Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette – First Look and Swatches

The moment I saw the new Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette (intro post here) I knew I was going to want it, then when I remembered I had a Selfridges voucher burning a hole in my handbag, I knew I was going to get it! I never really got the excitement over the first Huda Beauty Textured Shadows Palette, but this one I totally got.

The Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette is an intense mix of beautiful textures and finishes with some truly fascinating shades.  There are 18 shades, which can be worn independently but also work together and compliment each other.  The shades are strong with mostly matte and shimmer finishes, although there are some foils and one pure glitter too.

The Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette comes in a pretty purple package and the palette itself is sturdy and attractive.  Within the palette you have an insert (with a picture of Huda’s eyes) that covers the shadows, which interestingly is actually quite thick, so it’s worth holding on to as it acts as a protector; often the ones included in palettes are those flimsy plastic ones that are so thin, you end up scratching the shadows, but this one is definitely a decent effort.

The launch of the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette is timely since I think there are some great shades for the party season included – I think most of the shades are more suited to a more dramatic, smoky look, but there are some very wearable days shades too.

The Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette contains eight matte shades, six pressed pearls, three duo-chrome toppers (absolute stunners) and one slightly terrifying glitter shade that I can see spilling out into other shades.  I can’t really comment fully on the formulas yet until I’ve had a chance to try them on my eyes, but the duo-chromes and pressed pearls feel and look amazing with a single swipe.  The mattes take a little bit more work, but isn’t that always the case?

The first row contains a mix of mostly warm neutrals, starting with the Desert Sand, which is a great base shade that you can just about see in the swatch.  Then there’s Musk, a taupey matte brown.  Next is Eden, another matte shade that looks quite insipid in the palette, but it actually translates to a strong pop of peach.

Amber is a rusty red/brown matte.  Blood Moon is a beautiful, deep rusty brown with a chrome finish that catches the light giving it a mocha/orange hue depending on where the light hits it. Oud is a deep, muddy matte brown.

Row one was the starting point, with a great collection of mostly matte base shades.  Row two gets a lot more exciting thanks to the some of the most beautiful chromes and pearls shades I’ve seen in quite a while, possibly ever.  Celestial is a a pearly, bronzey gold, which sits flatteringly next to Nefertiti, which is a slightly more champagne gold.  Twilight is one of my favourite shades in the whole palette – as you can see, it’s a blue-leaning, silvery purple that’s just beautiful and makes me very excited to use this palette.

Amethyst is the only matte shade on this row, a mid-toned purple. Royal is another favourite from the palette, as it’s just so unusual! It’s a deep, earthy berry shade with a pearl finish.  Retrograde is another stunning shade of sparkling cranberry.

The final row is a collection of mostly brighter, more vibrant finisher shades including the aforementioned glitter. I can see Cashmere becoming one I use regularly, you can’t beat an easy, shimmering taupe. Angelic is another fascinating shade – a golden pink chrome that looks amazing. Cosmo is a bright and sparkly berry-toned glitter.

Turkish Delight is another stunner (there are so many in this palette!) thanks to it’s wearable red-toned neutral shimmer.  Saffron is a deep red matte that I might be able to pull off, as long as I use it alongside some deep, muddier shades.  The final shade is Blazing, which is an orange matte that isn’t too bright, but I probably won’t get much use out of it.

I’ll be doing a follow-up review post soon, but in the meantime, the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Eyeshadow Palette can be found at Selfridges here – link – and Cult Beauty here – link – for £56.

*Partly paid for with voucher received in goody bag