Product Description
Price: $34
Quantity: There are 30 shades, each 1.00 gram / 0.04 oz
Expires After: I didn’t see this information anywhere on the packaging.
Packaging: The palette is made of cardboard and does not include a mirror. It has a bit of weight to it that makes it feel like higher quality.
Smell/Fragrance: No fragrance but there is a faint mineral smell when I smell the shades up close.
Availability: ColourPop
ColourPop Bare Necessities is a palette with 30 neutral shades in varying finishes, hues, and depths. There are some peachy-orange shades, some purples, rosy shades, warm neutrals, and cool neutrals but all of the colors are on the more muted side. 14 shades are matte, 6 are “sequin” shades (those that have a matte base with sparkle/glitter infused into the formula), and 10 shimmer shades that have varying degrees of reflectiveness. Some of the shimmers are incredibly smooth and foiled, some are quite soft and offer more of a satin-looking finish, and some are a mixture of shimmer and larger flecks of glitter.
There is no question that this palette is a good value at $34 for 30 shades. The shade range is decent but could be better. I would have preferred if the “sequin” shades, were just plain matte. I’m not a huge fan of this type of eyeshadow finish because the glitter makes it impossible to blend the shades without glitter disappearing from the lid and falling down onto my cheeks and under eye area. Fortunately, the glitter in these shades are small in size and the concentration of sparkles is quite low. In other words, the fallout is very minimal and easy to brush away. The glitter was just sort of pointless to add in my opinion. Since it isn’t very bothersome, I don’t consider these wasted or “throw-away” shades. They are still usable to me.
There is some overlap in shades but it’s not too bad because the undertones or finishes help to distinguish them. Shades that end up looking similar once applied to the eyes:
- Stiletto, Dutch Process, Baubles, and Taboo
- Silk Teddy and Rumored
- Designer Duds, Fuzzy, and Revel
- Crack On, Velveteen, and Tabloid
The formula of the matte shades is generally thicker, denser, more pigmented than other eyeshadows I have in a similar price range. They blend well overall but aren’t the type that “blend themselves” like the formulas in the Maybelline City Mini Palettes or the Covergirl Trunaked Palettes. They also seem to sit heavier on the lid and look a bit thicker. This might be more of a concern for those with more mature lids or texture on their lids. The shimmer shades are also thicker and more pigmented than similarly priced drugstore options but I don’t find that they sit heavy on the lids and don’t have a whole lot of fallout like so many shimmer shades can have.
Wear time was on the shorter side with almost all the shades, even over a primer. I averaged about 5-6 hours of wear before I would start to see signs of fading in the crease. As I would approach 8 hours, the creasing would be incredibly obvious. The black eyeshadow wore the best on me, showing a bit of fading at 6 hours but it didn’t get much worse after wearing it a few more hours.
Because of the wear time, I wouldn’t recommend this palette to someone with oily eyelids. Even for someone with “normal” eyelids, this may not be the palette to turn to for everyday use if you typically have very long days. If you have drier eyelids or you have a primer that you know works very well for you, then it might work just fine for you.
Shades
Idol Hour
Idol Hour is pale golden champagne with a soft shimmer finish. The texture felt smooth and creamy to the touch. It swatched evenly with semi-opaque coverage. This shade required more building up than other shimmers in the palette.
In The Buff
In The Buff is a pale nude with subtle pink undertones and a matte finish. It felt a bit dry but still smooth. It swatched evenly with semi-opaque coverage. This shade is pretty close to my skin tone so it works best to set my primer or to even out the skin tone on my eyelid. It’s not quite light enough to use as a brow bone highlight on my complexion.
Silk Teddy
Silk Teddy is a light rose gold with a highly reflective, metallic finish and flecks of glitter. The glitter is small in size and blends in so seamlessly with the shimmer that it’s hardly noticeable. The texture was smooth, buttery, almost creamy to the touch. It swatched evenly with nearly opaque coverage in one swipe. This shade has more slip to it than most of the other shades and is also one of the most shiny, foiled-looking shades in the palette.
On Holiday
On Holiday is a pale taupe with subtle pink undertones and a matte finish. It felt slightly less dry than the shade “In The Buff”. The color payoff was not as strong with this shade compared to other mattes in the palette. It required more building up to see against my skin tone. Regardless, this shade is a personal favorite to use as a transition shade because of the undertone. Most shades like this tend to have a yellow/orange/brown undertone. The subtle pink in this shade works super well with my complexion.
Rumored
Rumored is a light rosy beige with a metallic finish. It swatched evenly with nearly opaque coverage. This shade is incredibly similar to “Silk Teddy” except it has no glitter that I can tell, it doesn’t have quite as much slip to it and the undertone is just a bit more neutral. Once on the eye, you really can’t tell them apart.
Banter
Banter is a mid-tone brown with subtle warm undertones and a matte finish. This shade seems to be thicker (more emollient?) and more prone to kick-up in the pan. It had more pigmentation and wasn’t as easy as to blend as some of the other mattes in the palette. It wanted to stick on the skin where I initially placed it but with some extra blending, I was able to get it to diffuse.
Full Exposé
Full Exposé is a pale nude with yellow undertones and a matte finish. At times, this shade seems to swatch darker than it looks in the pan, as if it oxidizes once it hits my skin. I also notice this when using it to apply to my eyes. I can still use it as a brow bone highlight, though, as the change in color is very minimal. It is very pigmented and blends out easily.
Tease Me
Tease Me has a matte, pale peach base with golden flecks. It swatched evenly with medium opacity and a similar feeling formula to the matte shades. Applying it to the eye on the inner corner / brow bone, the sparkles actually seemed to stay put better than expected but were not super obvious against the matte base color.
The Talk
The Talk is a light pink with a gold shimmery shift. It had medium opacity and required more building up than the other shimmers. This had a somewhat flaky formula that did not apply smoothly to the lid with a brush. The shimmer / sparkle would leave a lot of my lid still showing through. This is a shade I’d probably use more as a topper than as a standalone shade.
Hustler
Hustler is a light peach with a matte finish. The texture was a bit more dry than other mattes in the palette. Didn’t swatch quite as evenly. Similar feel to “In The Buff”. This applied a lot like the way it swatched. It had decent color payoff and didn’t dust away too easily but I needed to build it up in order for it to look evenly applied.
Complicated
Complicated has a matte terra-cotta base with golden sparkles. Sparkle held together a smidge better than “Tease Me”, but was still prone to being dusted away. Matte base also felt same as “Tease Me”. Good color payoff and the sparkles held together well during application with much less sparkle fallout than I was expecting from a formula like this. The sparkles were a bit hard to detect once the color was applied to the lid. It’s like there isn’t a whole lot of the sparkle infused into the formula.
Crack On
Crack On is a warm brown with reddish undertones and matte finish. It looks like it has some sparkles but it doesn’t. Some shimmer from neighboring shades got into this shade. It was a bit smoother, creamier than other mattes. Didn’t swatch as smoothly. This shade had a lot of pigment but tended to stick where it was initially applied and required quite a bit of blending.
Hot Gossip
Hot Gossip is a pale peachy brown with warm undertones and matte finish. Felt smooth and creamy like “Crack On” but swatched much more evenly
All 4 U
All 4 U is a pinky brown with warm reddish undertones and matte finish. Less smooth than previous two but swatched less evenly. It swatched similar to the way “Banter” did.
Designer Duds
Designer Duds is a medium copper with a sparkly golden finish. It was creamy, smooth, buttery to the touch. The color payoff was semi-sheer and required some building up for full opacity.
Spree
Spree is a muted cranberry with a matte base and golden sparkles. The texture felt drier than other shades with same finish in this palette. It was highly pigmented and swatched evenly but left a slight stain on my arm. During application there was less sparkle fallout than I expected. This shade initially seems to have good color payoff, but when blending it becomes too easy to dust away. It sheers out a little too easily/quickly.
Act A Fool
Act A Fool is a deeper, muted, dusty mauve with a matte finish. Didn’t swatch evenly at first. Heavily pigmented. Similar feel to other mattes in palette.
Cufflinks
Cufflinks is a warm plum with a satin finish and some larger shimmer/glitter particles mixed in. The color payoff was on the sheerer side and it needed a few layers for full opacity. This color was harder to pick up and build up on the lid than the rest of the shades in the palette. It had a stiffer feel to it. Perhaps more firmly pressed in the pan.
