The Sephora Collection Wild Khaki Nude Mega Mix Palette is a warm brown neutral palette with a touch of green. It contains 2 cream-powder matte hybrids, 3 true powder mattes, 3 shimmers with sparkle, and 1 smooth shimmer with all fine particles.

This selection of shades is one I’d describe as “everyday glam”. I thought this palette was better than the Fearless Cool Nude and Rebellious Rosey Nude for overall quality. All the mattes in here ranged from very decent to great. The ease of use and fallout from the shimmers was about on par with the Fiery Warm Nude palette. I liked this one. 

Price: $18
Availability: Sephora

Swatches

The shades are not named but are numbered 1-9 starting with 1 at the top left corner and 9 at the bottom right corner.

1 – Cream-powder hybrid. Pale warm nude with subtle golden tones and a mostly matte finish.
2 – Olive-toned bronze shimmer with a little bit of sparkle.
3 – True powder matte. Medium olive-toned brown.
4 – Pale nude shimmer with lots of larger sparkle, a small amount of glitter and not much of a base color. Feels waxier, adheres well.
5 – Medium green shimmer with larger sparkle. Mostly cooler toned because of what looks like a deep greyish green base color but has a golden sparkly sheen.
6 – Cream-powder hybrid. Black with a satin-matte finish. This gives off a “dewier” look than a true powder matte would.
7 – True powder matte. Deep warm brown.
8 – Deep bronze shimmer. All small shimmer particles.
9 – True powder matte. Light warm golden nude.

Looks

Look 1:

• 1 – Inner corner, brow bone, inner lid
• 2 – Inner lower lashline (dry brush)
• 3 – Crease
• 4 – Inner corner, brow bone (dry brush)
• 5 – Outer lower lashline (dry brush)
• 6 – Liner, smudged into upper lashline
• 7– Inner crease, outer lid
• 8– Center of lid
• 9 – Transition above crease
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Boundless Bisque – Waterline
• Loreal Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara – Upper lashes
• Winky Lux Detail Oriented Mascara – Lower lashes

I used every shade here. Didn’t use any primer but I did put a little bit of foundation on the lid and I used a powder foundation to set the lid before applying any of the shadows. I didn’t notice anything annoying or unpleasant about any of the shades. I thought they all worked well. I can see a tiny bit of fallout in the photos from the deepest matte. Even the sparkly shimmers didn’t have much fallout. The inner corner shimmer looks like it might have some glitter particles in it. From an angle, they look darker than the rest of the color in this shade and it looks like dirt or fallout from a deeper shade, but it’s not. It adhered nicely without the help of a setting spray and applied over another powder. The mattes were slightly powdery and gave me a little bit of kickup when I picked some up with a brush. It was most noticeable with shade 9. I don’t think it was excessive though. 

Look 2:

• 7 – Outer crease, outer lower lashline
• 9 – Transition for outer crease
• 6 – Outer lid
• 5 – Center of lid (dry brush)
• 8 – Inner lid, inner crease (dry brush)
• 1 – Inner corner

Shade 7 had a lot of pigmentation and blended okay by itself but being so dark, I found it helpful to use Shade 9 around the edges to diffuse the blend some more. Shade 9 was also nicely pigmented. Both of these seemed better than the mattes in the Rebellious Rosey Nude Palette.

Shade 6 is a cream-powder hybrid. It wasn’t hard to build up to the color payoff you see here, it adhered well, and blended easily. I didn’t use it over a large enough area to get a good feel for if it made my lid look more textured or dry compared to the lighter shades in this formula, but I feel like it may look slightly better in this deeper shade.

Shade 8 was a really nice shimmer. It is mostly, if not completely, made up of fine shimmer had great color payoff, adhered easily to the lid, didn’t require much building.

Shade 5 has sparkles and fine shimmer and wasn’t quite as easy to build up as the previous shimmer, but was still pretty good. It had a very little fallout.

Look 3:

• 3 – Crease, lower lashline
• 2 – All over lid (dry brush, fingertip)
• 1 – Inner corner, brow bone, used to blend around edges of matte brown

Shade 3 was a pretty good matte. I didn’t feel it was too sheer or too pigmented, color payoff was just right. I used Shade 1 to help smooth out the edges of the blend but I feel I could have skipped that and it would’ve looked fine.

Shade 2 was also decent. It seems to have mostly fine shimmer in it but I can see some tiny sparkles in it too. There was a very small amount of fallout but I had no issue brushing it off my skin. I was able to get a nice level of coverage with a dry brush, which, in real life, I felt looked perfectly fine. In photos I noticed it was ever so slightly uneven, so went back and applied a bit more with my fingertip to even it out.

Look 4:

• 9 – Crease, lower lashline
• 7 – Outer lid
• 8 – Center of lid (dry brush)
• 4 – Inner corner (dry brush)

Shade 9 worked well for the crease. Not much work to build it up to be easily visible. Blended out smoothly. I didn’t use any other shades to help it look smoother around the edges. Went on evenly. Decent quality.

Shade 7 was also a good matte. Good level of pigment, even color payoff. As far as I could tell it seemed to blend well, though I did sheer it into the lighter brown, which makes it more difficult to see. No fallout. In any case, it was not frustrating at all.

Shade 8 is the type of shimmer I prefer recently. No sparkle at all, all fine shimmer, high level of color payoff with minimal effort required to apply it. Almost no fallout.

Shade 4 was pretty nice too. This was is a sparkly “topper” type of shade. It is made of white flecks of sparkle without a base color. I was careful in how I applied it but I didn’t have too much fallout from it. I think if I was in a rush, being impatient, not being careful, I could easily get more fallout from it though.

