Welcome to Makeup Window Shopping, a bi-weekly column where beauty junkie Samantha gives you the run-down on all the latest makeup releases, and adds her two cents about whether or not they seem worth *your* cents. Let’s obsess about (or judge) makeup products together!
- Colourpop Amoureux Holiday 2020 Collection
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The Holiday 2020 collection from Colourpop includes new shades in their pre-existing product lines. This collection includes two twelve-pan eyeshadow palettes: Boudoir Noir, a true neutral palette, and Menage a Muah, a berry-toned neutrals palette. These palettes look perfect for creating soft glam looks, but the color schemes are underwhelming and do not add anything new or special to their line. Boudoir Noir looks strikingly similar to their Good as Gold palette from their 2019 holiday collection. The theme of this collection is Paris, perhaps to capitalize on the Emily in Paris hype, but besides the French shade names, nothing about the packaging or design of the collection screams Paris. Overall, it’s pretty, but not special.
- Lunar Beauty Eternal Eclipse Palette
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Lunar Beauty, the brand by beauty guru Manny MUA, is one of the few influencer brands that doesn’t feel like a cash grab. I so respect and admire the passion, creativity and thought that Manny puts into his products, packaging, color selection, and formulation. When I first saw this holiday palette, I wasn’t turned off per se, but I was a bit underwhelmed because “neutrals with a pop of blue” is a pretty overdone color scheme in the beauty community. On second glance, however, I really like how grungey-yet-glam this color scheme is, and as a holiday release, it feels seasonally appropriate but not too basic — there’s not a red, green, or gold in sight, so the palette doesn’t scream “Christmas” in a way that would make someone forget this palette after New Years. The more I look at it, the more I want it — the shimmers look *so* reflective and impactful, and the blues look pretty wearable, with some of them reading more grey-blue on the eye in the promotional photos. It also looks like a really nice mix of warm and cool tones. This palette reminds me of the Nabla Platinum palette, but with the neutral color scheme a bit more built-out, plus some additional blues and greys. I’m not sure if I’d actually purchase it, but the more I look at it, the more I like it and the more I’m intrigued by the color scheme — it’s wearable enough, but not too basic that I don’t get inspired by looking at it. And it’s not comparable to anything I currently own in my collection.
- Alamar Cosmetics Colorete Blush Trios
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Alamar Cosmetics is an indie, Latinx-owned brand that has always interested me, but I’ve never actually purchased from. Their latest release are three blush palettes, with different options for different skin tones. I really appreciate Alamar catering to multiple skin tones, especially since when it comes to blush palettes, I’ve seen other brands try to create one palette for all skin tones, meaning that there might be shades that people on the lightest end and the deepest end of the spectrum cannot use. It’s important to recognize that shade range doesn’t just apply to foundation, but to blush, bronzer, and highlighter as well. I’m not the biggest fan of large face palettes in general, but three shades seems curated enough for me, and the price tag is very reasonable, at $25 for three shades. In each palette, each shade is distinct from one another yet looks wearable from the swatches, so the color selection looks like it would actually add something to one’s blush collection.
- EM Cosmetics Faded Clementine Eyeshadow Palette and Lip Cushion
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EM Cosmetics, Michelle Phan’s makeup brand, consists of a curated line of products, branding themselves as ethereal, elevated everyday staples. In addition to other face, eye, and lip items, EM Cosmetics includes two collections, Magic Hour and Faded Clementine, that consist of different product categories with the same color scheme. While Magic Hour is a soft dusty peachy-pink shade, Faded Clementine is a brighter, punchier tangerine. The latest additions to the Faded Clementine collection are a six-pan eyeshadow palette and a Lip Cushion. The Lip Cushion formula has always intrigued me because I love a hydrating, sheer lip product. The Faded Clementine shade looks pretty and flattering, but I’m not necessarily any *more* interested in the Faded Clementine shade than any other shade in the Lip Cushion formula. The eyeshadow palette, however, is a complete miss for me. The palette includes a mix of cranberry, coral, and golden shades that toe the line between neutral and colorful. It looks like there’s a lot you could do with this color story despite only being six shades, but warm-toned neutrals feel a bit outdated (think 2018-2019 beauty community), and the palette just gives me more fall vibes and maybe would have been better-received by me had it launched two months ago.
