What I'm Not Buying: Morphe 39A Dare To Create Eyeshadow Palette

As part of their holiday collection, Morphe has released a 39-pan limited-edition eyeshadow palette, called 39A Dare To Create. 

And I won't be buying. 

Morphe has been... kind of surprising me lately. For me, the surprise started around the time they launched the Jaclyn Hill palette, because the packaging was different and nicer than what I had seen the brand put out before. And then in an unexpected (at least for me) move, Morphe products moved into select Ulta stores and the popular Jaclyn Hill palette was given even better packaging. An added bonus was that people who bought this palette at Ulta didn't have to pay the crazy high costs for shipping. 

And then Morphe came out with the 39A, which looks different from any other Mophe palette I have seen and also appears to have better packaging. 

It shouldn't be all that surprising, I guess, considering Morphe's growth. I don't claim to be an expert by any means, but from my understanding, a lot of brands private label when they first start out, and as the business grows, they are able to start becoming more independent. And it's certainly not surprising that Morphe has grown as much and as quickly as they have because of their selection of partnerships with some of the biggest beauty personalities on YouTube. 

I've mentioned this before in several blog posts, but I have owned a few things from Morphe. There is is store where I live in NYC that has sold Morphe items in-store for years, and I was able to swatch and look at items before purchasing. 

I purchased the 35T and 35OS palettes, but both palettes have been decluttered because they smelled really bad, the mattes were terrible, and the shadows irritated my skin and made my eyes water. That was pretty much enough for me, and I didn't really have an interest in getting anything further from the brand. 

About a month ago, I was gifted the Jaclyn Hill palette, and it was purchased from Ulta, so it had the upgraded packaging. I'll be honest and say that I was expecting the worst, but the palette surprised me. It didn't have any of the issues I had experienced before. The mattes aren't the best I've used, but they aren't nearly as bad as those in the 35T. I still find the general color scheme to be repetitive, there is a lot of overlap among shades in the palette, and I think it's overpriced. I still wouldn't have purchased this myself, but as a gift, I've been enjoying it. 

But here's the thing with Morphe. Since the release of the Jaclyn Hill palette, they have released the 35O2, which has the same cheap packaging as most of their other 35 palettes. And it makes me wonder if the formula is also the same—the formula that smelled bad, had terrible mattes, and irritated my skin. There doesn't seem to be a lot of consistency in what the brand releases, which doesn't give me a ton of confidence as a consumer. 

But their latest release looks different, and with Morphe, I have come to feel that different is a good thing.

Let's look at the palette: 

When I first saw this palette, I didn't really know what to think. I wasn't sure if the bigger pans in the center were supposed to be face products / a mini highlight and contour kit, or if this was all just eyeshadow. I've since learned that the bigger pans are "super-sized transition shades," so I suppose the logic here is that consumers use those shades more and therefore want more product. 

This is a pet peeve of mine, because I don't like it when a brand decides which shadows or colors I'm going to use the most. For example, the color I personally use most as a transition shade is Colourpop The News, which is a mix between pink and coral (sadly, it looks as though Colourpop has discontinued this color, but Costal Scents Petal Peach is similar), and I don't see any shadow in the 39A that looks similar to this, and certainly not in the transition shade row.

To put it bluntly, these "super-sized transition shades" are several shades of beige and brown that don't vary too dramatically. That would be my biggest complaint with the Jaclyn Hill palette as well, which is that there seems to be so many repeated tones. It's as if Jaclyn Hill/Morphe were anticipating the shades consumers were going to run out of and so they decided to put duplicates of those shades in the palette. And that's just not something that I want in a palette. When I look at the 39A, I see the same kind of issue, just with bigger pan sizes. 

Of course, this is an issue across every single large Morphe palette that I have seen, and it is also an issue in other sections of this palette. There are multiple dark browns, blues, reds, and oranges. And while, yes, I can see that there are different tones of those shades, on the eyes, it doesn't always translate to something distinct. 

Let's talk about price. This palette retails for $32, which is higher than most Morphe palettes ($23), but less than the Jaclyn Hill palette ($38). Morphe shipping costs around $8 for domestic orders, and they offer free shipping for domestic orders over $50. So, not including tax, this palette will cost upwards of $40, which is putting Morphe into the mid-range price scale. 

And, here's the thing with this palette. When I look at it, it seems somewhat unique. And that's because it has 39 shadows in it. You can cover a lot of ground with that many shadows. It's got two rows of warm-toned shadows, a row of "transition shades," and two rows of cool-toned shadows. Most palettes have considerably less shadows, so the color schemes aren't exact. 

Nonetheless, palettes that have similar color schemes include NYX Earth:

Urban Decay Vice 3:

Juvia's Place Masquerade:

On the cool-toned side, it looks like NYX Water:

On the warm-toned side, it looks like NYX Fire:

And Colourpop Yes, Please!

Similar tones can be found in Urban Decay Heavy Metals:

And, this one is really important, so many of the shades in the Morphe 39A are also in the Jaclyn Hill palette:

Let's talk about this last one for a moment. I know that a lot of people get attached to packaging. I have been there myself, and, in fact, I've only met one person (a dear friend) who loved the look of my custom palette with depotted shadows so much that she wanted me to tear all of her palettes apart and do the same thing. And it's in the nature of the beast of buying palettes that you will get some overlap. It seems people are constantly torn between the hypocritical nature of "I want this palette to have more unique shades!" and "Ugh, why doesn't this palette have my favorite brow bone highlight or warm brown transition shade?"

There are some palettes that I've had no problem depotting, others that I don't want to, and others that I just can't because of how they are made. But I learned the biggest lessons from Morphe when I depotted the 35T and 35OS palettes. I took all of the shadows out, and when I went to put them in a custom palette, I couldn't tell the difference between so many of the shadows. I then started swatching, only to find that there were several instances of the exact same color being in the palette a few times over. 

If you own the Jaclyn Hill palette and are considering buying the 39A, I suspect that you will find quite a bit of overlap, especially in the first three rows of the 39A. 

Packaging is a thing. We all know that it is. That doesn't mean that we all fall for packaging, but we know that brands use it to manipulate us into buying things. I was envious of that friend I mentioned earlier. She visited me recently and was looking at my palettes and was drawn to my duped Desert Dusk palette:

Since she knew she couldn't recreate this exact palette, she asked me if I thought she should buy the palette from Huda Beauty. And I said no. Instead, I told her to get the Coloured Raine Queen of Hearts palette, since so much of my custom palette is just that palette depotted. So we went to this same store in NYC that sells Morphe, and she was able to buy the Queen of Hearts palette in-store. Without missing a beat, when she got it back to my place, she handed it over to me and asked me to take it apart. Just like that. She had absolutely no connection to the packaging or to how it looked with the colors arranged in the palette. So I depotted the colors for her, along with some of her other shadows, and she spent the next couple of hours rearranging her shadows to create a perfect palette for her. 

Seeing her have zero attachment to packaging just really hit me. And it made me realize just how often we all look past buying the same things over and over and over again because it makes us feel comfortable seeing all the colors together in a way that "makes sense" to us. 

On the whole, I'm still not really on board with Morphe. I feel like their brand is generally moving in a better direction with these two not-so-obviously private labeled palettes and selling their products in Ulta where people can swatch and return. But the Morphe shilling is still way too much for me to really be on board with the brand, especially when a lot of people they work with are incredibly problematic. 

With 39 eyeshadows, the 39A is an overwhelming palette. There's a lot of color there. If you're new to makeup, don't already own much, and are looking to experiment with warm and cool tones, I can see the appeal in this palette. Years ago, the Costal Scents 88 palettes were incredibly hyped, and some people still talk about those palettes fondly and credit them with helping them to understand color. Those huge palettes never appealed to me personally, but I can understand the impulse of wanting to try a lot of colors without having to buy several expensive hyped palettes. 

