little white truths

We received this face palette in a recent Maslow & Co box, and although I was quite excited about the idea of having a lightweight palette for my handbag, I was suspicious of this from the moment I picked it up because the packaging is so light that it feels flimsy and this made me question the quality of the product.

I became even more suspicious when I opened it and saw that the palette was heavy on glitter and contained the most sparkly bronzer and blush that I've seen for a long time - and indeed I've since decided to declutter the product because I won't use something like this. It's just too much for my personal tastes.

So because I'm decluttering it and don't want to use it enough to write a full review (I would rather work on my products for Pan that Palette than waste time on something I don't love), what I thought I'd do instead is give you some swatches and also my first impressions, since there aren't many swatches of this palette in cyberspace at the moment.

The product retails for $53 AUD so it ain't cheap, and it contains six eyeshadows, a single highlighter and a larger pan containing a bronzer, highlighter and blush. The only mattes in the palette are the two eyeshadows in the centre, and the single highlighter has more of a satin finish. Everything else contains noticeable glitter - and lots of it.

There's the product, photographed in direct sunlight:

There we are again, indirect sunlight:

Swatches from left to right, top to bottom, direct sunlight:

 And in natural light: 

Verdict

As mentioned above, this is a first impressions post so it won't be a detailed review, but I do have some thoughts on each item in the palette.

First, the packaging. I don't like it. It's so light and feels so flimsy that it makes the product appear to be bad quality, which I have to say that I reckon it is. Also, it doesn't contain a mirror. At $53 AUD a pop, I would expect a mirror. Just sayin'.

As for the products, let's start with the best one - the single highlighter that has more of a satin finish. It's soft to the touch and applies and blends well, and it offers a natural sheen. What I liked about this product was that it highlighted without emphasising texture, and this is why I decided to depot it. 

Big mistake. As soon as I slid my instrument between the cardboard and the pan, the whole product shattered - which makes me question the structural integrity of the powder because I've never ever had that happen before with a product housed in cardboard packaging (cardboard of course has more 'give' than plastic or metal). You wouldn't want to drop this palette! And perhaps it wouldn't travel well either.

On top of that, when I depotted (and then re-pressed) this highlighter, I discovered that the pans aren't magnetised. Every mid-to-high range product that I've ever depotted (and even some of the lower-end ones) has come with magnetised pans. Again, I'm questioning the quality of this product and wondering why it's so pricey.

As for the bronzer/highlighter/blush combo - far too much glitter for my tastes. I don't think I've ever used a bronzer or blush with that much glitter in them. The bronzer is also very golden so it won't suit a broad range of skintones. 

The bronzer blended ok but the blush didn't. I had blush patches on my face on the two occasions I used this and I couldn't blend those out - and I don't normally have blush-blending issues (eyeshadow's another story ; )). The highlighter is too frosty and I'm wondering why it's paired with the warm blush and bronzer because it's too cool for them and the combination is jarring (at least to my eyes and on my colouring).

The eyeshadows. They feel reasonably soft and creamy but they don't all perform well. One of the mattes applies and blends well (the brown) but the other one doesn't. The first shimmer doesn't have good pigmentation. The second one does but it makes my eyelids look old and crepe-y because it emphasises texture. The fifth shade (the grey) performs ok and the pigment is fine but the last shade is a mess - it's meant to be purple (it is in the pan) but it's grey and patchy when applied, and it doesn't want to blend.

I can't comment on things like wear time because I removed these powders from my face straight after applying them. I did this on both days I wore this.

All in all, I don't understand this palette. The bronzer/highlighter/blush combination confuses me because the highlighter colour doesn't pair well with the other two powders, plus they're all glitter bombs so I can't see them appealing to a wide range of people and they're not suitable for everyday use (at least in my opinion).

You can make the eyeshadows work but they're not consistent and I've used plenty of shadows that perform better and cost less.

For me, the highlighter is the one good product in the palette but it crumbled in a heartbeat so I don't think it's been formulated well, even though it looks nice on the skin.

Just not for me.