Written Reviews

One of my top 5 beginner and everyday best-for-the-average-person palettes. If you want a no-nonsense palette that is complete, durable, travel-friendly, quick, convenient, AND doesn't require hours and hours of Youtube tutorials, this is it. The colors are not as pigmented as, say, ABH, so they are easy to control and build. They are so blendable, they basically blend themselves, even with cheap brushes. I used brushes from Shop Miss A "All About Eyes", and you really don't get much cheaper than that in terms of quality, and this palette STILL delivers. The darkest mattes in this palette are a lot less pigmented than the other shades but they are still buildable and still work. The shimmers are GORGEOUS, but definitely use your finger for best results. This palette is also extremely idiot-proof. You can have no knowledge of what colors to use aside from "light on one side and dark in the outer corner" and do that and you'll look great. Also the packaging is A+. It is so practical. It's sturdy and feels like it can hold up to a lot. It's so travel friendly. The lid doesn't flop around like, say, Urban Decay Born to Run or ABH. It's a huge mirror too since the palette is a beautiful, compact square. My favorite, go-to travel palette now that I have it. Now that I own this palette, every other palette that's 'neutral with a pop of color' that comes out, I have to question myself if it's really worth getting because all the neutrals can usually be duped or mimicked with In Bloom!

Probably the best, most unique interpretation of "warm toned palette" I have ever seen. I know, it's really hype, and I love it as much as the bandwagon, but it is really good. HOWEVER, a warning!!! I have noticed that this is pretty consistent with most ABH palettes! The pigmentation is so good, you need so little product, that these palettes do NOT play nice with cheaper brushes. At all. I have brushes made by Chinese companies in Amazon (you know, the ones that are Amazon's top choice if you search), I have a brush set from Shop Miss A "All About Eyes", and finally I bought a few Urban Decay brushes when they went on sale. The performance varies even with the same technique, the same palette, and the same priming process. The best performance I got was out of my softest, fluffiest brushes, which are my Urban Decay brushes and some of the Amazon brushes (not all of them). Most glowing reviews I saw used MAC, Tom Ford, and Hakuhodo brushes, and I think the brushes are a big part of why. You definitely will have more trouble with this palette if your brushes are cheaper. Use a light, light hand and be patient with building up the pigment and you will be able to work with it. Not beginner friendly! Sometimes pigmentation can become too pigmented, and in the case of ABH they really ride that delicate line. If you are new to eyeshadows I'd recommend picking a palette with less pigmentation and less powderiness than ABH's infamous formula. I am looking to invest in Hakuhodo brushes in the future and look forward to seeing how MR performs, but the ideal beginner or everyday palette is one that works amazing with amazing brushes and good with not-so-amazing brushes, so this is definitely not accessible to everyone.

The formula is not beginner friendly. I bought it just this past June 2018 so the formula and press is definitely different than the original batch. The darker colors are so pigmented they become patchy and hard to blend, so a light hand, patience to build up the colors, and really good blending skills and brushes are a MUST. I have tried this palette with brushes ranging from cheap to mid-end and this palette will perform as well as your brushes. My Shop Miss A "All About Eyes" brush set performed really poorly on this palette. My Urban Decay brushes performed better. I think if you have higher end brushes you will get a lot more mileage out of this palette. However, the color story is unlike anything I have ever seen. Using a combination of the green, yellow and orange flatters my monolids in a way many other eyeshadows simply don't. This absolutely flatters my olive/warm undertones and looks so good on medium to tan skin. The shimmers are awful for a brush. Use your finger and you will get flawless results. The biggest disappointment in this palette is Cube. It really doesn't perform well. I use it as a shadow topper or as a highlight for my face. Works much better as that. Do not buy as your very first palette ever, this is a 5/5 add-on palette and a 5/5 color story, but 3/5 if you only have cheaper brushes.

Probably the best shimmers I've ever owned. I honestly don't need any other shimmers other than this now XD It makes it hard for me to want to buy other palettes knowing Heavy Metals has basically every shimmer in every other palette! The only problem is, of course, that packaging. It slides out and then becomes two separate pieces, and the mirror is in the middle! I know what they were going for with the whole metal, music, concert theme but I travel abroad pretty frequently and this is one of my no-gos. Very awkward packaging.