosmetics Brush Set

Kylie Cosmetics has added brushes to their brand, which include a limited-edition brush set that retails for a staggering $360. 

And I won't be buying. 

If you're active in the makeup community, and I imagine that you are if you read my blog or stumbled across this post while searching for these brushes, you know that these brushes have gotten a ton of attention lately, mainly because of the price. 

This brush set costs $360, not including tax. The Kylie Cosmetics website now offers free shipping on domestic orders over $40 and international orders over $60, so shipping does not need to be factored in here. 

I've seen some videos on these brushes where people have just roasted the brand for this price, and I'll get this is out there now, I also think that price tag is laughable, especially for a brand that is only sold online.

I'll get into the price more in a bit, but I would first like to talk about this brush set on the whole. 

The brush kit comes with 16 brushes (I've included the each brush's intended use, according to the Kylie Cosmetics website):

• Large Powder Brush (for face or body powder)
• Large Stippling Brush (for blending liquid or cream makeup)
• Medium Tapered Brush (for highlight or setting powder)
• Dense Powder Brush (for bronzer)
• Angled Face Brush (for contour or blush)
• Rounded Blush Brush (for blush or contour)
• Medium Stippling Brush (for liquid or cream blush or highlighter)
• Small Fluff Brush (for highlighter and setting powder under the eyes)
• Fan Brush (for highlighter)
• Large Shader Brush (for eyeshadow all over the lid, nose contour, and highlighter)
• Angled Blending Brush (for brow bone highlighter)
• Medium Shader Brush (for eyeshadow all over the lid)
• Small Shader Brush (for powder or cream eyeshadow or concealer)
• Concealer Brush (for concealer)
• Tapered Blending Brush (for blending transition colors into the crease)
• Small Smudge Brush (for eyeliner)

Sounds like a lot, right? Well, let's break it down. 

Of these brushes, I personally would hardly ever/never use the following:

• Large Stippling Brush (for blending liquid or cream makeup)
• Angled Face Brush (for contour or blush)
• Medium Stippling Brush (for liquid or cream blush or highlighter)
• Small Fluff Brush (for highlighter and setting powder under the eyes)
• Large Shader Brush (for eyeshadow all over the lid, nose contour, and highlighter)
• Angled Blending Brush (for brow bone highlighter)
• Concealer Brush (for concealer)

And I would personally get very little use out of the following:

• Rounded Blush Brush (for blush or contour)
• Fan Brush (for highlighter)
• Medium Shader Brush (for eyeshadow all over the lid)
• Small Smudge Brush (for eyeliner)

Which means that of the 16 brushes offered in this set, I would get daily use out of these:

• Large Powder Brush (for face or body powder)
• Medium Tapered Brush (for highlight or setting powder)
• Dense Powder Brush (for bronzer)
• Medium Shader Brush (for eyeshadow all over the lid)
• Small Shader Brush (for powder or cream eyeshadow or concealer)
• Tapered Blending Brush (for blending transition colors into the crease)

Yep. So, for $360 and 16 brushes, I would regularly use six of them. 

Now, if you can't tell, I am actually not a fan of buying any brush set, not just these from Kylie Cosmetics. And that's because there is undoubtedly at least a few brushes that you will never use. 

Buying brushes individually can be very expensive, especially when buying ones from higher-end designers. So I definitely see the appeal in getting a set and acquiring many brushes in one transaction. And when you are first starting out in makeup, brush sets can be really fun to try and figure out what kind of brushes you like the best. 

I've been active in the makeup community for about eight years now. And in that time, I have found some brushes that I love. Others I don't love as much, but they get the job done for what I want. There are other brands and designers that I am interested in looking into in the future, but for now, I thought I would walk you through the steps in my makeup routine and show you the brushes/tools that I use. 

For primer, I use my fingers.

For foundation, I use the black Beauty Blender:

If I use concealer (which I haven't for a few months now), I will also use the black Beauty Blender. 

For setting powder and finishing powder, I use the Real Techniques Blush Brush:

For bronzer, I use the Tom Ford Bronzer Brush:

For blush, I use the Wayne Goss 11:

(I am not sure if this brush is still available. Online, the bristles are now white, but it looks to be generally the same shape.)

