First Look| MUFE Artist Palette Volumes 1 and 2

The Make Up For Ever Artist Palette in Nudes You Need ($42) is Volume 1 of two nine pan palettes being released for this summer. It's a portable palette full of conventional nudes. Boring neutrals? That's me!

In the words of a genteel millennial: YASSSS. If you look at the photo below, you'll see that there's a slight variation between the top three shades that's very subtle: a cool shell, a slight peach leaning white, and a neutral gold. I also appreciate the bronzed copper shade at the bottom right corner and the two cooler toned taupe browns. 

Also, the black is THE creamiest black I've ever stuck my finger in. (Wow, that's gross.) It's not chalky or powdery at all and easily beats any black provided in a palette. The driest shade would have to be the S-556, but it's still very pigmented and smooth when applied with a brush.

The colors are as follows: I-528 Pearl, S-556 Taupe Gray, S-102 Onyx, I-514 Pink Ivory, D-562 Taupe Platinum, I-544 Pink Granite, ME-512 Golden Beige, ME-644 Iced Brown, and D-652 Celestial Earth.

Here are swatches with one pass (no primer) in direct sunlight. 

Here's an indoor shot with flash. Seedy.

Here's indirect sunlight. 

 Although I own the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette and Lorac Pro palette, I still find that this palette has a place in my collection. Why? Because two cooler toned blending shades, a gorgeous deep black, and several colors to accentuate the mobile lid.

 I think that if you're the average makeup consumer you're going to enjoy this palette much, much more than the Volume 2 of the release.

With that being said...

The Make Up For Ever Artist Palette in Colors You Crave ($42) is Volume 2 of two nine pan palettes being released for this summer. It's a portable palette full of "bright" colors, flashy duo-chromes, and unconventional colors. 

9 x 0.06 oz Eye Shadow in I-872 Pearly Pink, ME-910 Electric Magenta, S-924 Purple, D-552 Crystalline Gray Beige, ME-232 Turquoise Blue, ME-302 Peacock, ME-512 Golden Beige, ME-700 Amber, ME-930 Black Purple 

The palette itself is a sturdy cardboard with magnetic closure and a big mirror. It also comes with a guide book for creating "dramatic" looks. I don't like how the cardboard can harbor fingerprints and makeup dust very easily. 

Here is a shot of the pans with the most true to life representation of colors. The Sephora.com picture hides the nuances between the three top shades which are admitted light but have three different finishes in terms of glitter payoff. 

Another complaint: this is not a stand alone palette. I know that I don't need another warm brown for blending, but these curated colors look insane if I can't blend them into my lids. Sure, I can do "pops of color" and cut creases with cray pigments and double/triple/quadruple liner looks all day. But what if I want a complete look using an unconventional color? Impossible. 

Maybe that's the marketing technique: you gotta buy both volumes to really get ahead in life. 

Get ready for swatches! 

Overall, I find that these smaller pans are not quite as smooth as the neutrals I've collected from the brand, especially the vibrant pigments like the hot pink and purple (two passes per swatch). It takes a little more patience to blend these in, and it could be because they are not your traditional neutrals. 

That pink is a slight eye irritant! (The instruction booklet suggests you use it as a blush.) Combined with my eye allergies it was not a good look. 

The Peacock shade, although stunning, is a blackened green on my eyes and is only good for smokey looks. Still, the summery aquatic blue and golds will get a lot of use from me in the summer. 

Of course, here is the lurid flash photo. It captures the duochromes very well, eh? 

Is it a good value? Of course. I still think that for the average consumer who doesn't have many (or any) colorful shadows outside of their neutral collection and is looking for something of quality and variety, this release will be a godsend. After all, not every one wants a 88 color palette of chalky chalk. I can't exactly shout my love for this palette from the rooftops, but it adds enough interest and color into my daily eye shadow routine. 

If I had it my way, I would take the lighter highlight and crease shades from Volume 1 and the bright blue, peacock, and deep purple from Volume 2 to create a "perfect" palette for myself. Of course, MUFE offers you the choice of making your own trios with their full sized eyeshadows. Costly? Sure. But isn't self satisfaction worth every penny? 

Their reformulated eyeshadows are one of the best on the market right now, if not the best, so I think that these Artists releases are a good way to familiarize yourself with these pigmented, buttery smooth, and long lasting eyeshadows. 

xo Be