What I'm Not Buying: Anastasia Beverly Hills Master Palette by Mario

Makeup Artist Mario Dedivanovic, whose most famous client is Kim Kardashian, has collaborated with Anastasia Beverly Hills to create this limited edition eyeshadow palette with shadows named after the most influential women and places in his life. 

And I won't be buying. 

I have to confess that this has been the most challenging product for me to resist in months. As it released, I had some serious fear of missing out. I know this is going to go fast, I know it is going to receive great reviews, and I know the hype will be unimaginable once those reviews start rolling in. 

But I don't need this palette. And this palette represents the problems I've had with being able to resist hype and being a conscious, smart shopper. 

Here are the reasons I want this palette: 

• Unlike Anastasia Beverly Hill's most recent palette launch, Modern Renaissance, the Master Palette by Mario has primarily shimmer shadows. This was the first reason it was appealing to me. While I love mattes, at this point, I already have more than enough in my collection, and in order for me to be able to create a variety of eye looks, I need shimmers. 

• The palette is cohesive and expertly curated. I feel like this is an obvious statement as a makeup artist created it, but this palette feels perfect in its coordination of colors. There is not a single shadow that feels out of place, or a shadow that I think I would need to pull from other palettes to make work. This palettes houses everything. 

• Anastasia Beverly Hills has a fantastic formula that is often raved about. So even if the colors in this palette aren't the most unique, the formula is bound to be really wonderful, and I often get caught up in wanting the colors I love (and already own) in a variety of formulas. 

• The colors look like they would flatter a variety of skin tones, potentially even favoring darker skin tones. And that is thrilling to me. I have gotten major fatigue from all the products catering to light skin, so seeing a palette that deviates from this is really exciting.

But, as I said, I am not going to buy this palette. And here's why:

When I look at swatches of the Master Palette by Mario, I'm just not that excited. And it's because I already own this palette. I have owned this palette since I first became interested in makeup seven years ago. I owned this palette when I bought Urban Decay's Naked palette right as it launched, and then owned it again when I bought Urban Decay's Naked 2. I owned this palette when I bought Too Faced's Chocolate Bar. I owned this palette when I bought the Lorac Pro 2. And guess what? I have decluttered all four of those palettes because I just have so many of these shades. 

I think what's happening here is the "cheerleader effect" or the more feminist-friendly "group attractiveness effect." When I look at all the shades together, this palette is just so cohesive and beautiful. But when I break it down and look at each individual shade, there doesn't seem to be anything special there. 

This became especially clear when I looked at the eyeshadow pigments, outside of the packaging and presentation. 

There is just nothing here that I am exceptionally excited by. Yes, they are pretty colors, but I have every single shade here. 

The final thing to mention is the formula. Modern Renaissance was my first experience with an Anastasia Beverly Hills palette, and formula reminded me a lot of the Lorac Pro formula. I really loved Lorac's shimmer shadows, but the mattes fell a little flat for me. They were so soft, so airy, that I found them difficult to work with. I needed some substance to them to work over my specific skin type, and since they lacked that, the colors all blended together and looked really muddy. The same happened with Modern Renaissance. And since that palette was primarily mattes, there was no reason for me to keep it. I didn't like the formula of the majority of the palette. 

It's also worth noting that I wasn't crazy about the Anastasia Beverly Hills's shimmer formula either. It was okay, but the colors were not as deep and complex as some of my other shadows. So, while it was exciting for me to think of an Anastasia Beverly Hills palette primarily made up of shimmers, I have a feeling that after all the hype dies down, I would be left feeling a little let down by this palette. 

As for the popular palettes that I think most resemble the Master Palette by Mario--Urban Decay Naked, Naked 2, Too Faced Chocolate Bar, and Lorac Pro 2--the reason I decluttered all of these from my collection was because I had variations of all the shadows in different palettes or singles that I liked more. 

So, if you're on the fence about the Master Palette by Mario, I would encourage you to look at the palettes in your own collection, especially if you have any of those four, and really evaluate if you are just wanting to buy more of what you already have. 

