Saturday, June 30, 2012

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Palette Summer 2012 Swatches and Review

Have you seen this palette? It's crazy. The thing is massive and it has an entire rainbow of colors in it. It's called the Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Palette and it has 35 different eyeshadow colors, all Pantone shades.


Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eyeshadow Palette
Can you tell how big this thing is? It's as big as a laptop. The shadows themselves are small, but there are a lot of them in here. Some features to note:
- Full sized mirror under the lid.
-Clear plastic overlay contains the names of all the shades. Only a portion of them are labeled on the palette.
-Cool, vividly colored beetle-shell design on the front.
-Colors are arranged in coordinating rows.


11-097, 15-1522, 17-1227, 18-1320, 19-0916


13-1107, 12-0812, 14-312, 15-1327, 15-1333


12-1209, 12-1310, 14-2808, 16-2614, 17-2625


12-2903, 13-2802, 17-3725, 19-3619, 19-3713


13-4108, 17-3802, 17-3911, 19-3928, 19-4205


13-6105, 13-5313, 15-4421, 15-4717, 17-4427


12-0712, 12-0736, 13-0645, 17-6219, 18-5606

What I liked:
  • The palette is gorgeous. From the brightly colored design against the white background on the front of the palette, to the rainbow of colored squares on the inside, everything about this appeals to me visually.
  • Huge variety of colors. A lot of really good brights and uncommon shades, like bright pink and orange.
  • The idea of using Pantone shades for eyeshadow is clever.
  • Most of the colors have decent pigmentation and there's some really great ones in here.

What I didn't like:

  • This palette is HUGE. It's very awkward to use because of its size.
  • The shadows are tiny. For such a huge palette, I'd expect there to be a little more product in it.
  • Not all the shades are labelled. You have to save the plastic insert if you want to know the names of all the colors.
  • The colors don't all apply true to pan color.
  • While the texture of the shadows feels silky and they swatch well on my arm, they don't all apply as nicely to the eyelids. It seems like they're too powdery so they have a hard time sticking to my lids. A lot of the colors that swatched well on my arm go on sheer and patchy when applied with a brush to the eyelids.
  • A lot of the colors fade super fast. Within minutes of applying. The greys and greens seem to be the worst for fading.
  • The shadows are also easy to over-blend because they're so light and fluffy.
  • Costs too much. $55. I know that there are a lot of colors in here, but the size and quality of them doesn't match the $55 price tag.

This was an impulse buy. As soon as I saw the email from Sephora announcing its release, I bought it immediately. I had to. Look at it! Look at all those bright colors, and look how many they are! Plus, I've had pretty good luck with the Sephora-brand shadows lately. Now that I've used it a few times, I don't regret buying it, but it's really not as good as I hoped it would be. I'm disappointed that the shadows fade so fast even over a primer, and I wish that they adhered better. The colors are great (17-3725, ooh la la!), the palette is cool looking and it's a cool thing to have if you collect palettes like I do, but don't expect an amazing formula.

The Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Palette is limited edition and retails for $55.

38 comments:

  1. Impulse buy also..it is so PRETTY! I've had best luck with a sticky base and patting on color with my finger. I was disappointed that they are not the best quality.

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  2. Wow, this palette looks amazing! Great colours. Unfortunately it won't be released where I live, even though we have Sephora here.

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  3. Beautiful palette! Colors are perfect!
    Which primer do you use?
    I have Artdeco base, and it's working even on the worst eye shadows.

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    1. I mainly use Too Faced Shadow Insurance and Urban Decay Primer Potion. I don't know if we have Artdeco here, but I'm going to look!

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  4. I don't wear bright eyeshadow (well eyeshadow in general even) and I want this because of all the pretty colors! We have Pantone books at work and sometimes I will flip through them and find a beautiful color, and then go "hmm I wonder which nail polish matches this" LOL!

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  5. I remember looking at this online and wondering if it was so fantastic then why was Sephora giving it away to so many of their VIBs? I also saw that a lot of the reviews were on the mixed side so I decided to check it out in the store and that's where I fell out of love with it. I mean, it's bigger than a laptop, the lid doesn't feel secure,and I wasn't overwhelmed with the colors I swatched. I'm personally taking a wait-and-see approach with this. If it goes on discount and I can get it for maybe $20-$25 bucks I'll pick it up, that seems a fairer price!

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    1. Whaaat? How did I miss that?! I'm a VIB and I'm signed up for all their emails, damn!

      But I bet you're right. It'll go on clearance. The Tangerine Tango set I bought for $68 just went down to $40 and it's only been out a few months.

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  6. wow this palette has lots of amazing colors, but it's too pricey if the quality doesnt that good, even they provide bunch of colors but probably would be better to get something similar from coastal scent or bh cosmetics.

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    1. I love my Coastal Scents 88 palette. It does seem a little better than this, at least for some of the shades.

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  7. Wow, it's soooo beautiful!! I'd probably just stare at it and not want to "damage" any of the pristine, gorgeous colors!

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  8. I have been burned before by both Sephora and Smashbox palletes - their quality when they put out a big one like this are never what they could or should be and not at all comp to what other shadows in the brand are. It's like they send them out for some pseudo company to manufacture for them and don't really care about the quality. Agree the shades are pretty - but they have to work pretty too.

