Sydney Grace x Temptalia Quintessence Palette | Everything You Want to Know (and More)

Quintessence (Deep)

The Quintessence palette is inspired by space, which is a theme I’ve always found to be a rich source of color inspiration. It features a mix of cool and warm-toned shades but leans slightly cooler-toned overall. The palette includes four matte eyeshadows and eight shimmer eyeshadows.

Initially, my color story for Quintessence included 10 shades (three mattes and seven shimmers). It’s was bold, vivid, and would be a harder palette to use cohesively, which is part of why all the palettes were adjusted to 12 shades in order to introduce more cohesive (rather than deliberately design them as complementary palettes).

I knew from the beginning that I’d be pushing the possibilities as I had berry-red and violet purple mattes that likely would require adjustments over time to use them with FDA-approved color additives only.

When I described the colors I wanted for each palette, I provided a written description along with links to swatches of similar shades that were closer (either in color or in the “vibe”) and referenced Sydney Grace’s existing line if there was anything nearby (like “A deeper, darker version of A with a cooler undertone and more of a metallic shine with less sparkle”), which I figured would give them a good reference point to start from visually. Only one shade, The Mielke Way, was specifically modeled after an existing shade (The Greatest Gift), and it was as “I want this but MORE intense, MORE shimmery!”

Note: Palettes are being sent to official swatchers this week, but as I was first to receive palettes (duh), I figured I’d recruit my husband’s and my sister’s arms for swatching, so I have those ready now. We will have very light, light/light-medium, medium, medium-dark, and dark skin tones represented before launch.

P.S. — I did not intend to rate the products from my collaboration, mostly because who would believe my ratings? It felt almost silly, but I had SO many requests to rate. Sydney Grace eyeshadows are fairly consistent (one of the reasons I wanted to work with them), so you can also check out past reviews that were written well before the collaboration process started as well.

• Ingredients
• Look

Quintessence (Light)

• Ingredients
• Look

Umbra

Umbra is a deep black with a matte finish. It is my hope that this shade represents a matte black eyeshadow that is soft and silky enough to blend out easily but still packs an inky, true black hue. It tends to run quite pigmented but can sheer out slightly in practice with slight fallout, and it’s best used with a lighter hand and built up as necessary.

Inspiration: There was a little part of my heart that was pained at the idea of using a matte black, which seemed infinitely basic, but there was no better choice to add depth, without altering the other colors, across the diverse set of shades in the palette.

Behind the Name: The word “umbra” refers to the complete shadow of a celestial body.

Development

Once it was determined that some of my dream mattes weren’t going to happen in the intensity I wanted with FDA-approved color additives, I had to readjust and figure out how I wanted to incorporate matte shades to anchor all the shimmer shades. This was totally expected and planned, so I had some ideas, but there’s no reason not to shoot for the moon (or beyond) first!

Ultimately, a matte black would pair well with any of the shades and would work to darken some of the more vivid shimmers and give the effect of a more satiny purple (e.g. when layered with Celestial Bloom). This call was made after the first round of samples, so spring 2020 was when it was first added to the shade line-up.

Enjoy the Ride in a recent Sydney Grace palette had a particularly extraordinary texture for a matte, which was the kind of texture and application I wanted for Umbra, but I wanted it to be as intensely black as possible, which would make it richer than their existing black (Midnight).

The first color sample for this shade came through in October 2020, which was when we started to work with pressed pans rather than loose colors. These were hand-pressed rather than machine-pressed, so the next time I revisited this shade, it was after being machine-pressed in January 2021, where it was too firmly-pressed and seemed to lack the slip/creaminess I so enjoyed from Enjoy the Ride.

Through the process, I found that when matte shades are too firmly-pressed, they can lose some intensity/richness in their hue, but the softer the press, the more powdery and prone to fallout it can be. The third version came in March 2021, and the color seemed richer/deeper but the texture still lacked the slip from the first version. The fourth version came in late March 2021, and the texture was where I wanted it but the color had lost some of the depth again!

Finally, the fifth version, which came in late April 2021, was the winner–approved for color, finish, and texture!

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Orion Nebula

Orion Nebula is a raspberry red with pearl sheen. The press is slightly firmer to give it a softer sheen (rather than higher shine/more overtly shimmery). It applies well with a moderately-dense, fluffy brush for use in the crease (yes, shimmer in the crease!) or packed on with a flat, shader brush.

