Colourpop and beauty influencer Kathleenlights have teamed up once again for the Dream collection, which includes a lip bundle and the Dream St eyeshadow palette. 

And I won't be buying. 

This post will focus on the eyeshadow palette, but I will not be buying anything from this collection. 

To start off, I just want to say that I really dislike writing posts about beauty influencer collaborations. Personally, there is not a single person who I watch on YouTube or whose blog I read that I feel so connected or dedicated to that I will buy whatever they attach their names to or recommend, and certainly no one who I will defend as if they were a member of my family. 

I have been watching YouTube for eight years at this point, and I have seen the beauty community evolve from one of authenticity to one that is corporate. I've talked about this before, but when we watch a commercial for CoverGirl or Maybelline, we know that we are watching an advertisement. We know that Katy Perry is not really using CoverGirl makeup in her daily life in the same way that we know that Nicole Kidman is not slathering on Neutrogena skin care every night. But YouTube started as a different platform, and most big influencers got where they are today but building a more authentic platform when they first started. So now when people see Jaclyn Hill or Kathleenlights or Tati recommend something, they already have this viewer relationship to them that they had when each was a smaller channel, and people don't necessarily recognize that these promotion of products are not all that different from Katy Perry or Nicole Kidman ads. 

By far, the most negative comments I receive on my posts are the ones I make about influencer collaborations. And although I recognize that the majority of these people are very young, impressionable, and, frankly, immature, it still baffles me why there is such an intense need and desire to defend someone whose only connection to you is that they make makeup videos that you watch. 

And I suspect that this post will especially touch some nerves because, yes, I will be discussing Kathleen's recent use of a racial slur on social media and subsequent apologies.  

But first, let's talk about the palette.

What's interesting is that I first heard about Kathleenlights because of her first collaboration with Colourpop, which was the "Where the Light Is" collection of Super Shock shadows. I purchased that collection of shadows at the time because I wanted to try the Super Shock shadows (I don't like them and will not purchase any more, FYI) and I liked the color scheme. 

Coincidentally, I have since purchased another Colourpop and Kathleenlights collaboration, which is the lipliner in the shade Lumiere. I did not purchase this lipliner because it was attached to Kathleen; rather, I was looking for a lipliner for one of my all-time favorite lipsticks, NARS Anna (Maybelline Touch of Spice is really similar). Because of the color, this is easily my most used and favorite lipliner, and I am almost finished with it. 

Furthermore, I have also purchased from KL Polish, which is Kathleen's nail polish brand. Generally speaking, I really like the polishes, but some of the colors did not flatter me and have since been decluttered. I did not purchase these polishes because of Kathleen; I had read excellent reviews about them and they had a few colors I felt were unique. 

It's funny because in my head I think I have never purchased a beauty influencer collaboration before, and it's because I have purchased products that seemed interesting to me that happened to be designed by Kathleenlights. 

I've recently been gifted a few palettes, which, ironically, include two palettes that I have written anti-haul posts on—KVD Saint and Sinner and the Morphe Jaclyn Hill palette. (It's interesting receiving makeup as gifts because people know that I love makeup and write a blog about makeup, so it makes sense that they think to give me (popular) makeup as a gift, but then I am in an interesting situation since I write about why I don't need certain makeup.)

So that is the extent of influencer collaborations I own or have owned, and I did not acquire any of them because of any personal feelings about the influencer attached. But I also mention this to say that I don't have any personal vendetta against these influencers when I write a post about why I am not going to buy their products. 

Had Kathleen not been associated with the Dream St palette, I still would not have purchased it because I have comparable shadows in my collection. But I will still start off with some positives about this palette, which include the price ($16) and the fact that Colourpop pressed shadows are typically quite nice. 

Here are swatches from Kathleen:

When I look at these swatches, the first thing that comes to mind is the NYX Fire palette:

I also think it looks like a mix between Colourpop Yes, Please!:

And Colourpop My Little Pony:

Furthermore, I think it also looks a lot like the Mophe Jaclyn Hill palette:

I now own every single one of the above palettes, so I absolutely have this color scheme covered. And if you have any of the above palettes, you have the majority of the shadows already covered as well. 

