What's in My Small Z Palette (With Swatches)

Like I promised, I am going to be doing a blog post all about the single eye shadows I keep in my Z Palette. At the moment, I have been pretty good at linking everything so if you like the look of any of the products I mentioned, they should be linked.

I did do a first impressions of the Makeup Geek eye shadows which I will link here, in case you want to know more about the formula, but I will briefly talk about each shade individually.

The Z Palette itself is from the proper brand Z Palette and I got mine off Beauty Bay (linked here). I only wanted the small one to begin with so I could just get a couple of shades just to test for the time being. This palette is super compact and it comfortably fits in nine single eye shadows. I do sort of wish that it has a mirror, but that is something that I can deal with. These empty palettes retail for about £10 which I feel like is a lot of money but I am sure that I am going to get a lot of use out of it.

This is the only shade in this palette that isn't from Makeup Geek. It is the NYX Single Eye Shadow in Whipped Cream. It is just your standard matte white shade but I think that it is essential to have a shade like this in every palette. A matte white/ cream shade has so many uses, inner corner highlight, brow bone highlight, lid shade or setting cream shadow in place. I am not a huge fan of this formula though because even though the pigment is good, the eye shadow is so powdery and it gives you a little too much kickback. Saying that, I cannot really complain since it was only around £3 which is half of a Makeup Geek eye shadow. I would recommend a shade like this for your palette but maybe not from this range but it does depend on how much you want to pay. 

From now on, all single eye shadows are by Makeup Geek which I bought off Beauty Bay. This particular one was bought because of the huge hype there is around this shade, Shimma Shimma. I have heard only good things about this eye shadow, it is a beautiful champagne shade. It is super shimmery and reflective which I love. This shade is definitely one of my favourites, it is beautiful on the inner corner, eyelid or even as a face highlighter. Since it is a very shimmery shade there is a lot of kick back on the product but not as much fall out as what you might think. The powder is very butter and smooth feeling. The pigment is so beautiful and intense, definitely one I would recommend.

This is the only duo chrome eye shadow I bought and I definitely want to get some more because this is beautiful. The shade itself is called Rockstar it's a light, pale grey with a pink sheen depending on how the light hits it. I do think that this shade is a little out of my comfort zone because is isn't super warm or golden which is what I usually wear but I like it a lot. As you will be able to see by the swatches at the end of this post, this shade is super pigmented and even, the colour does change from grey to pink depending on the light which I think looks very unusual on the eyes. This shade is very powdery but that's okay because the pigment is there. I would also recommend dampening your brush before applying this because it will reduce fallout and improve the pigment even more.

I feel as though this is a classic shade from Makeup Geek, Creme Brulee, so you could say I only bought this because of the hype. When I first got this, it looked very light in the pan, like it wouldn't work as a transition shade, but don't be fooled. It is a lot darker once you swatch it and put it on your eye and it is the most perfect transition shade. Creme Brulee is on the warmer side of a brown but I think it is a shade that everyone should have because everyone would be able to wear this. This is definitely a favourite shade. I find that all of the matte shades apply beautifully, they are pigmented, even, blendable, buttery and they are not as powdery as the shimmery shades, although I would recommend tapping off the excess before applying it to your eye.

Not going to lie, I can be a little scared of this shade because of how unusual the colour is but on the eyes it look lovely. It is called Desert Sands and it is a mustard, warm yellow shade but it is quite dark. This is lovely for the crease as it is matte and really flatters any brown shade. It also gives a little pop of colour as it is not brown but it is still neutral. I don't use the everyday but I think it's a nice shade to pull out occasionally for an extra something.

I love this shade a lot, I think it is quite new and was part of their autumn range but it is called Early Bird and it is a lovely bright orange. I like it because it is not too light and not too dark which I think is quite hard to find and it is also matte which again, I love for the crease. This is perfect to just add a lot of warmth eyes while flattering all of the other browns I use. I also love it on the eyelid with dark browns in the crease, it creates a warm smokey eye which I love. If you love warm eye shadows this is definitely one for you.

When I got a Z Palette I knew that this had to be one of the first eye shadows. Tuscan Sun is a beautiful muted, mid pink shade, like most of these shadows it is matte so I love it in the crease. I mainly bought this because I thought that it would make my green eyes pop. Personally, I love pink shades on my eyes but all of the pink eye shadows are matte, until this shade. I probably wouldn't use this without pairing it with a warm brown just to keep it neutral. This is definitely a shade that would flatter all eye colours and skin tones, especially green/blue eyes.

This, like Creme Brulee, a classic shade that I feel like everyone has, it's Cocoa Bear. This is just the perfect brown shade, I would say it has a very neutral undertone, it's not cool but it is not super warm either. It almost has a red undertone to it which I think looks really beautiful. I love this with all of those matte shades I mentioned previously. This is great to add depth in the outer corner and crease because it is not too dark like a black but it still adds enough depth. Sadly I find the formulation of this eye shadow a little disappointing, it is not like the other matte shades. It's a little rough to the touch and when I swatch it, it can be patchy. Thankfully on the eyes it's not a little too bad but just thought I would make you aware of this shade.

Corrupt is probably the most disappointing shade because I have always read, saw and been told that it was a matte black and so I bought it, a matte black is essential in an eye palette so I bought this one to figure out that it is shimmery. Now a lot of people will think that I am being stupid for being so sad about this but I was so sad. The difference between a matte shadow and a shimmery shadow might not be a lot to people but it is for me. I would much rather but matte shades near my lash line or in my crease and a shimmery shade on my lid and inner corner. This black is still very nice and I will still use it but I just wish that it was matte. Just to add in also, if you look at the swatch the shade is a little patchy but I expect that from a black shade. 

(Shades top to bottom, Corrupt, Cocoa Bear, Tuscan Sun, Early Bird, Desert Sands, Creme Brulee, Rockstar, Shimma Shimma, Whipper Cream)

What's your favourite Makeup Geek shade?

Grace xx