Makeup Geek by I Heart Makeup

Makeup Geek by I Heart Makeup is one of the most varied and versatile palettes I've had in my hands for a good while - I honestly could not wait to see what I could do with the interesting vivid shades in this palette. Normally retailing at £7.99 from Makeup Revolution's online store, I managed to snatch this up for the bargain price of £3.99 during their half price sale and I can say it is definitely worth every penny.

A fairly large palette, this boasts a nice big mirror and 36 highly pigmented in your face eyeshadows.  The front casing has a funky varsity style holographic logo, the inside has a plastic protection sheet boasting the words "All the Shades. Every Look. I Am A Geek"...and I felt a little bit of pride as that slogan resonated with the geek in me - it was like the makeup mothership calling me home.  The palette was larger than I had honestly imagined it would be - each pan with its shadow I'd say roughly measures over a centimetre wide, so there's a lot of room for your big fluffy eye brushes.  This has the weight and solid feel of something far more expensive and luxurious than it's price suggests.

If you need just one palette to provide you with a multitude of possibilities as far as looks are concerned, then this is going to be it. The eyeshadows here are a mix of satin, shimmer and matte finishes, and range from nude neutrals, warm golds, shimmering bronzes to super cobalt blue and emerald green. The silvery and black shades are exceptional, the pinks are super bright and the Orange is very warm and pigmented - especially with the use of a primer.   As far as blending goes, they work fantastically together and the edges are seamless giving a lovely gradient.  To the touch the shadows are soft and velvety, some of the satin shades have a soft buttery feel about them.  I didn't experience any fallout during application and I found the vivid shades really made my eye colour pop, which I find difficult with conventional neutrals.

The 80s Unicorn - a throw back to the glory
days I never had.

I've put together three quick looks to demonstrate just how pigmented these shadows are and how versatile the looks you can achieve are.  For the first look, I did a little look I named "80s Unicorn", I used the darkest pink softened out, a blend of the cobalt blue, the  royal purple, and a touch of orange on the inside, the liner is also by Makeup Revolution in the shade "Bad Girl Blue" (£1).

The Tin WoMan - When I'm just screaming
for a look that has a bit of Lady Gaga drama
that lacks the talent or beauty to match it.

The silver metallic look I've named the "Tin WoMan" (hey, I never claimed to be creative) is a blend of the four grey to black shades. To get the intense silver satin finish I wet my brush with a little bit of my favourite face toner and dabbed it into the silver shade to get more of a metallic cream application than powder. The final look which I'll call "Sloppy 60s", uses the graphite grey and the beige gold shade.  With each of these looks I applied over a layer of my budget eye primer by W7  - nothing premium or expensive.

The Sloppy 60s.  Even Twiggy would be appalled
at how lazy my blending was here. Perfectionists
need not apply.

 

Overall verdict is that if you're looking for a budget palette that blends nicely but has a dramatic variation of fun bright colours that are outside the box of your typical barely there nudes and general smokey eye, then this is the one to go for.

Not only is it affordable and versatile but it is wonderful value for money and well worth having in your collection.  Buy this and I guarantee people will be thinking this was far more expensive than it is - it has the look and feel of a product worth far more - I'd compare it to many premium eyeshadow palettes if I wasn't poor and could actually afford them *shakes fist at Urban Decay and MAC*.   You can do anything from a subtle daytime look to a "holy crap I'm a drag queen!" look with this, and that makes it definitely worth every penny. 

If you want to purchase this in the UK you can get this at Superdrug.  As for the US, I know Ulta does sell limited Makeup Revolution Products and I Heart Makeup products but I haven't been able to locate one that sells this palette.  A little research and looking around may be in order, or you may have to bite the bullet and order online from Makeup Revolution - at this gateway you should be able to find the appropriate site for your country to order from. 

Disclaimer:  I am making NO money from this blog, I did not receive any of the products mentioned in this post free to review, nor am I earning any advertisement money or money from linking any of the companies mentioned.  I am not being sponsored by any company mentioned here to blog - any opinion I give is my honest and real review of the product.  I simply love makeup and want to share my views on certain products (that will most likely be ALL drug store and affordable brands).