For highlighter, I use the Sigma F35:

For applying a transition color into the crease area, I use the Sigma E40:

For blending colors into the crease, I use the MAC 217:

(This is a natural bristle brush, and MAC is transitioning to all synthetic brushes, so this brush will no longer be available.)

For packing color all over the lid, I use the MAC 239:

(See above note.)

For brow bone highlighter, I use the Morphe E15:

(I don't know if this brush is currently available. The brush online is different from the one that I have. I bought this brush from a retailer in NYC, so it may have been a special collection.)

For smudging color on the lower lash line, I use the MAC 214 or the Morphe M408:

(See above note about MAC brushes.)

For applying an inner corner highlighter, I use the Real Techniques Small Shader Brush:

As you can see, the price point widely varies between brushes in my collection. The Tom Ford Bronzer Brush is the most expensive brush in my collection ($115), and the least expensive is the Morphe M408 ($4). 

These are the brushes that I typically reach for on a daily basis, but I also have eyeshadow blending brushes from Hakuhodo, the Anastasia Beverly Hills A23 highlighter brush, and the Wayne Goss 15 fan brush, among others. 

I have found that there is not one brand where I exclusively love all of their brushes or think that all of their brushes work for me. Overall, I have more brushes from MAC than any other brand (and I have multiples of the 239 and 217), but since they are changing their brushes, I can't say as of right now that they (generally speaking) have my favorite brushes. 

I never would have tried Morphe brushes had there not been a store in NYC that sells them, and I bought the two that I have when I was in a pinch and needed a cheap brush. I bought a couple other Morphe brushes at the same time, but I genuinely don't think they are good, and I don't use them. So for all the people shilling their Moprhe affiliate codes saying that you can get a Morphe brush set for a cheaper cost, while that's true, I don't think all Morphe brushes are great, and I personally would not want a Morphe brush set. 

Kylie Cosmetics does sell each of these brushes individually, and the prices range from $48 to $18. If you bought each brush individually, the price would be $382. 

Let's talk about that for a moment. Typically, the appeal of buying brushes in a set instead of individually is that you are saving money. But with the Kylie Cosmetics brush set, you are only saving $22, which is essentially the cost of one brush. Included with the brush set is a silver brush roll, but it looks cheap to me, and I don't personally think that's worth much. 

Kylie Jenner took to social media to comment on all the backlash she's been getting over the price of this set, and she said:

I have developed for you guys the most amazing luxury brushes ever. Real brushes don't compare to synthetic brushes. Different performance/quality/everything. I am 100% down to do an entire synthetic line in the future which will ultimately be cheaper. I always flight for the lowest price on all my products.

Kylie then showed the prices of "other real brush lines for reference," which included brushes from Artis, Kevyn Aucoin, and MAC. 

Now, I personally have some problems with all of this. 

One, Kylie's statement of "I have developed for you guys the most amazing luxury brushes ever" is clearly hyperbolic. Hyperbole is huge in marketing, and I'm not saying that this is specific to her whatsoever, but these are clearly not "the most amazing luxury brushes ever."

Next, while I personally prefer natural bristle brushes (what she calls "real brushes" here) over synthetic, I don't think it's fair to say that synthetic brushes "don't compare." 

Next, I do not at all believe the statement "I always flight for the lowest price on all my products." I just don't. Kylie Cosmetics is created by the founders of Colourpop, and Colourpop has considerably lower prices. I don't claim to know the business agreement between all of the parties here, but it is clear that the "Kylie Jenner" name is why the prices are significantly higher. 

Finally, I'm annoyed that Kylie showed Artis, Kevyn Aucoin, and MAC brushes as examples of why her brush set costs so much. Kevyn Aucoin and MAC are incredibly respected and established brands. And the Artis founder, Matthew Waitesmith, was a former senior vice president at MAC. I don't think many people, if any, would put Kylie Cosmetics in the same caliber as these other brands. 

As a general thought, I don't think any brand that sells exclusively online has any business charging luxury prices as there is no way for a consumer to actually test out the product. Adding to that, Kylie Cosmetics does NOT offer refunds. (Colourpop also does not offer refunds, and it is one of the reasons they give as to why they can keep their prices so low, which does not apply with Kylie Cosmetics.) So, if you buy this brush set and don't find the quality to be worth $360, you cannot return it. 