Urban Decay Naked

Urban Decay Naked 2

Too Faced Chocolate Bar

Lorac Pro 2

For me, I have all of these colors in two of my favorite palettes--Viseart Sulty Muse and Viseart Paris Nudes. 

Sultry Muse

Paris Nudes

Yes, the Viseart palettes are $80 each, so buying the Master Palette by Mario (at $45) would be significantly less expensive. But I really love the Viseart formula, and they are some of my absolute favorite eyeshadows. Between these two palettes and my many matte shadows, I certainly have the entire spectrum of the Master Palette by Mario covered. 

So, I'm afraid I'm going to have to sit this one out and let the hype wash over me. I'll watch the glowing reviews pour in and hear every reviewer tell me that I "need" this palette. But it would honestly not be a smart purchase for me. I have so many great eyeshadows that I love, and there's really not much point in bringing in more, especially if it's more of the same. And because of that, I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Huda Beauty Textured Shadows Palette

Huda Beauty, primarily known for their eyelashes, has recently released an 18-pan eyeshadow palette, known as the "Rose Gold edition." 

And I won't be buying. 

I think there's a lot to like about this palette and a lot to like about the brand. Huda Beauty is an incredibly influential beauty blog, and the cosmetics line started with lashes and has broken many records in Sephora Middle East. The way this brand has progressed is really inspiring to me, and it has culminated in this very hot and hyped eyeshadow palette. 

And yes, absolutely, it looks gorgeous. 

These colors look amazing, and this palette would be right up my alley. The shadows are talc-free, which is a nice detail, and the palette contains 6 "3D metal" shadows, 2 "chromatic pressed pearl" shadows, and 10 matte shadows. There seems to be a lot of variety here, and the colors look like they will work for a true variety of skin tones instead of catering to lighter skin. 

So, why am I not buying it? There are a few reasons. My main reason is cost and availability. This palette (like so many products from internet brands) sold out very quickly and was accompanied with a website crash. I can't imagine there will ever be a makeup product that I am willing to go through that amount of stress just to own. 

This palette also retails for $65. That's really steep. Shipping to the US is $20, or there is free shipping over $75. So I would have to spend at least $75 on this. That's a ton of money for a brand's first ever eyeshadow palette.

I recognize that this price would be lower for customers in the Middle East, and high shipping costs are just part of being an international shopper. However, for me personally, that price is too steep for a product that I can't try personally and haven't seen any reviews for. 

My other main reason for not purchasing this palette is because, while I could see myself using the entire thing, I am really only excited by half of it. 

And that's the top half, full of the "3D metal" finishes and that bright, gorgeous pink matte:

If I could just have those shades (for a significantly cheaper price) I would have been much more interested in purchasing. 

And again, while I would use the matte shades, I already have so many in my collection that these would be really redundant: 

And for a price as steep as $75, I would need to be excited to use the entire palette, not just half of it. 

I'm interested to see reviews of this palette, especially because (as I've mentioned before) swatches that come directly from the brand can be really deceptive. The colors are usually layered onto the skin and don't really give an accurate depiction of how the colors would look and perform on the eye. This is especially noticeable in matte swatches as the colors would typically not be so opaque on the eye. 

This palette reminds me a lot of the Violet Voss Holy Grail palette ($45):

As well as the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette (which I returned) ($42):

As I've mentioned previously, my thirst for berry eyeshadows is quenched by the Lime Crime Venus palette, which has been in my collection for a long time. 

I'll keep my eye on Huda Beauty and this palette, and see if it makes it to Sephora, like their lashes and lip products. If it does, it would be interesting to see how the palette is priced. In the meantime, I simply don't need another palette, especially one where I have no idea of the quality, can't swatch in store, and one that I am really only excited by half the shades. The palette is simply too expensive for that, and I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Dose of Colors Eyescream palette

Dose of Colors, noted mostly for their extremely popular liquid lipsticks, has released a limited edition eyeshadow palette, full of beautiful pastel and ice cream-inspired shadows. 

And I won't be buying. 