The Sephora Collection Rebellious Rosey Nude Mega Mix Palette is a soft, warmer, pink-themed palette with several shimmer textures, a cream-powder matte, true powder mattes, a matte with fine sparkle, and a true self-adhering glitter.  

Visually to me, this shade selection stands out from the other palettes in the collection but I didn’t love it as much with actual use. The shadows worked well enough but the quality wasn’t quite as good as what was in the Fiery Warm Nude Palette. The shimmers were nice and there was less sparkle fallout than I got with the Fearless Cool Nude Palette but color payoff from the mattes was somewhat lackluster.

Price: $18
Availability: Sephora

Swatches

The shades are not named but are numbered 1-9 starting with 1 at the top left corner and 9 at the bottom right corner.

1 – Cream-powder hybrid. Pale pinky nude with a mostly matte finish.
2 – Pale sparkly nude. LOTS of sparkle, less emollient than the other shimmers.
3 – True powder matte. Deep reddish brown.
4 – Medium matte rose pink with micro fine sparkle. Sparkle isn’t visible on the eye.
5 – Pale nude (almost white) shimmer with a smooth sheen. Mostly small shimmer particles.
6 – Cranberry pink self-adhering glitter.
7 – Medium rosy pink shimmer with a subtle silver sheen. Mixture of fine shimmer and sparkle. Feels more emollient.
8 – True powder matte. Light warm pink.
9 – Burgundy shimmer with a little bit of larger sparkle. Feels more emollient.

In general the mattes were not that impressive to me in this palette. The creamy-powder in this palette, as with all the other palettes in this collection, sits heavy and textured-looking on my lids. The true powder mattes showed up okay but I found myself having to continuously build them up during application to maintain color vibrancy. They were too easy to sheer out while blending or while applying the shimmers nearby or over top of them. Using a primer can help solve this issue, however, I have been using primers less lately because my lids have been dry.

I liked the shimmers more in this palette than the mattes. Most had some level of sparkle fallout but I generally didn’t find it as annoying as the ones in the Fearless Cool Nude Palette. They all showed up easily, adhered well to the lid, and had a nice amount of shine. The only one I’d say needed the help of a setting spray or sticky primer was Shade 2. 

Shade 6 is the lone true glitter. This is one of the best glitters across all the palettes. It sticks to the skin better and I get very few stray specks falling down onto my face. It takes some effort to maneuver it around if you don’t place it just right at first, but it’s doable. I prefer that over one that doesn’t adhere well and gets everywhere. 

Looks

Look 1:

• No primer or any type of base product on the lid
• 8 – Transition (most visible in the center part of the crease)
• 3 – Outer crease, also added a TINYYYY amount to outer lower lashline to deepen the pink
• 4 – Inner crease, outer lower lashline
• 6 – Inner corner
• 2 – Outer edges of the glitter
• 5 – Center of the lid
• ColourPop Graphix Ink Liner in So Winey
• Loreal Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara – Upper lashes

Shade 4 didn’t go on as evenly as I would have liked but I felt that maybe my skin was just too dry. I’ll have to try it again. I had some spots that looked more sheer and I tried to build it up in those spots but it resisted layering over itself. It has ultra fine reflects within the matte powder but it doesn’t really translate as visible on the eye and it doesn’t give the finish any type of sheen either. It just looks like a regular matte.

Shade 6 is a self adhering glitter. It really sticks and wasn’t super easy to move around once I placed it on the skin.

I liked shade 5. Nice fine shimmer with a soft glowy finish and semi sheer opacity. 

Look 2:

• 3 – Inner/outer lid and crease
• 8 – Transition (used very lightly around the edges of shade 3)
• 2 – Center of lid, center of lower lashline (dry brush, wet brush)
• 9 – Inner/outer lower lashline
• 1 – Very inner corner
• 5 – Inner corner (layered over previous shade), brow bone
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Dimensional Dark Brown – Waterline
• Elf Lash It Loud Mascara – Upper lashes

I was going to do this on both eyes and I started out with Shade 3 on an unprimed lid and immediately regretted it. I started later in the day and my lids were a bit oily and this shade very obviously deepened in areas that were more oily. After trying to apply more to build the color up, it just wouldn’t build up. I gave up on that eye and tried again on the other eye over an eye primer. It went on WAY better. No clinging to oil/moisture, even color payoff, nice blending for the most part. I was able to move this shade easily but it needed a little bit of help from a lighter shade for a very smooth gradient around the edges. I also was not able to build it up a whole lot on this eye, so I think that’s just an issue with these mattes in general.

Shade 2 has small/heavy sparkles that fall out easily to an almost annoying level. They stick to the skin kind of firmly as well so it’s not the fastest thing to clean up afterward. It adhered mostly fine to the lid though and showed up nicely as a very noticeable sparkle with a dry brush. It didn’t stand out as much as I wanted when used on the lower lashline, so I applied it again with a wet brush there and then went over the lid with another layer using a wet brush as well. This shade gives off somewhat of a wet look though it doesn’t feel creamy or emollient.

Shade 9 had fine shimmer and sparkle but not much fallout. Very nice color payoff, shimmer/sparkle shows up well too, adhered well.

Shade 5 is more of a regular shimmer with smaller particles. 