As a final thought on this post, I just want to talk about Kylie Cosmetics for a moment. I am fully aware that I am not the target demographic for this brand, and I have never purchased anything from the brand because none of it appeals to me. The target demographic, I think, are people around Kylie's age and younger. Kylie herself is 20 years old at the time I am writing this post, so I imagine her biggest fan base are teenagers and people in their early 20s. Personally, I can't think of a worse demographic for a $360 brush set. 

Most teenagers and people in their early 20s can't afford much on their own. Typically they are high school or college students, and/or they are working low-paying jobs. So I can imagine Kylie fans saving up a ton of money to buy this brush set or asking for it from their parents or as a gift. And I just don't think that the brushes themselves or the Kylie Jenner name is worth that. 

I know that fandom is a strange thing, and it's something I've talked about a few times on my blog. I know that when I was much younger, I would have purchased anything that was connected to my favorite celebrity. But I also know there would be no way I could have afforded this brush set and no way that my parents would have spent that much on it either. 

And I think about what else could be purchased with that money. When I had my first job (which was incredibly low-paying), I saved up all of my paychecks and bought a dog. And what I paid for the dog is less than what these brushes cost. That dog is still alive, though he is very old. And I think about how much joy he has brought to me and members of my family. And it's crazy for me to remember working that hard, saving all that money, and think about buying a brush set with that money just because it was from a celebrity. 

I think these brushes are overpriced. Most people think these brushes are overpriced. It took me years to acquire all of the brushes I have now, but I never felt like I was "missing out" because I didn't have a complete brush set when I was younger. I had two brushes (one for my face and one for my eyes), and I was able to make complete looks with those two brushes for years. And when you have brands like Elf and Wet N Wild coming out with inexpensive brushes, there really is no need to drop this much cash on a brush set where you will very likely not use all or even most of the brushes. 

I have zero need for a brush set, especially one that costs this much, so I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Kylie Cosmetics Kyshadow Holiday Palette

Kylie Cosmetics has released the latest in her rapidly growing makeup line: the Kyshaodw Holiday Palette. And like everything released by Kylie Cosmetics, the palette is likely to be a huge success. 

But I won't be buying. 

The one thing I can always credit Kylie Cosmetics with is that their color selection for eyeshadow palettes is always really pretty. Unfortunately, they are not unique or of the highest quality, especially considering the price. 

I've mentioned this in my other two posts about Kyshadow palettes, but I feel it always merits a mention. This palette costs $42 plus $9 for shipping within the US and $15 for international shipping. That makes this basic, easily replicated nine-shadow palette a minimum of $51. 

I mention this price every time, and every time I am still astonished by it. It absolutely, without doubt does not cost $9 to package and ship a small eyeshadow palette. It costs a fraction of that. So the only reason Kylie Cosmetics charges so much for shipping is to make more money off of each sale. The shipping cost is so high that it actually feels extortionate. 

I've mentioned before how turned-off I am by hype-driven marketing tactics. Though I wasn't the biggest fan of the Modern Renaissance palette by Anastasia Beverly Hills, I loved how the brand handled the release of it. The first time consumers learned of the palette was the day before it launched. Anastasia Beverly Hills released good quality, color corrected images, provided the price, and said the palette would be released the following day. There is no question that Modern Renaissance is a good quality product that most people love, and Anastasia Beverly Hills relied on the quality of the product rather than hype tactics. 

Kylie Cosmetics could not take a more different approach to marketing. These are typically the first images released of a new Kyshadow palette:

I can't even articulate how enraged these images make me. It's almost to the point where if I see a brand releases images with a black and white filter, I not only don't want to buy the product, but it is a major turnoff on the brand in general. 

These images tell us nothing. Just that the brand has a product in the works and that the product can be swatched heavily on an arm. That's it. 

