Em by Michelle Phan Party Life Palette Sample Review (with Swatches)

I love Michelle Phan (along with millions of other people), so when she finally (FINALLY!) launched her makeup line EM by Michelle Phan, I was immediately intrigued. I have followed along with Michelle since she lived in Sarasota, FL back in 2007. (she lived about 2 blocks from me! *GASP*) Anywho, I think she is incredibly talented, sweet, and drop dead gorgeous, I mean come on have you seen her?!? I didn't want to invest in a life palette just yet because they are 75$, and because it is a new makeup company. I usually don't buy a new anything unless its from a brand I trust and have had a pleasant experience with in the past. A lot of people are complaining because her "life palette's" are so expensive. Well, you have to realize that you are getting 24 eyeshadows, 4 blushes, and 8 lip shades, so the price per item is only $2.08. Still, the initial price shock is hard for people to understand, which I totally get. I am a college student with no guaranteed income (another word for I don't have a job!) so, 75$ is a lot of money for me, especially if I don't know if the product is going to be worth it.

Last week, Michelle was doing an offer to try a sample size life palette of your choosing for 10$ shipping included. I decided that it would be my best opportunity to try it out, because a lot of the times I feel like reviews are biased, or paid for by the larger blogs (you won't get none of that here hunny!).

The shipping was super fast, which I love, because lets get real who wants to wait for your new stuff? Not me!

The Palette came in this cute little pamphlet

When you opened the pamphlet, this is what you saw

This sample contained 3 eyeshadows and one lipstick. The eyeshadows are the three on the bottom, and the lip is in the far right corner.

 SWATCHES

No primer from Left to Right: Medium semi-matte pink, Dark Purpley black with pink and silver glitter, Gunmetal silver with silver glitter, Purple lipgloss with multi flake glitter

With Primer (same colors as above)

Lip Gloss swatch

Used all three eyeshadows for this look with UD primer

Full face look using all products from the sample palette

IMPRESSION

The shadows all felt velvety when swatching them with my fingers, but the color payoff was not good at all, and I had expected a lot more. I only swiped my finger once through each color, and as you can see in the first swatch photo, the colors barely showed up. With primer, the eyeshadows did perform better, but at this price point, and the fact that its considered a luxury brand- the eyeshadows didn't hold up when compared to cheaper alternatives like Stila, Nyx, and even fellow luxury brand Urban Decay. 

During application I had to dig in quite a bit to get any color to show up, and although 2 of these shadows are dark, they actually apply quite softly (not sure if its because I didn't dig into them, or because they really do not have any pigmentation). I am wearing this look during the day, which is odd because this is the "Party life" palette. I expected a lot more vibrancy and POW, and quite frankly, more GLITTER. 

The lip gloss however is really nice. In the palette it is purple with multi colored glitter but it actually applies pretty sheer with just a hint of glitter. I've been wearing it for a few hours now and my lips still feel moisturized and look nice, so that is a plus.

Overall, I have watched and read about 100 different reviews on the life palettes, and it seems that I am the only one who doesn't see much of the hype behind it, which I find odd. 

I am really disappointed in this specific palette, and I cannot fathom spending 75$ for it, when I compare the color payoff to those really cheap Walmart makeup sets that come out around Christmas time and retail for $14.99 (OUCH!!!). The color payoff just isn't there, and the fact that these shadows come in small pans just makes me angry. As said above, I love Michelle, and I totally support her videos and her journey. She is my makeup idol, so this is like a double blow for me. To even write that I was really disappointed by this product really upsets me.

I am going to do some more research, but I don't see myself spending the money for this or any of the other palettes anytime soon. I will however, look into their lip products and palettes because as said before I am quite pleased with the lip gloss sample I received.

FINAL VERDICT: SAVE YOUR $$$$$$