Look 3:

• No Primer (small amount of concealer on lid)
• 8 – Crease, lower lashline
• 7 – All over lid (dry brush, fingertip)
• 1 – Inner corner, brow bone
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Boundless Bisque – Waterline
• Elf Lash Out Loud Mascara – Upper and lower lashes

Shade 8 was lighter and a bit sheerer than I thought it would be. I ended up packing it on heavily to get it to what you see here.

Shade 7 applied fairly well with a dry brush but I amped it up some more by pressing another layer on with my finger. It had moderate sparkle fallout and took some effort to clean up, sticking a bit to my powdered foundation. 

Shade 1 is a cream-powder. Looked a little heavier and more textured on my lid than the true powders.

Look 4:

• No Primer (small amount of concealer on lid)
• 4 – Crease, lower lashline
• 9 – All over lid (dry brush)
• 7 – Inner corner (dry brush)
• 1 – Blended around edges of matte pink with this
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Boundless Bisque – Waterline
• Loreal Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara – Upper and lower lashes

Shade 4 picked up and transferred easily, initially seeming to have good color payoff but it ended up dusting away easily when I applied the deeper shimmer nearby and while blending. I kept adding layers in the deeper part of the crease to build the color back up. Hardly any fallout from either the matte or sparkle portions of the shade.

Shade 9 has a slightly thicker/creamier feel for a shimmer. It also picked up easily on a brush and adhered well to the lid with minimal fallout. I didn’t have to layer it that heavily for it to show up well.

Shade 7 was also on the creamier side for a shimmer. I applied this to the inner corner with a dry pencil brush and had minimal fallout but this gave me a sheer application of color. To get it to pop more, I switched to a thick eyeliner brush, which gave me much more color payoff off but also increased sparkle fallout to be more on the moderate side.

The Sephora Collection Fiery Warm Nude Mega Mix Palette is a warm brown, bronze, and gold eyeshadow palette that contains 3 types of mattes and 5 shimmers with varying degrees of sparkle. There are no true glitters but one of the shimmers has some glitter particles in it.

Compared to the Fearless Cool Nude Palette, I enjoy this one a bit more. There was less fallout overall and for the style of eyeshadow I like to wear, I like the choice of shades better.

Price: $18
Availability: Sephora

Swatches

The shades are not named but are numbered 1-9 starting with 1 at the top left corner of the palette and 9 at the bottom right corner.

1 – Cream-powder hybrid. Pale peachy nude with a mostly matte finish.
2 – Copper shimmer with mostly small shimmer particles and a few larger sparkles.
3 – True powder matte. Deep reddish brown.
4 – Light peachy nude matte with micro fine sparkles.
5 – Medium bronze sparkly shimmer. More fine shimmer than larger sparkle.
6 – Golden white sparkly/flakey/glittery shimmer. Has a thicker and waxier feel to it.
7 – True powder matte. Medium orangey brown.
8 – Pale gold with larger flakey sparkles. Slightly drier, doesn’t grab onto skin as readily as shade 6.
9 – Yellow gold shimmer with larger flakey sparkles and a waxier feel.

There is 1 creamy-powder in here and it applied about the same as the ones in the other palettes. This one is a slightly deeper color which I think helps it to look a little more flattering. It is not deep enough to use as a crease shade but is good for blending and diffusing other shades or (on my complexion) to use as a color corrector and evening shade on the inner corner. I don’t love this formula as a “base” because the heaviness can still be seen even with other eyeshadows on top of it.

Both of the true powder mattes were nice. They gave me rich, even color payoff, blended easily and had little to no fallout.

The 1 matte with sparkle was decent. I did get a small amount of sparkle fallout from it, but the sparkles are very tiny and there’s not that much of it in the shade. I was able to use it heavily as a lid color and more lightly in the crease without much issue.

There are some very sparkly shimmers in this palette but I found these ones less messy than the ones in the Fearless Cool Nude Palette. The only one I didn’t give a good try on the lid was Shade 9. The way I used it probably wasn’t the best to test for fallout, but I remember it stuck well to the skin. Most are different enough to tell them apart on the eye except for Shades 6 and 8. Those two stand out well from each other in the pan but I think they look very similar in color once I put them on the lid.

Looks

Look 1:

• No Primer (but lightly used concealer on the lid)
• 4 – All over lid/crease (brush then tapped extra on with fingertip), lower lashline
• 7 – Add depth to upper outer part of crease
• 9 – Inner corner, upper part of winged liner (wet brush)
• 3 – Winged linger (wet brush, layered over top the previous shimmer)

The shimmer in shade 4 is extremely fine and pretty sparse. I got a little bit of sparkle fallout but it was very minimal for how heavily I applied this shade and it was easy to brush away.

Shade 3 was a nice matte, good color payoff, easy to blend, no noticeable fallout, not too powdery/messy in the pan. The formula is well balanced so it doesn’t feel dry/dusty.

Look 2:

• No Primer (but lightly used concealer on the lid)
• 1 – Inner corner, transition
• 4 – Add depth to outer crease
• 8 – Center of lid (dry brush)
• 2 – Lower lashline (dry brush)

I was hoping to show how shade 1 looks on the skin but it doesn’t translate all that well in the photos. Every shade in this collection that is this creamy formula sits on my lid this way. I find it more unflattering in real life than it comes across in photos. I prefer the true powder mattes in these palettes.

Shade 4 worked fine used this way — applied lightly with a fluffier brush, without regard for possible sparkle fallout. I had no issues. The fallout was very minimal and easy to clean up and the matte portion of the shade worked very well for this purpose.

Shade 8 is mainly sparkle with no noticeable base color (the way I used it). I didn’t apply it very heavily and it didn’t take much layering to get it to this point. It is not a very creamy feeling shade but it still adhered pretty well and surprisingly wasn’t very messy as far as fallout.