This is cute palette. The theme is cute, the colors are cute, the inside of the palette is cute, and the outside is cute. 

And I would be lying if I said the packaging didn't draw me in a little here. As an ice cream lover, yes, I would love to have delightful ice cream cones somewhere in my makeup collection. But as cute as it is, I don't need it. 

I will immediately give credit to Dose of Colors for making the layout of this palette so enticing after their last palette, Hidden Treasure, was such an eyesore. 

I get that the theme of Hidden Treasure was a treasure box, and the shadows were supposed to be gems scattered in the box, but the entire thing was a miss for me. And this is a prefect example of bad packaging keeping me from buying an item. These colors are all right up my alley, and when this launched, I probably would have purchased had the layout not been so dizzying. 

Eyescream in contrast is really lovely to look at. Another positive that I can give this palette is the color selection. Unlike most of everything that is releasing right now, this one seems unique. It doesn't look like what we've seen over and over. 

When I saw the swatches, I was especially enthused. They seem to have great color payoff, and the variety is really exciting. But, I find that most swatches, especially when they come from the brand, can be really deceiving. The colors are almost certainly swatched over primer and done with a finger instead of a brush (both which really make the shadows look more intense than reality) and the swatches are likely several layers of product. I find this especially true about the matte cream and matte tan shades. Those colors are swatched so heavily here, but they would never be applied to the eye with that intensity. 

The reviews of this palette have been generally positive, with many people mentioning that the cuteness of the packaging makes it a "keepsake" as well. This is so interesting to me and something it seems a lot of brands are starting to exploit. Yes, it's an added bonus to have beautiful packaging, but it seems (especially in palettes released for this year's holidays) brands are thinking they can skimp on the quality of the actual product as long as the packaging is beautiful and enticing as a "keepsake."

But the reason I'm passing on this palette is because of the price. This is $50 for ten shadows. That seems pretty high to me, especially considering this isn't a brand that is sold in stores where people can swatch and check out the quality in person. The cost puts this in the same range as Urban Decay, Too Faced, Kat Von D, Tarte, Anastasia Beverly Hills, etc. However, those palettes have more shadows and are sold in stores. 

With the cost in mind, I have to look at this palette objectively and really evaluate how many shades I would use, and how often. I love the mint/blue shadow, but I know I would get very little use out of it. Same goes with the gorgeous lavender shade. The gold isn't the kind of gold that I like to wear, and it looks like I have better quality shadows already in that exact shade. The two browns look really similar to me, and I doubt I could tell much difference between them on the eye. They also aren't that inspiring to me, and I wouldn't want to pair them with the pink or lavender shades. 

That leaves the obvious matte cream and tan shades, as well as the rose gold, of which I already have an endless amount. Then there's the light and dark pink shades. And those are the shades I really love from this palette and the ones I would be most excited for. But I already own Too Faced's Chocolate Bon Bons palette, which has three pink shades; the Lime Crime Venus palette, which is full of berry shades; the shadows left from my Morphe 35T palette, which are very pinky/rosy; and two pink Kiko singles. So, I'm clearly not hurting for pink shades. 

If this palette was cheaper and available to swatch in store, I think there's enough positives with Eyescream to make it enticing. However, for an internet brand that is somewhat new to the scene, I do think this palette is too expensive. And I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Too Faced and Kat Von D Better Together

We've seen cosmetics brands collaborate with a celebrity, and we've seen collaborations with "influencers" or YouTube personalities, but the Better Together collaboration between Too Faced and Kat Von D is the first I can recall of two cosmetic brands collaborating together. 

But I won't be buying. 

When I first hear about this collaboration, I was so excited. As I've mentioned before, Kat Von D's Shade and Light Eye palette is one of my all-time favorites, and I also really love the Monarch palette as well as her metal crush eyeshadows. Too Faced I can sometimes be a little iffy about, but I can't deny that above all other brands, they probably excite the beauty community the most with their upcoming launches. 

