What I'm Not Buying: Melt Cosmetics Gemini Palette

Melt Cosmetics has come out with a new palette, the first of which is not in stack form.

And I won't be buying.

To be completely honest, I did not think I was going to make this post. Because I really, really want the buy this palette. In fact, until last night, I had fully committed to the idea that I was going to purchase this palette, and I was perfectly okay with that because this is the kind of palette (I thought) I had been waiting for.

It's completely different from the majority of releases, and it's got a great color scheme that is also pretty neutral. At least that was what I was telling myself.

As I'm sure you've noticed, I have not been too active on the blog recently, and there are a number of reasons for that. The major highlights are that I've been working on some things for the blog behind the scenes, I've recently moved and my world has been in a certain amout of disarray, and I've been experiencing some health issues. But more than anything else, there just haven't been many releases that I've felt inclined to write about.

Many YouTube personalities have recently launched their own brands, and I am so far interested in none of them. Colourpop is coming out with more of the same; Urban Decay is pumping out a ton of products that I'm not interested in and can't even keep up with; and Too Faced is literally launching the third version of packaging on their same boring neutral palettes.

So there just hasn't been a lot for me to write about.

But then Melt announced the Gemini palette, and I became excited about makeup for the first time in months.

Let's look at it:

If you've been a longtime reader of my blog, you'll know that I am a huge lover of the Melt Rust Stack. This one stack replaced every single neutral matte palette in my collection because none could compare to it. I have also owned the Love Sick Stack, but ended up only keeping the color Love Sick. I really love Melt's matte shades, and while the shimmers aren't awful, I just don't like them nearly as much. 

Gemini is Melt's first palette not in stack form, and I think that makes a lot of sense from a practical standpoint. The stacks are truthfully a pain, and they are so delicate that it makes traveling with them difficult. Additionally, the stack format really only allows for four or five shadows, so having a typical palette format allows the brand to come out with something with 10 shadows. 

Most longtime readers will also know that I am a complete sucker for a good mustard shadow. My favorite mustard is Bobbi Brown Camel, but Melt Rubbish is a close second. So you can only imagine my joy when I saw that Melt has created yet another mustard with a much stronger yellow base. And that was the starting point of my brief love affair with Gemini. 

Let's look at the shadows as pigments:

Typically, I use images like this as a tool to show me how much I don't actually like or need a palette. However, in this case, this photo just reinforced how much I wanted this palette. It is perfect, I thought, and I am definitely going to buy it. 

But I'm not going to. Mainly because of the price. 

Gemini retails for $58. Melt only offers free shipping on orders over $75, which means that if you buy any of their stacks or this palette, you still won't qualify for free shipping. Shipping is $7 domestically and $10 internationally, which makes Gemini $65 to $68 before tax. 

When you compare the cost of Gemini to other Melt Stacks, it actually seems like a great deal. (The Rust Stack is also $58 before tax and shipping and only has five shadows.) However, Gemini looks to come in cardboard packaging, which is considerably less expensive than the stack packaging. Gemini also doesn't have the "gimmick" factor of the stack packaging, so it puts the palette in direct competition with other brands that make similarly sized palettes. When compared to those palettes, Gemini is pretty overpriced. 

For me, the price was especially too high because when I really looked Gemini, I was most attracted to the four shadows on the right. When I considered the rest of the palette, I realized:

• I hardly ever use black shadows
• I have plenty of brow bone/transition shadows
• I have a ton of warm browns, oranges, and dark browns

So, really, I just wanted the shimmery green, forrest green, olive, and mustard. 

Buying Gemini for only four shadows would mean that I have not learned any of the lessons I have discussed on this blog, especially (and here's the kicker) when I own all four of these shades already. 

Yep. There you have it. I was lusting after a palette for four shades that I already own. 

Upon this realization, I thought about why I didn't see that I already owned these shadows when that's usually the first thing I notice in other palettes. And I think it's because this is a palette that has a somewhat unique color scheme (as you will see further in this post it is really not that unique at all), and my brain just hasn't been trained yet to see that even these "unique" palettes are still filled with shades I already own. 