Shade 2 is the closest thing to a regular/standard shimmer. Mostly finer particles and a softer sheen. It felt slightly thin on color payoff but didn’t take me much time to build it up to this level.

Look 3:

• 1 – Inner corner, brow bone
• 3 – Inner/outer lid and crease
• 4 – Transition
• 2 – Center of lid
• 8 – Inner corner
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Limitless Brown – Waterline and smudged under lower lashline

Shade 3 was a good matte. I applied a lot of it and I didn’t get any noticeable fallout from it. It blended pretty well by itself but I wanted some warmth so I added shade 4 around the edges.

I also wanted to use Shade 2 again on the lid to get a better idea of the finish. Like I thought from the first time I used it, it has a softer sheen, isn’t sparkly, and had hardly any fallout which was a breath of fresh air compared to many of the other shimmers I’ve used from these palettes.

I didn’t quite use enough of Shade 8. It shows up but I should have used it over a slightly larger area so it would show up better. It’s a chunky shimmer. Looks like a glitter in the pan but it’s mainly sparkle + flakes.

Look 4:

• No Primer (but lightly used concealer on the lid)
• 7 – Crease, lower lashline
• 5 – Inner/outer lid (dry brush)
• 6 – Center of lid (dry brush, fingertip)
• 8 – Center of lower lashline (wet brush)
• 1 – Inner corner, lightly around edges of entire look to blend
• Loreal Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara – Upper and lower lashes

Shade 7 is a really nice matte. Most of the mattes in this collection are decent and there are a few that leave something to be desired, but this one stands out as being a little extra nice quality. Color payoff is great and it applies very smoothly. Easy blending, no noticeable fallout.

Shade 5 has a mixture of fine shimmer and larger sparkle but it’s a good balance between the two. The fine shimmer is dense enough to provide a solid base color so it goes on with a pretty high opacity. I got some fallout but there was less of it than with many of the other shimmers in this collection.

Shade 6 is a sparkly/flakey/glittery shimmer and it also has a thicker and waxier feel to it. I started out applying this with a brush and that did fine. It adhered perfectly well without having to wet my brush or use a sticky base and there was minimal fallout. However it went on a bit sheer and I wanted it to really show up, so I tapped on a bit more with my fingertip at the end. Sparkle annoys me lately but a formula like this one makes it much easier to tolerate.

Shade 8 is a drier type of sparkle and one that produces more fallout so I didn’t even try using a dry brush with it.

Shade 1 is a cream-powder but it almost matches my skin tone and I feel like that helps it look a little more flattering than the lighter shades in this formula in this collection.

The Sephora Collection Fearless Cool Nude Mega Mix Palette is one of several newly released, budget-priced palettes featuring the ability to rearrange rows of shades within palettes to customize them to your liking. This one mainly contains cooler-toned browns and taupes with various formulations ranging from a cream-powder hybrid matte to true powder mattes, as well as shimmers with a mixture of fine shimmer and larger sparkle, and flakier/chunkier shimmers that resemble glitter.

Price: $18.00
Availability: Sephora

Swatches

Shades are not named but are numbered 1-9 starting with 1 at the top left corner and 9 at the bottom right corner.

1 – Cream-powder hybrid. Ulta pale taupe with a mostly matte finish.
2 – White sparkly shimmer with a subtle golden sheen. 
3– Medium shimmery taupe. Mostly small shimmer particles. 
4– Flakey white shimmer with a subtle blue sheen.
5– Sparkly silver shimmer.
6 – Matte black base packed with lots of silver sparkle.
7 – True powder matte. Deep cool-toned brown.
8– Light bronze sparkly shimmer. 
9 – True powder matte. Medium cool taupe.

The cream-powder hybrid is more powder than it is cream. Pressing into it does not cause me to leave a dent in the pan. In the swatch above, it is layered pretty heavily, and in that state, it looks like it has a bit of a satiny-sheen to it. I don’t find that it has a satin finish on the eye though. Instead, it looks mostly matte but it looks heavier/thicker than a standard powder matte and emphasizes the natural texture of my lids.

The two true powder mattes were both nice. The lighter one was a tiny bit powdery in the pan but nothing excessive. Both had a good amount of color payoff and went on mostly evenly. Very little to no fallout from either.

There is a ALOT of shimmer in this palette and most of it is larger sparkle. If you like pinpoint reflects and you don’t mind sparkle fallout, you’ll probably be okay with this. If you prefer smoother-looking (metallic/satin) sheens and hate fallout, I’d caution you on picking this up. The composition and finish of the shimmers varies by shade. Some have much more sparkle than others, some are a bit more opaque than others. I thought they all generally were easy to pick up on a brush, without having to dig or press hard into the pan to do so. They also transferred easily from my brush to my lid. I nearly always found using my fingertip instead of a brush to be more effective at depositing color more heavily/opaquely. The formulas feel “balanced”, meaning they are neither dry/dusty and do not fly up in the air at the slightest touch, nor are they very creamy or emollient-feeling. I like the balance that they have.

Looks

Look 1:

• No Primer
• 1 – Crease/transition
• 9 – Add depth to outer crease
• 2 – All over lid (dry brush, fingertip)
• 3 – Lower lashline (dry brush)
• Loreal Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara – Upper lashes only

Shade 1 was barely deeper than my skin tone and very cool toned. This one has an almost-creamy feel to it and I thought it sat a little heavy on my lid.