Inspiration: When I polled readers on whether they used “not safe for immediate eye area” pigments (which are okay for eyes in the EU), it was about 50/50, so we tried to get as close as possible with ingredients fully approved for eye usage by FDA as well as elsewhere. This resulted in creating a cooler red hue that still had some shimmer to it, but you can add a bit of a matte shade on top or beneath to help tamp down the sheen.

Behind the Name: The Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula found south of Orion’s Belt, and googling for images yields a lot of images that show it as pink-red-purple. My dad has always been into space, and I fondly recall him waking us up to see various events in the middle of the night as kids. One of the easier constellations to recognize is Orion’s Belt, so it was the first one I learned growing up, as taught to me by my dad.

Development

I described this as a “vivid, berry-red with cool undertones,” but I originally had the color in the Radiant Reflection palette. I loved the color as it was from the first color sample! The first hand-pressed pan came through in October 2020, and it was swiftly approved to be machine-pressed. I had no issues with the color, texture, or finish changing over time, so when the machine-pressed version arrived in January 2021, it was promptly approved for full production. This shade was one of the few that was actually one-and-done, just had to be verified as it went through the development process from loose to pressed.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Aurora

Aurora is a violet with blue-violet shift and sparkling, metallic finish. It has a stronger, bluish-violet shift that twinkles as the light reflects off; the shift comes more from finer shimmer, while the sparkles are strewn throughout but do not dominate. The press is slightly firmer and has a little more creaminess to it to help the sparkles bind with the color. I like using this with a fingertip and then going back on top with a dry brush for a little more visible sparkle, but it works well with a brushes (wet or dry) and fingertips.

Inspiration: The colors of the aurora borealis, common known as the northern lights. This is a phenomenon that occurs as solar wind, originating from space, arrive many hours later on Earth and create a spectacular light show.

Behind the Name: I felt like (some variations of) purple and green were often the more prominent colors in an aurora borealis, which is why this and the next shade received the their names.

Development

I described it as a “rich, cooler purple/violet with blue/teal/lavender shimmer.” The initial loose color samples that came in provided two starting points for this shade; the A version was ultimately chosen for Aurora, but I used the B version for Celestial Bloom.

In September 2020, I felt like the palette needed a brighter, more glowing green to better represent the northern lights, and I was originally going to sacrifice this color for it. I ended up scrubbing a warmer purple hue that Galactic Muse was going to be (that was too close to Deliverer) and reinstating this color for Aurora!

Despite some back-and-forth, it didn’t take a lot of revisions; it had just the right press and texture for the first hand-pressed pan and the machine-pressed pan, which made it another one-and-done shade.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Borealis

Borealis is a mint green base with warmer, gold shimmer and micro-sparkle over metallic finish. Like Aurora, it has a slightly firmer press and a little more thickness/creaminess, which helps all the sparkly bits adhere to the lid when pressed and patted on. Not very apparent in person, but there are tiny bits of pink pearl/shimmer in it, too. You’ll want to use a slightly heavier hand when picking this up or use the edge of the brush to gently push upwards rather than swiping.

Inspiration: The colors of the aurora borealis, common known as the northern lights. This is a phenomenon that occurs as solar wind, originating from space, arrive many hours later on Earth and create a spectacular light show.

Behind the Name:I felt like (some variations of) purple and green were often the more prominent colors in an aurora borealis, which is why this and the next shade received the their names.

Development

Originally, I had a warmer, more magenta-purple lined-up, but after closer reflection, I felt like a glowing green was really critical to conveying the northern lights. I described it as a “glowing, light-medium green with slightly cooler base and warmer, golden sheen.”

The first version arrived in hand-pressed format in October 2020 but needed to be lighter and have more visible shimmer/sparkle. The revised, second version arrived  in February 2021 and was approved for production.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Galactic Muse

Galactic Muse is a medium bluish-teal with intense, metallic finish.

Inspiration: The colors of the aurora borealis, common known as the northern lights. This is a phenomenon that occurs as solar wind, originating from space, arrive many hours later on Earth and create a spectacular light show.

