If you’re a makeup lover and YouTube addict chances are you have heard that Laura Lee is releasing her very own eyeshadow palette this October. This is part of her own brand Laura Lee Los Angeles and she recently uploaded a video explaining all about her first makeup release. Previously she has collaborated with Violet Voss to create an eyeshadow palette so she felt this was the right decision to release an eyeshadow palette as her first makeup product.
Details: The eyeshadow palette is called The Cat’s Pajamas Palette and contains 10 eyeshadow pans and will retail for $40 which works out as $4 per eyeshadow which is actually pretty high compared to other palettes, for instance the Huda Beauty Palettes work out as $3.6 per pan, but you do get more product per eyeshadow as her pans look a lot bigger. Jefree Star did a video reviewing the palette and he revealed that each pan is 0.23g. That is pathetic. In comparison, Jeffree Star’s palettes have 2.52g per pan. It will be sold only on the Laura Lee Los Angeles website. The launch date is Friday 13th October at 10am PST. In the UK, that will be 6pm.
Background: The Cat’s Pajamas Palette is very much a reflection of herself and Laura’s YouTube journey. She used comments from her videos as an inspiration for shade names which I think is a really cool, original way to incorporate her fans and followers in this launch.
Packaging: She didn’t go into too much detail on why she chose what she did but she worked hard to get the exterior to be glittery. You can see it is a silver glittery palette that if you pop a flash on will sparkle manically, it also has an outside sleeve and flowers incorporated in the design both on the sleeve and on the inside of the palette. The packaging doesn’t seem to make much sense or be that cohesive. The name, the glittery exterior and the flowers inside don’t tie together at all. There is also nothing to do with cats on there either which with the name being what it is would have been cute and maybe added some uniqueness to the palette. I know The Cat’s Pajamas is a common term but it would have made a better theme, in my opinion. The pans are quite big which is great when using large brushes.
Shadows: There are 10 eyeshadows in this palette. 4 of them are shimmers, 5 are matte and there is one shade that is considered a semi-matte shade.
Formula: It was important to Laura to create a palette that was super easy to blend and use, therefore ideal for beginners and the every day person. She wanted a blendable formula but didn’t want to scrimp on pigmentation either. She promises this palette delivers both. There is some fallout but not a heck of a lot. You can see in the tutorial that she does swirl her brush in Okie Dokie and there is nowhere near the same amount of mess that ensued in the Subculture Palette.
Top Row Swatches: Okie Dokie is a matte cream bone shade, ideal for setting primers and blending out; Scatter Brain is a soft golden shimmer, gorgeous for brides and prom looks; Bomb Diggity is a matte mustard yellow brown, the perfect transition for all skin tones; Cray Cray is a warm caramel matte toasty autumn brown and Ridonkulous is a bronze brown shimmer.
Bottom Row Swatches: Quirky is a purple shimmer that is flattering on all eye colours; Kooky is a matte reddish brown but mostly brown; In One Ear is a cranberry shimmer which is very pigmented and when layered becomes a deeper red; Out The Other is similar to Quirky which is why they are swatched next to each other in the photo, this is a semi-matte with a little shimmer or glimmer, it is a purple with a very strong brown base; Oddball is a matte black and Laura uses this shade in her hair to cover her roots as well.
Opinion: Genuinely, I really do like Laura Lee but this palette is not something that appeals to me personally. The shades are colours I already own and for $40 especially with shipping to the UK on top of that it is just not worth it for me. I do think it is a nice palette and I believe a lot of thought went into it and she worked hard on it. I like the colour scheme and that she incorporated so much of herself and subscribers in the palette. A lot of the shades don’t look pigmented enough for me, especially the mattes, i.e. Kooky, Bomb Diggity and Oddball, but they might translate better on the eyes with a brush.
Thank you for reading, you wouldn’t leave how hard it was to get this post up for you guys. I worked really hard on editing and trying to find an aesthetically pleasing way to show you all the swatches Sorry I have been MIA, I have just moved and am starting to settle into my new place and regain some of my blogging mojo. There is so much I want to do and share on this platform. Thank you for all your support, kindness and comments. They never go unnoticed. Please let me know your thoughts on this palette, will you get it? Do you like the colours? Do you already own palettes that are similar? Are you completely done with products from YouTubers? Share your opinion in the comments. I hope you all are having a great weekend, come back soon. Take care.
Love ❤
Kiran