Viseart Theory Palette IV Amethyst Review

Hello ladies,

Time for another palette review! This palette is from one of my favourite eyeshadow brands – Viseart. I have earlier reviewed a handful of their palettes – Viseart Neutral Mattes, Viseart Bright Editorials, Viseart Bridal Satins, Viseart Warm Mattes, Viseart Petite Pro and one of my favourites – Viseart Theory palette in Minx. So, I have a handful of their palettes already. And yet, when they announced new Theory eyeshadow and face palettes, I was sitting up ready to make my purchase. And when one of the palettes turned out to be purple themed, the decision was out of my hands. If it’s purple – it’s mine! So, let us sit back and see how this one performs.

Product Description:
A six-piece, unique compact palette with matte and shimmer eye shadows and removable pans that also fold into a working easel. Perfect for the makeup artist, these colors are a new addition to Viseart’s range of mattes and shimmers, providing unparalleled coverage, pigment, and all-day, long-lasting color. Create a neutral eye look for day and evening looks with three mattes that range from light-to-medium tones, including one basic brow and crease shade. Use the shades for a subtle shimmery eye or for a sophisticated, satin-glow finish. Use the matte shades to fill in and shape eyebrows.

This palette contains: 6 x 0.13 oz Powder shades.

It is formulated without parabens, sulfates, phthalates. This product is not tested on animals and is free of silicones and minerals.

Ingredients:
Talc, Mica, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Zinc Stearate, Octyldodecanol, Myristyl Lactate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Silica, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide. May Contain (+ -): Titanium Dioxide (77891), Iron Oxides (77491, 77492, 77499), Blue 1 (42090), Carmine (75470), Black 2 (77266), Mica (77019), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510).
Price:
USD45/GBP 35.

Packaging:
The palette is really compact – it fits into the palm of your hand. Even though the palette is small, it is quite substantial. There is a tonne of product in here because there is literally no wasted space around the eyeshadows. Some brands make pretty palettes which are huge with barely any product in them *cough* (new Becca eyeshadow palette for the Holidays *cough*). And there are other brands like Viseart trying to give you minimalistic package and work more on the quality and quantity of the product. The palette has cardboard packaging with the plastic container glued on for the shadow pans. The outer cardboard packaging opens up in such a way that it can be turned around to be set up like a easel. The shadows has a plastic cover to avoid damage. This entire packaging comes with a cardbaord sleeve, quite like “theBalm” packaging. I would say that it is quite a fuss free and yet, intelligent packaging.

My Experience with Viseart Theory Palette IV Amethyst:

The Viseart eyeshadows come in 3 finishes:

Matte
Satin
Shimmer

The original 12-pan palettes come in a single finish – so, either the entire palette is matte or it’s shimmery or it is satin finish. Considering that those palettes are designed for the consumption of professional MUAs, this makes sense. However, for a makeup enthusiast interested in trying Viseart – it’s not really ideal. Also, the 12-pan palettes are priced at $80 for a palette. Price per shadow may not be too high, but to buy a full palette of 12 and drop $80 at one go is too much. So, Viseart came up with this perfect solution – the Theory palettes. I discussed this in detail when I reviewed “Minx,” but I am reiterating my thoughts:

The pricing is better – the palette is priced at $45 instead of you needing to drop $80 at one go for a Viseart palette. The price per shadow is still comparable to the price of a MAC eyeshadow – remember, that for MAC singles, you will need to invest in an empty palette too. The 6 shades in each of these palette have a variation of finishes – so most often than not, you get 3 matte and 3 shimmer shades, which is excellent because you do need a mix to do a complete look. These palettes are themed – so you can pick your jam – there is “Cashmere” for something neutral, “Chroma” for something cool toned – grey, “Minx” for warm-toned lovers, and “Amethyst” for purple lovers.

There is a gradient shade range in both matte and shimmer – with a shade each from light, medium and dark range allowing you to create a complete look from just this palette. Compact enough to make it easy to travel with and yet complete enough to create differs looks inter entirety. The individual pans are easily depot-able. You can create your own mix from the various Theory palettes in your stash.

Lets discuss the shades here:

The shades don’t have any name or number to them. So, I’ll just go through them column-wise, top to bottom. Going through the Matte shades first, from top down:

• Amethyst shade #1-This is a light slightly dusty (in colour, not texture) pink with hints of lilac/mauve. The shade is smooth, creamy and easily build-able, but wasn’t as pigmented as other shades of Viseart that I have worked with before. It’s perfect for a easy wash of colour on your lid to brighten the area or a matte highlighter for the brow bone or just the base colour post application of your primer.
• Amethyst shade #2 – This is a medium dusky pink with warm dirty purple undertones. This shade again had smooth creamy texture when it first came in but it developed hard pan very soon; however, I was able to counter that by slightly scraping off the top layer. The pigmentation is good but not as opaque in one go, as I have come to expect from Viseart mattes.
• Amethyst shade #3 – This is a medium to deep aubergine purple. This shade definitely had better pigmentation than the previous 2, however, it still wasn’t the same quality as the other mattes in this line. It works well on the eye and the pigmentation give you more control over rtes application. The shade itself is smooth dn easily blend-able.

