The Verdict
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Pigmentation
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Application
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Long Lasting
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Packaging and Design
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Value for Money
OVERALL SUMMARY
Exotic colours, strong pigments
Huda Beauty’s second palette doesn’t disappoint, bringing high pigmented, long lasting, exotic colours reminiscent of the Arabian desert.
Colour
Just one look at Huda’s Desert Dusk Palette and you’re whisked away to the Arabian Desert. This gorgeous palette features colours reminiscent of a desert sunset, while capturing mystical twilight mirages and the shimmering sand under a warm summer sun. I absolutely love the range of colours in this palette and just looking at them makes me excited.
The 18 different shades come in 4 unique textures, versatile enough for a natural make up look, but equally great to go big and bold with glitter and shimmer. Inside the palette you’ll find:
Application
A good 70% of the shadows in this palette are highly pigmented and super easy to apply and blend. Some of the matte colours (notably Amethyst, Eden and Musk) did apply a little patchy on my arm swatch and required multiple layers to build to the desired pigment. This is likely due to the drier texture of the mattes when compared to the pearl and duo chromes which were softer and “buttery” in texture.
In saying this, the more “buttery” the texture of the shadow, the more prone it was to fallout – nothing too severe, but handle with care.
The great thing about this palette is that the colours combine so well to create a new depth or shade of colour. Adding a layer of Twilight for example on top of Amethyst adds a nice shimmer with an iridescent blue/green glow in the light, taking it to the next level!
With the pure glitter Cosmo, I recommend adding some glitter glue or an eyeshadow base/sealer to make the glitter come out as bold as possible and stay intact.
Long Lasting
The shadows in this palette last a really long time. The only thing I noticed is while colours stay pigmented, the shimmer seems dull slightly. I’m not sure if this is just the colours settling into my skin or if the glitter disappears after some time?
Packaging and Design
The packaging of this palette is gorgeous! It’s hard to tell from the photos, but the headdress, tops of the eyelids and writing, shimmer in the light. The palette itself is sturdy, clean and sleek with a gigantic mirror on the inside! As with all Huda packaging, it definitely feels high quality.
Value for money
This palette sells for $95 AUD at Sephora…which is pretty pricey for a eyeshadow palette. So is it worth it?
Maybe. There are a lot of great palettes out there from exceptional makeup brands that retail for at least $10 cheaper than this palette. If this palette was on par in terms of price, I would 100% recommend everyone buy it. But if you’re in search for a regular staple eyeshadow palette, I’d probably give this one a miss due to the price.
On the other hand, if you’re an eyeshadow fiend, or if the colours are seriously calling you, or if you live outside of Australia (where the palette is waaaay more reasonably priced) I’d say go for it!
