Hello Lovelies
In late 2015 a new brand seemed to be popping up in blogposts a lot, everyone was talking about them and their single pan eyeshadows, that brand was Makeup Geek. Beauty Bay had started to stock Makeup Geek products and Makeup Geek took the blogging world by storm and every blogger and their wife was ordering eyeshadows like no tomorrow. Previously Makeup Geek hadn't been available to buy here in the UK meaning ordering direct from their site which unfortunately meant customs charges, so it was inevitable that when Beauty Bay started to stock Makeup Geek on their site, bloggers far and wide would be ordering them, however, I decided to wait.
Having been stung by blogger hype many times before, I don't always buy into blogger hype these days and I like to wait until the hype dies down a little, I like to see if people are re purchasing the product or purchasing different shades etc etc. Makeup Geek (MUG) shadows have continued to feature on blogs since their UK launch in late 2015 and are still a hyped product in the blogging world, and after my eldest daughter had built up quite a collection of MUG shadows herself, and I had read lots of blog posts, I finally did it, I finally gave in to the blogger hype.
When I was asked what I would like for Christmas 2016, I said I would like to try a couple of the shadows. My daughters clearly don't understand the meaning of "a couple" and now I have nine single pan MUG eyeshadows and a Z Palette to keep them in, which my daughters kindly bought me for Christmas.
Today I am going to share my thoughts on both the shadows and the Z Palette and let you know if I think they live up to the hype surrounding them.
I have the small Z palette in black, it is also available in leopard print and hot pink but I have black, it is made from cardboard and has a magnetic closure and a clear lid with a black outer rim and Z palette written on the right hand bottom corner in gold.
The Z palette comes with a small bag of magnets and an instructions card explaining how best to take care of the palette. My daughter Alicia assembled my palette and put the Makeup Geek shadows in it, she didn't need to use the magnets as the base of the palette is magnetised so the shadows stay in place. My palette fits 9 single round eyeshadow pans in nicely, so the Makeup Geek shadows fit nicely as would MAC eyeshadow refills or any other round eyshadow refill.
I like the Z palette, it is handy and the shadows are easy to take in and out, it is securely sealed once closed and hasn't come open in my makeup bag so far, it's a handy little palette and ideal for storing my Makeup Geek eyeshadows. If you want to store a different amount of shadows, the Z palette also comes in other sizes, the mini fits 3 shadows in, the small fits 9 shadows, the medium 15, large fits 27 and the extra large fits 35 shadows, so there are other options depending on the size of your collection, there is also a double sided palette and a mirrored palette, plus many different colours and designs to choose from. You can find the Z palettes on the Beauty Bay website here.
My Makeup Geek Eyeshadows
I have 9 Makeup Geek eyeshadows, some have a matte finish and some shimmer, all are neutral shades which are perfect for me. My girls chose the shades I have but we had looked at online swatches together and spoke about the shades I liked/disliked but they chose the shades for me and they chose really well, I love neutral shades and I wear a lot of neutral eye makeup looks and am not very adventurous when it comes to colour, I am definitely a neutrals kinda gal.
Makeup Geek single eyeshadow pans are priced at £6.00 (1.8g) and are not tested on animals.
Top Row
Shimma Shimma - When looking at online swatches and reviews of the MUG shadows, Shimma Shimma had a lot of hype surrounding it and it was often named as a "must have" shade. It is described at a Metallic Champagne shade which is an accurate description, I have to say though I am a little underwhelmed by this shade as I feel it is so over hyped when really it isn't anything special and is very similar to other pale champagne shades I already have in my collection so it is definitely not a "must have" shade in my opinion.
Bandwagon - Bandwagon has a matte finish and is described as a Dusty Taupe, I like to use Bandwagon as a transition shade, it has a cool undertone and is a lovely shade, I also like to use it in the crease and under my lower lash line, it isn't as pigmented as some of the other shades I own and has quite a lot of fallout, but it is a lovely shade all the same.