Behind the Name: The name comes from the many times I’ve been inspired by all things space over the years, hence it being a muse, which then ties to my long-time blogging friend, Izzy over at Musings of a Muse. She has been an absolute shoulder to lean on, ear to vent to, and cheerleader whenever I’ve needed one for over a decade.

Development

This shade was initially described as a “high-shine, smooth metallic minty green” that was “more aqua/blue than green.” The first, loose color samples provided had two versions to work from. I found version A to be too blue, while version B was a little too dark and my feedback was to do more of a mix of the two and try to get cooler-toned.

When the third, loose color version came through, it still wasn’t quite there, so I tried to work from a color option that came with the Radiant Reflection shades. The fourth version (October 2020) was hand-pressed and approved for production; there were no additional tweaks necessary after it was machine-pressed before going into full production.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Interstellar

Interstellar is a deep blue-teal with matte finish. It has a light-to-medium press in firmness; there’s a little powderiness in the pan, but it shouldn’t lose its coverage when applied and blended out. There may be a touch of fallout if over-applied, though, so you may want to use a lighter hand and build up when first working with it to get a lay of the land.

Inspiration: When it came to creating matte shades, I wanted to try and create more muted takes that had depth and inkiness rather than brightness. I wanted a darker, bluish-teal to play off of shades like Aurora, Borealis, Galactic Muse, and Sirius Starlight.

Behind the Name: The definition of interstellar is the space between stars, which I felt worked for a darker shade that was also matte.

Development

I originally described it as a “deep, not-quite-blackened blue-leaning teal” with a matte finish. The first version, a loose color sample, needed to be brighter/richer–I wanted more of the color to come through so it didn’t appear as dark/muted on the eye.

The second version, which was hand-pressed, lacked the saturation I wanted because in lower light, it looked near-black, and I wanted the texture to be creamier, silkier without getting to be too powdery.  The third version, which was machine-pressed, was still not as rich as I would have liked, and I wanted it to pull a little greener with less firm of a press overall.  The fourth version was perfect!

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Celestial Bloom

Celestial Bloom is an intense violet purple with hint of blue reflect and metallic finish. It has a smoother, almost pearl-like sheen in its base with larger, bluish-violet sparkle. There is a fair amount of sparkle, and to get the intensity and still keep most of those beautiful sparkles on the lid and not below it, it is a creamier, denser eyeshadow. I use it with dry and wet brushes as well as fingertips, but I prefer a wet brush for getting the best application; it is best patted/pressed into place, then blended out.

Inspiration: I wanted to create more blue-based purples, which are rarer to find (especially done well) as opposed to warmer, pinkish-purples. Originally, the palette was only going to have ten shades, and only one of them was a cooler, shimmery purple, but when Sydney Grace sent me a few options for a sparkly purple… well, I fell in love with two (Aurora is the other).

Behind the Name: Celestial ties in with the theme, obviously, and I think that the way colors swirl and starlight come together reminds me of flowers blooming.

Development

The shade came to be as a result of receiving two color options for Aurora and being incapable of not using both, so it was born from the concept of a “rich, cooler purple/violet with blue/teal/lavender shimmer.” The second version, which was the hand-pressed one, arrived in October 2020 and was just right as-is, which remained true when the third version, the machine-pressed one, arrived in January 2021 before going into full production.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

The Mielke Way

The Mielke Way is a medium, rosy pink base with intense, gold-to-green shift and metallic finish. It has a moderately-firm press and some density without being overly thick. It works well with dry/damp brushes or fingertips, though you’ll get the most intense shine when applied with a dampened brush. It is a smoother shine, though, and you’ll find you get more visible sparkle (with plenty of shine) when applied with a dry brush.

Inspiration: This shade is based on Sydney Grace’s The Greatest Gift, which is one of my all-time favorite shades by them, but it is significantly amped up in its finish and shift; it’s much more metallic and the shift is noticeable even straight-on.

Behind the Name: My last name is Mielke, which my family has always pronounced as “milky,” and I always tell people, “milky, like the Milky Way,: so it is a play-on The Milky Way galaxy.

Development

This was the only shade specifically intended to be like an existing shade, just more intense. I wanted it to be like The Greatest Gift but with a stronger shift and a much more metallic, more reflective finish. The first loose color sample that arrived was absolute perfection and frankly, a loose option of it should be made permanent forever so we can all bathe in it.

