Sephora Collection: Jem and The Holograms Palette Review 10/24/15

Hi guys!  I had two completely different experiences with the Jem and The Holograms: Truly Outrageous Eyeshadow Palette.  It was an instant "Hates it, move on" when I first swatched it and I planned to simply return it.  #1 The colors look nowhere near what the product pictures look like on the Sephora website, where it retails for $39.  I included that picture below so you can see what I am talking about.  #2 The colors swatched horribly over bare skin, just dreadful.  Only a few colors were decent with good and even consistency and color payoff.  The rest were splotchy, uneven, powdery or crumbly.  I really struggled getting any color to swatch for some colors and there was some staining with others.  All in all, it was inconsistent and I expected way better for the brand.  #3 The size of the shadows are very small.  I was expecting to see about average sized shadows.  It will be very easy to use up the palette as there doesn't appear to be a lot of depth in the pans and you have to build up color to get even consistency.  I didn't see any indication about the amount of product on the website.  As of today, I still don't see any notation about the quantity of product on the website. As per the packaging, this palette contains 24 x 0.0183 oz or 24 x 0.52 g total net.  A typical eye shadow contains 0.05 oz or 1.5 g.  So, yes, a very small amount of product, indeed.

 

All that being said, I was talking with a well-known YouTube personality on social media and she told me hers applied all-right with a primer directly to the eye.  Typically, with swatches, I do not use a primer.  For me, swatches are just that and once you start adding products to them, you lose the knowledge of how they perform on their own.  Worth noting is that I always use a primer when wearing eye shadow.  I guess it's all based on preference.  Moving forward, I applied Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion with each batch I re-swatched.  It made a significant difference in how they looked and performed.  They were much more consistent and even upon application, and the color payoff was much more intense and more true-to-pan.  You do still need to layer on some of the colors to get full opacity.  The colors were still crumbly and messy and you will need to be mindful of how you dip your brush in the product so it doesn't fly all over the place.  Some needed a little more finesse than others to blend and smooth out the color.  However, it wasn't anywhere near the disaster that I first experienced without a primer.

This is the review I posted on the Sephora website for reference: "I swatched this and it was horrible. Color pigmentation is not anywhere like the promotional pics and is uneven in consistency. Plus, it is powdery and crumbly depending on what you choose to apply the color with. I was so upset and decided to return but after chatting with someone about it, I decided to swatch again over a primer. What a difference that made! You do still have to build up the color and some you have to work on getting even consistency and blendability, but way more color payoff than without a primer. It depends on how much work you are willing to put into using this that will determine whether it's a good buy for you. The individual shadows are very small, as well. It's certainly not what I expected."

Overall, the palette is okay with some sort of primer or base.  As long as you don't intend to use it on its own, you will be ok.  If you are a makeup collector or a Jem and The Holograms fan, you may like adding this palette to your collection.  For me, I don't recommend it like I would other palettes I have tried.  The bottom line is that I don't believe it's worth the price you pay for such a small amount of product.  Personally, I am still on the fence about keeping this or returning it.