Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Hey guys! Oh man. Last Tuesday was SUCH a great mail day! On top of receiving the Violet Voss Heavy Metals Palette (review coming soon!), the highly coveted MannyMUA x Makeup Geek Palette arrived as well. I pre-ordered both of these quite a few weeks ago but at the same time, they arrived way earlier than I thought they would. Woop woop! Let's start with a review on the MannyMUA x Makeup Geek Palette!


Upon opening my package, the shade 'Aphrodite' in the palette arrived broken and crumbled - aw, poo! I ended up shooting an e-mail with pictures of the damaged goods over to MUG's customer service and by the end of the day, they had a new 'Aphrodite' being shipped my way. If that isn't baller customer service, I don't know what is! Also, if you're like me and don't notice that the broken pieces are in the box and fall into your carpet and get smudged around under your son's toys, Garnier Micellar Water is AMAZING for getting it out. Y'know. If that ever happens to you.


So let's talk packaging: The front of the box is emblazoned with Manny's signature moon logo. I think I noticed the same logo on his OFRA collab lipsticks as well. The back of the box is an absolutely gorgeous picture of Manny with his thoughts on the palette: 
"This palette can be worn by anyone and everyone regardless of age or race - I wanted to make sure of that! I worked so hard on this palette and couldn't be happier with the results!" - MannyMUA

Once you pop open the box, the front of the palette is super stunning with a funky Gatsby type of design on it but there's actually no real indication it's Manny's until you look on the back! The back has the eyeshadow names - THANK THE LAWD! - as well as "Manny MUA" on the bottom.


The limited edition palette contains nine shade chosen by Manny - three that are his favorites from MUG and six brand-new, exclusive shades. This palette has a little somethin' somethin' for everyone ranging from mattes to shimmers and foils: 
  • Artemis - (shimmer) a muted champagne yellow. Let me just preface these reviews by saving that this is actually my first time EVER using Makeup Geek products. My first swatch of Luna legit had my jaw dropping. I didn't know what to expect at all and was incredibly surprised. Luna is soft, silky and like butter to work with.
  • Beaches & Cream - (matte) a soft peachy beige. Hint hint: This shade may or may not be my chosen shadow for the loop giveaway going on on Instagram right meow! ;) I think the swatch below shows it being patchy but I can assure it it's the lighting because it's actually a super smooth matte to work with. I've found myself reaching for this as a perfect transition color in the crease.
  • Luna - (foiled) a medium rose gold. I'm so in love with this shade. Luna is actually a mix of Makeup Geek's "In The Spotlight" and "Grandstand" and it's absolutely gorgeous! The pigmentation is insane and just so, so buttery soft to work with. I've honestly never worked with an eyeshadow so amazing before. I'm going to need more foils in my life.
  • Cosmopolitan - (shimmer) a gold-flecked medium rose. Another shade that I can't say enough good things about. Are all Makeup Geek eyeshadows this amazing? Again, super smooth, pigmented, easy to blend and just amazing, in general.
  • Sora - (matte) a medium earthy terracotta. Again, the swatches below show this being patchy but I think it was just the weird lighting because it was very smooth to work with. Very pigmented and easy to blend. *Only shade that contains Talc.
  • Frappe - (matte) a medium maple brown. One of my top three favorites from this palette! I'm sounding like a broken record now but again, pigmented, easy to blend and work with and long lasting.
  • Insomnia - (foiled) a warm red brown with blue reflects. Meet my favorite shadow from the palette and I mean, how could it NOT be? The easiest way to describe the way this applied was like freakin' liquid. I can't even get over how smooth and pigmented this baby was. I am SO in love and would say to buy this palette for this shade alone! :)
  • Mars - (matte) a deep cherry red. So Mars was probably the "worst" shadow out of this palette and I say that lightly because it wasn't even really that horrible. The consistency was slightly gritty in the pan but once applied it didn't feel that way and was very pigmented and easy to work with. It was drier to work with than the others.  
  • Aphrodite - (matte) a deep plum brown. Lastly, Aphrodite was slightly dry to swatch but once it applied it was actually easy to work with. Very pigmented and easy to blend. I love using this in the outer v to darken up the look a little and add dimension to my eye.
(L - R: Artemis, Beaches & Cream, Luna, Cosmopolitan, Sora, Frappe, Insomnia, Mars and Aphrodite)

Details: Beaches & Cream in the crease, Aphrodite on the inner and outer lid and Luna in the middle. Artemis in the inner corner and Aphrodite on the lower lid.

Where to buy | Shop / Pre-order ($45)