But for people who already have a solid collection of eyeshadow (or who own one or more of the above palettes), the 39A just isn't needed. I think people still think of Morphe has this inexpensive brand, but when you're looking at upwards of $40 plus tax for this palette, it's not inexpensive. And if you have some or all of these shades already (and, let's be honest, most people probably have the browns, reds, and other warm tones), there's not really any need to get this palette. 

I don't personally want to add another 39 shadows to my collection, especially when most (if not all of them) are shades that I already own. So, 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: Kat Von D Metal Matte Mini

Kat Von D's newest release is a mini version of the brand's popular holiday 2016 palette, Metal Matte. 

And I won't be buying. 

Last year, I wrote an anti-haul post on the Metal Matte palette, and, true to my word, I did not purchase it. But I also wrote the post at a time when I was not very experimental with color. The only shades that would have appealed to me were the neutral shades, and I already had all of those in spades. Since I have discovered my love for colors, Metal Matte has stuck in my head as a "one that got away" kind of palette. I also speculated at the time that I didn't think the quality was up to other products in Kat Von D's line, and I still agree with that. In the end, I think it was a good choice for me to pass on that palette. But it is still one that I think about. 

And I'll be honest. When I first heard that Kat Von D was releasing a mini version of this palette, I had an immediate impulse of "I want to buy that." It's funny to me after all this time blogging about the items I'm not going to buy and changing my mindset to a "use what I have" instead of "buy new things" mentality, that I still find myself with gut reactions of wanting to buy. 

And then images of the actual product came out and I was mad. This? This is what you're putting out from that interesting palette so many people begged you to bring back?

This is a thought process I have talked about before on this blog, which is how we create our own vision of what a particular item will look like simply from hearing the name of a product or seeing a photo of its packaging. And there is a strategy behind this practice, because brands want us to drum up hype in our head, get attached to that hype, and then hopefully stick through with it to purchase, even if the reality of the product disappoints us. 

Strangely, I still wanted to want this product. And I can understand why people would want it. It's the same BS reasons that I see all the time and that I used to use as justification to buy something I didn't need.

Oh, it will be perfect to travel with. 

It'll be nice to have that core group of colors in one place.

And that's just what those reasons are—BS.

Most people don't travel enough to warrant buying "travel makeup." I have traveled more in the past three months than I have in the last five years. I still have more travel in the months ahead. And I still don't feel like I need "travel makeup." I feel like most of my palettes that aren't strictly neon colors can work just fine as a travel palette. I've traveled with Colourpop Yes, Please!, NYX Fire, my duped Just Peachy Mattes palette, and my duped Desert Dusk. On my most recent trip I was gifted the Jaclyn Hill Morphe palette, and I found that, while I had all of those colors sitting in my collection at home, it worked well for travel purposes.

On my most upcoming trip, I'll likely bring the Jaclyn Hill palette again, along with my duped Just Peachy Mattes palette, as I feel those two palettes pretty much cover a condensed version of my collection.

But I would feel comfortable traveling with my BH Cosmetics Zodiac palette, my Milani Earthly Elements palette, or any of my custom palettes. So, in the end, there aren't many palettes that I wouldn't consider for travel purposes. And using that as an excuse to buy a palette full of colors you already own isn't substantiated.

And as far as the second excuse, we all know that you don't need to buy an entire palette just to have a core group of colors in one place. It's really not that big of a deal to pull from more than one palette.

Let's look at Metal Matte Mini:

This palette costs $39 for 10 shadows. Now, this isn't totally crazy for Kat Von D. The Pastel Goth palette, which was released earlier this year, had eight shadows and cost $38. Saint and Sinner, on the other hand, which was released a few months ago, has 24 shadows and costs $62. I don't know why, but I was kind of shocked at the price of this palette. That's especially perplexing because I did buy Pastel Goth, which was essentially the same price for two less shadows. (Please see this post if you have questions about why I own Pastel Goth when I have written an anti-haul post on the product.) I think the reason the price of Metal Matte Mini feels so steep to me is because this palette is just so boring, so overdone. And for it to be a "mini" of an existing product, I just expected a lower price point. 

Let's look at Metal Matte:

Between these two palettes, there is a lot of overlap. Two of the metal crush shadows are repeats from the original, Flash and Synergy, and all of the matte shades are found in the original. 

