If there is one thing I hardly ever spend money on, it would be eyeshadow palettes, they are one of those things that I strongly believe that one can actually have too many of. However, I fell in love with two palettes upon closer inspection last year, The Illamasqua Vanitas Rose Gold Palette  and The Urban Decay Vice4 Palette . I bought them because they both have colors that I currently believe every eyeshadow palette should have to warrant a second glance. They are - a brow bone shade suitable for my skin tone, colors dark enough to deepen my crease and a transition shade. 


The only person that I'm blaming for the amount of money that I spent on the Vanitas palette is Wizkid. Yes, I repeat, Wizkid. Illamasqua was blasting some serious Nigerian music on Selfridges's ground floor (as usual) and it just drew me to their stand like a bee to honey. I was a bit surprised when I saw this palette, mostly  because the only shadows I had ever seen on previous visits to Illamasqua stands were quads, add this to the fact that I had never seen anything this shiny on their stand either, their packaging is always done in a solid black. The Illamasqua Vanitas Rose Gold Palette is part of the Vanitas collection that Illamasqua released summer last year. It comes with 12 shades and comprises of both matte and shimmer colors. The colors are really pigmented with a texture that is perfect for brush application. I say this because sometimes, shadows that give you a lot of pigment when swatched with fingers can apply horribly with eyeshadow brushes. The brushes will often pick up too much product because of how soft the shadow is, making application a chore. On a different note, the packaging is something that a lot of people hate. It is made of very strong cardboard and strongly reminds me of my Lorac pro palette since it has very similar packaging. I did not mind this at first but then when I began to consider the fact that this palette cost a whooping £44 the outrage made complete sense. 


I tried my darnedest to stay away from the Vice4 palette. At a point, it looked like everyone on my Instagram feed had it, and they were all gushing about it. I just did not understand why I had to give anybody £43 for an eyeshadow palette (this was before I bought the Vanitas palette). This changed however after my sister Nneoma swatched it one evening while we were out, shortly before I moved back in January and said something along the lines of "run and come and see". I had always swatched urban decay shadows in the past, appreciated the quality, resented the price tag and just moved on. However after owning The Urban Decay Vice4 Palette I will never ever be so quick to dismiss them again. This palette is good, really good. It comes with 20 colors just like all the other Vice palettes before it and they all apply BEAUTIFULLY. The Palette has a combination of matte, satin, glittery and shimmer shades. Application with both fingers and brushes are smooth, even and pigmented. And, oh my goodness the packaging! According to Urban Decay, they "channeled all the darkly gorgeous, dimensional hues of an oil slick." Reading this statement and staring at the packaging, the whole thing made complete absolute sense. 
"You do your best to be considered upright men by people. But God knows your hearts; and what wins human esteem is loathed by God." Luke 16:15
                                                                                                                                             
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