♕ Part of My World ♕ Makeup Geek Cosmetics ~ Eyeshadow Pans Haul! ♕{Swatches, Comparisons & First Impressions}

I'm so excited I'm finally able to post this haul! I had to postpone and reschedule it so many times I was seriously loosing hope of ever being able to post it.

This year I was lucky enough to receive ten Makeup Geek Cosmetics eyeshadows as birthday present ♥ I've been willing to try out their shadows from quite some time - so you can imagine how excited I was (and still am) to get all these beauties *___*

Like I said, I got ten eyeshadow pans in total: nine of them are from the "classic" range, while only one of them is from the Foiled range (personal choice, I wanted to try first and see whether I liked this kind of finish or not). 

When doing my wishlist, I made sure I listed colours I didn't have already in my stash. It was crucial, to me, to pick up something new and unique - no need of dupes. 

In terms of finish, eight out of ten are matte shades. I know, it's quite groundbreaking and apparently contrary to my personal taste - as I've always declared my deep love for shimmer shades. The brighter, the better - as my friend Misato would say. Truth is, though, that I realized how important matte shades are. It's not a matter of tastes anymore - my style, my technique evolved quite a bit... And I've been feeling the urge to expand my makeup stash to matte shades for quite some time, lately. 

Makeup Geek's eyeshadows are only available as refill pans - meaning you just get the pan with no other packaging (apart from the case, obviously). Needless to say, they're meant to be placed in magnetic palettes, giving you the option and freedom to put together your personal palette. Any kind of magnetic palette will do the trick, I personally love NABLA's Liberty palettes but you can use Z-Palettes, MAC's magnetic palettes... And customize your very own palette.

In terms of diameter, they're just like MAC eyeshadows' pans - but contain a little more product (1.8 g vs 1.3 g).
Instead, they're slightly smaller than NABLA's ones (which contain about 1/4 more product, 2.5 g vs 1.8 g).

Just like NABLA's refill pans (and MAC ones, I assume), each pan comes into a nice cardboard pack, and it's held in place by a second piece made of thin cardboard. To be honest, it didn't feel quite stable, I had to be reallllly careful while opening the flaps and pulling the pan out. (I prefer NABLA's system where the pan is actually stuck into the cardboard)

Each pan has a label on the bottom, so you can keep track of all the names!
On the back of the pack, you'll find the ingredients list.

Let's see each shade in detail!

Shore Thing: "A true pastel, mint green with a matte finish"

Really pale sea foam shade. So gentle but not poorly pigmented, mind you! Being so light it's perfect as transition shade, but I can't wait to try it all over the lid (along with the following shade) for a pure matte total look! Also great for any kind of pastel look - I'm going to try and do a pastel makeup as soon as possible!
(I used it as transition shade in my Princess Ariel look!)

Dragonfly: "Bright medium teal with a matte finish"

It's more emerald than teal in my opinion - nevertheless, it's a very rich shade, perfectly matte. Very very bright and eye-catching. Great colour payoff even with just an hint of product. 
Gorgeous if paired with Shore Thing! (I tried them together already and they make such a good combo!)

Shark Bait: "Blue based green with a matte finish"
...In other word, a great teal shade *_* It's matte, but it seems to have a subtle sheen in it. It's the colour of the Little Mermaid's tail ;D
I chose it with the intention of using it as transition shade for my teal/green looks - but it's too pretty to confine it just to that. 
(I used it in my crease/outer corner in my Princess Ariel look!)

Pegasus: "Light, bright aqua with a foiled finish" (Foiled)
This is the only foiled I got - and it's absolutely stunning. Unique. There are both aqua and turquoise in it, it's filled with so many gold/silver/aqua sparkles - yet it's not truly glittery. Its finish is metallic and almost "mirrored", if you know what I mean. It's beyond silky - feels more creamy, actually. Definitely my favourite shade already XD 
(I used it on my lids in my Princess Ariel look!)

Poolside: "Bright shimmery teal with specks of gold"

Swimming pool blue in all its beauty *_* One of the only two shimmer shades I got (apart from Pegasus, of course).
Although it seems very very bright from the pan, it's actually a medium shade. Makes me think of Caribbean waters, it's SO beautiful. 
It's the only one shadow that feel a little "harder" in the pan, compared to the other - which are all so silky and easy to pick up. Thankfully, this doesn't compromise its application too much. 

Neptune: "Matte bright blue"

Another unique shade I absolutely needed in my stash. Not pure blue though - it has like an hint of purple, or better, some periwinkle in it. So hard to properly capture in picture! 
I recently tried it as eyeliner - and it's absolutely amazing! (I can wait to try all the other shades as eyeliners too, of course *_*)

Boo Berry: "Denim blue with gray undertones and a matte finish"

A matte blue shade was highly needed in my stash, and I chose Boo Berry because, again, it felt unique. Not too bright, not too deep. Not enough dark and saturated to be a navy blue. 
Very versatile - great as transition shade but also all over the lid. 