So basically, you can do an all-matte look or use these basic matte shades and incorporate the shimmers to come up with a more glam look. Works either ways.

Coming to the shimmer shades: These are absolutely stunning in texture. All 3 are buttery smooth, creamy in texture, without feeling dense or thick and have an amazing colour payoff. Going through them – from top down:

• Amethyst shade #4 – This is a light, soft, shimmery pink without falling into the realm of the “girlie pink” and has a metallic sheen. Excellent pigmentation and so easy to work with. Works well as a pop of shine on the lid or in the inner corner of the eyes or all over the lid or to create the halo effect. Used lightly, could also be applied to highlight the brow bone.
• Amethyst shade #5 – This is one of the most unique shades in the palette – it is like a medium taupe mauve shade with metallic sheen. I find it very interesting to have this shade int he palette – because it really provides a diversity tot he kind of looks you can do with a quintessentially “purple palette”. The texture is consistently smooth and easy to work with.
• Amethyst shade #6 – This is a bright medium dark purple with cooler undertones – unlike shade #03 which was much warmer and dirtier. I’m glad that both the darker shades in the palette have not just diverse finishes but also different undertones. The texture is consistently smooth and the pigmentation is bang-on!

Texture: Despite having discussed the texture of each shadow individually, I will address the palette as a whole. The shadows in the palette – be it matte or shimmery – are consistently smooth, creamy and easily to blend. The mattes are not powdery, they do not kick up any dust and are easy to work with.There is zero fall out while applying. The shades apply so easily and blend and mesh together so well. The shimmers are an absolute delight. I am not fond of the eyeshadows doing rounds nowadays – which are too creamy, have a dense texture, tend to crumble and magnify texture of your lids. Neither do I like shadows which are too loose in the pan and are difficult to apply with a brush. There is absolutely no issue with applying these with a brush, it transfers easily onto the brush and from there to the lid. You don’t need to use your fingers if you aren’t so inclined. I prefer to apply my shadows with a brush – rather than fingers because with my pudgy fingers, I wouldn’t know where the colour was getting placed, so like the precision a brush gives me. I find Viseart shimmers quite amazing because they have the high shine/shimmer/metallic feel that one desires from a shimmer shadow and yet the shadow is thin but pigmented.

There is no transference during the course of the day. This is an important aspect for people who have hooded eyes and face problem with eyeshadows transferring onto the upper lid while the eyes are open.

Pigmentation: Pigmentation is fantastic, especially the metallic shades – you can see that in the swatches – a little goes a long way. You get exactly the colour which you see in the palette. They blend well together but do not become a muddy mess. However, the mattes in the palette aren’t as great as normal Viseart matte shades. I’d say that they are about 90% there, which is waaaaay better than what other brands offer. The issue is that Viseart has THE best quality matte eyeshadows in the business and the quality reflects across all their matte eyeshadow palettes. This is a fact. So, when you get something even a little off the 100% mark, you are surprised. Having said that, do note that I am comparing these mattes to other Viseart mattes – which is a tall order in itself. I am not comparing these mate to those from other Companies like ABH, MAC, etc because there would be very little to compare.

Staying Power: Disclaimer – I apply my eyeshadows with a primer because my lids are way too oily. These shadows wear for good 8-9 hours, if not more. Even at the 9-hour mark, the shades look more meshed together, but not really patchy or creasing. You can pretty much apply these and forget them for the rest of the day.

Pros of Viseart Theory Palette IV Amethyst:

• Excellent array of shades – half matte and half shimmery metallics.
• Good pigmented.
• Extremely smooth, creamy texture.
• Zero fallout.
• Long-wearing shadows.
• No creasing.
• Does not transfer.
• The colours blend easily and mesh very well together.
• Does not irritate my eyes.
• Travel-friendly packaging.
• Easily depot-able.
• Cohesive – can do a full look with this palette.
• Excellent customer service.

Cons of Viseart Theory Palette IV Amethyst:

• The quality of matte shades could have been better – in keeping with the Viseart mattes.

IMBB Rating:
4/5

All said and done, this is an excellent palette and would be much loved by someone who is into purples and jewel tones. The array of colours and finishes – in keeping with the purple theme has been very well thought out by Viseart. There are distinct purple shades and yet there is enough variation for you to be able to create a less pronounced purple look.

Totally recommend!

Viseart 10 Warm Matte Palette
Viseart 01 Neutral Matte Eyeshadow Palette
Viseart Eyeshadow Palette Petit Pro
Viseart 04 Dark Matte Eyeshadow Palette Review + 3 Stunning Eye Makeup Looks
Viseart 03 Bridal Satin Eyeshadow Palette
NYX Ultimate Shadow Palette Warm Neutrals
MAC Eyeshadow x15 Warm Neutral Palette