Zoeva Aristo Eyeshadow Palette Review

Hello lovely ladies,

It’s been a while since I did a eyeshadow palette review. Today’s review is on the latest release from Zoeva cosmetics. It is a Germany-based brand, but its products are easily available across the globe through their own website which sells internationally, and through certain e-retailer, and through Selfridges in UK and Sephora in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The brand is popularly known for their brushes – singles and sets. They also have a range of colour cosmetics which has grown exponentially in the last year or so. Sometime back, I reviewed another palette from Zoeva, their Matte palette, which I had really liked. So, I was keen to try more stuff from them. They recently have been churning palette after another and I decided to buy their latest offering, which is the Aristo Eyeshadow Palette.

Product Description:
Application: Prepare your eyelids first with our Zoeva Eyeshadow Fix.
Let it set and then apply your favorite eyeshadow color with a ZOEVA eye brush and blend softly for a flawless finish. The Zoeva Aristo Eyeshadow Palette offers a choice of ten highly pigmented shades inspired by Mother Nature. From earthy brown to fiery terracotta red – the eyeshadows are vital for creating lavish, bounteous makeup looks. Venerating the earth’s rich bounty, the Zoeva Aristo Eyeshadow Palette offers a feast for the senses with a selection of highly pigmented, ultra-rich shades inspired by Mother Nature. Depicting a plentiful harvest, the palette provides a cornucopia of easy-to-blend hues, channeling the power of the elements – from earthy brown, airy nudish-beige and fiery terracotta red to aquatic teal blue, crowned with grain-colored yellow – vital for creating lavish, bounteous makeup looks. Finishes: Matte, Metallic. The formulation of the eyeshadows is enriched with vitamin E and is 100% free of parabens, mineral oils, perfume and phthalates. Made in Italy. 1 eyeshadow palette with 10 powder eyeshadow colors. Palette size: 18.8 x 8.8 x 1.0 cm
Diameter per pan: 2.6 cm. 
Net weight: 10 x 1.5 g / 10 x 0.05.
Price:
SGD 29/USD 29.51

Ingredients:
Blessing, Central Figure, In the Ground, Naturalistic, Ploutos: Talc, Zinc Stearate, Mica (CI 77019), Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Polybutene, Dehydroacetic Acid, Lauroyl Lysine, Octyldodecanol, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, [May Contain. +/- CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), CI 75470 (Carmine), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet)].  Air and Water: Mica (CI 77019), Talc, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cyclopentasiloxane, Magnesium Stearate, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Dehydroacetic Acid, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, [May Contain. +/- CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), CI 77499 (Iron Oxides)].  The Goddess: Mica (CI 77019), Talc, Magnesium Stearate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Nylon 12, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Tin Oxide, Tocopheryl Acetate, Cobalt Titanium Oxide, [May Contain. +/- CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77499 (Iron Oxides)]. Mother’s House: Mica (CI 77019), Talc, Magnesium Stearate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cobalt Titanium Oxide, Cyclopentasiloxane, Nylon 12, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Silica, Tocopheryl Acetate, [May Contain. +/- CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide)]. Pre-History: Mica (CI 77019), Talc, Magnesium Stearate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Nylon 12, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, [May Contain. +/- CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake)]. //
Energetic: Mica (CI 77019), Talc, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Magnesium Stearate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dimethicone, Nylon 12, Dehydroacetic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Tin Oxide, Tocopheryl Acetate, [May Contain. +/- CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77499 (Iron Oxides)].

Packaging:
The Zoeva palettes are probably the slimmest palettes on the market. It consists of 10 shadows – 5 mattes and 5 metallics. Despite the slimness of the palate, the brand has not skimped on the amount of product. There is 1.5 gm of product per eyeshadow, quite comparable to singles form other brands like ABH, MAC, Colorpop. The shade names are mentioned under each well.

All in all, the layout is neat and appealing to the eye. Despite the amount of product in each well, the palette does not seem bulky and should be fairy easy to travel with. And to add to everything else – it has a magnetic closure. The palette has a cardboard sleeve which is identical in design to the actual palette. The flip side of the palette and the sleeve have the details of the palette. The palette is devoid of mirror and any brush (which is the way I prefer). I rarely use the brushes in the palette, they just irk me and come in the way. A mirror can come handy for some, I do not use the palette mirrors, so I don’t miss it! Also, these frills add to the cost of the palette. So, if the lack of these helps keep the price down, I am all for it!!

My Experience with Zoeva Aristo Eyeshadow Palette:

Zoeva Aristo is a palette inspired by the shades of Mother Nature. So, the colours range from earthy shades to terracotta to aquatic blues. I have been so sick of all the warm and berry eyeshadow palettes of late. I am not going to deny the fact that I love those colour schemes and am drawn to them. However, I have been itching for a change in pace and colour. Zoeva Aristo seemed like a good change and at a decent price point.