When this first was hand-pressed, the base came through too strongly, while the shift had receded. This made it far more similar to The Greatest Gift (rather than being an amplified version of it). Thankfully, when the the third version, which was machine-pressed, came through, it was back to my exact vision!

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Reaching Zenith (Deep)

Reaching Zenith (Deep) is a medium-dark, bluish-gray with matte finish. It has a light-to-medium press to it, so it has softness and a touch of powderiness in the pan but retains its depth and richness better.

Inspiration: I wanted a gray that had cooler tones that would complement the purples and teals without adding more intensity. By leaning into blue, rather than true gray, it worked better for deeper skin–the blue tinge isn’t as apparent on dark skin as it is on lighter skin.

Behind the Name: Coming out with this collaboration is me feeling like I’ve reached zenith–the most successful point of my blogging career.

Development

The description of this shade was originally “matte, muted lavender.” The color came out beautifully from the loose and initial hand-pressed versions, but I ultimately went in a different direction (“matte, faded blue-gray”) in October 2020 because I worried it was too light to work well on darker skin tones.

The third and fourth versions just weren’t the right color by a lot (too light, too warm), and by March 2021, we had decided to do a deep and light version of two shades from each palette, including this shade. The fifth version was it! and approved in late March as the Deep version.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Reaching Zenith (Light)

Reaching Zenith (Light) is a light-medium, neutral gray with matte finish.  It has a moderately-firm press to it, which helps it stay blendable but minimizes fallout and maximizes pigmentation.

Inspiration: I’ve always felt that there has been a lack of cooler-toned neutrals, so I wanted to contribute toward adding some into the world!

Behind the Name: Coming out with this collaboration is me feeling like I’ve reached zenith–the most successful point of my blogging career.

Development

It was late March 2021 that I received the first pressed pan of the Light version (“matte, light-medium gray”), which was far lighter than I wanted, but the second version was what the palette needed for lighter skin tones and approved at the end of April 2021.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Parallax (Deep)

Parallax (Deep) is a mid-tone gray-taupe with matte finish. It has a moderately-firm press, which gives it blendability while being readily controlled. The inclusion of this shade was expecting it to be blended and more blown out, so I didn’t want it to be so powdery that it sheered out or had a lot of fallout, and I also wanted it to be easy to build up coverage.

Inspiration: There can never be enough taupe. When we extended each palette from 10 to 12 shades, part of that was to add-in more matte shades and help give me more space to add “boring” shades (instead of ~all the colors~). I wanted a darker, taupe-brown that would likely shift a little grayer on darker skin (without being ashy). The color can shift warmer or cooler, browner or grayer, depending on how it’s applied, where it’s applied, and what it is paired with.

Behind the Name: Parallax describes the effect where the position of an object appears differently when viewed by from different positions. I love the term because I feel like with makeup, colors often look different based on one’s skin tone and what they’re paired with.

Development

I described it as a “matte, light-medium taupe,” and I loved the color from the first loose color sample that came through in May 2020, so the next time I had to think about tweaks on the shade was when it arrived hand-pressed in September 2020–and the texture, press, and color were consistent with the first version. When the shade was machine-pressed in October 2020, though, it was overly firm, which made it stiffer to work with.  The fourth version was approved as the Deep shade in mid-March 2021.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Parallax (Light)

Parallax (Light) light grayish-lavender with matte finish. It has enough substance and density to it to not just disappear into nothingness when applied, which is an issue that is more common with very light shades. On me, this sometimes appears a bit darker (depending on the natural oils on my skin) but has always remained blendable.

Inspiration: As this was designed as a lighter version, I went a fair amount lighter given how dark Umbra and Interstellar already are. Instead of a very light beige kind of shade, though, I still wanted a bit of depth so that it would work on very light to medium skin and not just very light skin.

Development

The first version of the Light shade arrived in late March 2021 but was too dark and not quite cool-toned enough as I wanted it to the lightest matte shade in the Light version of this palette. The second version was approved in late April 2021.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

Sirius Starlight

Sirius Starlight is a light, silvery taupe with twinkling, metallic finish. It one of the more sparkly shades in the palette, and in order to keep the sparkles visible, it is slightly more loosely-pressed (or else they’d kind of get pushed into the background). The base is almost lavender at times, so I’ve found the color goes lighter/warmer and brighter/more muted depending on how it is applied. It is particularly lovely applied with a fingertip all over the lid as a medium-coverage one-and-done shade. There is light fallout during application with a dry brush but the formula has enough binder in it to help the particles stay on during the day.

