Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Paula's choice The nude matte eyeshadow palette worth the hype?



As you know I recently placed an order on Paula's Choice website testing three products, two of which being skin care. I tried to review this palette quite fast since it's a limited edition.

The nude matte palette is a palette consisting of 11 matte shade and one shimmer highlight. The palette has true neutral shade, meaning that you won't find plum or green leaning neutrals. In that sense it is a true basic.

I have to say that I did carefully read the reviews prior to shedding 40 euros on that palette. All reviews except one were raves. A couple of mature ladies even said that they will throw away all their other eyeshadows, because they finally found something that was working for them!

This palette is average, the eyeshadows are not chalky on the skin, the colors accommodate a variety of skin tone and the quantity of eyeshadow is quite generous for the price. You get 17 grams which is about 1.4g per eyeshadow (MAC eyeshadow contain 1.5g as a comparison). BUT I wouldn't be as crazy as some of the review. The palette comes in quite a cheap cardboard packaging and the eyeshadow do not compare to my make up for ever or bare mineral ready matte eyeshadows. To be honest they aren't the easiest to work with. I could not get any decent swatches, so I'm sorry for the lack of swatches pictures. The eyeshadow were really sticking to my (dry skin!) fingers and refused to transfer.

What you do get though is a no nonsense palette, that's very wearable and that can be combined to your heart's content.  I'm particularly found of the lighter shades, which are smoother and have a better pigmention. The black is also very pigmented, but it doesn't blend very well. I will save that one to use as an eyeliner. I tried to do a smokey eye with it  and it was a major fiasco.  This palette was created with the help of the youtube beauty guru Wayne Goss, which I've been following for years.

You can easily go for a soft and understated look

That grey shade is the worst of the bunch it took me 15 minutes of worth for that eye look!

Overall, this palette is nice but not a must buy, unless you don't have a lot of neutrals in your collection. The shades are easier to apply tapped with a flat brush (like mac 239) than swiped, because they are very hard to blend, especially the darker half.  Personally, this palette could have been a must have if the shades were easier to blend. When I'm in a rush in the morning I don't have time to fight with my eyeshadows, because they stick a bit too much to the lid.

13 comments:

  1. They just won't swatch! I always put swatches. but they really don't swatch well!

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  2. That's definitely something I try to be aware of in my own reviews - I am lucky enough to be sent samples but I always try something thoroughly and give a really honest review


    Emma | Fluff and Fripperies

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  3. can you post a picture with swatches :)
    40 euros is a lot :D

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  4. Yes it has! I love the colors too but all of the darks are a pain. I used the black one as an eyeliner this morning and I had major fallout!

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  5. You're welcome. You always have to be careful with early reviews, since that stuff is usually sent for free and well when you don't pay you are less critical!

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  6. Thanks for this review - you saved me 40 bucks as I have a bunch of great neutral palettes already. Sorry it didn't live up to the hype for you lady x

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  7. Oh no what a shame that this didn't wow you... it's been so hyped up hasn't it?! I love the colours of the shades in the palette but I agree, I hate shadows that need a lot of work xxx

    Gemma // Miss Makeup Magpie

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  8. Mattes are definitely hard to do! I also don't have that many, I like to mix textures.


    I really want to try Bobbi Brown eyeshadows, I might try that next!

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  9. Hey Judith, I'm so sorry to hear this palette isn't all that great for you! It is very hard to get mattes right. I haven't tried MUFE or bareminerals ones. I do like the few I have in my UD and Bobbi Brown palettes, but admittedly I don't own a whole lot!

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  10. Yeah I know. It's especially a problem for women with medium skin and darker since the dark colors are the worst offenders!

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  11. HarcrazyforcosmeticsMay 16, 2014 at 4:01 PM

    quite an expensive one.. Genuine opinion Judith.. Lot of them will benefit from this..

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  12. hm, what a pity! I had higher expectations. I like the simplicity of this palette and the colors look good in the palette. Sucks to read that they don't blend well though.. not something you can easily overlook. I love your soft and understated eyelook :) x

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