The product: SEPHORA + PANTONE UNIVERSE Night Fall Full Spectra Eye Shadow Palette
This summer’s Sephora + Pantone Universe collection was based around duochromes: from their gorgeous liquid eyeshadows to their Full Spectra palettes, they promised colour-shifting pigments and pearlescent-matte finishes.
My swatches hardly do these shades justice, but hopefully they’ll be helpful in context!
The shades, as organized by duos
Gravel & Ocean Wave pair a gorgeous, medium-opacity matte seafoam green with a sheer, duochrome champagne. Gravel (the gold) is quite an interesting shade; straight on, it’s a light toffee on my skin; at an angle or on darker skintones, however, it’s a pure, shimmering champagne.
Eggnog & Yellow Iris are actually both mattes; Eggnog is a very light ivory (think MAC Blanc Type, but lighter) with sparse silver microshimmer if examined from an inch or two away, while Yellow Iris is a punchy matte yellow leaning almost chartreuse.
Top: Eggnog & Yellow Iris / Bottom: Gravel & Ocean Wave
Swatched L-R: Gravel & Ocean Wave, Eggnog & Yellow Iris
Coral Pink & Parisian Jewel pair a smooth, opaque, metallic burnt orange (I’m not sure if this is a true duochrome, but it certainly looks brighter and more pink at some angles) with a dusted-down primary blue. It’s the most flashy duo in this palette, but I’d have liked to have seen just a touch more pigment in the blue.
Crystal Pink & Pink Lavender, the last duo in this palette, consists of a stunning pink-violet confection with a gorgeous, dense, buttery, mesmerizing crystal pink. I am so crazy about the larger shade — it really does make me think “crystal pink,” with its duochrome (clear/white to metallic light pink), and it’s beautiful blended into the matte shade.
Top: Crystal Pink & Pink Lavender / Bottom: Coral Pink & Parisian Jewel
Swatched L-R: Coral Pink & Parisian Jewel; Crystal Pink & Pink Lavender
The verdict?
At full price, this would have been a pass — while I think Night Fall offers very interesting shades and finishes, it wasn’t quite good enough to warrant its $46 CAD price tag.
At half price, however, I think the two Full Spectra eyeshadow palettes are worth a look, especially if you like your makeup interesting. The mattes aren’t flawless, but they’re pretty good, and the mix of finishes is quite singular — you have everything from punchy mattes to metallic duochromes, and all in rather unique shades.
And, of course (you know, in case you missed it), I am smitten with the last duo in this palette!
Availability:
$46 CAD$23 CAD, online & in-stores now at Sephora. Limited edition.
Swatched L-R: Gravel & Ocean Wave, Eggnog & Yellow Iris
Swatched L-R: Coral Pink & Parisian Jewel; Crystal Pink & Pink Lavender
The ingredients:
Talc, Silica, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Polyethylene, Zinc Stearate, Tin Oxide, Caprylyl Glycol, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Tocopheryl Acetate.
+/- Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77742 (Manganese Violet), Ci 16035 (Red 40 Lake), Ci 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake).
