I feel it's time that the senior artists on this forum weighed in on the quality level of palettes and eyeshadows available through Coastal Scents, BH Cosmetics, Amazon, Crown Brush, Red Ginger, Sally Beauty Supply, your local beauty supply,etc.
First let's clear up the origins. These ready-made palettes are DIRT CHEAP from overseas manufacturers (China, Hong Kong), and anyone can buy them in quantity. The larger the quantity, the cheaper the price. The Sephora(s) and Ulta(s) of the world buy gazillions and simply tweak their "Blockbuster" outer packaging so it doesn't look like everyone else. But it's the same exact quality...which is FAR from Pro.
Don't believe me...then I'd like you to tell these two palettes apart (BTW the images are a direct link from each company's website, so they haven't been adjusted to look the same).
Crown Brush Palette - $23.95
Coastal Scents Palette - $18.95
This stuff is consumer level...if you're a consumer that's more interested in quantity over quality. This is perfect for non-artists who want to play around with lots of pretty colors without spending a lot of money.
I get a little frustrated when I'm accused of being a product snob because I don't agree that this is a legitimate (cost effective?) alternative to fill a new artists kit or that they can/should be used in a professional workplace.
This is not a price issue. Never once have I suggested that you have to fill your kit with expensive products. I have always stressed the need to use professional quality products.
Finding pro products at a value price is simple - DO RESEARCH.
In this case I've done it for you.
Please note gram weight vs price. These refill pans look alike due to their diameter, but some are deeper and contain more product.
Let's go from least product by gram weight to most in the same 1.5" diameter eyeshadow pan.
Coastal Scents "Hot Pots" Single refill eyeshadow - 1.3 grams - $4.49 ($3.45 per gram)
MUFE Professional Single Refill Eyeshadow - 1.75 grams - $13.00 / $7.80 after 40% pro discount ($4.46 per gram after discount)
Kryolan Professional Single Refill Eyeshadow - 2.5 grams - $4.99 ($2.00 per gram)
Ben Nye Professional Single Refill Eyeshadow - 3.5 grams - $6.00 ($1.71 per gram)
Graftobian Professional Single Refill Eyeshadow - 5.1 grams - $9.99 ($1.96 per gram)
NOTE: I can't include the MAC or Inglot refill in the side-by-side list above because they do not use the standard pan size. But here's the gram weight to price breakdown anyway.
MAC Pro Palette Refill Eyeshadow - 1.5 grams - $11.00 / $6.60 after 40% pro discount ($4.40 per gram after discount)
Inglot Freedom Palette Refill Eyeshadow - 2.7 grams - $5.00 each / no discount needed with this price ($1.85 per gram)
Conclusion - Look at the price per gram and you'll see that the low quality Coastal Scents refill is not even the lowest price. I was actually shocked at some of the prices after discount.
And this would be why I love you.. Too many times in here when you try to tell artists that Coastal Scents and BH no matter how "good some colors" are it's simply not worth it for a serious up and coming artist.
Picking Quality over Quantity is not being a "snob" it's being smart and caring about your profession. Our kit's should be treated like babies.. we need to keep them clean, fed healthy foods so they can grow (supply quality products so we have return clients) and changed when needed (replace product that is old, smells odd, dryed out, etc.)
Makeup Artistry is not a cheap profession and never will be, you just have to be smart with your money, do research, and charge appropriately (undercutting may get you a job but it will also keep you in the poor house).
It's not worth it to cut corners, your just cutting your self out of this industry.
MakeUp By CC
Posts: 290
Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Of course you are correct I gotta admit to buying some of these at first, but stopped using them real quick cos I didn't think they are any good. Maybe for the odd fun color.
It always makes me laugh when people here pay like $40 for them at local retailers and they don't realize you can buy the exact same thing on ebay for like $0.99 + shipping or whatever the current price is.
I bought my Coastal Scents 88 Palette for S$25.
MAC, in Singapore is selling one Eyeshadow for the same price.
Makeup Store is selling their Microeyeshadow for S$35.
Local drugstore brand (Maybelline, CoverGirl, etc) sells their eyeshadow for S$18 - S$25. (Roughly about 3 - 4 colours) And most of them are not what I would want in my kit.
I'm not planning on using my 88 forever. I won't replace them once I'm done with them. I see them more as a stepping stone. I'm planning on getting some Urban Decay or Sugarpill eyeshadows...~
Don't know if you can get Make-up Studio outside of Europe, but those are not that expensive (4 ⬠refill) and much better then Coastal Scents. I only use those pallettes when I give make-up workshops to complete make-up virgins and they can experiment with them.
