review: violet voss (the rainbow eye shadow palette)

A rainbow palette in my collection? Oh, how times have changed. I used to be afraid of too much colour...with the exception of a nice purple or a warm green. When I first started getting into makeup, my collection was largely black, brown, and copper. These days, as my skills have progressed and my love of makeup has fully blossomed, I enjoy taking more risks with colour, shape, and contrast. Which is probably why The Rainbow Eye Shadow Palette from Violet Voss immediately caught my eye. This is a palette that I have been playing around with for a while now, ever since the last Sephora VIB Rouge event. Since then, I've been doing my best to make good use of the palette - and be more playful with these intense rainbow shades.

Violet Voss - The Rainbow Eye Shadow Palette (Packaging)

Violet Voss is a brand that I'd heard of but never really considered. Whenever I am in Sephora, there are certain brands that take priority, like Too Faced or Kat Von D. However, this particular palette was placed on an end and I randomly decided to swatch that turquoise shade. Woah, pigmentation! Then I swatched another colour. And another. Before long, I was tossing this colourful (and reasonably priced) palette into my basket. To kick this review off...let's talk packaging.

Some palettes are known for their outrageous or over-the-top packaging. In fact, in many instances, the main selling point is the outer packaging rather than the products themselves. Not here. While the Rainbow Palette looks pretty on the outside (with a dazzling rainbow inspired print), the physical packaging is standard. It is essentially a cardboard palette with a magnetic closure and a small mirror inside. Nothing that will knock your socks off or take your breath away. In this case, the packaging is simply a way to hold those stunning shadows. Nothing more, nothing less.

Shade Selection, Swatches, and Quality

Though the packaging may not knock your socks off...the eyeshadows certainly will. To start, there is a wonderful variety of colours here. It includes lots of fabulous rainbow shades as well as a light shimmery shade and a black shadow. The inclusion of the light and dark eyeshadow shades allows you to create a complete look (whether you are going for something bright and bold or a smokey eye evening look) without needing to reach for an additional palette. Perfection! That makes the palette well thought out in terms of the shade selection.

Now for the pigmentation. Oh, the pigmentation. It is phenomenal. Probably one of the most richly pigmented and downright impressive collection of eyeshadow that I have ever laid my makeup loving hands on! The pans of shadow are massive, the formula is smooth and doesn't flake, and each shade is bold and intense. When you consider the fact that this set cost $40 CDN (a steal at Sephora), it makes the quality even more astounding. This palette includes ten shadows: Flamingo (a bright pink), Peach (a warm peachy copper), Buttercup (a yellow gold), Seafoam (a beautiful seafoam green), Fiji (a lovely turquoise), Royal (a deep royal blue), Indigo (a vibrant purple), Violet (an irridescent purple), Pearl (a shimmery white), and Eclipse (a glittery black). As you can see from the swatches above, these are absolutely incredible.

The Rainbow Palette is intense in the best possible way. All of the eyeshadow shades are bright and vibrant. They make a statement. They are downright breathtaking. The large majority of the shades are absolute perfection in terms of their colours, pigmentation, and texture but there are a couple that do not perform quite as impressively. The formulation for the deeper shades, Royal and Eclipse appears to be somewhat different than the rest. While all of the other shadows are creamy and rich...those two are slightly drier and don't glide along the skin in the same way. That  being said, they do still have a fantastic level of pigmentation.

Rainbow Makeup Look + Sunset Inspired Makeup Look

Over the last little while, I've been using this palette a lot. Why? It's incredible! For the purposes of this post, I wanted to showcase the versatility of the set. So the first look that I created is totally over the top. This gives you a peek at a lot of the eyeshadow shades in action - and highlights how creative you can be with a palette like this. The makeup look pictured above is a bold and totally over the top rainbow inspired makeup look. 

For the next makeup look, I wanted to show that even though these colours are bold...you can still create a look that is soft, pretty, and easy to wear. I used Flamingo, Peach, and Pearl for this specific makeup look and love the way it turned out. It is absolutely possible to use this rainbow themed palette in lots of different ways. From over the top to simple and pretty to a dramatic evening look! 

Rating: 5 / 5

While the packaging is pretty simple and a couple of the shades have a slightly different texture than the rest...there is no denying how truly remarkable The Rainbow Eye Shadow Palette is. Violet Voss is a brand I intend to keep an eye on in future. These eyeshadow shades are richly pigmented and the shade selection has tons of variety. This is a true winner!

Have you tried this palette? Are you a fan of Violet Voss products?