What I'm Not Buying: Natasha Denona Holiday 2017 Palettes: Joya and Aeris

Natasha Denona has released two five-pan palettes for the holiday season that look incredibly similar to each other. 

And I won't be buying. 

Whenever Natasha Denona comes out with a new product, I always feel a little angry. And it's not necessarily just at the brand. A lot of it is anger with myself. This brand, as I've said before, represents a lot of what I hate about the beauty industry in terms of hype, "influencer" influence, and cost. 

Now, to just come out with it, I'll say that in terms of Natasha Denona eyeshadows, I feel like the five-pan palettes are the "safest" option with the "least" amount of damage done. That's at least what I told myself when I bought two of her older five-pan palettes a couple years ago. At the time, my only other options were the $239 palettes, so a $50 five-pan palette seemed like the better option. Not necessarily a "good deal," but at least I wasn't spending an extra $139 and I got to try out two palettes. 

But I am still bitter after all this time about how much hype was around these shadows. So much so that I contemplated spending that ridiculous $239 just to satisfy my hype cravings. And indeed spent $100 on two five-pan palettes to do so. Thing is, we all heard from people who received those products for free—who did not spend $239 of their own money—that these were the greatest eyeshadows that they had ever used. 

Now, there is certainly an aspect of the makeup world that I personally don't see talked about that much, and it is brand/prestige bias. Upfront I will say that I am absolutely guilty of this myself. I have always had a taste for luxury items, and makeup isn't different. So, as an example, I have and really love two Tom Ford eyeshadow quads. I have also owned two other Tom Ford quads (as well as one from Charlotte Tilbury) that I did not think were anything special or worth the price tag, and I decluttered all three of them. But with the two Tom Ford quads I have now, I've wondered if you took away the name and the packaging and told me they were from L'Oreal, would I feel differently about them?

And I guess this is what I feel about Natasha Denona as well. Her shadows are so expensive, and I honestly think that's where a lot of the hype comes from. People just want to "try" the shadows for themselves to see what kind of shadows cost this much. And I get that. I obviously felt the same way at one point, but I think the conclusion that people keep coming back to is that while the Natasha Denona shadows are pretty, and they really are, they aren't that much better than cheaper alternatives to really justify the price tag. 

Let's look at the holiday palettes. 

There's Joya:

And Aeris:

Now, the first thing I will say is that Natasha Denona has slightly upgraded their packaging, which I have criticized for a while as being incredibly cheap. Some people have commented when I've criticized the packaging that Viseart also has non-fancy packaging, and that's true. However, I feel like the quality of packaging is very different and Viseart is superior. Viseart also is aimed at professional makeup artists, which is why the packaging looks the way it does. But the packaging is sturdy (for the most part—I have had some Viseart packaging break) and is not nearly as cheap as packaging I've seen from Natasha Denona. 

I have not seen this new packaging in person, and while it definitely looks better than it used to, I have a feeling it is still very cheap and not appropriate for its price tag. 

Natasha Deonoa released an image of the two palettes together, possibly to sway people into thinking they "need" both palettes:

But this picture actually did the opposite for me, because it showed me how similar both of these palettes are. 

Let's look at swatches:

I always caution against taking swatches at face value (and also basing all opinions on swatches), but when I look at these saturated swatches, I still don't see what's all that special or interesting about these shadows. Yes, the swatches are pretty, but I can achieve those swatches with Colourpop and Makeup Geek shadows. 

The color schemes of these palettes remind me of two recently released by Lime Crime.

Pink Lemonade:

And Bubblegum:

The color schemes of both of these palettes run really warm, and they remind me of a smaller version of their Sunset palette:

Let's talk about price for a moment. Each of these five-pan palettes cost $48. With tax, if you bought both of these palettes, for 10 shadows, it would be over $100. The Sunset palette has 15 shadows for $129. Before tax, each five-pan row of shadows in the palette costs $43. So while that is not a huge price increase, these five-pan palettes cost about $5 more than what five shadows in her 15-pan palettes cost. 

For cheaper alternatives, there's NYX Fire:

Colourpop Yes, Please!:

Juvia's Place Masquerade: 

Juvia's Place Zulu:

And Juvia's Place Saharan II:

All of these alternate palettes are cheaper than one five-pan palette from Natasha Denona, and all of them are of great quality. 

The color schemes of Joya and Aeris are also incredibly ordinary, for lack of a better word. These are all colors that we have seen before and that most people already own. The only interesting color is the blue shade, but it is not enough to warrant buying the entire palette. A great alternative at a fraction of the cost is Costal Scents Lakeshore:

Finally, as a last point, I would like to talk about luxury makeup. Tom Ford, Chanel, Dior, Burberry, etc. all have very expensive eyeshadows. And most of them, especially from Chanel and Dior, are not that great. In fact, a lot of times they are terrible. And for those prices, having a terrible product is truly unacceptable. But here's the other thing: those are all established luxury brands. The packaging is heavy and luxurious, and feels like you are actually buying a Chanel product. Personally, that is not enough for me to pay a lot of money for a bad product. It's just not. But with Natasha Denona, there is nothing about it that feels luxurious except for the price.  

Now, price is also relative. I have spent upwards of $50 on five shadows before, and I have spent $10 on a single shadow. Looking at these palettes from that point of view, the price tag isn't that crazy. But, it is still expensive, the colors are not that unique, and the mystique of Natasha Denona's formula isn't worth all the hype and money. 

In case it is not clear, I don't think Natasha Denona shadows are bad. I think they are beautiful (the shimmers at least, not the mattes). But I don't think they are so much better than other things to justify the high cost. And I personally believe that all the hype the brand gets is from people who want to justify the money they spent. I have kept the Natasha Denona shadows that I purchased, and honestly, I don't use them very much at all, and I will likely declutter them from my collection soon. I reach for shadows from Colourpop, Makeup Geek, and indie brands far more often. And given the choice between a Natasha Denona shadow or one from Fyrinnae, I would choose Fyrinnae every time. When you have worked with incredible shadows with complex, unique colors at an affordable price, I think it really makes shadows like Natasha Denona transparently overpriced. I don't need these palettes, so I won't be buying.