e.l.f. Studio 32-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette {Review}
Pros: Aesthetically pleasing design, good pigmentation, economically priced
Cons: Most shades are very dark, geometric pan design makes accessing shadows awkward.
Being left brained and all, I was uber excited to see the newly released Geometric Palettes from e.l.f.
I got sucked in by the limited time hysteria and ordered both the Studio 32-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette and the smaller Studio 6-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette during the e.l.f. 9th Anniversary Sale. In retrospect, I don’t think I needed to worry about availability since the palettes are likely here to stay for the next couple of years. I think I bought the “limited edition” Studio Endless Eyes Pro Eyeshadow Palette about two years ago, and it’s still available online.
32-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette
Rating: C
Price: $6 USD
Shades Available: 2 palettes
Weight: 32g
Where to Buy: eyeslipsface.com
This palette may be visually striking, but is lacking in usability.
The following review is for the original 32-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette (#85047). There are now two different versions available, though they do not appear to be named.
Packaging
If you own any of the other palettes from e.l.f.–either the larger 100+ pan or smaller 32 pan palettes–you’ll recognize the packaging immediately. I bought the 32 pan version because I like the smaller palettes better (this is my fifth 32 pan eyeshadow palette).
The main difference between this palette and the original 32 piece versions is that the triangle and diamond shaped pans make up the entire palette, instead of being little rectangles.
The bottom piece of the palette is a matte, black plastic while the top lid is a crystal plastic. Included are two double-ended sponge tip applicators. Unlike other 32 pan palettes, this one does not include a mirror, since the entire lid is a clear plastic.
The palette is durable enough, but not exactly constructed from the best quality materials. I’m not a fan of hard, brittle plastics. Then again, the 32-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette is $6, so you get what you pay for. Also, many of the pans are loose and could easily be depotted–or fall out.
e.l.f. has the odd tendency of putting the lighter shades in the smaller pans and the super dark browns and blacks into the larger pans. I’d much prefer it to be the other way around.
The worst part of the packaging design is the small triangularly shaped pans. Some of them are teeny-tiny and my eyeshadow brushes barely fit, making the application process very awkward.
Formulation
e.l.f. is getting much better with the quality of their eyeshadows. Almost all of the shadows have very good pigmentation and color payoff.
The one shade I had a problem with was the blue diamond in the center of the bottom row. The color was a muddy blue grey when applied, not the pretty jewel shade it appears in the pan.
Colors
I looked at all of the geometric palette options and chose the 32 pan version because I liked the neutral shades, and also because I didn’t need another ~100 shade palette. I already have the Studio Endless Eyes Pro Eyeshadow Palette that I never use, and the 96-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette looks very similar.
When I received my e.l.f. order I knew immediately that the palette was not going to work with my skin tone. I had to go back and look at the photos online because I was surprised the shadows were so dark. They also tend to lean towards the cool side and my warm undertone skin can’t deal with cool colors.
Unfortunately, because the shadows are so pigmented, at least 75% of the palette is too dark for me to wear as daytime shades. I wear a lot of mid-tone browns and those are grossly underrepresented in this palette.
I later discovered there is another version of the 32 pan palette. At first it appeared to only be available in a LE box set from the Walgreens 2013 holiday promotion, but I noticed that it has finally been added to the eyeslipsface.com site. I haven’t made up my mind as to whether I will buy it too, given my lackluster experience with the original version.
Images
Conclusion
I really love the aesthetics of the 32-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette, but the shadows are way too dark and cool toned for me. The small, geometrically shaped pans also make using the palette difficult.
Despite the low price, I am hesitant to recommend the palette. At the very least, it is not suitable for most fair skinned individuals. You’ll need to be at least in the medium skin tone group and up, or a makeup collector, to benefit from the 32-Piece Geometric Eyeshadow Palette.
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