NikkieTutorials has been at the top of all the major headlines throughout 2020. From her beef with Ellen DeGeneres to almost being blackmailed into coming out as transgender to surviving a robbery at gunpoint, Nikkie has clearly had a rough year. However, she’s determined to turn it around with this new pressed pigment palette! She has grounded herself in what she loves and is choosing to turn this crazy year in her favor.
The Rundown:
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This palette is limited edition! You have to sign up for the second release date if you still want it.
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It’ll cost you $30 + shipping.
- The palette is vegan and cruelty free!!
First Look
Nowadays, packaging is one of the biggest selling points of any product! It’s your first impression of the item and your first chance to fall in love with it! Nikkie chose to let us into her temple by putting it on the package. She vulnerably emphasized the duality of life by putting both a magical happy side and a fantastical spooky side on the palette. There are so many fun details in each illustration that you don’t see on your first glance of the packaging!
As fun as the packaging is, my favorite part of this palette are the colors inside! There’s an endless amount of looks that can be made with every color in this palette. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when first looking at the wide variety of colors, but once you start to single out the neutrals or the warm tones, there’s so much inspiration to be found! One thing I’ve found helpful is to only open half of the palette. For the most part, the lighter, more pastel colors are on the left side while the darker, richer colors can be found on the right. So, by only looking at half of the palette, it’s easier to see which colors work together.
Another part of the palette’s design that I found helpful was the french door style opening to the colors. By having the two mirrors, one on each side, there’s no chance of getting fallout on the colors when actually using the mirrors. Unlike the James Charles or Tati Westbrook palettes, the mirrors aren’t big enough to prop up on a desk, so there’s no chance of fallout because you can’t do makeup over the palette. Not to mention each mirror has a different level of magnification so you can easily toggle between a closer up view and a normal reflection.
Color Story
There are three formulas of colors inside of this fanciful palette. The mattes, like most I have experimented with, are highly pigmented and easy to blend. However, I have found this palette’s colors blend together better than other non-Beauty Bay palettes I own. Without question, the duochromes and shimmers are the stars of the palette. The duochrome formulas have a gorgeous shift between two (or even three!) colors that I haven’t seen before! The shimmers are bright and stunning with an intense touch to spice up any look. However, because of their high pigment, the duochromes and shimmers are chunkier than the average. This hasn’t impeded my ability to use them because continuous blending—with either your finger or a brush—makes those small lumps disappear. For the first time makeup user, Nikkie provides some directions for whether to use a brush or your finger for each shade! Just another element showing how thoughtful Nikkie was when creating this palette.
Colors to Look Out For
- PLOT TWIST is a baby blue shade in the pan, but when applied to the skin it’s more of a cool toned blending shade. It works really well with AMERSTERDAMN to make the royal blue blend naturally into the rest of the look.
- EW is a true green shade that has been deceiving in pictures of the palette. Online, it looks to be more of a teal, but in real life you can see the actual green color that doesn’t skew too warm or cool.
- VLA is a cool toned yellow shade—one that is not seen often in eyeshadow palettes. Unsurprisingly, it’s a pretty pale yellow because most yellows are hard to formulate in general. However, if you really pack on the shade, then the pigment comes through!
- MIKAI is a true red shade in the center of the palette. Not only is this a beautiful color to work with, it’s dedicated to Nikkie’s little brother who has passed away. His name is Mikai, and his favorite color is red. She calls it the heart of the palette, and her love for him through the color is evident.
- BLEND & SNAP and REDEMPTION create the prettiest coral shade when blended together but also stand their ground on their own.
- PRIDE and ALL-IN are by far my favorite colors in the palette. PRIDE represents the transgender flag with a baby pink base with a light blue and white shift in different lightings. ALL-IN is unique gold that shifts between green and pink in the best way possible.
Final Thoughts
All in all, this palette is amazing and is so well thought through. There’s an endless amount of looks to create, from bright rainbow realness to a neutral smokey eye. I can’t wait to keep playing with it and hope you look into buying it, or at least becoming a part of the glow baby family!