What I'm Not Buying: Violet Voss Hashtag Palette

Fresh off the heels of the holidays, Violet Voss has released their latest palette, Hashtag. 

And I won't be buying. 

I feel like I maybe should put a disclaimer right at the top that things might get a little petty in this post (#Hashtag). 

When I first saw this palette, I was immediately intrigued by the vibrant color scheme and thought it would fit in nicely with the 2018 Pantone Color of the Year (ultra violet). But that was immediately eclipsed when I learned that this palette's name is Hashtag. That snapped me from my "oooh, pretty colors" trance and put me back in touch with reality and why I'm just not the biggest Violet Voss fan. But we'll get into that in a bit. 

Let's look at the palette:

I've included two pictures here because the palette looks different in both of them, and they are both promotional pictures provided by Violet Voss. In addition to the photos looking different from one another, both pictures (to me) look oversaturated. I wouldn't be surprised if the colors in this palette are actually significantly muted when compared to these photos. 

I would really like to talk about the colors in this palette, but I'm not sure which photo to base my thoughts on. 

The only row that kind of looks the same in both photos is the last row. Otherwise, these look like two different palettes. 

To me, the worst offenders are:

• Fresh (top photo: light pink; bottom photo: cream)
• Sauce (top photo: deeper pink; bottom photo: milk chocolate)
• Savage (top photo: blood orange; bottom photo: light orange)
• No Filter (top photo: bronze/copper; bottom photo: gold)
• Throwback (top photo: copper; bottom photo: darker gold)
• Lit (top photo: cranberry; bottom photo: bronze)
• Vacay (top photo: red; bottom photo: copper)
• FOMO (top photo: gold pink; bottom photo: champagne)
• Living (top photo: violet; bottom photo: light cranberry)

What's curious is that the top photo is the "official" product photo, but the official swatches look like the bottom photo (see below). I believe it's worth noting the discrepancies between these photos, especially since Violet Voss has advertised the palette with both photos. 

Like all Violet Voss palettes, when I look at this one I see a lot of repetition. And for $45, that's unacceptable. That's always one of my biggest gripes with this brand. I don't need three gold shadows. Nor do I need four shimmery purples with very little distinction between them. I feel like Violet Voss often tries to do a gradient with their shadows so that the shadows look different in the pan, but when applied to the eyes, the difference is marginal at best. 

Let's look at swatches:

This swatch picture was also provided by Violet Voss as a promotional picture, and it is shown on the Sephora website alongside this product. This picture also looks oversaturated to me, and like colors in the image have been heavily edited. As I mentioned, these swatches look more like photo 2 above than they do photo one. For example, Fresh looks like a cream instead of a pink, and Sauce looks like a warm brown instead of a deeper pink. 

As a consumer, this is frustrating. Many people like to buy items as they release, and they use these images to gauge if they want to purchase. This swatch photo and the top photo are both on the Sephora website alongside this product, and the colors don't even look that similar. It makes it incredibly difficult to make an informed decision on whether or not to buy when the colors are this off on multiple promotional images. 

When I look at the swatches of this palette, I feel like I see only five distinct colors:

• Cream
• Black
• Red-orange
• Gold
• Violet

I see those colors in different finishes and in slight variation of intensity, but I really only see those colors. This palette contains 20 shadows, so for there to only be five distinct colors is pretty alarming. 

I wrote an anti-haul post on the Urban Decay Naked Heat palette, and I said that one of the reasons I wasn't going to buy it is because all of the colors look the same and I couldn't see myself being able to create more than one or two looks out of it. Several people have written to me saying that they purchased that palette and love it (which is great), but I've also seen it pop up in so many end of the year declutter videos or "Worst Makeup of 2017" videos. And the reasoning people always give about why they are decluttering it is because every single look they try to do ends up looking the same no matter the shades they use. 

I think the exact same thing will happen with Hashtag. Since there are three main color groups (I'm excluding the cream and black since there is only one pan of each color in the palette), I think people will be able to get about three looks out of this. And they will be a purple one, a gold one, and a red-orange one. And even that number of looks can be deceptive since those three colors are very distinct. People may buy the palette, do those three looks, and think the palette is very versatile. But it's not. Because if you use different shadows within the same color schemes, my bet is that you will still come out with the same looks. The cream will be used as a brow bone highlight or as a shade to set eyeshadow primer, and the black will be used to add depth or smoke out a look. And that's it. 

