Happy Saturday, everyone! I must say, talking about discontinued products never seemed to be a popular topic of discussion for me or other bloggers to really focus on much, and while there were originally plans to curate this into a small video series akin to being something like Products I Love & Wish Were Brought Back, alas, here we are in a blog post. 😃
Today, I would like to showcase some underrated eyeshadow palettes of varying price points that I've owned and have been using for quite a while! They're all of powder formulation, so none of these palettes have gone off or expired since purchasing. Alhough I know that I will probably never use any of these palettes up entirely (I rarely, if ever, use up an entire pan of product, as it is, so I could only imagine!), I do so wish these palettes were still available to purchase, for varying reasons! Some of these palettes are incredibly versatile, some have rather unique shades and finishes that aren't stumbled upon all that often! If you're a fan of glimmer and shimmer, as well as matte brights (like yours truly 💋😜), you may find some of these to be to your liking and who knows, you may wish to find something similar! On the other hand, if you happen to own one of these palettes already, and love yours too, by all means, just relish with me in the love, beauty, functionality, and presentation of these dazzling arrays of colored powders! Let's begin!
Too Faced Romantic Eye
Oy. This old school bridal-inspired palette from Too Faced had gathered fairly scattered opinions among reviewers when it was released. I personally love it to this day, even after working with some of the more advanced formulas that have come out since. Not trying to get too sentimental on ya, but I do for some reason remember this palette as being the only shadows I wore all throughout my Universal Studios Celebration of Harry Potter experience back in 2014 (and I met the cast that weekend, eh, with 2000+ people looking at me, no less. Freeeeakaayyy, but I guess that was when my apprehension of public speaking was conquered, in a way! And it was without a doubt the best and most memorable day of this low-key fangirl's life 😂). So yes, I guess you could say this palette does bring to mind some special memories.
The color scheme in the Too Faced Romantic Eye palette is overall quite cool toned, save for the bottom row, which comprises of the buttery pale yellow cream shade called Bouquet Toss, an antiqued gold called Honeymoon (which pairs beautifully with greens, by the way! 😆), and a metallic chocolate bronze with some interesting apricot and green sparkle strewn throughout called Ever After. It truly is a magical shade. For once, I kinda love the slightly incohesive, slightly jumbled-about assortment of the shades and overall presentation of this palette, though I can't really say the same for many other palettes that are in the same veining. I feel uninspired with them, while it's different with this one. It's neutral, but it's not too samey samey - feel me, yo?
The arrangement doesn't look too skewed, and I am able to create some gorgeous green looks with this, as well as barely there soft pink eye looks, as well as those hazy smokey plum eyes, all of which can be achieved with the accents in this palette, while incorporating other palettes, of course! The darker mattes called Unveil (deep blackened brown) and First Dance (deep matte fig purple) are ones I don't use much for crease work anymore, apart from when I need to quickly line the eyes or pat them down with a shader brush above a coordinated base for a hazy smokey eye. I've just found these two matte shades to always blend a bit skippy and patchily when they're just concentrated in one area. The other lighter, softer mattes are buttery and blend out beautifully. I do wish Too Faced would bring this one back, but with the same formula of their Chocolate Bar themed palettes!
Urban Decay Mariposa Palette
Now that I think about it, I do believe I ordered this Urban Decay Mariposa palette at the same time as I ordered the previously mentioned Too Faced palette! This one from UD is great, if you already own it - and if you like all shimmer and satin finishes. And furthermore...if you don't own a lot of Urban Decay palettes. 😌 But yes, they've definitely released palettes with similar color arrangements as this one, with the similar jewel tones mixed with the neutrals (either similar or repromoted shades), that make you say, yeah yeah, Urban Decay, we've seen it all before. But - this has definitely been a go-to supplemental palette for me. Although, I think I can remember one single occasion that I used Infamous, the pink in this palette, and that's it. It just has a weird texture, and the glitter just looks cheap, and throws me off.
Overall, the textures in this palette are quite nice and smooth - it may be a bit chunky and fallout prone on a couple shades (especially Rockstar and Limelight), but they all adhere to a primed eyelid very nicely (even the ones with the chunky glitter! Just remember to use glitter glue or some sort of tacky base!), and I can attest that the old formula Urban Decay shadows are one of the most durable formulas I've tried yet, and can definitely withstand the elements and conditions where other formulas would just melt off.
These are so buttery and pigmented, that they definitely stand out without you having to work much to build them up. I know this, because whenever I incorporate a shade from this palette into my eye makeup, I tend to get compliments from random strangers! Compliments usually tend to happen when I use Urban Decay shadows in general, though - not just with this palette, in particular.
bareMinerals The Star Treatment
Yes, my warm neutral-loving self was all over this when it came out! These are still the only bareMinerals shadows I own, and let me tell you that from swatching some of their more recently released larger limited edition Ready formula eyeshadow palettes in-store, and comparing the quality of those to the beautiful quality that this beholds? It's like comparing theoretical physics to mathematical physics! There's just no basis for comparison - they're just that different!
Just to clear the air, the quality of what bareMinerals is putting out now essentially pales in comparison to what the quality was in The Star Treatment 8.0. So many unique shades in this little palette - again, all shimmery, but the pigment in these shadows is nothing short of insane. Very dense, rich shades with an unbeatable amount of depth to each individual one. This is another formula that just adheres to the skin (I can easily get 12+ hours wear time out of it before I see it beginning to fade/breakdown on the eyes), so it wears like there's absolutely no tomorrow!
Sonia Kashuk Eye on Glamour Palette
Why is it that I have heard virtually nobody talk about this palette - ever? The formula of these is quite interesting, in that I've never tried any dimensional non-flat mattes quite like these before. The formula is very thin, but they build to a sheer wash of color quite nicely! These have that beautiful translucent quality that doesn't make you think sheer, as defined by a lack of pigment and binders, but moreso to the translation of giving a sheer, watercolor effect on the eyes...but an effect achieved with powder, rather than a cream or water-based pigment. These just don't look powdery on the eyes at all. In case you can't tell, it's difficult for me to explain these particular eyeshadows eloquently, as to the effect they give to the eyes. 😅 In my opinion, it's overall a nice pastel palette for the color-wary who tend to shy away from brights. Think just a step down from the pigmentation in the recently released LORAC I Love Brunch palette, add in a bit of floating sparkle and some glitter shadows in the center, and you get Sonia Kashuk Eye on Glamour!
The formula of her glitter powder shadows is reminiscent of Stila's Jewel Shadow formula, but only slightly. The Stila formula is a bit more pigmented and more firmly pressed. I still like what Sonia does with this formula, and it adds another element of texture with the artistry of eye makeup. She likes to make it certain that with her brand, experimentation with artistry is encouraged, and that it shouldn't be taken too seriously! That's why I love her brand, and own many of her eyeshadow palettes along with other products and tools.
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