Dominique Cosmetics Rustic Glam Eyeshadow Palette Swatches
Dominique Cosmetics Rustic Glam Eyeshadow Palette ($44.00 for 0.60 oz.) is a new, limited palette that features 12 shades across a mix of mattes and shimmers.
One note: The brand named one of their eyeshadows g*psy, which is a racial slur against the Romani people. I’m aware that some people are still learning about the history and context behind this word, why it is a racial slur, and removing it from their vocabulary, so I sincerely hope the brand wasn’t aware and named it this anyway. It seems likely that they intended the meaning of it to be in the vein of “free spirit,” as that’s another name used in the palette, so here are five alternatives that I think would suit the mix of theme of desert/free spirit used in the other names: Freethinker, Daydreamer, Stargazer, Canyon, and Desert Rose. I hope the brand will consider releasing a statement (if they have, I haven’t seen it…), and if they re-manufacture the palette (it is listed as limited edition), they’ll rename the shade.
I’m interested in this palette. The color story is good and it looks summery. The swatches look pretty good. This might be my first Dominique cosmetics purchase!
I saw Tara do a swatch and mini review of this palette on her usual Saturday night haul videos. She really loves it and felt the quality was on par with Dominique’s first palette release. There are several colours in this palette that I really like and I don’t think I have dupes for but I am waiting for your review Christine to make sure I don’t have dupes before I think about picking this up. The shade cactus is the shade I am loving and can’t think of a dupe in my collection. Maybe the Kathleen Lights Dream Street palette. I will have to pull that out and look but in my minds eye, the KL shade is more turquoise than this shade, maybe?
I’d check out Devinah for a possible dupe! They released a bunch of green singles last year and I think they have some similar shades.
Does anyone else just not “get” this colour scheme? i’m all for more unusual colour combos, but this seems like on mismatched mix of warm and cool, muted and bright with no coherence.
I agree with you, I don’t really get this colour scheme either. Both the pale blues look similar to me and two brown shades seem out of sync with the rest of the palette.
agree. it is like the matte green can only work with Wonderlust, that matte pink can only pair with G*psy. that’s it.
I do not see this as a cohesive palette either, but if peeps are looking for unusual/interesting pops of colour, I can see the attraction. I’m a pass. I tend to prefer palette where I can build looks around the colour scheme. My eyes get a bit nuts looking at this temperature wise.
Ethnic slur aside, I do love the color story and the noticeable quality contained herein. I will be getting it.
However, I will also be writing a letter to her explaining the issue. Of note, not all Romani people consider this a slur, and consequently use the term themselves. My ex had a close friend who was a Romani man, he did refer to himself as a G*psy, and was VERY proud of his heritage. He was also one of the only people who was able to talk my ex down from his angry place, thereby sparing me and others his wrath. TY Lazlo!
I really hope they will address it – I’m surprised they haven’t!
I always appreciate it when you keep it real, Christine.
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I bought this without even looking at the palette, and was shocked to see that word. I covered it up with some washi tape. Otherwise, it’s been a great addition to my collection, something I’ve been reaching for without thinking of it often. Thrilled with the formula, not so much with the name. I like your alternate names, Christine!
It seemed like it was being phased out of cosmetics, but then Stila used it recently (in the last year or two) and here we are with DC! I thought about censoring it on the palette itself but wanted the photos to be proof of it existing as well.
Honestly, I think it’s just starting to gain traction across social media for how bad it truly is. A very knowledgeable friend of mine used it on Twitter a few months back and it was quite a surprise for me. Hopefully this continues a dialogue.
Yes, I consider it to still be in the “educational” phase where we’re going to have to keep having the conversation and further the discourse along, but hopefully, more people will learn, understand, and listen!
Christine do you know if you’ll have time to review this palette? I was hoping for a review on Berries and Cream (for dupes) purposes but I’m guessing you didn’t have time. I understand if you don’t. 🙂
Hey Heather,
Here’s my copy pasta response to this question – I really don’t know, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint you by saying yes and not doing so.
“We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can’t commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don’t want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don’t always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!”
When checking the dupe list for Gypsy, I was kind if disappointed. Nothing similar. I started going through my own collection for dupes that I could at least compare to what I saw on my screen, and Paradiso from Colourpop ranks up there. As do a lot of the dupes for Paradiso. Give the dupe code a prod! 🙂
I think the swatches are really good, so it seems like a quality palette from the outset. The two shades I like the best are Wonderlust and Bohemiam. But there are too many matte shades for me.