Needless to say, if you own Metal Matte, there is really little reason to think about buying Metal Matte Mini. That's a complaint that I have heard a lot about this palette, and I can't help but to roll my eyes. People want to know why there are so many repeat shades. They want to know why Kat Von D is making it hard for people to give over their money. But here's the thing: you don't need everything! And here's an even bigger revelation: Not everything is made for you. 

I don't think Kat Von D put out the Metal Matte Mini for people who already own Metal Matte. I think the brand put it out for people who didn't buy Metal Matte, and they made the palette neutral so that it would appeal to a wider audience of people who have zero to two palettes. 

I only own one Kat Von D Metal Crush eyeshadow, and that's Thunderstruck, which is in the Mini palette. It's a beautiful shadow that I really love, and once upon a time, it was really unique. But now, not so much. It's similar to Too Faced Satin Sheets (in the Chocolate Bon Bons palette), Coloured Raine Crown (in the Queen of Hearts palette), and the Physician's Formula Butter Highlighter in Pearl. 

Raw Power is another shade in the Mini palette that's not in the original, and this was a shadow that I owned years ago and then returned. I remember swatching it in the store and completely falling in love, but when I applied it to my eyes, the color payoff wasn't what I wanted. At $21 each, Metal Crush eyeshadows are expensive, and I could not justify that price for the way the shadow looked on my eyes. 

Even if you don't already own Metal Matte, my guess is that you already have these colors in your collection. 

Let's look at swatches:

This is really the clincher for me, because when I look at these swatches, I just think, "Oh, this is Kat Von D's version of the warm neutral palette with pops of red, yellow, and orange that we have seen every brand come out with all year."

In my collection, most immediately I thought of Colourpop Yes, Please!:

And NYX Fire:

The matte shades remind me of the Melt Rust Stack:

And the general color scheme is similar to Smashbox Ablaze: 

Urban Decay Naked Heat:

Tarte Tartelette Toasted:

And Sephora Pro Warm:

Even though these palettes have more color options, all the colors in Metal Matte Mini are also found in Huda Beauty Desert Dusk:

And the Jaclyn Hill Morphe palette:

If you have any of the above palettes, I think you can safely say that you have all the colors in Metal Matte Mini. I own four of the above palettes, so I certainly have no use for this palette in my collection. 

Finally, I would like to talk about something that I personally find kind of silly, but I also know can be a big deal, and that's the packaging: 

Just like the original Metal Matte, the script on the packaging is a symbiotogram, which is a type of ambigram, meaning the design allows two different words to be read depending on the orientation of the palette. It reads "Metal" if right-side up, and "Matte" if upside down. 

In general, I am not a packaging snob. I have always been more invested in what is actually inside of a product than what it looks like on the outside, but then there is some packaging (like Natasha Denona) that I think so so terrible for the price that it becomes a non-selling point for me. But, if you can't tell, I love words. And I also really love ambigrams. So the Metal Matte packaging has always been something that intrigued me and something that I wanted. 

I also think that Kat Von D's packaging just stands out among the crowd. And I suppose that's not surprising because she is an incredibly talented artist. The Mi Vida Loca Remix packaging is absolutely stunning, and I've also really come to love the packaging for Pastel Goth. Saint and Sinner is one of the most original concepts I have seen with packaging, but I'm not personally a huge fan of religious iconography. Nonetheless, I think it certainly stands out among other holiday releases. 

And if I'm going to be the most honest I can possibly be, I would say the biggest reason why Metal Matte feels like the "one that got away" is because of the packaging. And that's why I won't let myself buy it for resellers. Fundamentally I am against that thinking when it comes to buying products, and I refuse to pay upwards of $65 because I like the design on some cardboard. 

(As a side note, I saw someone say the other day that the packaging of the Pat McGrath Labs Mothership palettes completely justified the $125 price of the palette. I've seen the palettes in person, swatched them, played with the colors, and held the full weight of the packaging in my hand. And I can say, yes, that packaging is luxurious and Natasha Denona should take note. But the eyeshadows were just okay. And for that kind of money, hell no the packaging does not make the $125 price worth it.)

