Better Late Than Never?

Okay, finally, I feel like I have the chance to review the Julep 'Sweep Photogenic' palette. I'd been eyeing this palette since day 1; I am in love with Julep's polishes, and their makeup is just as beautiful. I have the first Sweep palette, which is a collection of 5 neutral shades. They have the softest texture, and pigmentation is really good. So when they came out with a palette with a wider colour range, I was all for it. Of course, I waited for a deal-- the palette is priced at $54 originally, but goes on sale from anywhere between $38 and $24. I got mine when it was $24 and used a discount code and got $7.50 off. Which made me love it even more!

Excuse the terrible quality; I only had a picture on my instagram, and THIS is how it copied. 

I was not disappointed. As soon as it arrived, I dove in; it's a cardboard package with a magnetic closure, and comes with a really well-made 2-sided brush. One end it a pointed shadow brush. I'm not actually too fond of this side; I feel like it comes to too sharp of a point. I wish they'd made it more like a flat shadow brush. But the other side is a great fluffy blending brush. I find myself using that side for most of my makeup, even when I'm not using this palette. 

     The shadows are very soft, super-blendable, and are a nice mix of satin shades and shimmers. There aren't any mattes, which is something I always like in a palette. But the shades in this are all pretty enough to make it work. 

 There had been complaints that the palette in the pictures on Julep's sites wasn't true to colour. I agree, the pictures made the shades look a little different, but I'm not disappointed at all. The shade Flash (satin) matches my skintone perfectly ( as you can tell by the apparent lack of a swatch. I assure you, it's there. I'm just really pale). It a great shadow to use all over the lid, to make everything blend together. the shades Focus (satin), Filter (satin), Sepia (satin), and Selfie (shimmer) are really nice crease shades.

Pose, which is a deep eggplant colour, and Icon, a chocolate brown, are both shimmers as well, and look really pretty on the outer V, blended into the crease. Debut and Star are what I think of as the 'colours' in the palette; a kelly green and dusty midtone blue. Fame is the star of the show, a really true deep black satin. Not a grey black, not a weak, navy black, but an actual BLACK shadow. (The picture doesn't do it any justice, my lighting is not the best.)

OVERALL An incredible palette. I couldn't be happier to have this in my collection. The fact that the colours and textures are just as great as the pigmentation makes it's place in my collection very welcome. I would suggest this palette to every makeup lover, and the fact that it's not crazy expensive makes it all the more worth it. I can't wait for Julep's 2015 lineup! :)

***Nik's Bits*** 

-I'm so happy the holidays are over. They were fun, not extremely stressful, and fun for the kids, but it seems as if there's never enough time for breathing. And also my kids are driving each other (and my husband and I) absolutely bonkers. My oldest goes back to school tomorrow! 

-I'm in the process of redesigning my bedroom. I have 8 paint swatches to choose from, and find myself constantly straining not to buy decor for the unfinished room. 

-2015 Goal: get healthy again. I've let myself go back to my old eating/not exercising habits. I'm breaking up with my gut.