Haute
Haute is a muted orangey red with a mostly matte finish. It has some sparkles but they are smaller than other “sequin” shades in the palette. It was very smooth and highly pigmented but also easily blendable.
Fuzzy
Fuzzy is a warm coppery bronze with a shimmer finish. It felt thicker than most of the other shimmers in the palette. I had concerns this might be more difficult to apply to the lid so I decided to test this shade on it’s own. Indeed, this was more difficult to pick up and get to adhere to the lid. I also experienced a lot of shimmer and pigment fallout. This shade performed very poorly for longevity only lasting for two hours before creasing.
Tabloid
Tabloid is a mid-tone warm brown with strong warm undertones and a matte finish. Smooth, dense. Didn’t swatch evenly at first until I built it up heavily.
Genie
Genie is a medium yellow gold with subtle pink undertones and a metallic finish. Very smooth, buttery, almost cream-like. Thicker but not as bad as “Fuzzy”. Easy to pick up on finger. Swatched evenly. Applying it heavily gives it more of a true gold look, while sheering it out will bring out some of it’s pink undertones.
Taboo
Taboo is a cooler-toned, deep brown with a matte finish. Not as opaque as other mattes. Developed hard pan during swatching. Swatched fairly evenly but pigmentation wasn’t as smooth as some other shades.
Dutch Process
Dutch Process is a deep brown with subtle purple undertones. It has a matte base and multi-colored sparkles. It is slightly drier and grittier than other sequin shades. Shimmer particles held together pretty well. Needed to be built up to look evenly swatched.
Velveteen
Velveteen is a mid-tone brown with subtle warm undertones and a matte finish. In these photos, it looks far more warm/red toned than it looks in real life. Especially when applied to the eye, it looks much more neutral. It had a smooth, buttery feel, was highly pigmented and swatched evenly. This color tends to stick wherever I initially apply it and requires quite a bit of blending to get it to look more diffused. It was reasonably workable though.
Prix Fixe
Prix Fixe is a medium bronze with a metallic golden sheen. It has some flecks of small glitter mixed in. Seems to be the same formula as “Silk Teddy”. Very smooth, creamy, buttery. Swatched evenly with opaque coverage. This shade seems to be the most flaky and messiest in the palette.
Stiletto
Stiletto is a deep brown with slight red undertones. It has a matte base with golden sparkles. Glitter held together well. Swatched mostly evenly. Was less buttery than other sequins but not dry or hard to pick up.
Revel
Revel is a reddish brown with strong warm undertones. It has a satin finish with golden sparkles mixed in. This felt thick, “dimethicone-y”, similar in texture to the shade “Fuzzy”. I tested this shade by itself since I was concerned about the texture. It was a bit easier to work with than “Fuzzy” and had less glitter fallout, which I was able to brush away. The longevity on this shade was even poorer, though, only lasting 1.5 hours before creasing.
Baubles
Baubles is a deep brown with cool undertones. It has a matte base and golden sparkles. Felt smooth. Needed some building up for an even swatch. Sparkles were more prone to moving with every touch but held together fairly well.
Spy Glass
Spy Glass is a black with an ultra subtle satin finish. The finish almost looks matte but it’s not as flat as the other mattes in the palette. It was firmer, harder to pick up. Color appeared nearly matte when applied to the skin. Didn’t notice hard pan. Swatched evenly but not smoothly. This shade goes on kind of splotchy. Color doesn’t not go on in an even, uniform way. It can be layered and blended to make it look better. It’s not the best or the worst black eyeshadow I’ve used. It’s very usable but could be better.
Looks
I used Full Expose to set my primer, In The Buff and On Holiday as transition shades (the former being a bit too light to be used as a transition), Banter in the crease, Velveteen on the outer lid and blended up into the crease, and Silk Teddy on the center of the lid. All Shades were used with brushes, including the shimmer on the lid.
The mattes had no issues adhering or blending. Pigmentation was strong but not so much that it was difficult to blend out. The shimmer was exceptionally easy to use with a flat shader brush, though I noticed it transferred to my crease area after I took the photo. Sometimes this happens with shimmers but not that often.
After 5.5 hours I started to see creasing and fading in the crease area.
I used Full Expose to set my primer, All 4 U as my transition shade, Act A Fool on the outer lid and blended up into the crease, Cufflinks on the center of the lid, and Idol Hour on the inner lid. All Shades were used with brushes. I only used my finger to intensify Cufflinks on the right eye because it gave me some issues adhering to the lid using only a brush.
