Are holiday palettes worth the money? Are they a good deal? Is the quality less than products released during the rest of the year?
It really depends on the brand. Some brands are better known for their palettes (e.g. Urban Decay) than individual product releases. Overall, I think they’re a good opportunity to try a brand or get a bunch of eyeshadow/gloss/etc. all at once.
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after seeing that Cinderella pallete I can’t help but say YES am I right?
I really think it depends. In my opinion, I feel like UD and Too Faced give a good value and their quality is still good. However, I feel like MAC and Tarte gives amazing values for their palettes, but their eyeshadows definitely lack quality.
Some of them totally are and some aren’t at all. I like the lipgloss sets, because it’s a good way to try a lot of things for a lower price, or get a lot of different options for a lower price. But some of the all in one palettes with eyeshadow and blush and lipstick can skimp on the quality. I’m always wary of an all-in-one holiday palette because you just don’t know if the quality is there or not.
(of course, I’ve said this and Burberry is coming out with eyeshadow palettes in November. I’m totally getting at least one of those.)
I think it depends on quality, quantity vs price, and whether I already own something similar.
Well, it depends on the brand. Two Faced yes ( it’s so cute ), Dior Grand Bal definitely yes for the ” carnet de bal ” ( 78 € ). Yves Saint-Laurent ” Nuit Arctique ” palette yes ( very beautiful and not so expensive compared to regular palettes maybe 4 € more ).
Urban Decay no, it’s always the same where is creativity in the Vice Palette ? I really wonder. I have some beautiful UD palettes but I don’t think they are worth the price ( I am thinking of the Vice and the Book of Shadows IV, 58 € here ! ).
But on the whole Holiday palettes are worth the price yes.
I’m glad someone mentioned YSL. My love for this brand has been on the upswing based on their quality and price. I think the holiday palette is just gorgeous and certainly not the typical silver/gold concoction you usually get.
Where do you live? €58 is a ridiculous exchange rate, I got vice for €47 last weekend!
Of course, the UD Vice palette is well worth the price. I’m loving the shadows, as well as the brush. I’ve been reading alot of blogs that are finding Jagged to be subpar, but I’ve found it to be quite smooth, but it could be that I’m using the brush that came with the palette.
I’m also loving the tarte Carried Away set. The glosses are surprisingly long-wearing (even for me!), although the colors aren’t noticibly different on the lips. However, since the main reason I bought it was for the shadows, I’m not going to split hairs about the pigmentation of the glosses, and the shadows are incredible. Besides, the glosses are amazing in texture & longevity. The set also includes an amazing blush, which of course is LE, but if it’s released in the future, I’ll likely buy it (and I *rarely* even wear blush). There’s also an amazing powder brush (über soft, no shedding), a setting powder, & a mascara that I don’t care for, but I’ll use it as an “emergency” mascara if I lose or run out of my current ones.
Both are quite different from one another, and although I like the shadows in Vice a bit more overall, I’m going to get more use from Carried Away, as the softness of the colors are more appropriate for my current lifestyle.
I look forward to Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown holiday offerings each year. I do notice that the prices increase each year while the amount of product in each palette decreases. At one time, I showed little restraint, and bought up most every holiday item in these brands, but Im now much pickier, and they just dont thrill me as they once did!!
I think so, but I also agree it depends on the brand. I think Tarte and UD definitely make some nice stuff, though I usually pass to pick up some Dior holiday quads.
I personally think this year Tarte has taken the gold for Holiday palettes and gift sets. Their set of 5 lipSurgence pencils is an incredible deal…5 full size products in an array of nudes to pinks for only $34. Whereas one pencil alone is $24….HELLO DEAL!!! Also their SmolderEyes set is fantastic…if you have never tried these out..get on it they go on like butter and most of the colors are limited edition and look fabulous the set also comes with a sharpener. I know there is one set that has been sold out on sephora for weeks that i am dying to get my hands on…4 mini amazonian clay blushes!!!! one highlight color a pink a coral and a buff nude neutral….every color you could ever need in blushes is in that gift set. Another gift set I took advantage of are the Sephora Favorites….I think any of these would make awesome gifts to yourself or others. I chose to do the in the glow set and you get 3 highlighters, 3 bronzers, and 3 blushes for only $45. These aren’t full size but I have a previous nars laguna in the eyeshadow size from march and use it everyday and still am not even close to hitting pan. Holiday gift sets are what get me everytime…and I am soo tempted to stock up because since some of these colors are limited edition when I run out whenever I will know I have a back up.
