Rude Cosmetics just decided to bring back rebellious beauty in the new era with their Roaring 20s collection, which included this palette, the one called Reckless. This US indie brand started out as a sort of dupe brand but slowly began releasing more palettes that are more original, colorful, and interesting. They have my attention, and my money.
I think this is far from my last purchase from Rude Cosmetics. I even recently placed a sizable order on their website to help me survive this pandemic by staying creative and healthy. But needless to say, I'm excited to see what they'll come up with next.
Anyway, I chose this palette as my Christmas/Holiday palette last year because I felt like the colors looked really festive. It was also released just a little earlier than 2020, so you can get the hang of using these colors while you welcome the new 20s.
The Palette
So this palette has cardboard packaging with a magnetic closure and has 20 shades, 10 metallic and 10 matte shades. I do like the artwork on this palette, I don't find it too corny looking since it's emulating flappers and party culture in that era (when your great-grandparents were young, hot, and partied hard).
Anyway, before I keep talking about the color story and all that, I will say that while Rude Cosmetics is a cruelty-free brand that does have vegan products, this palette isn't one of them. It contains animal-derived magnesium stearate, which gives the eyeshadow its smooth texture and staying power. Definitely skip this if you prefer vegan makeup.
The Shadows
So looking at the color story of the Reckless palette, I supposed the point was to emulate the brighter colors that people wore during this era (because there is a neutrals and modernized neons version too). During that time, dark matte eyeshadows were popular, and people wore bright, shiny colors for formal wear (likely where the metallic shades come from). Anyway, here are the swatches of the first two rows:
Left to Right: Feathers, Flappers, Moonshine, Cut a Rug, Hot Dawg!. Jazz Night, Gussied Up, Attagirl, Glitzy, and Charlston
Again, these swatches were made on bare skin with no base underneath. I also made sure that I wasn't sweaty and wiped my arm dry in between swatches. Here are the swatches of the final two rows:
Left to Right: Big Shot, Doll, Swanky, Razzle, Mojo, Lindy Hop, Buzz, Chippy, Spats, and On the Ritz
In terms of color story, I do like how Rude Cosmetics approached it, and I think it does stand out a lot. However, I won't call it well-rounded. I think there should be a matte blue shade here somewhere, it would complete the color scheme a bit more.
My Final Thoughts
So while I think this palette is an improvement on Rude Cosmetics' formula and products, I have a few things to say about the metallic shades of this palette. I have no problems with the matte shades at all - they're incredibly pigmented, long-lasting, and blend out easily.
I also really love the looks that I came up with using this palette because it's such an inspiring color story. I do recommend this palette just from those points. But, of course there's a huge deal breaker with this one.
The metallic shades vary in formula, they're all of this creamy and soft formula so you don't need to worry about hardpan or sealing. But the formula on Flappers, Moonshine, Doll, and On the Ritz is particularly hard to work with. They do have a high-shine but gilded finish, but they're very greasy to the touch. These four shadows in particular are quite hard to pick up with a brush (use a silicone applicator or your finger), and either instantly separate on your lids or clump and crumble off.
I've found that the best way to get around this is to use eyelash glue, but there's a learning curve to this method and they can end up looking very textured instead of smooth. Just look at the bottom row of my looks above, my lids are very texture on the right (I used Doll and On the Ritz) and I hid it but on the left, my lid shade separated on my lids (Flappers).
Do I recommend this palette? Yes, but it's definitely not beginner-friendly. If you're used to working with glitter and adhesives or you want to challenge your makeup skills, this is a great palette for that. If you're still new to makeup, the Rude Cosmetics Roaring 20s Reckless palette might just be annoying to use.
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