Make Up For Ever - 15 Artist Shadow Palette (Holiday 2015)

If you've been following my blog or Instagram for any amount of time you probably already know what a huge fan I am of the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow formula. These are a permanent formula which is available at Sephora and the full range includes over 250 shades! 

The holiday release for this year is a compilation palette of some shades which are organized into trios to create looks from. The trios are positioned in rows. The cost of this palette at Sephora is $58 and I think it's well worth the money even if you're only thinking about getting one palette this holiday season.

Personally I'm a big fan of the color selection, the only improvement I can conceive of is the addition of either a true pink or a light violet shade. The color selection is varied and contains neutrals as well as pops of color, and even some deeper unique shades (D-830, S-228)

Here is the back of the palette which shows the exact shades (this is useful to see if you have any of the singles and are worries about repeats). I also own the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow Palette 2 which contains vibrant colors and was released in Spring 2015 and there don't appear to be any duplicates. 

Swatches of the palette can be seen above. On the left are the most neutral shades with the more vibrant shades on the right. I love the rightmost shade as a highlighter, of course it appears much more blendable when applied with a brush! 

If you aren't familiar with the formula of these shadows, they are somewhat cool and gel-like to the touch but they blend like a smooth, creamy powder and immediately blend out like a finely milled powder. In my opinion, although many companies have tried to create this sort of eyeshadow, Make Up For Ever is the most successful! 

I love this palette and I received it as a gift but I was already sure I wanted it! ❤️

Make Up Forever Artist Shadows - Singles

The other day at Sephora, as usual, I was absolutely mesmerized by the artist shadows from Make Up For Ever so I decided to pick up 3 colors for $44 (they regularly sell for $22 each). I am on vacation right now so please excuse the poor quality iPhone photos!! 

Alas, I was too excited to show you D-200 (very light pale shimmery ice blue), D-868 (peachy pink finely glittered overshadow), and I-544 (amber brown with a maroon purple shift - perfect satin crease color).

Below I have taken a photo of the singles compared to my Artist Palette 2 which I also got a few weeks back from Make Up For Ever. 

The swatches and all photos were taken in indoor yellowish light. The true beauty of these needs to be experienced in person at your local Sephora. There are over 200 shades which can be purchased online - the selection in stores is not that big.

These shadows wear all day and look beautiful throughout wear time. They are highly pigmented but I feel as though the lighter shades are better applied with your finger or a very dense brush. 

Eyes of the Day with MUFE Artist Palette

I created this look and I wanted to show you that you can use the pink (blended in the crease) and purple (under the lower lash line) shades from the Artist Palette Vol 2 by Make Up For Ever to create a dreamy eye look.

This look is soft and romantic - I actually paired it with a floral dress which was mostly cream and peach toned. I also did not find the colors to be irritating to my eyes and they did not stain. I used a Wet n Wild Makeup Remover Wipe and everything came off in a few gentle swipes. 

As a highlight I used the first frosty pink shade (left most swatch) and all over the lid I used the cool beige tone (right most swatch).

I finished off the look with the Physicians Formula 2 in 1 eyeliner and Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara.

Check out my review of the Make Up Forever Artist Palette Vol. 2 here.

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) Review & Swatches!!

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - Packaging

First and foremost a disclaimer that I have not tried any of the individual Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Artist Eyeshadows before this review so it will also include my first impressions on the overall formula. 

This new palette from MUFE immediately caught my attention because of the bold colors inside and the beautiful artistic packaging. I have to add that even though the palette itself is made of a very finely constructed cardboard - it feels even more substantial than new Z-Palettes I purchased a few days ago. The price is $42, which is a steal considering each palette is 9 eyeshadows which are each 0.06g and the singles retail for $22 each for 0.08g of product (only a quarter of the quantity more per color). You can essentially buy this palette for less than the price of 2 Artist Shadow singles. 

This palette is Limited Edition and Sephora-exclusive so get it while you can if you're interested! It is available both online and in stores.

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - Colors

The texture of the eyeshadows is described as a gel-powder formula blended with ultrafine pigments. The eyeshadows in general are all extremely smooth and creamy. 

They feel a little bit like the L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows when they are pressed and packed really tightly in their container but they do not crumble the same way. The powder is very finely milled and each finish 

The shadows do not pop out of the palette since I know this is a feature MUFE has included in past, bulkier palettes - this palette fits in my hand.

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - Color Names & Close-Up

I made a quick chart to show you which color each name corresponds to. Each name is indicative of a specific finish since these shadows have a wide variety of finishes in the complete line:

I = Iridescent
M = Matte - there are no Matte shades in the palette
ME = Metal
S = Satin
D = Diamond

This palette even includes a little look book which orders the shades in columns from left to right, with the looks called "Playful", "Bold" and "Sultry" respectively with step-by-step instructions to achieve the look.

Playful Look: I-872 Pearly Pink, ME-910 Electric Magenta, S-924 Purple
Bold Look: D-552 Crystalline Gray Beige, ME-232 Turquoise Blue, ME-302 Peacock
Sultry Look: ME-512 Golden Beige, ME-700 Amber, ME-930 Black Purple

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - Trio Swatches

My swatches revealed that the pigments travel quite far - which means that the shadows are strongly pigmented. The shadows are smooth and creamy, after wearing them I find that you can achieve better color pick-up using a more dense, coarse brush than a soft and fluffy one or alternatively the best way I found was to use my fingers and swipe the color where desired.

I also had some trouble when I was wiping off the pink and purple shades, it took quite a bit of scrubbing to get the staining off - an important note is that these two shades are considered "blush" and not designated eyeshadows. Obviously you can use these shades at your own discretion but they may be harder to remove on the sensitive skin of your eyes and usually red pigments are not approved for the eye area by the FDA. To avoid any problems I suggest just wearing them in the crease or as a blush and avoiding the lash line or eyelid area.

All of the colors are impressively pigmented, with the best performers being I-872 (Pearly Pink), D-552 (Crystalline Gray Beige), ME-302 (Peacock), ME-700 (Amber) and ME-930 (Black Purple). I was least impressed with ME-910 (Electric Magenta) and S-924 (Purple) as they were chalkier and even skipped on the skin a little at the bottom of my swatch (this could be remedied by blending though).

Make Up For Ever Artist Palette (Volume 2) - From Left to Right Highlight Comparison: I-872, D-552, ME-512 

For a close-up look at the highlight shades (or the lightest color in each trio) I swatched I-872 (Pearly Pink), D-552 (Crystalline Gray Beige), and ME-512 (Golden Beige).

I-872 on the left is an icy pink tone, followed by D-552 which is a cool-toned beige and then ME-512 is a light warm golden tone.

As soon as I get a chance, I will create some looks with this palette and post them for reference!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everybody! Let me know what your thoughts on this palette are.