Since Colourpop palettes are so inexpensive when compared to other palettes (ranging from $16 to $18), I think it can become really easy to justify collecting them, even when you already own the shadows. Personally, I struggle with owning both NYX Fire and Yes, Please! since the two palettes are so similar. However, I use both, so at this point I do not want to declutter either. But it is a lesson I have learned that just because something is inexpensive, that doesn't mean you need to buy what you already own. (For the record, I purchased Yes, Please! first—lesson still applies.)

If you already own the majority of these shadows or all of them, buying this palette, even at $16, is still a waste of money. Colourpop offers free domestic shipping on orders over $30, so you will either pay an additional $5 for shipping, or you will spend an additional $14 to get "free" shipping. And at that point, it really starts to feel like a waste of money to buy shades that you already own. 

I don't find the color scheme of the Dream St palette to be entirely inclusive as I feel like the lighter colors will look very similar to each other on medium to deep skin tones, but the color scheme is no where near as egregious as the Too Faced White Chocolate Bar palette, for example. 

I think Dream St is a fine collection of shadows, but there is not a ton that is all that interesting, unique, or new about it. I've seen most people comment on the teal shade, but similar shadows are found in NYX Fire, Colurpop My Little Pony, and Morphe Jaclyn Hill. And if that is the one shadow that is attracting you to the palette, there is always the (better) option of trying to find that one shadow in a single. 

To end this post, I would like to talk about the desire and sometimes need people have in "supporting" their favorite influencers. 

And to start off, I would like to address Kathleen's use of a racial slur on social media. For those who are unfamiliar, Kathleen used the n-word while drinking in a video Jaclyn Hill posted to Snapchap. Immediately upon saying the word, she asked Jaclyn to not post the video. Kathleen has since apologized for this on several social media platforms, but not on YouTube, which is her main platform. Kathleen also said that she made "one mistake" and that she used a "bad word," which, in my opinion, gravely undermines the deep significance of this word as a slur to degrade an entire race. 

In my personal opinion, every person knows that word is a racial slur. For people who use that word, I believe that they use it willingly. And I personally find it difficult to find an apology authentic when Kathleen made the decision to not apologize on her biggest platform with the most viewership and potential to reach her audience.  

I also find it very upsetting that the majority of people who vocally "forgive" this entire situation or accept the apology are those who are not people of color. It is not up to those who are not part of the affected community to determine if something is a big deal or not to the affected community. 

In previous blog posts, I have commended Kathleen on her highlighter palette collaboration with Makeup Geek because she made a palette that could work for multiple skin tones. Many people with light skin complained about the palette because they could not use all of the shades, which I think speaks volumes to the amount of privilege and ignorance that exists in the beauty community. It is not my intention with this post to label Kathleen in any way, and it is also not my place to comment on if people should "move on" or not from this. I will just say that I do not subscribe to Kathleen's channel or watch her videos, which is my personal choice. 

Coming back around to this notion of supporting beauty influencers, that is a personal choice. I will say again that a lot of people who feel this need to "support" their favorite influencer by buying their latest collaboration tend to be younger. I have mentioned this before, but when I was a tween, I would have purchased anything that had Justin Timberlake attached to it. I have been young and impressionable, so I understand being that way. It is still worth mentioning that just because someone you like has collaborated on a project, that doesn't mean that you need to spend your money "supporting" them. Buying this palette will not make you friends with Kathleenlights in real life, nor will she know that you personally bought this palette to "support" her. 

If you genuinely love this exact color scheme and don't have anything else like it in your collection, Colourpop pressed shadows tend to be quite good, and the palette is only $16. Something I like about a lot of Colourpop's collaborations is that they don't hike up the price compared to other similar products to pay the "influencer fee" (like with the Morphe Jaclyn Hill palette). 

For me, I have all of these shadows already and don't have any need or desire to add any others to my collection. So, I won't be buying. 

