Mally's Eyeshadow Palette - A Surprising Twist

"The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides." - Audrey Hepburn

A friend gifted me this palette cleverly named "Nude Attitude" by Mally Beauty ($35), so naturally I was thrilled to test it out. Upon initial glance, the color range is fairly varied with half-neutral tones and half-colored shadows, half-matte and half shimmer, 12 shades in total. From a rich burgundy to a sparkling taupe to a twinkling deep blue, they are real lookers!

Sad to say, further investigation proves otherwise, but before I begin my lament, here are their swatches...

L to R: Terra Rosa, Tawny, Cocoa, Cafe au Lait

L to R: Sand, Cream, Chestnut, Russet

L to R: Slate, Quartz, Claret, Carbon

Oh Mally, why did you have to disappoint? I was rooting for you! I was greatly surprised (and mortified) at the color pull and general texture. The colors you see pictured took several swipes to find depth, so the pigment is extremely faint.

The burgundy shade, "Claret", has a murky brown hue, and "Slate" is not at all blue!

"Cafe au Lait" and "Russet" are surprisingly similar which is never good in an eyeshadow palette where the goal is variety.

"Cream" and "Tawny" are quite chalky and loose, and even "Carbon", a solid matte black, pulls weirdly; very inconsistent, lightweight, and splotchy.

"Quartz", "Terra Rosa", "Russet", and "Cocoa" are my favorites due to their shimmer, but I've found that they are sheer and fall easy so either a wet brush or glue-like primer is necessary to maintain their purest qualities.

The disappointment is real, y'all. Maybe it was a bad batch, maybe it's an unusual application (like the ColourPop shadows), maybe it's just not the ideal palette for professionals, more of a starter kit palette. Have any of you had much luck with these Mally shadows? Let me know!