I agree with the overall opinion so far – depends. On my non existent spending allowance the larger “blockbuster” palettes are worth it. I get more options in colours and items for the dollar. Lipglosses and liners are great sets too as usually they are an amazing value.
The more expensive items/brands, like Guerlain and Dior, I would have to say no. The palettes are just too small for the money and I don’t usually see the quality being worth it at all. Unless it was some SUPER amazing quality or combination that really blew me away but I have yet to see that.
Some yes. Other no.
I bought the Tarte holiday palette a few years back and I was really disappointed with the quality. The eye shadows were not pigmented at all. But the idea of the palette was great. It came with 32 eyeshadows, 4 eyeliners. 2 blushes. And the price was $50. If the eyeshadows were more pigmented if would’ve been a great deal.
The other day I got Sephora’s eyeliner sampler set. It seems like a pretty good deal.
If you apply tarte shadows with a damp brush, they are far more pigmented. If you don’t want to stick a damp brush into the pan, you can mist the brush after picking up shadow with water. It’s not that tarte shadows are “inferior”, or that they put out inferior shadows in their Holiday sets, but unlike other brands (UD, MUFE), they’re not meant to be intense.
I haven’t bought a product from a holiday collection for about 5 years. I wonder why every is getting crazy about holiday collections. I don’t want to pay more money for special package or palettes including different products.
I think it depends on how much makeup you have.
It depends. You really have to check them out in person before purchasing, as they tend to be more expensive because of the packaging. In my experience Dior is notorious for putting lower quality products into their holiday palettes. I don’t know why they change the formula for these items (specifically the eyeshadow) but they do. Urban Decay is more consistent with their formula. I always feel comfortable purchasing things online before trying them first. Even if there are 1 or 2 duds it doesn’t outweigh the overall value for me.
Two thoughts on holiday specific palettes because I wasn’t certain if you were referring to holiday makeup palettes–meaning makeup palettes with colours intended to be worn for the season–or holiday gift giving palettes:
1. Holiday makeup palettes can be just a hot mess of glizty glittery madness in silver and gold and a waste of money since its not something you would typically reach for on a regular basis.
2. Holiday gift palettes, on the other hand, are a great way to save money if you really love a product and want to expand your collection to include other colours. .. oh, and I guess you can give them as gifts too 😛
Like everyone has said I think it really depends on the brands. Usually I try to go in the store to look & swatch things myself before buying. I think it’s a great way to add to your collection, & get a great deal. Most of the lip gloss sets are really nice, also I like to shop for fragrances this time of year too because the sets are so nice.
I think that some of the holiday palettes aren’t made of the same quality as the regular items. Especially eyeshadow palettes.
Bought one of the Stila holiday eyeshadow palettes — and the quality is not the same as regular Stila shadows. (Doesn’t apply to brands that come out regularly with palettes (UD).)
I’m usually cautious now — especially when the deal is too good to be true. Also, you’ll notice that sometimes the holiday palettes are produced elsewhere (China) — so that should be a good tip-off.
It really depends on brand and on the palette itself. I always ask myself the following questions before I buy one: 1) Do you already have similar colors in your stash? 2)How much do you like the packaging? 3) How much product do you get for your money? Some brands make great sets/palettes for a fraction of the normal price (Urban Decay, Too Faced, MUFE had great liner sets in the past). Other times you get a mix of permanent products and pay extra for the holiday packaging, sometimes even for lesser quality, as seen in some of MACs recent quads/palettes.
Wow, it totally depends. I like the portability of palettes when I travel, though other than UD Naked and The Balm Nude Tude, a palette rarely has everything I need. With respect to quality, I know that it is hit or miss so I always read reviews. UD palettes tend to be the most consistent. I really like Too Faced shadow duos but I’m not a huge fan of Too Faced palettes.
This year my money is going towards tarte! I was just visiting sephora and all the set put our are amazing and they are a really good price for the quantity and quality of the products.
I know this is unfair due to quality of the palettes, but I like to judge a brand (especially higher end) first by buying a palette or a quad. I feel as if a palette is a good way to try more then one product from the brand, and if they can lure me in with a palette, I’ll invest in them further! First impressions do mean a lot to me!
I think they can be, but you really have to be careful. Some brands (like Stila) are especially known for putting out palettes with lower quality product than their normal. In that case, they definitely aren’t. The ones whose quality remains consistent (like Urban Decay) can be completely worth it.