I bring all of this up to say that the packaging, and having a smaller version of this symbiotogram, is really the only reason I have to buy this palette. I have all the colors already several times over. I own Thunderstruck outright and returned Raw Power because I didn't like it. Almost every palette I own has at least one of these colors in it, and, let's just be frank here: This palette was not made for me. So, no, I'm not going to spend upwards of $40 so I can have a symbiotogram. I don't need this palette for any reason, and it would be terribly redundant to my collection. So I won't be buying. 

Weekend Looks: MAC and Urban Decay

I mentioned this in yesterday's post, but it was snowing outside, and it put me in quite a funk. I'm not a fan of the winter, or of snow, and I'm especially not a fan of gray skies, so it ended up being a challenging day for me.

But today is very different. The sun is out, and there is not a cloud in the sky. It's still a little cold, but I'll take cold and sun over gray any day. And it's not surprising that I reached for one of my brightest and most colorful palettes today.

Here are two looks I did this weekend.

Look 1: MAC Rose pigment and Desert Dusk

MAC Rose pigment on the lid (applied wet with Fix+), Inglot peach and purple shades blended in the crease as transition shades, Lime Crime Venus Rebirth blended in the crease, and Colourpop 143 and Ardency Inn Violet lightly padded onto the outer corner. Ardency Inn Violet on the lower lash line.

Look 2: Urban Decay Electric 

Freak on the inner half of the lid, Chaos on the outer half of the lid, Savage blended into the crease as a transition shade, and Urban blended into the crease. Thrash on the inner corner. 

Look 1: MAC Rose pigment and Desert Dusk

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I'm sure everyone is going to get sick of this kind of a look because I seem to create it multiple times a week. But I just can't care. I love it so much. MAC Rose is new to me, and I adore it. I had been in search of it for months, and it was finally back in stock so I grabbed it. It is my absolute favorite kind of color. I have a few shades in my collection that are similar, but nothing quite like this, and I couldn't be happier with it. I paired it with shades from my "Desert Dusk" palette as well as a vibrant purple from Ardency Inn. I really love how this turned out, and it was a bright spot in the snowy, awful day.

Look 2: Urban Decay Electric 

It disappoints me that this palette has been discontinued and that another one has not come out to replace it. I have been vocal on my blog that I really hate Urban Decay shadows in palettes, with this as the one exception. The reason for this is likely that the Electric palette is a pressed pigment palette instead of an eyeshadow palette. This palette terrified me for years, and I honestly could not even comprehend why someone would own it. I was a neutral girl to my core, and I had never looked at colorful eye looks as something that could be worn in everyday life. I was first starting to fall for color when I heard that Electric was being discontinued, and I made the decision to purchase it while I still could. At this point, I have many colorful palettes (including Sephora Pro Editorial and Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix), but there is still a place in my collection for Electric. The colors blend together so seamlessly and pack such a punch of pigment. It's a shame this palette is no longer available, but hopefully Urban Decay will put out something similar in the near future.

Weekly Looks: City Colors, Kat Von D, Colourpop, Viseart, and more

It's snowing right now as I write this, and it is the first snow of the year. For most people, this is a really beautiful, magical time. They look forward to it and get excited. Growing up and watching Gilmore Girls, I remember Lorelai's infamous "I smell snow" episode where she walked through her impossibly quaint and beautifully lit Stars Hollow as the first snow of the season fell.

I am the opposite of all of this.

The first snow of the season is challenging for me. Frankly any snow is challenging for me, but the first one always hurts the most. While everyone else thinks about curling up with a blanket and a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and watching as the delicate snow falls, I think about slushy sidewalks, dirty slush puddles at street corners, and subways steps covered in salt. I have always found it difficult to live in New York City, but living here during the winter, especially when it snows, is that much harder.

Everyone always talks about how snow is nice to look at but terrible to be in, and I guess I would agree with that. The thing about living in NYC, though, is that you always kind of have to be out in it just to get anywhere. If snow just fell and never stuck, I think I could be a bit more on board with it.