Chit Chat: "Medium periwinkle with a shimmery finish"

I fell in love with this shade at once. Another periwinkle shade, with some purple in it. It's gently shimmery - meaning it's not glittery or really really sparkly (but not matte either).
Unlike Poolside (the other shimmery shade I got), this shadow feels almost creamy. 
(I used it on my lower lids in my Princess Ariel look!) 

Hopscotch: "Bright iris with a matte finish"

Pale and light lilac (really hard to capture, on my monitor looks quite cold and blue toned, but it is not). A matte lilac-ish shade was very high in my wishlist, and so far I'm glad I chose this one. 

It's such a sweet, fairy-like shade, stunning on the lids but also as transition shade. Just like Shore Thing, it's very gentle but not poorly pigmented. (I used it on my lids in this look and you can see how pretty and rich it is!)

Fashion Addict: "Medium orchid purple with a matte finish"

When I saw it once I got it, it made me think of cyclamens. It's BEAUTIFUL! I needed a shade like this so badly. 
Its colour payoff is amazing - reminds me of Dragonfly's. 
This is the only shade I haven't tried yet sadly - I focused on the teals and, poor thing, this one was left out. I plan to dedicate a whole makeup look to it as soon as possibile! 

Now let me introduce you my palette *_*

I love this shades all together *_* This palette feels so mermaid-y and so me!

Each shade has a great colour payoff - even the lighter ones - and are so easy to blend. They all feel silky and smooth - apart from Poolside, that is a little "harder", almost raspy. Pegasus, instead, feels so creamy (probably because it's a Foiled shadow) and it applies like a dream *-* 

They're not dusty, and I haven't noticed huge fallout while doing my make up so far. Which is a very good pro for me, I hate when my cheeks end up covered in fallout XD 

Each shade is very true-to-pan, apart from Poolside that is slightly darker than it looks. (It is, like, the outsider of the situation)

My first impressions, as of now, are really positive. They all seem to be long-lasting, not prone to fallout, pigmented, easy to blend. The price point is pretty good (6 $ each for the pans, 10 $ for the Foiled ones), definitely cheaper than other brands. Mine came from an European seller (Beauty Bay), so the price is slightly higher - still worth it though.

For the Eyeshadow Pans ingredients list, please check this page on MUG site.

For the Foiled Eyeshadows ingredients list, please check this page on MUG site.

The following pictures are quite big, so click to enlarge!

I did my best to find a decent natural lighting but, due to unstable weather conditions, light varies a little from picture to picture. 

Each shadow was applied dry, with no primer underneath. 

First of all, I swatches all the shades. In the following picture you can see all the aqua/teals.

While, in the following one, I swatched the remaining ones (blues/purples/etc). Sorry but I couldn't make them fit all ten in my arm at the same time ^^"

Regarding the comparisons: being all unique shades in my stash it almost felt useless doing comparisons - but then I realized that they could still be useful, especially if you have a lot of NABLA shadows like me and have some doubts. 

For example, I wondered whether Hopscotch and Lilac Wonder where similar somehow. Well, finish apart (matte vs satin), they're not close at all. Hopscotch is more blue and cooler than Lilac Wonder - that is way more lilac and feels warmer. 

I also wondered if Fashion Addict was a matte version of Cattleya - and, nope, it is not. Fashion Addict is warmer, as you can see (and again, never mind the different finish).

Chit Chat stands out, being very bluish and very periwinkle XD

Regarding the teals, I was pretty sure they were all unique - and they are, as you can see. I only wondered if Shark Bait was close to Babylon - it is not, definitely. Shark Bait is brighter and surely way more teal than both Babylon and Under Pressure. In fact, it is my ideal teal shade ♥___♥

The blues are sooo different from each other! NABLA's one are both so deep and dark - while Boo Berry is brighter and more blue (since there's no black in it, unlike the NABLA ones). Neptune is a completely original shade, with its periwinkle-like hue. 

Here are all the aquas. Again, each shade is clearly unique: Pegasus is Caribbean blue,while Atmosphere has more green in it. Shore Thing is a true pastel shade, non-comparable to Zoe, which is so subtle and light not to Atmosphere that is darker and greener.

I made an additional swatch picture, comparing Poolside e Pegasus to a pure Caribbean Blue pigment:

Dreamy Aquamarine is my go-to light blue pigment and I was a little worried that Poolside could be a dupe. Thankfully it is not, because Dreamy Aquamarine is brighter and lighter, while Poolside is a little darker. Pegasus, on the other hand, shows a gentle aqua hue that makes him different from the other two. 

Name: Eyeshadow Pans (+ one Foiled Eyeshadow)
Brand: Makeup Geek Cosmetics
What is it?: Highly pigmented eyeshadows.
Prices: "Classic" Eyeshadow Pan $ 6,00 each
             Foiled Eyeshadow $ 10,00 each
Quantity: 1.8 g / 0.064 oz
PAO: Not specified.
Where to buy it: Website - In Europe: beautybay.com
Other: Cruelty Free; Made in USA.

Hope you'll find this post helpful and informative!

Have you ever tried Makeup Geek's eyeshadows? 
If so, what are your favourite shades? 
I can't wait to get more already - so suggestions are very welcome XD

Mermaid kisses and starfish wishes ♥