Jaclyn Hill X Morphe Palette - Initial Thoughts

This has got to be possibly the most anticipated release of 2017 and ever since I laid my eyes on this palette, I knew I needed. I am obviously talking about the Jaclyn Hill X Morphe Eye Shadow Palette collaboration. Ever since Jaclyn announced that she was releasing a collaboration, I knew I wanted to give it ago mainly because I trust Jaclyn so much when it comes to makeup. She wouldn't release anything unless it was perfection and I think, in that sense, she is so genuine and true to herself. When I saw this palette, I just needed it, there was no doubt about that and after finding out early to the first release date that Beauty Bay were not going to be stocking it, my heart was broken for all of the UK makeup lovers, like myself. After a little bit after the release though Beauty Bay announced that they were going to be stocking it, and I was so ready. The palette was release last Thursday (28th) for all of us in the UK, and to say the least, it was a battle but since I was in school, very kindly my mum picked this up for me. I do just want to point out just how lucky I am to have gotten my hands on it this but I have heard that there is going to be another restock on Beauty Bay, so I will leave what I can at the end of this post.

To the point of this post, I received the palette on Saturday (30th) and I am writing this on the Sunday, so I have not had anywhere near enough time to have some final thoughts on this palette but I wanted to get this post up as soon as possible just to see whether it is actually worth the hype it has been given so I have decided to just share with you my initial thoughts of the palette since receiving it. If you do want to see my final thoughts though or full swatches of every shade, then do let me know and I will do that but for the time being, I thought that it would be good to see my initial impressions of this palette.

First off, I will talk a little about the packaging. This palette does come with a sleeve, designed almost exactly like the palette cover itself, but on the back it has these gorgeous pictures of Jaclyn and then a little bit of back story to the palette. For the palette itself, it is matte white with metallic silver writing which I think is so Jaclyn's style and it is so classy and sophisticated, especially since it is a Morphe Palette. One thing I don't like about the packaging is the fact that it is a matte white base just because it is just going to get so dirty so easily but then again, it is not difficult to remove but it is just something to bare in mind. The packaging is very different to a regular Morphe 35 shade palette as we have already established but it also has a magnetic close on it instead of a clicking one like the other Morphe palettes. To be honest, I prefer the clicking close just because I think it is more secure, but saying that, the magnet on this palette is super secure and I can't imagine it just opening on its own.

In terms of sizing, it is a very similar size to a normal 35 shade Morphe palette which is what you expect but it is thinner. I think this is just mainly because this palette is in cardboard while the other Morphe palettes are made out of plastic, so you could argue that this is more travel friendly and compact. To be honest though, unless I was travelling for more than a week, I would not take this palette with me just because it is so big in terms of a general palette but I do like the amount of shades you get so I think it would just depend on where you were travelling to and what your makeup would be like while you are there.

I am just going to go into the inside of the palette now and talk about shades and price. This palette does retail for £37 which, straight off is not too bad when you think about what you are getting. You are getting 35 shadows which makes each individual pan just over £1 each which is not bad at all when you compare to the likes of Makeup Geek or even Colourpop. I know £37 might seem a lot for a palette but if you like the shades in this, then I think it is worth investing in. It is more than a normal 35 shade Morphe palette but I would just bring that down to the fact that Jaclyn created this and that it is collaboration with someone as well respected as Jaclyn. What I did find really interesting about this palette though was the fact that each eye shadow has been pressed differently, which does just show the amount of though and precision that has been put into creating these. It is very rare to have each shade in a palette being pressed differently, especially for this price, but somehow they did this. From someone who has never created eye shadow, this might seem extreme but we do have to remember that every eye shadow formula is different whether it is the colour, finish or blendability each one will need something a little different in order for it to work perfectly, so this gave me even bigger hopes for that palette. Overall, I think the price is super fair and reasonable, feel free to disagree but being someone with a mixture or high end and drugstore palettes, this is the perfect in between and I think if you were to love and adore these shadows, then no money would have gone to waste.

About the inside of the of the palette, I know a lot were disappoint about the fact that there was no mirror, but for me that doesn't really bother me. With adding a good quality mirror, it would have increased the price and with it being such a big palette, I just don't think that it was needed. I am quite happy with it not having a mirror just because I would prefer one of my smaller face compacts to have a mirror instead.

For the shade range, I think she nailed the selection apart from one shade I will go into in a minute. I think the range of mattes and shimmers, is great, I love how there is also a pressed glitter and a duo chrome just to add into the mix and I think that the range of warm, cool, colourful and dark shades was done perfectly. There is something for everyone in this palette and I think that majority of these shades would flatter every kind of eye colour. Like I said before, there is one shade that I wish she had included and that is a matte bone shade just because I can't wear eye shadow without a shade like that just to set my base and to create a blank canvas but I can just use a pressed powder for that so it is not something I can't fix but it is something I would have liked to see in this palette.

I am still yet to play with this on my actual eyes but I am just going to talk about initial swatches and what I think straight off the bat. Going in with your finger onto the powder, they feel smooth, not too creamy that there is loads of kick back but not so dry that nothing comes off. The mattes in particular are just smooth but as you can see, plenty of pigment. The darker matte did come off a little patchy but I don't know whether that was just me swatching it wrong but we will find out on the eyes. For the shimmers, they are so super metallic and pigmented. They feel creamier than the mattes which is expected and they are just so super beautiful.

To say the least, I am so super excited to play with this on my eyes but initials thoughts is that I think I am going to love it. The mattes seem ideal for me and the shimmers are just super intense so I think I am in love. Saying that, let's not speak too soon as I am still yet to play with it on my eyes but you will find out once I have.

What do you think of the look of this palette?

Grace xx

Links mentioned:

Where I bought it - https://www.beautybay.com/cosmetics/morphe/morphexjaclynhilleyeshadowpalette/

Next Restock - October!