beauty, Blogging, Makeup

The post that never was! ‘The Exmoor Palette’: introducing my custom eyeshadow palette, as chosen by you!

The Exmoor Palette

Preface: Back in 2021/22, I started compiling this post, but I never published it. The Makeup Geek company folded in 2022, but the website is still there. I recently updated my logo and came here to update my blog and I found this slightly unfinished and unpublished post. I decided to just post it anyway, so please let me know what you think. My Rhubarb and Burble Instagram profile has been my ‘blog’ for that last three years, and I have since moved into yarn related goodness. So watch out for future blog posts here, probably mostly relating to knitting and fibre.

Let’s start at the beginning. I’ve always hankered after creating my own custom eyeshadow palette to suit my personal taste. There are lots of beautiful palettes on the market, but there’s usually a shade or two which either aren’t as appealing or don’t necessarily sit well with the colour story. I had the seed of an idea to create a company offering customised eyeshadow palettes with personalised shade names, packaging, etc, but swiftly concluded that this would be too costly to produce on a bespoke basis.

I went online to see what customisable palettes already existed and came across the Makeup Geek website. I had watched various reviews on YouTube of Makeup Geek eyeshadow palettes, and they had, largely, been very good. Makeup Geek also produce and sell single eyeshadows and offer a ‘Create Your Own Palette’ option whereby you choose your nine shades and receive a free magnetic palette in which to keep them.

I thought this would be a good way to realise my perfect palette, although, I became almost overwhelmed by the vast array of colours and subsequent indecision. I knew I really wanted the palettes to have personal significance, so I decided to pick a colourway pertinent to my local area of North Devon. I eventually curated three possibilities, but, I didn’t want to buy three palettes without ever having tried the formula of the shadows. To take the final decision away from myself, I posted the three options on our social media and asked our followers to choose! Alongside this, I wanted the palettes to have meaningful names, so I ended up with the following combinations:

The leader changed a few times, but the eventual winner was No.3, The Exmoor Palette. I ordered it at the end of November (2021), and it arrived just over five weeks later. Everything survived the journey from Edgewood, NY just fine.

The shades from top to bottom and left to right are:
So pale – Matte
Cupcake – Matte
Spilled tea – Matte
Illuminaughty -Foiled
In the spotlight – Foiled
Mystical – Foiled
Olive you – Matte
Dedicated – Matte
Give me the dirt – Matte

All of their products are cruelty-free and most are vegan. The only non-vegan shades I purchased were: Give me the dirt and Dedicated. The matte shades are all from their Signature Eyeshadow range and weigh 1.5g each, except for the shade Dedicated which is from their Power Pigment range and weighs 2g.

The total cost was $46.99 (£36.74) including postage from the US including a $21.41 discount offer. When I purchased it, the matte shades retailed at $5.49 each. The foiled shades and Dedicated were $7.99 each. And as I said, the empty, magnetic palette was included in the bundle price. P+P was $8.99.

The Travel Vault Palette and the nine single shades
The Exmoor Palette
Close-up of the Exmoor Palette

The article was going to have swatches and a full review, but I never got around to doing that. If you would like me to do it, please let me know.

Louisa

This article is NOT sponsored, and does NOT contain affiliate links.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

If you fancy setting up your own wordpress.com blog, use this referral link and we can both earn credits.

Makeup

#EyeshadowPaletteTag

Those of you who know me well will have realised that I love makeup! Since a teenager, I have always worn makeup, but I really caught the beauty bug a few years ago and have built up quite the collection, particularly eyeshadow palettes.

A current trend on YouTube is to allocate your eyeshadow palettes to certain categories and use the ‘EyeshadowPaletteTag’ hashtag. The trend (as far as I’m able to ascertain) started with a collaboration between YouTubers Samantha March and Allie Glines in May 2020.
I have been inspired to jump on the bandwagon!

You can watch our first YouTube video below!
I have swatched three colours from each palette on my arm so you can get a feel for the pigmentation and sparkle.

