Review: Wet n Wild Limited Edition I Heart Matte 8-Pan Eyeshadow Palette

Part of the Wet n Wild 2011 Holiday Collection (click here for info, swatches, maps, etc. of all the other Holiday 2011 goodies), the I Heart Matte 8-pan is probably the one holiday product from Wet n Wild that has received the most buzz on this blog and elsewhere.

I'm sorry it took so long for me to review this palette, but this time of year is crazy for new releases and I'm working my way through everything as we speak (Ice Baby review to come!). Also, since matte shadows are near and dear to my heart, I wanted to spend some extra time and create an eye look to go along with this review.

NOTE: The I Heart Matte palette is part of the Walgreens Beauty Bar (along with the baked palettes). This is a Walgreens-exclusive. If you'd like to see if this palette has been spotted in your area, click here.

 Wet n Wild I Heart Matte Palette

(retail: $4.99, 0.3 oz)

As you can see, one side contains the bolder, brighter shades, while the other side contains the earthtone shades:

A few readers have mentioned that two of the shades in this palette actually contain a tiny bit of sparkle/sheen to them. In particular, the blue and purple shadows (more on this later in this post):

The following three pics were swatched on bare skin without primer:

I found all but two of the colors in this palette to be soft, silky and easy to apply. The green and purple shades were the only two that were a bit problematic to apply without primer. The texture of the green shadow is harder and drier than the rest, and the purple shadow lacks the creaminess of the other shades. But what I really found surprising was the black matte. WOW. I was expecting this one to be on the harder, drier side (as black mattes are known to be) but it was surprisingly silky and super easy to work with.

The following three pictures were swatched over NYX White Eyeshadow Base:

As you can see, eyeshadow primer really makes these colors pop. Even the "problem children", the green and purple, look vibrant over primer. The two shades that have a slight sheen/sparkle to them in the pan (as I mentioned at the beginning of this review) really don't seem to translate as shimmery when on the skin. In the following pic, I circled the few bits of sparkle that I could see in the purple:

I thought it might be helpful to do an eye look using the green and purple shades, since I said those were the more "problematic" shadows in this palette. I also used the white and blue shadows for this look. Please note that this eye look is far, far out of my comfort zone, but I really wanted to have some fun with these shadows and see what I could create!

I did this look on top of Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden. I first applied the green shade on my lids. Then I used the blue shade in the crease, followed by the purple in my outer "v". I used my EcoTools Eye Shading Brush to apply all three colors, and then used my fluffy Real Techniques Dome Shadow Brush to apply the white shade to my brow bone and lightly blend all of the other shades.

This is not an everyday look for me, but I think it's very fun and I was SO pleased with how easily all of the colors applied and blended. I have a lot of experience with matte eyeshadows and I'm happy to report that none of these shades skipped or left odd patches of inconsistent color on my eyes. They were all very easy to apply--even the green and purple! I wore this look all day and into the night and it didn't budge. There was very slight creasing by about 8pm, but no fading. The colors remained vibrant until I removed my makeup before bed.

FINAL VERDICT: If you're a matte eyeshadow person, I think this a fun palette to add to your collection. As just $4.99, it's kind of a no-brainer. I obviously love the earthtone shades in this palette, which are soft, finely-milled, and a dream to work with. However, even the shadows with a harder, drier consistency are easy to work with if you use a good primer first.

Once again, to see if this palette has been spotted in your area yet, click here.

Do you already own the Wet n Wild I Heart Matte palette? If so, how do you like it?

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.