Review | Kaleidos Escape Pod Palette

The indie makeup brand Kaleidos came out of nowhere and truly took the world by storm! With their powerful pigments and psychedelic packaging, they really make a statement.

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Swatched

The mattes in this palette feel similar to that of a pressed pigment, but I can’t be sure if they are, as they don’t claim to be online. They swatch with a chalky consistency that kicks back in the pan, and I found that I had some issues getting a smooth swipe of colour. This isn’t such a bothersome thing as the stand outs of the colour story are the six multi-chrome shimmers, and the mattes are really in there just to compliment them. Unfortunately, this is frustrating as these colours take up a lot of space and ultimately impact the value for money, yet the shimmers on the otherhand are buttery and metallic. If you’re purchasing this palette for the metallic shimmers in patricular, then you won’t be disappointed.

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Is it beginner friendly?

One thing that stood out to me is that although pigmented, the mattes in this palette are incredible difficult to work with! They don’t swatch as bright as they look in the pan and apply even more sheer when blended on the eye. I tried to experiment with these shades with different bases and techniques, and I found the ‘Instagram’ way of blending shadows works best. What I mean by that is instead of blending as you go, if you pack the product onto a wet base and then blend out with another shade, you will get a bright and smooth finish. But even I myself have a hard time perfecting this technique and still find things to get a little patchy.

In saying that, the metallic shimmers applied with incredible intensity no matter the application technique. And when applied wet or with a finger they only got more extraordinary. In the picture below, I swatched a few of she shades alone, and then with a sticky base and the difference between the result is very distinct. So I’d have to say it is not very beginner friendly, as it takes a bit of finessing to get the right pay-off and seamless blend.

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The Looks

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The Verdict

As much as the matte formula and I have a love hate relationship, I always end up in love with the looks I create and the shimmers blend effortlessly. Since I purchased this palette, Kaleidos has released a multitude of monochromatic palettes that I have only heard incredible things about. So if you are interested in their shadows and haven’t yet bought the escape pod, I’d recommend skipping on this and going straight to the futurism collection pictured below!

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I hope this review wasn’t too negative, but overall I’m loving this brand for taking risks and I am excited to see what they release in the future!

Thanks for reading,
Lily R