Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con The Starlet

Buying luxury make up items is something I only do occasionally. Vacation time usually is the opportune moment of choice for any make up splurges. Being that I was a) in Paris on my most recent trip and b) Paris = Sephora, the situation couldn’t be more ideal. I had initially set my sights on a Tom Ford eyeshadow palette for my ‘expensive make up’ buy of the trip, but upon swatching them I was disappointed and couldn’t justify paying almost 70 euros for an eyeshadow quad with that type of quality. Just across the street I found a Sephora where they sold Marc Jacobs make up. I came, I swatched and took home this beauty.

Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No. 7 The Starlet eyeshadow palette

This was an expensive purchase and one that I ummed and ahhed about extensively before I caved and bought it. The eyeshadow palette retails for $59 in the US and I believe I paid around €55 euros for it at Sephora. I had heard youtubers talking about the Lolita palette and thought: mwah, not that interesting. When I then found some reviews of lackluster performing lip products from the line, I wasn’t too hopeful. But me being a make up loving gal, and not having read or heard much about the brand beside this information, I decided to check out the brand when I stumbled upon it. My eyes were immediately drawn to the eyeshadow palettes and the one you see here in particular. What it is? It’s the Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No. 7 in 204 The Starlet. A seven pan eyeshadow palette which impressed me upon first swatch.

Let’s talk packaging first. The palette comes in a long shaped plastic box with a metal clip closure and the brand name embossed on the top. The compact is sleek and simple looking and includes a mirror that stretches the length of the palette. It was the packaging that drew me in first. I liked the look of the compact and still like it. I don’t think it feels too cheap considering it’s made of plastic. Once you buy the palette, the box it comes in (mine got battered during my trip, apologies) is alright and then the compact itself is inside a textile pouch. That does feel a bit cheap compared to the velvety pouches a Chanel or Dior product comes in. The pouch has a press button closure. Mine was broken before I’d ever used the palette, so that also made it feel cheap and not well made. At the bottom of the pouch you’ll find a mini, sponge tip applicator, which looks flimsy. I didn’t even find it interesting enough to be worth a picture. So don’t buy this palette for the extras.

But it’s not the extras we’re here for, it’s the eyeshadows. So let’s have a look at those. This is what the brand has to say about the palette. From MarcJacobs.com:

This super skinny and travel friendly design creates a surprisingly special compact. These seven harmonized shadows will rapidly become your “eye fashion” staples. Advanced pigments allow true, intense color laydown, performance and longwear. Marc invites you to play and become your own style eye-con.

Travel friendly? Not necessarily, but it is super skinny and thus easy to slide into a side pocket of a make up bag. I do think the palette (since it’s plastic) might not be sturdy enough to survive the chucking around of airport luggage, so I’d say: handle with care when you travel with this. The plastic makes the palette lightweight, but also prone to damage.

Still, the compact IS special, but for me that’s not because of the packaging, but the colors inside. Advanced pigments with great pigmentation? Great performance? Longwearing? Check, check and DOUBLE check. Plus the fact that these seven, seemingly neutral shades pack a lot more punch than you’d expect at first glance.

The seven eyeshadows don’t have names, only numbers. When looking at all the shades in the palette, you see two taupy shades on the left, a dark brown, a copper, a gold, a silver and a pewter grey. So far the neutral aspect of this palette. Because these shades aren’t your everyday taupes, or dark browns or golds or silvers. Oh no, these are metallic shades and NOT in a bad way. In fact, as you will be able to see in the swatches below: these shadows look like liquid metal.

And that’s not all. Apart from a ‘liquid metal’ effect, these shades have the most beautiful undertones. On top of that, these shades have amazing color pay off. What you see in the pan is what you get on a swatch and it’s what you get on your eyes as well. Not a single shade is a fluke, pigmentation is spot on and it lasts all day when used over an eyeshadow primer.

What makes this palette tick however is the texture of the shadows. When you stick your finger in they feel buttery soft like a cream and you forget that this is actually a powder eyeshadow. And that’s not just one shade in the palette, it goes for ALL of them. This is by far the best texture in an eyeshadow I have ever felt. It beats MAC. It beats Urban Decay. It beats Dior. Hands down. Because of this amazing texture, the colors apply and blend like a dream.

The color selection in the palette is a mix of warm and cool toned shades. The middle, copper shade, was the one that drew me in. Or rather sucked, because a good copper eyeshadow that doesn’t make you look like you have an eye disease while wearing it is rare. What I also liked about this palette are the two two left most shades. At first glance they look like a lighter and a darker taupe and I love myself some taupes!

Upon close inspection, however, the darker taupe pulls more mauve and the lighter one pulls more rosy champagne gold. And that’s what makes this palette more than just another neutral eyeshadow palette: each shade has an undertone that gives it a bit more oomph. Not mentioning the fact that there are actual bronze, iron and copper pigments in the shades to help with intensity. Moreover, the gold, silver and coppery bronze shade reminded me of Olympic medals, which I thought was a fun touch.

The remaining colors are as interesting as the taupes. The dark brown has a bronze undertone, same goes for the copper, making it the two warmest shades in the palette. The gold has a warm undertone to it as well. The result? A tarnished gold which is a great amped up version of your standard yellow toned golds. The silver is a true icy blue silver and the pewter grey is an interesting gunmetal which makes up the cooler tones of the palettes.

Despite the fact that this palette blends cool and warm into one, it’s also a very workable palette. What I’ve found is that depending on how you pair the different colors different undertones come out. Pair the silver and grey with a taupe? The entire look will automatically draw towards the cooler spectrum. Whereas putting that same taupe with the brown and the copper and it instantly makes for a warm toned look. Only downside: there is no true highlight color in the palette.

Here are the swatches and an eye look that combines all shades:

Shade 1: dark taupe with mauve undertone

Shade 2: light taupe with rose gold undertone

Shade 3: Dark brown with bronze undertone

Shade 4: Copper with bronze undertone

Shade 5: Tarnished gold with warm undertone

Shade 6: True silver with blue undertone

Shade 7: Gunmetal grey with pewter undertone

All colors swatched in a row

Eyelook using all shadows:

All over lid: shade 4
Inner corner: shade 5
Crease: shade 1
Blend color for crease: shade 2
Liner: Shade 3Outer lower lashline: Shade 7
Inner lower lashline: Shade 6

Full face

As you can see the colors are intense. In the close up shots of my eyes it’s my camera that mutes the colors, but you can see in the full face photos that what you swatch is what transfers onto the eye. The shadows are versatile, are made of the smoothest texture I’ve ever come across in an eyeshadow AND the color selection is interesting. The only flaw with this palette is the packaging, not of the palette itself but the pouch it comes in and the brush it comes with. Other than that it is spot on and I highly recommend this eyeshadow palette to anyone who is looking for an interesting yet extravagant make up buy, that is well worth the money.

What is your experience with Marc Jacobs make up?