The following items were sent as pr samples. We’re not otherwise affiliated with the brand.

By now you’ve probably heard of UK based mua, Paige Louise. She’s been well known for quite some time in the makeup community for her signature cut crease looks. But her status catapulted after Nikki Tutorials declared her eye primer ‘the best in the world’. I’ve been stalking Paige on social media for at least a year now so naturally I jumped at the chance to review her products! I don’t want to say that I’m obsessed with her because that’s annoying and not completely true. It would be more accurate to say that I’m in awe of her and her style of makeup. She’s so fucking beautiful that it’s intimidating but in the few conversations that I’ve had with her, I was instantly put at ease by how approachable and sweet she is. And not only is she gorgeous, talented and sweet, she’s also an intelligent and savvy business woman.

She’s in her mid-20’s, owns two makeup academies and has her own product line. I’m on the wrong side of 30 and I’m proud if I manage to find matching socks in the morning… moving on… In this post we’ll be looking at her eyeshadow palette, eye base and pigments.

Let’s start with the eye base! Let me start by saying that Paige used to use the Mac Cosmetics Select Cover Up Concealer as an eye base and sought to create a similar product but better. I’ve never used the Mac concealer so I can’t comment on how they compare but I’m 100% in love with this base! Love. It. It covers everything, from discoloration to stray eyebrow hairs. For the swatch I used the smallest dot of product possible (cuz I’m not trying to waste the shit) and as you can see, when I blended the product it started filling in all the little lines on the back of my hand.

Had I not been a stingy bastard and applied a decent sized dollop, it would’ve filled in my pores too. I have a lot of discoloration around my eyes and I love the way this base neutralizes. It seems like it remains slightly tacky or maybe it’s just very slow drying but either way this stuff makes your eyeshadows POP! I haven’t had any creasing or caking and it wears for at least 12 hours. The shade 02 Rumour is perfect for my NC30 skin tone and also doubles as an undereye concealer/ highlight. Beginning in May, Paige is releasing 5 more shades to flatter all complexions. The retail price is £10 which works out to about $14 USD (Plus the shipping costs but we’ll discuss that later). One of Paige’s techniques is not setting the eye base. While I understand the reasoning behind the idea, I can’t co-sign with it. I’m a creature of habit and I stubbornly choose to believe that it’s easier to blend eyeshadows on a set base. I do recommend this product and I have every intention of repurchasing once I start getting low.

On to zee palette! It’s a long, slim cardboard palette with magnetic closures, a good sized mirror and gold foil accents. It has 10 matte shadows, 1 shimmer and 1 ‘diamond’ finish. The palette was made in China but all of her products are cruelty free. The pans appear to be good sized but I already lost the sleeve and I can’t find the product weight listed on the website. Whomp whomp. Something to keep in mind about this palette is that her intention wasn’t to re-invent the wheel. Any respectable makeup junkie will probably have similar shades in other palettes. But remember that she’s an educator and owner of two makeup schools. She wanted her first palette to contain all the essential shades that you’ll use daily, all in one place. The shadows are highly pigmented and more firmly pressed which minimizes fall out. I would compare the formula to Sugarpill mattes.

Plouise is a light to medium yellow orange, similar to MUG Chickadee. I did notice that this shade isn’t quite as pigmented as the rest of the palette. It’s still quite nice but you’ve got to build it a bit for full color saturation.

Sunkissed is a light to medium orange with subtle red undertones.

Burnt is also a light to medium orange but it has stronger red undertones. Burnt and Sunkissed are both highly pigmented so use a light hand.

Latte is a mid-toned warm brown with subtle yellow undertones. Again highly pigmented and blendable.

Queen is a bold tomato red. The texture is a bit more dry than the last three that I mentioned but it’s still very pigmented and I didn’t have any issues with blending.

Slay is an ivory toned shimmer with a smooth, creamy texture.

Charm and Trippin are the two matte highlight shades. Charm is a stark white and Trippin is a soft ivory. Both have great color pay off. I often have a hard time getting matte ivory shadows to show up on my brow bone but Trippin is excellent.

Bestie is a deep neutral brown with a hint of a plum undertone. The texture is soft to the touch and it’s the perfect shade to complement the reds in the palette.

Contour looks brown in the pan but on my skin it’s more like a mid-toned berry. Gorgeous color and it performs beautifully.

Martini is similar to Queen in color and texture. On first pass it’s a mid-toned red but it builds to deeper, cherry cola matte. Like Queen, it has a slightly drier formula (but not in a bad way, think Sugarpill or Melt) and it’s highly pigmented.

Prin is the ‘diamond’ finish. It’s a sparkly, silvery white with an emollient, almost foiled finish.

Okay so let’s recap! Plouise, Queen and Martini have a slightly drier formula than the rest of the palette and Plouise requires a little building. Other than that these eyeshadows are highly blendable and crazy pigmented with minimal fallout. However I do think it’s a little pricey at £40 or about $56 USD. I completely understand and respect her concept for her first palette but if you already have similar shades in your collection you probably don’t NEED it, as £40 is a good chunk of change. That being said, I like the palette a lot and had I not been blessed by Paige’s generosity, I would’ve purchased it. Oh one more thing, with a regular primer these shadows would most likely stain but the Plouise base is thick enough to shield your eyelids from staining.

Drama queen that I am, I had to save the best for last…. the pigments!!!

There’s five shades that you can buy individually for £8.50 (approx $11.50usd) or as a bundle for £32.50 ($45ish). The jars have clear lids and shifters and each jar has 2.5g of product. All five shades are very finely milled and sparkly.

Sugar Daddy has a gunmetal base with flecks of navy and teal.

Icy has a green base that’s laced with gold. From some angles it looks olive and others it looks almost pastel. Gorgina.

Golddigger is a pink, gold and apricot duochrome. Remember that one Mac shade from the snowflake holiday collection? I can’t remember what the hell it was called but it sold out really quickly. This pigment is like a loose version of that color.

Poppin Candy is a bright peachy pink with a red and gold shift.

Goldgasm is a vibrant yellow gold with flecks of green and copper.

I love the pigments! I def would have purchased these.

Let’s see…. what else… oh! If you’re getting the palette, make sure that you get this one. It’s £40, just like the palette by itself but this bundle also includes a free pigment! I think I saw another bundle that includes everything (palette, pigments and all 6 base shades) for £100 so that’s something to consider as well. Oh and shipping! Worldwide shipping is a flat rate of £10 or about 14 bucks. Since it’s $14 whether you buy an eye base or a dozen items, I suggest waiting until you can afford to buy everything that you want or ordering with a friend. International shipping is crazy expensive but you can definitely use that flat rate to your advantage. When I start getting low on my eye base, I’m buying like 20 tubes to hoard.

So to recap, I really like and would re-purchase everything. I highly recommend the eye base for everyone. I know that pigments are an acquired taste and not everyone’s cup of tea but they’re dramatic, beautiful and worth the effort imo. As far as the palette, you know yourself. If it’s something that you’ll reach for daily then go for it. But if you already have warm tones coming out your ears, I think you can safely pass and save up for her second palette. 😉

What are your thoughts on the products?? Smash or pass?