The Maybelline Total Temptation Shadow + Highlight Palette has been out for some time now! But since I’ve been testing it out and photographed two looks already, I decided to put it out here anyways for those who haven’t heard about this yet. This palette contains 8 eyeshadows and 2 highlighters. As you can see there’s a warm toned side and a cool toned side. The colors really reminded me of the recent Maybelline x Gigi Hadid collection I reviewed. I gravitate towards warmer toned makeup but it was fun to experiment with purple and blacks too!
Shades
On the left side of the Maybelline Total Temptation Shadow + Highlight Palette, we have 4 warm toned eyeshadows and a gold highlighter. The eyeshadows you get are a shimmery champagne, matte peach, matte brick, and matte brown. The highlighter swatches quite golden and none of the shades contain glitter.
On the right side we have purple toned eyeshadows and a lilac highlighter which is quite unique. Starting from the top we have a dusty grey, metallic taupe, matte lavender, and matte black. The highlighter gives off more of a prismatic look and but does also look a bit chunky and glittery.
Formula
The formula of these eyeshadows in the Maybelline Total Temptation Shadow + Highlight Palette are good but not great! All of them were decently smooth although a bit hard to the touch. All the colors swatched nicely but when applied to the lids, I hoped for more pigmentation and less fall out. Additionally the 2nd shade on the left and the 1st shade on the right are a bit too ashy for me to use. And while the metallic taupe shade swatched amazingly, it’s hard to build up to that pigmentation when applied to the eyes.
I was really impressed with the highlighters though! Both of them were very reflective but also flattering on the skin! The gold is especially great as it gives off this glow that makes it look natural but also very bright. The lilac doesn’t look natural as it’s such a unique color on the skin but it’s fantastic for a creative look.
Here’s my first look using all of the shades from the left side of the palette. Pretty much on I used the colors in a gradient from top to bottom. Then I lined my bottom with the dark brown shade. The 3rd shade is my favorite on this side and I like wearing this all over the lid actually! The top shade is beautiful as a highlight but it doesn’t look flattering when worn across the lids.
For the right side, I started with the 3rd shade all over my lid and blended out the crease with the 1st shade. Then I smudged the black shade close to my lash line to create more depth. Lastly I packed on the metallic shade in the center for a bit of a pop. I actually quite like how this turned out. However, I have to be careful when using purple as it can easily look like a bruised eye.
Here you can see the finished look including highlighters as well! I think it’s a very workable palette with well thought out shades for two looks. However, although there are 8 shades, you can’t really be too creative with it so this is best geared towards beginners. I think I actually prefer the Gigi Hadid x Maybelline Eye Contour Palette as it’s a bit smaller and you can choose either the warm tone or the cool tone. The formula in this palette is very similar to all the small Maybelline eyeshadow palettes. It is good but not excellent. Hope that helps you if you are in the market for a new eyeshadow palette. If you are interested in this, I’d definitely wait for a sale!