Tokidoki 24 Karat Skate Deck Palette: Swatches and Mini-Review

I'm lucky enough to have a BF who doesn't actually mind being dragged around on my shopping trips. In fact, he's a regular at what I term "my shrine" (Sephora) which I have to visit whenever I'm in the vicinity of one. He will probably never understand why I need to stop by to pay my respects even if I am not getting a single thing, but he does win plenty of points for staying attentive while I prattle on about the formulation of the latest eye shadows or the sudden popularity of a certain lip gloss.

Now I'm a fan of quirky, slightly-morbid, cute-but-not toons like Gloomi Bear, so naturally, I was always drawn to Tokidoki packaging, even though I had never tried their products. So the BF was lovely enough to surprise me one day with the new Tokidoki 24 Karat Skate Deck Palette, which is a collection of 12 colorful shadows in a "skate" shaped cardboard case, inclusive of a cute silver character charm (Adios, if you happen to be a fan of Tokidoki).

Silver Adios charm in the Tokidoki 24 Karat Skate Deck Palette

Colors:
The shades within are a good mixture of lights, mediums, and darks, so it wins points for having variety. The textures are all shimmery/glittery though, so if you're looking for a mixture of matte and glimmer, this is not the palette for you.

Texture:
I have to say that from the moment I opened the case, it was apparent that the shadows would be chalky and low in pigmentation. Unfortunately, my local Sephora does not have a tester on display so there pretty much no way to find out until you purchase it.
It also has fallout-galore when applied as if.
Without a base, the color doesn't go on evenly, adheres quite poorly to the skin even with repeat applications (see below image), and almost doesn't show up. A quick wipe with a sheet of tissue would remove most of it.

Tokidoki Ametista shadow, swatched over a base (left), and applied directly onto skin (right).

Swatches (top row):
The shades themselves are quite pretty, but the pigmentation is weak due tot he chalkiness of the whole formula.

(Left-to-Right): Unicorno (white with glimmer), Stella (metallic silver), Ametista (deep rosy mauve), Cuore  (pale white-pink), Duna (light gold taupe), and Sabbia (white with pale gold sheen)

(Left-to-Right): Goccia (deep navy), Adios Star (black with silver sparks), Tempesta (smoky violet), Granata (smoky olive green), Camo (deep chocolate brown) and 24 Karat (mustard gold).

 Just as a final comparison, I couldn't resist comparing it against the Urban Decay. All swatches below are left Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Palette, and the right swatches are corresponding shades from the Tokidoki palette.

As is apparent, the Urban Decay is much richer, and more multi-faceted than the Tokidoki, which for all its shimmer, looks very flat and patchy.

Verdict:
Give this a miss.

I've held off on a review as it was a thoughtful gift from a loved one, who secretly took notes while accompanying me on one of my "visits to my shrine", but now I feel a lot of heartache that he spent so much money on what is, to me, just a gimmicky product aimed more at ripping off fans and unsuspecting gift-givers than at delivering any value or quality to makeup aficionados.

I'd sum it up as an idea conceived by someone who obviously doesn't use eye shadow.

If you are a fan and collector of the brand and the art, by all means go ahead. It is a really cute gift, and I'm personally a fan of the art. But if that's their intent, then they should just sell the box and skip the shadows and the big price tag.

I am a makeup collector, but more than that, I am also a makeup user. This means if it can't make me look good and feel good, then it doesn't matter how good it looks sitting in its container. It's not worth as much as the well-used $5 Wet n Wild palette sitting on my counter.