For me though, the biggest issue I run into with palettes is that you start collecting near dupes of shades and after a while it’s just overkill.
Depends on the brand, the uniqueness of the limited edition products and the overall quality of them. For example Chanel and Guerlain are very consistent with the quality of the limited edition items in general and consequently are worth it, on the other hand there are brands that give lower quality on the limited edition products like Mac for example, that can be amazing sometimes and terrible others, so in the end, it depends.
Out of all the holiday palettes released/previews so far, YSL Northern Lights collection is my favourite.
I also think it depends on the brand. UD’s palettes are awesome quality just like their single shadows but some other brands have lower quality products in their palettes. I haven’t only noticed it in palettes but also in holiday kits. What i’m talking about are MAC’s brushes; in the holiday kits they shed like crazy and aren’t as soft.
I guess I am not influenced by the pretty holiday packaging and hype. I like palettes because I can have more than one shadow. It is more convenient for travel which is really important to me. I actually only have the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay and a MAC customizable eyeshadow quad. I’m not a makeup artist so I don’t see the point in having a hundred eyeshadows that I probably won’t use. I rather have a few that I can use and will use instead. With the Naked 2 palette I get 12 full sized eyeshadows for way cheaper than if I buy each one for $18 each. And the MAC palette, it was cheaper to buy pans of colors I would use that was not in the naked palette. It is small enough for weekend travel which was great. I actually read the reviews online before I decide to buy a palette. I’m more of a quality than quantity person. I don’t need a makeup collection to brag on YouTube. I just need makeup that will make me look good.
A lot of them are good values but I still only purchase ones that I feel I need in my makeup collection. I love UD but have been holding back on the palettes since I figure I have a lot of similar shades already. Still, if I see it after the holidays at Nordstrom Rack on markdown… It’s mine. 🙂
UD is the only one thats worth it for me. Every other brand I’ve tried….puts in shadows in the palette that are much lower in quality than the single shadows.
I tend to agree and i think its madness. Companies that put substandard products in their palettes are just shooting themselves in the foot. You get this pretty looking pallet with crap eye shadow and your going to go “well i’m never wasting my money on this brand again”. Good way to loose potential customers who are trying to take advantage of the pallet deals to try products out.
Same thing has happened with Hautelook. High-end brands put their below subpar quality makeup on Hautelook so that potential future customers can put them on their “don’t buy” list. Lorac pulled the same stunt. I couldn’t believe the absolute terrible quality I got with their eye pencils. Never again will I buy anything from Lorac.
That’s a shame b/c their eyeshadows are great and her mascara is my HG. Her eye primer is awesome and so is her complexion kit. The newest PRO Palette is awesome! But I hate the eye pencils! Pretty sure you tried her worst product. Just my 2 cents.
Christine, I heard that the MAC brush sets are lesser quality than the full size brushes that MAC usually sells. I am interested in the Stippling set that they just released at counters but if that’s true, I don’t want to waste my money. Do you agree?
Usually the sets are machine-made vs. the full-sized individual brushes that are hand-made.
Only if the palette is the same quality as the regular colors. I only have bought UD holiday palettes. Some of those holiday palettes are not the same…like Tarte, MAC etc.
Some are worth it like UD, but Mac same ole stuff repackage and no discount for employes 🙁 or pro !! you wou think they would want it to fly out for the holidays. Cute packaging , but really ?? Please someone give another bran holiday to look at!!! That’s worth the money!
Smashbox and Urban Decay have wonderful holiday palettes.
The problem with the holiday sets is that its peek selling time for all these companise so for most it is quanity over quality, they like to tell you its not but with review sites and bolggers the failings of a product is commen knowledge.
What is funny is my mum used to work as a colour matcher for one of the big companise and i dont now if it still is the same today but back then any coloured batch mistakes that they made were released but as limited eddition products… it may still be tru today and maybe why some of the L.E products or holiday gifts are never up to scratch with the rest of the lines…
For holiday sets or palletes that i usually like id have to go for Guerlain, Estee Lauder, Laura Mercier The balm and Illamasqua.. others that make great products are Ben Nye, Make-Up Geek and Givenchy. I have to say with MAC and NARS i like their perminate ranges L.E or holiday sets are crappy most of the time sadly.
Interesting! Thanks for the insight!
Can you get holiday palettes in January? Just wanted to know if they go on sale, or if it’s a one time offer.