After lots of doubt, I’ve decided that I will be posting reviews for my Jeffree Star palettes. I bought a few products from his line and apart from a highlighter, I hadn’t gotten around to reviewing those products yet and then he became THE person non grata of the beauty community. So I decided to refrain from talking and posting about his stuff. After so many months of not talking about the products I do own from the brand, I have decided I still want to put these reviews up. Why? Because I love some of the looks I got out of these and I did spend my money on it. And while I definitely I buy makeup to use in my day to day life, part of what I decide to put my money towards is influenced by the fact that I have this blog and make Youtube videos. So I felt like: I have these, I spent my money on them, I like them, so why not do what I do with all makeup I like and review it.
Review: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Jawbreaker & Mini Breaker eyeshadow palette
Jeffree Star Cosmetics is a brand that is more expensive than most, but I feel the price point is definitely worth it. This review is for two palettes: the larger Jawbreaker palette and the smaller Mini Breaker. I will explain below why I own both and why I am reviewing these together in one single blog post. The Jaw Breaker retails for €61.95. The Mini Breaker retails for €29.95. It does depend where you buy the products how much you pay and now that the brand is less popular, the brand also seems to be going on sale more often. So it may be worth looking into different retailers and waiting for a sale.
Why do I own both the Jaw Breaker and the Mini Breaker?
So let’s tackle the question why I decided to buy not one but two palettes. I knew immediately I was going to buy the larger Jaw Breaker palette, but what that palette misses is a matte purple. And guess what the Mini Breaker has? A matte purple. In short, I feel the Mini Breaker featured some great complimentary shades that just made it go so well with the larger palette and I had a gift voucher that meant I didn’t have to pay full price for it.
What does the Jaw Breaker have to offer?
In terms of colorful palettes that offer brights but without it being a classic rainbow palette, the Jaw Breaker is possibly one of the best offerings. The palette is big, but the slim design means it’s still easy to store (unlike some other Jeffree Star palettes). It has 24 shades: 7 shimmers and 17 mattes. So for me I also wanted the Mini Breaker as that features a few more shimmers that I love. The quality is great, but I don’t understand the inclusion of the brown and the peach in the bottom row. All the other shades are great and I really liked working with them.
What does the Mini Breaker have to offer?
The Mini Breaker is the smaller of the two palettes and it features a few shades that I knew would be perfect with the rest of the Jawbreaker palette. Out of the 9 shades here you get 3 shimmers and 6 mattes. Two shades are the same as the ones in the Jawbreaker. The matte pink called Bubble Gum and the shimmering purple called Bite Me are featured in both palettes. It also features quite a few cool toned shades: 6 shades are cool toned, while 3 are warm toned. That’s what ultimately made me cave and buy both.
How do these palettes swatch?
As you can see the shades of both palettes swatch beautifully. These shadows are soft, but not too powdery. I do not experience fall out if I carefully tap off my brush and these blend really easily. The shimmers do outperform the mattes for me as those are just so much easier to apply. The shimmers feel rich and creamy while some of the mattes feel a touch dry. Especially the red tones in the Jaw Breaker and also some of the purple feel a bit dry but they are easily built up as you can see in the looks I created below.
5 Looks using all shades
To show you what these palettes can do I created 5 different looks and between those looks I used all the shades. As you can see, you can create some stunning, vibrant colorful looks that range in brightness and vibrancy but if you want to you can also go for a basic neutral look. These palettes are true Jacks of all trades.
For the first look I focused on the purples and the blues. I used the Blurple shimmer from the Mini Breaker all over the lid and just used a bit of the shimmery white in the inner corner. I really like the look of these shades together, but the blues did smudge a bit into my concealer. So be careful when you use those shades.
The second look featured some of the reds and oranges. I used the orange shimmer from the Jaw Breaker all over the lid and even though it is not my favorite shade I still find it looks very pretty. It goes well with the reds and some of the oranges and bronzes from the Mini Breaker. This look reminds me of lemonade and ice pops in the summer time.
Look no. 3 is my favorite look. Can you just see how perfect these shades play together. I used the matte shade called Cherry in the crease, the matte purple is in the outer V but I used a bit of the matte navy to deepen it up. The look is finished off by applying Cotton Candy, a shimmering purple, all over the lid. This is the shade that, when I swatched it in store, convinced me to buy the palette and it totally lives up to its expectations. Even if I never end up loving any other shade in this palette, I would just keep it around to be able to recreate this look over and over again.
The most underrepresented color family in these palettes are the greens. There is only one true green: Sour and it is the worst performing shade. This seems a bit of a dud and feels like it is very hard pressed yet still weirdly powdery too. It kind of dusts up and goes everywhere. In the end I was able to use it just fine in this look to have a bit of that green to bridge the gap between the yellow and the blue. However it was a shade I had to be very careful with.
And just to prove that you can if you have to, you can use these two very bright palettes to create a full matte, neutral look too. So while these may look bright and intimidating, they are more versatile than you might think at first glance. I can’t remember exactly which shades I used, but I just went with whichever shades were still left. That featured both matte browns, Raspberry and that orange mustard from the Mini Breaker.
My final thoughts
I bought these palettes hoping to find some good brights in a range of shades that would still be wearable and I feel that’s exactly what I got. I like the Jaw Breaker but I do think there are a few shades missing to really be able to do some well-rounded looks. I therefore do not regret also owning the Mini Breaker, but I will only ever still reach for that to reach for the blurple and matte purple to pull into the Jaw Breaker. Are these must haves? No. But I really do not regret purchasing these either.
Would I recommend the Jeffree Star Jaw Breaker & Mini Breaker eyeshadow palettes?
You know I am not a reviewer who tries to shove products down your throat. I therefore believe that when it comes to makeup, any makeup, you should always try to make up your own mind whether you purchase something or not. In the case of Jeffree Star Cosmetics and all the sensitivities surrounding the brand I will leave it in the middle. I like these palettes, but do I also understand why some people are no longer talking about the brand? Most certainly.
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