E.l.f. Mad For Matte Eyeshadow Palette | Review

Today’s post is going to be dedicated to a beautiful eyeshadow palette I picked over the Summer which had been on my wishlist every since it came out about a year ago. I’m talking about the E.l.f. Mad For Matte eyeshadow palette, which features 10 matte eyeshadows. Now, I can tell from personal experience that finding great drugstore/affordable matte eyeshadows isn’t the easiest. Most of the time drugstore matte eyeshadows are chalky and dry. So when I heard this palette is anything but dry, I had to try it out for myself and see how it compares to my higher-end matte palettes.

The palette comes in a cardboard box which has the palette on the front and some additional information on the back, as well as a list of the ingredients. The palette itself is very compact and sturdy and has a really nice mirror inside. The packaging is made out of black high-quality plastic and it only says the name on the front with a tiny sticker on the back. This is actually similar to other eyeshadow palettes from their signature studio line. I adore this kind of packaging, it’s easy to store and it’s just a no fuzz compact. There’s no unnecessary brush taking up extra space and the eyeshadow pans are nicely sized. The only remark I have with the pans is that they’re very narrow and long, which can sometimes be annoying if you’re using a larger eyeshadow brush.

Brand’s description:

Achieve both beautifully bold or subtle everyday eye looks with these perfectly curated 10 matte eyeshadow shades. This collection of hues is ideal for shading, highlighting, and defining the eyes. The satin matte shadows can be used as a liner, on the lid, and in the crease of the eye for an expertly contoured and blended look.

Oh and the fun part? E.l.f. recently launched the Mad For Matte eyeshadow palette 2, which looks more warm-toned and is definitely going on my wishlist!

This palette comes with 10 beautiful matte eyeshadows and there’s a nice mixture of both warm and cool tones. It’s the perfect shade range for everyday looks with a bunch of staple highlighting shades, transition shades and darker crease colors.

When I first swatched these shadows, I thought they were quite dry and not very pigmented. But then when I worked through that first ‘layer’ in the pan, the shadows got a lot better and I was actually able to built them up and look quite intense! As you can see in the swatches above, there’s a lot of color pay-off, especially considering these are affordable matte shadows. I also noticed the more I used this palette, the better the shadows would get, so you really have to go through those initial layers first.

So the formula isn’t my favorite ever, but it’s not bad either. The shadows feel quite dry and aren’t the softest ever. There’s quite a lot of powder kick-up since these are a bit on the powdery side. However, I didn’t notice any of the dryness when I applied these shadows onto my eyes. They blended quite smoothly (although it takes some time) and when you use a good eyeshadow primer, there’s barely any fall-out noticeable.

The palette includes a nice range of neutral everyday shades and you can definitely create multiple looks with it. There’s enough variety to go for a softer natural look or go for an intense smokey eye. I really enjoy how this palette comes with some staple highlighting shades, transition and crease shades, as well as a nice black. The black isn’t overly pigmented, which is what I prefer, otherwise I’m too afraid to use it. The highlighting shades weren’t the easiest to swatch, but on the eyelids they added a nice highlighted effect.

The lasting power of these shadows is great. In combination with an amazing eyeshadow primer, they stay on my eyelids all day long without any fall-out throughout the day. I never wear eyeshadow without applying a primer first, but I can imagine these shadows would perform less without one.

Talc, Mica, Silica, Magnesium Stearate, Nylon-12, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Red 40 Lake (CI 16035), Ultramarines (CI 77007)

Is this the best matte eyeshadow palette I’ve ever tried? No. But finding great drugstore matte eyeshadows isn’t easy and I think E.l.f. killed it with this palette! For only €12, you get 10 gorgeous matte shadows with very decent quality! The packaging is compact and sturdy and the shades are beautiful everyday neutrals.

The E.l.f. Mad For Matte eyeshadow palette is available on the official E.l.f. Cosmetics website here for €12 (14 g). I’ve noticed E.l.f. is getting a little bit pricier lately, but I think €12 is still a fair price point for the amount of product and quality you get.