Natasha Denona is one of the new "It" brand among makeup afficionados, and one of their hero products is the 28 pan shadow palettes, which come in just 2 variations - Green-Brown, and Purple-Blue.
These are pricey - let's get that out of the way - each palette is US$239 - which may be a little too much to splash out at one shot if you're not sure about the quality and the type of shades that you're getting. But if you're building up your collection or you just love colors and variety in general, the fact is you're paying a little over $8 per shade, and with 2.5g of product per pan (a typical MAC pan has 1.5g) it's actually really good value for money if you will use a majority of the shades.
Otherwise, the purpose for my post is also for you to take note of individual colors that perform well and that you might especially like, because Natasha Denona shadows are available in singles, as well as 5-pan and 10-pan palettes, although you won't get each color at the same price of course.
Each palette is not plastic, but made of a sturdy padded magnetized "foam" that does absorb a bit of shock and reduces the chances of your shadows shattering during transportation. The bad thing about this is they are also quite a lot heavier than typical plastic palettes, if you're having to carry a lot of things around in your kit.
Quality and Pigmentation
For the most part, the shades are great quality. Highly-pigmented and smooth. But this also means fallout, which is normal for most brands.
I can't say all the shades are equally good though. Natasha Denona shadows are talc-based, so similar to other brands with talc-based formulas (think Morphe, etc) the metallics and pearls are outstanding; and the mattes tend to be a bit more inconsistent.
In the Green-Brown palettes, I would say the bulk of the shades are fair to great. There is maybe one matte shade (64V Shell) which is patchy and poorer in quality than the rest. But for the most part, you can use any one of the shades and be pretty confident it will perform well. As for the Purple-Blue palette, it's a lot less consistent. Several of the mattes (70P Cool Plum, 28V Electric Violet, 82V Nina's Orchid, and 24V Aubergine) are quite patchy and not as easy to work with if you want to build up intense color on the lids with these.
Colors
I have to say in terms of the color composition and choices, Purple-Blue is hands-down the winner for me. There are a lot more unique and wonderfully beautiful shades, including some incredible duochromes, and if you are going to be paying $239 for one premium palette, I wouldn't suggest going for the more "normal" Green-Brown since it's probably easier to find some comparable shades in other palettes and lines.
Then again if you want reliable quality and plenty of daily wearable options in one palette and don't already own lots of neutrals and warm tones, then Green-Brown would make sense for you, since there are a few more patchy, unpigmented "duds" in Purple-Blue, sadly. Still, I don't regret getting it because there are a lot more of the pretty shades.
And even with the Purple-Blue palette, there are a good number of neutral shades for you to "complete your look", if you don't want just purple and blue all over. Neither palette has a black, which I am fine with, because that's one of those utilitarian shades that I'd rather buy and restock separately in most cases.
For the looks below, I used several shades to try and test as many different shades and finishes as possible.
Green-Brown Look:
- 64V Shell as transition shade in socket
- 90V Sand storm in outer half of socket for warmth and dimension
- 78M Umber in outer corners for depth
- 14M Antique Olive in center of lid and along lower lash line
- Mix of 86P Golden Aquamarine and 16M Emerald Green in inner corners for a cool-green contrast
- 20M True Gold down the center of the lids for a pop of sparkle and shine on top of the Antique Olive shade
- I also used a charcoal grey pencil as liner, and 15M Bottle Green just on top of the liner in outer corners of my eyes for some depth
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| Eye look done using the Green-Brown 28 Palette |
Purple-Blue Look:
- I applied navy blue pencil along the upper and lower lashes first, then applied shadows over top for a subtler, more pearlescent liner effect.
- 80M Piggy over inner half of lids
- 11V Steel Blue blended softly into socket line for subtle shading
- 05M Calypso Blue over outer half of lids (this gorgeous duochrome shade also "transforms" the look of the pencil and the matte socket shading beneath)
- 11M Metallic Steel Blue over the pencil to bring out more blue in the liner
- 04M Chromatic for a metallic platinum sparkle down the center of the lids
- 52M Golden Beige over entire brow bone area for a golden-peach contrast to the cool-toned look
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| Eye look done using the Purple-Blue 28 palette |
Conclusion?
These are definitely worth checking out if you're a makeup fanatic.This is a great new line to try, and while the formulas aren't earth-shattering in any sense, it IS pretty good value.
If you're just starting out however, I might suggest going with cheaper lines just to stretch your dollars a bit before you commit to something as pricey as these. And you know yourself - if you're likely to use the same 4-5 colors daily and don't often veer out of your comfort zone, then it's really not worth buying a large palette anyway.
I will probably get more daily use out of the Green-Brown palette as a whole but there are some shades that are so great in the Purple-Blue palette that I would say it's still worth checking out if you're more of a cool-toned gal.
I do definitely recommend checking out some individual shades like 05M Calypso Blue, 01V Navy, 60M Golden Rose, and a whole range of the other metallics in this palette, if you don't want to get all 28 including the patchier shades. But just do your calculation, cos if you're getting a fair number of single shades, it might add up to the same amount as (or more than) the 28 palette, in which case you might as well just get the whole palette, duds and all.