Let's look at swatches:

When I first saw these swatches, it felt like the air had been let out of my "I must buy this palette" mentality. There was absolutely no denying at this point that I already owned these shadows, and, frankly, that they just weren't as special as I thought they were by looking at promotional photos. 

Gemini is Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture:

And the Bad Habit dupe of Subculture, Retro Love:

It's Lime Crime Venus II:

Those greens I was lusting after are in Viseart Dark Matte:

Gemini also looks a lot like Jeffree Star Androgyny:

And Zoeva Matte Spectrum:

And Makeup Revolution Reloaded Iconic Division: 

Really, Gemini is not especially unique. In fact, I think the biggest audience for it are people who wanted Subculture but decided not to buy because of the horrendous reviews. 

As for me, I once owned Venus II but decluttered it years ago because I was not in a place with my makeup preferences to really appreciate those tones. I've owned Viseart Dark Matte for years and absolutely love that palette. And if that's not enough, before I moved, I was gifted Subculture (though I am still undecided if I want to keep it). And that's not even counting all of my single shadows. 

For the exception of Viseart Dark Matte, all of these palettes are considerably less expensive than Gemini, which will cost you upwards of $70 with tax and shipping. And I think $7 per shadow is too high. 

I know I made this post mainly about me, but I did so to demonstrate that being more conscious about consumerism and training your brain to think more critically about purchases is a constant work in progress and something that takes time. Despite everything that I have learned and all the time I have devoted to thinking critically about why I'm not going to buy products, I still had a moment of "Pretty! Different! I'm gonna buy!" And had I purchased Gemini, I would have applied the shadows to my lids and had the sinking realization that these shades were not, in fact, different from what I already owned. 

Looking at the promotional photos of Gemini, I still think it's a gorgeous palette. And I'm glad to see more brands branching out from the boring and overdone neutrals and shades that are only geared toward light skin tones. It's exciting to see something different, especially something that is still cohesive and what most people would consider "wearable." But that doesn't mean that I need to spend $70 on a palette full of colors that I already own. 

The best way I can describe this feeling is to share a story about some palettes that I have recently purchased. I received a few requests to test some "dupe" palettes and form an opinion on the quality of the shadows. Traditionally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of brands that "dupe" popular palettes because I do think that it is an infringement on one's creative and intellectual property. But due to the requests, I did purchase some palettes from Hush to test. When the palettes arrived, I was drawn to these beautiful (but familiar) color schemes and was excited to work with the palettes. And do you know what happened? With every single look that I created (even though these were "new" palettes), I found myself so bored because they were looks that I've created a dozen times over with a dozen different palettes. 

Obviously in this example these are "dupe" palettes, so the entire idea is to be similar to existing ones, but there is also only so much that you can do with an entirely red-toned or orange-toned palette. And even if a palette is new, the look is not. And if you're able to create that exact look from shadows you already have in your collection, what's the point? 

I think I'm just at a place where the "new factor" isn't enough anymore. I need a product to actually be different, not just new. And Gemini would not be different for me. 

If you're someone who has considerably less makeup than I do (first of all, good for you!), have nothing like these colors in your collection, and are very drawn to this palette, Gemini may actually be a great purchase for you. I still think it is overpriced compared to other palettes of similar size and quality (especially since Melt is an online brand and you can't try the products in-store), but if this is the exact color scheme you want, I can see it being a good purchase. If you're like me and own at least one of the above palettes as well as singles, it may be a good idea to take a step back and think about why you're really lusting after this particular palette and evaluate what, if any, value it will add to what you already own. If you're drawn to only a few colors, I would also recommend instead buying some single shadows from brands like Colourpop and Makeup Geek.  

Personally, I think that I may need to accept that I have almost every single possible shade (that I would want) already in my collection. There may be no new product that my collection can't duplicate. And that's okay. Because I can still love makeup and participate in the hobby without buying every new product.

Gemini, while beautiful, is just not something I need to add to my collection. It doesn't bring anything new to me, and it's very expensive to be the same as what I already have. I absolutely don't need Gemini, and I won't be buying.

