Ever since I posted photos from the Sephora Summer 2012 Preview Event that I attended, everyone has been asking about this palette… so I had to review it first!  This gorgeous palette is an upcoming extension to the Sephora + Pantone Universe line and it features 35 gorgeous shades in varying textures. Meet the Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette ($66 CDN, I’ll post the USD pricing when I receive it) which will be for sale in June 2012.

The Packaging

The packaging is striking. It looks like a palette that Apple would make, if they made makeup. In fact, the sleek while casing almost resembles the older MacBooks, and the simplistic logo with vivid color follows along as well. I seriously spotting this palette from across the room and migrated right for it… I was drawn to it, like many of you have been after seeing sneak peek photos.  The truth is, it really is just as gorgeous in real life as it is in photos… perhaps even more.

The whole palette is about the size of an iPad, perhaps a little bigger, and a huge mirror fills the entire lid. Honestly, it looks like a laptop- with the mirror being the screen and the square eyeshadows resembling the keys (Apple, are you sure you had no part in this!?)  The size of this palette makes it a little too large to travel with in my opinion, however its SUPER thin, so it really doesn’t take much horizontal space if you store your palettes standing up. The case feels study and strong, i’m really in love with the aesthetic of the whole design concept.  The one thing I don’t like is that the color names, information and everything else is on the back of the box, not the actual palette itself. I would have at least liked to see the names of the key colors on the palette.

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (showing hand for size comparison)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette

The Product

This eyeshadow features 35 shades, varying in texture and shade (pretty much covering the entire rainbow). All of the colors were designed around 7 Pantone colors (Rain Drum, Whisper Pink, Sweet Lilac, Fairy Tale, Blue Indigo, Aruba Blue and Balsam Green), with the remaining 28 shades chosen in harmonious tints, tones and shades.  They can be used both wet and dry, although I highly prefer wet, especially with some of the lighter, less pigmented shades.  It really gives a stronger brilliance and opacity to the more dull shades.

My largest problem with this palette, is inconsistency. I almost wish the entire palette was awful so I could just not recommend it (of course, I also wish it was entirely great but that’s not the case).  It is inconsistent in that many of the shades are poor, and many of them are fantastic… that makes for an incredibly hard decision when it comes time to dish out for the palette.  Because I’m not going to go through each shade individually to describe its tone, texture and wear, I added numbers to each shade in the photo below to comparatively rank it amongst the others in the palette in terms of quality (which in my mind means texture and color payoff).  You can also cross-reference each shade here with the close-up shot and swatch below as well.  Remember- I’m not comparing them to other eyeshadows, I’m ranking them between 1 (being the lowest quality) and 5 (being the highest quality) in relation to each other, so hopefully that will help you decide.

There were a total 10 of poor shades (1′s & 2′s), a total 10 of decent shades (3′s) and a total of 15 great shades (4′s & 5′s). Obviously, the decent and great shades together far way out the poor shades, however it’s important to keep in mind they are there.  Like I mentioned before, using them wet will dramatically increase their pigmentation payoff and give a more metallic finish (as the vast majority of these shades are shimmery), so that may compensate for a few of the lower ratings.

The range of shades is breath-taking.. it really is a fantastic palette to have that is composed of a bit of everything, including neutrals, pinks, purples, blues, greens and blacks.  I do wish there were more matte shades in the palette, however I did find almost all of the matte shades (besides the black) to be quite poor, so then again I am thankful at the same time that there aren’t more.  The piece is limited edition, so I can see that because of it’s beauty and appeal, it’s going to sell out quite fast. It’s definitely functional, as you can see from the colourful look I created on myself (see the See More list below), however it isn’t going to compete as one of the top quality color palettes out there.

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Shades relatively rated 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) in terms of quality)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 1 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 1 Row 2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 1 Row 3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 1 Row 1-3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 1 Row 4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 1 Row 5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 2 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 1 Row 4-5 & Col 2 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 2 Row 2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 2 Row 3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 2 Row 4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 2 Row 2-4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 2 Row 5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 3 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 3 Row 2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 2 Row 5 & Col 3 Row 1-2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 3 Row 3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 3 Row 4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 3 Row 5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 3 Row 3-5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 4 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 4 Row 2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 4 Row 3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 4 Row 1-3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 4 Row 4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 4 Row 5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 5 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 4 Row 4-5 & Col 5 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 5 Row 2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 5 Row 3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 5 Row 4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 5 Row 2-4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 5 Row 5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 6 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 6 Row 2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 5 Row 5 & Col 6 Row 1-2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 6 Row 3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 6 Row 4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 6 Row 5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 6 Row 3-5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 7 Row 1)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 7 Row 2)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 7 Row 3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 7 Row 1-3)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 7 Row 4)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 7 Row 5)

Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades of Nature Eye Shadow Palette (Col 7 Row 4-5)

See More

• Look Book: Shades Of Nature

Summary

• Price: $66 CDN for 35 x 0.024oz / 0.7g (USD pricing will be added when I know it)
• Availability: Sephora (June 2012)
• Overall: I think that this palette is absolutely stunning. From the aesthetic of the case to the shades chosen.  There are several shades that are of poor to low quality, however there are many that are fantastic- so it’s hard to say. In my opinion, I would recommend it, as the colors can be worn wet which significantly enhances their appearance. It’s also a limited edition piece, and I can see it being a popular one upon release.
• Rating: A-