Focallure 9-Pan Eyeshadow Palette #5 Secret Review + 3 looks Demo
Hey, pretty people!
Like I promised in my Focallure Haul, here is the review of the Secret eyeshadow palette.
My green eyeshadow cravings have certainly been satisfied, and I must admit this palette was a complete surprise from start to finish.
It did look pretty normal at first glance, but what I didn’t know was that the formulation of these shadows is anything but basic.
So, what’s the big secret (I had to) of this palette?
Let’s find out!
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GENERAL SPECIFICS
- 15$ | 15£ | 17€
- 9 shades total
- 9 x 0.4 Oz. (1.125 g)
- Net. Wt. 11.25 g
- 4 mattes + 5 duo-chrome shimmers
- Cruelty-free
- 24 months shelf life
- Mirror-equipped
- Does not come with a brush
- Mint, olive and emerald tones
You can find the full list of ingredients on focallure.com.
PACKAGING
This palette’s packaging is simply swell, at least in my opinion. I love that it keeps the green theme going, without looking overly cheap or tacky.
It comes in a very dark green cardboard with highlighted light blue and green pine branches. The writings are all in white, except for the sparkly green ‘Secret‘ writing at the center of the cardboard. On the back we can find a few general specifics, as well as the palette’s ingredients list.
In my opinion, this aesthetic pairs perfectly with the general theme of the palette without looking redundant. In a way, the pine branch designs make the product look a little bit more sleek and pulled together.
THE ACTUAL PALETTE
Once we extract the palette out of the cardboard, we can’t help but notice that the actual aesthetics are just the same. We have the same dark green color, the same pine branches and writings.
Opening up the palette, we finally get a good look at the color selection.
Inside, the metallic light blue background makes not only the shadows pop, but also their names – which are written in white underneath them.
Another important feature this product presents is the mirror. It’s not as big as one may expect, but it sure is helpful when it comes to completing your eyeshadow routine.
SHADES’ SELECTION + BREAKDOWN
Like always, let’s take a general look at the shades’ selection before jumping straight into the single shadows.
Overall, I find this scheme to be cohesive and coherent. The shades want to work with one another, and you already get to match some of them at first glance.
You also have a good balance of matte and shimmer shades, with no faction overpowering the other and creating a nice harmony between the two.
One thing I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about (but it’s sort of a whatever scenario as well) is the fact that the shadows’ names don’t really make any sense. They all are random choices, which kind of clashes.
Just One Last Thing
Before really get up close and personal with these shades, I feel obligated to point out something that kind of left me baffled when I firstly played with this palette.
4 out of the 5 shimmers are straight-up cream eyeshadows. Like, they are not creamy, they are a cream.
Saying that I was surprised to find that out would be an understatement! I really did not notice their formulation until I tried using my finger to pick up ‘Secret Garden’ and the shadow started moving around way too much for it to be only powder.
It’s not something I have ever experienced in a palette, and needless to say it made my curiosity peak even more!
ROW #1
Cool Mint. The first shade of the palette is a beautiful matte mint (wouldn’t you know it) color, with a slight note of light blue to it. Unlike the other 3 mattes, this one hasn’t the best pigmentation; in fact, I would go as far as to say it’s a bit underwhealming, compared to the others. On the other hand, this shadow blends just as well as the others.
Starlette. The first row continues on with a beautiful silver light green with a serious metallic vibe to it. Also, this is the first cream eyeshadow formula we encounter along the way. The metallic element fully comes out once the product is swatched/applied to the eye, and the color turns into a cool light green/golden shade. Much like the other cream eyeshadows you’ll find in the palette, you will quickly realize that the use of a brush is completely pointless; go straight in with your finger for maximum payoff.
Avocado. This matte bright green shade sure grabbed my attention right away when I firstly opened the palette! I did realize it wasn’t a color I was 100% used to, but it still looked interesting and fun in the pan. One thing I can say is that it’s undoubtedly one of the most pigmented mattes of the palette, but that comes with a price: that price is a lot of build-up in the pan. The best thing you could do is approach the color with caution, and pick it up ever-so-gently.