Weekly Looks: Colourpop, Fyrinnae, BH Cosmetics, Kat Von D, Morphe, Melt, and more

I had a pretty good week, all things considered.

If you've been around my blog for a while, you might remember that I had two pretty major surgeries over the summer. I don't think I really felt the full effect of what my body had been through until several months later, and over the past two months, I developed a minor complication that was impeding full recovery.

Earlier this week I had to undergo a procedure to drain some fluid out of a joint, which was a lot more painful that I would have expected. Overall my joint has been feeling much better since the procedure, but walking still feels a little shaky, and winter/snow in New York City has forced me to pretty much stay inside.

And while fundamentally that's not too great, I had a blast this week. Here are the highlights:

• I was able to write some anti-haul blog posts and engage with the community more
• EmilyNoel83 released the "Emily Awards," and I've loved seeing what she considers the best makeup items of the year
• I discovered and listened to Serial podcast season one
• I finally watched E.T. for the first time

In terms of my makeup, I think I felt like I was lacking some inspiration this week. On multiple days I would sit in front of my vanity and wonder what I should do. I have never had an extensive wardrobe, so I've never related to standing in front of a full closet thinking you have nothing wear, but this was the closest I've gotten. Some weeks I think having a large eyeshadow collection gives me limitless options, and other weeks I think having so much can stifle creativity.

Here are five looks I did this week.

Look 1: Colourpop Two Birds and Anastasia Beverly Hills Rosette

Colourpop Two Birds on the lid, Colourpop Silver Lining blended into the crease as a transition shade, and Anastasia Beverly Hills Rosette blended into the crease. 

Look 2: BH Cosmetics Zodiac 

Leo shimmer shade on the lid, Virgo matte shade blended into the crease as a transition shade, Cancer matte shade blended into the crease, and Leo matte shade padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 3: Fyrinnae Meerkat and Melt Stacks

Meerkat on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy), Melt Antique blended into the crease as a transition shade, Melt Rubbish blended into the crease, and Melt Love Sick padded onto the outer corner and blended into the crease. Melt Love Sick on the lower lash line. 

Look 4: Morphe Jaclyn Hill 

Royalty and Twerk on the inner and outer parts of the lid; Pool Party on the center of the lid; Creamscicle, Pooter, and Pukey blended into the crease as transition shades; Roxanne, Jacz, and Buns blended into the crease; and Chip blended to deepen the crease. Royalty and Twerk on the lower lash line. 

Look 5: Kat Von D Saint and Sinner

Ministry on the lid, Sacred Heart blended into the crease as a transition shade, Worship blended into the crease, Exorcism blended to deepen the crease, and Amen on the brow bone. 

Look 1: Colourpop Two Birds and Anastasia Beverly Hills Rosette

I think my week started with not really knowing what I wanted to do and feeling bored with everything I had been doing. So I was looking at one of my custom palettes, and I was drawn to this orange-gold shade from Colourpop that was close in the palette to a purple from Anastasia Beverly Hills. I put the colors together, and I was torn all day on how I felt about it. Part of me really liked the color combination, and another part of me couldn't get over how much it just looked like Wario from Super Mario Bros:

I suppose it also looks like the Los Angeles Lakers colors, but Wario was where my mind went. Individually, I love all of the shadows I used (though Colourpop Silver Lining looked a little ashy), but I'm undecided on the final look. 

Look 2: BH Cosmetics Zodiac 

I've talked about this palette before, and my thoughts are still the same. I really like it and am quite impressed with it, especially given its price. This is probably one of the more "boring" looks that I could have done with the palette, but I wore this the day of my medical procedure, so I think I was just looking for something a little low-key. Overall, I think the look came out quite pretty.

Look 3: Fyrinnae Meerkat and Melt Stacks

This was also another look that I didn't quite know how I felt about it while I was wearing it, but when I went back to look at the photos, I realized just how much I liked it. Meerkat is such a pretty color, but it does have quite a bit of glitter in it, which is never something I really like. (Side note, for some reason almost every single look I did this week just had gobs and gobs of fallout all over my face and I had to constantly work to remove it. Clearly I'm doing something wrong.) I decided to pair it with my Frankenstein's Monster Melt Stack, which is a hodgepodge of a few different stacks. I've done a bit more decluttering in recent months, and I decided to consolidate my favorite parts of my Melt Stacks into one stack. The one pictured is all of Rust (because Rust is my absolute favorite) plus Unseen (from Dark Matter) and Love Sick (from Love Sick). Having to do this look over again, I would probably not put Rubbish in the crease and just go in with Love Sick so that the red would be more obvious instead of looking brown.

