Brand new this month from Sephora, it’s the Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette ($30 USD / $36 CAD) in In The Heat.  This palette features ten gorgeous baked mineral eyeshadows in both neutrals and colors, inspired by the heat of summer.  Following the huge success of the two previous Moonbaked palettes (In The Nude and In The Dark), Sephora must have caught onto how much we love these palettes!

The Packaging

The palette itself has a gorgeous gold, orange and black tiger stripe design, and the size is really not too big, but not too small. There is a large mirror in the upper lid of the palette, big enough to do your eyes and lips, and maybe your face in an emergency.  The whole case does get very dirty though, because they are mineral baked powders, they “shed” very easily and powder will get everywhere.

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat

The Eyeshadows

Each of the ten eyeshadows has a dome-shaped, similar to those you would find in a baked blush, bronzer or powder (albeit a lot smaller in this palette).  The colors vary from light and mid tone neutrals to pops of color and a white shade. All of the eyeshadows are extremely shimmery- it’s not often to see a matte baked mineral eyeshadow, but it would have been nice.  I found when using this palette, I was still reaching for a matte highlight shade (MAC Blanc Type, of course) to even out the texture on the eye.

Each shade can be used wet or dry, although I did experience quite a bit of fall out when used dry… they are a very fragile and crumbly powder, so you have to be careful. I much prefer to use them wet (just by using a damp brush) because it gives a much more metallic, opaque and brilliant color pay off.  I also found there was little to no fall-out when used wet and they were much easier to blend (it almost becomes like a cream eyesahdow).  I would definitely wear them over a primer, as I always recommend, because I did experience some fading after several hours when worn without (especially when dry).

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat

The color payoff is very impressive (both wet and dry), and the color choices made for this palette are amazing. All of the shades really work together and many combinations can be made to create interesting looks, whether with or without a pop of color.  The shades don’t have names, so I’m going to refer to them by position (left to right, top row then bottom row):

• #1: A light golden bronze and one of my favourites!  Works great on the lid as a wash of color or in the crease.
• #2: a light mauve pink with silver shimmer. This one really lacks pigment unless used wet, in which it really comes alive.
• #3: Probably the least pigmented out of them all, and using it wet really helps although not as much as some of the others. A golden peachy shade.
• #4: A bright yellow that actually surprised me with its pigmentation!  Really beautiful, especially as an inner corner accent.
• #5: A bright, frosty white that also lacks pigment when dry, but looks incredible when wet.  I think they could have chose a better shade than this stark white, especially with all the other neutral highlight shades.
• #6: My favorite shade- a sandy, light beige.  Not pigmented on its own, but so beautiful and summery when used wet. I love this for all over the lid with black eyeliner!
• #7. A deep plum with a hint of bronze- super pigmented both dry and wet and a gorgeous crease color.
• #8: A deep chocolate bronze shade, also pigmented both wet and dry.  A great crease color!
• #9: A rusty, copper orange shade.  I was terrified of this one at first, but it actually looks gorgeous on the eye in ‘accent’ areas (slightly above the crease is my favorite).  It adds a subtle warmth, or you can go full out and foil it on the lid for an intense look.
• #10: The showstopper. This bright aqua blue comes alive when wet, and is absolutely stunning! I love using it on my lower lash line as a pop of color.

I think that this is one of the better Sephora brand eyeshadow palettes I’ve seen, beating out the previous Shades of Nature palette and Smoky Studio palettes that I recently reviewed in terms of quality.  I think this is going to become one of my go-to palettes for summer!

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#1)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#1) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#2)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#2) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#3)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#3) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#4)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#4) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#5)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#5) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#6)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#6) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#7)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#7) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#8)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#8) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#9)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#9) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#10)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (#10) Dry (left) and Wet (right)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (Top row, dry)

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette in In The Heat (Bottom row, dry)

See More

• Look Book: In The Heat

Summary

• Price: $30 USD / $36 CAD for 10 x 0.017oz
• Availability: Sephora
• Overall: I’m totally loving this summery palette- the shades, the combinations, the texture and the quality (especially when worn wet- some shades do lack pigment when used dry). It is a totally shimmery palette, so that’s something to keep in mind, but I love shimmery eyeshadows so it’s right up my alley.  Definitely one of Sephora’s best creations lately.
• Rating: A-