Violet Voss x Laura Lee Eyeshadow Palette

on
Wednesday, February 15, 2017

American indie brand Violet Voss, initially known for their affordable range of false lashes and cosmetic glitters, really came to prominence last year with the release of their liquid lipsticks. Then they released photos of their first ever eyeshadow palette, Holy Grail, on Instagram last spring, and it suddenly became one of the most highly anticipated makeup products on social media. Since then, they've gotten more attention through YouTube, Instagram, and IMATS, and have added a highlighter palette and two more eyeshadow palettes to their repertoire, including this collaboration with popular beauty vlogger and YouTuber Laura Lee


This palette, curated by Laura Lee and produced by Violet Voss, was initially released last June and is limited edition, though it is still available as of this post going up through Violet Voss, Beauty Bay, Ricky's NYC, and these other official retailers. It contains 20 shades of eyeshadow in "a variety of both matte and shimmer finishes that are all ultra-blendable and super velvety. Influenced by Laura Lee's love for everything sass, the collection provides shades for all occasions, allowing you to go from neutral to smoky in minutes." I have the older version of this palette, which is housed in black cardboard packaging; Violet Voss just re-designed all of their palettes with thicker, sturdier holographic card stock. Both versions have the Violet Voss logo printed on the front and contains a mirror spanning the entire lid. Each Laura Lee Eyeshadow Palette contains a total of 36 grams of product (1.8 grams per shade), and retails for $45 USD.

Basic, Sugah, Priss Pot, Mama Bird, and Raga Muffin

Basic is a pale warm cream in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is similar to MAC Blanc Type, less peach than Anastasia Beverly Hills Tempera, and lighter than Makeup Geek Vanilla Bean.
Sugah is a light warm yellow champagne-gold in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter than MAC Ricepaper, more golden than MAC Dazzlelight, and more muted than Makeup Geek Rapunzel.
Priss Pot is a light-medium warm muted golden peach in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more muted and more matte than MAC Up at Dawn, more yellow than Makeup Geek Peach Smoothie, and lighter and more muted than Makeup Geek Chickadee.
Mama Bird is a medium warm muted burnt orange in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more orange than MAC Texture, lighter than Anastasia Beverly Hills Burnt Orange, and more brown than Makeup Geek Early Bird.
Raga Muffin is a medium-dark warm reddened orange in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more orange than MAC Saddle, similar to Anastasia Beverly Hills Burnt Orange, and brighter and more orange than Makeup Geek Sidekick.

Larlee, Tickled Pink, Hissy Fit, Bitty, and 1988

Larlee is a light warm champagne with peach-pink duochrome in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than MAC Motif, lighter than Makeup Geek I'm Peachless, and more peach than Makeup Geek Voltage.
Tickled Pink is a light warm gilded peachy pink in a foiled metallic finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter than MAC Jest, similar to Makeup Geek In the Spotlight, and warmer than Makeup Geek Nostalgic.
Hissy Fit is a medium warm golden bronze with gold iridescent shimmer in a foiled metallic finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is warmer than Violet Voss Toffee, slightly darker than MAC Amber Lights, and more gold than Makeup Geek Grandstand.
Bitty is a medium-dark warm copper bronze with copper and gold iridescent shimmer in a foiled metallic finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more brown than Violet Voss On Fleek, more bronze than MAC Coppering, and lighter and more orange than Anastasia Beverly Hills Cognac.
1988 is a medium warm reddened copper with pink and gold iridescent shimmer in a foiled metallic finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than Violet Voss On Fleek, lighter and more muted than MAC Coppering, and lighter than Anastasia Beverly Hills Henna.

Fleeky, Britches, Fried, Yoshi, and Rammer Jammer

Fleeky is a light warm vibrant yellow gold in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is similar to MAC Goldmine, brighter than Makeup Geek Gold Digger.
Britches is a medium-dark warm fawn brown in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is cooler than Violet Voss Bestie, lighter and cooler than Violet Voss R U Kitten Me, and warmer than MAC Wedge.
Fried is a medium-dark warm golden camel brown in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily.  It is more golden than MAC Charcoal Brown, cooler than Makeup Geek Desert Sands, and cooler than Makeup Geek Tiki Hut.
Yoshi is a medium cool khaki brown with with green-grey duochrome in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is cooler and more grey than Violet Voss Minx, lighter and more brown than Violet Voss Bliss, and lighter and cooler than Makeup Geek Ritzy.
Rammer Jammer is a medium-dark warm reddened cranberry in a metallic finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is slightly more brown than Violet Voss Cranberry Splash, similar to MAC Cranberry, and darker and more red than Makeup Geek Roulette.

Alabama, Wiskers, Bubs, Smashlee, and Lou

Alabama is a medium-dark warm reddened brown in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more reddened than Violet Voss Brownie Points, similar to MAC Swiss Chocolate, and slightly less reddened than Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear.
Wiskers is a medium-deep warm chocolate brown in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly more reddened than Violet Voss Brownie Points, lighter than Violet Voss Teddy Bear, and slightly lighter than MAC Embark.
Bubs is a dark cool espresso brown in a matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily.  It is warmer than MAC Brun, darker and cooler than MAC Embark, and cooler than Makeup Geek Americano.
Smashlee is a medium-dark cool brightened teal with gold iridescent shimmer in a foiled metallic finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is warmer and more muted than Violet Voss I'm So Fancy, brighter and more blue than Violet Voss Mermaid Vixen, and darker and more metallic than MAC Steamy.
Lou is a deep-dark cool muted black with a soft sheen in a satin-matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is lighter and more muted than Violet Voss Midnight Tryst, warmer than MAC Carbon, and lighter and more muted than Makeup Geek Corrupt.

I watched a review on this palette from last summer on YouTube wherein the reviewer blatantly said the mattes in this palette "suck," and after having used this palette for a couple months now, I've got to respectfully disagree. It's sad because this video review got hundreds of thousands of views and convinced a lot of people who had never touched or seen the palette in person before that it wasn't worth buying. Now, it's entirely possible that Violet Voss had re-formulated their shadows in the last six months (the palette originally launched last June and I bought mine in November), but the Laura Lee palette that I have performs phenomenally. I found that all the matte shades in this palette are smooth, pigmented, and easy to blend out. As a makeup artist who wears eyeshadow everyday and applies eyeshadow on other people everyday, I didn't find a single dud here — and yes, I did try all of them with brushes on my eyelids and with my fingers in arm swatches. They don't have quite the density as the mattes in the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette (which I maintain has some of the best matte eyeshadows I have ever used in my life), but they all give rich colour pay-off and have a silky, finely-milled texture.

That having been said, what really stands out for me in this palette are the metallic shades — Tickled Pink, Hissy Fit, Bitty, 1988, and Smashlee — that have the softest, most buttery texture, incredible pigmentation, dimensional foiled finish, and saturated colour pay-off. It's almost worth paying the $45 USD price tag (plus the conversion rate, sales tax, and possible duties if you're not American) for those five shades alone. The palette as a whole definitely leans on the warm side, though there are several cooler shades to keep the palette more well-rounded, and there is an excellent mix of finishes to create a multitude of dimensional eye looks. (Also, the names of the shades — personally chosen by Laura Lee, who is an Alabama native — totally reminds me of Hart of Dixie, which was a serious guilty pleasure of mine until it was cancelled, so I find them particularly endearing.) As someone who doesn't have a bias to either the Violet Voss brand or Laura Lee the YouTuber, I've gotta say: the Violet Voss x Laura Lee palette really lives up to all the hype.
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