Look 4: Morphe Jaclyn Hill 

(Please see this post if you have questions about why I own the Morphe Jaclyn Hill palette when I have written an anti-haul post on the product.)

I've used this palette quite a bit since it was gifted to me, especially since I used it for several weeks while traveling, but I had not yet used the "colorful quad" in the palette. There wasn't any specific reason for this; I figured the shadows would be close to identical to the shades from the Juvia's Place Masquerade palette, and I already have those in my collection. But something this week made me want to explore the colorful quad, so this is what I came up with. Overall, I think this look is super pretty, but the shadows are indeed nearly identical to the ones from Masquerade. I feel I should also mention that the shimmer shadows that I put on my lid transferred to the fold of my eye in a way that most shadows don't. I have deep-set eyes, meaning they are not quite hooded but close to it, so part of that is certainly just the way my eyes are (I'm wearing a Natasha Denona shadow today that is doing the same thing), but it is not something that happens regularly, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

Look 5: Kat Von D Saint and Sinner

(Please see this post if you have questions about why I own Saint and Sinner when I have written an anti-haul post on the product.)

In my continued quest to get some looks out of the Saint and Sinner palette, I used it again this week. I've had this palette now for about six or so weeks, and I've used it at least once every week. I just now feel like some of the color combinations are popping out to me as being something potentially interesting. I should also add that I have not yet done a "neutral" or "safe" look with this palette, and that's simply because monochromatic looks or looks that don't have a lot of depth have not been interesting me lately. I've gone through periods where all I've wanted was a sweep of champagne shimmer over my lid, and right now, I just want to throw all the color possible onto my eyes. It's easy for me to think of these more neutral color combinations with this palette, but it has been harder to pair some of the more colorful shades together. But this was my favorite look of the week, and it is one that I think I will come back to for special occasions or nights out. I loved this look, and I even received a compliment on it from a stranger. I've mentioned this before, but the biggest thing I've learned about this palette is that I have to be okay with putting shimmers in my crease. There just are not enough mattes in the palette to be appropriate for all of the different colors. Truthfully, I have started to really enjoy this palette, and I can imagine that it will one that I'm glad that I have, but had I not received it as a gift, I don't think it would have turned into a "one that got away" kind of palette.

This Week's Looks: Makeup Geek, Fyrinnae, Kat Von D, Ardency Inn, and Jouer

You all may remember a couple months ago that I shared I would be having a couple of surgeries and would be a little quiet on the blog front, especially in the "this week's looks" posts. I had the first surgery two months ago and have been in recovery, and I am having the second next week. So this will be my last weekly looks post for a while. I'll post a weekend looks post tomorrow, and that will also be the last for a while. What's nice is that since I'll be off work for some of the recovery time, I'll have more time to write anti-haul posts, which I know are the posts my readers most enjoy. 

In terms of makeup this week, I just wore what I wanted and had some fun because I knew this would be my last week wearing makeup for a while. As always, my weekly looks are more toned down than my weekend looks because of work, but I still feel these looks were a little fun for work. 

Here are five looks I did this week. 

Look 1: Makeup Geek Blacklight

Blacklight on the lid, Colourpop Silver Lining and 143 blended into the crease, and Colourpop Say I Do blended above Silver lining and 143. 

Look 2: Kat Von D Pastel Goth

Clementine on the lid, Meow blended into the crease, Dope padded onto the outer corner, and Skull on the brow bone. 

Look 3: Fyrinnae Serendipity

Serendipity on the lid (over Pixie Epoxy) and Costal Scents Fine Wine blended into the crease. 

Look 4: Ardency Inn Hell 

Hell on the lid and Bobbi Brown Camel blended into the crease.