I'll say again, there's a world to be understood by weighing the words of an artist their portfolios.
It is NOT in an Artist's best interest to be a "brand snob". A working artist inevitably has some incredible work posted with drug store products used. A featured Artist for a Brand bettered have a good working knowledge of the competition.
Most true "brand snobs" I see are sophomore artists who are still working on finding their way.
I'll say again, there's a world to be understood by weighing the words of an artist their portfolios.
It is NOT in an Artist's best interest to be a "brand snob". A working artist inevitably has some incredible work posted with drug store products used. A featured Artist for a Brand bettered have a good working knowledge of the competition.
Most true "brand snobs" I see are sophomore artists who are still working on finding their way.
I agree that having your portfolio speak for itself is a MAJOR factor. I don't necessarily think that quality only refers to high end or high priced products. Some drug store products are amazing and shouldn't be discounted for quality.
I agree that having your portfolio speak for itself is a MAJOR factor. I don't necessarily think that quality only refers to high end or high priced products. Some drug store products are amazing and shouldn't be discounted for quality.
A good Value is hard to find. And it can be even harder to decipher advice on forums.
I have as much of a burn over Artists who boast about how expensive there products are ("I only use Brand X") as I do Artist who boast how cheep their products are ("I can get away with Product Y!!!")....
Maturity as an Artist is found in the middle ground, IMO.
I learned this the hard way. If you buy inferior quality product because it's cheap and have to replace it with better quality product down the line, you didn't save any money. You spent more than if you had just waited a little longer and bought what you needed in the first place. I know we all want everything right now, but you're really better off doing it right the first time.
As soon as I order my Yaby palette on Monday, my 88 palette is going in the garbage.
On a sidenote:
My cousin got married in the summer (didn't ask me to do her makeup..ouch) and my grandmother told me that the MUA used only drugstore makeup (covergirl, maybelline etc) and went on and on about how you don't need to spend a lot of money on makeup. (I cringed a whooole lot when I heard about this) I almost wonder if she just used her own personal makeup on everyone :s
Chelsea Dutchak wrote: As soon as I order my Yaby palette on Monday, my 88 palette is going in the garbage.
On a sidenote:
My cousin got married in the summer (didn't ask me to do her makeup..ouch) and my grandmother told me that the MUA used only drugstore makeup (covergirl, maybelline etc) and went on and on about how you don't need to spend a lot of money on makeup. (I cringed a whooole lot when I heard about this) I almost wonder if she just used her own personal makeup on everyone :s
I own the BH Cosmetics 120 palette, but I dont use it exclusively, I have a lot of higher end eyeshadows that get more use than this, but for having some pretty interesting colors at hand, it works. Not something I'm going to use forever.
I dont believe all drugstore products are bad, there are some products that are comparable. Mascara is a great example, if its going in my kit, no use for a fancy magic brush-Maybelline Great Lash works just fine. Revlon lipsticks are awesome, and Prestige lipliners go on smooth as butter.
Tashie Munster wrote: I own the BH Cosmetics 120 palette, but I dont use it exclusively, I have a lot of higher end eyeshadows that get more use than this, but for having some pretty interesting colors at hand, it works. Not something I'm going to use forever.
I dont believe all drugstore products are bad, there are some products that are comparable. Mascara is a great example, if its going in my kit, no use for a fancy magic brush-Maybelline Great Lash works just fine. Revlon lipsticks are awesome, and Prestige lipliners go on smooth as butter.
I definitely wasn't saying that all drugstore brands are bad, I do use some in my kit, I know that there is a lot of good stuff there. But to me, using exclusively drugstore brand makeup in what is supposed to be a professional makeup kit (and charging quite a high price for it, which this "artist" was) is a bit questionable. And to me, it almost felt like she was saying that other artists who use professional grade products were being stupid in investing money in quality products for their kit.
I definitely don't look down on artists who include drugstore products in their kit, it was really just this particular situation
As for the comment on my 88 palette, I used it the other day, and I think its staring to die. I've had it for a couple years and I'm ready to upgrade. Again, nothing against anyone who uses and likes there's, I'm just ready to move on
I definitely wasn't saying that all drugstore brands are bad, I do use some in my kit, I know that there is a lot of good stuff there. But to me, using exclusively drugstore brand makeup in what is supposed to be a professional makeup kit (and charging quite a high price for it, which this "artist" was) is a bit questionable. And to me, it almost felt like she was saying that other artists who use professional grade products were being stupid in investing money in quality products for their kit.
