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Monday, November 12, 2012

Initial thoughts: Profusion Midnight Fever and Sultry & Neutrals 10 Eyeshadow Palettes

Three weeks ago, reader palette_obsession shared with us some pics and swatches of the Holiday 2012 palettes from Profusion. These palettes have caused some buzz since there's no denying that they look like the Urban Decay Naked palettes. 

I finally found both palettes at Big Lots last week (thanks to those of you who shared the tip that these are surfacing at both Walgreens AND Big Lots!) and although I haven't had much time to play around with them, I have used both of them a few times so I'd like to give you my initial impressions of both palettes. Hopefully this can help you determine whether or not these may be worth the hunt.

So let's start with the cooler of the two palettes:

Profusion Midnight Fever 10 Eyeshadow Palette
(retail: $4.99, weight not given on packaging)

Keep reading for my full review of both palettes, with swatches...

These Profusion palettes are actually a little bit bigger than the UD Naked palette (they measure about an inch longer).





These swatches were done over NYX HD Shadow Base. If you look closely, you can see where the fallout sort of got "trapped" in the primer (the little dark dots around the swatches). So yes, there is fallout with this palette:


Another thing you'll notice is that the finish on all but one shadow in the Midnight Fever palette is the same. These are all shimmers (the black is more of a satin).


As for dupes in the Urban Decay Naked palette, there are some similar shades, but nothing I would call a full-on dupe. This palette is not a shade-for-shade dupe of UD Naked, but the sequencing of some of the shades is identical. For instance:


Here's a side by side comparison of Urban Decay Gunmetal to the similar shade in the Profusion palette:


 Pretty close.

 Now let's take a look at the the Sultry & Neutrals palette:

Profusion Sultry & Neutrals 10 Eyeshadow Palette
(retail: $4.99, weight not given on packaging)





I swatched the shadows in this palette over LA Girl Pro Primer in Nude because I was afraid that, without a little bit of color underneath, you wouldn't be able to see the lighter matte shades at all in my photos:


You still can't really see the lighter matte shades in my pics because the colors are very close to my natural skintone. But at least you can see that you get five mattes in the Sultry & Neutrals palettes and five shimmers. Very nice to see an even 50-50 of mattes and shimmers in an inexpensive drugstore palette.


This palette is not a shade-for-shade dupe of the UD Naked palette either, but the sequencing of some of the shades is identical:


And here's a comparison of UD Smog to the similar color in the Sultry & Neutrals palette:


I can't possibly give you a final verdict on these palettes since I've only been using them for about a week now. However, here's what I can tell you:

If you already own UD Naked or Naked 2, I would say that you probably shouldn't bother with either of these. The quality of the shadows, including texture, complexity and richness of color, staying power and ease of application are far, far superior in the UD palettes. 

If you don't own either of the UD palettes and you're looking for similar colors and don't care about having exact dupes, these Profusion palettes might be worth considering. Yes, you will have to play with them to determine which primer works best for you (I wouldn't try wearing these without primer--they're too weakly pigmented for that), and yes, there is fallout. However, I don't find any of the shadows in either Profusion palette to be horrible, and I was actually surprised by how workable they can be. Sure, you might need to pack them on and take special care to avoid fallout but, over primer, a lot of the colors are decent and I was expecting a LOT worse, given some of the feedback I've read. I don't know if I'm just used to working with drugstore and dollar store eyeshadows, but I really didn't find these anywhere near as bad as others have described them to be. But keep in mind that if you're used to shadows that have perfect texture and pigmentation on the very first swipe, then you should probably avoid these because you'll be in for let-down.

So there you have it. These palettes aren't for everyone, but I hope this gives you a better idea of who MIGHT like them, and who definitely will not like them.

Do you already own either of these new Profusion palettes? What do you think of them?
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21 comments

  1. Ummm I NEED this palette!! I can't bring myself to buy the Naked palette because of the price but this one looks just as good!

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  2. Like Heather, I just can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on an eyeshadow palette when I need that money to do more important things, but I do like the neutrals palette quite a bit.

    Yes, I do understand that $50 for 12 UD shadows is pretty amazing, but I just can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on makeup I'm likely to quit obsessing over in the space of a week. *shrug*

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  3. it gives you the weight of the product in the picture you have posted, it says .15g for the eyeshadow, and 1.35g for the eyeliner

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  4. G, your review is excellent! I think for $4.99, the sultry palette is awesome.. I don't mind having to take those few extra seconds to work with a less expensive brand ! The Greys are so pretty!
    I found another awesome profusion palette: $2.99 it's a round case with a lace print.. The colors are neutrals and the quality of those Are even better than those other palettes! Idk I just get so excited to find something at the drugstore that's a fraction of what you'd pay at a big name store..:)

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  5. I heard good things about this but I personally don't like them. I bought the brown one and it's tucked away in a drawer right now. It just looks and feels cheap. The color pay off is okay (about that of Maybelline). It's there but lacking. It's completely gone within a few hours even when applied over primer :(

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  6. The profusion palette looks so good and pigmented. It's so great at 4.99! Wow. Heck of a deal if they go on the eyes as nice as they look in swatches.

