Palette Antihaul

I’ve seen quite a few antihauls on YouTube, and thought it would be a fun post. They can be really helpful in deciding if you want to purchase something, and I enjoy watching them to see others’ opinions on products (especially makeup). Basically, I’m going to talk about palettes I will NOT be buying. There are quite a few new palettes coming out, and there have been a few come out recently. There is a lot of new makeup coming out, but I’ll be focusing on palettes.

The first palette I won’t be buying is the Urban Decay Naked Heat palette. This one is unappealing to me for a couple of reasons. First, I am very fair and cool toned. I tend to lean toward cool toned shades. This palette is full of warm shades. There are a few warmer looks that I like. I do love the Anastasia Modern Renaissance palette, which is mostly warm-toned. But it has more pinky tones, which I’m ok with. Red tones on my eyes are something I use mayyyyybe once a year… and that’s on 4th of July. So for that reason, I will pass on this palette.

Second… I am probably in the minority on this one, buttttt. Here goes nothing… I am not a fan of the Urban Decay Naked palettes. There, I said it. Shameslessly. The colors look pretty in the pans. The original Naked palette was the first “real” palette I bought. It was so hyped up and the colors looked so pretty. But, I was highly disappointed. I don’t think the colors blended very well, and the colors blended together. They didn’t look the same on the eyes as they did in the palette, and they all just jumbled together. I received the Naked 3 palette for Valentine’s Day last year. I was hoping this one would have better quality shadows, because the colors are stunning to me. An entire cool toned palette, be still my heart. However… more disappointment. I just think the quality of the shadows  aren’t that great. I think out of all the Naked shadow palettes, the Naked Basics 2 palette is my favorite. For some reason, this palette seems to have shadows with a different formula than the rest of the Naked palettes. I also like the shade range, and love how small it is and how easy it is to travel with. If the Naked Heat shadows are like the Basics 2, I might recommend it. But if the formula is the same as the original Naked palettes, I’ll glady pass on it.

Next, the Jaclyn Hill x Morphe palette. Sigh. I do like Jaclyn. I know there’s so much controversy surrounding her and her palettes. I like her channel for the most part, and congrats to her for coming out with this palette. She’s worked on it for a long time and from what she says, she wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself and believe in herself and the product no matter what, and props to her for that. I do think she’s changed from who she was in the beginning of her YouTube channel. In some ways, that’s great. She has learned and she has grown. But she’s become pretty dramatic, and I wish sometimes she’d tone that down. The shriek she gave out when she opened her palette for the first time, physically hurt me. It hurt my ears so badly, and I’m not a big fan of that.

That being said… I just can’t get behind this palette. As with the Naked Heat palette, it is mostly warm shades. Now. She said in her reveal video that she tested these shades out, and they look great on all skin tones. Sigh. They may LOOK good on all skin tones, but that doesn’t mean everyone prefers these colors. I definitely do not. I lean toward the orange, brown and deeper reds in the Fall and Winter. But in the summer, no thanks. Not at all. But I already have palettes that I prefer for the Fall. I don’t need another one to just sit around in my makeup drawer until Fall comes around, use it for a couple of months, then store it again until the next year. There are much cheaper palettes for that. Honestly, I know a lot of people don’t really care for Morphe shadows, but I do really like the 35O palette for Fall. It has lots of browns and oranges and pretty maroon shades, and I think the shadows perform well (especially the foiled shadows). But that palette is $23, and Jaclyn’s is $38.

Some of the shades are really pretty. Pool Party speaks to me. But do I think this is a palette any person would reach for on a daily basis? No. Do I think it’s very travel friendly? No, and definitely not for me. This is a very Jaclyn palette. But is this going to be a great palette for the every day consumer? In my opinion, no. I think it will sell out quickly, it will be restocked 500 times (Morphe hasn’t even released whether this will be limited edition or not, so who knows), and it will sit in a lot of drawers collecting dust (like my Naked palettes). So, overall, this one is a pass for me. Congrats girl, I’m happy for you, but I won’t be purchasing this one.

Speaking of celebrities with palettes I won’t be purchasing… the BECCA X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette was recently launched, and it’s definitely not on my wish list. It’s very similar to the Jaclyn Hill collections that were released by Becca last year. If you purchased those palettes then (I didn’t), I don’t really think you need both. The colors all seem too dark for my skin, so it’s an easy pass for me. I wouldn’t ever wear any of these (I rarely even wear Champagne Pop).

