Natasha Denona Gold Palette | Review

The thing about this palette is that it's essentially a basic palette for us basic bitches. It's expensive, it's basic, and it's nothing we don't have already. But we use these basic colors on repeat, so we spend money on them, because we are basic bitches who like nice things.

You already have everything this palette offers. It's nothing new, shade-wise. It is, however, an incredible formula (the Natasha Denona matte eyeshadow formula is one of my favorites).

The packaging is pretty but be prepared for it to not stay that way if you treat your makeup like you might a blender. Natasha Denona's packaging is pretty yet functional. It's easy to pick up and flip the cover over the back and hold while you do your makeup, but the shiny cover will show blemishes ans scuff marks easily. Not as bad as the shiny, plastic cases that show finger marks, like what Fenty Beauty has a hard on for, but little scratches and things are noticeable. Basically, go into this palette thinking that the packing is pretty, but be prepared for it to show a little wear-and-tear over time as you use it.

 A lot of the feedback on this palette is that it's too generic, boring, and doesn't add anything to our collections. I can't really agree with any of this. I have a pretty sizeable collection and I find that the shades I use over and over again are shades like this; shades that are easy to work with, are appropriate for any occasion, look good on me, and never let me down. This is exactly the type of palette I would spend $129 on.

Do you have these colors already? Most likely. If you're reading this blog, this probably isn't the first or second palette you're looking to purchase, especially given the price point. If you're a collector or avid makeup user, then yeah, you have these colors. It is essentially a glorified Too Faced "Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar" palette. The color scheme is basically the same; lots of nude shades with varying warm undertones. Semi-Sweet being more pink in undertone and the Gold Palette falling more into the taupe and yellow range. Both include that random turquoise shade to add visual flavor which is often criticized as being, well, random, but I think it works well with the neutral shades that would otherwise make it that "basic boring bitch" palette. The Semi-Sweet palette is actually my most used Chocolate Bar palette too, so the Gold Palette will absolutely get a good amount of love.

Now onto the shades themselves!

Matte, Metallic, Sparkling, Duo-chrome

The Mattes
There are 6 matte neutral brown shades (Aria, Dijon, Log, Sandstone, Teak and Python--we'll discuss Python down below). The two darkest shades (Log and Teak), are dark browns, Log being the cooler-toned of the two and Teak having terracota undertones giving it that slight warm, red-toned appearance. The two lightest shades are Aria (a warm, light peachy-nude shade) and Sandstone (a light tan shade and is slightly darker than Aria). Then we have Dijon which is a mustard shade with strong yellow undertones.

The matte formula is consistent across the shades in this palette as well as in comparison to other Natasha Denona matte shades in other palettes. They are easy to apply, are highly pigmented, and blend easily. The dark shade packs a punch so go in lightly with that one.

The Metallics
Lime Chrome: One of my favorite shades in this palette. Duo-chrome look and feel even though it isn't a duo-chrome. Stunning, unique topper shade

Oro: Beautiful gold shadow. Pigmented, smooth and dense. Pat this one on to avoid fallout

Varis: A warm, sparkly chocolate brown shade. Nothing special visually but I like to have many of this color and type of shadow in my collection as it's a fav

 Alchemist: More copper-toned than Varis. Another favorite shadow color and formula type of mine

Aurum: More gold-toned than Varis. Another fav <3

The Sparkling/Glitters
Sparks: Perfect for below the brow bone or the inner corner of the eye. It's not opaque but gives more of that "wet" look. Similar to how the Natasha Denona Chroma Crystal Topcoat eyeshadows appear on the eye, but chunkier glitter

Cava: Nice champagne colored shadow

Aurora: Sparkly turquoise shade. Apply with a finger or a wet brush

The Duo-Chromes
Brass: Bronze with a gold-green shift. This is a great shade to add a little more flavor to a simple nude look

And What About Those Turquoise Shadows
I am impressed with Python, the matte turquoise shade. Shades like this tend to be patchy, but that isn't the case with this shade. It applied wonderfully to my lid with my Sigma E55. It's also stunning on the lower lash line.

Aurora is a less vibrant, more "dulled" turquoise with silver glitter. It's a pretty shade and perfect for a glam look. I only wear this on the lid. You can tone it up or down by layering it on top of Python to deepen the turquoise color or apply directly to the lid by patting it on lightly for a more "sheered out" look

 I have a handful of Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette reviews to check out. The Holiday 2018 Cranberry palette, the Lila Palette, and the Sunset Palette.


Natasha Denona is a Cruelty Free brand <3

Thank you for reading!