Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Holiday Color Collections!
my answer: Some brands get REALLY repetitive over the years, which is sort of great, as it frees up money for other products, but at the same time, it can get disappointing to see a favorite brand churn out the same standard holiday pieces. I’d love to see more winter-driven takes on holiday, too, and not just your typical red, gold, silver.
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Yeah that, the repetitiveness. Sometimes I have to look twice just to be sure somebody didn’t accidentally post the promo images from last year: it’s that bad! I can’t complain about the golds and reds per se, but I hope brands can do different things so that there is something for everyone!
Rant: Too many brands do the same thing: Smoky eyes (brown or gray) with a metallic gold or silver accent, bright red lipstick, maybe a sparkly black eyeliner, sparkly nail polish. Very pretty, to be sure, but there’s only so many variations before it gets boring.
Rave: A lot of indie companies are putting out jewel tones, pinks, whites, icy blues and purples in their holiday color collections. A nice alternative to all the red, gold, silver, green.
*Huge palettes with like 100 colors – too overwhelming for me
*Weird colors that don’t look good on me
*Too many neutral brown shades -after a while, it all starts to look the same on the lids
*Colors that don’t go well together
*Lipcolors that aren’t true to the tube – that pink applies as a rose or magenta
I pass on most of Nars holiday stuff because it’s always the same blushes and bronzer. I loved Korres lipsglosses, (I think they’re discontinued) and I bought a holiday set one year and the next year it was the exact same thing, down to the packaging. No one needs another black eyeliner and middle of the road neutral lip product, IMO. I wish they’d branch out and do some outrageous stuff for the holidays.
I haven’t even been around in the makeup world that long, and even I’m tired of the holiday colours! I haven’t been inspired by any brand… The colours are, like has been said, typical. I honestly can’t wait for spring! I’m hoping the next season will bring me some fresher inspiration. But I do have to say since it’s my first holiday in the makeup world, it has been exciting trying some wintery colours for the first time! I never thought I would rock a red or even a dark berry lip, but I can now say I do and feel so fierce and beautiful 🙂
I agree with you on repetitive. I do feel that Chanel, NARS, and Guerlain had nice collections this year. I also liked some of the BB items. I think those brands turned out stuff with a festive vibe but not like the makeup equivalent of “Jingle Bells”.
I agree about them getting repetitive. Also it seems like some of the palettes/sets are lower quality than the usual offerings (like the Hello Kitty palette, UD Ten liner set, Kat von D big holiday palettes…).
And my personal pet peeve is it still seems like most palettes & sets, even ones that boast being all about color, are still half neutrals. I pass on a lot of palettes because it’s just not worth it to me to buy something I won’t fully use.
My current peeve is minis in conservative colors. The cute little holiday packaging is great and they’re so adorable, but what is the point of a mini in an every day pinky nude? I want minis in vivid purple and glossy orange, something that you’d never use up in full size but could totes justify if it was half size (and preferably price as well. I get having some difference in price per ounce but sometimes the difference is just outrageous.)
Totally agree with you on that one.
I’m very cool toned so all the Gold, warm brown/bronze, warm reds do nothing for me. It’s the same every year and so boring.
I’ve just bought the Clinique Nutcracker sets, partly because they are lovely, and partly to support the brake from the norm.
Generally the “gift” packs that feel like they are for partners without a clue are very frustrating because there is so many useless items.
I agree! I am cool toned as well and very few of the holiday palettes, especially this season, appeal to me. The palettes contain colours that I seriously would not wear and all the palettes seem to contain very similar colours. I was given (by my son!) the Charlotte Tilbury the Rebel and Dior’s Jardin palette – both of them are really suitable for cool toned complexions. Absolutely glorious colours.
Totally agree that as a neutral, it’s a tad annoying that all the warm bronzey tones keep on coming as if we had not seen many just like them before. I really liked the cool neutrals in the Burberry palette but cannot justify the purchase when half the palette is the same old bronze and brown shades. But what irked me the most was Tom Ford calling one of his cream eye shadows Platinum when it is a bronzy taupe. Just google platinum– it’s closer to silver.
Well, I don’t like them and rarely buy any. Not only are they repetitive but the products themselves are often of inferior quality to the permanent line. I generally feel the same way about most limited edition sets as well. There have been a few exceptions for me to the limited edition issues, but I tend to stay away from anything that is not in the regular range of products offered.
