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Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette ($58.00 for 0.17 oz.) is called the “rose ” palette for its mix of pinks. It’s a sheerer set of shades that, while very soft and finely-milled, were powdery, prone to blending away into nothingness. Three of the shades are matte, while one is a low-level sheen satin and another is a frost. I think they should have skipped the frost here, as it didn’t play nicely with the others due to having a slightly thicker, dense texture so it looked more textured and thicker on the lid as a result.

Monochrome #1 is described as a “warm ivory.” It’s a light, yellowed beige with warm undertones and a matte finish. The texture was incredibly silky, but it was rather powdery to work with and quite sheer. It was noticeably faded after six and a half hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Monochrome #2 is described as a “rose nude.” It’s a light-medium, peachy-pink with warm undertones and a frosted finish. Applied dry, it was semi-sheer and didn’t adhere well to bare skin, and applied damp, it was more pigmented and applied more easily to the skin. It lasted for seven and a half hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Monochrome #3 is described as a “peony pink.” It’s a light-medium, warm-toned pink with a matte finish. It was sheer with a soft, powdery finish that didn’t want to stick to bare skin. On me, it was noticeably faded within six hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Monochrome #4 is described as a “light mauve.” It’s a dirty, medium-dark mauve with subtle warm undertones and a matte finish. It was very sheer, dusty, and didn’t want to stay on bare skin at all. This was also a shade that seemed to look patchy and uneven applied. It lasted for six hours on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Monochrome #5 is described as a “dark chocolate.” It’s a deepened brown with warm,r eddish undertones and a satin finish. The color payoff was actually quite good, but the dusty texture made it harder to work with. It just didn’t blend as easily as most eyeshadows, so it took more work to get it to look even and diffused on bare skin. It lasted for seven and a half hours on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

Hourglass Monochrome #1 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #1 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #1 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #1 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #2 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #2 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #2 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #2 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #3 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #3 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #3 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #3 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #4 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #4 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #4 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #4 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #5 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #5 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome #5 Modernist Eyeshadow
Hourglass Monochrome #5 Modernist Eyeshadow

Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette
Hourglass Monochrome Modernist Eyeshadow Palette

40 Comments

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Meghan Avatar

I’m still wondering how Hourglass dropped the ball so badly on these shadows? Was the downfall trying to make a palette where all of the shadows are in the same pan? Such a shame because Hourglass is one of my favourite beauty brands

Christine Avatar

I think it’s that they didn’t seem to tweak the formula much from their blushes/powders, which work on the face but don’t translate as well on the lid, I’d say… at least not as they’ve decided to market them (long-wearing, pigmented, etc.). If they had gone with more of “these will create an ethereal wash of color,” then maybe.

Evelyn Avatar

Ethereal wash of color maybe, not totally fade away so that we forget if we put any makeup on to begin with. I am so sad, I was very interested in this palette.

Mariella Avatar

It’s especially surprising if you know how great their previous shadows (sold as duos) were. I was expecting these new ones would be at least as good and possibly even better (hey, it’s not that unrealistic in light of the fact that they discontinued the “old” ones at least a year ago…I was really geared up by the wait to expect that these new ones would really be something special).

Katherine T. Avatar

Talk about a nude look — I can barely see any color on your lids! Sheer, powdery, won’t stick to lids, blends away into nothingness for $58?? Drugstore shadows perform better. Heads should be rolling over this fiasco. I think Hourglass needs to issue an apology, recall these palettes, and resurrect their old shadows.

Melissa Avatar

Lots has been said about the negatives of these palettes, but I’ll just throw out one more — it’s so annoying to see shades from the different palettes showing up as dupes. I understand a shade or two overlap, but multiples per palette?

Amber Avatar

Wow! This one is pretty bad. It doesn’t even look like you are wearing eye shadow. I will definitely not be purchasing any of these. What a disappointment.

Ren Avatar

Disappointing. I keep hoping at least ONE of these palettes will be worth it, but every single one seems to have gotten a grade around a C. For $58, that just ain’t cutting it. What do you do with all of these duds that you’ve spent your own money on?

N8iveBeauT Avatar

On the Sephora website it states, “These eye shadows are designed to work seamlessly with the Hourglass Brush collection.” Do you think maybe because you’re not using Hourglass brushes they’re not performing as well?

Liesbeth Avatar

My wallet is delighted that the Modernist palettes don’t get good reviews! The makeup admirer in me is disappointed though, I’d expected Hourglass to produce a top notch product yet again.
The design of the palettes looks gorgeous, but if the product doesn’t perform, I just can’t bring myself to buy it. I’ll just stare at the pretty pictures instead 🙂
Thanks for your thorough and honest reviews. x.

Skye Avatar

These palettes certainly are the prettiest to look at but if you actually want to use them, well that’s another story. I had such high hopes but I guess every company has that “one” product that just doesn’t cut it.

Julie Simons Avatar

This entire release has been a disaster! I sadly bought Obscura before Christine’s reviews and boy do I regret jumping the gun on that one. Just terrible. The two dark brown shades are almost identical, nothing blends, powdery and patchy and other than looking pretty in the scratched up case, a $58 waste. What a mess and blow to their rep…Hourglass should he ashamed!

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