Pretty fabulous: Jane Iredale

When I first opened Jane Iredale’s Perfectly Nude Eye Shadow Kit I thought “oh how pretty”. But when I first used the Perfectly Nude palette I thought “oh how fabulous”. It went pretty quickly from pretty to fab and it’s stayed in that category. This palette is really a sleeper. When I swatch the 5 shades on my hand they seem a little on the ordinary side but as soon as I apply them on my eyes I know a winner has been found.

The shade names are Cream, Foxy, Cappuccino, Antique Gold and Copper. Cream is a very soft cream shade, Foxy is about 2 shades darker than cream,  Cappucino is a light brown with a touch of pink, Antique Gold is a beautiful bronzy brown and Copper is a copper penny shade which can be used lightly for just a bit of color or more intensely for an understated brightness. (This stock picture isn’t really a good representation of the palette, the second and third shades are much lighter in real life.)

This is a palette that should be in all makeup artist’s kits, especially if they do bridal parties. Most brides want their eyes to really stand out but they don’t want that to be what you see when you look at them. What most want is to look like the best version of themselves.  I know I’m speaking writing in generalities but from my experience most brides (and mothers of the bride and groom) want a special look but not one that is over the top. Bring out the sparkle in their eyes without glitter and you have a glowing bride and bridal party.  These eyeshadows are satiny, they are delicate but they show up. You can easily intensify Antique Gold and Copper or you can blend them for subtlety.

Jane Iredale is known for her mineral makeup. She was one of the first to offer a full line of mineral makeup that was known by doctors as actually being good for the skin. She’s worked with dermatologists to help develop her line. What you won’t find with Jane Iredale cosmetics is a million product roll outs. Yes, she brings out new and fabulous products, but when you love something from the line it’s not going to be limited edition and disappear on you. The finest ingredients are used, the pigments are concentrated and use no fillers like talc. Her products are sold online at beauty.com, skincarerx.com and dermstore.com among others. It’s also sold in a variety of stores; I’ve seen it at a local medi-spa in my city. Go to the Jane Iredale website for more information.

Back to the palette — I believe this palette will work well for a variety of skintones. On my fair skintone I find that Cream, Foxy and Antique Gold make a sophisticated combination. But if I want to up the ante I can use the tip of a brush and apply Antique Gold with more intensity and I’ll see a subtle shimmer.  When I want to really make my eyes stand out I’ll use Copper, Cream and Antique Gold.

Besides the beautiful yet subtle shades, what’s most important is the pigment, the longevity and the blendability; Perfectly Nude has all of that. I’m very impressed as you can tell by this review. The eyeshadows last all day long without losing any color at all.

Let me talk about the price since it’s on the high side at $52. I’ve got a slew of palettes that I’ve spent at least this amount of money on. The difference between this and say a Christian Dior palette is that I can wear every single color in this palette. Not one is just for show which is what I often find with Dior. The colors aren’t going to make you go ooh and aah like many of the Dior palettes do but these actually work. They aren’t chalky, they show up and stay showing. I’d rather have a palette like this that makes me look good than one that just looks good in my drawer. In my opinion Perfectly Nude is worth this amount of money. Actually I’ve already ordered “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”from beauty.com because I am so thrilled with the quality of Perfectly Nude.

I’m excited about my first introduction to Jane Iredale and I can’t wait to share more adventures with her (and with you).  — Marcia

Disclosure: The palette in this review was sent for consideration. Please see our Disclosure statements for more details.