Makeup Geek Vegas Lights Palette Review, Swatch, EOTD. Hello Everyone, Today I will be starting with the review of my first Makeup Geek Eye Shadow Palette ”Vegas Lights”. I have not tried any of the high-end eye shadow palettes like Urban Decay Naked series, Lorac Pro palettes, Too Faces Eye Shadow Palettes but was super excited to try this. My Makeup Geek eyeshadow collection, Part Two! A few weeks ago, I introduced you to my favorite MUG matte neutral eyeshadows. Today, let’s take a look at the brand’s satin finish eyeshadows if you will! I’m a die hard fan of Makeup Geek eyeshadows, which in my heart, have completely replaced my MAC eyeshadows, I must confess.

• Makeup Geek Roulette Swatches
• Makeup Geek Swatches
• Makeup Geek Sparklers Swatches

Ever since Makeup Geek launched within the UK in November last year thanks to Beauty Bay, I’ve amassed quite the collection. I’ve always been dying to try the Makeup Geek eyeshadow range as I’ve only ever heard amazing things about them, but I didn’t want to order directly from their website as I didn’t want to be stung with hefty customs fees so I was elated when Beauty Bay began stocking their products.

I will just say this is going to be a huge post with lots of photos of my Makeup Geek Eyeshadow collection, so I apologise in advance but figured it’d be better to have all of the swatches in one place rather than breaking it down into a number of posts. I also need to say that I wish another UK retailer stocked Makeup Geek as I really dislike Beauty Bay, as their customer service is atrocious and I’ve had endless trouble with them.

Makeup Geek Eyeshadow is an eyeshadow that retails for $6.00 and contains 0.06 oz. ($100.00 per ounce). There are 168 shades in our database. There are 168 shades in our database. Jump to a particular section if you know what information you're looking for! Swatches bottom to top: White Lies, Vanilla Bean, Shimma Shimma, Beaches & Cream, Peach Smoothie, Purely Naked, Barcelona Beach. This row is definitely my more neutral row out of them all. As you can probably tell from the swatches, the more matte shades are a lot harder to swatch, and require more work on the eyelid to bring up pigmentation.

I might be able to rave about Makeup Geek as a brand, but I simply cannot recommend Beauty Bay as a retailer, but I only order items from them that I cannot buy elsewhere within the UK as I’d never order from them if I had my way but needs must and all that. I really hope my Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Collection Review and Swatches post is helpful to you, so here goes…..

I store my Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Collection within an Makeup Forever XL Magnetic Palette which I reviewed here, and compared it to the Z Palette. In a nutshell, the Makeup Forever Magnetic Palette is considerably better value than the Z Palette and it can hold a lot more shadows too which is perfect.

I have arranged the shades loosely by shade but I haven’t finished my collection yet so this layout isn’t set in stone.. it’s just what’s working for me currently. I have a mix of the standard Makeup Geek Eyeshadows £4.95, the Makeup Geek Duochrome Eyeshadows £4.95 and Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadows £7.95, and I have swatched every single shade for you…

Vanilla Bean – described as being a light shimmer with peachy beige undertone. I found Vanilla Bean to be quite boring as it’s essentially my skintone with a tiny amount of shimmer. I usually use this shade to tone down my eyeshadow if I’ve gone a little OTT with my smokey eye.

Beaches & Cream – described as being a creamy matte neutral beige with just a hint of peach. Beaches & Cream is a good transition shade for my cool skin tone.

Peach Smoothie – described as being a light peach beige with a soft matte finish. I know everyone loves this shade but I just don’t find it very complimentary on my skintone, and I much prefer Beaches & Cream.

Creme Brulee – described as being a medium sand colour with a soft matte finish. My favourite matte shade from all of my Makeup Geek eyeshadows.

Barcelona Beach – described as being a medium sand shade with a matte finish. I really like using this as a transition shade for cool eyeshadows, but it works for warmer tones too.

Latte – described as being a matte medium brown. I’m not a fan of the quality of this shade.. I find it to be so dusty and hard to blend which is a shame as it’s a nice shade.

Frappe – described as being a medium maple brown matte. I would recommend Frappe over Latte as it’s much better quality, and it blends so beautifully. I really like that Frappe leans a little warm, and to me it’s more of a milk chocolate brown.

Mocha – described as being adeep matte brown. Sadly Mocha is another disappointment for me as it’s very chalky compared to the other matte shadows. I do use Mocha a lot in the crease and outer corner but it creates a lot of fall out.

Cocoa Bear – described as being a matte reddish brown. I think everyone should own Cocoa Bear, it’s a beautiful easy to blend warm toned brown.

