For the last several months, I have been humming and hawing on whether or not to purchase the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette or not. Of course I love anything rose-gold, but with the steep pricing and the fact that I use minimal eyeshadow everyday, I don't think I'll ever purchase it. Also, from my media and photography unit in high school, I have also learnt that high definition camera's pick up a lot of red. That's why film makeup artists use correcting powders such as Ben Nye's Banana Luxury Powder and those awesome multi-coloured concealer palettes to tone down the redness of, say, inner eye rims and natural red undertones. So, yeah, if you're ever going in front of a HD camera, don't use too much red in your makeup.
Anyway, I came across this lovely ELF Studio Prism Eyeshadow Palette after randomly looking through the ELF stuff on Iherb. Initially, I was going to go for the Prism Naked palette, but after seriously checking through my stash and looking at the shades I lacked, obviously I picked up Sunset, which looked like a good venture into pink and rose eye shadows. Just an FYI before I start reviewing, for those who are allergic to dimethiconol, don't get this palette as it is one of the main ingredients used - first one listed actually.
Anyway, I came across this lovely ELF Studio Prism Eyeshadow Palette after randomly looking through the ELF stuff on Iherb. Initially, I was going to go for the Prism Naked palette, but after seriously checking through my stash and looking at the shades I lacked, obviously I picked up Sunset, which looked like a good venture into pink and rose eye shadows. Just an FYI before I start reviewing, for those who are allergic to dimethiconol, don't get this palette as it is one of the main ingredients used - first one listed actually.
With regards to packaging, the palette itself comes in a cardboard...thing and if you haven't already read about my latest Iherb haul- the packaging looked very worn and used, almost as if many people had opened and touched the cardboard packet itself. However, enough of that as it was probably a handling thing, it is really about the quality of the product.
The casing of the palette is slim and sleek, very sturdy for a drugstore product which is great. It seems like the reasonably sized mirror carries most the weight and thank goodness it isn't one of those wonky ones. The main miff I have with the packaging is that I can't fit any small brushes into the applicator slot. The slimness is great for travel and to put into a makeup bag but it is just a tad too small to put in even my smallest brush from Ecotools otherwise the case won't close properly. The sponge tip applicator it came with even made marks onto the mirror which is annoying. Apart from those factors though, I actually quite like how it looks, professional and compact with a satisfying snap to close.
The casing of the palette is slim and sleek, very sturdy for a drugstore product which is great. It seems like the reasonably sized mirror carries most the weight and thank goodness it isn't one of those wonky ones. The main miff I have with the packaging is that I can't fit any small brushes into the applicator slot. The slimness is great for travel and to put into a makeup bag but it is just a tad too small to put in even my smallest brush from Ecotools otherwise the case won't close properly. The sponge tip applicator it came with even made marks onto the mirror which is annoying. Apart from those factors though, I actually quite like how it looks, professional and compact with a satisfying snap to close.
Alrighty, now onto the shadows themselves. (Sorry about the inconsistent lighting and backgrounds, it was a cloudy but sunny day today, and I realised I didn't do any wet swatches)
The palette contains six baked eye shadows that can be used wet or dry, but I definitely recommend using them with primer and wet for amazing vibrancy. From left to right as per the first photograph in this post, the colours include: a glittery pure white, satin peach-pink, shimmer rose gold, glitter gold, shimmer mauve-pink and shimmer violet. All the shadows are definitely pretty and so silky to touch that I just want to keep putting my fingers into them. Don't do that though, that ruins baked makeup.
The white shade is nothing special to me, even though I don't have a lot of white eye shadows. In fact I'm pretty sure the only two whites I have is an off white one from an Australis palette and the Bobbi Brown single eyeshadow in White, which I bought because I don't have a white. I don't even use it, so that was a waste of money (sort of, I'll be building my own Bobbi Brown palette when I get better $$$ flow). Still, this is a pretty shade, albeit slightly more glittery than shimmery which I don't like. Will probably only use it for inner eye highlights, but even then it comes off too high shine for me.
The next shade reminds me of Coral Sand in my Pacifica Enlighten Palette, but Coral Sand is more peach where this one is more pink. What I love about this shade is that is much less glittery than its siblings. There isn't an overshine and it gives a wonderful muted satin finish on my lids. I would probably use this in the center of a look that is mainly matte with shades of purple.
The rose gold is a little lackluster. However, it is a unique shade to my collection and I'm still working my way around it so it'll be interesting how that goes. If i'm having this much doubt over a few pink/rose toned shades I probably shouldn't get the Naked 3 then.
Next is the pure gold shadow which again reminds me of Golden in the Enlighten palette and The Body Shop's Shimmer Cubes 06 in Honeycomb. Again, nothing too special.