This is something that I see all the time with Violet Voss palettes. They take a general color scheme and repeat the same shades over and over in the palette and then charge a mid-range price for it. This palette costs $45. For 20 eyeshadows, that may seem reasonable when you compare to brands like Urban Decay and Too Faced that charge upwards of $50 for 12 to 15 shades, but you have to keep in mind that these are not exactly 20 unique shades. 

Other palettes with similar color schemes include Huda Beauty Desert Dusk:

And Lorac Desert Sunset:

Other violet-heavy palettes include Natasha Denona Lila:

Ciate London x Chloe Morello Pretty, Fun, and Fearless:

Laura Mercier Artist Palette:

And Viseart Theory Amethyst:

In my own collection, there's BH Cosmetics Zodiac:

I know on the surface Zodiac and Hashtag don't look overwhelmingly similar, but Zodiac has the five general colors that are in Hashtag plus more. This palette is also $22 and is of fantastic quality, which, in my opinion, makes it a better buy than Hashtag. 

And finally, the palette in my collection that most suits this color scheme is my duped Desert Dusk palette:

I was recently put into a situation where I could have been away from the vast majority of my makeup collection for at least six months. That situation didn't come to fruition, but it did make a real-life version of "If you could only have one palette, what would it be?" I cheated because I chose two, and it was my duped Peachy Matte palette and this one. The most ironic thing about it is that out of my entire collection, the two palettes I could not live without are actually a collection of single shadows. 

And I think this is especially appropriate to mention when discussing the Hashtag palette because, as much as Hashtag might have pretty colors that draw you in, I think it would be a much better and cheaper option to buy a few singles instead. I've said a few times in this post that Hashtag is essentially made up of three colors plus a cream and a black, and I think it would be a much wiser decision to just buy three singles in those three colors if you don't already own them. 

That's the other thing—you probably already do own them. When I look at the two promotional photos for this palette, I am actually quite drawn to the color scheme, and I recognize that there is not a palette within my collection that has the exact color scheme. So my brain gets tricked into thinking this is a new and different palette, but the reality is that it's not. It's hard to even say which colors I'm most drawn to as the two promotional photos vary so drastically. I like the colors in photo one more, but I have a feeling the colors in photo two are more true to life. The reality is that I am most drawn to the violet shades in the palette because I have golds, coppers, and cranberries in spades in my collection. But, as you can see from my custom palette above, I also have violets in spades as well. 

My guess is that most people interested in buying this palette are also after the violet and reddish shades. I also assume that those same people have at least one gold, bronze, copper, and cranberry in their collection. And while it might seem tempting to have an entire palette full of those colors, I can guarantee that you don't need that many colors that have so little difference between them. 

To conclude this post, I would like to talk about Violet Voss and some reasons why I am not personally excited to buy from the brand. I will be transparent here and say that I have never owned a Violet Voss palette. I have swatched and worked with Violet Voss palettes, but I have never personally owned one. My opinion of the brand is that I am really stunned that they have somehow ended up in Sephora. When Morphe showed up in select Ulta stores, I wasn't really upset about it. Ulta has always had a solid drugstore makeup section, so I didn't feel like adding Morphe was that much of a stretch. And Violet Voss certainly has prices that put them in the mid-range of brands, so in that sense I can see the move to Sephora. However, I am surprised that Sephora added what I consider to be an overpriced internet/social media brand. 

I was not impressed when I worked with Violet Voss palettes in the past, and the quality reminded me a lot of the original Morphe formula. The shimmer shadows swatched well, but the mattes did not, and the shadows smelled really bad, just like Morphe. The packaging felt cheap, and the palette overall felt extremely overpriced. If Violet Voss charged BH Cosmetics prices, I feel like that would be more appropriate. Even so, I have been more impressed with the BH Zodiac palette than I was with anything from Violet Voss. 

I also very much dislike the "hip, internet lingo" that Violet Voss has adopted in their product names (Holy Grail, Ride or Die, etc), especially since a lot of it is appropriated from Black American culture. 

And that brings me to the pettiest point in this post and also the thing that I hate the most about this palette: the name. 

Hashtag. This palette is called Hashtag. That is the most "How do you do, fellow kids?" marketing I think I've ever seen. 

Hashtag means nothing. Actually, it means that Violet Voss knows that young people use social media and use hashtags. It has absolutely zero relevance to the theme of the palette, the packaging, or the colors inside. It is literally just "a word the young kids say."