Shimma Shimma – described as being a metallic champagne. I don’t know why but I expected so much more from this shade as it’s so hyped, but it’s an average champagne shimmer which I have in many eyeshadow palettes already. It’s pretty, but it’s not a must have in my opinion.

Rockstar – described as being a medium silver base with purple-pink reflects. This is such a subtle shade, but when applied over a pale cream eyeshadow, the purple/pink reflects become a lot more noticeable but it’s a really pretty all over the lid shade.

I’m Peachless – described as being a buff base with peachy-pink reflects. I would describe I’m Peachless as being a rose gold when used with a primer, but without a primer it looks like a pale gold. I love that you can get such a different look depending on whether you use a base or not.

Confection – described as being a blush pink with very subtle gray undertones and a matte finish. My swatch doesn’t do this shade justice, it’s a really pretty pinky toned grey which I use a lot with Petal Pusher for when I want subtle shadow and winged liner.

Petal Pusher – described as being a medium rose brown with a matte finish. Similar to Confection in tone, but it’s a little warmer in tone and a touch darker.

Unexpected – described as being a matte pale pink brown. I feel that Unexpected is very similar to the effect you get when you mix Confection and Petal Pusher, so I’m not sure I really needed Unexpected within my collection.

Purely Naked – described as being a shimmery tan. I can’t see this on the Makeup Geek website anymore so it might have been discontinued? Which would be a shame as it has almost a duochrome effect with a matte brown base and gold shimmer shift which I love wearing all over my lid.

Bedrock – described as being a medium gray with strong brown undertones and a matte finish. Bedrock is a straight grey shade which reminds me of a slightly darker, matte version of Rockstar. I think Bedrock and Rockstar work really nicely together.

Moondust – described as being a metallic silver taupe. I don’t know if I’m alone on this but I find Moondust to be a silvery khaki rather than a silvery taupe – there’s definitely a green tone to it which I love as I find it compliments my green eyes.

Twilight – described as being a pale shimmery muted purple. Another disappointing shade for me, it’s so pale when on the eyes but if you swatch it with your finger it’s really pigmented. I just don’t find myself gravitating towards this shade as it’s so muted it’s barely visible.

Cupcake – described as being a matte medium pink. Love this shade! It works nicely with the pinky tones like Confection and Petal Pusher.

Bleached Blonde – described as being a shimmery pale gold. I would describe this as being a dirty gold which I know doesn’t sound very nice but it works well for a bronze smoky eye but it’s not the most pigmented shadow in the palette but it performs best when applied with a synthetic brush.

Gold Digger – described as being a true metallic gold. This is a true yellow gold, which in all honesty I struggle to use as I find it to be a little too yellow for my liking. I think it would look gorgeous on skintones which are darker than mine, but on my lids it looks like a shiny yellow. Shade aside, it’s a beautiful shadow in terms of texture and pigment.

Glamorous – described as being a shimmery bronze gold. I think this shade is so similar to MAC’s Amber Lights except Glamorous is perhaps a touch less shimmery than Amber Lights. It’s a beautiful bronze with a subtle shimmer.

Chickadee – described as being a matte yellow orange. I really don’t know why I bought this shade as I don’t like it at all. It looks horrible on my very pale, cool toned eyelids and I can’t make it work for me at all sadly.

Taupe Notch – described as being a taupe. I don’t think the description does this shade justice, and my swatch doesn’t either actually. I think this is an amazing dupe for MAC’s Satin Taupe – it’s a shimmery taupey brown and it’s one of my most used all over the lid shades.

Prom Night – described as being a pale purple with hints of grey and a shimmery finish. I think Prom Night should be upgraded to being a duochrome shadow as it’s a gorgeous taupey brown with a silvery lilac shift and I absolutely love it – it’s so creamy and pigmented.

Homecoming – described as being a medium brown with gold shimmer. Homecoming is another of my most-used all over the lid shades as it compliments both warm and cool toned matte crease shades. I’ve seen people compare it to MAC Patina but I’ve never owned Patina so I can’t say for sure.

Pretentious – described as being a metallic bronze. I think this is a really unique shade as it looks like a bronze shade in some lights, but in others it looks like a metallic khaki shade. This particular shade has quite a lot of fall out compared to the other shades, but it’s very pigmented.

Cosmopolitan – described as being a Rose Gold with gold flecks and a shimmery finish. I just don’t see the rose gold in this shade, to me it’s more of a peach with gold shimmer but I love it nonetheless. Cosmopolitan looks really pretty when worn alone all over the lid as it’s quite multidimensional.

