ZOEVA Cocoa Blend Eyeshadow palette, my review

Until now, I wasn’t that interested in ZOEVA makeup.

I’m a big fan of the ZOEVA makeup brushes, however. But the makeup, I don’t know, nothing had really caught my eye until now. And I also read some mixed reviews on Zoeva’s other eyeshadow palette so that didn’t inspire me much…

And then a few weeks ago, while I was on the Zoeva site to order some other makeup brushes (because you can’t have too many makeup brushes, can you?), suddenly I was dazzled by the home page showing the sublime Cocoa Blend palette, an eyeshadow palette with neutral shades inspired by a box of chocolates.
Of course, I had no choice but to click on this chocolate beauty and then, I saw the price tag: $21.50.

I didn’t even bother to look at online reviews, I directly put the palette in my basket!
Well luckily for me, I watched some reviews after I had ordered it (smart move) (yeah for impulse purchases) and it didn’t appear to be a too bad deal…

But you know me by now, I like to build my own opinion, I was eager to try it, and see if this little chocolate goodness is worth it! wink

ZOEVA Cocoa Blend eyeshadow palette, presentation:

Well, you can really feel the influence of the Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette here, which is also a neutral eyeshadow palette and which was one of the 2014 best sellers in that category… However, although I wouldn’t say that the ZOEVA one is a dupe, a lot of shades are fairly similar.

Personally, I always resisted getting the Too Faced palette ($49). Not necessarily because of the price, but because I’m not so sure about the quality of  the Too Faced products. I’m not really a big fan.
And this super bulky packaging, I just can’t… I find it ugly and kitsch. There, said that. Please, don’t be mad at me! I know this palette is adored by beauty addicts around the world but it’s just not my thing… wink

Anyway, moving on!
The ZOEVA Cocoa Blend eyeshadow palette contains 10 eyeshadows, with rather warm undertones (my big weakness) and various finishes. 4 are matte, 5 are iridescent and 1 is glittery. This variety of finishes makes it quite versatile, you can achieve a lot of different makeup looks with it.

ZOEVA Cocoa Blend eyeshadow palette, my test and thoughts:

– Packaging:

The packaging of this palette is ultra minimalist: no mirror or makeup brush but it’s ultra thin and the closing is magnetic. I personally prefer it, especially if it helps to reduce the price tag.
And it looks exactly like a nice box of chocolates, yummy! smile

This palette is extremely practical and easy to carry. I think I’ll take it with me next month on holiday. It’s very easy to slip into your travel bag and it doesn’t weight too much either.

I absolutely love all the colors in this palette!
This is exactly the kind of neutral colors that I love to use on a daily basis. There are light and darker shades, more colorful ones… In short, this palette is really damn good.
The variety in finishes also allows for lots of different makeup looks, from the most natural to the most sophisticated.
Also, these are colors that go with most eye colors. In summary, a palette with beautiful shades and a good versatility. smile

I’m a little less ecstatic because the overall quality is not really that homogeneous.
Some shades are very powdery and there are quite a lot of fall-outs when applied… And all the shimmery eyeshadows are super buttery with a great pigmentation! Hey, you win some, you lose some…
The two which are a little disappointing are Infusion (it had a lot of glittery fall-outs, the glitter was everywhere every time I applied it) and Beans Are White (too stiff and a poor pigmentation).
But generally, the eyeshadows have a good texture and they also have a great lasting power on me (with a primer, as usual with my greasy eyelids uneasy ).

I think we can all agree to say that this is one of the best value for money palettes in the market! $21.50, so about 2 dollars by eyeshadow, I think you can hardly find better! wink
In addition, it’s made in Europe (Italy) and it’s a guarantee of quality (of course, mainly because I’m from Europe, hahahah! wink

ZOEVA products are available exclusively online on their website .

ZOEVA Cocoa Blend eyeshadow palette, the colors:

There are 4 matte shades, and 5 shimmery and 1 glittery, so 10 colors in total in this palette.
Sorry for if my photos are slightly confusing (you can see Warm Notes and Freshly Toasted twice), but I found it interesting to leave them anyway because of the color difference which can be seen on Warm Notes and Freshly Toasted. In reality, these two colors are more like the picture on the right (second picture).

– Bitter Start: a matte eyeshadow, very well pigmented in a flesh shade . The coverage is great, it’s not chalky at all. It’s perfect applied as a base all over the lid and it also does a subtle highlight into the inner corner of the eye.

– Sweeter End: a soft pink with some golden glitter in it. One of my favorites! It’s great on its own all over the lid or in the inner corner to awake the eyes. The texture is a bit powdery but nothing dramatic, it’s easy to apply, especially with a flat brush for a better coverage.

– Warm Notes: a beautiful shimmery eye shadow, it’s a true cranberry color. The pigmentation is great and I love it paired with some gold (like Pure Ganache) for the contrast. It’s very pretty with green or blue eyes but brown eyes will love it as well.
In short, a colorful eyeshadow that gives a little something to this all neutral eyeshadow palette!

– Subtle Blend: a superb light brown/amber bronze with very warm undertones without being too orange. The texture is creamy and it’s highly pigmented. It has an iridescent finish. I love this one too!

– Beans Are White: a dark brown, with slightly cool undertones and a matte finish. I’m not a big fan of the texture of this one. I find it quite hard and the pigmentation was not great… It is not the easiest to blend. You can make it work, but it’s not super easy! uneasy

– Pure Ganache: another favorite. This is a beautiful golden amber shade, very warm and with an iridescent finish. The pigmentation is excellent and the coverage too. It has a very creamy texture that blends super easily.

– Substitute For Love: a pretty orangey caramel shade, which works perfectly as a transition shade in the crease. It’s matte and the texture is creamy and it’s easy to blend as well. Not chalky at all!

– Freshly Toasted: a matte brown rusty shade (or milk chocolate, after all, let’s stay in the theme). It also has an easy to blend texture.

– Infusion: a dark brown shade, a real dark chocolate with a lot of gold glitter in it. I love the color, but it has a lot of fall-outs on me. Whenever I applied it, I found glitter all over my face! I think it’s better to use it with a wet brush (you can spray a little bit of MAC Fix +) to avoid this… or maybe do your eye makeup before your base otherwise you’ll end up with a very glittery face. uneasy

– Delicate Acidity: a taupy brown shade with a little bit of purple in it. A kind of MAC Satin Taupe for those who know it! I love this kind of shade, it goes with everything and it works on all iris colors. This one has an iridescent finish and the texture is very creamy and also blends well.

Finally, here are the swatches:

And on me:

For this look, I applied Bitter Start all over the lid with Substitute For Love and Freshly Toasted in the crease. I put Pure Ganache on the inside of my eyelid and Subtle Blend on the outside. These 2 shades are also along my lower lash line.
I also applied a little bit of Sweeter End in the inner corner of the eye. Finally, I put Infusion as my eyeliner in the upper lash line at the outer corner of my eye.
My lipstick on the photo is the Clinique Melon Pop. smile

In summary:

[wprs-pros][wprs-cons]

A perfect palette for makeup beginners or just neutral eyeshadow palette hoarders (like me bigsmile ). It contains flattering shades for all eye colors and a good mix of finishes to realize a lot of different pretty makeup looks!

Have you tried the ZOEVA eyeshadow palettes? What are your thoughts? Tempted by the Cocoa Blend? wink

Photos credits: bonnie-garner.com

Cet article est aussi disponible en français: ZOEVA Cocoa Blend Eyeshadow palette, mon avis