Zoeva Matte eyeshadow palette

Zoeva has brought out a new set of palettes: the Matte and Matte Spectrum and I have heard so little about these. Which is why I took it upon myself to purchase one of the palettes myself and review it for you. I purchased the Zoeva Matte palette as that had the most interesting shades to me and from the few swatches I could find, this seemed to perform the best. Is this Zoeva palette as good at the others ones I reviewed so far in this, this and this blog post?

Zoeva Matte palette

German makeup and brush brand Zoeva does some of my favorite affordable eyeshadow palettes. They have been raised in price over the past year, but at €21.80 per palette, these palettes are still super affordable. Overall, these palettes have excellent quality for the price point and I love the 10 pan format. One of the reasons why hardly anybody talks about this palette is probably because it was constantly sold out. I was on a waiting list for 2 months before I saw it popping back up on the website.

The Packaging

As with all the palettes the casing of made of a sturdy cardboard. It is nothing luxurious, but it is plain and simple. There is no mirror in the lid and each case comes with a slip for extra security. In case you do decide to travel with this palette, it will still be nicely protected. It’s one of the reason why I always keep the slip cases of items like this.

The Shades

When I first spotted the matte palettes, I was intrigued first by the Matte spectrum palette. That also has some interesting green and blue shades, but since I already have those in other matte palettes, I figured I didn’t really need that. What sold me on this one are the orange and red in the middle.

Overall this is a very warm toned palette. Out of the 10 shades only 4 are cool toned and 5 are warm toned. Even the seemingly stark white in the upper left corner has a hint of yellow to it, but that is still the most neutral shade in the palette. I do like how the second column gives you a medium cool and warm toned brown. That’s what gives this palette its versatility.

There isn’t a super dark brown or black in here, which greatly limits the selection, but neither does the Matte Spectrum. So you will have to pull that in if you want to create some true depth. However, as you will see in the 3 looks I created with this palette, it still gives you enough options to create looks with just this palette.

The Swatches

nighthawks | urban culture | through the window | cheap bar | lost in thoughts
across the street | eerily empty | chat late at night | lonely city | two clocks

On the left you see the top row of the palette, on the right the bottom row. As you can see the pigmentation is quite well for a matte palette. The only shade that seemed tougher to swatch was the purple. All other shades are quite smooth and apply well. The blend easily and can be build up for extra intensity as you can tell from the looks below. With a primer, I had no trouble with these shadows creasing on me and this easily survived my 12 hour workdays.

The Application

Look 1: Neutral
Across the Street (lid)
Eerily Empty &  Cheap Bar (crease)
Nighthawks (brow bone & inner corner)
Lonely city (lower lash line)

For the first look I kept things very neutral, but did add a pop of color on the lower lash line. This look took hardly any time to create: these shadows pretty much blend themselves. I think this is a great look for everyday.

Look 2: Warm toned
Eerily empty (lid)
Through the window & Chat Late at Night (crease)
Cheap Bar (blend shade & lower lash line)
Nighthawks (inner corner & brow bone)

For the second look I played around with that gorgeous red shade. It isn’t too red which makes this very wearable. I first applied the orange to my crease and then blended the red on top to intensify the shade. This has to be my favorite look with this palette.

Look 3: Cool toned
Lost in Thought (lid)
Two Clocks & Lonely City (crease)
Urban Culture (blend)
Two Clocks (lower lash line)
Nighthawks (brow bone & inner corner)

The final look of course had to be done with the shades that I hadn’t yet used. And that meant it was time for cool tones. The seemingly grey shades pulled more purple on my lids which added some unexpected dimension to this look. It is less of a statement look than the second one, but still one that is a bit more different.

The Conclusion

Yes, Zoeva lives up to its name by delivering a good matte palette. While not the most mind blowing matte palette on the market, the Zoeva Matte eyeshadow palette does have some unique shades to offer which makes this a great addition to any make up collection. Whether you are looking for a decent priced matte palette because its your first, or because you are a seasoned makeup enthusiast and are looking for a matte palette that is easy to work with while giving plenty of options then this is a great palette to look into.

What is your favorite matte eyeshadow palette?

P.S. I am looking to acquire some more matte eyeshadow palettes for a video about matte palettes. Which ones would you like me to discuss in a video like that?