The Perfect Autumnal EyeShadow Palette

7 October 2017

If like me you're more a spring/summer person than a autumn/winter person and the dark mornings and evenings don't fill you with glee, you'll understand that you have to find little glimpses of joy anywhere you can. Even in your makeup. 
Now, there are a few things I do like about autumn, and one of them is the colours. The warm earthy natural tones with pops of red, golds and oranges. Nothing serves up these colours better than the new Bellapierre Go Natural XII Eyeshadow Palette*
Do you see those colours? Gorgeous! Everything you need for creating the perfect warm autumnal makeup look with a cheeky purple in there for good measure. I fell in love with this palette as soon as I saw it. I have both of the other Bellapierre Go Natural palettes and knew I had to have this to complete the set. I've been pretty impressed with the formula and pigmentation of the other shadows in those palettes and I was hoping this one would be just as good.
Right off the bat I will say it's mixed results.

Lets start with the actual colour selection. It's perfect. Totally spot on. There's every shade I could possibly ask for ranging from yellow undertone shades to pinky undertone shades. The colours also offer a balanced range between light and dark shades with some some mid-tones too.
Of the 12 eyeshadows only three are matte. Personally I adore shimmer shades but I would like a palette with more matte shades.

Top to bottom:
Snowflake:
A brilliant white with a hint of shimmer to it. The colour apples as a crispy clean white without any other colour reflects in it. The colour payoff is excellent and the fallout is minimal. This feels quite creamy in texture. It applies easily and blends perfectly. 
Buttercup:
The first of the matte shades. The colour is a beautiful rich warm dark cream colour/ pale apricot- the colour isn't dissimilar from some of my concealer shades. Again the formula feels buttery and smooth but the pay off is so weak. I had to do three layers applied with a wet brush to get the swatch above so it would even show up on my camera. As the payoff is weak, blending this shadow even a little makes it all but disappear. This is definitely the least used shade in the palette for me. 
Champagne:
A stunning highly shimmery shade that almost has flecks of gold in it. The name champagne sums up the colour perfectly. this shade is right up my street, not too gold toned but not too pink toned either. Minimal fallout and excellent pigmentation and payoff both wet and dry. Blending shifts the colour a bit, so it does need a bit of topping up for a stronger effect.
Top to bottom:
Celebration:
A sensational bold and rich copper. This has a great earthy orange undertone and is what I call a true copper shade. The finish is more metallic than shimmer and looks gorgeous blended out or really boldly packed on. Fallout is bit more with this one, but it's not terrible. While it does blend easily it is great at staying put and doesn't crease and clump. 
Beige:
Why this is called 'beige' I have no idea. Never would I describe this shade as a beige. This is actually  (to me) a deep dusky rose colour. Like Celebration, the finish looks more metallic than shimmery. This is a very creamy shade and you need to work it a bit when blending as it can bunch a little. Blending also fades the colour a touch, so a top up can be needed for a more dramatic look.
Sepia:
The second matte shade in the palette. Again this is a weak colour from the selection. In the pan the shade looks fab, but it falls flat on application. You have to really work to build it up and even in the swatch (three layers with a wet brush) you can see sections where the colour has gathered. It's a shame as if the pigment was good then it would be wonderful. The colour works well for a soft smokey eye and along the lash line where it doesn't require too much blending and you can really pack it on.
Top to bottom:
Harmony:
The shade harmony is like Beige's big sister. It's another rose toned shade but with a huskier more brown undertone. In the pan the difference shows as more brown but on the skin it has a slight copper mixed in. I have no complaints about the pigment or payoff of this shade, it's superb. I'd even go so far to say this is the best shade in performance terms of the whole palette.
Lava:
Lava is a chocolatey dark brown that it is amazingly pigmented and the payoff on application is beyond impressive. Very impactful shade. Surprisingly there's almost zero fallout on this shade. A good all-rounder shade that's good for a bit of everything, smokey eye, crease, transition colour etc.
Cinnabar:
Is it silly to say this was the reason I bought this palette? It's true. This velvety shimmery cranberry/ red wine/burgundy hue is what dreams are made of. A little goes a long way with this colour, so a light hand is needed. If you pack on the colour it is a lovely red wine shade, but blending gives it a smokey paprika orange hue. Drooling. This is the creamiest of all the shades and therefore has next to no fallout.
Top to bottom:
Auburn:
The final matte shade in the palette. This is a much darker and redder toned brown than Sepia. Out of all the matte shades this one is the best, not great but much better than the others. The payoff is much stronger but still requires careful blending so as not to weaken the pigment too much. As a colour I really like it, it's unusual and a much warmer brown than most palettes offer.
Lust:
A cheeky little purple aubergine shade. I love this surprising shade they've added in, it seems random but it actually works every well as a compliment to the other shades. This is another successful shade, a good amount of shimmer without it being glittery and the colour is bold and pretty true to pan. Creamy and blends well.
Noir:
Last but not least. You can't have a good palette without a truly dark colour. This is a super graphite black. It's a strong black and while it has shimmer it doesn't have any inflections of other colours  such as green and blue (which often pop up in other black shadows) which makes it the perfect partner for bolding up the other shades. This shade is pretty strong and doesn't budget so blending is a fair bit tricky. It takes some practice.

Overall I think as a collection the colours are great, they work well separately and in combination with each other. The matte shades really do let the palette down but the bold colours like Cinnabar and Lust redeem it. The formula for all the shades (even the mattes) is impressively smooth and buttery which means the fallout is minimal which I'm very impressed with.

Other notes to add. The packaging is amazing quality. This is the first palette to feature the metal tin design and I think it really makes the palette look that much more luxe and inline with traditional brands such as the Urban Decay ones. The mirror is also huge although as with a lot of palettes it tends to be a tad bit warping almost like it magnifies a little- maybe it's meant to be like that. 
The biggest surprise in this palette is the brush. Normally I will leave the brush to one side knowing it's not worth the time, BUT I'm as shocked as anyone to find the brush is actually very good! Both the flat and fluffy ends are perfect for the job and do make working with the shadows much easier. The fluffy end is now my blending brush of choice. Who would've thunk it?!

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