NARS Scandal 6-Pan Eyeshadow Palette ($49.00 for 0.36 oz.) is a new, limited edition holiday release featuring six shades exclusively available at NARS. This palette will be most versatile when paired with your go-to neutrals, as the inclusion of both a deep brown and rich black made it harder to get anything but an intense, smoky eye out of it, though I gave it my best effort to use this palette and only this palette for a cohesive look! The quality was good overall with Stage Dive being underwhelming.
Natasha Denona Star Mini Eyeshadow Palette ($25.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a new, limited edition palette featuring shades from the Star palette. While the mini eyeshadow palette didn’t perform poorly, it wasn’t consistent with the shades in the original Star palette, which is permanent, so I’m not sure why there was any inconsistency or why the ingredient lists aren’t the same between the two. Most notably, Orion was much, much creamier and deeper in color, while Atik changed in depth and undertone. The other three shades were more similar in color, but Cosmo was a bit lighter depending on how it reflected the light.
If you liked Natasha Denona’s shimmer formula in the past because of how cream-like they were, you’ll likely be disappointed with this palette as the formula has changed to be denser/firmer with less creaminess (though I do find they wear better than the creamier formula but that’s without primer; with primer they’re comparable).
NARS Provocateur 6-Pan Eyeshadow Palette ($49.00 for 0.36 oz.) is a new, limited edition smoky set of shades for the holiday season. I felt like it was very fall/winter appropriate, and it definitely fit the brand’s punk theme for the collection. The six shades worked well together, though you’ll have to enjoy your shimmers or supplement with more mattes as only one shade was matte (Endless Party). I found that the satin-to-pearl finish of two of the shades (Smash It Up, Not For Sale) worked well in place of mattes for depth as they were quite dark. The only shade that was fussier was Screech, as it was packed with sparkle, so it was better applied with a dampened brush or used with a mixing medium to prevent some fallout (though it was usable dry for me).
Viseart Grande Pro (Vol. 2) Grande Pro Palette ($175.00 for 2.10 oz.) is a new, limited edition palette that’s individually numbered (3,000 made) that features 30–whew!–shimmer shades that range from pearl to metallic to large glitter. The palette was designed for professional makeup artists first and foremost (in terms of the creation and development process), and as a shimmery complement to the original Grande Pro (Vol. 1) palette, which was all matte (and also designed for professional makeup artists). Each column represents a different type of finish, so depending on the finish, it may be more or less pigmented, more or less glittery. Columns two and six were the least user-friendly within the palette; the other four columns were similar to shimmery, powder-based eyeshadow formulas.
Columns two and six have larger glitter particles, and they are recommended to be used with a mixing medium to “set and seal glitter in place,” and it is recommended to dampen the brush, pick up product, and apply with a “patting/pressing motion.” Without the brand’s more specific descriptions (which is what we want to see to help guide our expectations!), this palette would have rated lower, so I urge anyone interested in this to consider each of the finishes to ensure it will work with your application style and techniques and meet your needs, which I’ve described in detail below.
You have to either be a die-hard Viseart fan or love larger, chunky glitter as a traditional consumer to consider this palette; whether this is a go-to for professional makeup artists, I’ll leave it up to those who practice to comment below with how it fits with their kit. I love some of the shades and finishes used within the palette, and I hope we’ll see the shades offered as singles some day or incorporated in future palettes (preferably a smaller format!). I think if some of the jewel-toned shades catch your eye, but you’re not into the glitter or have no need for a 30-shade palette, I highly recommend Bijoux Royal (or Ribbons Boheme for brighter, slightly more popping shades). I really enjoyed columns one, three, four, and five.
Column one is labeled “Crystalline Highlighters” that have “sheer satin coverage, crystal finish.” I think they’re being unsold, as one was sheer, another was semi-sheer, two were medium-full, and one was opaque. I swatched these five shades dry and wet (just using water). This finish was easy to use like any other shimmer eyeshadow; they applied well, blended out easily, and lasted for eight to nine hours on me.
Column two is labeled “Prismatic Metallics” that have “medium coverage, prismatic finish.” If they had omitted the larger, chunkier shimmer, I would have found these easier to work with as there was still some fallout when I used a dampened brush as well as when I blended it out. The pigmentation was medium, as described, and they should be used with a mixing medium for the adhesive quality (to deal with the chunky glitter) and improve the coverage/payoff. With the exception of #6, they were a challenge to use dry as there was a ton of fallout. With a dampened brush, most of them improved, but shades like #7 had to be used with an adhesive base/mixing medium as there were too many glitters. Without an adhesive base, there was fallout throughout the day. In most of the lead-up material, only column six was marketed as truly requiring the mixing medium, not column two, so I rated based on being able to use it dry but also tested and gave details on using it with a mixing medium.
Column three is labeled “Chromatic Foils” that have “full coverage, foil finish.” These are more like the types of shimmers one would expect from Viseart; they’re pigmented, smooth, blendable, and easy to work with. They don’t need to be applied with a dampened brush or fingertip to shine, but they can, of course, be intensified with a dampened brush like most shimmer/metallic powder eyeshadows.