Beautiful palette. I really like that Cactus shade. I wish my eyelids got along better with Dominique’s formula. I’m pretty sure I can dupe most of these shades, luckily.
I don’t think that “gypsy” is a racial slur. There is a reality show called, “ My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding,” They call themselves Gypsy of the show and refer to themselves as gypsies. They are a proud people who unfortunately are often discriminated against. I do own this pallet and am loving it! Beautiful Summer colors.
I don’t know anything about that show personally, but certain words that have been used as derogatory in the past have been reclaimed by those they were used against – that’s different – and it’s also important to note that no one person can speak for an entire group either. I have had enough readers reach out about concerns on the word privately and publicly, and you can definitely find debate about it being a racial slur, at least by some portion of the people who are qualified to tell you that they are hurt by it.
Many, not all, people of Romani origin find the term offensive. A simple Google search would have illustrated this to you. As Temptalia pointed out, there are many other names they could have gone for with similar meanings that are not considered slurs by anyone.
https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/gypsy-slur-netlflix
The 2 matte blues seem to swatch as very similar, which seems a bit redundant to me. I like Cactus though, that’s a very unusual shade.
I’ll be honest, this blog is really the only place where I have heard Gypsy consistently referred to as specifically derogatory against Romani. I have no doubt it **can be** used as a slur and I’m respectful of that and mindful to not use it in any sort of capacity, let alone where it might be misconstrued, but given the continued use of it (I can think of at least 3 separate brands who’ve used it in recent history, there are probably more…) I’m not sure the wider community and society in general are operating at the same level of awareness. I have never personally encountered it being used detrimentally but I live in a very small, somewhat isolated geographically but fairly progressive country, so my opinion on it is worth entirely next to zero… If Romani people have generally, historically and consistently objected to being referred to as such, then absolutely put it in the pile of DO NOT USE words but if this is some sort of saviour gatekeeping wokeness angle (and I mean this in general, not you specifically Christine – obviously you didn’t get to this point by yourself in any sort of ethical-ness vacuum, so to speak) then I’m less inclined to get upset about it. If anyone can point me towards some background and/or general information on this, I would probably benefit from learning more.
I recall the whole queer as a slur thing that erupted not so long ago (and I’m pretty sure some young and angrily righteous folk got told to sit down and be very quiet in no uncertain terms) and my lack of social media involvement probably means I miss a lot of other stuff, but I feel like I’ve missed the boat on this particular outrage. I’m absolutely willing to accept it as legitimate, I’m just currently missing a whole lot of context, I think…
If anyone has links to research/info, I’d appreciate it. Sorry the the novel length post…
I’d just recommend a few Google searches – there are a lot of write-ups about it. I have had readers reach out to me privately and publicly over time about it as they are Romani and found the word hurtful/harmful.
Wikipedia has a very short entry on “Names of the Romani people” and mentions it there as well with links to sources, and it also appears on their article on list of ethnic slurs (which I’m choosing NOT to link but can easily be found via Google) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Romani_people#Gypsy_and_gipsy
High-level video summary via Franchesca Ramsey for MTV Decoded: https://youtu.be/QhENGl3XviM?t=175
A write-up from 2018 by NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/theater/actors-equity-association-gypsy-robe.html
Article from NOW: https://now.org/blog/the-g-word-isnt-for-you-how-gypsy-erases-romani-women/
Thank you very much – I appreciate the links, I have done some Googling and had the Wiki one already but the others definitely provide context and perspective. The last paragraph of the NOW article was definitely illuminating for me.
Apologies if it seemed like I expected information to just be spoon fed into my brain – I should be better than that. I briefly went looking for Romani specific perspectives and couldn’t find too much, but obviously neglected to consider that their historical background and lifestyle means they haven’t had the same opportunities to make their voices heard. Thanks for being patient with me 🙂
It’s definitely a position that is gaining more traction but given that so many brands do use the term, there’s still a long way to go in education about it. I appreciate you wanting to learn more – that’s part of the process – and listening and learning is the best response!
Really interesting reads!
The now-defunct online magazine I was writing for considered g*psy to be a slur, and writers allowed to cover any companies that used the word in their company or product names. “G*psy” comes from “Egyptian” (because G*psies were mistakenly thought to have come from Egypt) and spawned terms such as “gyped” for being cheated out of something. I hope that helps some as a quick explanation.