I couldn't wait to see what these two major players in the beauty community were going to come up with, and after seeing the packaging in the above photo, I got even more excited. While in general I'm not entirely excited by heart-shaped things, I do quite like the aesthetic of pink and black, gold and silver. 

But when I saw the inside, all my excitement quickly dissipated. 

As far as the actual shadows... I don't know. I guess I just feel a little bored? There certainly aren't any interesting colors here, and the color scheme on the whole doesn't feel very cohesive. I don't see the point in having three gray/black shades (two in the Kat Von D side, one in the Too Faced side), two shimmery taupe shades, and two white/cream shades. It almost feels as though the creators didn't actually collaborate with each other to think of how to make colors unique to each brand and also cohesive overall. 

This palette also leans far too cool for me and my tastes. I hardly ever use gray or black shadows, and I would have no crease or transition colors here. I would therefore need to pull in another palette to get some peachy and warm tones. I also wouldn't get much use out of the red shade, and for the shades I would use, I already have several duplicates in my collection. 

Another negative, and this is a pet peeve of mine, but booking at this palette, there is so much wasted space. I already wasn't a huge fan of the heart-shaped design, and this packaging is just way too bulky for the amount of shadows inside. 

Apparently each side of the heart is its own palette and then they click or magnetize together to make the complete heart. Having the two parts break apart is slightly better for storage, but there is still just too much bulk. 

Looking at the individual sections, this palette feels even less impressive and interesting. The entire thing just looks and feels so impractical. I have a hard time imagining that people would want to continually put the pieces of the palette together just to use it. Also, with the letters that the creators have written to each other, why is that part of the palette? It seems to be the kind of thing to be included on a card with other information that can be throw away.  

It's worth mentioning that the collection comes with several other items in addition to the eyeshadow palette, including Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner and Too Faced's Better Than Sex mascara. Too Faced blushes and highlighters and Kat Von D lip products are also part of the collection. 

But to me, this entire collection feels less like makeup products and more like a gimmick. Yet again--and I feel I've been saying this a lot with this season's makeup releases--the packaging is far more interesting and beautiful than the actual product. It's easily the best part here. 

Based on both brands' holiday releases, where there has been much to be desired in terms of quality, I am even less interested in this collection. Better Together is being released after Christmas, so I'm not sure if it qualifies as part of the brands' holiday releases or if it is just a limited edition item. Too Faced's holiday releases are historically of inferior quality to their permanent line, and Kat Von D's holiday release this year has not had great reviews. Unfortunately, it seems the quality control issues the Kat Von D brand has been plagued with are still present. Because of this and the gimmicky nature of this release, I don't see how the quality would be equal to the best items in both brands' lines. If I had to make a guess, I would say the quality is likely to be in the "meh" range. Not the worst, but certainly not noteworthy. 

This collection just feels like a heavy disappointment to me. And it also feels like a missed opportunity. Both brands are so hot right now and have so much attention on them, and I think this could have been far more exciting. 

The only reason I could see in people getting this collection is if they are a huge fan of both brands and would like some of the packaging as a collector's item. Personally, I don't collect makeup just to have it. I like to love and use everything that I have. But I know there are many people who do collect makeup, and for them, this could be unique and exciting. 

For other people who are interesting in sampling each brand and who were somewhat interested in the color scheme, I would recommend Too Faced's Chocolate Bon Bons palette:

 And Kat Von D's Metal Crush eyeshadows: 

Photo: Temptalia 

I think the quality of both of these products are the best each brand has to offer, and money would be better spent toward these products than the Better Together collaboration. 

The Better Together palette had a lot of promise, but it just fell flat for me, and I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Kylie Cosmetics The Bronze Palette | Kyshadow

As a makeup enthusiast, I have been fascinated by the growth and hysteria (not even hype) surrounding Kylie Cosmetics. This was the first time I had ever seen people set alarms on their phones for a makeup release, refresh their browser as if once-in-a-lifetime concert tickets were on the line, and then see an entire stock of product sell out within minutes. 

And I have to say, as controversial as this statement might be, I think all the hype has to do with mega-famous Kylie Jenner and not at all about the quality of the items. 