Inspiration: I wanted to include a more “neutral” shimmery shade that could brighten up on its own, lighten other shades, and also add some additional twinkle/sparkle. This color didn’t exist in my original mockups but developed as I worked with my concept over time.

Behind the Name: The Canis Major constellation includes the brightest star, which is called Sirius or the Dog Star, so its inclusion is because it’s related to space and Sirius was Orion’s dog, so it plays off of Orion Nebula, too. It was named for Magellan being full of light and love, the brightest star in my life.

Development

This shade began its life as more of a “medium-dark lavender, slightly blue-based with intense, gold sparkle” that deviated quite a bit over time. I originally received two loose color samples and ended up choosing the B version.

By its third version, it was more of a silvery taupe but was too dark/not bright enough once it was pressed. One of the issues with this shade was by adding more sparkles, it changed the color quite a bit and made it more golden so dialing in the right amount to get a sparkling effect while keeping the color made this one require more tweaks than anticipated. The fifth version was finally the right balanced and approved for full production in late March.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

My Constellation

My Constellation is a muted, mid-tone plum with blue reflect and metallic finish. It is incredibly smooth and silky, so it has an almost cream eyeshadow feel to the touch but has excellent adhesion and blendability. There are faint bluish micro-sparkle/shimmers throughout that give it more dimension.

Inspiration: I find that plum often straddles a space between warm and neutral, a little earthy in a way, so its inclusion helps to tie between the purples, reds, and teals. It also provides a way to get some softer looks that can be accented by the more vivid shimmers in the palette.

Behind the Name: The shade name is in reference to my husband, who represents a part of my life that is always recognizable, always visible, and always helps to guide me where I need to go.

Development

It was originally going to be a warmer red, but I ended up moving the warmer red to Radiant Reflection and reducing Quintessence to just having one red shade. I wanted to go with one of the loose color samples that I originally received but wasn’t in use, but unfortunately, one of the ingredients in it became unavailable in late 2020!

The third version was hand-pressed but totally different from what I was expecting due to the ingredient change. The fourth version was machine-pressed and was more plum/purple than I wanted–I was trying to go for a darker, copper-bronze with green-gold reflects initially.  The fifth version lacked the dimension I wanted in the pearl/shimmer.

The sixth version was the closest to what I was looking for, though still a touch more plum than I had originally envisioned, but I ended up preferring the plummy tone to it, particularly when I looked at the full array of 42 shades (Sumptuous Serendipity is in a similar vein but warmer, so that’s why the plummy tone ended up being the right direction).

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

• Top Dupes
• Formula Overview
• Ingredients
• Look

The Lost Shades

When you’re fortunate enough to work with a brand that has a stellar eyeshadow formula, every shade they send tends to be gorgeous and deserves an oooh and an ahh! It’s working with the shades together that one gets a better sense of what works, what doesn’t, and what shades need to be tweaked or pushed into a totally different direction.

• Quintessence 1A/1B: “Pink or pink-coral leaning base with gold shimmer, possibly a shift”
• Quintessence 7A: “Sparkling, magenta purple” — it was removed in favor of a glowing green (Borealis) because it was too close to existing shade Deliverer
• Quintessence 8A: “Deep violet purple, matte” (not achievable with FDA-approved color additives) — replaced with Quintessence 3B (which became Celestial Bloom)
• Quintessence 10A/10B: “Medium-dark lavender, slightly blue-based with intense, gold sparkle” — absolutely stunning shades but they end up working with the overall color story (relative to other shades that were a better fit, particularly to get more mattes in) — this ended up being a little more in line with Temptalia in Radiant Reflection.

Version History

• Umbra: 5
• Orion Nebula: 3
• Aurora: 3
• Borealis: 5
• Galactic Muse: 5
• Interstellar: 4
• Celestial Bloom: 3
• The Mielke Way: 3
• Reaching Zenith (Deep): 5
• Reaching Zenith (Light): 2
• Parallax (Deep): 4
• Parallax (Light): 2
• Sirius Starlight: 5
• My Constellation: 6

Looks