At first I was immediately drawn to the gorgeous packaging and color story of the palette. Sure, I think it’s weird that a palette with the word “Garden” in it’s name does not have a green shade, but still I knew I had to have this from the very beginning. As soon as I purchased it and was waiting for the palette to arrive in the mail I started seeing reviews of this, and they were not that great! And it made me a bit nervous that I would not like the palette that much.

It’s always such a shame ending up not being happy with a palette especially if you love the colors and the looks of it. I just think the packaging has such a stunning design! Even though it’s cardboard it feels like the fancy kind, the colors and pattern is beautiful, like a flowering garden at night, and it just feels and looks luxurious through and through. And yes, is does have a decent sized mirror.But the packaging does not help that much if whats inside is not up to standard. And I like my eyeshadows to be good! Especially in this case, when we are not talking about a cheap budget palette.I do have some previous experience with Nabla eyeshadow since I have a small collection of their single pan shadows, and the quality of those are really really good especially their mattes that are buttery smooth and rich in pigment! So I know Nabla can do great eyeshadows. I do have to say, I like the palette, I like the looks I made with it, but I can also see why people are unhappy with it because it’s simply not the easiest palette to work with. But to be fair some of the shades are pressed pigments and not eyeshadow. In my opinion a pressed pigment rarely have the quality similar to eyeshadows. I usually find that you have to change the techniques a bit and thats the case with many of the shadows in this palette too. I found that I had to apply it little by little and spend a bit more time blending, but I don’t think it’s because the shadow is bad it’s just the nature of dark or colorful pressed pigments. They need a bit more of a careful hand. Although it’s not as loosely pressed as Subculture the way you have to work with the dark mattes in this palette is similar to how I use the dark mattes in Subculture. So I don’t think they are bad eyeshadows, they simply have to be used a bit different because they are not actually eyeshadows but pressed pigments.

There are off course shades that can be used a lot more laid back. All of the neutrals are very easy to work with. They are just overall decent eyeshadows. The neutral matte shades are really good actually. Not as good as their single shadows, but good. The shimmer are also good eyeshadows, but they are not mind blowing. Pretty yes, but they are more on the regular scale and nothing that will blow you off your chair.

I guess overall I like the palette, but it does need some extra attention when applying the darker matte pigments. I can totally see why this palette is not something everyone will enjoy. Although, I dare to say that if you managed to work with Subculture you wont have any more issues with this.

Have you tried this palette? Let me know what your opinion is!

XOXO

Mufavorites!

This one has been on my wish list for so long, and I just happened to snag this with me on impulse one day. I am a big fan of The Balms quirky cute packaging and a bronzer that promise to not be orange is off course also tempting (I don’t want that Donald Trump bronze after all).

As always the packaging is adorable. It’s the same usual sturdy cardboard packaging as they have on their blushes. I had some of their blushes for many years, and those still look good, so they are good quality even though it’s made of cardboard. It also have a mirror inside. In my opinion it’s a bit too tiny to use when applying bronzer, but oh well.

But cute packaging and anti-orange promises does not help if the product is not any good. But this one is! I picked it up in the shade “Oliver”, but they have several shade options. This one was good for me because it’s quite pale and I prefer a pale bronzer, because that’s what I am for most of the year.  This one is just the right shade for my winter skin, and it’s absolutely true that it’s anti-orange! It looks quite cool toned on my skin, which I also prefer during winter. It’s almost so that I could use this as a contour.

The shade is great for me. Oliver is the lightest of three shades, so they should have an option that fits many (but I am afraid the darkest is not dark enough, and I wish they had one additional color for deep skin). But not only does the color work for me, it’s also so easy to apply! I love it when a bronzer blends quickly and I just don’t have to think to much about it. You know that brush on really quick kind of bronzer that you never have to worry about not being blended enough or looking patchy. This bronzer is just that easy-going one.

This was a totaly hit for me and I highly recommend it. Especially if you often find bronzers to be too warm this one is a nice one to test out.

I do have the iconic and much loved Bahama Mama bronzer from The Balm as well, but Take Home The Bronze one is a solid winner among these two.

Have you tried this bronzer? Or maybe you have another favorite that you love?

XOXO

Mufavorites