Of course I got this palette! That shouldn't be a surprise considering how much I've stated that I'm such a fan of her. To illustrate, I started following her channel in 2014, even before I started my own makeup collection. If I'm not mistaken, this was the first collaboration she has done with the brand and she specifically chose Revolution Beauty because she had full creative control over the palette.
She is also the first American YouTuber that Revolution Beauty has done a collaboration with as they have only done collaborations with YouTubers from Europe prior to her, the first being British Beauty Blogger. Anyway, I like Emily and I love Revolution Beauty, so here I am, reviewing this palette.
I admit that while I was happy for Emily and beyond excited to buy it, I was still a bit apprehensive about it. As with many collaboration products, I think it's good to wary of them because the quality may not necessarily be the same as what you're used to from a certain brand. While I do love Revolution Beauty, I am still selective with the collaboration products that I buy from them. After all, there is another party involved in the process so it's highly likely that the final product may come out differently.
The Palette
First off, this palette is huge. It's encased in peach-colored plastic and comes with a huge mirror, which I always consider a plus because I prefer using the mirror in palettes when I'm doing my makeup. Here it is with a small palette for scale, that's how big it is.
In it are 24 pans of eyeshadow in a fun mix of neutrals, bright colors, and deep jewel tones. It also has an equal amount of warm and cool tones. This palette has mostly matte shades and a few metallic shades.
Just by the color scheme alone, it obvious that Emily really put a lot of thought into this palette. It's one of the more unique-looking collaborations that Revolution Beauty has done, apart from Carmimua's Kiss of Fire Palette and Soph's Extra Spice palette.
Anyway, onto the swatches. I didn't use any primer for these swatches but I was rather sweaty since I took these pictures outside so my skin was a bit sticky even if I did try to wipe down my arm. Anyway, here's each shade by row:
First Row
Second Row
Third Row
Fourth Row
The Mattes
Emily did say that she wanted the shades to be two things, buildable and true to color. I suppose it's easier to build the matte colors up if you decide to set your eyeshadow base with a matte eyeshadow - but I didn't do that. If you really want maximum color payoff, put the matte shades (especially the colorful ones) directly on top of your primer. They'll be vibrant and stay that way throughout the day.
If you're familiar with Revolution Beauty's matte eyeshadow formula, the mattes in this palette are no different and I love that aspect about it. Most of the mattes are soft, pigmented, and blend out with little issue. I will say that Family, Cheer, and Corduroy weren't as buttery soft as the other ones in the palette, but they were pigmented, built up well, and lasted throughout the day.
The Metallics
However, the more metallic shades are definitely challenging, which is also a given with Revolution Beauty. The metallic shades aren't as consistent in formula as the matte shades, some of them were easy to work with, and some of them weren't.
Here is an in-depth breakdown of the metallic shades:
Grateful, Good Vibes, and Pizzazz - a wetter and more foiled texture (I don't have a problem with it but some people might find it a bit gross since they are pretty sticky to the touch)
Top Story and Side Hustle - a softer, drier, and more crumbly texture (They picked up easily with my finger but they do have a bit of fallout and can get everywhere if you pick up too much)
Capricorn and Oh Heavens! - a satin type of texture (These shades were firmly pressed but they were soft and didn't crumble or get hardpan)
Cupcake and Heartbeat -a firmly pressed texture that sealed over itself but was still usable (Both these shades did get hard pan but there was still decent color payoff)
Eve Rose and Belle Violet -a stiff texture that totally got hardpan (I consider these the dud shades on this palette, they sealed over themselves right away and it was extremely hard to build up the color intensity) Some of these colors are easier to work with if you use a brush, especially if you dislike touching wet or crumbly eyeshadow textures. Though if you mostly use your fingers for metallic shades (like me), just know that they aren't all the same like the matte shades. Admittedly when I use this palette, I did stay away from some of the metallic shades.
My Final Thoughts
The issue that I had with some of the metallic shades didn't keep me from fully enjoying this palette. The color scheme of this palette truly inspired me and I usually only feel that way about more colorful palettes as I don't really go for neutral palettes. But there was just something about this color story that made me want to use as many colors as possible in a single eye look. I had no issues with the mattes in this palette being patchy or hard to blend so those colorful looks weren't hard for me to do either. It was even hard for me to stop using this palette so I could move on to testing other palettes.
In terms of consistency, I can say that it's not the best collab palette that Revolution Beauty has put out. I still think the SophX palettes are the best in color scheme and overall quality. If you already have both those palettes, and you're eyeing this palette thinking that it's going to be the same quality, I don't think you need to get it. You can get similar looks with just those palettes (also, those palette reviews are coming and I will reference this review in them too). But if you're looking at this palette because the color scheme just intrigues you and you want to get creative with your makeup, I admit that it's not the most amazing palette I've tried from Revolution but I don't think it's so-so in quality either. I honestly like this palette a lot more than I thought I would, and I look forward to the next time I use it and see the fun looks I come up with.
Where to buy it:
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