hola friends!
hope you are all well today. here's my next emcosmetics review. this time we have for you the amalfi coast aquas palette.
first off, can we talk about how beautiful the outside packaging is? It's sleek yet vibrant. In all honesty, I wish this was my youtube cover photo! so good! haha :D I adore her attention to detail, even in the inside lining of the packaging with all the 'em' words.
I had high hopes for the eyeshadow palettes as I've heard great things about the life palette! The packaging didn't disappoint. At first glance, I was like eh.. looks kind of like the elf palette. Almost kind of cheap, white plastic. but it's not. it's sturdy thick plastic, with a sleek logo and magnetic closure. what I particularly loved in this palette is how there is a peel me sticker on it. haha... dork? :0P
Here is the palette. There are so pros an cons to this. while I hate small brushes, these two brushes seem to be quite functional. with a lid brush, angled liner brush and a smaller 'contour'ish blush. I can appreciate that, although I would probably never use it. [I honestly would rather use my fingers than brushes if i don't have any haha!!!]
Second, I'm a bit confused as to why the shadows are different sizes such as this. I'm sure she explains it somewhere, but I couldn't find where. I understand how the life palette is in this configuration as there is a blush color in the center and a lip color, etc. I would've LOVED to see #2 as the center color as it is definitely my favorite shade that I use often all over the lid. I could see how #4, #3 and #6 are smaller because they are the darker shades that can be used as the liner colors.
Now here are the swatches. the left side are swatches without any primer and the right side are swatches with the primer. The primer makes a substantial difference in the matte shades, and subtle differences in the more satin-y shades.
#1- is a warm golden brown. It's a slightly satiny but has glitter particles. If you enjoy glitter, I think you would love this! Unfortunately, I find that if you have hooded or thicker eyelids, this shadow will enhance your lids and make them look thicker than they are. The color itself is gorgeous though!
#2 - is a beautiful champagne color. this is a perfect color for all over your lids. it has a nice satin finish and is creamy and pigmented. This is by far my favorite color of the bunch!
#3 - is a warm brown color with a slight sheen and small shimmer particles. It is slightly cooler than #1 and I wish that instead of #1, it could've been replaced with this instead. The shimmer is not overpowering and the base color is beautiful!
#4 - is a matte medium brown that leans slightly grey. at first swatch without primer, I was like 'woof. this color is horrrrible.' but then i found out two things: #1 with primer it is beautiful. like seriously beautiful. how i regret saying bad things about you. #2 this makes a beautiful blending/crease color. the color does an excellent job blending with other colors because of its delicate formula. it isn't too harsh, so it makes a really soft blend.
#5 - colors like this always make me want to scream mermaid!!! hahah! this is a beautiful satin blue. This pairs beautifully with the champagne color as a crease color and also pairs nicely with the dark shade using a gradient look.
#6 - This is a deep matte blue that looks slightly green when swatched. This is similar with #4 in that its a very soft matte shade so the blendibility is made possible with this shade of blue. I like how you can deepen this color easily as well, making it a beautiful liner also!
Overall, this palette is worth checking out. As a neutral fiend... with only neutral palettes, this one steps out of the comfort zone while still being in it. It has some gorgeous neutral shades in the brown family but adds a bit of pop and fun with the blues. Although some shades have their downsides, all colors are workable to make a beautiful look.