- Huda Beauty Gold Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette
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I’m absolutely drooling over this palette. These neutrals are my ideal everyday shades, and I love punchy, see-them-from-space shimmer shades. I also love the inclusion of the pink and rose gold shades, because often, a gold palette might lean more bronze, and I think Huda’s choice of pairing gold shades with pinks rather than warm-toned browns is pretty unique. While some of the shades look very similar to each other and Huda could have definitely done more with this color scheme while still keeping it cohesive, I can’t even bring myself to care because of how ideal this color scheme is for me and how hypnotizing the palette is. The packaging is also stunning. I already own Huda’s Nude Obsessions palette in Medium, and I love how those shadows perform, so I’m very tempted by this palette. The packaging is also perhaps the most stunning makeup packaging I’ve ever seen. My one issue with this palette is that it is limited edition and only available on Cult Beauty, a site I don’t normally shop — I personally don’t love buying exclusive products (both in terms of where they are sold and how many are in stock) because on the off chance I lose, break, or pan a product, I like to know I can get it back. Although I never finish makeup products so I admit this concern of mine is very irrational. I may very well pick this up eventually… I can’t even describe how tempted I am.
- Colourpop x RawBeautyKristi At Forest Sight Collection
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Inspired by the colors in nature of the Pacific Northwest, Colourpop Cosmetics collaborated with makeup influencer RawBeautyKristi to create a collection that includes a 12-pan eyeshadow palette, Super Shock Shadows, lip glosses, and eyeliners. The Super Shocks, lip glosses, and eyeliners I could take or leave — they’re just new colors in existing product lines. The real star of the show, however, is the At Forest Sight Eyeshadow palette, which I purchased literally the second it became available on the website. I love how the palette is cohesive, yet has range — from mustard tones, to grunge greens, to warm browns, and plum shades. The color scheme, which as Kristi explains, was created directly from the colors she saw in nature, feels inspiring yet approachable and everyday appropriate. My one gripe is that I wish she had included more shimmer shades, because I refuse to do eyeshadow without popping a shimmer on the lid, and I wish there was as much versatility from the shimmers than the mattes. I guess the idea is to pull in a Super Shock shadow, but I like a palette that can create a full look without supplementing with any other product. This launch also feels very fall to me, and I almost wish it launched in September or October. But I’m so excited to play with the palette once it arrives.
- Kylie Cosmetics x The Grinch Collection
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I’m sorry, but this is so dumb. Kylie Cosmetics has always felt like a cash grab, rather than a venture that Kylie really put her heart and soul into, and this holiday release feels especially tacky. Collaborating with a literal children’s book character feels very off-brand for Kylie, and nothing about this collection feels particularly special. While the packaging definitely screams “The Grinch” (for better or for worse), the products themselves feel very generic — you’re really not going to include a single green lipstick? The eyeshadow palette is underwhelming; the shades are pretty but it’s nothing special. I will say, the shimmer eye glazes look stunning, and I like the inclusion of two different shades of green — a teal, and an olive shade.
- Milani Cosmetics Color Fetish Shine Lipsticks
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Milani is one of my favorite drugstore brands, and as I mentioned before, shiny, balmy lip colors are my favorite type of lip product. I’m obsessed with this launch in theory, but realistically I don’t think I would purchase one of these lipstick any time soon. The packaging isn’t very appealing to me (especially for the brown shade if you see what I’m seeing) and I’m not wearing any lip products at all lately, because there’s no point to do so with a mask. The colors aren’t my personal taste, since I generally don’t gravitate toward bright pinks or berry shades, but I’d be excited to see a shade expansion, since I know I’d be obsessed with the formula. This launch feels kind of random, but I’m not mad at it at all.
Do you agree or disagree with my opinions? Let us know on Her Campus Conn’s Instagram.