And for me, this kind of marketing is a major turnoff. And it's not just because that marketing is definitely not targeted at me. It's because that marketing is lazy. "Holy Grail" at least kind of made sense, because the palette was full of red shadows and it came out when those colors were just starting to be on trend. "Ride or Die" also kind of made sense, because the palette was huge and filled with every neutral color (repeated five times over), and so could be seen as the one palette people would ever really need. But Hashtag? That doesn't mean anything within the context of this palette. 

As of right now, I can't see myself owning a Violet Voss palette any time soon. That's not to say that it will never happen, but I have not been impressed with the quality, especially for the price, from what I have personally seen thus far. Hashtag leaves a lot to be desired, from the name, to accurate and consistent promotional pictures, to a variety of colors or at least distinction between shadows in the same color families. While I'm excited to see what kind of palettes will be inspired by the ultra violet Pantone Color of the Year, I'm just not interested in this palette. Hopefully Violet Voss (and Morphe for that matter) will learn that consumers don't want to see the same few colors repeated over and over in the same palette.

What appeals to me most about this palette are colors that I already own, that are likely of better quality. There's nothing about Hashtag that I need, and I won't be buying.

What I'm Not Buying: Violet Voss Matte About You Palette

Violet Voss's newest release, Matte About You, is a 20-pan matte eyeshadow palette. 

And I won't be buying. 

Violet Voss is a brand that continues to frustrate me. And I know that might sound repetitive as many brands have been frustrating me as of late. But the reason I feel frustrated is because of releases like this palette. This is a 20-pan palette from a brand that already has pretty high price tags, especially considering that they are an "Instagram brand" and are consistently reviewed by non-biased reviewers as mediocre. What's frustrating—other than the mediocre quality—is that the brand explains that the high price tag is because there are so many shadows.

I imagine this will be similarly priced to the Holy Grail palette, which is $45 plus shipping. But here's the thing. You're not getting 20 eyeshadows. You are getting about 7. Maybe. From what I can tell, there is a white, cream, peach, black, warm brown, cool brown, and darker brown. That's it, folks. And that means that nearly two-thirds of shadows in this palette are repeats. And that's incredibly disappointing.

Let's look at swatches provided by Violet Voss:

Now, I've mentioned this before, but nearly all brand-provided swatches are manipulative. This happens across the board because no brand is going to ever actually advertise that their products are not that great. However, it's important to keep in mind because it's easy to see swatches and think something is good. In the above photo, I would say that it looks like the shadows have been applied in several thick layers. This is especially obvious in the shadows toward the person's wrist as they look quite chunky from all the laters of product. And here's the thing. You don't wear mattes like that. Yes, people can wear mattes all over the lid, but on the whole, most mattes are used as blending colors. And when you blend shadows, you don't pile them on. So these kind of swatches aren't really helpful whatsoever. They are just trying to get people to look at it and say, "PIGMENTATION!" Even if that means achieving that look by applying layers of product. 

Looking at the above photo, you can also tell that several of the shadows are repeats. For example, the second and fourth shadows from the left look the same; the fifth and sixth shadows look the same and look quite similar to the first shadow, and the last two up by the wrist look the same. On the eye, I very much assume that the third shadow looks like the second and fourth as well and that the seventh looks like eight and nine.

I'm gonna make this easy on you. I'm going to show you how to build your own Matte About You palette.

Let's look at the palette again, but in different lighting:

You can make this entire palette with:

Wet N Wild Brulee:

Makeup Geek Creme Brule:

Photo: Temptalia 

Makeup Geek Frappe:

Makeup Geek Corrupt:

Photo: Temptalia

Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear:

Photo: Temptalia 

And Anastasia Beverly Hills Fudge:

Photo: Temptalia 

And that's it. That's the entire Matte About You palette. 

What I really can't understand is why Violet Voss thinks it's totally okay to sell an expensive palette with so few distinct shadows in it. 

In a similar price range, the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye totally beats this palette in every way:

Photo: Temptalia 

This is the palette Matte About You wants to be. This palette covers the entire neutral spectrum without having repeat shades. Every color in here feels distinct and like it was chosen carefully. 

Similarly, there's Viseart Neutral Matte:

Photo: Temptalia 

I have both, and of the two, I would advocate for purchasing Shade and Light Eye if you are currently considering Matte About You. While I think the Viseart quality may be a touch nicer than Kat Von D, the difference to me is nominal. Both are fantastic palettes and are a much, much better buy than the Violet Voss. 

