Kevyn Aucoin Nude Pop Pro Palette Review & Swatches
I have never done an actual review of an eye shadow palette before (which is crazy since eye shadow palettes are my major makeup obsession) , but I figured the Kevyn Aucoin Nude Pop Pro Palette is a great makeup item to start with!
I’ve had this palette on my wish list ever since seeing Mel Thompson’s review of it on YouTube. I was lucky enough to be able to pick it up at the Makeup Show Chicago earlier this month. I’ve now used it about three times and feel that I can give a decent overview of the colors, formula and staying power.
Color Story and Layout
I have been branching out and playing cool toned shadows recently. I have always been a warm-toned girl and cool toned shadows have always been a bit scary for me as far as making them look good on the eye without them looking muddy or making me look like a glamorous zombie. What I was immediately drawn to with this palette was the color story. The cool-toned purples with pops of warmer metallics really spoke to me. This palette has a beautiful color story that is also user friendly. You can create looks using each row or break them up into quads with the the left side of the palette being softer and more “natural” and the left side being smokier and a bit more dramatic. I will say that I don’t think this palette is deeper skin tone friendly. I have a medium-deep skin tone and I can’t really use the very first shade, Creation, for anything other than a brow highlight. The same goes for the first color in the third row, Canvas. But the other shades do show up on my skin tone rather well.
My two favorite shades in the first row are Surreal and Graffiti. Last week, I used this palette and I took Graffiti all through my crease to create a deep smokey eye (I added Masterpiece in the middle for a pop of color). You would think that with the shimmer in it would have looked funky blended into the crease, but this color had a ton of pigmentation and when blended out well the shimmer was very subtle. Hue makes a great transition color. I paired it with Design and Mural.
Pigmentation, Texture & Application
Pigmentation when applying these was pretty good. These shadows feel like silk to the touch and can come across rather subtle. But they build nicely - you will not get a huge POP of pigment with these. They are meant to be built up and do so nicely. I would characterize this palette as “user-friendly”. If you are scared of your eye makeup looking like a bruise this palette is for you. It allows you to slowly build up the color to your satisfaction as opposed to having a big blob of pigment you have to blend out. But don’t let that fool you, these colors are not weak. They are pigmented. When swatching them for the pics above I was shocked at how pigmented they were. As you can see from the pics above, my arm was a bit stained by them. The dark shadows and the chromes are the real stars of this palette. Specifically Mosaic, which is a copper gold chrome. In the pan it looks flaky and like it would be hard to apply, but it is almost wet to the touch. It reminded me a bit of how ColourPop Super Shock shadows feel to the touch - though the formulas are very different. You can apply it with a wet brush or your finger. I wouldn’t go in with a dry brush. You will get color pay-off, but you may experience quite a bit of fall out.
The standouts for me in this palette are Surreal, Graffiti, Sketch, Mosaic, Portrait and Mural. Mural doesn’t have quite the punch I would want - I wish it was a shimmer instead of a satin but I am in love with the color.
At $57, Nude Pop is on the pricier side, but if you are in the market for a great everyday cool-toned palette that isn’t just browns and grays this is a great option. The quality is great and with the pops of chromes you can create some really standout evening or special occasion looks.
Kevyn Aucoin Nude Pop Pro Palette is sold on Beautylish, Sephora, and the Kevyn Aucoin website. If you purchase from Sephora you can save between 15-20% during the Sephora VIB sale (20% for Rouge and VIB and 15% for Sephora Insiders).
