Sunday 13 February 2011

Louise Young Cosmetics Essential Eye Palette

The Essential Eyeshadow Palette (£30) contains 5 matte shades. Off white, Grey, browned grey, black and terracotta. The Terracotta seemed somewhat out of place but was an interesting inclusion.
The shadows are smooth and have great wear, although I do not find they blend as easily as my favourite brands. The black has a dryer consistency in feel and when swatched than the others, however it applies smooth on the eye, I think it easily out performs MAC’s Carbon in terms of pigment and wear.
Apart from the Off white, the colours are extremely pigmented. After having played around with this palette I have given up trying to use the Terracotta shade. If I blend it with the other shades I end up with an unflattering murky colour as below
I’ve tried it on the lid, in the crease and neither works, I feel like I haven’t mastered how to get the best out of this palette and its due to my lack of application technique as I am sure there is a way to incorporate the terracotta.
If I ignore the terracotta I can get a soft or deep smoky look, but these colours are not unique.
I do however like this palette for the colour pay off and long lasting wear. So whilst this isn’t quite working for me I will be keeping a watchful eye on future releases from Louise Young.
Here are the shade names:
My husband bought me this from the Louise Young website (http://www.louiseyoungcosmetics.com/index.php), the delivery was cheap (£2.99) and quick and they do offer international delivery.

8 comments:

  1. I quite like the eye with the terracotta. Maybe it's just because it's not a colour you're used to?

    This reminds me a lot of the Kevyn Aucoin palette #1. Hopefully she'll bring out some other combinations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was looking forward to this palette coming out, but I'm not sure if I should buy now. Shadows that don't blend easily are a major sticking-point for me, as life is too short to be blending eyeshadow!

    I think that teracotta colour would work quite well on my complexion, but I can understand why you are hesitant about those sorts of shades - it can look odd if you're not used to it. It would look fab on green or blue eyes!

    Thanks for the review :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Both looks are lovely! The black used in your smokey eye looks amazingly pigmented. Terracotta can be nice to add a touch of warmth above the crease. On myself, anything with a lot of orange in it can be tricky to use, so I am trying to learn how best to apply it because I've seen these types of shades look fabulous on others. Thanks for the review :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with Grace actually. I think that combination works very well on you, although I understand that if you don't feel comfortable with it, it's not something you will go back to.
    The palette looks like a good quality one and all the colours look smooth and pigmented...
    Have a great week hon!
    Nina x

    ReplyDelete
  5. OMG this is SOOOOO funny. I've just written about Louise as well. Her make-up brushes are just the best.... loving what you've done here too - what great taste we have !!! ha ha

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Grace,
    Your right it is probably because I am not use to it, but I don't think I can get to liking it really, I do tend to stay in my safe colour zone, as you may have noticed ;)

    Hi dempss01,
    Whislt there are things I like about it, its not something I would recommend, colours aside the blendabilty was a bit disappointing, I know we all have different techniques/brushes but its just not up to the normal standard of my favorite shadow brands.

    Hi Makeup Magpie,
    Thanks! I wish I could wear warmer shades, I wonder sometimes if its because I am so pale that the contrast is just too much, my skin does tend to make things go orange! :)

    Hi Nina,
    You know since I posted this, I dislike how the terracotta looks in the first pic even more! I think if the shadows blended better this would be very impressive, I'm very fussy x

    Hi Ballet news,
    ;) I am going to have to get the blusher brush after your post, I really like the crease brush I have from LY, they are quite good prices as well I think.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You know (and don't laugh!), the combination of colours in this palette is exactly like an old Boots Natural Collection one which I bought when I was at Uni and which I loved (I still have it!). Funnily enough, i only used the terracotta colour only once or twice while the other colours are well consumed! So yes, I understand your reservations about this shade! I've heard about her brushes, will wait for your review, which I'm sure will come ;) xxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Anna,
    I remeber my younger days when I would buy from the Natural collection, can't believe you still have it! Glad its not just me that has an aversion to terracotta ;)I have already reviewed one of her brushes, the crease one LY38, I highly recommend it x

    ReplyDelete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin