I’ve been debating whether or not to buy the original 35 pan Morphe X Jaclyn Hill for months. When I saw Jaclyn’s video announcing the release of a set of smaller palettes retailing for only £15 each I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. The swatches looked beautiful and I loved the individual colour stories. I initially wanted to buy ‘Dark Magic’, a collection of emeralds, blues and silvers as it looked different for anything else in my collection, however, after going back and forth over purchasing the ABH Norvina palette I thought I’d treat myself to the more affordable collection of pink, purples and golds in ‘Boss Bling’.
You can either purchase the four new palettes individually or as part of a set (aka ‘The Vault) for £49 saving £11. Morphe was available at Beauty Bay but they have since moved to their own UK website which offers free delivery on orders over £20 plus, you can use all the affiliate codes US influencers such as James Charles (JAMES) and Manny MUA (MANNYMUA) are always banging on about for an extra 10% off.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding The Vault launch. The palettes were originally set to launch on June 26, however, as PR packages started to arrive at the doorstep of well-known beauty gurus such as Jackie Aina, it was made apparent that there were a lot of inconsistencies in the way the shadows were performing. Morphe decided to delay the launch. It was a bit of a PR disaster but a wise move nevertheless. Let’s take a closer look at ‘Bling Boss’…
The eyeshadows come in a basic cardboard palette with a magnetic fastening and mirror. There are 10 jewel-toned shades inside, with only four of these being mattes. When Jaclyn originally swatched this palette on her channel the pigmentation looked insane. They appeared to be very creamy and swatch effortlessly, I’ll leave a link to the video here. Although the colour payoff is still impressive Jaclyn must have been pressing incredibly hard to make them appear more vibrant than they actually are. I hate when YouTubers do this. Swatches aren’t everything, it’s all about how they blend and build so I can’t stand when brands try to deceive their customer and give them unrealistic expectations.
Row 1: Bling Bling (silvery pink glitz), Hush Hush (matte lilac mauve), Gem (vibrant violet sheen), Pizzazz (glistening magenta), Mystic (matte blackberry)
Row 2: Sparks (matte ruby red), Glitz & Glam (shimmering rose gold), Rockstar (matte mulberry), Ballsy (glistening mauve pink), Berry Treasure (glittering charcoal black)
I’m sorry that these aren’t the prettiest of swatches but I wanted to give an accurate representation of the shades. The mattes need a lot of building, especially Hush Hush and Berry Tressure. There is minimal fallout and they all blend very easily. The shimmers are undoubtedly beautiful and have a soft, finely-milled texture that’s unusual for such an affordable palette. Gem (the vibrant purple) is clearly the star of the show and is spectacular when applied with a wet brush. Overall, I really like this palette and would purchase more in the collection. Just be aware that the online swatches are a little deceiving. Bling Boss isn’t up to the standard of Juvia’s Place in terms of pigmentation but they definitely outperform the likes of Revolution. They actually remind me more of the Colourpop pressed powders in terms of performance.
The Morphe X Jaclyn Hill: Bling Boss Eyeshadow Palette (£15) is available to purchase here.
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