What do you like about Natasha Denona? What don't you like?
Tell us what you love and hate about...
Natasha Denona
I really love that the brand came out with the smaller, 15-pan palette size–I think that is so much more appealing compared to the full-sized 15-pan palettes. I would love to see an extension of the singles range, though, as a lot of the shades released in the various palettes (both limited edition and permanent) are exclusive to those palettes, even though you can pop them out of them.
— Christine
Love: I really love her matte formula. It’s easy for me to use. I like the giant mirror in her 15 pan palettes.
Hate: no singles, cost.
I love Natasha Denona! I do wish that she would come out with even more affordable options so more of an audience can enjoy her products. Her formulas have improved greatly over the last few years. I hope that she comes out with some more of the more affordable 15-pan palettes as well!
Sadly, her shadows are too creamy for me or something because they crease easily no matter which way I use them. Darn my oily lids! I keep watching to learn about changes in formula, etc., in hopes that maybe someday. Her colors are so lovely! I’m okay though because I have Viseart and Colourpop that work great for me!
I find the colors to be unwearable. JMHO.
Me too, just imagine walking into your office or your job or run some errands with these colorful ( same with the new NORVINA pigment palettes) eyeshadows on your eyelid! Biba palette though is so beautiful!
Stepping in because follow-up comments have been disrespectful (the ones that are completely over the line have not been published), so this is a general reminder: Please keep in mind that the idea of something being “wearable” or “unwearable” as a general opinion vs. for oneself really toes the line of what is acceptable discourse on Temptalia.
Making judgment calls or policing what is “wearable” or “appropriate” for someone else goes against the spirit of this community (wear what you like) – as an example, I regularly run errands, have gone to school, have gone to an “office” job (at city hall) with colorful eyeshadows.
Hi! It wasn’t my intention to disturb, just my opinion. After all, my participation here for so many years, has not shown this kind of purpose.
Hi Amalia,
There were several comments similar to yours that were not published, and it was clear that allowing the initial comment gave many people license to run wild with policing of what others can/can’t wear, which is why I had to step in and publish a reminder of the types of comments that are and aren’t allowed.
Your history was what allowed your comment to be published, since it was my hope that you did not mean to cast judgment on everyone who wears colorful eyeshadows to their office/job/on errands. If you had worded your comment with “I can’t imagine walking into *my* office or running *my* errands” it would have been clear that you were talking about what works for you vs. an opinion on what others can/can’t wear.
Thank you for your reply, I understand and I appreciate your work and I strongly believe that here, in this blog there is no place for malicious comments! Big hugs from Greece!
Thank you for understanding!! ?
Like: Her color schemes (most of the time) and the quality
Like less: The price, even if the cost for the pan sizes are similar if not less than many others (if I recall seeing some YouTubers do comparisons way back).
Rave/Love: Her eyeshadows and cheek products have such wonderful and very lush quality to them! I’m also a huge fan of the new Sunrise Palette size. Perfect price per amount of product. Same goes for those Mini e/s quints and cheek duos. At these sizes, who knows? I may actually get to use several pans up! Also, I’m liking the looks of her new nude lipsticks, too. I may need to try one!
Rant/Dislike: The price point and unwieldy size of her larger palettes, those first 3 in particular. I’d LOVE to see all 3 made into the Sunrise Palette format with a reasonable price point, not the $239! Instead, more like $129 or less. Look, I’m 60 years old, so it’s fairly doubtful that I will get to use up my regular sized Lila Palette as it is, so I’d totally appreciate smaller pans!
What I like: I don’t have much experience with this brand, owning just one little ND palette (Mini Lila), but I love how finely milled the shadows are, how smooth they feel, how easy they blend. I like that ND releases mini palettes. And I especially like that I was able to get Mini Lila for $12.50 at Sephora!
What I don’t like: I’ve seen some beautiful ND palettes that I’d love to own, especially Safari, but they’re way, way, way out of my price range.
