Catrice 5 in a Box mini eyeshadow palette review

Who is excited for the new Catrice products for fall/ winter 2020? I know I am! Because have come out with some beautiful new products. I already did a first impression video using lots of these products for the first time and one of the standout products in that video was their new 5 in a Box mini eyeshadow palette in Modern Smokey Look. The minute I spotted this on the Catrice website I knew I had to try it: it is Catrice, it has 5 shades, it is cool toned and doesn’t this look exactly like a Natascha Denona mini palette?

Review: Catrice 5 in a Box mini eyeshadow palette 040 Modern Smokey Look

Let us start with the price point. We all know Catrice is affordable and this palette retails for a whooping €3.99. That is a steal! Especially for the quality you get here. The mattes are creamy and buttery, the shimmers are intense and vibrant: it is exactly what I am looking for in a palette. So even at this price point this isn’t just good for this being super affordable, I feel this palette is worth it regardless. This could have been more expensive and I still would feel it was worth it.

What does this palette have to offer?

Wah! Can we just appreciate the look of these gorgeous 5 shades together? There are 4 palettes in total and of those this was the one that stood out to me the most. There is a warm toned one, a rosy toned one and a nude one with a gold apart from this more smokey/ cool toned look. What I loved about this one in particular is that this is supposed to be a smokey eye palette but it is not focused on blacks and greys like most of them have. Instead this palette features two blue tones and that is my favorite thing, because I love a blue toned smokey eye.

What is the color story like?

So let’s have a closer look at the color story of this palette. You only get 5 shades but 5 shades is a perfect number for creating one look, but I also feel you can take this in different directions depending on how you put the shades together. For me, this palette is perfect. There are 3 mattes of which one is a great, basic, more neutral crease shade. A creamy shade is always helpful to get a good blend on your entire look and the darkest blue/ grey shade is a great one for deepening anything up. So you could easily use this for an all matte look too. Then there are two shimmers: a champagne and a blue. So again go in with the neutrals and you have a neutral look too. So many options!

How does this palette swatch?

When I first swatched this, I was like: you have got to be kidding me? This is Catrice?! I don’t know about you, but this looks like a high end palette to me. Every shade swatches beautifully, they blend really well and where I have had the experience with Catrice that shades can muddy together, these do not. I was able to use the darkest shade for a smokey outer V and had no issues. The tones of the shades go together so well too and the shimmers go on well. I prefer to apply a shimmer with my finger though as I feel you get far better payoff.

Let’s have a look at, well… a look

For this makeup look I features all 5 shades. It is the look I did in my first impression video. I used the blue shimmer all over the lid, the matte brown is in the crease, the dark blue matte is in the Outer V and the cream is used to blend the look. The champagne has been used as an inner corner highlight and I kind of repeated that on the lower lash line. However I feel you can easily use just the neutrals or just the blues, or just the champagne shimmer. In short, this may only have 5 shades but I can easily do 3 – 4 different looks with this mini palette.

My Final Thoughts

This look, this palette: they are just overall great and it comes at an amazing price point. The Catrice 5 in a Box mini eyeshadow palette is simply a great drugstore find. It has some of the best quality Catrice has ever done. This blends well, this stays put all day over a primer and the payoff is vibrant. To top things off it is also versatile to boot. How did Catrice do it? Not sure, all I know is that is one of the best palette they have ever done.

Would I recommend the Catrice 5 in a Box mini eyeshadow palette?

For sure! Once this becomes available in more and more territories I would definitely check these out. There are 4 shades so I am not sure whether they are all this good, but if you can get your hands on the Modern Smokey Look then this is definitely worth it. Because the name of this palette is just bang on point: it is a smokey eye palette but with a more modern twist.

What was the last affordable palette you fell in love with?