I didn’t use enough of Shade 9 here to get a good feel for it.

Shade 2 went on a little sheerer than I wanted with just a dry brush but I liked how it looked when pressed on with my finger. It had borderline annoying fallout applied this way. The sparkles are small but heavy and they fall down under my eyes easily. 

Shade 3 didn’t seem to have as much sparkle in it, and more fine shimmer. I didn’t notice much fallout the way I applied it to the lower lashline. 

Look 2:

• No Primer
• 9 – Crease/transition
• 7 – Liner
• 5 – Center of lid
• 8 – Lower lashline
• Refy Lash Sculpt Mascara – Upper lashes only
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Infinite Nude (this shade is discontinued but Boundless Bisque is similar) – Waterline

Shade 9 was a little powdery in the pan when I went to pick some up on the brush. It wasn’t a crazy amount but it wasn’t a particularly firmly pressed shade. I tapped some of the excess color off onto the back of my hand before applying it to the lids just so I could get more of a gradual buildup of color. It blended nicely without the primer underneath. It was a nice true cool toned neutral taupe on me (not too grey and definitely not a warm brown) that I could see myself using on a day where I just want “natural” looking eyeshadow.

Shade 7 worked well as a liner. Plenty of pigment, not too “soft” or “silky” of a formula. Stayed where I placed it with my brush and built up well.

Shade 5 was more sparkle than anything. I thought it might be a little more like a metallic but it’s just a lot of large silver sparkle. It adhered surprisingly well for how sparkly it is but I did get quite a noticeable amount of fallout. It wasn’t that hard to brush off with a spoolie. This shade looks blue on Sephora’s website. It’s definitely not blue. It’s a true light/bright silver. 

Shade 8 is also sparkly but has a sheer brown base color. I got some fallout from this as well but it also was not difficult to clean up.

Look 3:

• No Primer
• 9 – All over lid/crease
• 6 – All over lid (layered over previous shade), lower lashline
• 4 – Inner corner (wet and dry brush)
• Loreal Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara – Upper and lower lashes
• Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Boundless Bisque – Waterline

This is mainly to show the texture of Shade 6 on the eye compared to in the pan. There’s a lot of matte in the shade but also a lot of sparkle. It’s a fairly deep black with good color payoff. I got a lot of both pigment and sparkle fallout from it the way I applied it in this look. I applied this with a combination of flat shader brushes and my fingertip.

Shade 9 is my transition so the black looks more smoothly blended. I did not intend to apply the black so heavily over so much of the lid and if I’d realized that’s where I was going to end up, I would not have applied this taupe shade so heavily underneath it. 

Shade 4 is the flakiest shimmer in the palette. The clumps break up into smaller bits of shimmer if I smooth over them enough. I started with a dry brush but them dampened the brush as I continued layering more color on.

Look 4:

• ABH Eyeshadow Primer
• 7 – All over lid/crease
• 1 – Transition, used very lightly around the edges of shade 7, lower lashline (underneath the shimmer)
• 5 – Center of lid, lower lashline (wet brush)
• 2 – Inner corner (wet brush)
• Loreal Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara – Upper lashes and lower lashes
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Mushroom – Waterline

I applied and blended Shade 7 mostly with a flat shader brush. It had plenty of pigmentation but wasn’t difficult to blend or apply evenly. I didn’t have much fallout from it. It darkened ever so slightly in the line of my crease but was easy to even back out by applying a bit more color in lighter areas.

Shade 1 is so light it almost blends in with my skin tone. I found it worked well to even out any redness or discoloration on the lower lashline, and the creamy formula sat better on that part of the eye.

Shade 5 is mostly sparkle with little to no base color. Applying it with a wet brush gave me this less-sheer look but if I use a dry brush with this, it will look more like scattered sparkles.

Shade 2 has finer, more dense shimmer and goes on with even more opacity than Shade 5. I prefer this texture more. It took on more of a metallic finish applied this way.

What it is: Sephora Collection Colorful Contour Matte Powder in Fair to Light is a very cool toned contouring powder with sheer, buildable color payoff and a nearly matte finish.

Price/Quantity: $14 for 0.12 oz / 3.5 g

Availability: Sephora, Kohl’s

Shade Range: This product comes in 4 shades. I chose the lightest (and I presume the coolest) of them. Looking at the shades on the product page, it looks like they aren’t all so incredibly grey-toned.

Packaging: Clear plastic compact with a snap closure. It’s fairly large and very easily allows me to fit a large fluffy brush into the pan. It feels lightweight but decent enough quality that I don’t feel I will break it easily. The pan is not easily removable as it is pressed into the compact with adhesive dots. With careful patience and some precision tools, it could probably be maneuvered out if you really wanted to.

Smell/Fragrance: Even if I get really close and try hard to see if there is any smell or fragrance, there is very nearly zero smell to it.

Expiration/Shelf Life: I don’t see any indication of shelf life on the packaging.

Ingredients:

Mica, Kaolin, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Microcrystalline Cellulose, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), C13-15 Alkane, CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), Ethylhexylglycerin, Sorbic Acid, CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), Aluminum Hydroxide, CI 15850 (Red 7 Lake), Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, CI 15850 (Red 7), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), CI 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide).