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  9. The look of this would make me buy it, but the price is high for the gram for gram value of product, especially if the payoff is not so good. Hopefully there will be some bargains in the Illamasqua sale you'd like, I scored a Glister eyeliner and a Propaganda polish on your recommendation, so thank you!

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  10. This is beautiful! I love the idea of a plethora of rainbow shadows, I only wish that for $55, the quality was topnotch.

    What material is the palette itself made out of? It looks like the packaging is cardboard, is the palette also made out of that?

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    1. The palette itself is glossy white plastic. Very sturdy feeling. The lid doesn't really snap closed or feel secure, but the material itself seems strong.

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  11. It's a great concept, but it's really bothering me that the rows don't line up lol. Come on Sephora, either label them all or don't ;)

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  12. I'd been wondering about this! Thanks for the great review! A lot of the colors are very pretty and unique but for 55 bucks I think I'll skip it if the quality's not there.

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  13. The palette is super pretty, it reminds me of a box of colour pencils, but I'd never spend so much money on a Sephora-branded prouct although it looks super pretty to be a collectible.

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  14. I would so buy this if the quality of the product was higher but for $55, I can go to my local drugstore and buy some WnW eye palettes for similar looks with better staying power and have extra to buy other cosmetics. :( I would have loved to try some of those super-saturated colors if they didn't fade!

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  15. This was an impulse buy for me too, mainly because of all the pretty colors. I think it's a pretty cool looking palette, but I definitely think the price tag is too steep for the quality.

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  16. wow I love the packaging! However I agree, I never get use out of big palettes so this one will be a no go for me

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  17. I love how these look:
    13-6105, 13-5313, 15-4421, 15-4717, 17-4427

    but wow, sucks that they fade.

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  18. 17-3725 has my name all over it, and I've been looking for something like 13-6105 for ages! Thanks for the eye candy!

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  19. I just saw another review comparing the case to an iPad...I kind of like the intersection between makeup and electronics!

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  20. Where is it made? In the USA or in CHINA?

    Thanks.....

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  21. I haven't seen this palette in person, so it was cool that you showed us all an up-close view of it.

    The colours look striking in the palette and in your swatches, but it's a bummer knowing that they don't apply as well on your actual eyelids. I'll be passing on this one. Thanks for saving me some money. (Hehe, you usually do the opposite!) ;)

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  22. I know it's kind of silly, but I would have impulse-bought this as well had I not read about 10+ 5-star reviews where Sephora sent this $55 palette out to a handful of VIBs for free! One reviewer also got their $38(or so) brush set that goes with this for free too! I emailed them about it, and they said those VIBs who were the most active in posting on their new beauty board thing were those who qualified to receive free merchandise to review. I was steaming mad because they had never stated that anywhere! So out of principle, I couldn't buy it--those first reviews were "bought."

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    1. OH, now I see. Someone else mentioned VIBs getting it for free, I assumed it was a perk that I missed. I usually avoid Sephora's review and bulletin board sections like the plague. I can't stand seeing all the ridiculous reviews, like "Y IS DIS GLITTERY? ONE STAR!" on a glitter eyeshadow. It's painful.

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    2. OMG me too! That's why I read blogs because there's a handful of reviewers that I feel weigh all the aspects that are important to me like value, pigmentation, longevity, and formula/application for nail polishes regardless if some PR firm sends it to them for free or not! I looked at the board once, long enough to get my fill of vague open-enders like "What's a good mascara?" and whatnot to make me gag. I'll stick to religiously checking my blogs! :)

      P.S. Sorry to have posted that twice! Silly Google.

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  24. I almost impulse-bought this palette too because it's so gorgeous, but I refrained from purchasing whenever I read about 10+ 5-star reviews on Sephora.com from people who were sent this $55 palette for free! Another reviewer also received the $38(or so) brush set that matches this for free, too. I emailed Sephora asking why some got this expensive set for free, and the return email stated that those VIBs who were most active in posting on their new beauty board thing qualified to receive free merchandise to review. I was MAD! Never had they stated that this was a perk when introducing that beauty forum thing. So then I couldn't buy this based on principle alone--those first reviews were "bought." From now on, I will very carefully read reviews on Sephora brand products before considering a purchase.

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    1. I felt the same way you do when I found out that some people got it for free. It was quite a turn off and because I have a pretty large eyeshadow collection, I decided that I didn't need this.

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    2. I know what you mean--I have a large collection too and was going to somehow justify purchasing this if the reviews were good, but when I saw that debacle I refused.

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  25. I paid for this out of my own pocket and I adore it. It is enormous, but the benefit of that is that it does have a mirror and that helps manage the size. The colours are gorgeous, and I get a solid 10 hour wear time with primer (at least 10) and I find them to have a good level of pigmentation. I got the brushes too, have yet to use them. I will probably take this on vacation since it packs a lot of options in one flat package.

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  26. I paid for this out of my own pocket and I adore it. It is enormous, but the benefit of that is that it does have a mirror and that helps manage the size. The colours are gorgeous, and I get a solid 10 hour wear time with primer (at least 10) and I find them to have a good level of pigmentation. I got the brushes too, have yet to use them. I will probably take this on vacation since it packs a lot of options in one flat package.

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  27. I really love this palette. I paid for it myself, and am getting a ton of use out of it-the quality of the shadows is surprisingly good and I get a solid 10 hours of wear. The large mirror inside makes this good for a vacation-lots of options one flat package

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