Column four is labeled “Luxe Metallics” that have “full coverage, velvet finish.” (They were initially described as “medium to full,” which is why I swatched them dry and dampened with water.) This is another easy-to-use row of pigmented, blendable, and long-wearing shades. Some shades were slightly more “mostly opaque” rather than full coverage in a single layer, but in practice, I didn’t notice as they adhered evenly and blended out nicely to the point where it didn’t feel like they were under-pigmented.
Column five is labeled “Celestial Duo-Chromes” that have “sheer/medium coverage, dual reflective finish.” I actually felt that they were undersold; they were more medium to full coverage with none of the five shades being genuinely sheer (or even semi-sheer). The textures were soft, smooth, and blendable without being too softly nor too firmly pressed in the pan. They applied well and lasted for eight to nine hours on me.
Column six is labeled “Glittering Toppers” that have “medium/full coverage, glitter finish” and need to be used with a “mixing medium for best result.” I don’t like these personally; they were finicky to work with as the glitter particle size is quite large so while it’s drying down, there’s a very short period of time one can work with it to apply and blend but once it’s dry, if I went to blend, voila, fallout. I didn’t get great dispersion of glitter when I tried to use it on my lid. I find that the smaller, more fleck-like glitter/sparkle that we find in eyeshadows is often more reflective and sparkly yet easier to work with and wear during the day. The glitter in some of these shades just seemed to sit on top of the base but were so large (and not concentrated enough) that they lacked the wow factor I’d expect from adding glitter onto anything. This was most apparent in shade #30.
A few were sheerer when used dry, but as soon as I used it with a mixing medium, they became quite opaque and rich that I’m not sure how they’re working as “toppers” since they’re covering up the color/finish of anything they’re put on top of. However, using them dry was just a no; they had a lot of fallout during application and unsurprisingly, that larger glitter had nowhere to go but down during wear. The palette was designed for pros in mind, and Viseart has a long history of being a professional brand, so I’d definitely be curious to hear from makeup artists and how the “Glittering Toppers” are working for them in their kits. I tested these with and without the mixing medium but as they were marketed as to be used with mixing medium, the rating is based on application and wear with it (but I wanted to account for the base color and how it wore/applied, which is why I tested both ways).
Urban Decay Naked Cherry Eyeshadow Palette ($48.00 for 0.90 oz.) is the newest in the Naked series and features a mix of corals and plums. The formula across both the shimmers and mattes seemed drier; the mattes were thinner and drier, often on the powdery side and needed to be built up more, while the shimmers looked less shimmery once they were applied and blended out on my lid. The impact of some of the shimmers losing their reflective quality was that a lot of them ended up looking too similar on my lid, so the resulting looks were more prone to looking a little muddy.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Topaz Flash See-quins Glam Glitter Eyeshadow ($28.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a smoldering, medium-dark taupe with subtle, war, reddish undertones and multi-colored glitter and sparkle. It had rich, opaque pigmentation with larger glitter particles with a mix of smaller sparkle and glitter. The texture was loosely pressed with a soft feel with some chunkiness coming through from amount of glitter in the product itself. With a flat, synthetic brush, the eyeshadow applied well with pressing motions, and I was surprised at how little fallout there was but did find that a little went a long way so using less than I thought I needed seemed to help with minimizing fallout. It wore well for nine hours before creasing faintly, and there was slight fallout over time.
The formula is supposed to add a "super-shimmering dimension to any look" with a "demi-pressed process" that has "high-impact dazzle with smooth glide and bold color." Per the brand, it can be "packed on for intense glitter or blended for a soft wash of sparkle." They recommend packing it on with a fingertip or using a flat, synthetic brush in a "gentle pressing motion." I was surprised at how well they applied with a flat, synthetic brush, as I was able to apply all six shades using a flat, synthetic brush (MAC 247s and 242s) and gently pressed the product against my lid and have most of the product adhere without lots of fallout. When I pressed on an eyeshadow, I gently press and then pull in a direction (depending on what and where I'm applying). The formula yielded very shiny, sparkling color that was intense and bright while still offering pigmentation from the base color, too.
They have a very loosely-packed texture--they seem more like a 40-60% loose product, and it was important to use the included "pigment press" to keep the surface flat. I also found that a little went a long way with most shades, and I could see fallout becoming an issue if too much product was on the brush. I usually just pressed the brush gentle on the surface and that was good enough for coverage on my lid. They lasted for eight and a half hours on me before creasing faintly, and there was slight fallout over time but nothing that reached the point where it seemed distracting/noticeable to anyone looking at me. Frankly, I was extremely impressed with how easily they applied, adhered, and lasted on me while delivering on high impact dazzle and bold color. Using fingertips worked for getting even adhesion, but I have always found it harder to be precise with my fingertips on my lid, and I did feel like my fingertip was picking up more product than I needed so there was a bit more fallout when I attempted using my fingertips.