In my latest post I've talked about the Dreamy Eyeshadow Palette aka NABLA Cosmetics' first eyeshadow palette ever - which, by the way, it's still sold out; I know a lot of you (and myself as well) were hoping/expecting it to be restocked in time for Black Friday, but unfortunately that didn't happened and there's still no restock date yet.
Anyway, here's another makeup look I made using exclusively the Dreamy palette - which ended up being slightly festive, despite I wasn't going for a Christmas-y look at all XD

~ Special thanks to Marta who suggested me "Crystal Flames" as name for this look!
Much appreciated - and really appropriate ♥

My main goal with this look was to use and show more shades from the Dreamy - as in the very first look I did with it I used just three. That previous look was very dark, so I wanted this one to be way brighter and warmer - so I went for the gold and red shades, and I decided to use the 'round cut crease' style to really show off the gold as it is stunning.
So needless to say all the eyeshadows I used this time are by NABLA and almost all of them come from the Dreamy palette; everything else is about the same, as always, but I did include another new entries - some new glitters I recently got from The Unicorn Glitter Box.

As I usually do in this kind of makeup looks, after priming my lids I started working on the crease blending straight away. One thing I've been also doing a lot lately is to apply my brow bone shade at the very beginning of the process, so I applied Antique White and then moved on to the crease shade. I applied Señorita all over my crease and outer corner, blending it as I went; one this I like the most of this eyeshadow, aside from its gorgeous shade, is its amazing 'blendability': so easy to blend, to the point it doesn't even need a transition colour. I know it looks like I blended it with a pale pink shade - but guess what, none of this: that is just the result of blending it ♥
Once I was happy with the crease & outer corner blending, I used a little bit of foundation to clean the lid and carve the rounded shape. Done that, I applied Byzantine over the foundation (once it set), following the half circle I created on my lid.
I decided to use different shades for my lower lid, so I used Rose Gold as main colour and blended it using Sistina; later I defined my lower lashline using Nocturne as usual.
Last but not least, I used the beautiful Vanitas as my inner corner highlighter.

I wasn't unsure whether to add eyeliner or not - but then I decided to go for it, so I used the Epic Ink Liner in Black by NYX Professional Makeup to draw a simple, classical winged line.

To add a fun, sparkling touch to this look, I decided to use some glitters: I applied them around the half circle shape - I went for some small, not chunky ones with subtle reflects, Rainbow Seas by The Unicorn Glitter Box.
And that's it, essentially; all I had left to do was applying a black eyepencil on my waterline, then falsies and mascara.

Face

- MAC Cosmetics Pro Longwear Foundation NW15 (foundation)

Eyes

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer

- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Vanitas" (inner corner)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Byzantine" (upper lid)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Señorita" (crease, outer corner)

- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Rose Gold" (lower lid)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Sistina" (lower lid)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Antique White" (brow bone)
- NABLA Cosmetics Eyeshadow in "Nocturne" (lower lashline)

- NYX Professional Makeup Epic Ink Liner*

- The Unicorn Glitter Box loose glitters in "Rainbow Seas"*

- MAC Cosmetics Kohl Power Eye Pencil in "Feline" 

- MAC Cosmetics "Extended Play Gigablack Lash" Mascara

- Ardell Lashes Double-Up Lashes n° 203
- DUO White Eyelash Adhesive

Eyebrows

- NABLA Cosmetics Brow Pot in "Mars"*

Brushes

- 239 ~ MAC Cosmetics

- 217 ~ MAC Cosmetics
- 213 ~ MAC Cosmetics
- 224 ~ MAC Cosmetics
- Accent Brush ~ Real Techniques

- 2x Short Smudge (A13)* ~ Spectrum Collections (BombShell Set*, Marbleous Set*)
- Fluffy Pencil (A12)* ~ Spectrum Collections (BombShell Set*)

- Large Fluffy Shader (A06) ~ Spectrum Collections (Siren Set)

- Lip Liner (A15)* ~ Spectrum Collections (Siren Set, BombShell Set*)
- Precision Crease (A16) ~ Spectrum Collections

Hope you enjoyed this look ;D

What are your favourite shades from the Dreamy palette? ♥

Mermaid kisses and starfish wishes

*Disclaimer: Starred products are press samples, sent by respective brands for me to test and review.

For the holiday season, Too Faced has released the latest in their Chocolate Bar gimmick series, the White Chocolate Bar. 

