I picked up this new, limited-edition palette at Sephora. The September Issue 8.0 palette retails for $40, has 8 colors, and contain .28 oz of product. For reference the 4.0 palettes retail for $30, have 4 colors, and contain .17 oz of product.
The exterior of the palette has a pretty mirrored finish, but it will show fingerprints like crazy. I personally don't care about that because I'm generally the only one looking at my makeup. I love that the palette itself is slim and compact. There is a small dual-sided brush included with the palette. I didn't think to take any close-up pictures of it. It isn't as atrocious as most brushes included with palettes, but it isn't something that I will be grabbing for on a regular basis.
Swatches and Color Descriptions
 |
| From left to right: Couture, Silhouette, Statement, Prêt-à-Porter |
Please note: the descriptions in parentheses are taken from the listing on Sephora.com.
Couture (glimmering clove) - Couture is a deep-medium brown with a slight green tinge to it, and it appears to have some fine gold glitter. This is a nice crease color, and I think it would also make a soft liner color.
Silhouette (antique white) - Silhouette is a nearly white shade with a slight sheen. It has a good amount of pigmentation and is very buildable. It can be built up to an opaque finish, but it also blends out nicely. This is too light for me to use as a primary highlight because I use my highlight shade to blend out the top of my crease color, but it is gorgeous for the inner color of the eye or for the browbone.
Statement (vibrant orchid) - Statement is a bright reddish-purple shade that has a matte base and fine glitter in the same reddish-purple hue. This is the color I was the most skeptical about when I purchased this palette. I didn't know if I could make it wearable. Upon swatching it, I would say that this is the poorest quality shadow in the palette. It applies patchy and doesn't build very well. I tried this color out today though, and I was pleasantly surprised. I used it on the outer half of the lid with Glitterati on the inner half, and I was pleased with the results. The two blended together really well, and since Statement is more sheer, it isn't over-the-top. I wouldn't wear it to work, but I think I would feel comfortable wearing it out shopping.
Prêt-à-Porter (sunbaked gold) - Prêt-à-Porter is a very yellow-toned gold shade. It is a shimmery shade that doesn't appear to have any glitter. Although the tones are very different, the texture and finish is nearly identical to Urban Decay's Twice Baked.
 |
| From left to right: Três Chic, Editor's Pick, Glitterati, Ensemble |
Três Chic (apricot cream) - Três Chic is a peach shade that leans brown. While it isn't completely matte, it appears that way when applied. Most people will find this it be an easy, everyday lid shade. I like it for that purpose, but I also like using it as a very subtle crease shade. I think it will be a great crease shade to blend out a smokey eye as well.
Editor's Pick (metallic teal) - Editor's Pick is a gorgeous deep teal shade. It doesn't have a black base, so it remains teal even when blended out. I will primarily use this as a liner shade, and I love that it is deep enough that it is still a relatively subtle colorful liner.
Glitterati (shimmering pink) - Glitterati is a soft pink with a slight golden sheen. It's another easy, go-to lid color. Bended out, it could also double as a browbone highlight.
Ensemble (deepest eggplant) -Ensemble is another shadow that appears to be a matte base with very fine glitter. It swatches much better than Statement, and appears to be more buildable. Like Editor's Pick, this shade doesn't have a black base, so the color stays true when blended. This is another great liner shade, especially for people hesitant to wear colorful liners. From a distance, people aren't going to be able to tell that you are wearing purple, but it isn't as harsh as wearing black liner.
The palette came with a paper that included three looks. Since I often struggle to put together looks from palettes like this, I was really happy to see how BE pictured these shades being used. I won't use these specific looks very often, but they were a great jumping-off point for me.
Overall Thoughts
I am really happy with my first purchase from the bareMinerals Ready line. I agree with the raves I have read about the formula of these shadows. Most of the shadows in the palette have a wonderful, buttery texture and good pigmentation. Statement is the only one that really fails in that regard, but it is still wearable. I like the color selection. The bulk of the palette is neutral shades that are easy to wear, but it has some fun colors that are still quite wearable thrown in.
A slight negative is that it isn't an all-in-one palette for me. I would have to add at least a highlight/blending shade. Other people will want to add a matte crease shade to the mix, and I know I will grab for a matte brown regularly to use with this palette.
What do you think? Will you be picking this palette up? What bareMinerals Ready palettes would you suggest I check out the next time I'm in Sephora or Ulta?
I've never purchased anything from their ready line but those shades are quite impressive. The pigmentation is much better than I'd expected!
ReplyDeleteThe quality of the Ready Line seems to be excellent from my experiences with this palette and swatching others in store. I want one of their holiday palettes too, but I don't know if I can justify buying it since I've already bought a lot lately.
Delete