Look 5: Jouer Skinny Dip and Melt Rust Stack 

Jouer Tan Lines on the inner and outer lid and Skinny Dip on the middle of the lid, Melt Rubbish and Antique blended into the crease, and Melt Classic on the brow bone. 

Makeup Geek Blacklight

Status: Favorite 

I've written about this shadow before, so I will keep this brief. I really love this shadow. It's a blue/purple duochrome (so of course it doesn't show up well in photos) that has the appearance of being a neutral shadow but also colorful and interesting. I paired it with some of my favorite berry/pink shadows, and I think the look came out really pretty. I recently bought some quad palettes because I originally started my makeup collection with quads, and I wanted to see how I felt about having some premade looks. Since this is one of my favorite looks, it made sense to me to create it as a quad (however, the quad pictured has ABH Buon Fresco instead of Colourpop Silver Lining). 

Kat Von D Pastel Goth

Status: Keep, enjoy

Although I have addressed this a few times, inevitably someone will ask why I own this palette since I wrote an anti-haul post on it. I bought this palette as a symbol of solidarity when Kat Von D wrote "No mi presidente" on her Instagram and the post was filled with hate and people saying they would never again purchase from her. This was her newest product out at the time, so I bought it to show support to her as well as all women who were taking a stand. 

Since owning it, I have enjoyed using it, and I use it on a semi-regular basis. But, I still stand behind what I said in that anti-haul post, which is why I have not removed it despite now owning the palette. I have only used it as a companion palette before this look, and I have to say that I really liked how this turned out. But I do wish the shadows were more pigmented. In the photos, the pigment looks really good, but that was after building the shadows up quite a bit. On the lower lash line especially it is nearly impossible to get any of these shadows to show up. But I don't dislike this palette, it is unique to my collection in a lot of ways, and I use it often. So this ended up being a good purchase for me. But I also strongly feel that I had skipped out on this, like I originally intended, I would not be missing out. 

Fyrinnae Serendipity

Status: Favorite

This is also a shadow that I've written about before, so I will keep this short. I LOVE this shadow; it is one of my all-time favorites. When I was first exploring indie shadows, one of my readers said that Serendipity was one of her favorite shadows and that I had to give it a try. I have to say that the swatches I've seen online of this shadow don't do it justice, in my opinion. In swatches, Serendipity looks like a rusty bronze. But on me at least, it's like a dusty golden mauve. It is so pretty. I highly recommend this shade to everyone because it's a neutral shadow but unlike anything else that I have. (It does require Pixie Epoxy, however.)

Ardency Inn Hell 

Status: Keep, for now

This was the first time I wore this shadow, and while I thought it was really pretty, I think it could be a pass for a lot of people. I was sure that I had other colors just like this in my collection, but when I swatched all the ones I thought were duplicate, none of them had the depth of this shadow, especially with the shine that it gives. The closest I have is ABH Brownie, but Hell is much deeper. The only thing is that I don't usually wear colors this deep on the lid. This would be much more of an outer corner color for me, but I already have several deep brown shimmers that could fill that purpose. So, I don't know. This is a gorgeous shadow, but I just don't know how much use I will get out of it. 

Jouer Skinny Dip

Status: Keep

This was my first Jouer purchase, and I have to say that I am unbelievably pleased. I bought this palette in part because I wanted to see how it compared to my Natasha Denona shadows that came from the #9 5-pan palette. The shadows are indeed pretty similar, but the Jouer ones, I think, are prettier and pack a better punch. Plus, the Jouer palette has six shadows for $40, and Natasha Denona has five shadows for $48. The colors were so shiny that it was actually hard to take a photo of them, but I thought the look was just so pretty. I can't wait to wear them again. I paired this look with the Melt Rust Stack, which is one of my all-time favorite palettes of sorts. This is my ideal neutral matte palette, even more than the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye (which has been decluttered from my collection) and the Viseart Neutral Matte (still in my collection). I reach for the Rust Stack above everything else. I've only used Skinny Dip one time, and I'm planning on using again tomorrow. I don't have established thoughts on it since I've only used it once, but I've been very impressed so far.