And I won't be buying. 

I'll just be honest, this isn't so much an "anti-haul" at this point, but rather a roast of Too Faced because I sincerely doubt too many people are conflicted over buying this overpriced, uninspired, poor quality palette.

You may have noticed my absence over the past few weeks (or maybe you didn't) and that is because I was enjoying life so much and felt completely burnt out by the makeup and beauty communities. To clarify, my blog was not the thing that made me feel burnt out—I really enjoy writing this blog as well as the interaction I get from readers. It was the communities in general as well as discussions surrounding the Sephora VIB sale and upcoming Black Friday sales that left me feeling like I wanted a break.

I wish I could have made an anti-haul post about the Sephora VIB sale, because I personally felt inundated by all of the videos and posts I saw that were "guides" to the sale or recommendations for what people should purchase. And 20 percent is just not a substantial enough discount for me to think it really "justifies" how much people buy during the sale. Because sales like that are not designed with you in mind. Sephora makes bank during the sale because it prompts people to buy stuff they normally wouldn't. Hardly anyone can resist the notion of "getting a good deal," even when it's not a good deal.

As for me, I bought two things during the sale: A replacement cleanser and a replacement Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light (I used up an entire full-size container of it). That was it. And I would have purchased both of these items regardless of a sale.

I just became a little overwhelmed with it all and wanted a break. I was also traveling for the past month and really enjoying myself, and I just wanted to be present instead of thinking about new makeup and getting absorbed into the less enjoyable sides to these communities.

But this White Chocolate Bar palette has been on my mind for several months. Not in an "I'm considering purchasing this" kind of way, but rather a "What is Too Faced doing?" kind of way. And now that people are starting to get their hands on it and have confirmed what I've suspected for a while (that it's bad), I wanted to make this post.

So, this is the White Chocolate Bar palette:

And this is the Too Faced White Chocolate Chip palette:

If you think these two palettes look similar, it's because they do. If fact, they share a whopping TEN shades in common. Yep, 10. And, yes, the White Chocolate Chip palette has a total of 11 shadows. Meaning, every single shadow in the White Chocolate Chip palette (except Ambrosia, which is the top shade on the third column) is also in the White Chocolate Bar palette. 

The White Chocolate Bar palette has 16 shadows, so there are only six "new" shades in this palette. 

Personally, I don't really have any positive thoughts on the White Chocolate Chip palette. I think the quality is horrendous and insulting for the amount of money charged, and I feel like the color selection is ignorant at best and utterly laughable. This is not an inclusive palette whatsoever as these colors would only show up and look potentially distinguishable on the lightest of light skin tones. I have a light to medium skin tone with warm olive undertones, and these shadows did not show up on me when swatched. 

This is also one the worst reviewed palettes sold at Sephora and released by Too Faced. So it is utterly baffling why Too Faced would choose to include nearly every single one of these shades in another palette. 

Except, of course, if they just don't care. Which, in all honesty, is what this feels like. 

For months I have watched people's anti-haul videos on YouTube and heard nearly everyone mention this palette. But the main reasoning I heard for why people were not going to buy it was that the color selection was "odd." And what I think that means is that it has a green in it. Because when you take that color away, you're left with the most neutral of neutral palettes: the White Chocolate Chip. 

Adding insult to injury, the quality of this palette seems to be pretty atrocious. I highly recommend reading Temptalia's full review of this palette. I specifically applaud her for how she ended the review:

"The palette shares the bulk of its shades with last year’s palette, and there was little to no room for improvement from palette to palette, so this seemed like it was just a waste of time and money for all involved. It’s actually more frustrating to see a brand completely disregard customer feedback. It makes me feel like the brand doesn’t care, takes no pride in their products, and has no desire to improve their products."

Too Faced, in my opinion, has been in decline for the better part of two years, specially leading up to and after selling their company to Estée Lauder. Every single one of my Too Faced anti-haul posts has had a similar sentiment, which is that this brand so obviously cares more about the gimmick of the product, theme, and packaging than they do about actual quality. 

