Morphe x Jaclyn Hill Eyeshadow Palette Swatches + Review

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When the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill Eyeshadow Palette arrived earlier this week I really wasn’t sure what to do with it. It’s even more beautiful to look at in person and I wanted to dive right in… but if I’m putting it on the blog I like to photograph it first. But did I want to put it on the blog?

*update on 3/1/2020: at some point in the recent(?) past Morphe decided to change the formula of this palette. They did not make consumers aware of this until this video from Jen Luvs Reviews. My review below is based off of the original palette released in June of 2017. The formula now is completely different – shades swatch and perform differently as a result. While the company still claims this palette is cruelty free it is 100% NOT vegan anymore, as the ingredients now list “carmine”. This Facebook post will explain more with links to tweets containing proof.

There is so much drama surrounding this palette and the people behind it. There are inconsistencies in everyones story and TBH there’s always going to be her story, someone else’s story and then the actual truth. We will never know. I know what I heard Jaclyn say on her snap chat, in her videos etc… but I also know that, personally, when I get really excited about something or go off about something things that I say can come out wrong and be misunderstood. Is that what happened with Jaclyn? We will never know. That being said even after seeing one of my favorite YouTubers, Samantha Ravndahl, swatch this palette I still wanted it. Her review wasn’t 100% positive but it was thorough and I’ve always found her to be one of the most honest YouTubers out there.

I don’t have a background in cosmetics manufacturing, their formulas, order of ingredients, pressing… all those things. I’m just a consumer, buying a palette and telling you my thoughts.

what is it

This section… is it even necessary lol.  The Morphe x Jaclyn Hill Eyeshadow Palette is a collaboration between Morphe Cosmetics and Jaclyn Hill. The palette includes 35 never before seen eyeshadow shades and said to be in an all-new formula, pressed differently… whatever the story is now.

from the website:

This is not your average eye palette. That’d be boring. We (and most importantly, Jaclyn Hill) don’t do boring. This palette is a 2-year love affair. 35 brand-new, OMG eyeshadows that Jaclyn whipped up, formulated, tested, re-tested, and perfected. They were created to deliver not only the best color payoff but also amazing application. Mattes, shimmers, satins, foils, and glitter: all pressed to perfection…just the way Jaclyn wanted. Her dreamy colors are now your reality. So whether you’re pressed for time or have time to play, this palette is your new bestie. Because a girl (and guy) needs to have options.

The 35 shades are:

Row 1: Enlight, Beam, Silk Crème, M.F.E.O, Faint, Sissy, Little Lady
Row 2: Creamsicle, Butter, Pooter, Pukey, Hunts, Firework, Queen
Row 3: Obsessed, S.B.N., Hillster, Roxanne, Jacz, Buns, Cranapple
Row 4: Royalty, Twerk, Hustle, Meeks, 24/7, Chip, Mocha
Row 5: Pool Party, Jada, Diva, Enchanted, Central Park, Soda Pop, Abyss

packaging

I love the white and silver. The color scheme is clean and gorgeous. That being said it’s also very messy. My LORAC Pro 3 has a white case and you don’t even want to see it now… I use it a lot and it’s basically looking like I rubbed it in shimmery dirt. I expect my JH palette will look like that after a few uses.

The outer box packaging is very thin, flimsy cardboard. You know those oaktag poster boards from school? It feels like that. The palette itself feels lighter than a regular Morphe 35 Eyeshadow Palette and where that palette is a sturdy plastic this one is a light cardboard. I could break it myself in 2 seconds and I’ve got some sad arm strength.

There is no mirror on the interior, but a note from Jaclyn to her fans dedicating the palette to them. I’m cool with no mirror. I rarely use the one in a palette anyway and it’s not like this huge palette is something I’ll keep in my purse for touch-ups. There is also a piece of plastic covering the shadows.

My palette didn’t come with the insert listing the shade names. Apparently some did and some didn’t. For $38 I would expect to have the shade names printed under the shadows, on the plastic cover above the shadows, on an insert or at least have everything labeled on the back of the box. I’m not a fan of some of the shade names but I didn’t really take that into consideration when I gave my overall final thoughts (at the bottom) because this is Jaclyn’s palette and she can name a shadow Turd Ferguson if she wants to – who are we to judge?

All of the above being said I don’t think the packaging is $38 level packaging. I think if you’re taking 2 years to perfect an eye shadow formula you can take a bit longer to make sure the packaging is on point. It’s pretty to look at, but I wouldn’t travel with this palette. I’d worry with the low-grade material of the packaging and softness of the shadows everything would be powder and dust by the end of the journey.

swatches

For real I almost just did a Facebook Live (even though I’ve never done one) of brush swatches using ALL different MAC 239 brushes. Because even if people are cleaning their brushes in between doesn’t that mean that they’re a little wet? IDC how awesome that brush cleaner is, mine don’t dry that fast. So, of course I was curious to see how the swatches would turn out for me and how the palette would work on my eyes.

