I have a fair few neutral palettes in my collection and although they all get used quite a lot, I thought I would share four of them with you.
VIVO Colour Block Palette in Unprotected – This palette has 12 shadows and you get a lovely range of neutral colours and finishes. There are 3 matte colours and the rest have an almost frost / pearl finish to them, they’re really pretty. I found they blended well if you take your time. The darker shades are more pigmented & the lighter ones are more powdery but nothing you can’t tap off. There is no mirror inside but you get great value for money, it’s a great high street palette. 8.4g for £3.99
I bought this palette in Tesco a couple of years ago but from what I can tell they no longer sell VIVO, but you can buy their range online at www.vivocosmetics.co.uk
L’Oreal La Palette Nude in Rose – I was drawn to this in Boots & couldn’t resist it despite it being quite pricey. The packaging feels luxurious and its nice and slim with a go0d sized mirror in, so perfect for for travel & popping in your makeup bag. You get 6 shimmers & 4 matte shadows. As with most drugstore palettes the matte shades aren’t great, I found them to be hard to blend and you don’t get that much colour pay off. You can make them work by building them up if you have time. The other 6 shades are beautiful and more than makeup for the disappointing mattes. Much to my surprise I really like the darkest plum colour & think its the most beautiful Autumn / Winter colour. 10g for £14.99
What I like most about this palette is that none of the shadows are overly shimmery but instead more metallic and very long wearing.
Catrice Absolute Nude – I bought this whilst in Amsterdam it has 6 neutral shadows but none of them are matte. So this is for people that like a bit of shimmer. I know thats not to everyones taste. This isn’t the best budget friendly palette out there and this is the one palette out of the four that I would say you need to use a primer as the lighter colours crease and aren’t that pigmented. I tend to use the last darkest brown shade the most, its pretty and pigmented.
The packaging is sturdy and quite sleek, it doesn’t have a mirror and the brush that comes with it is pretty useless (aren’t they always).
Makeup Revolution Disappear Till Tomorrow – This palette is so slim and travel friendly although it does feel quite cheap, inside you get fourteen eyeshadows and two brow powders. Two of the shadows are matte and the rest are a mixture of pearl and shimmer finishes. If like me you are addicted to a neutral smokey eye then you will love this palette. Even the two matte shades are good quality. I must admit I don’t use the brow colours so can’t comment on them but it is nice to see a high street brand including them in a palette. You get fourteen pigmented eyeshadows and thats a lot for £4.00. I know Makeup Revolution have a huge selection of palettes, let me know if you have tried any & what you would recommend. 5.7g for £4.00.
If I had to pick my two favourite palettes they would be the Vivo Colour Block and the L’Oreal La Palette Nude. I would say don’t buy the Catrice one its not great value for money & Essence do a much better neutral palette.
Ooh nice palettes, I like wearable palettes like these, but they always have a nice purple in or something to break it up
Lovely
Laura//libertylovesmakeup.blogspot.com
Thanks Laura. Yes its nice when the colour selection is a little more interesting. I would never normally reach for a purple but I have really enjoyed using them
The Vivo palette looks fabulous, especially because it’s super affordable! xo
So affordable. I love it. I just wish they still sold their range in Tesco.
I have the Vivo palette and really don’t use it enough, I must dig it out. Must pick up a Makeup Revolution palette, I still haven’t tried this brand!! xx
I’ve only tried this one palette from them but its a good one. I don’t think I would buy a lot of their products though. The Vivo palette is such a dark horse, such a good selection of colours & its great quality.
I agree about the L’Oreal palette. However, the poor colour pay-off is not confined to drugstore brands. I have a similar problem with two very expensive Laura Mercier palettes and the very recent Urban Decay ‘On the Run’ palette, not to mention Estee Lauder’s Xmas palette.
But I have found a way round it: pack your brush with as much powder as you can, put a very small blob of primer (not silicon primer) on the back of your hand, then dab your brush into the blob. Mix the powder and smear of primer on your hand with the brush, then apply. You end up with a sort of cream to powder mixture which applies colour-rich onto your eyelid and it stays all day. Many of my palettes have received a last-ditch reprieve and escape from my eye-shadow graveyard: I so hate binning make-up, so if I can find a way to make it work, I’m all for it!
I very nearly bought the L’Oreal palette after talking to you last time about it but when I went to get it, I didn’t like it as much in real life. Now I’m thinking that I didn’t look at it properly and I still want it. What am I like!!
Anoushka xx http://www.Anoushkaloves.com
The matte shades are a little disappointing but the rest of the palette is beautiful.
I’ve never tried VIVO but that palette looks so nice! I love an excuse to try a new brand!
http://okaykate.blogspot.com