I definitely don't look down on artists who include drugstore products in their kit, it was really just this particular situation
As for the comment on my 88 palette, I used it the other day, and I think its staring to die. I've had it for a couple years and I'm ready to upgrade. Again, nothing against anyone who uses and likes there's, I'm just ready to move on
I've noticed that some people don't understand why you'll spend the amount of money that you do on certain things, its like why spend less but waste money as opposed to spending more on a product that does its job and has good value in the long run? Its an investment and I dont think people realize it. I would imagine that if you're able to be charging people a higher rate, you're established and worth that amount which would mean you would have a majority of things in your kit that are professional grade. I am doing a lot of trade right now and I even know that! Hah.
I hear ya, there are some colors in those palettes that are great, some not so much. I'm keeping it in my kit but I'm going to hopefully be getting either La Femme or Yaby in the next month, I'm pretty sure its better and not much more expensive.
I admit that I am surprised on how little you receive from MUFE. I've definitely used the 120 color palette on a charity shoot and the purple I used did not photograph well at all. Here's the deal to me anymore: I used to be of the philosophy to have every color "just in case" but Kevin Bennett made a good point at IMATS that we are artists and should know how to mix any color we need. So, I have decided to minimize the amount of shadows I carry in my kit. I figured if I have these colors I can make any color:
Black, White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Grass Green, Mid-Tone Blue, Purple, Turquoise, Fuchsia plus a bunch of browns and pearl/metallic colors (gold, silver, copper & white pearl).
Thank you Kevin for that eye opener.....You really are great at researching this stuff. I have no idea where most cosmetics really come from, its such a hush hush thing in the industry, it's really hard to dig to the bottom of where everything is made and the origin of the makeup. I think you should write a book on that subject, I would buy it.
what I find humerus is that people buy into 40% off to pros like it's a great deal... The company hikes the price up 10 times what it should be, then they discount it 40% to artists...and artists think they are getting a great deal... artists never seem to add up what the pay per ounce...if they did they would see that per ounce they still pay way more than they would buying something from RCMA, Graftobian at full price with NO discounts at all.
I'm sorry I can't weigh in on the quality, I have never tried Costal or Crown makeup (just the brushes from Crown)
I honestly can't compare the quality of my 88 with other high end brands because I've never used any high end brands. Probably one day when I upgrade my kit. I'm hoping to use some from Makeup Store. Maybe for colours that I use often. I have eyeshadows from Cyber Colours and they're crap. The colours don't come out at all. Not even with primer. I think the most expensive brand I have is Clarins. But that's also I have an aunt working for that brand. So I got it cheap. Other than that is my Urban Decay primer. I have some Avon products too and currently in love with Mascara from Rimmel.
SHDavies
Posts: 150
London, England, United Kingdom
Sheila Northcutt wrote: I used to be of the philosophy to have every color "just in case" but Kevin Bennett made a good point at IMATS that we are artists and should know how to mix any color we need. So, I have decided to minimize the amount of shadows I carry in my kit. I figured if I have these colors I can make any color:
Black, White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Grass Green, Mid-Tone Blue, Purple, Turquoise, Fuchsia plus a bunch of browns and pearl/metallic colors (gold, silver, copper & white pearl).
+1 this SO much! I know it's not the point of the thread, and sorry to go off topic a bit but I agree with this so much.
I have 1 yaby palette and one MAC palette (could probably do away with the MAC one to be honest) and between these 2 I'm comfortable enough to create anything that's asked of me. I also feel the same about foundation, I don't understand people who carry every shade in a line, when you can custom create using about 4 different shades (darkest, lightest, 2 inbetween)!
I own the 88 warm palette and the 120 palette that BH cosmetics, Ebay and etc sell. I have never used anything other than these shadows so I have nothing to compare them to. For me I really like these palettes. Great color pay off for the price and I have a huge array of colors in small amounts so I don't have to carry huge shadows of colors I barely use. If I were financially able to but more quality shadows I would but for now I am ok with these. I will say this, for artists starting out that can afford to spend over 4.00-5.00 per shadow to go for more quality shadows and build that way. Great advice Kevin.
LaylaNur
Posts: 74
London, England, United Kingdom
I agree it is better to invest in good quality products as they are more pigmented and will show better on pictures, I use some drug store products but when it comes to shoots,film,Bridal etc I use the good quality my work is important to me make up is my passion more than a job so I like to make sure it looks good and if it means spending a little bit extra then I don't mind.
I had to learn the hard way when I first started, my eye shadows hardly showed on the pictures because of the low quality of the product which worked out worse for me as I had to do more shoots for free to build my portfolio .