Thing is, matte palettes had their moment a few years ago. So many brands came out with a matte palette, and on the whole I'd say the Kat Von D and Viseart are considered the best. So I find it super weird that Violet Voss would come out with a matte palette that not only offers nothing new to the conversation; is as expensive as palettes from brands sold at Sephora, Ulta, and department stores; and isn't available at any of those places to be able to try, but the palette is also the same colors repeated over and over and over. I just honestly cannot see a good reason to make this purchase. 

It reminds me of Becca Ombre Nudes:

In the sense that there's not a ton of variety between shadows. 

It's also similar to Lorac Pro Matte:

Except the Lorac palette has a pink and burgundy shade. 

For cheaper alternatives, there's the Too Faced Natural Matte:

Photo: Temptalia

And Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye quad in Rust:

Photo: Temptalia 

I honestly feel any of the above palettes would be a better option than Matte About You because the quality on all of them is likely to be better and you will have the opportunity to swatch the product in store and see if it is something you will like. Finally, for the exception of Ombre Nudes, all of the palettes have a distinct color scheme that isn't just repeating the same few colors over and over. 

And if you already have any of the above palettes, which I suspect you do, you absolutely do not need Matte About You. The thing with matte palettes is that, especially when the color scheme is neutral, once you have one, you really have all that you need. I learned that the hard way with Shade and Light Eye and Viseart Neutral Matte. And if you have a collection of matte singles from MAC, Makeup Geek, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Costal Scents, etc. you really don't need an additional repetitive matte palette. 

I've heard people say before that you can never have too many mattes, but the truth is that, yes, you can. Especially when you have too many of the same matte shades. In my own collection, through palettes and singles, I have more mid-tone browns and peaches than one person could ever go through. And it took me forever to see that I was buying the same colors over and over. 

If you have a few matte shadows but are drawn to the warm browns in Matte About You, pick up Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear for $6. If you are really drawn to the dark browns, look at ABH Fudge or comparable colors from MAC or Makeup Geek for even less. My point is, it is highly unlikely that you are missing all seven colors that are in this palette. And it would be a much smarter decision to instead buy the one or two shadows that you're drawn to or are missing from your collection than buying this overpriced palette. 

And I will dispel another rumor while I'm at it, and that is the excuse that everyone gives themselves that a palette like this will be "perfect for travel." First, let me ask you how often you travel. Because the majority of people on YouTube who talk about needing travel-specific makeup items actually travel quite a bit due to being an "influencer." Many of them travel frequently for various business purposes, and because of that, their perception on travel is skewed. Most makeup consumers are not within this demographic and do not travel all that often. The second question I'll ask is how many times you have been traveling that you have honestly felt disadvantaged due to not having a matte eyeshadow palette with you. My guess is that you have experienced that very little, if at all. If you have a custom palette, you can pop your matte singles in there. If you have pretty much any popular neutral palette, you have suitable mattes in there that will get you through the few days of your trip. You don't need to spend close to $50 to fulfill that excuse. 

Honestly, there's not really anything that I find redeeming about this palette. There's nothing new that it brings to the table that you can't get for better or cheaper in a different product that is easier to access. I don't even think that this product would be great for makeup artists (who would run out of mattes quicker than non-makeup artists and could use several of the same shades) because I don't think the quality of these shadows matches the price tag. Much like the Too Faced Natural Love palette, the only thing this palette really brings to the conversation is that it has 20 eyeshadows. That's it. And, frankly, that's not worth anything to me. There are better matte palettes out there, end of story. There are palettes of better quality at the same price as well as palettes for much less money. It's just too late in the game for a brand to come out with a palette like this and expect people to be tricked into thinking it's great. It's not innovative, it's not interesting, and it is overpriced for the quality. And I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Violet Voss Ride Or Die Palette

Internet brand Violet Voss will soon release the "Ride or Die" palette, which has an entirely over the top and unnecessary 42 shadows. 

And I won't be buying. 

As a disclaimer, I am angry today. And I suspect I will be angry for a long time. I didn't put up a post yesterday because it was a horrendous day for me. This is a blog about makeup, not politics, and I'm certainly not inviting any discussion on the topic. But I am in a foul mood as a result of Tuesday's election. So you will have to forgive if some of that anger seeps out into this post about this ridiculous eyeshadow palette that no one needs or wants or voted for... err... never mind. 

