Happy Earth Day, everyone! I couldn’t let this holiday go by without a post of some sort. If you are following my on IG today, I’m sort of doing a walk through of my day and some of the eco-friendly products that I use. I’ll try and save those stories to a Highlight if you want to review them later.

So far, from my make-up bag, I have reviewed my tinted moisturizer and the Besame Cake Eyeliner. Those are my two staples, which I use the most. For mascara, I am currently using up a Maybelline tube and once that’s done, I will use the Besame Cake product for mascara as well. Tinted moisturizer, eyeliner and mascara are the three products I use on a regular basis.

Occasionally, though, I have both the time and motivation to go wild and actually apply eye shadow! My go-to prior to going zero-waste was the Naked 2 palette. The problem with that palette, among other things, was that I had it for over 5 years and I hadn’t even finished one color. I didn’t wear most of the colors and if I’m honest, I just didn’t know how. Plus, make up does have an expiration date! The general rule is that you should replace your eye shadow every 6 to 12 months.

Yeeeah… I was going on 5 years!

So when looking for zero waste alternative to my eye shadow, I reached out to Elate Cosmetics, told them the 3 colors that I actually used in my Naked 2 palette and asked if they had equivalent colors. I was having a hard time figuring it out from their online swatches. Their customer service team was so helpful! I just used the Message Us button on their website and got an actual person that answered my million of questions. (Honest to God, there is no way to type that and not sound like an infomercial. This post is NOT sponsored. I purchased all this myself, even if it sounds like an ad. Sorry!) They gave me the closest equivalent colors for what I was looking for. Before I even had a chance to purchase the colors they recommended though, Elate came out with the mini palettes with colors complimentary to eye colors. Of the 4 colors included in the blue eyes palette, called Dream Seeker, 3 of them were recommended to me by Elate’s customer service department when I spoke to them, so I ended up purchasing the palette.

First thing first, when reviewing a product, I like to mention how it arrived. After all, if a company preaches environmentalism and then packages everything in plastic, what does that say?? Elate packaging seems to align with their values. Everything came in a brown box, stuffed with post-consumer filling so the items didn’t shift. The Bamboo palette I ordered had no additional wrapping and the pressed eye shadows came in seed paper, which is one of my favorite products. I used seed paper for my Christmas cards this year! There was no plastic and everything seemed recycled and/or recyclable.

As for the product itself, I liked everything and would recommend everything I have tried. As I mentioned, I got the Dream Seeker Capsule Beauty Kit. It comes with a bamboo palette and 4 pressed eye shadow colors: Union, Rise, Earthen and Quintessence.

I like that the palette is made of bamboo and has a giant mirror inside. The case closes magnetically and also has magnets holding the eye shadow tins inside. I haven’t had any problems with these. The case stays closed and the eye shadow doesn’t shift around. I have four extra magnets if I want to add more eye shadows or a larger disk like blush.

The eye shadows are very close to the colors that I used in my Naked 2 palette, though they definitely aren’t as pigmented. The colors are buildable so you will have to add more layers if you wanted the same look as a conventional palette. I don’t have a problem with this as I typically go for a more subtle or natural look for eye shadow. I’m not brave enough to rock neon pink or anything over the top! I actually use a similar look to what is demonstrate in this look. I was using this 3 color technique before switching to Elate but this video talks more about a look with mineral makeup.

The colors also aren’t as pressed as the Naked 2 palette. By that I mean, I dip my brush in a color a few times and I can see the color actually being removed. To me, this is a good thing- it means I may actually work my way through a color in the recommended time period and that I won’t have makeup that I have to throw out. I typically only wear eye shadow a few times a month so I can’t speak on how long this product would last if you used it as a part of your everyday routine. Please let me know if you use this regularly!

As for wearability, I always, always, always pair my eye shadow with a primer first. The shape of my eye means if I don’t, I do get eye shadow creases. Always. With all eye shadows. Currently, I use Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion which I kid you not, lasts me FOREVER. I think I had the last little container for 2 years so I’m still working through that. BUT Elate does have a Primer which is on my To Try list once I finish with my current tube of primer. Again, I asked their customer service department (have I mentioned before that they are great?!) if you can use that as an eyelid primer and they said yes, just apply as you are applying the primer on your face and it should help (and hydrate!). Additionally, they recommended the mattifying powder. If you have tried either of these or have any other recommendations, leave a comment below! I’m always looking for feedback.

Overall, I really have liked my experience with Elate so far. I like their product, they seem to care about the environment and reflect that in their actions and their customer service is top notch. For more information on the products and packaging they use, check out their FAQ page. The palette I purchased is $74, the bamboo palette alone is $22 and the eye shadows individually sell for $16 each if you just wanted to try one shade.

As always, this is not sponsored at all and all these products were purchased with my own money. 🙂 Also, please excuse my coronavirus, “I need a haircut” bangs. I can’t wait until we can all return to normal and go to the hair dressers again!