Goddess – described as being a metallic pale copper. Goddess is one of my top 5 Makeup Geek shadows – it’s a stunning metallic copper which almost looks like a foiled shadow, but it can be sheered out too depending on what intensity you prefer.

Roulette – described as being a rosy, burnt sienna with a silky, shimmery finish. I cannot rave about this shade enough – it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s a very creamy, buttery and smooth burnt copper which applies almost like a cream eyeshadow with no fall out whatsoever.

Country Girl – described as being a shimmery pink brown. I don’t know if I got an off Country Girl, but the texture and pigmentation is awful – it’s dusty, hard to apply and blend. I would recommend skipping Country Girl and plumping for Goddess instead as they’re pretty similar.

Last Dance – described as being a medium to deep plummy brown with a satin finish. This is such a chalky eyeshadow which is such a shame as it’s really pretty, but I tend to use it to darken my outer corner rather than use it all over the lid otherwise it has the tendency to look quite patchy.

Sensuous – described as being a shimmering purple with flecks of silver. I’d describe Sensuous as being a silvery lilac rather than a purple, and it is my go to lid shade when I’m wanting a purple/lilac eye look.

Steampunk – described as being a blue-black base with rich copper reflects. This is a duochrome shade and it’s truly stunning and really multidimensional. It’s a very dark chocolate brown matte with a rose gold shimmer , and it’s unlike anything else in my collection.

Cherry Cola – described as being a deep brown with strong red undertones and a matte finish. In my personal opinion, I don’t think you need Cherry Cola and Bitten as they look identical when on the eyes, and I’d say go for Cherry Cola as it’s much more pigmented and easy to blend. Bitten is such a raved about shade, but I just don’t see the hype as it’s so disappointing compared to Cherry Cola. It’s a very dark burgundy matte.

Bitten – described as being a matte deep maroon red. See above ^^^

Typhoon – described as having a deep teal base with green and gold reflects. This is such a crazy pigmented shadow which wows me every time I use it. It’s a vibrant teal green with gold and green shimmer. I never feel brave enough to use it all over the lid like this swatch, but I do like to apply it over a shimmery brown base for a slightly muted effect but maybe one day I’ll be brave enough..

Karma – described as having a golden base with yellow-green reflects. Another duochrome shadow which is a yellowy green gold shimmer.

Ritzy – described as having a warm red-brown base with green and gold reflects. Yet another duochrome which is a pretty brown matte with a gold shimmer shift.

Corrupt – described as being an intense matte black with a very subtle sparkle. This is the most pigmented, intense matte black I’ve ever used. The pan does include silver sparkle but I don’t think the sparkle is very noticeable when on the lids which I much prefer.

In the Spotlight – described as being a soft pink with coral undertones and a foiled finish. The first of my four foiled shades within my collection – this is a slightly rosy gold shade.

Charmed – described as being a muted silvery light olive with taupe undertones and a foiled finish. I love this shade so much – it reminds me of money for some reason, it’s a gorgeous silver with a subtle green twist which really compliments my green eyes.

Grandstand – described as being a medium rose gold with slight taupe undertones and a foiled finish. Another of my favourites, and most worn – it’s a lovely coppery bronze which I prefer to apply with my fingertips onto the lid for the best effect.

Mesmerized – described as being a deep medium taupe with strong purple undertones and a foiled finish. Mesmerized is a dark brown with a silver shimmer and it really compliments Grandstand very well.

Phew that took a long long time, but I really hope it was helpful. I’ve already purchased new shades for my Makeup Geek Eyeshadow collection since I filled my MUFE Magnetic Palette so I’ll be sure to do another post when I have a decent amount to show you.

If you have any shade recommendations I’d love to hear them, but I’m going to try and venture into wearable colour as I know my palette is very neutral but I’m not very daring when it comes to colourful eyeshadows.

I think the Makeup Geek Eyeshadow as a whole are amazing value, and I’d never buy MAC shadows again as they’re just not worth it when you can Makeup Geek shadows for £5. I have also done a post on my Makeup Geek Blush Collection if you’d like to see that too.

All products featured on Gemma Etc. are PR samples or gifted items, unless otherwise indicated. This post may contain affiliate links. If you wish to find out more, please see my Disclaimer within my navigation bar.

Makeup Geek time! People are always interested in and asking me about which Makeup Geek eyeshadows I use and my must haves in terms of shades they should pick up, so I thought now is as good a time as any and I’m going to show you! I won’t talk about/ show you my whole MUG collection (we’d be here all day!), but instead, I’m going to concentrate on my ‘go to/ everyday’ MUG palette…currently housed in an extra large Z Palette (Available on Amazon*). The extra large size palette fits 35 standard eyeshadow pans perfectly and I’m aware to some, that’s probably a lot and I’m not saying you need them all (a lot are very similar too!) however, it will hopefully point you in the right direction of a few essentials if you’re thinking of placing an order.