So, when Kylie Cosmetics released a Kyshadow palette, I was less than impressed. 

And I won't be buying. 

This eyeshadow palette features nine fairly basic neutral shadows. They are so basic that I have every single one of these colors in my collection already, a few times over. In fact, the only thing that I find even a little bit interesting about this palette is the box it comes in. 

Now that is some cool and beautiful packaging that I haven't seen before. 

But that's about as far as my interest toward this palette goes. 

What I can say is that I think the selection of colors here (again, not this exact palette) would be great for a beginner who doesn't yet have any staple neutral shadows. Considering most of Kylie's fanbase is younger, I think the color selection here makes a lot of sense. 

But I think this palette is too expensive for what it is. 

The Bronze Kyshadow palette costs $42 before shipping, which is a whopping $8.95 for domestic and $14.95 for international. 

I'm sorry, WHAT?? That means this palette is $51 for anyone in the US and $57 for international buyers. And without even touching these shadows, I can tell you that price is exorbitant. 

The Kyshadow palette has been compared a lot to the BH Cosmetics Shaaanxo palette, which features nine eyeshadows and nine lip colors. 

Shaaanxo palette

Photo: Glamupgirls

Comparing the two palettes, there are similar colors, but I would not say they look the same (color-wise) by any means. But, the layout of the packaging does look exactly the same, which looks pretty inexpensive. 

For reference, the Shaaanxo palette (which includes the nine lip colors as well) is $12.50 before shipping. That price difference is pretty steep. 

Reviews of the Kyshadow formula have not been generally favorable. The quality seems to be comparable to BH Cosmetics and Morphe, whose prices are considerably cheaper. 

It is also worth noting that the Kyshadow palette does not come with a mirror, which is uncommon for a palette with such a high price tag. Yes, the packaging has a really pretty design on the box and on the front of the palette, but it is still made of thin cardboard and is not very substantial. 

When thinking about palettes with a similar color scheme, the first that came to mind (obviously) was the Morphe 35O palette. 

The Morphe palette includes 35 shadows, likely of comparable quality to the Kyshadow palette, for $23. 

In my own collection, I found a few palettes that have similar color schemes, all for similar or lower prices. They are:

Kat Von D Monarch palette (discontinued). This was $46. 

Zoeva Cocoa Blend. I paid around $35 including shipping from Germany to the US. 

Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly palette. This is $36. 

Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye palette. This is $46.

For the exception of the Too Faced palette, all of these palettes contained more shadows than the Kyshadow palette and were around the same price. And I can guarantee that the quality of all of these palettes is better. 

But, the one thing I cannot take away from the Kyshadow palette is that it has Kylie Jenner's name on it. And for some people, that name means everything. When I was younger, if my favorite celebrity came out with an eyeshadow palette (or anything, really) I would have purchased it in a heartbeat (as long as my parents let me, ha) no matter the quality. I wouldn't have cared at all if it was the best thing on Earth or the worst. My fandom would have blinded me to it all. So, I definitely understand that aspect of this brand. 

But, for people who are drawn to these colors, I hope they can see that there are many other options out there for either less money or much better quality. And for me, I have grown out of that phase in life when I am blinded by fandom, and I can evaluate products objectively and based on quality. This palette is just way too basic and expensive for what it is, and I have better things in my collection. So, I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Urban Decay Full Spectrum Palette

 

Urban Decay just announced a new eyeshadow palette to be released this holiday season along with the (somewhat boring and uninspiring) Naked Ultimate Basics palette. 

And like the Ultimate Basics, I won't be buying. 

Urban Decay is having an interesting moment right now. They're releasing a lot of things. They came out with the enormous Vice lipstick line and Moondust palette, just came off a collaboration with Gwen Stefani (that included an eyeshadow palette, blush palette, lip products and brow products), had the Alice Through the Looking Glass palette, the Ultimate Basics palette, and now this. 

