This week I will be reviewing the Coastal Scents 88 Piece Eye Shadow Palette. I have seen many Youtube tutorials wherein this palette is used, so I decided to pick one up for myself. This item is unfortunately only available online at their official website or eBay.
The palette retails for $21.95 US (approx. $24.00 CAD), not a bad price for 88 unique colors (that’s 25¢-27¢ each). Individually, they are the size of a dime.
Also available for $24.95 US ($27.36 CAD) is the Ultra Shimmer 88 Eyeshadow Palette. This palette is almost exactly identical to the matte version, except it is quite frosty and has a few different colors.
PROS
1. There are a multitude of colors. I may never use some, but it’s good to know that I won’t have to buy new eyeshadow for a very long time.
2. The colors blend extremely well together. Also, the shimmer palette will blend terrifically well with the matte palette.
3. You can have a matte palette as well as a shimmery palette for a mind blowing range of colors, all for under $60 (shipping not included).
4. Comes with a large, clear mirror and 2 sponge-tip applicators.
5. Comes in a very sturdy black plastic packaging with the product name clearly labelled on the front, which makes it easy to differentiate from your other palettes.
CONS
1. Shipping. If you live in the US you will have to pay shipping for all orders under $100. Unfortunately, if you live in Canada, as I do, you will have to pay an outrageous shipping fee which was almost a deal-breaker for me. The shipping price came within dollars of my final purchase price, then once I received it I had to pay another $18 in Customs fees.
2. Availability. If you are unable to purchase items online, this item is practically unattainable for you (unless you ask a friend to pay with their credit card and pay them back).
3. This is not so much a con, as it is me being nit picky. I noticed that there is no medium-dark grey. I did happen to find a solution though: tap your brush once into the black shadow then once or twice into a lighter gray then swipe it over your lid. This way you can customize the intensity of the gray by adding more swipes of light gray or black, depending on the look you are going for. This option is available for all colors if you wish to alter the shades in any way.
RECOMMEND? Yes. But be aware of the shipping costs before getting too excited about purchasing this palette - make sure the total cost is feasible for you.
RATING - 9 out of 10 (If the shipping fees were reasonable, I would have given this a perfect 10).