Below I did swatches with my finger (left swatch) and also a MAC 239 brush (right swatch). I used no Fix+, water.. nothing to dampen my finger, arm or brush. The swatches are done dry. I used no primers either because when I do my arm swatches I never use a primer, so why start now? In full disclosure, when I did the brush swatches, I swirled the MAC 239 on the shadow and swiped the color onto my arm. I then used the same brush (without picking up more product) to blend the color. You don’t just do one swipe of color on your eye and call it a day. You blend it out. I also found blending the brush swatches on my arm was more consistent with how the shadows performed on the eye. So, that’s what I did. Because of this some of my brush swatches look a lot nicer than my finger swatches. You’ll also notice that on the matte shades my finger swatches have a much deeper color than the brush swatches, which is something to be aware of as you’re looking up more swatches of this palette.

review

IMO the shadows were very nice. I didn’t consider any of them to be completely horrible or, on the flip side, overly groundbreaking. There was a lot of product kick up whether you’re using a brush to apply or your finger, so you’ll want to be aware of that when applying these shadows to your eyes (and also this will aid in getting your white palette dirty AF that much quicker). I also experienced quite a bit of fallout, which made it easy to blend shades for a color under the lash line, but if you’re not into that you’ll need to do some clean-up. The shades lasted all day over primer without fading or creasing.

Enlight & Beam, while having very slightly different undertones, look identical on. Literally identical. My skin tone tends to pull neutral and I can wear both warm and cool, so maybe that’s why. But literally identical. I wish one of them (in my perfect world, Enlight) would have been a matte or satin finish.

The worst performers were the darker mattes (all on the bottom row) – Jada, Enchanted, Central Park, Soda Pop and Abyss as well as Twerk from the third row. In the case of the matte shades they felt very dry to me and applied semi-sheer on their own. They did layer and blend nicely with the more metallic shades. Twerk is beautiful, but you need to build it to get the real impact. The first pass won’t look pretty, but with some work you can get it there.

As for the other shades they were all easy to work with, pigmented, blendable… all the adjectives you use for an eyeshadow that performs well!

I do own one other Morphe Eyeshadow Palette, the 35T (because I love me some taupes) so in regards to how the shadows in the Jaclyn Hill palette perform vs the 35T I personally like the 35T better. There isn’t as much of a color selection but I haven’t met one shadow in that palette I didn’t like and that didn’t perform well. Also, word on the street is the ingredients in the JH palette are that of the 25 palettes, so you can always grab one or both of those if you’ve missed out on JH or just aren’t interested.

eye looks

In the eye looks below I used a base of MAC Painterly Pro Longwear Paint Pot, Jouer Matte Black Slim Creme Eye Liner and IT Cosmetics Superhero Mascara. All eye shadow shades were applied dry. (in the ultimate height of my laziness I took these pics with my cell phone).

Look 1 – Green

Shades used: Pooter (transition crease shade), Diva (lid), Enchanted (crease, outer V), Enlight (inner corner, brow bone), mix of Diva & Enchanted (lower lash line).

Look 2 – Pink

Shades used: M.F.E.O. (transition crease shade), Sissy (lid), Jacz (crease, outer V), Faint (inner corner, brow bone), mix of Sissy & Jacz (lower lash line).

Look 3 – Bronze

Shades used: Pooter (transition crease shade), Meeks (lid), Soda Pop (crease, outer V), Hustle (inner corner), Enlight (brow bone), mix of Meeks & Soda Pop (lower lash line).

pricing

Do I think you should buy this palette? If you’re in the US and you dig colors like this or are even just a fan of Jaclyn… sure, you should buy it. I think it’s a good palette and even with the higher price point you’re still getting a deal (though not as good of a deal as you’d get with a permanent Morphe eyeshadow palette).

Would I buy it again? Probably not. I like it enough and I’m not disappointed but if I have to make a choice I’d want something like the LORAC Mega Pro 3 (which was LE but they do one every year. It was $59 and the JH palette was $45 if you add in the shipping. There is better quality on the LORAC matte shades and you get a nice variety of colors).

If you’re out of the US and have to pay the extra shipping plus potential fees? I’d say no. The price point of $38 is way higher than the usual $22.99 price tag and the shipping into other countries, from what I understand, is astronomical. Regardless of the names behind any brand or product, shipping costs like that are a MAJOR turn off. Even here in the states when I see shipping at $10 I’ll say NOPE. The lowest shipping Morphe offers in the US to me (in Pennsylvania) is $7.95. I added in some more items (brushes, cause I like em) to hit the $75 mark to get free shipping plus I used an affiliate code to save money.

If you’re not a fan of Morphe as a brand, their products in general or Jaclyn as an influencer? No. Obviously don’t waste your money if you’re not a fan of either. Clearly it wouldn’t be worth it and why would you buy it just to complain?

where to buy

ETA: This palette is now permanent and you can even pick it up at ULTA BEAUTY!

Currently the Morphe x. Jaclyn Hill Eyeshadow Palette is sold out…. BUT it’s said there will be a restock. I have no idea when. I suggest following Morphe on Twitter or Instagram for updates. I know you can put your email in on the website to be notified of the restock… but TBH you don’t want to put that type of trust in mail servers. Peek at their social media once a day and when they announce the restock date and time set your alarm. That will probably be A LOT better.

Will you be jumping on the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill Eyeshadow Palette? 

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