The mattes had no issues adhering or blending. Pigmentation was strong but not so much that it was difficult to blend out. Cufflinks was more stiff than the other shimmers in the palette. I had more trouble trying to pick it up with a brush and lay it down on the lid. It was possible, it just did not yield much color payoff. Even using my finger, it didn’t do much to intensify the color or finish. It is just more of a subtle shade.
After 5.5 hours I started to see creasing and fading in the crease area.
I used In The Buff to set my base (Milani Eyeshadow Base), Hustler as my transition shade, Hot Gossip in the crease and on the lower lash line, Crack On on the outer lid and blended up into the crease, Taboo to deepen the crease, Tease Me on the inner corner and on the brow bone, The Talk on the inner lid, and Complicated on the center of my lid. I only used brushes and not my fingers to apply this look.
Slight fading in the crease after 5 hours.
I used In The Buff to set my base (Milani Eyeshadow Base), On Holiday as my transition and on the lower lash line, Velvteen in the crease, Rumored all over the lid, and Full Expose in the inner corner and on the brow bone.
I used only brushes and not my fingers to apply this look.
Slight fading in the crease after 5 hours.
This look mainly consists of the shade Revel being used all over the lid and in the crease. I wanted to try using this as a single-shade look to see how it would work. I ended up using a small amount of On Holiday and In The Buff just to smooth out the blending in the transition area.
This is one of the shades that seemed a little thicker and stiffer than the other shimmers in the palette and I had concerns that it might not be that easy to apply. It picked up and applied easier than expected. It required a little bit more work to build up than the other shades but that’s not saying a whole lot considering the other shimmers pick up super easily with a brush.
I had some glitter fallout but it wasn’t awful. I was able to brush it off my cheeks.
This shade started creasing after only 1.5 hours.
This is another “one shadow look” using the shade Fuzzy. I used a tiny bit of On Holiday and In The Buff to smooth out the blend in the transition area. This is the other shade that seemed like it was going to give me trouble when I initially swatched it. This one was harder to pick up and get to stick to the lid than Revel. So far this is my least favorite shade formula-wise. It is still usable though.
This shade had a lot of shimmer and pigment fallout during application. I attempted to buff it away before taking photos, but as you can see, it’s still very much stuck to my under eye area.
This shade started creasing after 2 hours.
In this look I prepped my lid with Urban Decay Primer Potion and set it with Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder. From the palette I used Hot Gossip as my transition shade and on my lower lash line, Tabloid in the crease, Taboo lower in the crease, Dutch Process all over the lid, Prix Fixe on the center of the lid, and Tease Me on the inner corner.
There wasn’t much fallout with any of the shades. Hot Gossip and Tabloid applied easily with good color payoff and blended well. Taboo was a bit harder to blend but was workable. Taboo is also the shade that started forming hard pan during swatching. Dutch Process seemed to apply a bit patchy however it was hard to tell. I didn’t attempt to blend it because it has sparkly flecks so I applied it over a similar matte shade instead. The flecks still didn’t show up a whole lot. I tried applying Prix Fixe  with a brush and it did not want to adhere to the shadows underneath it. This is common and understandable. In the next look, I used the same color but applied it with my finger. The sparkles in Tease Me didn’t really show up in this photo.
There wasn’t much fallout with any of the shades.
I started to see some fading in the crease after about 6 hours with this look.
In this look I prepped my lid with Urban Decay Primer Potion and set it with Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot Powder. From the palette I used Banter as my transition shade and on my lower lash line, Velveteen in the crease, Taboo lower in the crease, Spy Glass all over the lid, Baubles as a blending shade for Spy Glass, and Prix Fixe on the center of the lid.
This time I applied Prix Fixe with my finger and it showed up way better applied this way. This shade doesn’t have any issues adhering if you just lay it down over a bare or primed lid. It doesn’t adhere the easiest over other eyeshadows, especially if you use a brush. I had significantly more fallout using my finger as is the case with many other brands of shimmery eyeshadow. The other shades didn’t give me much fallout.
After 6 hours there was very little fading (hardly noticeable) in the crease. After a couple more hours, it didn’t get much worse.