I Heart Make Up Golden Bar eyeshadow palette

When I <3 Make Up releases a new palette, you know the beauty community will take notice. This affordable brand began its career duping Too Faced Chocolate Bar palettes, but by now have started churning out more unique palettes too. Still themed around the chocolate bar idea, the latest palette by I <3 Make Up is to die for. Featuring 16 shades, each with a more golden undertone and lots of shimmer, this palette is a great budget eyeshadow palette to own.

I Heart Make Up Golden Bar eyeshadow palette

Since the end of last year, the TAM Beauty make up brands, I Heart Make Up, Make Up Revolution and Freedom Make Up have now become more regularly available in The Netherlands. To celebrate that launch, my local drugstore also sold some newer products. The Golden Bar palette costs €7.99, which is an absolute steal that I could not pass up.

The Packaging

What sucked me in was the packaging. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love the look of the melting chocolate bar on the front of the palette. It makes for some bulky packaging that isn’t the easiest to store, but it certainly looks cool. Each I Heart Make Up palette has a different theme and the palette is changed accordingly. Since this is called the Golden Bar, this version has a brown base with a metallic gold chocolate bar.

When you open up the palette, you will see a generously sized mirror that covers the entire lid. This is a great additional feature to have, especially if you choose to take this palette traveling. The one downside to this packaging is the plastic overlay with the shade names. It would be so much better if the names were simply printed on the palette.

The Eyeshadows

Inside you are greeted by 16 eyeshadows. Some are warm toned, some are cool toned, but each and everyone of these shades contains a certain level of shimmer. That is something to bare in mind when looking into this palette. There is not a single matte shade to be seen. Another feature of this palette is that every shade has a hint of gold to it.

Collection – Wrapper – Foil – Gift – Limited

The first block on the left hand side of the palette contains most of your neutrals. Collection is a shimmery white. Wrapper is a medium brown, almost a caramel shade. Foil is a neutral gold. Gift is mostly a warm toned medium brown. Limited is a cool toned mauve. My favorite shades here are definitely Limited and Foil.

Ribbon – Edible – Golden – Bar – Cocoa – Beans

In the second block of shadows you will mostly find your mid toned shades that also add some interest and color to the palette. Ribbon is a soft rose gold. Edible is a golden toned brown. Golden is an intense copper (despite the name) and Bar is a pretty antiqued gold with a hint of green to it. Cocoa is an intense cranberry. Beans is a warm toned brown with a red undertone. By far my favorite shades here are Ribbon and Bar.

Tablet – Wrapped – Box – Block – Chocolatier

The final block is made up of the darkest shades in the palette as well as a good highlight and some stunning lid shades. Tablet is a straight up gold. Wrapped is a deep dark, warm toned brown. Box is a golden olive, while Block is a deep dark, cool toned brown. The last shade in the palette is Chocolatier, which is a soft rose highlight. This is so close to my skin tone that it barely shows up in the swatch. My favorite shades here are Box, Block and Chocolatier.

The Swatches

Collection – Ribbon  – Edible – Tablet – Wrapped – Wrapper – Foil – Golden – Bar – Box – Block
Gift – Limited – Cocoa – Beans – Chocolatier

Swatched you can see that these shadows have amazing quality. Each shade is intensely pigmented and these go onto the eye true to color. They are easily applied with a brush, are easy to build up and do not blend away too easily. The texture of these shadows is soft and smooth, but not as buttery as for instance Lorac palette. These are a touch more dry and powdery and so it is advised to always tap off your brush before applying these as they do have a little bit of fall out. Lasting power is good: these last all day with an eyeshadow primer underneath.

The Looks

Look 1: warm toned
Lid | Golden
Crease | Beans
Lower lash | Cocoa
Blend | Wrapper
Liner | Wrapped
Inner corner | Ribbon
Brow | Chocolatier

The first look I’d like to show you is this warm toned look. I tried to use a different base of shades for each look I created with this palette to show you the versatility. I of course had to go in with some of my favorite shades. Coppers and cranberries go very well together and I kept everything very warm with this one. I know this type of look really brings out my eye color, however it also makes me look very tired at the same time. This is one of the reasons why I prefer more neutral and cool toned looks.

Look 2: neutral
Lid | Foil
Crease | Edible
Lower lash | Bar
Inner Corner | Chocolatier
Blend | Gift
Brow | Chocolatier

For my second look, I used most of the more neutral tones in this palette. Despite all shades being shimmery, I found that it is a very workable palette. Chocolatier is a great highlighting shade. It may be shimmery, but once applied with a brush it just has a nice brightening effect without it looking too shiny. This is why it is perfect as a brow bone highlight. I think this is a very wearable day time look. Great for the office or a school day.

Look 3: cool toned
Lid | Ribbon
Crease | Limited
Outer V | Block
Blend | Edible
Inner Corner | Chocolatier
Lower lash | Block
Blend of lower lash | Limited

The final look I created with this is also my favorite. I love me some cool toned shades as it has a very fresh look. I don’t know why but I feel it also plays up the wintery vibes we’ve been getting here (it’s been freezing!). I like how this is a more defined look than the second one, yet still very wearable. I played up the cooler tones by really blending the shades into nothing and the stronger shimmer on the lid adds a nice pop of brightness.

The Conclusion

My final thoughts? This is a great palette. I think this might very well be the best palette I Heart Make Up has brought out to date. The Golden Bar eyeshadow palette is not only stunning to look at, it also performs very well. Especially given the price point, which is super affordable, this is a must have palette to own. It is versatile, has great pigmentation and it is simply a gem of a product.

What do you think of the I Heart Make Up Golden Bar palette?