Oddly, looking at my makeup looks from the past week has brightened my spirits, and I think it's because of all the colors I used. I know I've mentioned this before, but when the weather is gray and I feel a little down, that's when I really amp up the color on my eyes. I've found that applying a shimmery bronzer during the winter also helps get me out of the funk. It might sound strange, but when I look at my face and it seems like it has a summer glow, it tricks my mind into thinking it's warm and sunny.

You'll see a lot of pink in my looks from the past week, and you'll probably see a lot of pink in my looks indefinitely because I just can't seem to stop reaching for it.

Here are six looks I did this week.

Look 1: City Colors Hint of Mint and Kat Von D Pastel Goth

Hint of Mint on the lid, Kat Von D Clementine and Meow blended into the crease, and BH Cosmetics Zodiac matte Gemini padded onto the outer corner. 

Look 2: Viseart Bijoux Royale

3 on the inner and outer lid, 2 in the center of the lid, and 6 blended into the crease.

Look 3: Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix

Destroyer on the lid. Anthem blended into the crease, and Hyperballad on the lower lash line. NYX Vivid Sapphire liquid liner. 

Look 4: Colourpop My Little Pony

Firefly on the inner lid and inner corner, Princess Sparkle on the outer lid, Flutterbye blended into the crease as a transition shade, Minty blended into the crease, Applejack blended to deepen the crease, and Butterscotch on the brow bone. 

Look 5: Kat Von D Saint and Sinner

Cathedral on the lid, BH Cosmetics Carli Bybel Deluxe 8 blended into the crease as a transition shade, Rosary blended into the crease, Worship padded onto the outer corner, and Baptism on the brow bone. 

Look 6: Desert Dusk

Viseart Bijoux Royal 5 on the lid, Inglot peach and purple shades blended into the crease as transition shades, Lime Crime Venus Rebirth blended into the crease, Coloured Raine Queen of Hearts Empress blended above all crease colors, Lime Crime Venus Muse padded onto the outer corner, and Coloured Raine Queen of Hearts Crown on the inner corner and brow bone. 

Look 1: City Colors Hint of Mint and Kat Von D Pastel Goth

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

This is a repeat look from several months ago, and it is one of my favorites. I don't know why I originally thought to pair Pastel Goth with this Minty shade, but I am so happy that I did because it is such a fun, bright, and pretty look. I love thinking about the "journey" I have taken with eyeshadow because in the span of a year, I have gone from a person who only liked variations of gold and bronze looks to someone whose favorite palettes are very colorful. And this look I feel is a good one for people trying to transition into using more colors. These are certainly "odd" or "bold" colors when compared to shades of beige and brown, but I think the look can still pull a little neutral. 

Look 2: Viseart Bijoux Royale

Status: Decluttered 

Ugh, this look. Typically, I wouldn't have included this, but I wanted to because I talked about this palette in last week's looks post. I mentioned that in most Viseart palettes, I've found that there is one killer shade and the rest are mediocre, and the pink shade (shade 5) was it for this palette. It had been a long time since I had properly used Bijoux Royale, so I decided to play around with it, and this "look" was what happened. If you notice, I'm not even wearing mascara, and that's because this look was so bad and so uninspiring that I just wiped it all off my face. But I wanted to take these pictures to illustrate my complaint with this palette. 

I don't know if my preferences have just changed or if I am in a place now where I can say "I don't like this hyped item that I spent a lot of money on" and not feel bad about it, but I have not been too impressed with Viseart lately. And I am decluttering Bijoux Royale. 

It took me over a year, but I've decluttered four Viseart palettes at this point, and all have been the shimmer palettes (Bijoux Royale, Boheme Dream, Paris Nudes, and Sultry Muse). I just am not a person who likes a light wash of color. I can certainly see the appeal of these shadows if that was my preference, but it's not. 

With this look, I packed shades 2 and 3 on my lid in so many layers, and it still looked like a sheer wash of color. Then I applied 6 in the crease, and I thought it just looked sloppy. I couldn't believe I spent $80 on this palette, when palettes that cost $16 perform much better. I was just going to declutter the entire palette, but then I thought about the shades that I do love, and I wanted them. So, I did a small depot. 

