Hi ladies and gents, time for another review! About a month ago I bought the NYX Champagne and Caviar pallete. I wanted a nice neutral palette for work, but didn't want to shell out 50 bucks for the Urban Decay naked palette. So this was the cheapest alternative. I wanted to really give the palette a good *go* before I reviewed it. So I think enough time has passed to give a full review. I will be giving swatches with and without a base, and I may also be giving a few tutorials for some nice daytime looks that I've created with this palette. I just might have to go back and buy some more in the future ;).
I must say though, I absolutely ADORE this palette! There are a few colors that I love more then others, but I can live with that. Cost averages around 10 dollars (plus shipping for me) and for several amazing colors, this is a good buy for your money! I have created so many beautiful daytime looks from this palette. A couple of the matte shadows seem slightly chalky, but again, not TOO terribly bad. I've definitely had worse shadows from the drug store! But some of these colors are amazingly rich and beautiful and they all blend wonderfully too! I'll post some overall swatches then review each of the colors individually. So here ya go:
 |
| Top row - No base |
 |
| Top row- with foundation as base |
 |
| Bottom Row- no base |
 |
| Bottom Row- with foundation as base |
Top row review:
Color 1- A beautiful tan shimmery shade. Very velvety and smooth and blends beautifully. Goes on slightly sheer, you can't build this color up too much because it is a fairly neutral shade. works great as a lid color! (very similar to shade 4 in the top row)
Color 2- A matte tan color. I can't say a whole lot about this shade, as I don't use it very much. It is slightly chalky and powdery but it does blend well and is definitely usable, just not my favorite shade in the palette.
Color 3- Another matte light brown color. This color is velvety and I do happen to use this color on my lid on occasion, it is also slightly powdery but still a usable color. It also blends beautifully.
Color 4- a more yellowy brown and very very similar to color 1 (just a touch more yellow). This is one of my most used colors in the palette. Its a beautiful neutral color with a nice shimmer.
Color 5- A rich medium brown, very velvety in texture and a shimmer. This color is a great medium brown and works wonderfully as a crease color.
Bottom Row:
Color 1- A nice matte white. This makes a great highlight color if you have a lot of shimmers on the rest of the eye. The only downside is that this is quite a chalky color, but still very wonderful, it also blends well.
Color 2- a beautiful golden shimmery medium brown. This also makes a great crease color, blends well and makes a great crease shade. Slightly lighter in color then Color 5 on the top row, but very similar.
Color 3- a beautiful, rich, chocolate brown--also a matte color. A very smooth color, it blends beautifully and is great for adding deep definition to the crease or outer V of the eye. I also happen to use the color to fill in my brows.
Color 4- My absolute favorite in this palette, it is a light shimmery pink. Very beautiful as both a lid color and a highlight color. It blends wonderfully and could easily be the star of this palette (in my opinion).
Color 5- A matte black. Definitely not a *true* black. It's not 100% pigmented for that super dark black. It is very smooth and blends nicely, a little goes a long way (I found this out the hard way). It's great for smoking out a neutral eye to go from a daytime to nightime look. It's also great to use as an eyeliner.
Overall I must say, I love this palette, I use it almost everyday. It's very versatile and great for days I want a neutral look or minimal look. It works wonders for work, where I have to keep things kind of conservative --sometimes ;). Some of the colors are very similar in color, but I can live with that. Especially because those are colors I tend to use more often. I wish these shades came in individuals because I think I'm gonna run out of some pretty quickly (see light pink)--and I'm gonna be damn sad when they're gone. I must say however, one of the cons of this palette is that it can be quite dusty. My palette always looks *dirty* because the colors are incredibly soft and tend to create a fine dust that always sits on the plastic part and mirror of my palette. I haven't noticed any colors mixing though-so that's good. I also wish there were a bit more medium shade colors. They tend to lean to the really light, or really dark side, not too many in the middle. Overall, for around 10 dollars, I think this palette is a must-have for everyone! You can create quite a few sexy and beautiful looks with this palette. Again great for daytime ,neutral, barely-there, and more conservative looks. I guess what I'm tryin to say is...Go check it out!