I don’t like that most of her products just aren’t available in-store. I wanted the Gold mini palette so much that I caved and ordered it online, only to mistakenly order the WRONG palette, have to return that and then wait the better part of a week for the one I wanted to arrive in the mail. I’m really an “instant gratification” kinda gal and if her palettes were more widely available at Sephora bricks and mortar stores, I would own a few more of them in spite of the steep prices. I guess the other thing I don’t like is the way high prices. You can purchase shadows of equal quality for considerably less, in my experience. And at her high prices, I need for every shadow in a palette to be one I can use and that’s also just not the case. So I am reluctant to spend $170 (yup, that’s the price here in Janie Canuk-land) for a palette where 5 of the shadows are completely unusable for me.
I love her formula and the color stories that she comes up with. Her color stories inspire me and make me want to create looks. I also love the new smaller 15 pan size. I think that is the perfect size and amount of product for most people. I would love to see more of the quads that she came out with for the face (Bloom Palette and Tan Palette). However, I would like to see her come out with more shade variations. Like a deep, medium, and light face palette. Overall, I love Natasha Denona’s brand and quality.
Actually, I don’t have much to say about Natasha Denona. I have mentioned several times on the blog, that I don’t care for her e/s formula. Having said that, I haven’t tried any shadows for quite a long time so I am planning on picking up a small palette and giving it another go. I am leaning towards the mini Lila just because those colours always appeal to me. So, I am hoping that I will like the formula.
Based on my previous experience, I have always believed the palettes to be way, way over priced. If I am going to pay a luxury price for a palette, I expect it to perform pretty flawlessly.
Honestly, I don’t like a single thing about ND. I find her price points to be so outrageous that I can’t even take the brand seriously. In my opinion, there is probably a peak formula for eyeshadow using the best ingredients that exist on the planet and it would still not warrant her price points. And to be frank, I don’t find her formulas to be that great to begin with. Her eyeshadow palettes have had so many issues with shades falling out and glittery shades being just glitter, plus I find them difficult to blend.
If I had to say one good thing about her brand, I would say her highlighters are pretty.
I completely agree Laurel. I just don’t get the hype with this brand. Outrageously priced and the formula is just ok. I bought the mini Lila palette when it was $12.50 and was underwhelmed. There are so many other brands that perform better for a lot less money.
LIKE: She has some really beautiful and creative shades and palette combinations and I also really appreciate the move toward smaller pan sizes. I also like that her palettes are magnetised and the pans can be easily removed and rearranged if desired.
DON’T LIKE: Some shades are quite finicky and you have to use the right brush – there was a lot of trial and error for me when I first started using ND products which was fairly frustrating but I persevered because $$$$$! I like her cheek palettes but I find some of the cream products seems to get a hard layer on after a while, and again, finding the right tools can be a challenge to get the best results – which is fine if you’re a pro but little old me just wants sh*t that works at 7am, ya’know?!
Best thing I heard all day, and I HEAR ya. Especially before 6A. Finicky drives me nuts.
I really love Natasha Denona. She seems to love to innovative and comes up with different formulas that are uniquely her own. Her color stories are trendsetting and it’s always wonderful to hear what inspired each palette. I also love that she is responsive to her following. A couple of people thought it would be great to create smaller half sized palettes and now we are seeing them more.
Something I don’t like is that she releases her products in different packaging. I would have loved the Biba palette, but it seems like the shadow gets loose from that design and falls out. I feel as though she should stick to her original packaging, since I have never seen that happen until she switched packaging (besides the Joya palette).
Can we have a rant and rave on Pat McGrath if there has not been one already?
I’m probably in the minority, but I was disappointed in the nude mini eyeshadow palette. It had too many light colored shades and I couldn’t really do much with it. The mini Lila one had shades that made me look like I had gotten beaten up.
That said, it’s good to see her come up with smaller palettes for those who don’t want huge and costly ones. I just wish it was a smaller palette with colors workable for my taste and skin tone.
I love her eyeshadow formulas in general! The mattes especially are something special; you can achieve super precise placement and control if you want to (shadow liner, defined crease placement, etc), but they also blend quite easily so they’re not hard to use by any means. The new cream to powder formula is growing on me also, especially that teal in the Gold palette *swoons*. And don’t even get me started on the metallics!
I think the pan size of her regular palettes is overkill and drives the price up needlessly, so I was really happy to see the likes of the Sunrise and Metropolis palettes popping up! I still think it’s a tad too splurgy though.
I just got the Metropolis Palette and even though I can only use about half the colors, I should probably return it, but I can’t let it go. Getting it reminded me of how much I love her textures but nevertheless I rarely get her palettes because the colors are mostly too warm. This sent me back to exploring the earlier Denona palettes I do own– including the original blue -purple 28 pan, and several of her earlier, larger 5 pans. So this question comes as I am having an ND revival. My own skills and willingness to layer colors has greatly improved– heck, I was not even wearing a decent eye primer back then. And some colors that were not that popular at the time, like the many blues in the original 28 and the two vivid greens in one of the 5 pans are now more favored. And I have to say I would probably have wound up buying the PMG Astral for its green, but the ND 5 pan has a worthwhile emerald-y dupe. Plus that neutral metallics 5-pan– so good. The cream-y ness and blendability are awesome, the nuance of her shades is great. And my wish is that she had just one cool neutral palette– that contained the cool row in Biba, for example, which I cannot buy because 2/3 of that palette is unusable. If it never happens, I will make use of what I had and enjoying rediscovering the ND’s in my stash.
Can’t comment on rant/raves, since I never tried anything from the brand.
But I’d wish brands would be more transparent about the real cost of make-up. Unless you put real gold in an eye shadow (and I don’t think that it’s eye safe), there’s a limit on the cost of raw materials.
On one hand I understand that some pigments and base formulas are more expensive, especially when you choose sources / providers that are environmentally friendly, fair-trade and treat the employees with dignity, not the cheapest talk and mica.
But I’m also very much aware that research and creativity should be highly motivated and payed. I’m also aware that the machinery used in production is also a cost; for eyeshadows the precision of the machine that does the pressing of the powders can play a big factor on the quality.
I just wish there was some transparency on the cost: materials vs. production equipment vs. R&D / artistry vs. brand name / luxury `add-on`. But I assume that most brands won’t admit they add an extra 30% (wild number) mark-up just for the brand name.
Suspect you are lowballing that. When you see so many ‘A’ dupes from SG and CP, you know that the cachet of a Rockstar HE makeup artist and creator is what is driving the hefty price tags. Everyone needs to draw his/her line.
Rave: I think this brand is getting better and better and the introduction of palettes of different sizes is a great idea.
Rant: The larger palettes often have a reptition of shades and they can be so darned expensive.
Love the textures so soft and creamy and blend like a dream.
Dislike, I wish she did more cool tone and less sparkle in the mini palettes. I have no way of seeing them in real life and notice that in photos the colours can look very different in real life. So many bronze shades in the palettes. And I say this as someone who loves bronze/copper shades.
Natasha Denona herself has a top-notch sense of color. She can combine colors in the most beautiful way. Christine, what you don’t like about this brand is what I like the most. I know many people don’t like her Safari palette but the reason why this palette is my favorite is the cohesive color story. She is not only selling the high-quality formula and the insanely pretty colors but also selling a complete concept. I don’t think that formulating an easy-to-use eyeshadow is rocket science. But why she’s one of the most successful eyeshadow brands on the market? Marketing is about story telling.
Hmm, I’m re-reading what I said, and I’m not sure where I said I didn’t like the color stories or the palettes? I do think that full-sized palettes at $129 are unnecessary, though, and I’d like them to be smaller (like Sunrise).
The prices are extortionate!!
I’m sorry about my comment. I meant that the shades would not be complimentary for me.