Maybelline The Nudes Palette

Although I spent the weekend working on a lovely post, my camera is still acting up and the photos are not good enough to be allowed into the world. Instead, I opted for a review of the new palette by Maybelline – The Nudes Palette. 

I purchased this in the States a couple of months back and haven't used it much until my last vacation. It's the perfect travel size and offers many different shades to create different looks. The back of the palette also includes a possibility of combinations in which to use the shadows (in duos, trios or quads, which is a nice touch for such lame make-up users like me). All of these are the reasons why I thought I don't really need to bring anything else as far as eyeshadows go to my holiday. Was I sorry? Read on…

So basically the palette includes a mix of matte, shimmer and velvety/satin colors.

The upper row is filled with a bunch of lighter shades and two darker ones -  the fourth and last shade. These are also the only colors that are a bit more pigmented, while only the fourth shade (from the left in the upper photo, 3rd from top in bottom photo) could claim the prize for being highly pigmented. 

 

Upper row - swatches from bottom to top as from left to right in the palette

If I compare swatching these shadows with the swatches I did for the Chocolate Bar palette a couple of days back, I can easily say that there is no real comparison – I had to pull 3-4 times on each shadow to get a normal swatch. The loser in the upper row in my opinion is the 3rd color from the left (which kind of seems light pink) – I actually made a dent in the palette while trying to get a decent swatch out of it. 

I was also disappointment with the last (very dark/black) shade in the upper row. I though it will be the perfect crease color for a neutral look, but it's far less pigmented as it seems.

As for the row below, things are a bit better but not by much. I really like the middle two colors (shimmery gold and shimmery brown), while the rest are nothing to write home – or to you – about.

Bottom row - swatches from left to right as in the palette

I was especially dissapointed with the last shade – I was happy to have a really dark black shadow for the smoky eye, but it was a massive fail as you can see from the swatch.  Also not really worth mentioning is the light shimmery color next to the black – it is almost identical to the first shade in the upper row. 

If we take a look at the palette as a whole, I can say I was very dissapointed. As mentioned, only two of the shades are of decent pigmentation and when swatched the colors are so similar that the palette could easily only be a 6-pan palette instead of the 12 colors. I was also not impressed with the way some of the shades were difficult to blend out – and don't even get me started on what the outcome was when I used it without eyeshadow primer… :(

Although being very compact and therefore useful for everyday make-up purse or travel, I can easily say that I think this was a waste of money, even though it only cost about $10. I will probably keep this palette in my bag in case I need to correct any make-up, but I doubt it will get some serious use.

What are your thoughts on this palette? Do you have it? Use it? Love it or hate it?

Until next time, stay beautiful.