Violet Voss as a brand is overpriced. I have seen enough reviews of the shadows to know they are of Morphe quality (which is "meh" at best) with double the price tag. They choose trendy colors and use YouTube lingo in their names to appeal to people enamored with the YouTube beauty community. And they use hype tactics to drum up interest in their palettes before giving useful details such as pricing and release date information. 

First, this image surfaced:

And I find this really, really obnoxious. Wow! So helpful! Thanks so much for a picture of your EMPTY new palette. So excited! 

NO. 

This tells me that you are making a new palette. Great. Good for you. So is every other brand. I don't need to see an empty palette to know something is in the works. This is simply a tactic to get people excited, even when they have literally no idea what they are getting excited for. 

Then this image surfaced:

Ooo! Extra helpful! A picture of the packaging! Thanks so much for telling me what the outside of the palette will look like! Getting so, so excited!!

Again. No. 

This tells me your product has packaging. Awesome. 

And then these:

I truthfully have no idea if these images were released one at a time or all at once, but it seems pretty deliberate to not provide a picture of the full palette. 

Nonetheless, this is what the palette looks like minus the cranberry shades shown above:

And you know what I see? About, what? 15 or so distinct colors. And those colors repeated several times over until you get 42 shadows. 

Some colors (like the silver-gray on the far left, the matte browns on the bottom of column 3, and the entire row of golds) look like the exact color has just been put in a couple or more times. 

These are not 42 distinct colors! And because of that, you really don't need this palette. 

At the time that I am writing this post, there is no price listed for this palette or a release date. Violet Voss has just said—which is so helpful—"coming soon." But based on the price of the "Holy Grail" palette, which retails for $45 with $6+ shipping for 20 shadows, "Ride or Die" is likely pretty expensive. 

But you won't be paying for a unique palette, a high quality palette, or a diverse palette. Hell, you're not even paying for a palette with completely different shades. This is the McDonalds Supersize fries of eyeshadow palettes. And you definitely don't need it. 

Here are some similar palettes:

The Morphe 35O is the closest in color selection, shade range, and number of eyeshadows. And it's also similar in quality. Except the Morphe palette is $23. 

This also looks like the Naked palette:

And the Lorac Pro:

And the Chocolate Bar:

And the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar:

And the Lime Crime Venus:

And the Modern Renaissance:

Even their own Holy Grail:

Chances are, no matter what eyeshadow palette or collection of singles that you have in your makeup collection, you have something that already replicates this palette. And if not, if you are a total beginner and are excited by the possibility of having a lot of shadows to play with, the "Ride or Die" is still a bad purchase. It will be expensive for shadows that repeat themselves. You would be much better off buying any of the palettes listed above or purchasing a few select singles from MAC or Makeup Geek. 

I may be in the minority here, but I find the name of this palette obnoxious. It is my understanding that the term "Ride or Die" gained popularity in the YouTube beauty community specifically (not outside of it) because it was a phrase mega popular YouTube personality Jaclyn Hill used frequently. Jaclyn Hill also created the immensely popular "Ride or Die Tag," where people discussed their absolute favorite products from each makeup category. 

Few YouTube personalities using this term while applying makeup understand that it became popularized in hip hop and predominately black culture. The term was originally "ride or die chick," referring to a woman who "stands by her man" in the vein of Bonnie and Clyde. I find it—complicated—that white people are appropriating black culture and African American Vernacular English so heavily in the YouTube makeup community. 

It annoyed me when Violet Voss named their other successful palette the "Holy Grail" palette as well. The terms "Holy Grail" and "Ride or Die" to most people who watch YouTube makeup videos mean "absolute best" or "most favorite." Calling your palettes these names tells me that you think your palette will be the "absolute best" palette in my collection. I find that cocky and a little ridiculous since the quality is "meh" at best. 

Violet Voss preys off customers susceptible to hype by providing "sneak peaks" of their products that don't actually contain any information. The tactic is to get people so excited, so afraid that they will miss out if they don't buy a product immediately, that they already make up their minds on buying it before they even see the product. And more importantly, they decide they are going to buy it before they even know the price. And I don't want any part of that. The "Ride or Die" palette is excessive and promises so much and offers nothing. It's the Donald Trump of eyeshadow palettes. And I won't be buying.