Marc Jacobs' The Lolita Palette

The month of November is awful for my wallet. I am totally broke now thanks to all the sales all over town and the fact that Sephora sent out their annual $20 gift cards to all VIB shoppers (i.e. people who have spent way too much money in their stores) and you have to spend it on orders over $50. So naturally I decided to buy something with the $20 off $50 card at Sephora that I had no intention of hauling. I had no hankering for this product at all and yet somehow there it sits in front of me.

I bought the Marc Jacobs Beauty Eye-Con 7 shadow eye palette in The Lolita ($59) and I am not sure I am happy about this purchase, to find out more read on.

Packaging - It's a beautiful looking palette, all sleek and black, it almost looks like a jewellery case. It should come with a decent brush since it's $59 if you get it without a coupon or anything, but instead it comes with a pitiful sponge tip applicator, I think even drugstore brands have stopped giving these out, what's up with this cheapass behaviour Marc Jacobs? Anyway, if you ignore the applicator, the rest of the packaging is nice, the mirror is nice and I do like the way the the shadows are housed in the 7 round pots.

Quantity - Each shadow is 1 gram, which is not a whole lot, I think they should have included more product. If you use this palette everyday then you will probably hit pan in a few months on at least one or more colors.

Quality - This is where things start to really unravel. The shadows are smooth and do get picked up easily by any of my eye brushes. In fact, I think they are too soft, so that there is fall out from all of them even if you are careful. The middle chunky glitter shade is ridiculous as it gets everywhere, I have tried using a brush, my finger, a sponge applicator, and nothing makes any difference. What's even worse is that this chunky glitter makes it's way to other shadows in this palette so that I have to constantly wipe off the inside of the palette, it's so messy every time I open it! The shimmers are nice, the mattes are not as opaque as I'd like but they do blend well. I do like the shades that he chose, but I wish there was more creative thought put into the shades so that we were offered neutrals but with a difference. The way the palette currently stands it's oh-so-predictable. One positive for me was the longetivity of the shadows, they last on me for >10 hours when I use a primer, which is outstanding.

I think this palette might be great if you love high end makeup and have cash burning a hole in your pocket. I was really underwhelmed by it. I think I will try and give it a couple more weeks and if I still don't like it, I might have to exchange it for something else. I heard that Temptalia loved the Starlet palette from Marc Jacobs, so maybe that one has the fantastic shades and the quality that I want, will be swatching it in store first though.

I have tried to create two distinct looks to give you an idea, they are very different, and I will list the shades I used from the palette.

Look 1 -

This was a look created in a rush (please excuse the mess that is my eyebrow!), and because of the expected fallout, I decided to apply concealer and foundation after the eye makeup, so I have no concealer and foundation applied here.

I used Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk as a base and applied the glitter bomb shade in the middle of the palette all over the lid. The base helped the glitter to adhere better and I used the Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner and Bobbi Brown's Smokey Eye mascara.

Look 2 -

I used 5 of the 7 shades for this look. I applied with the NYX Eyeshadow Base in Nude as a primer all over the lid, this shade is similar to Soft Ochre from MAC.  I applied the lightest shade (1) from the palette all over the lid, all the way to the brow. Then I applied the taupe shade (2) as a transition color in the crease. Then I applied the bronzy shimmery shade (6) over the inner half of the lid and the slightly darker brown shimmery shade (7) in the outer half of the lid. I then deepened the crease/outer V with the dark brown shade (3). On my lower lash line, I smudged the transition shade (2) in the inner half and then blended the dark brown shade (3) on the outer half of the lower lash line. I wet my Bobbi Brown eyeliner brush and used the dark brown shade (3) to line the upper lash line and also to tightline. I then applied the Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye mascara.

Have you tried the Lolita or any of MJ's palettes? Any recommendations / comments on what your experience has been with his products? I am sad to write a so-so review :(