Sephora.com

Performance

Shade: Fair to Light is a light greyish taupe with an ultra subtle purplish tone and a nearly-matte finish. Of all the contours I have tried this truly is the coolest-toned, greyest one yet. It does not have red/rosy tones like many “cool toned” contours do and it doesn’t warm up in color on my complexion as I blend it out. It stays truly greyish/cool as I complete application. I mention the purplish tone only because it is noticeable when swatched alongside other contours I have, but I do not notice any purple tones with actual use on the cheek or eye. The matte finish is not dry or flat looking but I also do not pick up on any visible shimmer or pearl particles in most lighting situations. The only time I see any hint of sparkle is with overhead pot lights. Window light and diffused studio lights do not show these sparkles at all.

Application: I have only used this a handful of times and in a couple of ways but I have found it easy to work with. It applies much more evenly than I was expecting for being so grey and blends out well without patchiness. As a cheek contour, I have been using it with a Morphe M510 brush, which is a fluffy brush that is smaller than a blush brush but larger than a fluffy eyeshadow brush. It allows me to pick the product up lightly and apply it a little more precisely than I would apply a blush. I’ve also used this as eyeshadow and found it picked up well on a flat shader and blended well with a crease brush. Color applies sheer, builds up gently and slowly, and diffuses gracefully. It is definitely possible to over apply this though! If I build it up too much, I go past “believable shadow” to “is that eyeshadow on my cheek?” before I realize it. The fact that this is pretty sheer is absolutely a good thing. 

Texture/Finish: Sephora describes this as being ultra-fine and I have to agree. Running my finger over the pan, I feel zero grittiness and powder picks up in a thin, even layer without feeling dry or dusty. I get very little mess or powder kickup when tapping a brush into the pan. I have to dig into the pan repeatedly with a brush before I start seeing loose powder collect on the surface.

Pigmentation/Color Payoff: Sheer but buildable. Adheres well and evenly though.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• As contours go, this is extraordinarily cool-toned, which is difficult to find.
• Sheer pigmentation makes application nearly fool-proof.
• Color applies evenly and blends out without patchiness.
• Really nice texture. Very fine, smooth powder.
• Nice large pan with a good amount of product.
• Reasonable price.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• It can be over applied in a way that is jarring compared to an over applied bronzer. The grey tone is really stark against the color of skin when it is layered on too heavily. It’s not super easy to overdo though and once you figure out where that limit is, it’s pretty easy to avoid overdoing it again.
• A few other reviewers mentioned this not being truly matte. There is a very small amount of fine shimmer that occasionally shows in certain lighting. I don’t find it obvious or pervasive enough to interfere with the general matte effect though.

Do I Recommend It?

Yes. If you struggle to find a truly cool-toned contour, this one is worth trying. I kind of expected them to get the color right but I am pleasantly surprised that the quality is also really nice and for a fair price.

Comparisons

From left to right, what I have swatched above is:

• Sephora Collection Colorful Contour Matte Powder in Fair to Light
• Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer in Amber
• L.A. Girl Just Blushing Blush in Just Because
• Fiona Stiles Sheer Sculpting Palette in Light/Medium (lightest shade swatched)
• Loreal Infallible Pro Contour Palette in 813 Light
• Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder in Light
• Essence Contouring Duo Palette in 10 Lighter Skin
• NYX 3 Steps To Sculpt Palette in Fair
• Nars Contouring Blush Duo in Olympia

Note: Anything not linked above is either discontinued for sure or is likely discontinued. Most of them seem to be findable through third party sellers though.

L.A. Girl Just Because is the closest shade I have to the Sephora contour and for a long time it was the best cool-toned option I had.

Fenty Amber is also a great option that I love but this one warms up on me as I blend it out. In the pan it looks pretty grey and similar to the Sephora contour but as I sheer it out on the skin, it begins to look more olive toned. Although it changes color, any warmth I get from this is very subtle.

Kevyn Aucoin, Essence and NYX all have that tiny bit of red in them that kind of bothers me and makes them not really contour-y in my opinion.

Fiona Stiles was my *favorite* for a long time and I still find it to be unique in lightness and tone. Very sad this was discontinued.

L’Oréal is pretty good and mostly cool-toned. It also has a sheer buildable quality but I hate the split pan. I would have loved this to be a single contour shade separate from the highlighter.

Nars Olympia isn’t really much like the others but I threw it in just to help see the difference in tones a little better.

What it is: Sephora Collection Brightening Dual Facial Enzyme Exfoliator is supposed to remove dead skin through both chemical and physical exfoliation. The chemical exfoliation is provided by enzymes from the fermentation of pomegranate fruit and the physical component is bamboo stem powder. It has a good amount of somewhat larger scrubby particles in a base that feels like a gel cleanser and is geared more towards oily skin types.

Price/Quantity: $14.00 USD for 125 ml / 4.22 fl oz

Availability: Sephora, Kohl’s

Packaging: Squeeze tube with a lid that flips open and snaps shut. I gave it a modest effort, but wasn’t able to twist the entire cap off of the body of the product. When it arrived brand new, the lid was sealed shut by piece of plastic that needed to be lifted and removed (similar to opening a plastic jug of milk). 

Smell/Fragrance: This is unscented and smells like nothing to me.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 12 months after opening.

Ingredients:

Glycerin, Aqua (Water), Bambusa Arundinacea Stem Extract, Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract, Lauryl Glucoside, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Citrate, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate.

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Performance

Texture/Consistency: Somewhat thick, clear, cleanser-like gel base with a good amount of small to medium size physical exfoliant mixed in. It does not lather like a cleanser but it does become creamy as I work the product into the skin and has that stretchy quality that cleansers and liquid soaps sometimes have. There’s plenty of gritty exfoliant in the gel so I don’t feel the need to use a large amount of product to get it to work (a pea size or a bit larger is plenty for the whole face). The gritty particles are not as fine/small as what is in some other facial scrubs I’ve used and they vary in size so I feel some larger ones occasionally as I buff it over the skin. In general, they are smaller than something like a sugar/salt scrub and don’t feel like they have sharp edges. I don’t find the physical exfoliant too abrasive or irritating and it’s easy to spread evenly over the face. 