I was the Administrative Nursing Supervisor at a hospital in California for about 16 years. During that time I had occasion to meet and know a family of Romani. Their “King” as they named him was quite ill with many chronic illnesses. They referred to themselves as Gypsy’s and that initially would have made me think it was okay to refer to them by that title. However, having been married to an American of African descent, as my ex-husband liked to be called, and knowing how almost all African American’s refer to themselves and other African American’s as n****r I was shocked. I did learn quickly that they didn’t care I was shocked or disagreed with their usage of the term and I believe that is likely the same with the Romani people. They are comfortable using the term between themselves but still consider it a racial slur when addressed to them. Having said all of that, there is something different about using the term n****r which is so clearly a derogatory and hateful racial slur, there is nothing else it can refer to and using the term g***sy which has come to mean many more things. It can refer to a free spirit, someone who travels and enjoys the freedom of traveling and not being tied down, etc. I am not saying that I will use the word anymore but it has become a bit of an adjective/verb that has been used freely that way for many, many 100’s of years and not referencing any group of people. Did it start that way? Likely, Searching for the derivation of the word elicits a brief description of the term being a shortened version of Egyptian as the Roman Empire wrongly believed that people from Romania and points east were from Egypt. In any event, I was recently looking at photos of the Coachella Festival and the young women wearing beaded chains and jewels on their forehead. My daughter was outraged because of the cultural appropriation. I had read quite a bit about it a few years ago but found myself still confused about it since I thought the beads and feather’s were very pretty and again I just thought they were sort of following a “hippie” trend that was popular when I was growing up. After the incident I mentioned to my daughter that I was finding it difficult to stay on top of what you can and cannot do, say or wear. In this day and age of social media you would think there would be a lot better communication but I have found it lacking. So now, I text my daughter, whose degree is in this field as well as women’s rights, to ask if something is wrong. I know I am writing a lot here but I appreciate when someone points out the issues in a nice and well researched way so that I can be informed because I fear, without that I would be making one faux pas after another and all without meaning to.
It’s good that you look to others to help stay informed and do the best that you can – I think that’s all anyone can ask is to allow the correction/education and encourage research or further reading. The important part is just listening to someone and hearing them, instead of making it about “you” (generally). They’re all nuanced issues, like cultural appropriation, and there are differing view points of what’s “allowed” or what’s cultural appreciation vs. appropriation – and not everyone agrees.
It’s going to take more people noticing and commenting to take the time to educate others, but a lot of people really have no idea about g*psy and words like g*p and g*pped that have been derived from it so I think approaching it in a more, “did you know?” fashion gets the message across without people becoming as defensive over the usage.
Of all the colours in the palette, G*psy is my favourite.
I also like Wanderlust.
I stupidly enough didn’t think g*psy was a word to avoid as so many brands have products named that and then there’s the show mentioned by Adriana. That made me think it was an OK word.
I want to thank you Christine, not only for the best makeup review blog but also for pointing out when brands use words (or names) that are racial slurs.
It’s definitely not widely known – it is a very common sentiment that one didn’t know; I didn’t know until readers pointed it out, and it took me longer to connect the dots that as a racial slur, it should probably be censored and retroactively go through the database to reflect that. We are all learning, and the best we can hope for is that we take the time to listen and hear from others who are directly affected (and it’s good to read different perspectives from members of a particular group, too).
I just wanted to say I appreciate your note on the shade name. My father’s side of the family is Romani & when they immigrated to the US they changed the spelling on their surname so people wouldn’t automatically know they’re Romani. It’s rare, but I do occassionaly run into someone who recognizes it’s an alternate spelling & they comment on it. It’s never anything malicious, but I do get “I’d never know looking at you” comments.
Happy to shed a little bit of light on it!
I’m glad that you at least don’t get any malicious remarks and hope that sooner rather than later nobody has to change their surname for reasons like your father’s family did!
I bought this and love it! It’s one of my fave palettes this summer!
I think g*psy is a lot like the n word and things like dyke and fag. I can call myself a dyke (and do), but it is an insult when outsiders use it.
Not feeling stupid and changing your habits is important because no one is ever done being educated about these things (in part because the language is constantly evolving and in part because some oppressed communities are still not being heard). E.g. the one that threw me a few years ago was `tranny’ which I had always just thought of as just a diminutive, like in Russian where every name has a short cute form (or just your regular name with -ya or -itchka tacked on the end) that is used for little kids or people you really like. However, tranny is used as an insult and people do find it offensive and it’s important to take people’s word for things and not argue that they’re wrong to feel insulted.
Oh, and makeup! There are some great colors in this palette (cactus!!), but I agree with everyone who thinks the two browns look really random and wrong in this context. They could have used that space for a maroonish color that would connect the greens and the pinks.