Westman Atelier The Eyeshadow Holiday Edit | Gucci Westman is finally giving us an eyeshadow palette!
Okay, in fairness, the brand has had a palette of sorts via their Eye Pods, but the mixture of color stories and less than stellar reviews never tantalized me to pick those up. I’m also not here to convince you that this is some revolutionary color story, nor do I think it was intended to be.
Speaking frankly, Westman Atelier is one of the very few brands who could have released this specific palette for me to gladly snap up, purely in anticipation of the formula. This brand has given us fantastic formulas for the past few releases, and it’s that in combination with an everyday color story that sold it for me.
From swatching, the mattes feel really smooth and velvety, bordering on that creamy sensation. They have the kind of sensation that makes me feel they’re going to have a nice blurring finish on the eyes, which was exactly what happened on my arm but that I’ll need to confirm through application.
The shimmer is drier and has a little bit of texture to the touch but doesn’t feel like that flaky particle size/density that will readily dust away; rather, it feels drier in the sense that there isn’t a base pigment giving it a heavy binder feeling, so it blends into a more sophisticated, twinkly look.
These particular powders give me the impression that they’re going to have great longevity without the risk of creasing from having a more emollient base.
The color story itself is of course very neutral, but I appreciate that it covers a nice range of these tones to make blending effortless, and that it comfortably sits in the “neutral” neutrals as opposed to going too warm.
The compact is weighted and luxurious, identical to that of the cream bronzer duo but this time in striking gray and red packaging. I personally find these compacts a little difficult to open (even with my small hands!) – it’s a slick finish and there isn’t much purchase to grab the slightly indented lip where the magnet keeps it closed.
I’m excited to try this one! Did it catch your eye?
Update: This is not worth it. While the gradient in matte shades offered exactly the dimension I thought they would, I do think it would have been helpful to have a little more contrast and/or sculpting – maybe replacing one of the mid-tone browns with a warm gray and the lightest shade with a slightly brighter tone? Even without that, the mattes faded slightly over the course of the day, which was a little surprising.
On top of that, the shimmer is dryyy. Like, immediate fallout dry. While it has a nice effect on the eyes, I quite frankly do not tolerate fallout from more “basic” shades. A standard shimmer, even if it’s more of a topper formula, should not have this issue and especially not at this price point. I also think it’s going to be a little more yellow than some would prefer for a champagne-type shade.
I love a matte look. I think it can be very chic. I just have plenty of other, higher quality palettes that accomplish this, and most (if not all) are at a lower price point. That being said, I can’t in good faith endorse a palette where one (of six!) shades is substandard for its category, and the mattes themselves can’t stand a full day’s wear. I can comfortably advise you to skip this one.
Not the update I wanted to give, but you will only ever get honesty from me!
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