This kind of marketing is very frustrating because, as I've mentioned countless times, releasing "teasers" of products without any helpful information begs for the consumers to make a premature decision on whether they will purchase based on their own created idea of what the product will be. And then when the actual product is shown, along with the helpful information of price and release date, consumers are more likely to purchase because they've already had it set in their mind that they would. And the reality is that this kind of marketing is unnecessary if the product is good. Modern Renaissance is the most popular palette I've seen in a while, and the brand relied fully on the quality of the product and word of mouth. 

Like the other two Kyshadow palettes, the most interesting thing about the Holiday Palette is the packaging:

As I've mentioned before, I like the look of the soft-drawn eyes, and while the drips aren't necessarily my preferred aesthetic, I like how they show the colors within the palette. 

Let's take a closer look at the colors:

Here are some swatches:

In typical Kylie Cosmetics fashion, the swatches are clearly applied heavily and are finger swatches. Finger swatches will always show the colors more brilliantly than what they will be when applied with a brush. And these swatches specifically look as though they were applied heavily with at least two applications. 

And I'll admit that the Kyshadow Holiday Palette has a pretty color scheme. It gives the illusion of being somewhat unique since it doesn't look like most of the warm-toned neutral palettes flooding the market recently, but when you look at the colors as pigments away from the packaging:

You can see that this is an overpriced, run-of-the-mill jewel-toned palette with some matte shades thrown in. This palette is so unoriginal, in fact, that I've come up with several palettes that have an incredibly similar color scheme.

There's Urban Decay Smoked ($49):

Lorac Pro Metal ($28):

Zoeva Mixed Metals ($26.50 plus shipping):

Zoeva Cool Spectrum ($40 plus shipping):

Estee Edit Gritty and Glow ($58, includes blush/highlight palette):

Photo: Temptalia

And Viseart Bijoux Royal ($80):

Photo: Temptalia

Admittedly, I don't have personal experience with a Kyshadow palette. I have, however, seen and read multiple reviews, and I find the most trustworthy reviewers are all in agreement: the quality is similar to Costal Scents, BH Cosmetics, and Morphe. The price tag, however, especially for nine shadows, is incredibly inflated considering the quality. I have owned palettes from Urban Decay, Lorac, Zoeva, and Viseart, and I can say that buying any of the above palettes would be a much better purchase than the Kyshadow palette. 

The only palettes listed above that would cost more than the Kyshadow palette are Zoeva Cool Spectrum (once shipping is counted), which includes 15 shadows; Estee Edit Gritty and Glow, which has enormous pan sizes, a ton of product, and includes a blush/highlight palette; and Viseart Bijoux Royal, which is of incredible quality and has 12 shadows. 

The palettes that are less expensive than the Kyshadow are Urban Decay Smoked, which has 10 shadows; Lorac Pro Metal, which has eight shadows but is less than $20 cheaper; and Zoeva Mixed Metals, which has 10 shadows. So, the palettes that are more expensive than the Kyshadow palette have significantly more to offer, and the palettes that are less expensive either also have more to offer or are substantial cheaper. When looking at the Kyshadow palette through this lens, it's really apparent how overpriced it is. 

Personally, out of all of these options, I would go with the Viseart Bijoux Royal palette. It wasn't marketed as a holiday palette, was released months ago, and isn't limited edition. And while it absolutely can be used any time of year, it also reminds me of the holidays in the best way. I think it's a gorgeous palette, and the reason I passed on it when it was first released was because of the inclusion of colors. At the time, I wasn't interested in much outside of gold and bronze, but now it is absolutely something that has caught my attention. I certainly don't need it, however, and will likely not purchase it. But it sure is pretty. 

Though limited edition and marketed as a holiday palette, the color scheme of the Kyshadow palette can be found in multiple permanent options. The limited edition "holiday" nature of this release is just another marketing tactic, making this palette feel as though it is seasonal and if you don't purchase it now, you won't have the perfect eyeshadow for the holiday season. But there is nothing innovative or exclusively holiday about jewel-toned shadows. And the Kyshadow palette is just an overpriced, mediocre quality jewel tone palette. I've mentioned before that arguably the biggest pull for consumers to the Kylie Cosmetics brand is the person behind it. And for young fans, it won't matter how overpriced or low quality an item is, if their favorite celebrity puts their name on a product, they will find a way to buy it. And as I've said, that's specifically why I am so annoyed at Kylie Cosmetics prices, specifically shipping costs. I imagine there are many young fans out there begging their parents for this palette, putting it on their holiday list, or saving up all their money to buy it. And for that effort and fan support, the palette should be amazing quality. Charging an exorbitant shipping fee on an already overpriced palette is therefore a really low, crappy move. It's taking advantage of mainly young fans, and I think that's pretty awful. Though pretty, the Kyshadow Holiday Palette is really nothing special. And I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Kylie Cosmetics Kyshadow Burgundy Palette

