Metropolis

Natasha Denona Metropolis 28-Pan Midi Eyeshadow Palette ($129.00 for 1.35 oz.) is a new, limited edition palette with an assortment of shimmers and mattes from pale, shimmering peach to murky olive green to inky blue.  There are enough shades and differences in finishes/depths that the palette is versatile and workable on its own, though I caught myself wanting some cooler-toned shades (even if not strictly cool-toned... but other than orange/brown for transition and crease shades) to avoid doing a similar look.

It contains "midi"-sized shades (0.048 oz. each) so that the palette itself is the same physical size as the full-sized, 15-pan palettes are. I love that the brand has been moving in this direction, as for consumers, the full-size tends to be far more product than an individual can use up in a reasonable length of time. The original 28-pan palettes (with full-sized pans) are $230 a pop, so this is a great departure. It's still expensive for a palette, but I think this is a better balance of total cost vs. product weight.

The overall quality of the palette is there, and I think that from a quality standpoint, some of these are the best that the brand has released. Most shades were richly pigmented, while any that deviated were still medium to semi-opaque and buildable in coverage.  They were easy to apply, blendable, and long-wearing (eight to 10 hours) with a few shades having minimal to moderate fallout. Just swatching through it, I thought it might be one of the best palettes from the brand, and after working through all of the shades, it is up there.

Let's Talk Cream-Powders

First and foremost, the majority of the matte eyeshadows in the palette are in the Cream-Powder finish/formula, so they're more of a hybrid between cream and powder eyeshadows--more emollient with light to moderate creaminess (deeper shades seemed to have more slip), never powdery, have a denser, firmer feel to them, and tend to sit more smoothly on the skin.

The downside to Cream-Powders is that they can take a bit longer to blend or may not build up as easily (without some movement) as true powders. In the past, I've been a fan of the Cream-Powder formula, though I know it has not been a favorite for everyone. The ones included in the palette seemed to be more yielding, less firmly pressed, and they were easier to work with on the whole. Aside from the deeper hues, just working with them (not touching the pans), I don't know that I would have known they were a Cream-Powder hybrid. I also haven't seen any "hard pan" develop over time (and I have gone and used my fingertips to swatch a few half a dozen times each just to see!).

Aside from a few shades, I actually didn't find them to work that differently for me in practice; I still used typical eye brushes and didn't have to opt for flatter shapes or synthetics (like you might for a true cream eyeshadow). I was able to use fluffier, more feathery crease brushes and apply and diffuse shades in my crease just as I would a normal powder eyeshadow. The finish is more forgiving if you have minor dryness or flakiness on the lids compared to powder.

Dupes Within Dupes?

There were a few instances where the overlap between shades felt unnecessary. I reorganized the palette via our Color Stories tool, and it made it more apparent where the overlap existed.

Shades like Fuse, Rust, Blaze, and Penny were grouped together (make sure to view the original swatches at their full-size resolution, which does show the differences better); they differed tonally leaning more golden or more orange/red or they were more metallic or more sparkling, but they felt far too similar to be included in a single palette to me.

This was true with Chrism and Stain, where Chrism was slightly more golden/yellower and lighter compared to Stain but so close that it did not seem necessary to have both in the palette.  It would have made a little more sense if they were different finishes, but they were both Cream-Powders.

Tonally, Enigma (cooler, bluer) and Symbol (warmer, more teal) (see comparison) differed visually on the eye, but I think that Symbol could have been lighter and brighter, between the depth of Jubilee and Enigma, so that it added more versatility to the palette.

Of course, if you have a few of Natasha Denona's palettes, there are plenty of dupes between this and past releases (see individual dupe lists below).

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