Makeup Geek New Eye Shadow Relaunch True Colors Review
Makeup Geek New Eye Shadow Relaunch True Colors Review: MUG Matrix System
If you’ve followed my blog for a long time you’ll know Makeup Geek is one of my long-time favorites brands and I probably own all of their eyeshadows. Makeup Geek was one of the first brands I worked with when I started my blog, back when I was under 5k on Instagram. I’ve also created some eye looks for their color combinations and modeled for their eyeliners.
I am so excited to see MUG reformulate and rebrand. Marlena is such a sweetheart and has put so much into her brand. Makeup Geek is a brand I am proud to work with, be an affiliate, and support.
With Makeup Geek you’re not only getting amazing quality eye shadows for under $10, but you’re also purchasing makeup that is ethically made and cruelty-free made in the USA.
Disclosure: This post is not sponsored, I am an affiliate of Makeup Geek Cosmetics and links will be affiliate links (basically I get a small commission and if you use my code “REBECCA” you get to save 10%, so it’s a win/win), I also personally know Marlena, CEO. All opinions are my own.
Let’s go over the new eye shadows that launched on January 17th!
Use code “REBECCA” at checkout to receive 10% off your order. There’s also free shipping for all orders over $40!
What’s new? Makeup Geek is launching 49 new hues of matte finish eyeshadows and new foiled finish shadows. They are launching a Matrix System so you can buy premade palettes or create your own with shadows that work for you and your style without having colors you don’t like or use. I think this a great idea since the pans are removable so you can move them around when you feel you’re in a rut, but more importantly, you can replace the shadow you use most!
There are multiple shades in each hue so the shadows can suit all kinds of skin tones and makeup styles. Maybe you want some deep grungy blues and greys, or maybe you just what a light peach and champagne.
The Makeup Geek Signature Eyeshadows are retailing for $5.49 for 1.5 grams. The new formula is very soft, having a matte velvet feel to them. The new signature formula reminds me of the MAC Matte2 texture or the MUG blush/bronzer formula. They are very soft and creamy to the touch and apply beautifully with brushes. I find that this formula is more consistent between the colors and easier to blend which is saying something since I loved the old formula. You can tell Marlena put a lot of work into this reformulation and I think you’ll like the new formula if you liked the previous MUG shadows.
The Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadows are retailing for $7.99. The Foiled shadows are crazy pigmented and are a powder cream formula and very metallic. They are also 1.5 grams of product. These are smoother than the previous and have worn nicely on my hooded eyes. If you’re wanting more information between the MUG old formula and new check the end of the post for a few comparison swatches.
MUG is launching 28 matte neutral shadows in the new Signature formula. You have all the easy to blend mattes you could ever want. If you love color, there are 21 matte color shadows and 7 foiled color eyeshadows in the launch.
Here’s another look at the neutrals palette. You’ll see some names of shadows that might be familiar and lots of brand new shades too. You are also able to purchase the complete matrix neutral palette for $124.99 on the Makeup Geek Website. if you plan on getting the vault palette, use my code “REBECCA” for 10% off your order!
Let’s take a closer look at the Colors!
The Complete Matrix Color Palette is also available for $124.99. If you a huge MUG fan you can also get the Matrix Mega Set Here for $219.99 (and save $22 using code “REBECCA” at checkout). That’s 7 Foiled Eyeshadows and 49 Matte Eyeshadows!! The 7 Foiled and 49 Signature shadows would retail for $324.94 not even including the mega vault travel palettes that’s just over $140 off retail so if you love MUG eyeshadows it’s not a bad deal. It’s also 59.5 grams of product, crazy!
I love the color palette in particular (surprise, surprise). Here is one look I did with the colors Time Travel, Curfew, On Wednesdays, Chickadee, Day Dreamer, Whimsical and Had me at Yellow. The Matrix system makes it easy to select different hues and values which make it easy to create a look that has dimension. I grabbed a range of values (think dark to light) and then also a range of hues that had some harmony (blue, purple, pink) with a contrasting color (orange and yellow). If you want a fun colorful palette grab these colors plus a transition and base shadow that works for your skin tone and there you have a nine pan palette! Click here to create your own!
They also have some premade palettes for you if you want to grab and go (and save $30). There are 5 palettes of 9 eye shadows to choose from. These are retailing for $32.99 for 13.5g of product, so it’s a great price for high quality, ethically made eye shadows and reusable palette! Let’s go over what premade they have and click the link if you wanna see the palettes yourself or purchase one!
The Warm Tones Palette - You get 3 foiled and 6 matte shadows. A nice range of warm shadows with a variation in value so you can deepen up a look or just wear the lighter shades. I think this is a palette most who like warm shadows would enjoy and actually looks a lot like my summer travel palette. Great for blue eyes too!
