Melt Cosmetics "Smoke Sessions" Palette | Review

Melt Cosmetics added their own product to the "cannabis themed" marketing initiative by introducing a stunning green and gold eye shadow palette cleverly named "Smoke Sessions" for all your smoky-eye needs. This is a great palette for those who, like me, are into grungy eye shadow looks. I'm new to Melt Cosmetics so I can't compare to the "stack" shadows they are known for, but I've heard nothing but good things about those too (makes a mental note to order one of the stacks. Send me your recs!)

Something to note, this Limited Edition palette is currently Out Of Stock but Melt's website says it will return on 4/20 (heh) at 12AM PT. That means that on 4/19 at 11:59PM PT, you should have your finger poised over the "refresh" icon on your browser.

We'll start with the packaging: The cover is made of that hard cardboard material. It's green and has little white marijuana leaves all over the front. The cover actually reminds me of something that would be released at Christmas-time, or as like a Winter Scene palette (but instead of marijuana leaves, they would be snowflakes). The green is that same sort of pine-green color. It's a lovely shade. The palette has a nice mirror inside as well.

Warning: These shadows are very soft and will break if you drop them. This hasn't happened to me, but I can just tell that they will shatter easily, so be wary.

Now onto the shadows! Smoke Sessions features 8 eye shadows: 2 mattes and 6 glitter shades. If you're a "traditional" eye shadow user where you like to only use one palette for everything, I'll say that this one can be used by itself, but only if it works with your style. If you're the type of person who likes to use an all-over the lid shadow and a transition shade, you won't get that from this palette (unless dark green and dark brown are shades you want covering your entire eye area, then go for it! I'm not here to try and change who you are). If you don't use an all-over shadow, you're good to go.

Sour Diesel and Space Queen, the two mattes, are both dark and will work well for over the lid and lower lashline use, as well as in the crease if you're comfortable with deeper tones used in the hollow spaces of your eye sockets (I am on weekends, but not in my professional work environment). In this instance, the palette needs to be used with something else (my go-to choices are to use my Viseart Warm or Neutral Matte palettes, or some of my (many) Urban Decay singles (Foxy or ABC Gum for an all-over shadow, and something like Faint or Naked for the crease.

The mattes are pigmented, so tread lightly. You don't need a lot of product, and for God's sake tap off the excess onto the back of your hand and re-use it if you want to apply more. The mattes blend bea-u-ti-fully! They are pigmented but sheer out easily. If you're worried about the palette having the ABH "Subculture" effect, it doesn't. The shades blend well together and there's no patchiness when trying to sheer them out. You don't need to be afraid of these shadows, they will work with you =)

The shade Space Queen is more green than it appears in the pan, it's actually more like a turquoise. Sour Diesel is a dark brown with olive undertones. This type of brown is one of my favorites. Sure it's a brown, but it's a grungy yet pretty brown. I adore it.

The glitter shadows pack a punch but they are chunky, flaky and may fall beneath your eyes. This fallout can easily be flicked away with a clean, fluffy brush (I use the Real Techniques "Setting Powder" brush for this purpose). The colors of these shadows are lovely. I am particularly fond of Sweet Tooth and Black Widow (though for redheads, Grand Daddy, and especially, Gravity OG, will look fantastic with your coppery locks).

For application, I don't use a glitter glue (but you may want to). I lean more on using my MAC Paint Pot. Normally, I apply the Paint Pot, let it dry down a little while I put bronzer and blush on my face, etc etc, and then I apply my matte shadows and whatever satin-y shadow I am using on the lid. With glittery shadows, I will apply the Paint Pot to my eyelid and then directly after, I'll apply the glitter shadow. Then, the Paint Pot is still wet and the glitter flakes will stick better.

On the brush, I would use MAC Fix+ (or water, that works just as well), but I usually just end up using my finger as reaching for a bottle and then spraying the brush add two steps to this process and I am just too lazy for that.

In summary, I think this is a fantastic palette with shadows that perform in a way that works well for me (and likely, many others). While the shade range might not suggest it, I think this is a palette that would work well for beginners (unlike something like "Subculture"). If you're new to eye shadow and are looking for a palette that isn't filled with neutrals, I don't blame you, and I would suggest taking a look at this one. If you're not new to eye shadow, I would still recommend taking a look at this one.

Looking forward to the restock on 4/20 =)

For a stunning tutorial on YouTube, check out KrystalKBeauty's video and for a solid video on dupes, check out Amy Loves Makeup's video.

Melt Cosmetics is a Cruelty Free brand <3

Thanks for reading!