I have not purchased anything from Too Faced in a long time, and the only products I have left are five eyeshadows that I depotted from the Chocolate Bon Bons palette. I momentarily flirted with the idea of purchasing the Peachy Mattes palette, but I was able to easily dupe that palette with shadows in my own collection (and make what I consider improvements to the color scheme), and that duped palette remains the most used palette in my collection.

Something that's worth mentioning is that the White Chocolate Bar, unlike the existing Chocolate Bar palettes, is limited edition. And it's in these limited edition products that I feel Too Faced really just doesn't care. The White Chocolate Bar costs $49, and I think it is pretty terrible for a brand to charge that kind of money on poor quality. That is blatantly a ripoff. This isn't a case of some people will like it and others won't—this is objectively a bad product from shade range to quality. And when you think about other palettes within the $50 range, it is laughable to think that Too Faced put out a crap product and expect people to buy it simply because it is serialized within the Chocolate Bar range, smells like cocoa, and comes from Too Faced. 

With that money you could buy almost any other quality eyeshadow palette, so it's a wonder why Too Faced thinks that people would spend that kind of money on a bad product. 

Palettes with this color scheme (but done better) include Too Faced Chocolate Bar:

Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons:

Lorac Unzipped:

Urban Decay Naked 3:

Tarte Tartelette in Bloom:

And several others. 

Finally, and this is something that I touched upon earlier, but the White Chocolate Bar is not very inclusive. Even under the best of conditions, if the palette performed well, it still has a color scheme is that is suited for the lightest of skin tones. And at this point, that is just ignorant and irresponsible. 

Something I always like to consider when thinking about my anti-haul posts is what, if anything, a particular product is contributing to the makeup community. And this palette contributes nothing. I don't know any person who feels like their makeup collection is lacking very light neutrals, especially in a palette of poor quality shadows. 

This was a lazy release by Too Faced, and it honestly makes me think poorly of the brand. It feels like they expect me to just hand over substantial amounts of money just to have the "pleasure" of having a product with their name on it that is chocolate scented and themed. It feels disrespectful to consumers because the product is in no way worth the price they are charging. And I think they know that, which makes it that much worse.

I'm disappointed to see Too Faced have such little regard for their customers. With the rise of brands like Colourpop, that offers good products at reasonable prices, and Fenty, that offers beautiful packaging and inclusivity, there may not be a place for Too Faced in coming years unless they step up their game in a major way. This palette is garbage, and I won't be buying.

When NABLA Cosmetics announced they were going to release their first eyeshadow palette, the hype skyrocketed right away in less than a second. Their eyeshadows are always been extremely appreciated by both makeup enthusiasts and pro makeup artists, so no wonder that this palette was such a success! 

The Dreamy Eyeshadow Palette debuted on October 18th and it sold out in just a couple of days - quite a record. It hasn't been restocked yet, and there's not a restock date either - which is the main reason why I didn't post my impressions earlier. I took my time to try each shade - not only on myself, but on other people too. I've used this palette a lot in class and tested it on several skin types and different complexions, so I've quite a clear idea about this palette now ;D

"The Dreamy Eyeshadow Palette is the perfect balance between Fantasy, Elegance and Practicality."

This palette shares the same starred packaging of the Dreamy Liquid Lipsticks - gold stars, moons and constellations over a black background. It comes in a sturdy cardboard packaging (with a thinner, secondary one that I actually kept so it protects the palette while it's in my quite crowded makeup kit). The gold serigraphies, inserts and detailing really add a precious touch to the whole packaging, making it really classy and elegant. 

It has a magnetic closure - which I love, I'm a master in getting my freshly-painted fingernails stuck in every closure, so the magnet is a life-saver ;D

Once opened, the 'shell' reveals a big, high-quality mirror in the upper half - which is a real mirror, not one of those useless plastic ones that sometimes come in lower quality palettes. So be careful, it's real glass and thus it could shatter if you drop the palette (and that's why I kept the cardboard case, so I now it wouldn't open up on it own when I carry it around in my kit).

The lower half of the packaging holds the twelve square eyeshadow pans, organized in three rows, and each pan contains slightly less than 1 gram of product.

