Quo 2016 Holiday Gifts: Colour Wonderland Eye, Lip & Cheek Collection Review

If you really want to impress the makeup lovers on your holiday list, surprise them with an all-inclusive, multi-purpose palette that will knock their socks off. The Color Wonderland Set is impressive! There are a whopping 52 eye shadows, 6 cream liners, 18 lip glosses, 2 blushes, 1 bronzer, a face powder, liquid eyeliner, mascara and applicators – everything you need to create a wide variety of amazing looks!

At first glance the palette looks like a simple black box but as you lift the lid, three large trays of makeup slide out one after the other revealing a wide array of pretty pigments in complexion flattering hues.

The first layer contains 26 eye shadows in neutral tones, gold, purple and pink with both shimmer and matte finishes. Usually I’m attracted to sets like this because of the amazing variety but from experience I know that quantity doesn’t always equal quality. In this case I was pleasantly surprised by the pigmentation. Overall the shadows aren’t super saturated but they do have decent color pay-off when layered over primer. Some start off sheer to medium with the ability to be intensified nicely when applied heavier and the deeper hues reach full-coverage for pretty contrast against the softer shades.

The silky, soft texture blends nicely so you can contour, define or fade them out for a beautiful gradient. Although the palette comes with old-school sponge tip applicators that loosely sit in their slots, they are actually quite effective for grabbing loads of pigment at once. The small, flimsy blush brush didn’t fare so well but I have a ton of other options in my collection and to be fair there isn’t much room for anything larger.

The blushes are very sheer and the colors didn’t work for my complexion. I would have liked at least one rich shade and a lot more pigmentation. The bronzer is way to light for any type of sculpting and actually works as very subtle highlight.

The second tray slides out from underneath the first to reveal another 26 eye shadows. The blue row (as I like to call it) contains a gorgeous navy and pretty grey tones for a fabulous smoky eye. In the adjacent row I love the cranberry, deep brown and light rose but the shades are quite neutral and there are a few that seem to repeat including a couple creams, gold, pink and shimmery grey. It would have been nice to see a bit more color variation but there are a lot of usable basics and everyday hues.

The third tray at the front of the palette slides out to display a pretty selection of lip colors. I expected these shades to be very sheer but to my surprise they are vivid and beautiful! There is a great range of deep berry, bright red, orange and nude plus a unique selection of gold, soft pink, bronzy-pink and a stunning rosy-bronze-mauve that I can’t get enough of! The finishes are not as glossy as anticipated (which is great) and most have a creamy, comfortable formula with a hint of shine. Some shades show up metallic, shimmery or satiny and most have good color pay-off from medium to full with just one or two sheers. I should also mention that most of these look much better applied and some don’t show up on the skin like they appear in the palette.

Once all the trays are open there is a sunken compartment in the middle containing 6 gel liners in grey, blue and black. The cream applies smoothly to create fluid, lines but the formula isn’t water-resistant or smudge-proof which have been ideal.

Overall I think this set makes a wonderful gift for any beauty junkie starting out with makeup or anyone who craves a large variety of pigment to experiment with. I like the eye shadow and love the lip color so I will definitely be using this to create fun looks for the season. The collection retails for $65.00 exclusively available at Shoppers Drug Mart.