Hi guys, I hope your week is going well. Melt Cosmetics recently launched the Mary Jane Eyeshadow Palette and today I’m sharing my first impressions and some swatches to help you decide if you want to part with your money or not!!
The Mary Jane Eyeshadow Palette is actually the first palette from Melt Cosmetics I’ve ever wanted! They do some really cool colour schemes, blues, greens, oranges etc. But the cool, neutral tones of this palette were calling my name!
I’ve also heard lots of mixed reviews on Melt Cosmetics eyeshadow palette formula. Their stacks of eyeshadows are meant to be amazing. However, their eyeshadow palettes can be hit and miss. I’m going to show you exactly what happened when I swatched this palette further on and what I think about the formula.
It’s funny, until Melt released this palette and their Cream Blushlights, I hadn’t been interested in any of their releases! Now we have two posts in two weeks on their products! My review of their Cream Blushlights is here. Hint: I LOVE THEM!
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COST
The Melt Cosmetics Mary Jane Eyeshadow Palette is £49 for 10 eyeshadows. The total weight is 19.35g/0.68oz. Cost per gram is £2.53.
Melt pricing is interesting to me. Their Cream Blushlights are only £16, yet highlighters are £30 and palettes are almost £50. Their lipsticks are £14. I feel like some things are mid range in price, but others are bordering on high end. I don’t really understand what price point they are aiming for.
You can buy the palette directly from Melt Cosmetics for $58 or Beauty Bay for £49.
PACKAGING
The Mary Jane Eyeshadow Palette comes in a cardboard box with swirls of smoke on. The palette itself is also cardboard, it’s very sturdy and has a magnetic closure.
The Mary Jane lettering is 3D on the palette. It’s filled with sequins that move around as the palette moves.
There’s a good sized mirror in the palette and even though it’s cardboard, it stays open enough for you to use. The packaging doesn’t feel cheap, which I’m glad of at £49. The lettering does stick out quite a bit, but I keep it in the box, so I’m able to stack it more easily in my drawers.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
This palette apparently takes inspiration from the smoke of Cannabis. I wouldn’t know as I’m not interested in cannabis at all. It’s a grungy, smoky palette, with some lighter shades. I love the array of olive toned browns, taupes, silvery browns and peachy browns.
I love cooler toned eyeshadows and this is what initially drew me into this palette. It’s slightly more grungy than I would normally go, but I still love the colours together.
In my swatches which you’ll see below, there are a few shades that pull a little warm. They’re by no means true warm shades, but they are peachy/gold compared to some of the other shades.
Formula wise, I have to say I agree with most other reviews. It’s a bit hit and miss. The mattes are beautiful. Smooth, pigmented and buttery soft. However, the shimmer shades are inconsistent. Some are pretty chunky, whereas others are smooth and soft. The first two shimmers in the palette are chunkier, the ones in the middle are gorgeous and easier to work with. The one on the end is somewhere in the middle. Ever so slightly chunky, but still relatively smooth.
I would not attempt to apply the chunkier shades to my eye with a dry brush. Either a wet brush or finger is going to be the way to go and you will probably still get some fall out. The shades are gorgeous though and I’m not saying the formula is trash. I think it’s just a formula that needs a bit of work.
Here are the shades that are a bit chunky after I’ve swatched them. As you can see there’s also a tiny bit of hard pan from where I’ve used a finger.
Let’s take a closer look at all the shades in this palette:
SWATCHES
All swatches are on a bare arm (no eyeshadow primer) and with a finger. The shimmers were single swipe, the mattes two swipes.
As you can see, the mattes are lovely and smooth. The shimmers Bamba, Santa Maria and Bo are gorgeously smooth and buttery.
The shades Mary Jane and Sweet Lucy are the chunkier shimmers and Kali is somewhere inbetween. Mary Jane is the most sheer shade and would probably work best as a topper shade.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Is this colour scheme ground breaking? No. Some of Melt Cosmetics colour schemes are really unique, but that’s not my style of make up, so I haven’t been interested in any before this. I was interested in this because it’s a more “boring” colour scheme. By boring I mean neutral, that’s the type of makeup I wear, so it made sense for me to buy this palette.
I also love that it’s slightly different to my normal neutral palettes, it is a bit darker and moodier. This palette will create stunning smoky, dark looks. I’m no makeup artist, but I can’t wait to have a play with this on my eyes. Just beware that a couple of the shimmers need a little more work. Spray some Fix+ or damp your brush with water and they’ll perform much better.
I would advise doing your eye makeup before your base when using this palette as there is some fall out. The mattes are much easier to use, they’re smooth, buttery and pigmented.
Overall I really like this palette and would recommend it. It hasn’t completely blown me away (I do test A LOT of makeup to be fair!) but I’d say it’s 80% excellent and 20% needs a little extra work.
I can’t find whether this palette is limited edition or permanent. With Melt they tend to go in and out of stock for quite a while and then they might stop restocking. Some collections come out and are limited edition from the get go, but others stick around for a long time.
I do think you’ll enjoy this palette if the colours are your vibe. I’m excited to try a different brand than what I usually go for and it doesn’t bother me too much that a few shades need special attention! It’s a relatively expensive palette, but for the packaging, 3D element, quality and general feel, I think it’s worth the price. Also, if you sign up for a new Beauty Bay account you can get 20% off which is what I did!
