December 17, 2015

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Review & Swatches

This was provided to me by a brand for review and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post but all opinions are my own.

Sephora Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette

The Sephora + Pantone Universe Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette ($39) is a new, limited edition eyeshadow palette featuring 24 pastel shades of color celebrating the two 2016 Pantone Color of the Year shades in Rose Quartz and Serenity.

I think for me, visually, Rose Quartz and Serenity are gorgeous shades. I can totally see them as being perfect shades of color in a nursery or evening in a living area space as they are soothing, calm, and very, very pretty. I can also see myself wearing either or both shades in the Spring as they are the perfect shades of light, airy colors for the season.

But on my eyes? Not so much. I like pink eyeshadow and I like blue eyeshadow but pastel shades of pink and blue are just something I can’t pull off. At some point in my makeup life I was convinced I could totally wear pastels but yeah, no. Doesn’t work. They look too chalky and washed out on me.

However, for those who adore pastels you might just love all over this Sephora + Pantone Universe Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette.

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette18

The Sephora + Pantone Universe Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette is actually a smaller, compact palette that’s the same size as the Sephora Pantone Facets of Marsala Multi-Finish Eye Palette released last year. I’d say it was around the size of the Sephora Jem and The Holograms Truly Outrageous Eyeshadow Palette and holds 24 Eyeshadows that are 0.03 each. Sephora’s been doing Pantone Collections since 2012 and the eyeshadow palettes have gotten more and more compact in size which I’m grateful for as they store way more easier.

The presentation has been amazing on all of the Pantone Collections but I have to say the Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette does top my list as a favorite. It’s very pretty. The compact is white with a gorgeous pastel watercolor print on the cover. It’s just a very feminine and pretty design.

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette1

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette2

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette3

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette20

The palette is filled with both matte and shimmer finish eyeshadows in both pastels and brights. About 99% of the shades are cool toned but there are one or two that creep in that lean towards being warmer like a beautiful olive green that I fell in love with.

I’m kinda debating whether these are as chalky as they seem or if I feel that way just because they are pastels. For me, pastels are always a bit chalky but….I think the formula is almost a bit drier and chalkier as well. I’d say the palette was one or steps above the Jem and the Holograms Eyeshadow Palette in terms of quality. Fairly good color pay off but colors tend to sheer out when blended and don’t adhere well to lids because they are looser. They also feel and look very chalky on skin since many have a strong white undertone. Likewise for the shimmer shades which are quite frosty and powdery. Oddly there are one or two shades that creep in here which are like the quality we have known and loved from past Sephora palettes but a majority of the eyeshadows are disappointing to me. Again, I debated with myself over this for a while because I couldn’t tell if I was just feeling that way because these were pastels or if in fact it was the formula. But I’m leaning towards saying the mattes could have been way silkier and the shimmers could have been a lot less frosty.

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette Swatches

The Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette might prove a good pick up if you like a lighter more natural look. It also might be a great pick if you’re a lover of pastels and you look great in them. But I feel like the shadow formula leaves a lot to be desired and although there are a few shades here that are have a great formula there are not enough of those to make me rave this one. It’s beautifully presented but I just don’t think the eyeshadow formula is what I’ve come to expected from some of Sephora’s limited releases.

The Sephora + Pantone Modern Watercolors Eyes Palette is available soon at Sephora and Sephora.com.

This was provided to me by a brand for review and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post but all opinions are my own.

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

  • Sunshine

    As a super duper pale pale Irish person, I think that these shades would look great on me, but i can see how this wouldn’t work on other people.

  • Heidi

    Hmmm. I love pastels, but not on me. Somehow they tend to make my eyes look kind of yellow and gross. Pretty colors for walls or bedding, I’d say, but a pass for my face.

  • Christina

    Oh goodness, this does not look like a promising palette. I wear pastels well (ultra fair), but I don’t like when the white base is so strong is overwhelms the pigment. The colors end up looking like the same shade on the lids when that happens. Some of the brights are pretty, but I’m pretty sure I have a lot of dupes in my singles somewhere.

    I do love the packaging, though. So pretty!

  • Nicole

    A lot of the colors do look a bit patchy, but I think they’ll do well built up over primer and a white base. I really love the color variety as well, so pretty. I’ll still be picking this up to at least give it a go. If it turns out to be horrid to work with, back to the store it will go!