The thing is, I really can't remember the last time Urban Decay came out with a palette that was both hyped and celebrated. Naked 3 was pretty big, but as time has passed, a lot of people have remarked that they don't like that palette too much because it requires a pretty specific skin tone and eye color to be really flattering. Naked Smokey wasn't a huge success. Last year's Spectrum palette as well as the Gwen Stefani palette went on major sale to get rid of stock. The Alice palette (which is also limited edition) is still currently in stock as well, months after its launch. 

Personally, I no longer own any Urban Decay palettes, and I doubt I ever will again. In the past, I have owned: Naked, Naked 2, Naked 3, Naked Basics, and Gwen Stefani. I decluttered all of them because I just don't like the Urban Decay formula. These shadows have so much fallout and many are packed with glitter. I find the shadows to be pretty dry when compared to some of my favorite formulas, and I've never been a fan of their matte shadows. 

But, I will say, as soon as I saw the first pictures of the Full Spectrum palette, I was immediately drawn in by the colors. 

And it instantly reminded me of Kat Von D's very coveted holiday 2015 palette, Mi Vida Loca Remix. 

If the Mi Vida Loca Remix palette was still available, that would get my overall vote because of the different finishes (matte, shimmer, and satin) as well as the inclusion of neutral shades. Since the Full Spectrum palette will only have shimmery shadows, the Mi Vida Loca is a more cohesive and comprehensive palette, but it is no longer available. And people who missed out on it will probably be thrilled for the Full Spectrum palette, which also offers more practical packaging than the Mi Vida Loca.

Personally, as much as I love looking at these bright, beautifully colorful palettes, I know that I would little to no use out of them. That is why I passed on the Mi Vida Loca last year. I considered it several times, but knew it wouldn't be a smart purchase. And honesty, I have never regretted not having it. 

My two most colorful palettes are the Juvia's Place Nubian 2 and the Viseart Dark Mattes: 

 

Although these are not the most colorful palettes--and certainly don't look like the Full Spectrum palette--they completely satisfy any and all need and want for color in my collection. 

But for those very unlike me who would love to have a colorful eyeshadow palette, there might be some other considerations to keep in mind when thinking about the Full Spectrum palette. 

The first is cost. The Full Spectrum palette will cost $58, which is a very typical price for a palette this size from Urban Decay. Still, $58 is expensive for an eyeshadow palette that may not have the best quality. And that's the second thing to consider. 

Urban Decay feels very hit or miss lately, leaning more toward misses. The Gwen Stefani, Alice, and Naked Ultimate Basics palettes have not received unanimously glowing reviews. They all seem to fall into "meh" territory, where they are not bad necessarily, but they are not great either. For some people, "meh" is perfectly acceptable, especially when they are fans of the brand, but for $58, I personally want better quality than that. 

The Full Spectrum palette also reminds me quite a bit of the Alice Through the Looking Glass palette (still for sale). 

18 shadows in the Full Spectrum palette are said to be new to Urban Decay, and three shades are repeats, including two (Hatter and Metamorphosis) from the Alice palette. It concerns me that two of the shades are the same from the Alice palette because I wonder if the quality with be the same as well, which was lackluster. 

I think everyone always has high hopes when a new makeup item is released, but unfortunately, it seems as though Urban Decay's quality has slightly slipped as of late. I would hope the quality of the Full Spectrum palette would be different, but it's hard to say with confidence. 

For a less expensive palette that has received mainly positive reviews, I would recommend Juvia's Place Masquerade palette. 

Although it doesn't cover the "full spectrum" of colors like the Urban Decay palette, there are certainly some nice, bright, beautiful colors in here. I've been really impressed with my Nubian 2 palette, so I imagine the quality of the Masquerade palette is the same. 

The Full Spectrum palette is really going to boil down to personal preference. If you love color and have been salivating for the Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix palette, this might be an excellent addition to your collection. If, like me, you don't wear color too often, this palette might be an easy pass. I am hopeful that Urban Decay improves the overall quality of their shadows and that this is a nice offering, but I won't be buying. 

