I wonder… At what point in history did the word “cool” turn into a way to say that you liked something?
“Keanu Reeves asked you to marry him? That’s cool.”
“Wait, you adopted a fifth cat? SO COOL!”
“How cool is that Ilia eyeshadow palette?”
Cue segue into today’s review! 😂
The Ilia Cool Nudes palette is pretty cool — both in terms of color temp and how cool it is to use — and it’s all about easygoing eyes.
It comes with six moderately pigmented powder shadows. You get:
- A matte nude beige
- A shimmering bronze-taupe
- A matte lavender gray
- A matte cool brown
- A matte burgundy
- A shimmery dark golden violet
Ilia wrapped everything up in a very sleek but simple, modern-looking white case with a mirror.
First, these shadows blend like they mean it! No harsh lines here. I do a few swishes with a tapered blending brush, and I’m good to go.
Next, there’s barely any fallout from them, and the wear time is quite good. After a long day, I’ll see only slight creasing on my lids, where I have dry skin, by the way, so I usually skip primer.
It’s a more natural look and perfectly in line with Ilia’s laid-back aesthetic. I’m guessing that Ilia purposefully designed the pigments to be only slightly punchy, which I appreciate when I only want a little something on my lids, and I don’t plan on taking pics (more on this in a second).
If you enjoy wearing color but prefer eye looks that define and highlight your lids without screaming “I’m obvious,” you’ll probably like it too. I think fans of the Clinique quads — which have a very similar vibe — will be into it. It’s a total errands-work-everyday piece.
All that said, however? I’m not a fan of the way this palette photographs. The shadows simply don’t pop in pics like Honest Beauty’s Get It Together Palette does (my current go-to).
I took a few pictures of the eyeshadows the other day, and while I could see them in real life, I looked like I wasn’t wearing any eye makeup at all in the pics. On their own, the shadows mustn’t be vibrant enough to handle flash photography on my skin unless I do trickery to amplify the pigments, like by layering a base primer underneath them and using a wet eyeshadow brush.
Bottom line? This palette is lovely for casual makeup and everyday eye looks, but IMHO it’s not really for special occasions. Mind you, I think it’s purposefully designed that way, so I say go for it if wearable, everyday eyeshadow is your thing.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
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