This palette's shadows feature two brand new textures plus one relatively new and much loved already - I'm talking about the Super Matte texture, which debuted with the Freedomination Collection this last summer. Personally, I'm deeply in love with the Super Matte texture - so I was more than glad to learn that they were expanding its range with this new palette. Out of the twelve shades, five of them are Super Mattes and six are Fluid Metals - which is one of the two new textures. As the name suggest, the Fluid Metal texture gives a metallic, fluid-like effect - even when applied dry, these eyeshadows look like wet.

This leaves out one shade (Delirium), which happens to be the only representative of the other new texture - Just Pearl. It's made of pigment, bigger pearls and smaller sparkles, which results in an incredibly luminous and bright shade. One of a kind every way, literally.

According to my testing, each shade is so silky and extremely easy to blend - even the darkest. There's only one eyeshadow that is a little hard to handle - you already know which one, if you've already read my latest blog post.

Let's see each shade in more in depth.

Immaculate: "White duochrome highlight with gold reflects." Fluid Metal.

And we start right away with one of my favourite eyeshadows from this palette! A white shade that has a strong and lovely gold sparkle in it - also being duochrome, it appears more white or more gold depending on the angle and the lighting. 
As the description suggests, it's a nice highlighter - I love using it on my inner corners, it immediately lights up every makeup look, even the simpler. But I've also tried it on my lid, right at the centre in a halo eyes look - and it was stunning, I regret not taking pictures of that makeup. 

Illusion: "Light-medium neutral brown." Super Matte.

The first Super Matte shade from this palette is a neutral brown, looks like the mix of Fossil and Narciso (if you own them already you know what I mean). This kind of discreet shade is the perfect transition shade to achieve the smoothest blending, that can complement every natural look but also the most sophisticated ones. These type of shades are never enough!

Vanitas: "Peachy-pink duochrome with golden reflects." Fluid Metal.

This is quite a classic shade that every brand, sooner or later, produce - but as much as they could look close, they rarely end up being identical. Vanitas, for example, is more peachy than pink - and this is enhanced by the gold reflect. And yeah, I do have a thing for this type of shades quite honestly - every time I see a pink shadow with a strong gold shimmer I just can't resist xD
I've used it a lot as inner corner highlighter, because it's gentle yet noticeable. Also stunning as highlight on the middle of the lid in any halo eyes look.

Delirium: "Burnt purple-brown with fuchsia, blue and purple micro-sparkles." Just Pearl.

Make yourself comfortable, I have a lot to say about this eyeshadow!
Let's start from the texture, the new Just Pearl. Theoretically a great idea, but it needs to be revised and improved a little.
This eyeshadow has a strong brownish base and it's filled with bigger pearls and smaller sparkles - the problem here is that the base pigment and the sparkles are somehow separated. So when you apply it (even with your fingers) the base adheres to the skin quite easily, while all the shimmering particles struggle to stick to the base and tend to fall out conspicuously. I remember using it in class and having my classmate/model with her under-eye covered in fallout, no matter how careful I was.
Anyway, no matter how rebellious an eyeshadow can be, I always try to find a solution. I have found two in this case.
Option n° 1: use a creamy base underneath. Preferably not a dark base - I tried using a black eyepencil and it worked nicely because it prevented the fallout, but on the other end it didn't enhance the colour - on the contrary, it kind of dimmed it.
Option n° 2: this is the one I like the most, and consist in getting the brush wet (using some kind of spray, like MAC Cosmetics' Fix +) then picking up some product and then spraying the brush once again. In this way you make sure that the eyeshadow will stay on your brushes AND that it will adhere on the skin much better, being wet. You'll also have a much better result in terms of payoff (the colour will be really enhanced) and way lesser fallout - close to zero.
So don't give up on this eyeshadow - it can be hard to handle, yet not impossible. And it's worth the struggle, since it's such a beautiful brown/purple shade (which looks even more beautiful on medium/dark skin tones, as I learnt by experience).
I really look forward to an improved version of this new texture, with a well-mixed powder and less fallout.

Byzantine: "Intense warm pure gold." Fluid Metal.