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  7. Palette looks nice, I'm just not a fan of powder eye shadows anymore. Now that I've started using creams I'm having a hard time going back to powder formulations.

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  8. I have the Midnight Fever palette. I don't think it's completely horrible, but I also don't think I will reach for it a lot. I had Naked 2 and never used it so I sent it to a friend. I'm kicking myself for that now. lol

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  9. wow cannot pass that up for Christmas stoocking stuffers. I have the Naked Palette and it is great bang for your buck. I haven't even made a dent in it and use it almost everyday. I got it when it first came out.
    However I am sure all the gorgeous girls in the family will love to find these palettes in the stockinggs. :) Great review G

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  10. Sadly, I could not make these work for me and returned them. I did however try the black round one with the lace print for $2.99. This palette is awesome. Smooth and pigmented. I also picked up the Profusion glamifeye palette for about $5-6...it has 36 colors nicely pigmented and a nice texture. It has a shade similar to Mac Club. I love it..I am going back to get more for stocking stuffers.

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  11. my babysitter's 18th birthday was coming up and i was at a loss as what to get an 18 year old. it came to me that most girls like makeup so i got her the sultry palette. this was almost 2 weeks ago and she hasn't stopped wearing one or more of the shades daily. with a little eyelid primer she says she has not had any problems with the eyeshadows fading during the day. she has a 6 hour school day and then 3 hours of babysitting and the eyeshadow stays put.

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  12. OMG! so glad you reviewed these. I bought the nude one at Big lots like a week ago, I was all pulling my bf saying it was a sorta dupe of Naked palate. Then when you mentioned it on here I was showing him. He knows I love you blog. And that you have similar taste as mine. After seeing this review I am going to get the other palate. I think they are nice for the price.

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  13. The hard plastic round Profusion Palettes(with the lace print) are so much better!I found those ones to be pretty pigmented for $2.99 and with primer they wore longer than these ones I picked up with them.

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  14. you say on the post that the weight isnt given on the package, but it is. .15g for the eyeshadow, and 1.35g for the eyeliner

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  15. i have the 2 glamifeye 36 shade palettes and they are amazing for $2.99 each. 1 is more greens and 1 has more purples. All metallic shimmery shades (which I like). Amazing pigmentation and decent lasting power with a primer.

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  16. I bought the Profusion Halo round palettes for $.99 each, which have the same colors as the Perfect 10 palettes, and picked up the E.L.F. Warm palette for $5 at the same time. The quality of the E.L.F. blows the Halo palettes out of the water. I swatched the Halos first, and they were chalky and low pigment. Then I swatched the E.L.F shadows that were similar shades and was amazed at how much better they are. And don't let the word "Warm" scare you away. There are many cool neutrals in the E.L.F. palette, as well, especially in the bottom row that isn't visible until you open the palette.

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  17. I bought the Sultry & Neutrals palette today at Walgreens and I got two dollars back in coupons, so I'm stoked. Three dollars for ten shades, yeah!
    I don't mind the packaging since I de-pot most things anyways, and I'm far more willing to put up with "okay" shades for three bucks rather than "excellent" shades at the very painful fifty dollar price tag for the Urban Decay palettes.

    Maybe I'll supplement it with some Coastal Scents palette colors (either the 28 or the Go Cairo one) and will still be under priced, haha.

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  18. I went to Five Below this weekend with my teenage boys, and I found two palettes from Profusion "Bare" and Smokey".
    Pretty darn close to UD "Naked" and "Naked2", at $5 each, with 10 shadows in each. Any thoughts?

    http://www.fivebelow.com/style/makeup-and-beauty/bare-smokey-eye-shadow.html

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  19. If you live in minnesota there is a flea market called "Hmong Village" that sells the naked palette for half of the price, I just got the sultry and neutrals today, im excited to go try these colors at home :)

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  20. City Color Cosmetics has an eyeshadow palette that resembles the Naked palette and it costs five dollars as well.

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  21. Yes I have one I have the darker one the black one and I have been trying to buy another one and I can not located anywhere for which upsets me they say Walgreen has it but I haven't seen it in there I didn't buy mine at Walgreen I bought it at a clothing store so if you could tell me where I could possibly buy one I'd appreciate it I've even looked online I find it online it just doesn't give me a way to order it I would appreciate it thank you

    ReplyDelete

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