My hubby says I do too much research on beauty products but that is me I like to research it see reviews etc before I invest my money in a product as I don't want to regret buying it.
kevin or anyone that owns any of these other shadows can you tell me what your favorite shade are or palletes from the options kevin put i own alot of MAC and few others smashbox and bobbi brown cargo etc. since it was the first discount i got so i went a lil nuts and i do happen to like the pigmentation and colors that MAC has in shadows but have been wanting to get others like la femme shadows yaby kryolen and ben eye individual shades to try just not sure which ones to invest in i heard la femme shadows arnt as pigmented. so how do these other brands compare to mac shadows since this is what i mainly have to compare with and what are your favorite shades in other brands that you can suggest. thanks
BELLAROSE MAKEUP wrote: kevin or anyone that owns any of these other shadows can you tell me what your favorite shade are or palletes from the options kevin put i own alot of MAC and few others smashbox and bobbi brown cargo etc. since it was the first discount i got so i went a lil nuts and i do happen to like the pigmentation and colors that MAC has in shadows but have been wanting to get others like la femme shadows yaby kryolen and ben eye individual shades to try just not sure which ones to invest in i heard la femme shadows arnt as pigmented. so how do these other brands compare to mac shadows since this is what i mainly have to compare with and what are your favorite shades in other brands that you can suggest. thanks
You're in CA. Take a day trip to North Hollywood (about 2 hours away) and visit Naimie's, Nigel's or Frends, test all the brands and choose what you like.
I did by a cheapy 25 neutral palette once and pretty much never used on a client. To me it was way to powdery and not highly pigmented at all. I've bought kryolan (which is an amazing deal) MUFE, smashbox, mac (not so great), limecrime, ben nye etc. I can definitely tell the difference between the more professional products and the not. My favorites are smashbox and kryolan. Although I'm planning on getting some yabby soon. To me not only does it blend better and have better color payoff it looks more professional to clients to not be whipping out some cheap crappy makeup. Kryolan is cheap but doesn't look or act like cheap makeup. If I'm going to be charging people for professional makeup I should have professional makeup (in my humble opinion)
THANK YOU! I went back to makeup school to brush up on some things and this is what they handed me. It was day one and I was shocked... really? you're a professional makeup artist and you're handing me this?!? Absolute garbage.
I find that most people that rave about this product have never tried a professional brand...
Plus, I mean... not to be rude but how serious can you take an artist who isn't willing to invest in thier kit? I mean.... if you aren't ready to invest in the tools required to do the job... perhaps don't do the job yet.. ? ...in what other business can you start working without the proper tools?!?! Can a plumber show up to a job and plunge a toilet with a straw?? and does he say "oh, I'm still building my kit, excuse the straw... but, don't worry! it works just as good!.."
I have a 120 Manly palette that I got from a Hong Kong vendor on ebay. It's fun to play with, but no client of mine has ever seen me drag it out on a shoot. Like I said, it's all for fun.
thanks kevin great idea i think i will do that and i plan on attending imats this summer so plan to stock up on other brands i got my eye on mufe foundations and shadows and flash pallette and some yaby by the way how can i get a mufe discount does anyone know what do they require do i go online to their site?
I have to admit the coastal scents palettes (not the huge 88's) but the smaller sets like the 10 blush and 6 contour do intrigue me but lately I spotted some really good palettes in stores I want to try.
Just out of curiousity, wehn you buy smashbox from say in the UK Debenhams does that count as consumer or pro?
With so many of the pro brands available to the general public its a difficult question.
All in though Kevyn: genius, excellent researcher and artist.
that I looked at drugstore makeup yesterday first time since I've become a pro makeup artist... about 5 years now
and i was shocked at the prices! It doesn't really seem that much more affordable at all...clearly i missed the price hike over the years.
but for eg a maybeline powder was 10.99+tax and you can get a graftobian powder for 9.99
and I saw a liquid foundation for 18.99+tax ( don't remember the brand )
...hmm
90% of the Pro Lines give discounts up to 40% and the requirements are mostly a biz card and website... so even if that foundation is $25 or $35 that 40% makes a BIG difference
so its really just a mindset i believe..in thinking you can't buy pro products and must do drugstore to start out with.
BEST BUY Ben Nye comes in at $1.71 per gram. And, I would like to confirm that even though the price is insanely low, the quality and pigment levels in the Ben Nye eyeshadows are equivalent to the most expensive professional products available.
So now, knowing this, could someone please explain why new artists insist that they HAVE to buy these low quality palettes to get started?
MakeupbySaj wrote: I looked at drugstore makeup yesterday first time since I've become a pro makeup artist... about 5 years now
and i was shocked at the prices! It doesn't really seem that much more affordable at all...clearly i missed the price hike over the years.