NABLA has several gold eyeshadows in its range already - yet they manage to create new golds always different from the 'older brothers' from previous collections. Byzantine is the warmest so far, precious as an ancient artifact; it benefits from the new Fluid Metal texture, which makes it also the brightest so far, rich and wonderfully pigmented. 
Having a thing for golds, I was very excited about this shade too, which I've used on my lid (and felt like a golden jewel) but also on my inner corner for a different, much noticeable highlighting. 

Sistina: "Medium rose sienna." Super Matte.

Rose with a pinch of peach, well balanced - great addiction to the Super Matte range. It's suitable as transition shade for both pink and peach looks, natural looks, but also for darker looks to make them more sophisticated.
But, being a Super Matte, is so pigmented that can be easily used on the lid - this is why I appreciate this texture so much, because even the lightest shade is well pigmented and you don't need to layer it over and over again to achieve a good colour payoff. So far, they're all very true-to-pan. 

Metal Cupid: "Strawberry bronze." Fluid Metal.

Another interesting shade, a bronze with a strong reddish hue. The red, 'strawberry' side of this eyeshadow prevails on the bronze and creates a very warm, unique shade - bright and deep at the same time.
I love how it look when paired to Rose Gold - paired, not mixed - in order to create a soft gradient, and blended with Señorita. They look like they were made for each other - and maybe they really were after all xD

Inception: "Mauve duochrome with chestnut base and bright lilac reflects." Fluid Metal.

Inception looks very purple and lilac from the pan, but once it's applied on the skin the brownish base immediately shows up and tends to prevail over the lilac reflect. Mind you, it's still a cute colour - just not what I was expecting after looking at the pan. 
Apart from that, nothing wrong with its pigmentation, texture and quality: the base and the metallic sparkles are well blended together, just like the other fluid metals. To me, this is a very successful texture :D

Señorita: "Intense cool-toned red." Super Matte.

Another of my favourite shades (if not my very favourite) from this palette - definitely my very favourite Super Matte out of the ones featured in this palette.
I think this is a great addiction to the range, as red eyeshadows of any kind are quite hard to find. 
This shade's cool-toned (which I looove), so sweet and romantic; works perfectly as transition shade or as crease shade (it's so easy to blend) but also as lid shade - because, again, super mattes are highly pigmented. 
If I could choose only one eyeshadow from this palette to come in a full sized refill pan, I'd surely choose Señorita! 

Rose Gold: "Rose gold." Fluid Metal.

Rose Gold is a... rose gold shade, groudbreaking XD
Joking of course. Rose Gold is a very interesting shade because - other than used pure on its own - it can work as a jolly eyeshadow to create the perfect rose gold according to our own preferences. Just mix it with either Byzantine or Metal Cupid to make it more rose or more gold - personally, when I don't use it on its own, I like to mix it with a pinch of Byzantine so it looks a little more golden. 
But let's be real, it's a beautiful shade on it own - and rose gold eyeshadows are tricky to find, meaning that usually they're either too gold or too rose. This one - keeping aside any personal preference - nails the definition of 'rose gold' - it looks exactly like the metal of the same name.

Lullaby: "Medium mauve." Super Matte.

Lullaby reminds me of Circle, but contrary to that it's not as cool - and it's a pure mauve, simply as that. You know I'm not into mauve shades, but Lullaby has quickly become a new favourite of mine. I've been using it a lot as transition shade - being quite light and soft it's ideal to smooth any blending, adding a subtle touch of colour.

Dogma: "Intense dark brown." Super Matte.

Last but not least, the darkest shade of this palette is Dogma, a deep chocolate shade. Just a tiny amount can intensify every look in a snap, and it's perfect to define the lashline in a very natural way (as it's not a harsh and intense as a black eyeshadow). 
Sounds crazy but I was happy to have a dark brown shade in this palette, because I didn't own any before and now that I'm attending a makeup school I've realized how it is an essential shade in every makeup kit. (I'll be definitely investing in other brown shades by NABLA such as Camelot and Wide Side)
I've used this shade in many different looks at school, from morning and evening makeup to even bridal - it really is a passepartout eyeshadow!

