Veracious Product Review: NYX Love in Florence Meet My Romeo Palette

Hi, everyone! Since starting my new job, I've been extra cautious with the makeup I'm wearing day-to-day. While feeling out the implicit dress code of the office, I've been opting to stay on the conservative side of things, shying away from my go-to fuchsia lips and black winged liner. While I hope to eventually find a balance of colour that fits with the work setting and my personal tastes, at the moment I've been extra motivated to find neutral, wearable shades that are professional, yet don't cramp my style!

At the same time, as I'm still waiting for my first pay cheque, I've also been motivated to find budget-friendly goodies that will get me through the 9-to-5. Enter the NYX Love in Florence 5 Colour Shadow Palettes! NYX promises that this collection of palettes will let you "discover la dolce vita" via "richly-pigmented hues and sexy combinations designed for all eye colours and skin tones" (from nyx.com). Who wouldn't want to channel a sexy Italian aesthetic at a frugal price?!

The palette I opted for was Meet My Romeo, which NYX describes as a selection of "shimmery and matte neutrals". Something about it reminded me of the new Tom Ford Ombre Eye Colour Trio Palette in She Wolf, which I've been totally lusting after (click here for Temptalia's review), so at only $10.99 CAD I had to take Meet My Romeo home with me!

The palette has a cute little bow detailing on the side, something fun to look at every time I open it up!

As you can see, the palette consists of 5 shades, 3 in rectangle-shaped segments and two long, thin strips. I can best describe the shades as:

 

Rectangles:

· Left: Sheer, shimmery beige that can pull slightly warm (golden) or cool (silver) depending on the lighting. Super pretty as a wash all over the lid.

· Middle: A slightly warm ivory shade with more subtle shimmer. Perfect as a highlight shade for brow bone and inner corners of the eye on my NC15/20 skin. Less sheer than the left shade.

· Right: A semi-sheer mid-tone brown shade that also pulls warm (coppery) or cool (taupe) depending on the lighting. As you'll see in the shots below, it has a subtle purple undertone, which I think is super pretty!

Strips:

 

· Top: A warm, matte chestnut brown that is perfect for adding definition to the crease

· Bottom: A deep, cool matte taupe with sparse silver glitter, also nice in the crease or could be applied more heavily as a smokey eyeliner

Here are a couple more shots of the palette:

 

And swatches!

I've swatched the shades in the 3 larger, rectangle pans first (L-R) and the two thinner strips second (Top-Bottom). As you cans see, the shades in the rectangle pans are much more shimmery and those in the thin strip pans have a matte finish, though the darkest shade does have glitter:

And you can see that the shades have the ability to pull warm or cool, depending on the lighting!

Here's a close-up of a look I created with Meet My Romeo, using the light shimmery brown all over my lid and up into the crease, the darker shimmery brown on the crease and outer corner, the two matte shades mixed to give extra definition to the crease, and the ivory shade on my brow bones and inner corners of the eye:

And a full breakdown of my impressions:

Pros:

• A nice mix of cool- and warm-toned shades (none too warm or cool) to suit a variety of skin tones
• Mix of shimmery and matte finishes makes the palette super versatile and capable of creating interesting, multi-faceted looks
• Office-friendly, though a smokier look could definitely be created with this as well!
• With the help of my trusty Urban Decay Primer Potion, these shadows wear well all day!
• Cute packaging that is still relatively sleek and compact
• At less than $11, I find this to be an excellent value!
• Cruelty-free, which is always a bonus!

Cons:

• There is definitely some noticeable glitter/shimmer fallout from the shimmery brown shades and dark taupe shade, which may require a bit of extra cleanup (or lead to a subtle buildup of shimmer under the eyes throughout the day)
• The shimmery shades are on the sheer side of things (which I hope you can tell from the swatches), which is fine if you're going for a more subtle look, but not the best if you're trying to create a bolder look
• The name "Meet My Romeo" rubs me the wrong way for some reason, but that's totally a personal preference!

And a couple more shots of Meet My Romeo within the context of a completed makeup look:

And please excuse the sleepy eyes- these photos were taken at 7:30, pre-caffeine. Proof that this has become one of my go-to palettes for the 9 to 5!

And that's it! Overall, I'm super happy with this palette. Though you have to watch out a bit for the glitter fallout, it's otherwise excellent at creating a soft, neutral eye with both matte and shimmery touches. Perfect for the office, but could definitely be played up to create a more smokey effect. So the versatility is a plus!

Are these shadows that would catch your eye as well? Have you tried any of the Love in Florence palettes? What is your favourite NYX palette?

Thanks for reading! :)