Speaking of Champagne Pop… I know this isn’t a palette, but I wanted to throw it in here anyway. Becca is releasing a new, limited edition Champagne Pop Highlighter. It has a champagne bottle design in it, making it “special”. For me, this is just a collector’s item. If you’ve got the extra money, go ahead and pick this up. But if you want to actually use it, I don’t think it’s worth the money. If you already have the original Champagne Pop (again, not a great shade for my skin even though it’s supposed to be “universal”), this is a little pointless.

I’m also a little over the whole celebrity face palette phase. There are several more on this list that I won’t be purchasing, because I just feel like this is something everyoneeee is coming out with. Jaclyn had her palette with Becca. Chrissy has hers with Becca. Casey Holmes has one with Smashbox… it’s just getting a little out of hand for now. I don’t need anymore blush and highlight sets, so I will be passing.

Next up on the palettes I won’t be buying list… the Tarte Clay Play Face Shaping Palette. This is my favorite out of all the palettes I won’t be buying. I do love Tarte, but they’ve become known as a very inconsistent brand when it comes to their palettes. I definitely wouldn’t purchase this one without swatching it first to test the quality. I do love that this one includes a lot of neutral and cool tones. Very subtle, very pretty. But I’m really not a fan of palettes with eyeshadows and face colors in one palette. They’re usually geared toward darker skintones, and that’s pointless for me. That being said, the face colors would still work well as shadows. But I still think I have enough neutral palettes (and smaller neutral palettes that are easier to travel with) to make me pass on this one.

Now, if you follow me on Instagram (and if you don’t, you can do so here), you know I LOVE Beauty and the Beast. Lorac released a whole Beauty and the Beast line. I saw it on Lorac’s site, and my heart skipped a beat. I will always be a sucker for packaging. Always. A Beauty and the Beast makeup line? Come to mama. I waited a little while to seriously consider the line… and then I saw it on the Ulta site. When it comes to ordering from Ulta or Lorac, I’ll definitely order from Ulta. One, reward points. Two, if it sucks, I’ll easily be able to return it. Immediately, I ordered the PRO Eyeshadow Palette. I’m not disappointed at all. The colors are gorgeous, and they blend so well. I’m a big fan of the Lorac PRO Palettes, and I love this one. Plus, the packaging. Holy moly, perfection. If you love Beauty and the Beast, the palette is worth it just for the packaging.

The palette I won’t be buying from this line is the Cheek Palette. The outside packaging is gorgeous, but the inside is very plain. Nothing wrong with that, but it definitely isn’t as elaborate as the eye palette packaging. It comes with 4 colors, which is nice… but the real kicker is that I think I would only use one or two of the shades. The darker shades scare me a little (on darker skin they’re probably gorgeous). Butttt that gold shade… why??? Is that really going to look good on anyone’s cheeks? If it doesn, please prove me wrong, but I’m not a fan at all. 1/4 nice, wearable colors… I’ll pass.

Makeup Geek has great shadows, although I haven’t heard their name much lately. Maybe because they haven’t launched much lately. They did come out with a 9 shade palette, In the Nude. It is pretty. The swatched colors on the site look nice. But I just don’t see it as a palette I would see myself  reaching for frequently. Like I said, MUG shadows ARE good quality… but they’re very comparable to Mac. This palette is $50… and the 9 pan palettes from Mac… are only $32, and they’re available at Ulta. That’s a hefty price difference. Maybe the pan sizes are different so you get more product from MUG (they don’t list the sizes on their site), and MUG is cruelty free and vegan, so maybe that’s the difference. But worth $18 more? I’ll pass on this one.

The Urban Decay Naked Skin Shapeshifter Palette is a pass for me. I don’t really prefer cream shadows, so I would only use the powders… and as usual with contour palettes, I would only use half the shades. This one does at least include cool tones, and I like that they have a way to separate the creams and powders (unlike most cream/powder combo palettes), but I’ll still pass on paying $45 for the two shades I would actually use.

I’ll end this post with a highlighting palette. I don’t see this being a very popular item. It’s the Anastasia Beverly Hills Aurora Glow Kit. This palette… Just, why? The colors would be very pretty as eyeshadows. And as a shadow palette, I think it could pass. But highlighters? I see very few people being able or willing to use most of these colors on their face. Blue, orange, and a deep plum? really? I know they say they’re for eyes, face and body, but I just don’t see most of these colors being wearable on anything but the eyes. The lighter tones would be ok, but the colored tones? Eh. I would purchase the Naked Heat palette before even considering this one.

This ended up being a decently long post. Let me know if you would or would not buy any of these palettes, and why. Maybe you can even convince me to change my mind;)

* All photos used are from Ulta.com, Sephora.com, Jaclyn Hill’s Instagram, and Makeupgeek.com