Made with summer 2021 in mind, the new launch from Natasha Denona is truly breathtaking. Colourful and bright, it brings together festival vibes mixed in with a holiday somewhere on a sandy beach of the Caribbean, and don't we all miss both after the last year and a half? Think brights and surprisingly pigmented pastels in a variety of finishes from high shine metallics to buttery mattes. It has it all, but is it worth the hefty price tag? Let's chat.
Luxury packaging
Packaging is well made, feels heavy and the geometric shapes of colour are definitely eye-catching. Is it £111 worth? I personally don't think so, but it's made to last nonetheless. Not my favourite from ND, but it feels good in the hand, a good middle ground between feeling the weight and being too heavy. A large mirror is welcomed and packaging sturdy enough to use it as your one-step travel mirror.
What's inside?
As with all previous larger palettes, you'll find 15 good size pans with 6 mattes and 9 metallics. I found all but one shadow to perform incredibly well on the eye. Shadows are highly pigmented but blendable. Mattes are buttery, and not chalky, even the pastels are bright and look smooth on the lid. Shimmers are gorgeous of course, very glossy, with some looking almost wet and perform and wear well on my 35-year old lids - they don't accentuate lines or texture.
Pastel game
Pastels are hard to do as keeping with the mainly white base, it's difficult to keep them smooth but bright at the same time so they pop on the lid or in the inner corners. Natasha Denona Circo Loco established itself as of of the best, and whilst there aren't that many shades to choose from, baby pink matte (Cotton Candy) and baby blue matte (Fun-Tomime) don't disappoint.
Hello darkness my old friend
Darker metallics are stunning and I've been using them to substitute the lack of darker mattes. Both navy blue shimmer (Acrobat) and deep purple metallic (Act) work well to deepen the crease and in the outer corners. That's the thing with good quality shimmers - you can build or blend them out depending on your preference.
Orange is the new black
The weird combo of the identical shade but in two finishes are the orange matte (Firework) and potent orange metallic (Spiral) confused me a little. Sure Firework is a little more toned down than Spiral and a touch lighter but there's really no need for them both to be there unless you're into one shade looks. The shades are also vastly bright and on the opposite side of the rest of the colour story so unless you're brave and don't mind mixing brights, you won't find yourself reaching for them. I don't have that problem, of course, but if it was up to me I would keep Spiral - it's just a touch more special you know.
Shine bright like a diamond
Now onto my faves, and yes we're going into the high shine category. Starting with deep and pigmented vibrant blue shimmer on a navy base, Electrick is absolutely stunning as a liner or a one shade smokey but sparkly shadow. I adore how it looks on the eye and considering the formula and pigmentation, there's only a small amount of fallout. The other two are Aerialist - a stunning lilac and silver shimmer that's gorgeous on the brow bone, to highlight the middle lid if you're going for that halo look, in the inner corners or however you like to use it. Similarly to Snowcone - a breathtaking silvery blue of the identical texture and as high shine as the Aerialist. These two are something special as you won't need to wet your brush or go with glitter glue to make them pop, they do that by themselves.
Jewels made for a Queen
Natasha Denona certainly knows her jewel tones and there aren't lacking in this gorgeous and colourful palette. Grin is a stunning old gold, it sparkles in all the right places and will compliment many colour combos, similarly to dark copper Cannon, vibrant magenta Razzle Dazzle and my favourite of them all turquoise Flip. All shades perform great and add both depth and mystery to any eye look.
A bit of blah
A medium pink matte Joker is also fun and will pair well with Firework if you're unafraid to match pink and orange. The only dud for me was probably one of the most important shades in the palette since it's the darkest matte but the medium to dark purple (Magic) needed a bit of building up and acted better on a set base than wet, as an inexperienced user may find it a little difficult to blend. Far from magical but if you don't mind starting with a little and slowly building up, you'll be absolutely fine.
If I could have one wish
For a palette this size, there's a good mixture of mattes and shimmers but I find it lacking a matte black which could easily replace non-magical Magic also adding value and versatility to the colour story. With so many jewel shades you need a bit of black to add that special something to the evening look. I absolutely adore the lighter mattes, they pop even on my pasty skin and make a great addition if you want to add a bit of colour to your daytime look that's not so out there. I've been wearing them in the inner corners instead of shimmer for that bright-eyed look if I was going heavy with shimmers all over the lid to balance it all a bit better.
Should you wear colours when you're no longer 20?
Is it a perfect palette? Perhaps not, but for me, it comes as close as any of my all-time faves. It allows a play with colour for everyone, and not just the younger generation thanks to the ultra-smooth finish to even the most outrageous of shimmers. I'm a big fan of colour eyeshadow so I was sold the moment I saw it but I understand it's a very expensive way to add colour into your shadow routine and there are plenty of cheaper palettes you can go with. The reason I'm a fan still to this date is the fact that I haven't put it down since I got it and it found its way to pretty much every makeup look I've done since. My personal favourite is the one below, proving you don't have to be afraid of colour when you're 30, 40, 50, 60 or older. If you're a bright soul, wear it out. Life's too short and too precious to worry what others think and the sky's the limit. At the end of the day, aren't we all 16 at heart?
Buy me now:
Until next time my Queens,
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