Today it is time for two things: 1.) an overdue eyeshadow palette review and 2.) the announcement that August will be dubbed ‘eyeshadow palette month’ both here as well as on Youtube. That means that every time I post on here or on Youtube you will be getting eyeshadow palette content. For the blog that means that all reviews going live this month will be eyeshadow palettes. Because I’m behind with my reviews and what better way to remedy that than to post a new palette review every time I do one! To immediately make good on that promise I would like to post about the BH Cosmetics Royal Affair eyeshadow palette today. One that wasn’t very successful to me.
Review: BH Cosmetics Royal Affair eyeshadow palette
This was the first BH Cosmetics palette I ever tried. This affordable brand is much raved about by many on Youtube and on blogs, but I had never even given any of their products a whirl. The Royal Affair looked interesting to me online and so when it went on sale at the start of 2019, I bought it for just over €10 and tried it. By now it has been discontinued, but I know some of my feelings about this palette are true for other BH Cosmetics palettes. So I figured it would still make sense to mention that here.
What does this palette have to offer?
So let’s just immediately cut to the chase shall we? This look 10x more interesting in online picutres than it did in real life. In real life this is a neutral palette. If I had known that going into this, I wouldn’t have bought it. I however really wanted to try BH’s formula and I think this palette does give me the range I need to get a good feel for BH eyeshadow quality. So what does this have to offer? Neutral shades in different undertones that are cleverly laid out in quads and quintets. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
What is the color story like?
As I mentioned I felt let down with the color story once I got it home. This is ‘boring’ neutral central and as someone with plenty of neutral already available to her, this wasn’t something I needed in my life. However, what I appreciate about this color story is that you get a few very pretty, more unique shades and that the shades are cleverly laid out. You can use each row or column and you have yourself a nicely curated little 4 pan or 5 pan look. If you look at the rows than the top row would give you a rosy neutral look, the second row a grungy green look, the third row a cool toned look and the final bottom row would be a warm toned look. In short, well thought out and the quality of these shades was stunning too.
How does the palette swatch?
Well, I can tell you that quality wise there is nothing wrong with this palette. If you bought this or if you are looking into buying BH, then I can assure you that they do some stunning shades. These shades are rich, creamy and easy to blend. So for the sale price point I do feel I got a good bang for my buck. I just wished that the shades were more grungy like they looked in the online pictures rather than boring neutrals.
4 Looks, 1 Palette
As usual, I aim to use every single shade in a palette before reviewing it. In order to use all 20 shades of the Royal Affair palette, I created 4 different looks. For each eye look I stuck to one of the rows so that the shades would go nicely together.
Piece of evidence no. 1 that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this palette in terms of quality. As you can see this first row of shades led me to create a stunning more rosy toned brown look that looks very ABH Soft Glam like. Pretty and one that I would reach for a lot if I didn’t already own a bunch of other rosy toned neutral shadows.
Evidence no. 2 that the quality of theses shades is on point: this stunning green look. I just couldn’t help myself and put that chartreuse green/ gold all over my lid. Now this is the look I was going for and why I bought this palette. I had hoped all the shades in this palette would be this yummy, grungy and different yet still wearable. Alas, as the last two looks will show you, it was not meant to be.
We all know I love my cool tones and this would be look no. 3 that shows you how great the quality of these shades is. However, it is also very boring and something I can do a million times over with other palettes already in my collection. I do have to say that I love that shimmer on the lid, but some of these mattes are a bit warm and would have been better if they had been more neutral.
And finally, another great quality look, but the yawnfest was just completed as well. These are pretty and wearable warm toned shades, but it is just something that doesn’t do IT for me. These could be so much more vibrant. The cranberry shade is not as popping as I would like to be and overall this is just the most boring look of them all.
My final thoughts
I really wanted to like the BH Cosmetics Royal Affair palette. While the quality is totally on point, the shade selection is just a bit too neutral for me to be reaching for this a lot. It was a couple of unique shades (that chartreuse!!) that I would like to keep it around for, but realistically I know I will forget about it now that I have gotten this review up. And that makes me sad, because this is a pretty palette for a beginner, just not something that really makes my eyeshadow heart tick.
Would I recommend the BH Cosmetics Royal Affair eyeshadow palette?
Because this is no longer available I have to say no: this is not worth the online treasure hunt and the extra cost it would mean to get your hands on it. However, BH is continuously doing other palettes in their line in many different color stories. Since the quality was great, if you wait around for a sale and then select a BH palette that still is available and you are a makeup noobie and would like to try good eyeshadow quality at an affordable price point, then I would say go for it!
6 responses to “BH Cosmetics Royal Affair eyeshadow palette review”
I like the look you did with the green. I have the Solar Flare palette by BH Cosmetics and I don’t like the fact that it’s almost ALL yellows and oranges! I got it on sale and although the quality is nice, it’s just too many samey-samey orange/warm-toned shades. There’s a really deep, electric purple which is cool and a dark brownish-black, but most of the palette is “Cheeto” colors, LOL. And since it’s all really shimmery and highly pigmented, a little goes a long way. It isn’t very practical for everyday use.
Ah that’s a shame! I find bh color stories to not be super perfect. At least you got a good deal.
I found this at my local TK Maxx last year and brought it as I’d seen so many good reviews on it and I just had to have that chartreuse shade to add to my ever-growing collection of palettes with that colour in them somewhere! I was also a bit disappointed when I got it home and could open it and only used it for the first time last week! The winner for me is (surprise surpise) the chartreuse colour as well, I tend to gravitate towards those shades. However, I’m happy I have it and I should be able to get some use out of it once I get back to the office full time! I also have the Zodiac palette (which I also like but don’t love) but am very very drawn to the new BH ice cream cone inspired palettes if I can get my mitts on them!
Those new BH palettes look great indeed!
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