What I'm Not Buying: Marc Jacobs About Last Night Style Eye-Con No. 20 Palette Holiday 2016

Marc Jacobs has come out with another $99 holiday palette, and although I think it's beautiful, I won't be buying. 

Actually, scratch that. I think most of it is beautiful, or perhaps my eye is drawn to the shades I think are beautiful and I'm ignoring the rest. But upon first look, there are at least five shades in here that I would never use, which makes the high price tag hard to swallow. 

So, this is something that I struggle with. I see colors I like and colors that will complement my skin, and I'm immediately drawn to it and start wanting it. The hype builds and builds, and somehow, the rest of my collection slips out of my mind and I think I can't do makeup without this one product. 

But here's the thing. I know these colors will look good on my skin because I already have them. And at this point, I have tried nearly everything, so there really isn't ever going to be a collection of colors I haven't tried or owned. 

Another really important factor to consider when buying a palette is how much use you'll get out of it as well as how much use you'll get out of each shade. I know that sounds obvious, but when the hype train in strong, I think we forget this a lot of the time. 

Before I talk about that further, I want to share another picture of this palette as the PR photo of the palette (above) looks a little different than what it really looks like. This happens so often, and I find it really frustrating. It's only when PR samples are sent out or the palettes show up in stores that we can actually see the correct colors. 

Photo: Temptalia

The above photo was featured on Temptalia's review. This picture looks quite a bit different from the press picture above. The colors (especially the rose ones) look much more muted. 

There are still colors that I gravitate toward in this photo, but the pull is not as strong. And this was important for me in realizing why I didn't want to buy this palette. As I said, upon first look I thought there would be about five shadows I wouldn't really use (the third and fourth shades in the third row and the middle three shades on the bottom row), but in this more realistic photo, now I can see more. 

I probably wouldn't use most of the top row because the shades are so light and wouldn't show up on my skin.

I wouldn't get much use out of the gold shade because it's much more yellow than I thought and wouldn't flatter my skin. 

I wouldn't get much use the white and pink shades in the second row as they would be too light. 

And I probably wouldn't use the purple shades in the third or fourth row since I prefer gold, bronzes, and mauves more. 

So, in this $99 palette, I would probably get a good amount of use out of only six shadows. I like several of the other colors, but I wouldn't use them that much. 

The color scheme of this palette is also a little confusing to me. It doesn't feel very cohesive and doesn't feel like the colors naturally go together. Apparently the colors work in rows, with each row creating a look. Personally, that's not my favorite way to put a palette together. I prefer when most of the shadows play well together instead of a layout like this. 

I think this palette would also be a little redundant if you purchased the holiday palette from last year. 

Photo: Temptalia

Though there are subtle differences, the two palettes have a very similar feel to me, and there are several tones repeated in both. 

More than anything, I think this palette is just too expensive for what it is. Yes, it is a good value when you compare the prices of Marc Jacobs' other eyeshadow palettes, but it is still too expensive for a palette full of colors I already have and can find in cheaper--and good quality--palettes. 

If you like the general color scheme of this palette, I would recommend getting the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons palette instead. (And if you already have Bon Bons, I would recommend passing  on the Marc Jacobs.)

The Chocolate Bon Bons palette has similar pink, purple, and dark brown tones while also being a more cohesive palette. At $49 this palette has 16 shadows, so only four less than the Marc Jacobs palette, for half the price. 

The bottom line is that I don't love every single shadow in the Marc Jacobs palette, and for a palette that expensive, I would need to love close to every shade. And the shades that I do love I already have. It's a beautiful palette--packaging and all--but I don't need it. I have plenty of shadows I already love, and I won't be buying a palette I feel lukewarm about--hype or not. 

What I'm Not Buying: Tarte Pretty Paintbox Holiday 2016

In holiday marketing season tradition, Tarte has released another giant book-like palette that is overwhelming in size and selection and lacking in quality and practicality for everyday use. 

And I won't be buying. 

At first glance, this seems to be totally the opposite of the Hourglass holiday offering that was quite (in my opinion) the ripoff. Tarte boasts that this palette is a $418 value for $59. If that seems to good to be true, it's because it absolutely is. 