Kylie Cosmetics is releasing another eyeshadow palette, and based on how every other release has gone from this brand, I expect this palette to be a huge success. 

But I won't be buying. 

As far as tones are considered, I think this palette is really lovely. I'm a huge sucker for warm-toned berries and bronzes, and this palette is full of them. 

My main problem with this palette, which is my main problem with everything from Kylie Cosmetics, is that it is grossly overpriced, especially for the quality. I'm assuming—based on the cost of the Bronze Kyshaodw palette—that this will also cost $42 with $8.95 domestic shipping and $14.95 international shipping. 

I'll just say it—in no way whatsoever should shipping of incredibly lightweight items cost $9. That is a blatant ripoff and I don't understand why this brand is choosing to gouge on shipping when the cost of the product is already incredibly inflated. Based on reviews I have seen of the Kyshaodw formula as well as swatches, this product in no way is worth $42, let alone $51 with shipping. 

The swatches were no doubt done with very heavy finger swatches and several layers of product, especially the matte shades. 

What really frustrates me about this business practice is that the majority of Kylie's fans are minors. And those are excellent customers because typically they don't really care if the quality is good or not, they just want something with their favorite celebrity's name on it. I can tell you that when I was fourteen or so, if Justin Timberlake came out with anything—even power tools—I would have saved all my birthday money to get it. But because of this easy customer base, Kylie Cosmetics knows they can gouge prices, and I think that is really in poor taste. Some of these fans will save everything they have to buy an overpriced mediocre eyeshadow palette. 

Like the last Kyshadow palette, the most interesting thing about the Burgundy iteration, in my opinion, is the packaging: 

Although I'm not a fan of the "drip" aesthetic Kylie Cosmetics is known for, I do like the use of colors in the palette and think the overall design is new and different. 

But that's as far as I'll go for positives about this product as I really think there are much higher quality items that can be purchased in the same or similar color scheme. 

Upon first glance, the Burgundy Kyshadow palette reminded me of the Makeup Geek MannyMUA palette:

Makeup Geek has one of my absolute favorite eyeshadow formulas, and I am confident that this palette has far superior quality to the Kysahdow palette. This retails for $45. 

Personally, I don't recommend this palette because I do not support MannyMUA, and a portion of the proceeds go to him. There is ample information available online that detail negative things MannyMUA has done and who he associates with, and all of it combined is why I personally don't want to support him and won't buy this palette. 

As an alternative, however, the Burgundy Kyshadow palette also looks very similar to the Autumn Glow eyeshadow bundle from Makeup Geek:

It is important to note that this bundle does not come with a palette. It is a bundle of nine eyeshadows, and palettes are sold separately. This bundle retails for $49.

The Kyshadow palette also looks like the new Ciate London Chloe Morello palette:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance:

And Lime Crime Venus:

Frankly, if you were interested in the Burgundy Kyshadow palette, I would recommend just buying some singles of the few somewhat unique shades, like MAC Cranberry:

Photo: Temptalia

Make Up For Ever Morello Cherry:

Photo: Temptalia

And MAC Red Brick:

For the exception of those three eyeshadows, everything else in the Kyshadow palette is so ordinary that most people are bound to have it in their collection already. 

I have to admit that I'm really getting fatigue over these internet brands that gouge their prices for mediocre quality. I find that disrespectful to consumers. I'm much happier to purchase from brands that either have high price tags for exceptional quality or low price tags for mediocre quality or less expensive ingredients. 

I'm sure the Burgundy Kyshadow palette will be a huge success, but I have all the colors already in my collection at a much higher quality. It will be interesting to see if, as the brand grows, the quality will drastically improve without raising price tags. Until then, I won't be buying.