I love that I can get a great deal. If I find something “too repetitive”, I simply pass. I figure it means I simply have too much of a certain product. I don’t feel bad , or upset because I can’t spend money, LOL! Again, if there isn’t a place for a certain item/set in my stash, I obviously have more than enough. There are plenty of other permanent items for sale during the Holidays, so I end up turning to my “wishlist”.
When brands put these things out, the target is gift-giving. There are also expiration dates, which they assume we follow, so it should be expected they’ll re-release something the next year, particularly if it “expires” after 12 months. Also, most people don’t have massive hoards of makeup like many of us do…
Good points. I’d still like to see more a little more variety, even for giving to others as gifts, as not everyone can wear/would like the same colors. They make what sells, though, to be sure.
I’d definitely agree that they are repetitive. How many red lipsticks do we need (says she who at last count had over thirty and has since added one more to the collection)?!
I have to say that I’d love pops of other colours aside from the usual reds and golds such as rich purples, forest greens, teal etc. I suppose companies tend to stick with what they’ve found works for them.
Eyeshadow palettes are certainly more varied colour-wise than the lipsticks. I’m a lipstick fiend and as much as I love areally good red lipstick (Guerlain Rouge Parade, I’m looking at you) I’d love to see other colours too. Maybe more vampish colours like a really deep burgundy or something.
The only collection that I seem to buy every year is Guerlain because they are always different from the last. MAC….I haven’t bought a holiday collection from them in years. Packaging often looks cheap and it the colors just seem blah or just rehashed colors from the permanent line.
The plus side is that you can get some great deals, but the minus side is that brands churn out holiday palettes that are repetitive (as you mentioned Christine) and substandard in quality. That really is annoying.
I like it when brands put out affordable sets with minis of products so you can sample a range of their line. Favorites this year included the Urban Decay Full Frontal lip set, the Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot and the Josie Maran Winter Dreams color set. All were items I wanted to try but would never buy all of in full size. Now I know what I WILL buy full size once the minis run out, but I am not out money on the ones I don’t love as much.
Probably when brands have a palette that’s supposedly same product formula as their singles, but clearly aren’t when you see how poorly they perform. I see this a lot with Bobbi Brown and NARS (shadow palettes, it seems). It’s like they feel they can get away with quantity over quality because palettes can save consumers a lot of money.
Really good point. And this doesn’t just happen at the holidays but throughout the year when they release an eyeshadow palette that is supposed to represent good value and variety but because the quality is lower than their regular singles, it is a costly disappointment. MAC does this too (look at all the “incarnations” of Carbon, Satin Taupe, Dame blush in inferior quality compared to these same products in the regular line).
Too. Much. Gold
I like gold but I don’t think it should be THE ONLY color for holiday collections. Look at this year’s high end brands: almost all of them have a gold leaf/sparkle nail polish top coat. How about doing something DIFFERENT from the competitors, hmm??
I think for me, it’s just the glut of stuff that comes out, some of it good, some of it great and some of it not so hot but all of it packaged to make it seem like a deal not to be missed. And, yes, the repetitiveness is another factor. The TooFaced Everything Nice palette, which I am glad I got nevertheless, is a good example.
ya i agree after few years u feel it is just repetitive
One of the disadvantages is that they are too often geared towards warm skin tones. It makes sense in the summer collections, which are all about bronze, but I don’t understand it with the winter collections when we tend ot be at our palest.
I would love to see more collections inspired by winter itself and based on silver, which is just as festive as gold. It could pair well with soft dove greys, the softest pinks to the most full-on pinks, sheer white shimmers like the snow and navy like the night. Why not have a collection inspired by the winter night sky, the moon, the stars? These are all winter.
I love collections that break away from the norm but still work as winter. Admittedly, this year’s Guerlain was very classic, it was done so opulently, that it was still fresh (I’ll say the same for last year’s Dior although this year’s left something to be desired despite being very similar).
I loved last year’s Guerlain Crazy Paris, because while somewhat controversial, it broke away from the norm and still had a cohesive vision. Another favourite is Chanel’s holiday 2010 collection – I adored all the hot pinks paired with cool browns. That collection still haunts me as it was just a season before I really got serious about following the seasonal collections and missed out on a few lovely pieces. I was so grateful and happy when I managed to find the tweed fuchsia blush some months later.
I love sets that include useful mini products, not just some filler skincare and are good value for money. Many times I have used items in these sets that I never would have considered buying alone and ended up buying the full size. Also, perfume sets that have the larger size perfume and mathcing lotion are great (hate the ones with only shower gel).