December 13, 2013

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year’s Countdown Palette Review & Swatches

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette

The Em Holiday Life Palette New Year’s Countdown Palette ($29) is one of two limited edition Em Cosmetics launched for Holiday 2013. I love cranberry shades of eyeshadow so this palette was very appealing which is one reason I purchased it.

Take a look!

The Em Holiday Life Palette New Year’s Countdown Palette comes housed in a chic white case with a generous sized mirror, blush, six eyeshadows, one lip color, and one gloss.

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette8

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette10

It’s visually a very beautiful palette however, as much as I love cranberry I really should avoid it because it’s the type of shade that accentuates my dark circles but I’m glad I picked this up none the less.

I must say it is at first inexpensive but I realized if I indulged in one of the larger Em Life Palettes it would technically be cheaper. That palette is $75 (ouch) but has four times the amount of product and would basically cost $18 and change per shade selection in the palette. This single palette is nearly $10 more so I might as well take the near $30 for it and put it towards the larger palette and get a ton more product. The other thing I disliked was they give you a brush that’s somewhat useless for application. It’s a double ended brush with a slanted liner brush and a really tiny shadow brush. The palette allows you to pop shades in and out so I’d rather they leave out the brush and just give me a tiny pick to remove the eyeshadows (the large Life Palettes include one but not the smaller).

em life palette
This palette is quite beautiful visually but it’s a little challenging to use the shades in eye looks. You get a soft beige, a brassy gold, a rich cranberry, navy blue, black sparkle, and an eggshell shade. The cranberry and navy are a little odd together and the brassy gold and cranberry do work together but when used together it is difficult to incorporate other colors into the look. It’s a very odd mismatch of shades and a bit challenging to create looks using the shades. On the upside the shadows are extremely pigmented and rich in color. They apply easily, and blend beautifully. Do use primer to keep them wearing strong as they lose intensity and crease a bit after five hours. The texture of the shadows is quite nice as they have a creaminess to them and aren’t dry, dense, or chalky. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the lip color and gloss. The lip color is more of a stain. It’s very dense and hard but it does stain lips a pretty shade of cranberry. It has a rather dry texture on my lips so topping with the gloss is the best option. The gloss is a balm-y texture and very sheer but it adds a nice sheen to the lip color and keeps the lip color from drying lips out on its own. The blush is very velvety but and the shade is unique and gorgeous! I did have problems blending it out because it is SO pigmented plus cranberry on cheeks is always a bit challenging to use but none the less the texture, formula, and wear is excellent (around six hours with minor fading in hour seven).

Em Holiday Life Moment Palette

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette Swatches

Shadows

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Swatches

Shadows

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette21

Lip Color/Gloss

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette22
Blush

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette11

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette12

Overall, the Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year’s Countdown Palette offers a fairly good quality shadow formula however, the shades are a touch mismatched here and some might find it challenging to create looks with this color scheme. The powders and cream lipstick in the same palette are also a touch messy and the formula leaves a little to be desired on both lip palettes but on a whole, Em Cosmetics did a fairly good job with the eyeshadows here!

I’m not sure I’d advise a purchase of this particular palette but should they introduce a color scheme I like more I have a feeling I’d be inclined to purchase one of these Life Palettes again. I wish they were a touch cheaper, perhaps $22?

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown Palette fotd

Em Cosmetics Holiday Life Palette New Year's Countdown fotd

If you’ve been curious about Em’s Palettes I can honestly say the shadows are impressive thus far!

Anyone try anything from the line?

Do share!

Available now at www.emcosmetics.com.

I purchased this item.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • ming

    Since the blush is so pigmented, possible to use it as eyeshadow instead ? It looks like a beautiful colour for the eye.

  • Sara

    I subscribe to Ipsy and we got an Em product in our bags last month. I got one of the lipsticks in a purple-pink tinged shade and it was a very creamy and comfortable lipstick to wear. I just wasn’t crazy about the wear time, it was gone after maybe 2 or so, whereas I can get 3-4 hours out of some other brands like NYX or Buxom. They are quite pricy items, I think the lipstick is $16.50.

  • Renu

    My first thought was, too many crease colours, too few medium shades for the lids, but whoa, you’ve made the combination look fabulous!

  • Amy

    I’ve bought two life palettes (Beach and Day), Bronze Kiss waterliner, Roses Mixing Palette, and Uptown a matte lipstick.

    I probably would purchase more Life palettes if they come out with more. I think I like the Beach palette more because I think overall the quality might be better overall. I liked all of the colors except one in the Roses palette. While I like the concept, I feel that I’m not going to get a lot of use of it because I don’t really want to carry it with me for touch ups.

    The matte lipstick I felt wasn’t that much better quality than NYX Soft Creams. I found EM’s to be maybe slightly better because I felt it didn’t dry as much like NYX does, but my lips were in pretty good shape when I tried the color out.

    I really loved the color, but I chickened out trying to put it on my waterline. So, I really can’t say much about it being good quality in that respect. I don’t think it’s worth $20 or the $16.50 for the matte, but I’ve heard good things about the lipstick.

    Some people have complained about the quality of the eyeshadows that it reminded them of Maybelline. I don’t really have too many eyeshadows so I can’t really say that it is or isn’t. I do happen to really love the palette. I think the price is steep at one wack, but there is a lot more product than you get with most palettes. I was able to get mine for around $38 each. I would buy them at this price in the future. Definitely not 75 though.

    • Amy

      I forgot to mention that I chickened out putting Bronze Kiss on my waterline whoops. It would look very weird if someone put lipstick on their waterline ouch!

  • SirenPrincess

    I bought their highlight/contour stick and really like it! It’s very different than anything else I’ve ever seen. I also got their mascara in my Ipsy bag. It was okay.

  • Joanna

    Looks like a cute palette that I can travel with. The colors aren’t to many but looks great for day to night looks.

  • Maddie

    I’m so happy you’re reviewing Em products! I’ve been interested in them for a while now and it’s great to read your thoughts about the makeup.

  • Lauren

    I’ve tried a few em products and they are actually not bad at all. I got a lipstick on my ipsy bag and it is creamy and beautiful. I also bought 2 eyeliners (my Mom got 1 in her ipsy bag and raved about it so I bought some too on Black Friday) and they are VERY creamy). I tried the lip palette (mostly glosses) in Mix it Up Roses and really liked that too. The only thing I have tried that don’t love as much is the eyeshadow palette in Seoul Sweet. It is nice and the colors are really pretty. I got it on sale, so for $20 I like it, but considering the regular price, I think it’s overpriced for the quality. It isn’t super pigmented. I am used to brands that have better color payoff.

  • DIta

    Their website seems to always have some kind of sales or deals… Maybe like Bath and Body Works. So if you can wait, never pay the full price!

  • Laurie

    My daughter loves Michelle Phan but I’ve been waiting to read some honest reviews on the line before splurging (so thanks!). This palette reminds me so much of a Model’s Prefer palette I bought years ago (and still have – and use – ugh, I know!) from QVC. I don’t even think the line exists anymore which is sad because they had some great deals.