Hi friends!
I hope you all enjoyed this month’s spotlight on vegan and cruelty-free makeup reviews! Well, today’s post marks the last installment in said review series and we’ve got the Natasha Denona Camel Palette. A neutral lover’s dream, my mom very kindly gifted this to me last month. I’ve had both good and bad experiences with ND shadows in the past, so I was curious to see how much I’d like (or dislike) this 5-pan eyeshadow palette after some playtime.
A quick note before we begin: Natasha Denona is definitely not vegan but is cruelty-free. To my knowledge, they are not Leaping Bunny certified but Cruelty-Free Kitty confirms their CF status in this blog post.
If you’d like to catch up on all the previous reviews in this series, check out the links below!
October is all about vegan and cruelty-free reviews!
Lune + Aster Supermoon Bronzer & Glow Palette Review
Kosas 10 Second Eyeshadow Review
My Organic Skin Co Custom Palette Review
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
An eyeshadow palette with a range of five versatile, nude shades. Natasha’s passion for the nude color scheme inspired her to create this user-friendly, sand-inspired shade range. Use it to create a variety of eye makeup looks—from casual matte to high metallic and smoky.
– Sephora
SHADES AND SWATCHES
Arrosto – dark, matte brown with a yellow undertone
Dune – light peachy golden nude metallic
Safari – medium dusty ochre matte
Copper Stone – rich copper with a golden nude metallic effect
Zand – medium warm ochre matte
Top to bottom: Arrosto, Dune, Safari, Copper Stone, Zand.
MY THOUGHTS ON PACKAGING
Despite being a more luxury item, the packaging on this palette is definitely not luxurious in my opinion. I’d say it’s much more functional. This has a hard plastic case with a clear lid and no mirror. Very easy to throw in your makeup travel bag due to its size and sturdiness. Personally I’m OK with the no-frills packaging because I’m more concerned with the quality of the shadows. But if you buy luxury to also buy beautiful packaging, then you might be unsatisfied with this.
RATING: 4 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON APPLICATION
So this is where I’ve run into problems with ND shadows before. I love an amazing matte shadow, but hers would always go patchy on me during blending. So if you have the same frustrating issue, here’s my tip. Apply a primer and then apply a matte skin tone powder to get a totally smooth, non-sticky surface. The mattes blend effortlessly with a big fluffy brush over top – hooray!
In regards to the two non-matte shades in this palette, Dune applies like absolute butter (no special priming necessary in my opinion) but Copper Stone can be a bit flakey with sparkle falling down your cheeks.
All the shades in the palette layer quite well with each other as well.
RATING: 4 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON COLOR RANGE
As I mentioned above, this palette is for all the die-hard neutral eyeshadow lovers out there. Those of you who want those eternally wearable, day-appropriate looks that won’t get too dark or dramatic. It certainly won’t give you a wide variety of looks though as it’s quite monochromatic. But I loveeee these kinds of shades! Overall I’d definitely say it’s more of a warm collection of colors, except for Safari which is more neutral (middle shade).
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON PIGMENTATION
There’s definitely no issue with pigmentation here; they all build up quite nicely but don’t take forever to reach full potential. As usual, go slowly for the best effect.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
I applied Dune all over my eyelid, and defined the outer-corner with Arrosto.
I applied Copper Stone all over my eyelid, and mixed Safari & Zand lightly in the crease.
I mixed Safari and Zand together and applied all over my eyelid and above my crease.
MY THOUGHTS ON WEAR
I typically wear my eyeshadow for anywhere between 9 – 12 hours, and I haven’t noticed much creasing or fading with these shadows in that span of time. This is exactly what you want and expect from your luxury shadows. But keep in mind wear is always dependent on skin type and external factors like weather. For reference, my eyelids are not oily so most shadows tend to latch on quite well.
RATING: 5 / 5 ⭐️
MY THOUGHTS ON PRICE
For 5 shadows or 2.5 grams of product, this retails for $48.00. It’s definitively luxury, no matter what way you cut it. But for fun, let’s quickly compare it to another smaller luxury palette – the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Palette. For 4 shadows or 5.2 grams of product, you pay $53.00. So you get an extra shade in the Camel Palette, but less than half the amount of actual product than in the Pillow Talk Palette for only $5 less. You’re paying so much more per gram in the Camel Palette! I do think the ND shadows are high-performing, but this comparison is a bit sobering.
RATING: 3 / 5 ⭐️
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you love beautiful neutral shades that you can wear everyday to work or school, and don’t mind paying a luxury price tag, you won’t be disappointed with the Natasha Denona Camel Palette. I will continue to enjoy using it because I adore the shades, but you can certainly achieve similar looks with lower cost alternatives at Ulta or the drugstore. All the colors are quite dupe-able (see: Dose of Colors Baked Browns or ELF Mad for Matte in Nude Mood).
Have you tried the Natasha Denona Camel Palette? I’d love to know!
xo, Erica
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