I Heart Makeup Black Velvet Eyeshadow Palette

Makeup Revolution with their subsidiary brand I <3 Makeup has so many new beauty launches in short spans of time that I have trouble following them all, so this palette completely eluded me. Nonetheless, when I first opened it, I was greeted by a lovely sight on a nice collection of neutral eyeshadows. But when I started using it, it was exactly as I expected for a budget palette.

Black Velvet palette contains 16 eyeshadows, most of them are matte and three are satin-shimmery ones. Upon first inspection it looks like a lovely collection of neutrals, but when you start swatching them you realize how similar some shade are - certainly too similar to be in one palette. The quality varies from eyeshadow to eyeshadow, as is the standard for MR palettes, but much to my surprise the shimmery ones are some of the poorest in the palette. Mattes perform ok, again some better than the others, but mostly the shades are sheer and need a lot building up as well as some are a bit chalky. This is not a palette I'd pick up when in a hurry, especially since I'm quite inpatient and I don't want to slowly build up the colour on my lids. This sheerness also brings about another problem - a lot of the shades, even in varying intensities look alike on the lids if you don't apply a lot of them. Building up the colour is the main thing you need to know about this palette.

True - a cream shade with a matte-satin finish. A classic base colour.

Want - taupe with a slight rosy hue and a matte finish. Great shade for in the crease for pale people with a cool/neutral skin tone. Appears creamy in the pan, but needs building up.

Long - a shimmery light gold. Such a disappointing shade due to poor pigmentation. It's like a sheer wash of shimmer on the lids, unless you really build it up with fingers because it's almost impossible with a brush.

Feel - a medium brown-bronze shade. Less disappointing than Long, but you still need so many layers for decent opacity. I don't know why this shade performs bellow average, as a similar colour in the I Heart Sin palette is really good.

Black - classic matte black. 

Baby - light matte cool pink. Another base colour. I don't really understand why it was needed in the palette since there is already a double sized cream base shade True, but you could argue that this pink one is more brightening or better on cool tones. 

Please - a curry colour or a warm medium matte yellow-brown. This has a slight orange hue on my skin due to warmth of the shade, but I tend to use it in the crease or all over the lid. The pigmentation is not the best.

Sweet - warm matte brown-terra rossa shade. A nice shade to put in the crease for warm skin tones and I use it like that as well, but it also looks nice all over the lid. The pigmentation is much better than at Please. 

Sin - deep matte grey-taupe. This looks quite intense in the pan, but it's sheerer on the skin and also a touch warm, so it looks like a deep warm taupe on the eyes. Pigmentation is not the best.

Tender - a touch lighter cream shade than True. No need to have this in the palette as well.

Slow - medium matte grey. Pigmentation is ok.

Sweet (yes, another one. I'm as confused as you are) - medium vintage rose shade with a matte finish. It's a very interesting shade and I like it on the lids, but the pigmentation is just decent.

Bring - medium cool brown. One of the best pigmentations in the palette.

Wild - a warm purple. A pleasant surprise in the otherwise quite neutral palette. Pigmentation is nice for a matte eyeshadow in such a purple shade.

Cry - gunmetal  shimmery deep grey. Nice pigmentation, but to me it feels a bit out of place in this palette.

Velvet - another black eyeshadow, but of a slightly lesser quality than the other one. Not sure why the felt it necessary to have two black eyeshadows.

Due to the need of layering, the staying power is actually quite good. It doesn't last amazingly well, but it can survive a regular school/work day if you have normal or dry lids, while on greasy ones these will crease, so I suggest a primer. 

The packaging is made from velvet, which gathers dust like crazy (why would they think this is a good idea?) and it has a black (khm…gaudy…khm) crystal in the middle. The quality of the packaging is nice, it's sturdy and nothing is loose, plus it has a big mirror. 

This palette is a classic Makeup Revolution quality meaning it's far from amazing, but it's not at all bad. The pigmentation and quality varies from eyeshadow to eyeshadow and most need a lot of building up preferably with good quality brushes, but you can create a nice look with it if you have patience. My perhaps odd complaint would be that I just feel like I can't make a nice combination with these colours. Just like something is off in most looks I try to do. Perhaps it's just that this palette contains colours that are too warm for my skin tone. But if you like the colours and think that this will work for you, then give it a go. 

Black Velvet palette costs £7.99 on Makeup Revolution.

I Heart Makeup paleta senčil Black Velvet stane 10,95 € na Ličila.si.

*I was sent this palette.