The Cool Tones Palette- You get 5 Mattes, 1 Power Pigment and 3 Foiled shadows. A very nice value range from a light beige of vanilla bean all the way to black with Corrupt. The hues are cool or neutral-toned with a warm grey. It would be very nice for light skin tones with cool undertones if the trend of warm shadows isn’t working for you.
Shades of Fantasy Eyeshadow Palette- You get 6 mattes and 3 foiled shadows. This palette is so fun! You get a few warm brown shades, but also some fun colors like Medieval blue and Mystical purple and some yummy greens. This palette would be perfect for someone that likes a little color and it reminds me of spring! If I was only getting one 9 pan palette, it would probably be this one.
Shades of Romance Eyeshadow Palette - You get 6 Matte and 3 Foiled shadows. Lovely shades of blues, reds, and some neutrals. Blue eyes and brown eyes will really like these shades.
Green Eyeshadow Palette- You get 6 Matte and 3 Foiled shadows. These shadows will help green eyes really pop. Lots of hues that lean pink to berry without being unapproachable. The red tones will contrast the green of the iris to add a lot of drama to your eyes.
Browns & Hazel Eyeshadow Palette- You get 6 Matte and 3 Foiled shadows. This palette is like eye candy. It’s really going to enhance brown and hazel eyes by adding contrasting purple to berry tones to highlight the yellow and green tones in brown and hazel eyes.
Blue Eyeshadow Palette- You get 6 Matte and 3 Foiled shadows. These are totally the shades I use to enhance my blue eyes. Very warm shadows ranging from warm browns all the way to oranges. It has Chickadee which is my favorite orange shadow for blue eyes!
You also can get your own customized Makeup Geek eyeshadow palette. Click here to head over the MakeupGeek.com to see how you can create your own palette. This is a great option to make your perfect daily palette or travel palette.
There are also mini palettes that are $14.99 retail that fit 4 eyeshadow pans. There are fourteen of these minis to choose from if you’re like to get a premade color story quad.
Enchanted, Haunting, Legend, Magical, Mysterious, Spellbound, Supernatural, Envy, Flirty, Passion, Provocative, Seductive, Sensual and Stormy are all the minis. My personal favorites of the mini palettes are Enchanted, Legend, Passion and Sensual.
All the empty palettes are also available for purchase. The Mega Vault palette size (28 pans) is $19.99, the 9 eyeshadow size is $9.99, and the Mini is $4.99 (the mini also can hold one face pan). The Mega vault palettes are very sturdy, have a magnetic back (so you could put any magnetic pan in), and the bottom is a soft touch which is actually very nice since they don’t scratch on each other. I also have some of the Travel vault palettes, they are nice since they are sturdy so I can feel confident in packing my eyeshadow. I also like that these have a mirror on the top so they really are nice for traveling.
Here are a few comparisons with the older formula vs new formula for the eyeshadows.
Left to right: Enchanted NEW vs Old, Americano NEW vs old, Bitten NEW vs old, Chetah Bear vs Coco Bear, and Chickadee NEW vs old. These are brush swatches on clean skin. As you can see the newer shadows have a more consistent formula and better color pay off. I have also found them easier to blend. They have a matte finish, but it’s a soft matte which I find very user-friendly. Most colors are similar with some slight hue difference. Americano is the biggest hue shift as it went from a warm brown to a cooler brown. Enchanted in a touch darker, Bitten is barely more blue so it leans a touch more raspberry than the red wine of the old, but it’s very close. Cheetah Bear is slightly deeper and Chickadee is also slightly deeper (which some people may find more wearable than the old formula color).
Here are some of the foiled shadows old formula and new formula makeup geek eyeshadows. Left to right: Legend NEW vs old, Daydreamer NEW vs old, Whimsical NEW vs old, and In the Spotlight New vs old. As you can see there is a slight variation in the hue of each shade. I find the formula of the foiled shadows to be more similar to the old, then the Mattes which have a different feel. The new formula is a bit smoother and again more consistent between shades. I also found these to wear on my hooded eyes better, however, I have also switched up my primer since I have worn the older version.
In the rebrand, there will also be face products for $9.99 with a 7g fill weight. These will be your highlighters, blushes, and bronzers. Foiled finishes for the highlights, and satin finishes for the blushes and bronzers.
The rebrand also has Power Pigments which are $7.99 for 1.5g. These are your fun colors if you want some big color payoff.
Please comment below if you have any questions and I’ll try my best to answer them or find someone that can. I also have a highlighted story on my Instagram if you wanna see them in action on video! Head to my Instagram @rebeccakshores to watch.
Thanks so much for reading I hope you found this review helpful. I also hope you love the new formula as much as I do and if you wanna pick up any of the new eye shadows or other new products from Makeup Geek use code “REBECCA” to save 10% on your order.
-Rebecca