Exactly. A L'Oreal HiP Studio Secrets Professional Matte Eyeshadow Duo in the same 1.5" diameter size (split into 2 half moon pans) is $9.99US.
KJ Bennett Beauty wrote: So now, knowing this, could someone please explain why new artists insist that they HAVE to buy these low quality palettes to get started?
I think a lot of artists want quantity and aren't savvy enough yet to realize that quantity is not synonymous with quality. Bright colors become a major distraction and detract from the bigger points of makeup that are learned down the line
-Poor quality kit = more work/stress-
Whenever I see those palettes I think of makeup school photo shoots involving strange candy placement.
EDIT: Also, I know a lot of makeup school include them as part of the starting kit so they don't want to "throw away money" but as it has already been pointed out, you're going to have to invest in your kit at some point.
So far all of my work has been done with palettes like these. Each cost me under $15 so not a huge investment. Being unemployed I haven't been able to build the kit I Want. Hopefully soon I can replace these shadows and toss these palettes out. I am anxious to see how better quality shadows stand up to these. I really want some Yaby shadows :-(
I love my Yaby palettes. Downside is nobody in Belgium knows about this brand, so they think I carry crap like Coastal Scents because the pans are about the same size.
Karrie Welch
Posts: 222
Westfield, Massachusetts, US
Kevin is right about the pigmentation in Ben Nye, RCMA, etc. - and don't forget lafemme- their blush & shadow pans are the same size- 1.45" (huge!)- and are around $2.50-$3 each.
KJ! I used your site to start my own kit and your suggestions are FANTASTIC. I bought just what I thought that I needed and saved a ton of money. I would have never known about Ben Nye, Graftobian, CS etc if I didn't find your site. I also have to say that I LOVE the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks that you suggest on your site.
One of my best purchases was a Ben Nye Essential Eye (neutral matte palette) for $45 and the La Femme blush palette of 12 blushes (picked by me) for $35. All are superior quality!
Thank you so much for your site, it is a godsend for those starting out!
Edit: also being a photographer is a test to these products as well because I have found that the Ben Nye Essential Eye palette has photographed more beautifully than any other shadows I have tried, really great stuff.
Even if I come from a different country than you guys, called Romania, that most of you maybe never heard of, we are a country in which girls are just starting to buy these CS palettes and other BF or whatever. There are girls that have blogs that are really proud of them because they have all those funky colors and in here whatever is colorful, works great. But he have the other 50% of the women that hate these things and preffer to invest in high quality makeup that we can find at MUFE shop or MAC ( not that great but still wanted ) or Ben Nye and Kryolan ( that we can also find here ). Myself I bought some Graftobian palettes from a website I read here about and I was very happy to see what proffessional quality really is. Now I started using a concealer from Artdeco which is high coverage camouflage and it was very cheap here, like 7 euros, I also use the brand Show from Italy because i bought it at makeup school, the blushes are very pigmented and so are the basic eyeshadows..and last but not the least I am using a brand called Flormar which is new here but proffessional. I buy very cheap products from them because I have a discount but the prices on the market are affordable also- 8 euros a foundation that can help you a lot at least for brides, lipstick at about 5 euros/piece / eyeliners at 4 euros. I don't like their concealers but I simply LOVE some of the foundations ( Perfect Coverage and Mat velvet one used in my portfolio pics ) and the Wet&Dry powder which seems really like a Chanel dupe...unfortunately i entered their website and i dont think they exist in the US...
Denise
Posts: 1,845
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Thanks for that information, Julie. It's always good to learn of professional quality products available in other countries. And of course we've heard of Romania!
one, thing i was taught over and over again by amazing MUA's who travel all over the world for makeup is..
"one day, you will travel on an airplane, all of your makeup will break, and the only place to buy your makeup is a drugstore."
they can make it work. a GOOD mua can result AMAZING things with the WORST of products, you just have to have product knowledge, and you have to be able to know technique.. if you know what you are doing.. you can make amazing things..
<--this is talking mainly about photo shoots.. obviously this wouldnt stand if your doing a person for a event or something where you need things to last for hours and hours, etc.
I agree that a good MUA can make anything work. You are going to have to know how to work with what you have, but I don't think that gives any professional artist cause to fully stock their kit with drug store products.
The spirit of the thread is that there are better quality items that can be easily found for the same price or less than the drug store. You don't have to carry every product made by the luxury brands to have a great kit. A kit full of Chanel doesn't make you an amazing artist but if you show up on set with only maybelline makeup I am going to wonder why when there are so many amazing and affordable options out there.
Every artist I know including myself uses some products from the drug store, but the ones who work consistently and this is their bread and butter use professional, high quality brands and work the hell out of them.
.
| 
| 
| edu