Fenty Beauty, the brand that recently launched (and came out swinging), has also released a holiday collection, including the Galaxy eyeshadow palette.
But I won't be buying.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to write an anti-haul post on this product, mainly because I actually love all the hype surrounding this brand and am glad so many people are excited for it. Fenty's motto is "beauty for all," and that is a concept that is really being celebrated by consumers and noticed by other brands, as, traditionally, brands have catered solely toward light skin tones.
So seeing a brand like Fenty, created by a woman of color, launch with 40 foundation shades and be incredibly hyped and celebrated is really exciting. And since the focus of my blog in large part is to lower the hype, it feels a little strange to talk about a kind of hype that I'm not mad about.
But, this is still a product that I am not going to buy because it's a product that I don't need. And for people who are in a similar boat and getting caught up in the hype, I figure laying out my reasons for not buying may be helpful.
Let's look at the palette:
This palette is made up exclusively of shimmer shadows, which is a trend that I'm seeing a bit of this holiday season. More than that, this palette is filled with glitter shadows, similar to Too Faced Glitter Bomb:
And Urban Decay Moondust:
I've mentioned this before, but I am personally not a fan of shadows/palettes that have a lot of glitter. I can tolerate it from time to time if the color or shine is exceptional (like in Jouer Skinny Dip or the Stila Magnificent Metals), but most of the time, it's a no-go for me. I don't personally have either of the above palettes because a glitter shadow is not something I enjoy, and I would say that if you do own either of those palettes, the Galaxy palette may not be all that additive to your collection.
The Galaxy palette costs $59. For comparison, the Urban Decay Moondust palette costs $49, and the Too Faced Glitter Bomb costs $45. So while the Fenty one is more expensive, it also contains more shades. However, that is still too much money to spend, in my opinion, on a palette that is all shimmer/glitter shades. I guess this is where I am either hypocritical or just showing my personal preference, because I can understand spending a chunk of money on a great all-matte eyeshadow palette, but less so for one with all shimmers/glitters.
The Galaxy palette has stunning packaging:
And while I don't typically get too caught up in packaging, I got a little caught up in this. When I look at what a lot of other brands are doing, which is catering to a young audience, I tend to roll my eyes. Too Faced has been going overboard for a few years now, and there are so many collections at the moment in collaboration with My Little Pony, which is really throwing me. So seeing Fenty packaging, which is sleek, sophisticated, interesting, and gorgeous, is really appealing to me.
But, at the end of the day, it's not about the packaging, it's about the product.
Let's look at the colors away from that gorgeous packaging:
When I look at the colors like this, I don't really see anything that is all that interesting or special, and certainly nothing that I don't already have elsewhere in my collection. I suppose I am most drawn to the color that represents "Mars on Fire," but the description, "sheer copper rose glitter," does not sound appealing to me.
Let's look at swatches:
Again, there is not a ton here that I personally find all that interesting. 7 and 11 are what catch my attention, but that's really it. It is also important to keep in mind that these are swatches provided by the brand, which means that they will undoubtedly look better than they actually are. This is not specific to Fenty—essentially every brand does this. With that said, these swatches also aren't all that interesting to me.
The layout of this palette reminds me of the Smashbox On the Rocks palette:
And the color scheme reminds me of Tarte Make Believe in Yourself:
Urban Decay After Dark:
Urban Decay Vice 4:
And the shimmers in the Kat Von D Metal Matte palette:
The Galaxy palette just doesn't interest me personally beyond wanting to try some Fenty Beauty products and the gorgeous packaging. I'd like to speak to that first point, though, about wanting to buy something just to try a new brand. I have mixed feelings on something like this. On the one hand, I don't advocate for ever buying something that is unneeded, just to "try" it, as I feel that is a really dangerous consumerism mindset. But on the other hand, I feel like the brand is hyped for all the "right" reasons. Yes, people are hyping the foundation as really incredible, but I've also seen Jacquelyn Lovene's review video where she discovered that the formula is the same as a much cheaper Catrice foundation (this is not uncommon, and, according to Jacquelyn, the Catrice foundation has a laughable shade range). But I don't feel people are hyping Fenty just because the foundation is great. The hype is coming from what the brand stands for, which is much needed inclusivity. And the better Fenty does and the more attention it gets, I feel like other brands are taking note. And that, in my opinion, is a worthwhile endeavor. Brands are always going to be aware of their competitors, and if Fenty's success brings about real change the the beauty industry, that would be really fantastic.
At the same time, as a consumer and recovering makeup/shopping addict, it is important that I still practice healthy shopping methods and only buy things if they are really additive or unique. I'm reminded of when I purchased the Pastel Goth palette as a sign of solidarity despite having previously made the decision to not buy it. This ended up being a really great purchase for me, and it has survived many rounds of decluttering. I don't have anything in my collection that is quite like that palette, and I've found myself reaching for it on a pretty regular basis.
That is not to say that I will never buy something from Fenty—because I would really like to eventually. But at this point, there is nothing in the line that I feel would be additive to my collection. And buying just for the sake of buying is not a healthy habit that I want to practice.
With the Galaxy eyeshadow palette, that is just not a product for me. I think the packaging is stunning, but it is not a product that we haven't seen before. I imagine that for best results, the palette probably requires a glitter primer, which just adds to the cost of it. And the reality is that if I bought the palette, I would use it a couple of times before retiring it to the back of my collection and using less glittery shadows. Then, on the occasions that I would want a glitter shadow, I would have to decide between this, Jouer Skinny Dip, and my Stila Magnificent Metals. And then all of these products would be used less because there would be more to compete with. And, frankly, I don't think I would like the Fenty shadows more than the Jouer or Stila.
So, while I am excited to keep an eye on this brand and see what else they come out with, the Galaxy palette is not something that I am going to buy. This product would not get much use in my collection, so it would not be a good purchase.
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