BLOGMAS DAY 19

Superdrug is my favourite place to go when hunting for new (affordable) makeup. They nearly always have at least one display of the TAM Beauty make up brands, Makeup Revolution, Freedom Makeup and I Heart Makeup. I am such a huge fan of these products as they’re always of such high quality and yet they’re priced affordably – what more could you want?

The beauty community has definitely been talking about the I Heart Revolution palettes and rightly so! They’re becoming more and more popular after they launched a collection of dupes for the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palettes. They even duped the Sweet Peach palette (I will be comparing the two in a review soon!). The latest palette from this fabulous brand is the Golden Bar Palette. You can most likely buy this from your local Superdrug store or order it from their site online. TAM Beauty ship internationally so you can also order it on their website.

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I fell in love with this palette as soon as I saw it, the packaging certainly sucked me in – TAM Beauty knew exactly what they were doing! All of the palettes in this collection are designed to look like chocolate bars however this one caught my eye when I noticed the metallic gold packaging. It’s a fricking gold chocolate bar! I also loved the melting chocolate on the front of the palette, it reminded me slightly of the Kylie Cosmetics packaging.

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Not a bad view huh? Featuring 16 shades, this palette was a steal at only £9, especially if you consider the ridiculously expensive Too Faced palettes (£40). The Golden Bar palette may not be exactly the same, however, it’s extremely similar and it’s certainly giving them a run for their money. In my opinion, if you can purchase a highly pigmented palette for even the price of a more expensive one, you’re onto a winner. There’s also a very generously sized mirror covering the entire lid, making this a great palette to travel with. The one thing that I didn’t enjoy about the packaging, was the plastic overlay that had the shade names on it. I would much rather have a palette with the names printed below each shade, making life that little bit easier, especially for tutorials or reviews like this one. Another thing to keep in mind that also let me down slightly is that there are no matte shades. This means a full look can’t really be completed as there is nothing to use as a transition shade so you’d need to use another palette.

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Collection: A cool icy white shimmer –  I love using this for inner corner highlights and under my brows! I sometimes even dot above my lips for a more defined cupid’s bow.

Ribbon: A light pink champagne-shimmer – I would say this is one of the more subtle shades but it’s certainly buildable. I sometimes use a setting spray to intensify it which works perfectly!

Edible: A muted taupe-brown shimmer – In my opinion, this is the least pigmented shadow in the palette. I like the colour for a more subtle hint of brown in my crease but it’s no way near as pigmented as some of the other shades. Again, if you use a setting spray it can intensify it.

Tablet: A dark bronze/gold shimmer – I love using this shadow as it’s darker than the other gold shimmers in the palette so it’s perfect for a less blinding look (I’m all down for full-on lightbulbs on the lid though)

Wrapped: A red/purple toned brown shimmer – I love using this to slightly smoke out my outer lid, however, it’s a shimmer shade of course so it’s not as intense as a matte shadow would be.

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Wrapper: A warm orange/yellow gold with brown undertones – I often use this shade with warm toned shadows to create a red toned look. The orange undertones also meant I could use it for Autumnal looks as well!

Foil: A golden shimmer – I often use this in the centre of the lid as it’s just such a gorgeous shimmer. I used this for a halo smokey eye look the other day and it did a fab job!

Golden: A rich golden shimmer – This is my favourite shadow in the palette. It’s just so insanely pigmented, it’s INCREDIBLE. I can’t believe this came in a palette that costs £9…? It really does show that you don’t need to break the bank to own some crazily pigmented shadows.

Bar: A bronze shimmer with olive-green undertones – I tend to use this shade less as it’s not as blinding or rich as the other gold shades however it’s still a unique colour to have in a palette.

Box: A khaki shimmer – I love this shade, it always looks nice on the lid with a smokey outer corner. I’m a fan of any coloured shadows, especially khaki as I already wear so much of this colour (90% of my wardrobe).

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Block: Taupe/dark brown shadow with purple undertones – I use this all the time to add some drama to my eye makeup looks, it’s another great shadow for intensifying the outer lid and creating a smokey eye.

Gift: A milk-chocolate brown shimmer – This is what I would call the perfect chocolate shimmery brown shadow. It’s quite a warm shade too so I like using it for red/orange toned looks but it looks good as part of an everyday look as well.

Limited: A musky pink/purple shimmer with light brown undertones – I absolutely adore this shade, it’s such a gorgeous mixture of pink and purple and of course, it’s shimmery! It looks even better when applied with a setting spray.

Cocoa: A rich red/burgundy shimmer – I am loving using this shade for red smoky eyes which is fab for festive makeup looks!

Beans: A medium-brown shimmer – This is a pretty similar shade to Block, however, I prefer it. It’s lighter and easier to blend into a more everyday look. It’s slightly darker than Limited which makes it better for a smokey eye.

Chocolatier: A light nude/prosecco shimmer with cool undertones – I was pretty disappointed with this shade. Yes, it’s pigmented however it’s so chalky and powdery so getting your brush to pick up the right amount is difficult. It still looks great on the lid, especially for a halo look or inner corner highlights.

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Overall, I think this palette is SUCH good value, given how pigmented each individual shadow is. I also have to mention how well the shadows last, they don’t crease and I don’t even use a primer which speaks volumes. The packaging is also amazing and of high quality, unlike some of my cardboard based palettes. I love the variety of colours that this palette offers for such a low price. The negatives of this palette, for me, was the fact that the shade names weren’t printed inside and that there were no matte shades so I can’t use it on its own. However, I would recommend this to anyone looking to build their collection of shimmer shadows as they’re all great quality and very pigmented.

Let me know if you would like reviews of any of the other bits in this collection as I own most of it!

N xxxx