I held off for as long as I could. I really did. But one day, I stumbled (drunk) (not really) into the Morphe store that had just opened up in Edmonton. You really think I could go all the way INTO Morphe and come out without buying anything?! Come on. Y’all know me better than that. My self control ain’t that controlled yet. So, instead of saving my money like a good gal, I bought the Morphe x Jaclyn Hills Armed & Gorgeous Eyeshadow Palette ($20CAD/$15USD)
I also feel like this is a really bad (maybe good?) time to be talking about this palette seeing as there’s so much controversy surrounding Jaclyn Hills right now. For those that didn’t hear (or that live under a rock), Jaclyn Hills finally launched her own makeup line (Jaclyn Cosmetics) with a collection of twenty all nude lipsticks. However, they were less than raved about in the beauty community after customers found hairs (actually just lint from white gloves), mold (just moisture) and black holes (just oxygen escaping) in their lipsticks. Oooh, we love some tea in the beauty community.
But regardless of all that drama, I was still so excited to finally try the Morphe x Jaclyn Hills palette! After her highly successful 35 pan original Jaclyn Hill Palette ($49CAD/$38USD), she released the Vault Collection consisting of four mini 10 pan palettes. You can choose whether to buy all four palettes as a set ($64CAD/$49USD) or individually ($20CAD/$15USD). And as much as I really wanted to buy all four palettes, I’m trying to tone down my makeup collection seeing as I really only wear colourful eyeshadow maybe once or twice a month. That’s what working an office job will do to ya. So, I only bought my favorite palette out of the four, the Armed & Gorgeous palette.
The Armed & Gorgeous palette contains 10 shades in my favorite colours right now: mustards, oranges and greens. A very warm toned palette that is definitely my style. I still get butterflies when I open it and look at all the pretty shades. That’s how you know I made the right choice buying this beauty.
From top left to bottom right:
- VIP – icy white shimmer – the perfect inner corner and brow bone highlight. It’s absolutely perfect.
- Access – matte turmeric gold – Even though it is described as a turmeric/gold shade, this is straight up a mustard yellow and I’m living for it. I love using it as a crease shade underneath a warm toned brown. Just a hint of yellow with an otherwise very neutral look!
- Gilt Trip – gold leaf shimmer – Again, another great shade! I love using this one with a wet brush and packing it on the center of my lid. The perfect amount of sparkle!
- Coin – glitzy gold sheen – A true gold that I love to pack on my outer corner and blend in with Gilt Trip when I use it on the center of my eye.
- Agent – matte saffron – This is one of my favorite orange shades. It’s so creamy and pigmented and looks great paired with the mustard yellow shade.
- Top Secret – matte olive green – Even though this palette is full of oranges and yellows and golds, this one green shade is actually the reason I bought this palette. I love using it on my lower lash line for a pop of colour and to bring out my green eyes.
- Smooth Criminal – matte cognac – This one can tend to be a little patchy but if I take the time to blend it out fully, it’s quite beautiful!
- Secure – matte tangerine – This is literally the exact same shade as Agent. It seems like a waste to include practically two of the same shade when the palette only has 10 pans.
- Prowl – matte dark truffle – This is probably my least favorite shade in the palette. It’s a little chalky and can easily get patchy depending how you apply it. However, it’s a gorgeous liner shade.
- Classified – shimmering burnt gold – This is such a unique glitter shadow. It has flecks of gold, bronze and brown glitters in it and blends out to be the most beautiful deep bronze.
Morphe eyeshadow palettes can tend to be a little hit or miss. Sometimes the shadows aren’t as creamy or pigmented as they should be. But, I have to say I was extremely impressed with this one. Every shadow (for the most part) was buttery and smooth and blended out effortlessly on my lids. Plus with 10 unique shades that I can’t find in many other palettes on the market, it was definitely worth the twenty dollars!