ROW #2
Galaxy. This is probably the most classic shimmer shade when it comes to greens, and I am glad it was included in this selection. It is also a cream eyeshadow, but a little bit more stiff than the other ones of the palette. Its pigmentation is not bad at all, and you will also be able to pick some up using a regular brush – even if it’s not as big of a difference as I had hoped.
Mojito. I feel like this bright lime-golden green shimmer is also another classic choice when it comes to green palettes, and I am glad it’s here; it adds a little bit more life and spice to the product, and there’s always need for that. This cream eyeshadow has a good pigmentation – especially if used with your fingers – but presents a crumbly and delicate formulation. It is best to approach it cautiously and with gentleness, especially if you plan to use a brush.
Secret Garden. I believe this aqua blue-ish green to be kind of the wild card of the palette, mainly because is the only shade that differs (at least a little bit) from the rest. It has the creamiest formulation, which also means it moves around quite a bit. Its pigmentation is overall quite good, even if it will work with your fingers way better than with a brush.
ROW #3
Magnifique. This is your typical duo-chrome shimmer, and it also is the only powder shimmer in the palette. You can still see a few lime-green-golden specks once you apply the shadow, but the warm pink reflexes are definitely the star. The pigmentation is kind of underwhealming here, and I would go as far as to say that it’s one of the worst of the palette. You will need a bit of patience to work with it properly and have it show its true potential, but the results are definitely worth it.
Forest Green. It’s one of the darkest mattes of the palette, and yet is still a very bright and cold-undertoned one. It has quite a good pigment to it, much like all the other mattes, and blends out very well without losing too much pigment along the way. I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit!
Enchanted. I gained a new appreciation for cocky greens after the launch of the Subculture palette, and I must say they are a favorite of mine for the fall season. This matte shade is not only very pigmented, but also quite blendable – and it won’t loose too much pigment once blended out.
DEMO #1
After I primed my lid and set it with some translucent powder, I buffed ‘Avocado‘ right into my crease and blended it out. Secondly, I packed ‘Enchanted‘ on my outer corner and blended it out and into the crease. As soon as I was satisfied with the intensity, I cut the crease using the Cut Crease Canvas by Makeup Revolution (review here!) and set the inner part with ‘Starlette‘ and the center with ‘Galaxy‘. I swiped ‘Enchanted‘ and ‘Avocado‘ on my lower lash line, and used ‘Starlette‘ as my inner corner highlighter.
DEMO #2
On a primed and set lid, I buffed ‘Avocado‘ into my crease and blended it out. Then, I packed ‘Forest Green‘ on my inner and outer corners, and blended it out and into the crease as well. Once I was happy with the intensity, I cut the crease and set it with ‘Mojito‘, which I also used as my inner corner highlighter. Lastly, I swiped ‘Forest Green‘ on my lower lash line and popped an aqua green liner into my waterline.
DEMO #3
On a primed and set lid, I packed ‘Enchanted‘ on my outer corner and blended it out and into the crease; then, I placed ‘Magnifique‘ all over the lid using my finger. Lastly, I swiped ‘Secret Garden‘ on my lower lash line, and used ‘Mojito‘ as my inner corner highlighter.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Here we are! All in all, would I recommend the Secret palette by Focallure? I would!
It was a bit of a bumpy ride trying to figure this palette out, but once I got the hold of it I enjoyed every second of it. There were some surprises and some hiccups, but the experience was overall worth it.
Out of all the 9 shades, I believe the 4 mattes to be the real stars of the palette. It’s not so common to find matte shades that mantain a pretty awesome pigmentation after blending – especially if they blend out so seamlessly.
A few other positive details I found included their long-lasting element and the fact that the colors stayed true to what they looked like in the pan.
THE SHIMMERS
Now, on to the real surprise of the product: the shimmer shades.
The cream texture and formula does not bother me one bit, but I have to admit it sure was unexpected. They do have a fairly good pigmentation, but only if you plan to apply them with your fingers. Forget brushes when it comes to these shimmers: don’t even look at them, they’re pointless.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that precision just goes out of the window. You will need quite a bit of patience to create a perfectly clean cut crease, but I believe the results to be overall worth it.
I did kind of expect something more out of this palette, but I have to be honest: the quality of the product is quite impressive, especially when compared to the price. It sure is worth it!
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