Viseart Eyeshadow Palette in 01 Neutral Matte

Over the last year or so, independent French makeup company Viseart has exploded all over the North American cosmetics scene. They've been around for years and are a favourite of professional makeup artists in French TV and film, but weren't widely available on this side of the world until Sephora started carrying them as an online exclusive brand (Viseart still doesn't have a website of their own). Though they make a lot of different products, Viseart is most known for their eyeshadow palettes, which are described as "reliable film-tested professional products, a staple in every artist's kit, and... the workhorse of all professional artists. These palettes have a dynamic cult following throughout all levels of artistry. Manufactured in France, Viseart's proprietary formula is created in small tightly-controlled batches to maintain pigment quality, powder integrity, and consistency. Viseart is the 'secret sauce' for top Hollywood makeup artists, as well as makeup artist enthusiasts of all genres." 

Viseart currently makes seven colour waves in their eyeshadow palettes. The 01 Neutral Matte palette contains 12 shades and is described as "perfect for creating a no-makeup look, [featuring] beige and brown tones that are ideal for shading, highlighting, and defining eyes, brows, or facial contours." Viseart products are not tested on animals, contain organic ingredients, and are made without petroleum, parabens, silicones, butylene glycol or propylene glycol, phthalates, or artificial dyes. Each palette is housed in a rectangular clear-lidded plastic case, contains a total of 24 grams of product, and retails for $100 CAD. 
Cannelle, Beige, Sable, and Ivoire

Cannelle is a medium warm peachy brown in a soft matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 darker than Viseart Beige, darker than MAC Soft Brown, lighter than MAC Texture, less orange than Too Faced Peanut Butter, and similar to Makeup Geek Crème Brûlée.

Beige is a light-medium warm muted peach in a soft matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 lighter and less brown than Viseart Cannelle, similar to MAC Bamboo, lighter than MAC Soft Brown, warmer and more peach than Too Faced Nougat, and more muted than Makeup Geek Beaches & Cream.

Sable is a light warm peachy beige in a soft matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 lighter and more beige than Viseart Beige, similar to MAC Orb, more peach than MAC Brule, darker and more peach than Too Faced Divinity, and more peach than Makeup Geek Vanilla Bean.

Ivoire is a pale ivory white in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 lighter and more white than Viseart Sable, similar to MAC Blanc Type, brighter than MAC Vapour, brighter and cooler than Too Faced Coconut Créme, and similar to Makeup Geek White Lies.

Chocolat, Brique, Taupe, and Café

Chocolat is a dark warm chocolate brown in a soft matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 darker than MAC Handwritten, less reddened than MAC Embark, warmer than MAC Mystery, darker and more reddened than Too Faced Malted, and similar to Makeup Geek Americano.

Brique is a medium-deep mahogany brown in a soft matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 more reddened than Viseart Taupe, similar to MAC Brown Script, more reddened than MAC Swiss Chocolate, brighter than Too Faced Bordeaux, and slightly more muted and more matte than Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear.

Taupe is a medium-deep warm muted mocha brown in a soft matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 cooler and less red than Viseart Brique, cooler than MAC Saddle, darker and less orange than MAC Texture, slightly darker than Too Faced Mocha, and darker and more matte than Makeup Geek Hipster.

Café is a medium-dark cool-toned taupe-brown in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 lighter and cooler than Viseart Taupe, cooler and darker than MAC Cork, lighter than MAC Charcoal Brown, lighter than Too Faced Puddin', and darker than Makeup Geek Barcelona Beach.

Charbon, Souris, Cendre, and Tabac

Charbon is a deep-dark warm carbon black in a soft matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 darker and warmer than MAC Carbon, similar to Too Faced Licorice, warmer and slightly more muted than Makeup Geek Corrupt and Urban Decay Blackout, and similar to Make Up For Ever M100 Black.

Souris is a medium-deep neutral-warm charcoal grey in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 cooler and darker than Viseart Cendre, warmer and lighter than MAC Print, darker and warmer than MAC Copperplate, darker than Makeup Geek Bedrock, and warmer than Makeup Geek Concrete Jungle.

Cendre is a medium-dark warm muted taupe-grey in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 lighter and warmer than Viseart Souris, slightly lighter and warmer than MAC Copperplate, darker and more grey than MAC Quarry, warmer than Makeup Geek Bedrock, and darker and more grey than Make Up For Ever M558 Dark Taupe.

Tabac is a medium-dark cool-toned muted brown in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 warmer than Viseart Cendre, lighter than MAC Charcoal Brown, darker than MAC Wedge, cooler and more matte than Makeup Geek Taupe Notch, and warmer than Too Faced Puddin'.

These are quite possibly the best matte eyeshadows I have ever used, and by far the best matte eyeshadow palette I own. By "best," I mean incredibly finely-milled, soft and silky in texture, spectacular pigmentation and colour pay-off, and extremely blendable with no powdery kick up or fall-out. They adhere beautifully and are long-wearing without any primer (over eight hours without creasing or fading in my experience). The colours are extremely versatile for all skintones to create all looks from natural to dramatic, and are multi-tasking as well — though they are technically eyeshadows, this palette is fantastic for contouring, filling brows, and even filling in hair roots. The packaging is simple and very no-nonsense — these palettes were designed for makeup artists and are made for frequent use and are meant to be functional rather than admired — and the price, though seemingly expensive at first, ends up being cheaper than MAC and just slightly more than Urban Decay and Too Faced. I have literally incorporated this palette into every eye look since I got it. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: This is the only neutral palette you will ever need.