I lusted after this Max Factor Masterpiece eyeshadow palette for quite some time after stumbling across it in Farmers. After playing around with the tester, making pretty swatches all over my arm, I concluded this palette a gem. I didn’t buy it though. Yes, you read that right: It got left in Farmers! Uncharacteristically restrained, right?! To be fair, at the time, I gave myself a stiff talking to: “Lou you don’t need another eyeshadow palette”. Oh, but I wanted it! It definitely passed the 24 hour test.
A month or two later a makeup loving friend’s birthday was on the horizon. I knew Lisa would appreciate an eyeshadow palette and, naturally, I knew the perfect palette. So, off I skipped back to Farmers and, boom, there was a sale on! All Max Factor items: Buy one, get one free. Well helllooooo!. One palette for Lisa (she got ‘Cappuccino Nudes‘), one for Lou. Being a blondie with green eyes, I felt the Cappuccino Nudes palette would suit Lisa better, I got myself ‘Golden Nudes’ as simply as it has all the colours I like. Happy days. Price? NZ$33.99 each (of course, I got two for this price).
This post is a review of my eyeshadow palette, Golden Nudes (02).
Here’s a close up of Golden Nudes
There’s eight shades. Three matte (not sparkly), the remaining shades have a mix of either a velvety or a frosty/sparkly finish.
My thoughts?
Firstly, ‘Max Factor Masterpiece Nude Palette (Golden Nudes) is a bloody mouthful. From now on I will refer to it as ‘the palette’.
This a lovely and pretty palette and I reckon the quality and price are totally on point. I really enjoy my palette and I’ve given it a good ‘blast’ ahead of writing this post. What I especially appreciate is that it’s difficult to buy a well priced and quality palette in the chemist or at a department store like Farmers and I reckon Max Factor have nailed it. There’s a few palettes that fall into the ‘drugstore’ price range. In my opinion, having combed the racks at Farmers, this’d be the one I’d buy, particularly over palettes that I’ve tried by Maybelline (like ‘The Nudes’), Chi Chi or L’oreal. I’m glad I bought it and I’d buy it again knowing what I know now.
The good points
- The quality: Firstly there’s great colour payoff. The eyeshadow colour, once applied to your eyelids will be true to the colour in the pan. The colours are intense, blend really well and are long lasting. Note, I ALWAYS wear an eyeshadow primer on account of my mega oily eyelids.
- The size: At 11.5cm x 7cm (yeah, I got out my ruler) this palette is a nifty small size. I travel a fair bit and, as this falls into the takes up ‘sod all room’ category, it’s the perfect palette for ‘on the go’.
- Variety of colours: Ranging from light to dark, there’s a great combo of colours and you can do an abundance of different looks. I’ve regularly worn shades 5, 6 and 7 on their own, blended out at the edge with colour number 2. I’ve also cranked out a couple of cracking smokey eye looks that are deserving of the red carpet. I particularly like the khaki undertones of shades 5 and 7, these are very complimentary for brown-eyed babes.
- There’s a mix of matte and sparkly eyeshadows: What’s the big deal? I’m a big believer that you need to wear, generally, a mix of matte and sparkly eyeshadows. Why? It’s all about balance: Too much sparkle on the eye and you could resemble a disco ball. Conversely, I find when I wear all matte shadows I look ‘flat’. The first colour is a matte shade the same colour as my skin tone which makes it perfect as an ‘all over wash’ of colour to set my eyelid primer. This is also the perfect browbone highlight. The third colour in from the left is the perfect transition shade for the crease to held diffuse the shadows to create a smokey eye. The black is fairly intense in colour and this doubles up nicely as an eyeliner (Tip: Wet an angled eyeshadow brush with some eye drops or MAC Fix + and pick up some eyeshadow colour… You have an instant liquid eyeliner).
The not so good points
- The applicator: It’s crap. In context, I’m yet to buy an eyeshadow palette that contains an applicator I like. I’m hooked on eyeshadow brushes. This applicator went straight in the bin.
- Fall out: The eyeshadows are quite soft, consequently there’s a bit of ‘fall out’ from the shadows, i.e. bits of shadow fall down under my eyes. That’s a tad problematic with the sparkly shades (particularly with colour number 2). This is because the glitter isn’t very finely milled and the particles that fall down under your eyes are really noticeable, so you’ve gotta clean it up with some eye makeup remover on a cotton bud. However, there are some workarounds for this issue:
- When you’ve picked the colour up on an eyeshadow brush, tap the brush so you remove any excess product.
- Also, do what I do: Do your eyes first and then do your base (foundation etc) second. That way, you can clear up any eyeshadow fallout and then move onto applying your base (if you’ve applied your base, then go to clean up your mess, you’ll end up removing some of your good work!).
Eyeshadows on my Mug
Here’s a simple day appropriate look using only colours from the Palette. To be honest, I’m gutted with how the eyeshadows photographed, the photos haven’t done any justice at all to the pretty colours. I think it was just the light…? Check out the swatch photo below, that’s better!
Before anyone asks, other products used for this look were: Mary Kay CC cream (base); Bobbi Brown Bronzer (Medium shade); Makeup Geek ‘Spellbound’ blush; Essence mascara (under $5!); Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow (eyebrows); Shiseido lipstick in colour RS745. The eyeshadows I used were:
- 1 – Matt cream shade, all over the lid to set my primer
- 3 – Mushroomy beige colour in the crease as a transition colour
- 2 – Champagne pink colour all over the inner half of my eyelid and in the inner corner as a highlight (this has bad fallout…)
- 4 – Pale gold on the outer half of my eyelid
- 5 – Dark bronze colour on the outer quarter of my eyelid
- 8 – Black just at the very outer corner to add some depth. I also used this as an eyeliner along all of my upper lash line and on the lower lashline.
Colour Swatch
Here’s a better shot of the colours in action. I applied an eyelid primer to my arm. I used NARS’ Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. Note, I’ve tried a shit tonne of eyelid primers. NARS’ is, no contest, the best one out: I’m on my fourth tube).
Ingredients
If you like the detail, here’s the ingredients.
Exec Summary
If you are a makeup lover and there’s a little room in your kit for another eyeshadow palette, hook yourself up. If you are at the other end of the spectrum, i.e. a bit of a newbie to eyeshadow, this a well priced and quality palette to get you started.
I didn’t need this, in all honesty, as I pretty much have duplicate eyeshadow colours in my collection. However, I’m glad I got it, it’s a goodie!