Barcelona Beach - Another matte finish shadow, Barcelona Beach is described as a Cool Toned Soft Brown and is perfect for using as a transition shade and as with Bandwagon, I like to wear it in the crease and under the lower lash line. I get quite a lot of fallout with this shade too, it's a lovely shade and one of my favourite matte shades.
Swatches
Middle Row
Bake Sale - Described as a Nougat Brown with a matte finish, Bake Sale is one of my favourite shades, it has a warm undertone and is very pigmented, it looks stunning in the crease with a pale shimmery shade on the lid and a darker shade just slightly blended into the outer corner, I then like to pop some of the darker shade and Bake Sale under my lower lash line and blend it out to marry all the shades together and I find it works really well and looks lovely.
Latte - Latte is another matte shade and is described as a Medium Brown, Latte is a lovely shade but I find it quite powdery and chalky meaning it also has a lot of fallout, it isn't as easy to blend as the other matte shadows I have either and although it is a really pretty shade I don't find myself reaching for it as often as the other matte shadows because of the fallout and the fact it doesn't blend out as well. Latte is very similar to Bake Sale which is a much nicer shade, a lot more pigmented, easier to blend with not as much fallout, so if you like Latte I would say to go for Bake Sale instead, you won't regret it.
Mocha - Mocha is described as a Deep Matte Brown and is just that, I like to use Mocha to deepen my crease, in the outer corner and under my lower lash line but it does create a lot of fallout. It is a lovely shade and I do like it but it is very powdery, hence the immense fallout.
Swatches
Bottom Row
Homecoming - Homecoming is stunning, it is described at a Medium Brown With Gold Shimmer and is a really pretty shade, I love to wear it all over the lid and blended out and under my lower lash line as a single shade look, or sometimes I add a deeper brown matte shade to the crease and outer corner to add some depth.
Moondust - Moondust is described as a Metallic Silver Taupe but I have to disagree, I don't see this as taupe at all, to me it is a silvery shade with a green undertone and maybe even some gold shimmer in there too? But definitely not taupe, that said it is a lovely shade and looks really nice on the eyes, it's another shade I like to use as a one shade look.
Taupe Notch - Taupe Notch is another shimmer shade and is described rather boringly as Taupe, I would say it is taupe with medium brown tones and is a lovely shimmery shade that again I love to wear all over the lid, this is another great shade for a one shade look and also looks stunning with a deeper matte brown in the crease and outer corner.
Swatches
I am glad I have finally tried Makeup Geek shadows, they are lovely shadows and brilliant for the price, 1.8g of product for £6.00 (foiled £9.25) is a great price and there are so many shades to choose from it is a very hard choice to make. I found browsing the shades on the Makeup Geek website the best thing to do as they have a description of the shade and also a photograph of a swatch too so it saves having to keep googling swatches.
Overall I really like all the shades in my palette, I can't say which shades are "must haves" because it depends on your taste in finishes and shades but all 9 shades I have are lovely, my only negative would be that there is a lot of fallout with some of the shades, more so than with other shadows I own. I always wear an eye primer with any eyeshadow I wear because I have the oiliest eyelids in the UK so I can't comment on creasing but the shades I have all wear really well and do not fade at all regardless of wear time.
I think the shadows are great for their price and I will definitely try more shades in the future, I would like to try their duo chrome and foiled shadows too. I'm not sure I quite agree with the hype surrounding Makeup Geek though, they are nice shadows and good for the price but I can't say they blew me away like I'd hoped they would which is a real shame, I won't let it put me off trying other shades in the future though.
If you would like to try the Makeup Geek shadows you can find them on the Beauty Bay website here and the Z palettes here.
Have you tried Makeup Geek eyeshadows? Which shades are your favourites? Are there any shades you would recommend I avoid? Chat with me in the comments and let me know.
Thank you for reading, much love as always
Zoe x
