little white truths

Ooops, looks like I've become so obsessed with decluttering and depotting my powders that I've gone out and bought myself a third empty palette - this time one of Makeup Geek's Travel Vaults. Woot woot!

I thought I'd do a quick post just to show you how it looks, and also make a comment or two on how it compares to Z-palettes (they're quite different).

I also wanted to write this post because I've moved my Pan that Palette powders across to this Vault so they're all together and contained, just so you know that's happened : )

As you can see, the palette looks pretty fancy: it's got a shiny gunmetal lid and the base (see below) is black matte rubber.

I've only had mine for a few days, but of course it already looks super dirty and covered in fingerprints. I don't mind that with the surface because it's so easy to wipe down, but rubber is always much harder to clean. At least you can't see the rubber since that's on the bottom.

Inside the palette is magnetised so it's easy to slot your powders into it. Unlike the Z-palettes I own, this also comes with a mirror and the lid isn't clear - which I personally prefer because I don't want my powders consistently exposed to light. Indeed, I keep my Z-palettes covered so the shadows are in a dark place (I've heard this can help extend the life of your powders).

Note that I bought my Vault for $19.50 AUD (from Beautybay) and from memory I paid around $23.50 AUD for the Z-palettes, which are much larger and hold more shadows. You can buy a smaller Z-palette for around $14, so the Vault is more expensive when you consider the relative size of the palettes (for reference, the Vault is exactly the same size as my Stila Eyes are the Window eyeshadow palette; and my (large) Z-palettes are more than twice that size).

But the Vault does come with a mirror and I personally feel that it looks a little sleeker, so of course it all comes down to what you're after in an empty palette and how much space you need. Both feel like good quality items to me, so I wouldn't say that one is better-made than the other.

So you can get an idea of size, below I've slotted in the powders I'm working on as part of Pan that Palette 2016:

As you can see, it still holds quite a bit. Not only have I managed to fit a full-size bronzer in there, but I've also got two larger eyeshadow pans (these are just large enough to be blush pans, if I wanted to use them that way), along with six standard eyeshadow pans. So it's not a bad little palette for travel and I'm sure you could customise it to fit most things you need on the go.

In sum

All in all, I'm glad I bought this but I feel that one is enough for me. If I ever bought a fourth palette, it would definitely be something larger than this because I prefer to have a good selection of things to choose from - but of course it's all personal preference and I will use this because it's a good size to put in my handbag for touch-ups, unlike my Z-palettes - which are a bit big for me to cart around.

What's good about this is that it's filled a gap in my collection because I have nothing else like it, and I've also depotted everything I'm going to depot for the moment and, after buying this, I now don't have any loose shadows lying around without a home - so this and my two Z-palettes are enough for me (for now!).

It's also helped me declutter a few more empty containers, so my 2016 decluttering process is a step further ahead than it was last week : )

Do let me know if you have this palette and what you think of it if so.

Speak soon x