Overall I really like the colours' selection featured in this palette (and I already dream of a new Dreamy palette - no pun intended XD - with all cool shades like greens and blues); I think it could've used another dark matte shade, other than Dogma - perhaps a really, really dark purple or, why not?, even a good old black. NABLA already has a black eyeshadow available, true, but Nocturne is from the Matte range and I'd love to see a black Super Matte eyeshadow *-* Much deeper, much more pigmented.

(Speaking of the colours, as Mrdanielmakeup aka NABLA's art director pointed out, they're divided in two imaginary triangles that suggest two different colour combinations: one triangles includes Immaculate, Illusion, Vanitas, Byzantine, Sistina and Señorita; the second one includes Delirium, Metal Cupid, Inception, Lullaby and Dogma. In both cases Immaculate and Dogma are interchangeable, as they can suit both triangles easily)

Wrapping it up, my first impressions about this palette are very positive and I do recommend it if you're into these kind of shades. It may also be a nice addition to your makeup kit if you're a pro mua ;D
Keep in mind that these shade are not available individually - although I really wish they were. I'd gladly buy a full sized refill pan of several of these shades. There's no mention about this palette being limited edition, so don't panic if you weren't able to buy it at first; they're currently working to restock it, but there's no date so far.

Before moving on to the swatches, I want to address the supposed similarity of the Dreamy Eyeshadow Palette with the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty.

When the Dreamy was revealed, even before its launch, a lot of people immediately commented on how it resembled Huda's latest palette; intrigued by this, and having a friend that owns the Desert Dusk, I borrowed it for a couple of days so I could study the two palettes and their respective shades. I compared all of them accurately and I came to the conclusion that they're not that similar. There're only a couple of shades that are really close - but that's it, and you can see it by yourself in my swatches. (Merci beaucoup ma chère Héloïse for lending me your precious palette ♥)

So, in case you already own the Desert Dusk and are wondering whether to buy the Dreamy or not... In my opinion you can go for it as you wouldn't end up with twelve dupes. Keep in mind that a couple are quite close, but the others are not, and some are even unique!

Now without any further ado, let's get started!

The following pictures are quite big, so click to enlarge!

Pictures taken using a ring light; products applied dry, using my fingers, on a non-primed skin.

My skin tone is NW15.

 From left to right: Immaculate, Illusion, Vanitas, Delirium.

From left to right: Byzantine, Sistina, Metal Cupid, Inception.

From left to right: Señorita, Rose Gold, Lullaby, Dogma.

Here are the comparisons! Please excuse the wobbly pictures: those were the very first swatches I did using my new ring light and but I hadn't realized yet how to take pics of my arm without tripping on my own ring light XD

From left to right: Immaculate, Atom.

From left to right: Delirium, Selfish. 

(Requested by a friend, hope it's useful honey ♥)

From left to right: Vanitas, Angelic (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty).

From left to right: Caramel, Narciso, Fossil, Illusion, Musk (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty).

From left to right: Nefertiti (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty), Byzantine, Cleo, Glitz.

From left to right: Turkish Delight (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty), Metal Cupid, Daphne n° 2, Juno Moon.

From left to right: Sistina, Eden (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty), Petra, Amber (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty).

From left to right: Royal (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty), Inception, Moonrise, Superposition.

From left to right: Señorita, Saffron (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty), Grenadine.

From left to right: Byzantine, Rose Gold, Celestial and Nefertiti (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty).

From left to right: Lullaby, Circle.

From left to right: Dogma, Oud (from the Desert Dusk palette by Huda Beauty)

Name: Dreamy Eyeshadow Palette

Brand: NABLA Cosmetics

What is it?: Eyeshadow palette consisting of twelve different shades + high quality mirror

Price: 35,90 €
Quantity: 11 g / 0.39 oz.
PAO: 18 M

Other: Vegan & Cruelty Free; Made in Italy.

Where to buy: Website, authorized retailers. 

Top or Flop?: My first impressions classify it as a top, as of now.

That's it! I really hope this post can be useful and informative :D

If you have any questions, of you need some clarification, feel free to ask in the comments below!

Have you already bought the Dreamy Eyeshadow Palette?

Or you missed it and you're (im)patiently waiting for the restock?

Mermaid kisses and starfish wishes ♥