Effect on my skin: Immediately after use, my face feels squeaky clean and almost stripped, as if I’ve used a face wash meant for oily skin. The usual moisturizers and facial oils I go to feel like they don’t quite do enough (when normally they do). I feel the need to add in a richer moisturizer or layer on an extra hydrating serum to combat the stripping effect the exfoliator has. I’ve used it quite a few times and it has never left my skin looking red at all.

Later in the morning, when applying makeup, I can see that this mostly smooths over larger, flatter, easier to reach areas well (like my forehead, and sides of my face). Makeup applies more smoothly over those areas when I use the exfoliator. However, there are some parts of my face that my exfoliators often miss (like around the corners of my nose and areas that are more prone to dryness and irritation). This is one of those products that doesn’t get my skin entirely smooth. It’s better than nothing but it makes me feel that possibly the chemical component isn’t effective enough for my skin.

After about two weeks of incorporating this into my skincare routine, I haven’t seen any type of drastic change. Nothing very negative or positive has resulted from using it, but it does temporarily help improve the condition of my skin for the next day or two after using it.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• There is enough physical exfoliant in here that I don’t feel the need to use a ton of product.
• It doesn’t leave my skin feeling red or irritated after use.
• Very cost effective considering the size of the container.
• Truly unscented.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• The physical exfoliation particles aren’t as small/fine as some other products.
• I’m not convinced the chemical exfoliant is all that effective or may just be too gentle for me.
• Misses harder to reach areas (like the corners of my nose, between and near my brows). This is where I rely on the chemical component to pick up the slack.
• Leaves my skin feeling almost “stripped”.

Do I Recommend It?

I don’t recommend it if you have dry or combo skin and even normal skin types may find it too drying. It might work fine for someone with truly oily skin though. It’s not my favorite exfoliator but it’s an okay budget option.

Comparisons

Youth To The People Yerba Mate Resurfacing Energy Facial 

This one has a creamier base that does not strip the skin of moisture. I wouldn’t say it adds any moisture but just leaves the skin feeling balanced after use. The physical scrub in this feels finer and more densely packed into the product. I get a more thorough, even exfoliation all over my face, including areas that sometimes get missed like the corners of my nose. This one has given me some mild redness, especially when I first started using it, but my skin quickly adjusted to it. For me this is the gold standard that I would love to find a cheaper version of.

Trader Joe’s Nourish Microdermabrasion Scrub

This also has finer physical exfoliating particles in it than the Sephora Enzyme Exfoliator but not quite as much of it. I feel the need to use a bit more product to get enough of those particles distributed over the skin. It does not include any type of chemical component and I feel that I don’t get quite as good of a result overall. After use, some areas of dead skin that might get smoothed over a bit better by the Youth To The People product, might still look and feel not as resurfaced as I’d like. It certainly is better than nothing though and is another okay budget option.

Trader Joe’s Blueberry & Acai Facial Scrub

I’m not sure if this is still available but it was another combo chemical/physical exfoliator that I used several years ago. I went through about 2 containers. This one definitely stung if I had even the tiniest tear in the skin from a breakout or from any facial hair removal. It’s was tolerable but not easy to miss. The physical scrub in this was all different sizes, including some larger seeds that looked cool but seemed completely unnecessary and distracting during use. 

What they are: Sephora Collection Colorful Powder Luminizers are a range of 6 new highlighters. They have a gel-powder formula that helps them to meld with the skin without looking dry and they give off a soft, buildable glow without glitter or large sparkles. These are $14 each, contain 0.12 oz / 3.5 grams of product, and can be purchased from Sephora and Kohl’s.

Packaging: Simple clear compact that snaps open and closed. The hinge has a good amount of tension to hold whatever position it is placed in and opens completely flat if desired. It doesn’t look like it’s possible to remove the pan easily from the packaging.

Smell/Fragrance: No detectable scent or fragrance.

Expiration: I could not find an indication of shelf life anywhere on the product.

Ingredients:

Mica, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Silica, CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Caprylyl Glycol, Squalane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, 1,2-Hexanediol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Chondrus Crispus (Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan)), Xanthan Gum, Dicalcium Phosphate, CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), Tocopherol

Sephora.com

Performance

Shade Selection: I like that they have paired this down to six shades but at the same time span a large range of depth. Most of the shades are neutral-ish and offer the type of sheen that can go from ultra subtle to noticeable but not mirror-ball with the most colorful thing being the shade Pink Flash. I think almost anyone can make almost any of these shades work in some way as they are sheer but buildable. The two lightest ones have the least visible amount of base color or “cast” on me. The rest have a sheer warm base color that could get in the way if you don’t want it there or it could help to add some color to the cheek.

