Product Review -- Hourglass Cosmetics Graphik Eyeshadow Palette

The very first high-end luxury makeup item I ever purchased was an Hourglass Cosmetics eyeshadow duo way back in the day.

That's what started my love affair with the brand, and despite their pretty steep prices, I'm always very curious about the new items they put out.  I don't always buy them, mind you, but I always at least consider it.

A few years back when they came out with brand new eyeshadow palettes (The Modernist Palettes, I believe they were called), I picked one up as soon as they were available -- so it was a serious bummer when I was pretty underwhelmed by the shadows.

Don't get me wrong... they were perfectly fine, but for $58 for just five shades, I'm expecting a little more than fine.

Still, when Hourglass came out with the Graphik Eyeshadow Palettes a few months ago, I picked one up without hesitation. The brand's track record still carries a lot more hits than misses in my book, so I figured it was definitely worth a try.

The palettes come in the standard bronze-y metallic packaging that all of Hourglass's compacts features. There's a touch-up sized mirror on the inside as well.

Hourglass Graphik Eyeshadow Palette

Inside, there are five shadows. The line features four different shade ranges, and I chose Exposed, which is the plum color scheme. The palette contains a combination of shimmer and satin shades that mostly appear matte on the eyes, including a shimmery ivory, a satin lilac gray, a shimmery charcoal, a satin dark plum, and a satin mauve purple.

Hourglass Graphik Eyeshadow Palette in Exposed

In terms of formula, I think the shadows in the Graphik Palettes are definitely better than those in the Modernist Palettes. They're richly pigmented and have a nice smooth texture that applies and blends flawlessly on the eyes.

Hourglass Graphik Eyeshadow Palette in Exposed

I also really like all of the colors in the Exposed palette on an individual basis -- my problem is that I don't find that there's much contrast between them, so most of the eye looks I do with the palette have a very smoky look. That's perfectly fine, but I prefer a little more versatility from my palettes, particularly when I'm shelling out $58 for five shadows.

The range also includes a fully matte palette (Myth), a warm neutral palette (Ravine), and an earth tone palette (Vista). Perhaps these other palettes provide more variety, but I don't think I'll picking up any other palettes from the line. At least not right now.

As I mentioned, the palettes retail for $58 and are available on the Hourglass website.

Have you tried the Hourglass Cosmetics Graphik Eyeshadow Palette? What Hourglass product is your favorite?