If there is one makeup trend that I can't seem to get enough of lately, it's an intense, shimmery eye. Yes, I've always been one of those girls that oohs and ahhs over anything shiny, so it's entirely unsurprising that I'd fall in love with putting sparkles all over my eyelids. But for a while there I had avoided the trend all together. Having grown up in the 90s, I made some pretty strong associations between glitter and looking cheap or tacky (if you ever purchased Claire's makeup as a tween, you might understand what I'm talking about). For years that meant avoiding makeup with anything other than a slight shimmer or sheen.
But then cosmetics companies started doing something wonderful. They began to create stunning, glittery makeup that still managed to look sophisticated. Where glitter was once chunky and unappealing, it has now become micro-fine, brilliant, and elegant. And one absolutely perfect example of this transformation is the Jouer Skinny Dip Ultra Foil Shimmer Shadow Palette. These eyeshadows are an absolute dream to work with, and leave your lids with the most gorgeous, glittery, foiled effect. So if you too are a glitter lover at heart, but have been unsure of whether or not you've outgrown the days of wearing it, perhaps this palette will be a game changer for you as well.
Overview
The Jouer Skinny Dip Ultra Foil Shimmer Shadow Palette is a collection of six, intensely shimmery neutral eyeshadows inspired by the insanely popular Skinny Dip Lip Topper that Jouer released last year. They can be used wet or dry, and can be worn alone or layered together to achieve the finish you desire. The palette retails for $40 and contains 7.5 grams of product.
There is no denying that this palette is next-level gorgeous. The packaging is sleek and gold, you get a decent sized mirror, and the shadows themselves are beautiful to look at. That being said, I want to make a disclaimer right up front. This is NOT the kind of palette you're going to reach for every day, and it's NOT the kind of palette you can use to create a complete eye look. This is an accent palette, meaning that its designed to compliment other shadows in your makeup collection.
If you're a total beauty junkie like myself and have enough neutral palettes to last you a lifetime, this will most likely not be an issue. But if you are someone with a very minimal makeup collection, know that you are going to want to own at least a few basic matte shades in order to get the most use out of this palette (a great affordable option to start you out is the E.L.F. Mad for Matte Palette which retails for only $10).
Value
So let's be real for a moment. $40 seems like a lot to spend on a palette with only six shades that you aren't necessarily going to wear every day. So let's do a little math. You end up spending roughly $6.66 per shade, or $5.33 per gram of product, which is comparable to what you'd spend on some drugstore eyeshadow singles. And even though the shade range is much smaller than say, the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Palette ($42), you're actually getting almost the exact same amount of product. So yes, $40 is still no small amount of money to spend on a single piece of makeup, but I think that value for what you're getting is still there.
It's honestly hard to do comparisons with this palette, because there really isn't a lot like it on the market. One of the closest things I can find is the Urban Decay Moondust Palette, which contains 8 intensely glittery shadows in a variety of bold, funky colors, and retails for $49. While the Moondust shadows are certainly pretty to look at, I find that their formula is quite a bit dryer than the Jouer one, and really require a glitter primer to reach their full potential. They are also way more expensive when you work out the cost per gram. Even though that palette costs $9 more, you only get 5.6 grams of product, at a cost of $8.75 per gram.
The other big difference between these two palettes is the shade range. Urban Decay's palette is all about color, while the Jouer Skinny Dip Palette is entire neutral. What you gravitate towards is ultimately a matter of personal preference, but I think that if you're concerned about making glitter more wearable, keeping the color range more neutral is a safe bet.
Color Range & Formula
Speaking of the color range, let's dive in a little deeper into exactly what you get in this palette. From left to right the six shades are as follows:
Starlight: Platinum
Bikini: Champagne Pink
Skinny Dip: Champagne Gold
Tan Lines: Antique Bronze
Magic Hour: Warm Taupe
Midnight Swim: Cocoa Bronze
For only having six shades to work with, I think Jouer really knocked this selection out of the park. You get three light shades and three dark, three warm tones and three cool. There is basically something to compliment pretty much any eye look you can come up with.
To be honest, these swatches really don't give the effect of these shadows justice. A single picture gives the appearance that these are your run-of-the-mill metallic shadows, but they are really anything but. As you move and the shimmer particles catch the light they create the most brilliant diamond-like sparkle, it just unfortunately doesn't translate well in a photograph. I did share a little boomerang photo on my Instagram to try and capture what they look like in real life a little more accurately.
Now, I have tried A LOT of makeup over the years, and I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever tried another eyeshadow formula quite like this one. It's got a soft, powdery texture, but is totally packed with a super fine shimmer. Many palettes with this much sparkle are rough, gritty, and have a ton of fallout, but that isn't the case with these shadows. They also aren't super wet and creamy feeling like a lot of foiled or metallic shadows. Instead I would almost described them as a pressed shimmering pigment that creates a stunning sparkle on the eyes.
For the best application I would use your fingers to tap these shadows onto the lid versus using a brush. This will help to minimize fallout and to also intensify the pigmentation and shine you'll get. You can apply these shadows over a glitter glue, or foil them with a wet brush, but I do feel that it changes the appearance to something more metallic opposed to glittery.
I've been loving incorporating this palette into my makeup looks lately. In the looks I've created below I used the following shades on my lid: Bikini (top), Skinny Dip (middle), Magic Hour (bottom)
Final Thoughts
With the holidays right around the corner, I think the Jouer Skinny Dip Ultra Foil Shimmer Shadow Palette is going to come in incredibly handy. It's the perfect thing to reach for when you want to add a little something special to your makeup look. Is it a daily essential? Absolutely not. Instead, I would think of this palette as the Little Black Dress equivalent of your makeup collection. Even though you only reach for it every once in a while, it's that secret weapon kind of product that is entirely worth owning.
Have you tried the Jouer Skinny Dip Palette? What's your favorite shade?
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