I will attempt to go into more detail about my palette choices here:

  • Newest – 24A artist pass by Morphe.
    This palette spoke to me because it is a palette which satisfies a lot of looks in one. It has neutrals, brights, neons and glitters. I had to buy it! It’s not too big and has a good-sized mirror.
  • Oldest – Cat eyes by Too Faced.
    I have decluttered all of my really old palettes, even my first ever Rimmel palette which my mum bought me for my 14th birthday! The cat eyes palette is the oldest I currently own. It was the first I purchased from this brand. I found it in TK Maxx at about a third of the original price! I love the leopard print tin and three of the shades can be applied wet which creates an intense eyeliner.
  • Most expensive – Born to run by Urban Decay.
    This is one of my favourite palettes. Although powdery, the shadows are extremely pigmented and a lot of looks can be created from the broad spectrum of mattes and shimmers. The packaging is luxurious and the travel theme is inspiring. The RRP for this palette is £43, but I managed to snag it online at TK Maxx for £29.99. Still nowhere near Natasha Denona prices, whose 15 pan pallettes can cost £110.00!
  • Most affordable – Re-loaded visionary by Revolution.
    Not much to say about this palette other than it only cost £5.00! I love purples and this was a bargain too good to miss!
  • Everyday – Chocolate bon bons by Too Faced.
    If you want a palette which isn’t overly pigmented to achieve a subtle look, then this one is great. The cute heart-shaped pans give it a twist and the palette smells of chocolate. The shimmers are soft and appropriate for daytime looks.
  • Most colourful – 24A artist pass by Morphe.
    The second spot for this palette. This is by far the brightest palette I own, particularly because of the neon shades. I’m not planning to go to any festivals, but you never know!

  • Smallest – Devil by STYLondon.
    This measures just 7.5cm2 and I received it in a ‘Glossybox’ subscription box. The shadows are very creamy and pigmented and are surprisingly good quality.
  • Biggest – Colour spectrum by Revolution.
    This measures 32.5cm x 26cm and dwarfs the James Charles palette which many YouTubers have selected as their biggest palette. There are 196 mattes and shimmers altogether and is a great fallback when struggling to find just the right shade!
  • Best memory – Sweet Peach by Too Faced.
    This is actually my favourite palette of all time, but because it’s not my favourite brand, it didn’t make the penultimate category. I have nothing bad to say about this pallet. The tin design is so cute and the palette has the most beautiful peach fragrance. It’s on my desk right next to me now. I can smell it as I type this. Hang on a minute… sniff, sniff, ahh, that’s so heavenly! It’s so well-used, that I’ve almost hit pan on a few shades. My favourite shade of all time, ‘Luscious’, is in this palette. It is a warm-toned, light-medium copper with a metallic finish. I use my finger to swipe it onto my eyelids and it is, quite literally, luscious!
  • Worth the hype – Naked honey by Urban Decay.
    Urban Decay have released several ‘naked’ palettes recently. I have cherry and honey. Honey is just perfect for everyday or evening wear. The shades are universally flattering and the formula is incredibly pigmented. When I realised they also brought out a mini palette, I had to grab it to increase the flexibility of the original palette. The double-ended brush, which is incuded, is incredibly high quality which makes packing on and blending shadows a breeze.
  • Not worth the hype – White chocolate bar by Too Faced.
    Unfortunately, Too Faced product quality is inconsistent. This one lured me in with the beautiful ‘lavender cake’ shade. The shadows are mostly light in tone and take some building up. There is, however, one stand out shade, ‘sugared raisin’, which is a silver metallic with a lilac undertone. Packaged in a hard wearing tin with their signature chocolate bar styling, it’s too cute to not keep!
  • Favourite palette from a favourite brand – 39S Such a gem – Morphe.
    This brand has recently become my new favourite. YouTube community dramas aside, Morphe have really upped their game. The shadows are creamy and rich and blend effortlessly. The shimmers are intense and the glitters add that extra sparkle needed for an ultra-glam look. As I said earlier, I love purples and this palette is devoted to them. They compliment my green eyes and there are a number of neutral browns to create the perfect transition or to deepen up the outer corner of the eyelid.
  • Most used – Sweet Peach by Too Faced.
    For the reasons I gave in the ‘Best memory’ category, this is my most used (and loved) palette.

If you want to buy any of these palettes, the links are in the video description. However, some of them are not available, unless you want to risk buying them from ebay!
(Beware, many palettes sold this way are copies and cheaply made in China with ingredients which may be toxic and/or cause iritation to the delicate eye area. Always buy from a reputable stockist.)

Which palettes do you own and which would you choose for the 13 categories? Please comment below and share your hidden gems with me.

Louisa

PLEASE JOIN OUR MAILING LIST –
You wouldn’t want to miss out on any content!

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

If you fancy setting up your own wordpress.com blog, use this referral link and we can both earn credits.