    I still just want that blush/highlighter palette though, haha.

    • Isabella Muse

      Nicole yes for sure primer and a white base would def help! I just wish there were a little silkier! Ha! That would be lovely!

  • Andrew

    Yiiiikes! I’m trying to find something nice to say but these just look really awful.

  • Maria

    The colors look pretty in the pan but the swatches so so. I have dark brown hair and brown eyes. I guess I will pass on this one. I am waiting for Too faced peaches palette.

  • Lauren

    I have to say, I think Sephora did this collection a disservice. I think I could have been so much better if they’d put some more effort into it. This palette is pretty to look at in the case, but it really seems like a random jumble of shades. They could have done an excellent blush and highlighter palette with variations of the two shades that were chosen and some unique, quality lip products, but instead we got this stuff. Between the Pantone collection and the Jem collection, it seems like Sephora is just aiming for mediocrity this year. It’s very disappointing, especially since their collections have been surprisingly good in the past.

  • Dee

    I have to say this color palette isn’t for me. At all. I’ve never been less excited about or looking forward to incorporating the Pantone colors in my look.

  • Rachel R.

    I actually like the color selection much better than I thought I would for a pastel palette. The packaging is really pretty. With primer, it might actually be good on my porcelain skin. Thanks so much for the swatches!

  • Katherine T.

    When they picked pastel pink and blue, I was really afraid this would happen, and my worst fears have come to realization 🙁 First, the blue lipstick and now this . I was hoping against hope this palette would be ok. C’mon, if you’re going to pick pastels, at least get the formulas right, or don’t do them at all! I would love to add some nice pastels to my collection, but pastels are SO hard to get right. I have some really bad pastels from a Hello Kitty shadow kit (bought it only for the cute packaging), and I have to use primer AND an NYX Milk Pencil to get them to work, and even then, they don’t look great. And why didn’t they do the pastels in blushes, highlighters, nail polish, shimmery lip gloss instead? Those would’ve been much better. I think this collection is going to bomb, and next year, they are going to pick some fail-safe color that everyone likes and is easy to formulate, like gold.

  • Natalie Brown

    There’s several shades in this palette I would mix into eye looks with other shadows. Although, I’m bummed over the quality issues. Maybe I’ll consider it if it goes on sale. Thanks for the fun review!

  • Meriel

    This Sephora palette doesn’t really make sense. Watercolors? Has anyone who came up with this ever painted with watercolor pigments? Watercolor is loved for its clarity and transparency and vibrancy. Pastel colors are muted with white, which lends opacity. In painting, you’d get this effect by toning with white gouache. The true watercolorist reserves this for special effects for the most part–spatter for snow, for example. I hate to belabor this point, but the colors in the entire “watercolor” scheme should have been called simply pastels, or modern gouache or something. It reminds me more of the mod 60s look; what goes around comes around. Sorry for the gripe, but I adore watercolor paints. Sephora really missed the mark on this one, in my humble opinion. But thank you so much for your review!

  • Penny

    Some of these shades look similar to paint swatches I have been looking at…lol. Definitely going to pass on these !

  • genevieve

    I think this palette is a big miss. First of all, the texture of the eye shadows are off, the pigmentation of the colours, using a white base, would not suit many customers and thirdly, I can’t see many people wearing blue lipstick to work (where we spend most of our day). I am a really fair person, who could not wear these eye shadows. Pastel colours are fine for a bed room, but they look too cutesy as an eye shadow on anyone of a certain age.

  • JessDiMaggio

    I didn’t want to miss out on this… There was something too intriguing about those creamy shimmers and clear, bright mattes… I bought but haven’t played with it yet, the swatches I did in store seemed to be somewhat sheer but still pigmented and smooth… So, like water colors. All in all I think it’s wearable for my skin tone and at the least I don’t have any other palettes like it!! (Justification for LE palette hoarding).

  • Marilyn

    I have this palette and I really like it. I was a little unsure at first because so many pastel colors in one palette is a little overwhelming. But once I started using it and focusing on the individual colors, it wasn’t a problem anymore. I find it really pretty for Spring/Summer. Something that I really like is that if I dip my brush into a couple of colors I get a nice blended color on my lid. However, If I layer colors on my eyelid, they don’t mix together to change colors unless I do it intentionally. This is such a refreshing change from so many neutral palettes.