Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow Palette Volume 1 {Review + Swatches}

Yes, another day, another eyeshadow palette. I’m actually not complaining—I actually love eyeshadow palettes. Maybe a little too much. But I received the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow Palette for review consideration (remember I talked about it here) and it was high on my “to review” list so here we go.

Official description:

What it is:
A collectible, eye shadow palette with nine must-have Artist Shadow formulas in neutral tones.

What it does:
This palette features the coveted, easy-to-use Artist Shadow formula for endless eye looks—ranging from beautifully natural to highly artistic. With its advanced gel-powder formula blended with ultrafine pigments, each nude shade leaves a smooth, even finish that leaves lids ultra-saturated with highly-blendable, lasting color. The shades are organized in trios so you can effortlessly create chic, natural, and smoky looks. This palette includes an illustrated, step-by-step application techniques by MAKE UP FOR EVER’s founder and creative director, Dany Sanz, to help you sweep on a number of eye-catching looks.

This palette contains:
– 9 x 0.06 oz Eye Shadow in I-528 Pearl, S-556 Taupe Gray, S-102 Onyx, I-514 Pink Ivory, D-562 Taupe Platinum, I-544 Pink Granite, ME-512 Golden Beige, ME-644 Iced Brown, D-652 Celestial Earth
– Illustrated step-by-step application tips

See more Make Up For Ever posts here

This palette is also called “Nudes You Need” which is somewhat true. I like that these fall more on the cooler nude side (because I LOVE me some cool-toned neutral colors) and the quality is AMAZING. They’re SO creamy but aren’t creams (because cream eyeshadows can sometimes turn on you when you have oily lids like me…lol) and SUPER pigmented. It’s almost like the shadows are fluffy to the touch but don’t get it twisted—they’re super powerful on the eyes. I didn’t even need a primer or base underneath to get the shadows to show up as vivid as they look in the palette. And even with five hours of wear without a primer underneath, they didn’t crease or fade. Of course like I always say, wear a primer or base under your shadows if you want them to last all day. I haven’t tried an eyeshadow that creased with a primer/base in so long but I do test all shadows without them. See more in my review process here.

So like I mentioned in my last eyeshadow palette review (Kat Von D Shade + Light) a girl loves a dark plum matte in her eyeshadow palettes to darker her crease which I don’t get here. Out of the nine shades, seven of them are shimmery. I personally need more mattes or at least an even number of mattes in an eyeshadow palette—especially a nude one so for me this wouldn’t be a standalone palette (do they even exist? lol). I do like that the colors are universal so they work on all skin tones.

A lot of times you guys ask me if you need something if you have something else—so like in the case of this palette you might ask me if you need it if you have say Urban Decay Naked 2. Thing is, I’m probably the worst person to ask questions like that because I personally can’t do that for myself…lol. Like if I could do that, I wouldn’t have enough material to do this blog. And I wouldn’t have like 9 shades of “mauvey pink nudes” that all look the same with slight nuances. What I can say is if you have some sort of neutral palette where the colors fall more on the cooler side already, you probably don’t need this.

See more eyeshadow posts here

Bottom line: The quality and performance on this Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow Palette is SUPERB. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth. But it’s not a standalone palette—you’ll likely need more matte nudes to create a number of different looks. I’d say this palette is more supplemental. And if you have shadows that are remotely close to these in both color and finish, you might not need it. It seems very Urban Decay Naked 2-ish to me. (OK, so maybe I can tell you when you don’t need to get something…lol)

Price and where to buy: $42 exclusively at Sephora (get 4% cash back on all Sephora purchases when you use eBates)