Melt Cosmetics isn’t exactly new and yet I never got around to trying any of their products. Though the brand’s been available at Sephora for a number of years, $48 for four shadows (the Palette Stacks) just seemed unjustifiable. Lately they’ve been putting out actual palettes and while the price point is still high, at least you’re getting more shades. I’ve had my eye on the Melt Cosmetics Millennial Pinx Palette for a while and took the plunge during the most recent VIB sale.
- Melt Cosmetics Millennial Pinx Palette Overview
- Melt Cosmetics Millennial Pinx Palette Review
- Cruelty-free and Vegan Status
- Where to Buy the Millennial Pinx Eyeshadow Palette
- Final Thoughts
Melt Cosmetics Millennial Pinx Palette Overview
The Melt Cosmetics Millennial Pinx Eyeshadow Palette is a ten color palette that retails for $58. The shadows come in a slim weighted cardboard palette and there’s a total of 0.68 oz of product. The shadow are pretty generously sized, they’re bigger than, say an Urban Decay Naked shadow.
Melt Cosmetics Millennial Pinx Palette Review
Color Story
At a glance you see a distinct mix of cool and warm shades. Most of the shadows are pink toned, hence the name Millennial Pinx. The contrasting shades follow a silvery blue theme and it makes for a very interesting combination.
Within the pink shades you have several variations. Rose Brunch is an iredescent pale peach, Pink Leather is a matte pale peachy pink and Flamingo Dream is a matte coral.
Then there’s Mixed Emotions which is a warm iridescent pink. Modern Love is a matte dusty rose and Ruby Spar is a metallic cranberry.
The shade Pink Noise looks like a straight up white but it’s actually an iridescent peachy champagne.
The final three shades are the cool part of the palette. Moon Glow is a metallic blue toned silver, GF is a deep matte slate, and Eurphoria is a matte black. I really like the shade GF in particular, it has the slightest hint of blue that comes out as it blends and pairs beautifully against some of the warmer pinks in the palette.
In terms of matte to shimmer balance there’s a fifty fifty split. The lightest matte, Pink Leather, is too dark for highlighting but it works well as a transition shade. There’s really only one true crease shade which is Modern Love, Flamingo is also a bit light. I do however like that they included two deep mattes for contrast shades.
Overall I’d say it’s a fairly balanced palette. Aside for pulling in a matte pale shade for highlighting, the rest of the palette works well on its own. I don’t know how much variety there is in terms of different looks because your options are basically all cool, all pink, or a mix of both. The pink shades for the most part combine to create similar looks.
Formula
So with all the above, I think I would still enjoy this palette if it performed well. Sadly that really wasn’t the case.
The matte shades are absolutely lovely. They feel firmly pressed yet they have great color payoff and smooth pigmentation. I found them easy to blend and they applied with minimal fallout.
However, if you’re familiar with this blog you know that what I’m really looking for out of a palette are some intense, gorgeous metallics. And all of the shimmer shades in this palette had performance issues.
Mixed Emotions and Ruby Spar are the least troublesome shades. Mixed Emotions is probably the lease flakey shade though it definitely wasn’t free of fallout. The texture is very soft and crumbly. As you swatch it, the shadow kind of moves around, almost like a cream would. It applies a bit patchy but you can build it up to get a fairly opaque look. Ruby Spar is more firmly pressed but kicks up big flakes of shadow. It has the best pigmentation of all the shimmers and applies pretty smoothly.
Rose Brunch has the same crumbly texture as the Mixed Emotions. It picks up in uneven clumps and you really need to smooth it out with your finger to get even color. It’s also more on the sheer side and doesn’t build particularly well on itself.
Ditto with Pink Noise, again it just picks up in uneven chunks and leaves fallout as you try to smooth it out. It’s also a pretty sheer shade which might be what they’re going for, being that it’s an iridescent finish. Again though, it doesn’t layer well so you don’t get a great effect.
The most abysmal part of this palette has to be the shade Moon Glow. It’s been a while since I’ve tried something so totally unusable but wow, does this shade suck.
The texture is very similar to that of Ruby Spar but where the latter managed to apply with full color, this shade just crumbles. No matter how much I try to smooth it, it just breaks apart into big, uneven flakes, all while raining chunks of silver sparkle over my cheeks. Brushes were completely incapable of holding the shadow, fingers didn’t make much of a difference. The best you can hope for is a sheer layer of patchy silver which isn’t particularly flattering.
The only other thing I can think to try would be to wet the shadow but honestly, I know I won’t use it if it needs that extra step.
I was sorely disappointed by the performance of most of the shimmer shades in this palette and I think the average user would struggle to make them work. I’d love to say that it would be fine if you don’t mind the extra effort and maybe it would be. For me though, the fact that the silver shadow is unusable really limits the versatility of the palette for me and I don’t know that I’d recommend something with this many issues, especially at such a high price point.
Swatches
Cruelty-free and Vegan Status
Melt Cosmetics is Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free. Neither they nor their suppliers test ingredients or finished products on animals. They don’t have third parties test on their behalf and they don’t sell in countries where animal testing is required by law.
Though almost all of the shadows in the Millennial Pinx Palette are vegan, the shade Mixed Emotions contains carmine. The palette as a whole would therefore not be considered vegan.
Where to Buy the Melt Cosmetics Millennial Pinx Eyeshadow Palette
- Sephora – Free shipping on orders over $50 and free returns.
- Melt Cosmetics – International shipping available.
- Beauty Bay – Free shipping on orders over $50. International shipping available.
- Camera Ready Cosmetics – Free shipping on orders over $50. International shipping available.
Final Thoughts
This was my first experience with Melt Cosmetics and sad to say, it was pretty underwhelming. I like the color combination, and I think the palette can create some beautiful looks. The matte shades are great and the shadows that managed to work looked beautiful. But I really can’t get past how badly some of the shimmery shades performed and I didn’t enjoy the fallout city situation that happened when I applied them.
Unless you’re head over heels for the colors, I’d say skip the Millennial Pinx Palette, especially considering that some of the shadows don’t even work.
Pros
- Unique color story
- Compact and sturdy packaging
- Smooth and pigmented matte shades
Cons
- No pale matte for highlighting
- Lots of fallout from the shimmer shades
- Crumbly, patchy texture and uneven pigmentation from shimmer shades
- Weak pigmentation from some shimmer shades
Thanks for reading, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Bye now,