Application: If used strictly as a cheek highlighter, I would use a small fluffy brush (like a large eyeshadow crease brush) to pick up product and dust it along the tops of my cheekbones. The powder grips onto the skin well but I can use my brush to buff over it, spread it out and diffuse it till I get it looking like I want. If I go into one of the deeper shades to use as bronzer or blush, I can tap lightly into the pan with a blush brush to start and continue building up the color till I’m happy with it. Again, since they adhere well to the skin, I buff over the cheek a bit as I go to make sure the color is looking even and well blended. I don’t have any issues with patchiness or unevenness until I get to the shade Blinding Bronze. This one still works and ends up looking even but it shows up much more starkly against my pale skin so I need to spend some more time blending it out. Using them as eyeshadows, I can use all the same eyeshadow brushes I normally would for regular eyeshadows or my fingers. They adhere well even if I use dry brushes and give a soft shimmer finish that is just a bit more reflective than a satin finish eyeshadow but less so than a foiled/metallic shadow. There is hardly any fallout used this way but I did notice the shade Rose Quartz gave me a tiny bit of sparkle fallout (as that is the shade with the most visible sparkle in it). The amount of fallout I got was far less than I get from the average eyeshadow though. 

Texture/Consistency/Finish: The gel-powder formula is a bit firmer to the touch and easier to pick up just the right amount of product on a brush. It is difficult to over apply the product unless you are trying to. It does not have a powdery, dry texture that flies into the air as a brush touches the pan. As it is applied to the skin it adheres easily and lays closely and smoothly on the surface. It does not leave a visibly powdery finish on the cheek. The sheen these give off is on the softer and more refined side. They can be built up easily to a level that looks obvious and noticeable to others but it never goes into “seen from space” territory.

Pigmentation/Color Payoff: Most of them have a sheer base color that gets slightly more visible against my skin tone as I go into the deeper shades. Iced Pearl and Rose Quartz are the only ones that I cannot see a base color against my skin tone. The rest of them could be passable as glowy blushes (or glowy bronzers for the shades Glitzy Gold and Blinding Bronze) if they are built up heavily enough. If they are built up that heavily, I don’t feel the amount of sheen and luminosity I get from the shimmer is so intense that I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing them out.

Longevity: On the cheek, these last well all day. They can transfer off a bit if I’m touching my face too much but with normal wear, I still see it clearly by the very end of the day. Worn as eyeshadow, these have okay wear time but benefit from the use of a primer. I get about 6 hours without primer until I start seeing it crease and in that same time with a primer I see only the very faintest hint that it’s beginning to fade in the crease. Being closer to skin tone shades and somewhat more sheer than a true eyeshadow, its easy to get away with this slightly less than ideal wear time as it isn’t very obvious.

Pros and Cons:

Things I like:

• I find all the shades usable in some way. Most of them are pretty basic, neutral shades that aren’t shifty or glittery.
• Beautiful sheen that isn’t too overpowering and can be applied ultra subtly or built up to be fairly noticeable, if desired. 
• Only one shade with marginally larger sparkle. Chunky sparkle is not an issue with these.
• The gel-powder texture isn’t dry and sits well on the skin.
• Easy to pick up the right amount of product on a brush.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• Might be too subtle for someone that loves a super intense highlight. 
• The base color in some of the shades may show up as a “cast”. 
• Building up the sheen also means building up the color.

Do I Recommend Them?

Yes, these are nice quality for a fair price. I especially like that the shades offered are “wearable” but aren’t TOO basic. They add a little something extra not only from the sheen but from the colors themselves. And I find the multi-use claim actually true as I can use some of them for glowy blush/bronzer or eyeshadow and they function well for those purposes.

Glitzy Gold

For all of the demo photos below, I am wearing the Natasha Denona My Mini Dream Blush (just matte part) and used the highlighters on the tops of the cheekbones. The true color of each shade alone is better seen in the swatches and the demos can give you an idea of the kind of effect they might have if used as highlighters.

Glitzy Gold is a bright golden copper. It’s not a particularly yellow gold and also not very dark so I can just barely pull it off on my skin tone if used with a light hand. The base color in this one adds a bit of warmth to my cheeks that almost looks like a light bronzer.

Sparkling Honey

Sparkling Honey is a light-medium rose gold. It is more pink than I expected based on the shade name but is still warm-toned. This one is ever so slightly deeper and warmer than my skin tone but I can still use it lightly as a highlighter. Works well as a blush topper too.

Pink Flash

Pink Flash has a very sheer warm peachy base color with an easy-to-see pink sheen. The pink sheen definitely overpowers the base color but not completely. The base color is a bit deeper than my skin tone but it is sheer enough that I don’t think it looks bad. This is one I’d use more as a glowy blush or a blush topper than a highlight.

Blinding Bronze

Blinding Bronze is something I’d use as a glowy bronzer or an eyeshadow. It builds up on the skin more slowly and gently than an eyeshadow. Picking up color on a brush or a fingertip is easy but I pick up less color in one pass than something like an eyeshadow. This one has mostly small particles but if I really scrutinize it there are just a scattering of some small sparkles as well.

Iced Pearl

Iced Pearl has a very subtle light pink sheen in certain lighting (more visible in the demo photo). I wouldn’t describe this as being a shifty shade but it does seem to look different depending on what kind of light it is under. This has all tiny shimmer particles and gives a soft, smooth glow to the skin.

Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz is slightly deeper than Iced Pearl and has a warmer pinky tone. This one is mostly made up of a base of small particles but does have some slightly larger shimmers that create a sparkling shimmer finish. Of all the shades, this is the one with the most visible sparkle, but the overall effect is still soft and subdued.

Worn As Eyeshadow

To give you an idea of the kind of finish and color payoff these have when used on the eyes, here’s a quick look using Blinding Bronze all over the lid, Sparkling Honey on the lower lashline and Iced Pearl on the inner corner. I used dry brushes for most of this but patted Blinding Bronze on with my finger to the upper lid as well. I used the lightest matte shade from the Natasha Denona My Mini Dream Palette in the crease before applying any of the other shades.