Oh hang on, I know why I don't want the Prism Naked now! It's because I already have the Shimmer Cubes and the Enlighten palette hence I don't really feel the need to add more shimmery shadows to my collection as I barely use those two as it is. You probably might want to try it out though, it's just not for me :)
The second last shadow in the pan looks like a cool toned mauve with hints of pink shimmer. For me, this one and the third shade look very similar one swatched out or patted onto lids. I'm kind of disappointed, but I was expecting that as I've read a few reviews of this palette already.
The last shade has to be the most vibrant of all when applied wet. So far, it is my favourite out of the six.
The palette contains six baked eye shadows that can be used wet or dry, but I definitely recommend using them with primer and wet for amazing vibrancy. From left to right as per the first photograph in this post, the colours include: a glittery pure white, satin peach-pink, shimmer rose gold, glitter gold, shimmer mauve-pink and shimmer violet. All the shadows are definitely pretty and so silky to touch that I just want to keep putting my fingers into them. Don't do that though, that ruins baked makeup.
The white shade is nothing special to me, even though I don't have a lot of white eye shadows. In fact I'm pretty sure the only two whites I have is an off white one from an Australis palette and the Bobbi Brown single eyeshadow in White, which I bought because I don't have a white. I don't even use it, so that was a waste of money (sort of, I'll be building my own Bobbi Brown palette when I get better $$$ flow). Still, this is a pretty shade, albeit slightly more glittery than shimmery which I don't like. Will probably only use it for inner eye highlights, but even then it comes off too high shine for me.
The next shade reminds me of Coral Sand in my Pacifica Enlighten Palette, but Coral Sand is more peach where this one is more pink. What I love about this shade is that is much less glittery than its siblings. There isn't an overshine and it gives a wonderful muted satin finish on my lids. I would probably use this in the center of a look that is mainly matte with shades of purple.
The rose gold is a little lackluster. However, it is a unique shade to my collection and I'm still working my way around it so it'll be interesting how that goes. If i'm having this much doubt over a few pink/rose toned shades I probably shouldn't get the Naked 3 then.
Next is the pure gold shadow which again reminds me of Golden in the Enlighten palette and The Body Shop's Shimmer Cubes 06 in Honeycomb. Again, nothing too special.
Oh hang on, I know why I don't want the Prism Naked now! It's because I already have the Shimmer Cubes and the Enlighten palette hence I don't really feel the need to add more shimmery shadows to my collection as I barely use those two as it is. You probably might want to try it out though, it's just not for me :)
The second last shadow in the pan looks like a cool toned mauve with hints of pink shimmer. For me, this one and the third shade look very similar one swatched out or patted onto lids. I'm kind of disappointed, but I was expecting that as I've read a few reviews of this palette already.
The last shade has to be the most vibrant of all when applied wet. So far, it is my favourite out of the six.
When I first swatched these they were so silky smooth and wonderful to feel. However when I applied them with a proper brush, the colours were so sheer and barely buildable, it was hard to hide my disappointment. Some time later, I then tried them out wet and to my relief the colour payoff was beautiful. The third and fifth shades were still similar, but overall the shadows were each unique and very buildable.
I did find that the using a brush would kick up product easily so gentle taps will suffice. With application, I highly recommend using primer and applying wet for it to last longer and show up more. I did find that my cheeks would end up with fine sparkles all over them after a few hours of wear but I didn't really mind because, well, I already use illuminator/highlighter so what is a little shimmer under the rims of my glasses. However, for those who are iffy about that, try using makeup setting spray or ELF's Lock & Seal (this will definitely be in my next ELF haul) dabbed on top.
Overall, I would say I like this palette at a maximum. I don't see myself reaching for it unless I feel particularly colourful. The shadows themselves are actually very good quality and the packaging was okay.
Rating: 3.6/5
Sorry if I rambled too much, but it makes up for a few days of not posting anything. Have a lovely weekend everybody! xx
I did find that the using a brush would kick up product easily so gentle taps will suffice. With application, I highly recommend using primer and applying wet for it to last longer and show up more. I did find that my cheeks would end up with fine sparkles all over them after a few hours of wear but I didn't really mind because, well, I already use illuminator/highlighter so what is a little shimmer under the rims of my glasses. However, for those who are iffy about that, try using makeup setting spray or ELF's Lock & Seal (this will definitely be in my next ELF haul) dabbed on top.
Overall, I would say I like this palette at a maximum. I don't see myself reaching for it unless I feel particularly colourful. The shadows themselves are actually very good quality and the packaging was okay.
Rating: 3.6/5
Sorry if I rambled too much, but it makes up for a few days of not posting anything. Have a lovely weekend everybody! xx