The shade range seems decent with the necessary transition shades, bronze metallic shades and some pops of unusual colours. This allows the palette a lot of versatility. You can use it for an office appropriate warm neutral looks to neutral evening glam looks to something more interesting. Let us check out the shade range.

First the column of mattes:

• Blessing: One of the most difficult shades for me to work with in the palette – not from a quality perspective but from the colour perspective. It is a light, grey-toned pale blue. It has good pigmentation and smooth consistency.
• Ploutos: This is a light, pink-peach tinged brown with warm undertones. This has good pigmentation and smooth consistency. It works very well as a transition shade – especially if you are using the grey-blue shade “Mother’s House.” However, it tends to sheer out easily.

• Central Figure: This is a light to medium dull orange with warm undertones. The quintessential transition shade in every palette being churned out right now. Yet, a necessary evil. Works well as transition shade or something to deepen it or even as an all-over-the-lid shade.
• Naturalistic: This is one of the shades which made me pick this palette – a dark, warm toned, khakhi green. The shade has excellent pigmentation and smooth consistency but takes effort to blend out.
• In the Ground: It is a medium to dark, red toned brown shade with warm undertones. Perfect shade to deepen the crease or smoke out a look by deepening the outer V. The shade is smooth and has excellent pigmentation.

The column of Metallics:

• Mother’s House: The shade which caught my attention and the one that I was keen to try. This is a medium to dark blue-toned grey shade with a metallic sheen. The shade isn’t buttery but still has a smooth consistency. It had excellent pigmentation and was easy to pick up with the brush. It did not have a thick crumbly texture which most shimmer/metallic shades tend to have nowadays.
• Air and Water: This is a strange one. It is a light to medium warm-toned beige-peach shade with a muted sheen. In effect – it works more as a satin than a metallic shade. It has good pigmentation and smooth consistency. It was easy to work with.
• The Goddess: This is a pale champagne shade with a metallic sheen. This is the lightest shimmer shade and the one which bummed me out a bit. The shade is smooth and seemed pigmented. But, it tends to sheer out easily. You will need to use it wet to make it pop.

• Pre-History: Another unique shade in the palette. While it appears like a metallic green tinged gold shade in the pan; it is actually a medium, warm toned, antique gold shade with a metallic sheen. It was similar in texture to the shade Mother’s House. The shade isn’t buttery but still has smooth consistency. It had excellent pigmentation and was easy to pick up with the brush. It did not have a thick crumbly texture which most shimmer/metallic shades tend to have nowadays.
• Energetic: The quintessential bronze metallic in every warm palette! This shade was similar in texture to the shade “The Goddess.” The shade is smooth and works okay on its own, but you will need to use it wet to make it pop.

Texture: I have discussed the texture of each shade individually. Most of the mattes performed well except for the shade “Naturalistic,” which I felt needed more effort to blend. The metallic shades had a lot of variation between them. While the shade “Air” and “Water” seemed to be more satin than metallic; the shades The Goddess and the Energetic seemed to sheer out easily and created more of a wash of colour than a pop – unless used wet. The good thing – I did not have any concern with the brush not being able to pick up the shades (especially metallic) or lay them onto the eyelid. Most of the shades are extremely easy to work with. They apply smoothly and blend out easily onto the skin. None of the shades seem to add texture to the lids either.

Pigmentation: Pigmentation for most shadows is good, three shades tend to sheer out easily – Ploutos, The Goddess, Energetic. While Ploutos may be designed to sheer out easily – since it’s a shade more suited for transition, the other 2 could definitely have done with better pigmentation.

Matte and metallic swatches together:

Staying Power: Disclaimer – I apply eyeshadows with a primer because my lids are way too oily. I got about 7-8 hours of wear with most shades in this palette. While the shadows definitely didn’t look as vibrant as they did in the morning, most of the shades were still fairly intact.

Pros of Zoeva Aristo Eyeshadow Palette:

• An interesting array of shades – a nice departure of all warm neutrals and berry tones.
• A versatile palette which allows an office appropriate warm neutral looks to neutral evening glam looks to something more interesting.
• A variety of textures to create a full look and a variety of looks.
• The palette has the requisite shades to create a complete look – a highlighter shade, transition shades, etc.
• Most shades had good pigmentation.
• Smooth, creamy texture.
• Decent wear time.
• Does not crease over an extended day.
• Does not transfer.
• Does not irritate my eyes.
• Travel-friendly sleek packaging.
• Shadows are enriched with vitamin E.
• 100% free of parabens, mineral oils, perfume and phthalates.

Cons of Zoeva Aristo Eyeshadow Palette:

• Wish all shades performed consistently. However, even from the weaker shades, none of them are a lost cause.