As I mentioned in my post about the Tarte Color Wheel holiday blush palette, the values of these palettes are incorrectly calculated since the quality is not the same as items in their permanent collection. If these shadows were the same quality as the Tartelette in Bloom palette, and the blushes the same as the ones in their permanent line, this would absolutely be a steal. But they're not. At all. 

Tarte's eyeshadows and blushes that are a part of their permanent line are made in the USA. These huge holiday palettes are made in China. The formula and quality is not the same as that of their permanent line. And because of that, saying this is a $418 value is wrong. 

The Pretty Paintbox looks very similar to last year's holiday offering: 

Let's compare close-ups of the two.

Holiday 2016

Photo: Musings of a Muse

Holiday 2015

As you can see, the color selection from the Pretty Paintbox is quite similar, nearly identical, to the holiday 2015 palette. If you have the holiday 2015 palette and were hoping for new colors to add to your collection, the Pretty Paintbox is absolutely not the palette to get. 

And these are also shades that we've seen time and again from Tarte. It seems as though very little thought has gone into this palette, which again, doesn't give the palette much value. 

If you have much of a makeup collection, you absolutely already have these colors in your collection. And if you're new to makeup and thinking this is a great way to get a bunch of shadows at a low cost, you are better off buying better quality eyeshadows. 

Reviews for the Pretty Paintbox have been pretty bad. There have been numerous complaints about pigmentation, especially in the lighter colors. The texture has been described as dry and very dissimilar to Tarte's traditional texture. Some reviewers have even said they are retuning this palette because the quality is so bad that it did not justify the price. And that's the $59 price, not the inflated $418 value price. 

To be fair, even as an eyeshadow junkie, holiday palettes have never really interested me that much. And it's because the quality just never felt the same. I don't care about holiday packaging or holiday-themed color names. I don't have the "fear of missing out" because I see all the reviewers get every holiday palette or because the palettes are limited edition and I won't be able to get them once they sell out. I want a quality product, and I've always found the majority of holiday releases to be lackluster. 

I have two limited edition palettes in my collection. Both are great, and one of them is from Tarte. It is the Rainforest of the Sea palette, and I purchased mine soon after it was released in March. As of late September, it is still for sale. 

Because of this palette, I absolutely cannot give Tarte a pass on such a bad quality holiday release. The Rainforest of the Sea palette is one of my absolute favorites. The packaging is gorgeous, compact, and functional, and the quality is the best I have seen from the brand. The formula of the shadows reminds me of the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadows, and those are among my all-time favorite. I was really hopeful that Tarte was going to adopt this incredible formula into all of their future releases, but it looks as though it is tied exclusively to the Rainforest of the Sea palette. (It is also worth mentioning that the Rainforest of the Sea palette was not made in the USA, like the shadows in Tarte's permanent line. It was made in Italy, and nearly all of the best shadows I have ever tried have been made in Italy.)

Because Rainforest of the Sea is so good, it is immensely disappointing that this huge holiday offering is so bad. But, for what it's worth, even if the Pretty Paintbox had received glowing reviews, I still would not have purchased it. And the reason for this is because I already have all of those shadows in my collection, and this palette is so bulky. It would not be convenient for me to pull such a huge item out to do my makeup on a regular basis. 

It may seem simple, but in the future, I hope Tarte learns the simple lessons of less is more and quality over quantity. 

If you were really interested in the general color scheme of the Pretty Paintbox and wanted to dip your toes into Tarte's eyeshadows, I really recommend the Tartelette in Bloom palette. 

This is the number-one palette I recommend to people. I think it is a perfect palette and perfectly curated. There are shades that will flatter all skin tones, from light, medium, and deep, to those with warm, cool, neutral, and olive undertones. There are only three shimmers, but they are (in my opinion) the perfect shimmers colors to build beautiful looks. 

When I see Tarte have the ability to make a palette like Tartelette in Bloom and Rainforest of the Sea, the Pretty Paintbox looks like nothing more than a waste of money. And I won't be buying.