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Product Details and Packaging
ColourPop Making Mauves Palette is a 9-pan palette containing 5 matte shades, 3 sparkling metallic shades, and one matte with sparkles. There is a total of 9 grams / 0.3 oz of product and it retails for $14.
The palette is made of cardboard, closes shut with a magnet, and does not include a mirror. It feels sturdy and well made. The print on the lid continues into the inside of the lid and has a luxe feeling texture to it. I love the artistic quality of the design. One nice feature of ColourPop palettes is that the pans are magnetized into the palettes so, if you wanted to, you could remove them. It’s nice to have the option to rearrange the shades or combine them with other singles in a separate magnetized palette.
Shade Range
When I look at the product page on ColourPop’s website, it looks like the entire palette is cool toned. However, there is a mix of warm and cool toned shades in this palette. The shades Solitaire and Tongue Tied are relatively warm compared to the rest of the shades in the palette but in the grand scheme of neutral eyeshadows on the market they aren’t particularly warm.
There is a good variety of depths and finishes to create a look with enough dimension to feel “complete”. ColourPop describes the type of effect you can get from these shades as “the perfect soft glam look.”
There is some overlap in shades here. Solitaire and Tongue Tied are very similar. I imagine the reason they included both is so that you could use them together. Tongue Tied has sparkles that will cause fallout if buffed onto the lid. It is best to press these types of shades on with your finger or a firm brush to help those sparkles stick to the lid. You can also use a glitter glue to make them adhere even better. Pressing shades on and avoiding buffing, though, is going to result in harsh lines, so having a matching matte gives you a transition shade to put on underneath so everything looks nice and blended.
Bicoastal and Mauve On Top look are very similar in color but on the eye they have different finishes. Mauve On Top is waaay more shiny. It has an intense reflect. The sparkle in Bicoastal is muted in comparison.
Formula
The mattes are generally thicker-feeling and have less slip to them than formulas from other brands I’ve tried. The matte shades varied in quality between shades but there weren’t any true duds. The lightest shade was the hardest to swatch but applied just fine to my lids. Tongue Tied and Marquee were a little powdery and easy to dust away. All of the matte shades were easy to blend out.
The metallic shades are very sparkly/glittery. On the product page for this palette, ColourPop mentions the use of their Super Shock “Finish” but I am not sure if they are actually using the formula in this palette. It is not indicated anywhere on the packaging. Comparing the shades in the palette to a few Super Shocks I have in pots, the Super Shocks are definitely creamier and smooth over the skin easier, with less drag. The shades in the palette are drier, more pigmented, and don’t glide across the skin with the same slickness. Only one shade, Mauve On Top, is remotely similar-feeling to the Super Shock formula, but it still feels ever so slightly drier to the touch.
Wear Time
I wore this over Nars Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base. I wear all my eyeshadows over a primer because I have oily lids. After 7 hours, there was subtle fading in the crease. After 11 hours of wearing the same look, there was slight creasing but it was not very noticeable unless looking up close.
Individual Shades
- R&R is a very pale muted mauve. On my skin tone (Mac NW20), this shade is too dark to use as a brow bone highlight but almost too light to use as a transition. It works well as an all over lid shade if I want to do a “no makeup” makeup look because it’s so close to my skin tone. It evens out any veining or discoloration on my lids well. This shade didn’t have any fallout.
- Solitaire is warm pinky brown. This shade feels out of place in this palette, IMHO. It doesn’t stand out enough if I pair it with Big Moves or Big Fig. And I just don’t like the color combo of pairing it with Marquee, though there is nothing wrong with doing that. No fallout from this shade.
- Big Moves is pale pinkish lavender. This is probably my favorite shade in the palette. It performs well and it’s actually cool toned. So many shades like this lean red on me. No fallout.
- Bicoastal is a pink champagne with a muted metallic finish. This is the flakiest shade of the three metallics. I can apply it just fine with a brush. All three metallics had sparkle fallout but this one had the most.
- A La Mode is pinky mauve with silver and copper sparkles. This shade had the thickest, most emolient feel to it and was the hardest to pick up with a brush. Using a finger was the best way to apply this. It had a tendency to look thick and textured on my lid. I thought this applied and looked the best when I applied it all by itself onto bare lids. It looked smoother and the sparkles were much more dimensional and prominent that way.
- Mauve On Top is a metallic icy rose. This was the shiniest of the three metallic shades in the palette and the one with the smoothest texture (at least to the touch). It still has a lot of large sparkles like the other two shades.
- Tongue Tied is a slightly deeper pinky brown than Solitaire and it has silver and violet sparkles. This one was a bit more powdery than the other mattes. Most of the sparkles fall out onto my cheek if I attempt to apply this with a brush. Even if I press it on with my fingers, I still get some fallout but the sparkles will stick better to the lid that way.
- Marquee is a muted deep plum. This one was a little more powdery and easier to dust away. During application, I had to be conscious to press and tap this shade on rather than buff and blend to keep the color in place. Very little fallout.
- Big Fig is medium dusty mauve. It had good color payoff and blended out easily. No fallout.
Worth Buying?
Maybe. I like this palette, especially the fact that it has mauve shades that are actually cool toned. To me, that makes it worth it. However there are some things that I would change to make it suit my taste better. I’d prefer not to have shades that are so similar to each other that they look the same on the eye. I’d like a brow bone highlight light enough for me. Things like that may or may not make a difference to you. The fact that I can take these shades out of the palette helps to remedy those drawbacks for me a bit.
Looks I Did With This Palette
Look #1:
- R&R – Transition
- Big Moves – Inner crease
- Big Fig – Outer crease, lower lashline
- Marquee – Outer lid/crease
- Mauve On Top – Center of lid
- Bicoastal – Inner part of lower lashline
Look #2:
- R&R – Transition
- Solitaire – Inner crease
- Tongue Tied – Outer crease
- Marquee – Inner and outer lid
- A La Mode – Center of lid, applied with finger