Melt Cosmetics ‘She’s in Parties’ ($48)

Behold! The new Melt Cosmetics ‘She’s in Parties’ stack! I passed on the previous two (Haze because there were no mattes and Gun Metal because I don’t do cool tones) but I couldn’t possibly say no this one! These colors couldn’t be more my aesthetic. I already own a bunch of similar shades but that’s because I love and use them all of the time. I like Melt’s formula and dig the packaging. And I kinda like having a little eyeshadow tower hanging out on my vanity. 

So let me start off with something that annoys me. Because I’m incapable of reviewing a product without finding something to bitch about. Okay so the eyeshadows in their first two stacks, Dark Matter and Love Sick, are 3.75g/.125oz each, which works out to $3.20 per gram. The pans in the She’s in Parties stack are 2.44g/.09oz or $4.92 per gram. That’s a big fucking difference. And they appear to be the same size so you’d never that you’re getting 35% less product unless you looked. I know some pigments are more heavy than others blah blah but the seems like a big drop to me. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth because Melt pans look huge but the eyeshadows in this new stack aren’t much bigger than MUG, CP etc.

Okay let’s talk colors and formula!

Meanstreak is a DARK plummy burgundy matte. This is a notoriously patchy color for eyeshadow so I was holding my breath, hoping Meanstreak would perform well. It swatched a little patchy but it applies nicely on the eyes. Melt’s mattes have a more dry texture which sounds undesirable but really isn’t. Sometimes when mattes are very soft, they’ll have a tendency to sheer out when blended. Firmer mattes are a lot less likely to do that. This formula reminds a lot of Sugarpill’s mattes. They have great pigmentation and they’re easy to blend but they’re not ‘buttery’. And thank the gods for that. I’d love it if we could make a pact, here and now, to strike the word buttery from our list of adjectives that we use to describe makeup. That shit drives me crazy. Anyway. This is a very difficult color for brands to formulate and Melt did a good job with Meanstreak.

She’s in Parties is a deep burgundy with a metallic finish. It has a smooth, creamy texture and it’s very easy to apply and blend. What makes this color unique is the flecks of copper shimmer that give it an almost rusty appearance. It’s a gorgeous color that will flatter a lot of eye colors and skin tones.

Last Caress is a mid-toned plummy brown with a matte finish. I wouldn’t say that the texture is creamy but it’s not as dry as Meanstreak. Nice color pay off, maybe a little patchy but def not bad. I love this color too.

And finally we have Skeleton Kiss! I had high hopes for this color and I’ve got to say that this one let me down. It’s a beautiful color but it’s quite sheer. I ended up doing the swatches wet because otherwise it really wasn’t showing up on me. It’s very pretty as a highlighter but after using it a few times, my pan has a bumpy, almost crumply texture that makes application difficult.

I don’t know if I got a dud or what but it’s disappointing. So what are my conclusions… it’s a solid pass for me! The colors are pretty and I like the formula (with the exception of Skeleton Kiss) but we’ve seen these color time and time again (see the post before this one for dupes) and I don’t like how much less product we’re getting in this stack. Bottom line, I don’t think these four eyeshadows are worth the near $50 price tag.