I’m sure you’ve noticed already, haha, but this is a generally warm and pretty neutral selection, but that’s just my personal preference and colours I enjoy working with and using on a daily. It’s also conveniently very Autumnal! I used to house all my regular signature MUG shadows and foiled (beautifully metallic) shadows separately, but decided when putting this ‘go to’ palette together, that I was going to mix them, so although a lot do have a matte finish, there’s a good selection of textures in there too. Even in this one palette, there’s quite a lot to cover, so lets get straight in to it!

Makeup Geek Roulette Swatches

Top Row (left to right)
➕ White Lies – matte, pure white
➕ Shimma Shimma – metallic champagne
➕ Vanilla Bean – light shimmer cream with a peachy beige undertone
➕ Baby Face – matte, very light beige brown with cool grey undertone
➕ Starry Eyed – foiled, light champagne beige with slight pink undertone
➕ Mirage – satin matte, warm butter cream
➕ Beaches and Cream – matte, natural beige with a hint of peach

Second Row (left to right)
➕ Peach Smoothy – matte, light soft peachy orange
➕ Mezmerized – foiled, medium taupe with plum undertone
➕ Purely Naked – satin matte, cool light sand
➕ Creme Brule – matte, light sand
➕ Barcelona Beach – matte, medium sand
➕ Chickadee – matte, tangerine with yellow undertone
➕ Desert Sands – matte, medium caramel brown with yellow undertone

Third Row (left to right)
➕ Tiki Hut – matte, tawny brown with slight yellow undertone
➕ Hipster – slight shimmer, sandy taupe tan
➕ Preppy – matte, khaki brown
➕ Latte – matte, medium brown
➕ Frappe – demi matte, medium maple brown
➕ Tuscan Sun – matte, medium muted salmon pink
➕ Roulette – shimmer, rosy burnt sienna

Fourth Row (left to right)
➕ Flame Thrower – foiled, bright true warm copper
➕ Morocco – matte, rich burnt orange
➕ Taupe Notch – demi matte, medium taupe
➕ Wild West – matte, rich rose brown
➕ Cocoa Bear – matte, red brown
➕ Brown Sugar – shimmer, medium brown, red undertone
➕ Burlesque – shimmer, metallic muted burgundy

Bottom Row (left to right)
➕ Showtime – foiled, rusty red brown
➕ Bitten – matte, earthy maroon
➕ Cherry Cola – matte, deep brown with a strong red undertone
➕ Mocha – matte, deep true brown
➕ Bada Bing – subtle sparkle, deep chocolate brown with a gold fleck
➕ Americano – matte, dark brown with a plum undertone
➕ Corrupt – matte, intense black

Makeup Geek shadows are richly pigmented, smooth, blendable, long wearing and brilliantly affordable. With their extensive range of colours and textures, there’s something for everyone. If you’re new to the brand and possibly to eyeshadow in general and wanting to pick up a few essentials to start off with, I’d suggest these… (for any eye colour)
➕ A light base shade/ highlight – Vanilla Bean
➕ A light/ medium transition (blending) shade – Creme Brule
➕ A deeper shading colour – Cocoa Bear
➕ A definition/ liner shade (to go smokier too!) – Corrupt

For those of you who are more eyeshadow savvy, already have plenty of essentials/ neutrals and wanting eye catching and different to add your shadow collection, I love… (again for any eye colour)
➕ Bitten (this cult shade is my own no.1 favourite in this palette!)
If you don’t have it already, get it and thank me later, haha, it’s so beautiful on!

I love how Makeup Geek eyeshadows and products in general are now easily accessible to us UK and Ireland folk too, no longer do I need to order from the US and get stuck with customs fees! Find Makeup Geek at beautybay*

Lyd x

PLEASE NOTE:

Makeup Geek Swatches

I’m now based in Cork, Ireland. Although I do still take select bookings for North Wales/ Cheshire and Dublin (get in touch for more info) and am available to travel country wide…I’m mainly taking makeup bookings for Cork City and surrounding areas.

As a bridal makeup specialist, I do get booked up well in advance so if you’re looking for wedding makeup in Cork contact me asap to check availability, secure your date and avoid disappointment! I’m freelance and travel to your home/ venue of choice.

Also available for makeup for any occasion/ event, lessons and master class makeup…find more information and a full list of services here.

Contact us for enquiries/ bookings and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Makeup Geek Sparklers Swatches

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