This was the palette before:

And this is the palette without the shades I like:

It's funny because when I look at this palette now, I really don't like it. I am not drawn to it in any way, and I certainly wouldn't purchase it. I think this is a good lesson for me to continue to learn and one that hopefully inspires you, because sometimes when you remove just a few shades from a palette, it is no longer all that appealing. 

The three shades I took out of this palette have now gone into my Desert Dusk duped palette (though at this point it's not so much of a dupe anymore), and I will show that in a bit.

Look 3: Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix

This wasn't my favorite look I've ever done, but I had fun with it. I was so put off from using the Viseart palette that I just wanted to throw all the color on my face, and I did. I probably won't replicate this look in the future, but sometimes it's fun to just experiment and go with what you get. Using Mi Vida Loca Remix is always a treat, even when the look isn't my favorite.

Look 4: Colourpop My Little Pony

There's a lot about this palette that I like, but I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually becomes one that I declutter. This was given to me as a gift, and I just feel like I have most of these colors in my collection already (which is why I wasn't going to purchase it). I like the overall look I came up with, but I was disappointed in Minty. In the pan it looks to be a rich burgundy, but when applied to the eyes, it comes off as hot pink. I had to add Applejack just to tone down the vibrancy of the pink, but it still wasn't the color I was after. I thought the green on the lid would have been gorgeous with a nice burgundy, but with the hot pink, I didn't like it as much.

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.)

This palette continues to be difficult for me to use (again, which is a point I made in my anti-haul post), but I went into this look determined to make something pretty with it, and this ended up being my favorite look of the week. I feel like I have a new appreciation for this palette after doing this look, and I am excited to delve into it further to see what I can come up with.

The two things that were different about using this palette were that I pulled in a matte transition shade from elsewhere in my collection and I put a shimmer in my crease. I've talked about putting shimmers in the crease before, but it is something that I really enjoy. When I was first taught how to apply makeup at MAC, the artist told me to only put matte colors in my crease, and I left that day with Soft Brown, which found its way into my crease every time I wore makeup for years. Last year when I was doing my one week, one palette project, I had to put shimmers in the crease sometimes in order to use every shade in a given palette, and I found that it was something I really enjoyed.

There are technically seven matte shades in Saint and Sinner. Two are brow bone highlight shades (for me), and there is a black, dark brown, lighter brown, and orange. It is not likely that I will touch the black or dark brown shades very often, and I will only use the two cream shades as brow bone highlights. That leaves the lighter brown (which is still pretty dark) and orange as the only mattes in the palette. There are also three shades that are matte with glitter, and those are a taupe brown, deep chocolate brown, and lime green.

My problem with this palette and the problem I think a lot of other people are having is that it is lacking certain lighter matte shades that we are used to seeing in a palette that complement existing shades in the palette. Again, this is a reason why I wasn't going to buy this palette. But now that I have it, it is clear that it will require me to reach for other shadows in my collection, which I don't mind.

Look 6: Desert Dusk

As I mentioned above, the current state of this palette now looks less like a dupe for the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk palette and more like my own creation. But I've gotta say—I really love it. I reach for this palette several times a week, and I am always happy to do so. But I've made some recent changes.

This was the palette last week:

And this is it now:

I removed Coloured Raine Heir, Coloured Raine Moments, Makeup Geek Phantom, the Inglot brown, and the BH Cosmetics mauve shade, and I added the three pink/red colors from Viseart Bijoux Royale as well as Rebirth and Muse from the Lime Crime Venus palette. 

The look I created this week is probably "boring" to you by this point since I do some variation of it a few times a week, but I can't help it. I just love it so much. I'm glad I made the choice to depot the Viseart shadows that I wanted and put them in here because I can already tell they are going to get a ton more use in this kind of a palette than they were in Bijoux Royale. I am much more inspired by this color scheme, and I'm happy the shadows I love will get used and be enjoyed.