Huda Beauty Rose Pastel Obsessions Palette Review & Swatches

Rose

Huda Beauty Rose Pastel Obsessions Palette is the kind of palette that makes you hopeful but a part of you knows that it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better… and while not every shade is dismal, it reaches a threshold of having enough individual disappointments that it’s hard to feel good about the whole.

The four shimmery shades ranged from sub-par to decent, but only one shade closed in good (B+ range). They were still best applied with a dampened brush, which ensured better, smoother adhesion and decent coverage, and as long as one wasn’t overly concerned about coverage, they had their expected shine and sparkle with minimal fallout (or none) over time.

The mattes were everything one fears when it comes to pastel hues: incredibly powdery and dusty with the joy of endless fallout during application but a visible cloud of powder dispersed into the air (not always landing on me) as I tried to apply and/or blend out the matte shades. Even when I went to remove any remaining product from my brush (to wipe it off), a cloud of dust emanated… I don’t even know how that was possible given how little stayed on my lid to begin with.

To make matters worse, the mattes tended to work against each other, so applying #4 (the deepest shade) resulted in sheerer coverage from #4 but then lifted away coverage of other shades (like #1 or #7). I think the only way to salvage this type of formula would to work over a tacky, white base because regular primer was even more of a disaster than bare skin as the primer (I used Smashbox 24HR) seemed to actively repel the powder away!

Huda Beauty Rose #1 Eyeshadow

Rose #1

Rose #1 is a light pink with warm undertones and a matte finish. It appeared peachier in the pan but was lighter and pinker applied (even over my warmer-toned skin). The texture was very powdery and easily dispersed when applied, both as a cloud of fine, billowing pink dust as well as actual, visible fallout underneath my eye. In a way, I was impressed by the fact that a medium-level of coverage seemed to make it onto my skin at all. It showed signs of fading after five hours of wear.

Rose #2

Rose #2 is a pale lavender with cooler, pink-to-violet shifting sparkle. It had semi-opaque coverage with a smooth, firmer consistency that was lightly emollient but thin, so it had to be really packed onto the lid for full opacity and had a tendency to apply patchily. It lasted well for seven and a half hours before creasing noticeably.

Rose #3

Rose #3 is a pale pink with warmer undertones and flecks of pink and gold sparkle. It had semi-opaque pigmentation that did not build up well; it applied best with fingertips or a dampened brush as a dry brush didn’t seem to get the product to adhere to my skin evenly. The texture was smoother to the touch, lightly emollient but firmer and thinner overall, so it was harder to pick up with a brush (but also harder to transfer off of my fingertip and onto my lid). It stayed on well for seven and a half hours before creasing visibly.

Huda Beauty Rose #4 Eyeshadow

Rose #4

Rose #4 is a medium-dark, rosy lavender with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had good color coverage, but the incredibly powdery texture made it difficult to apply with precision and little product stuck to my lid after initial lay down–as soon as I started to diffuse and blend out the edges, it just disappeared. I could readily see all of the powder dispersing off my lid during the lay down and blending process along with a stream of lavender powder underneath my eye. It showed signs of fading after five hours of wear (from what I could tell; it was a pretty shoddy application to begin with, no matter what I did!).

Rose #5

Rose #5 is a pale gold with strong, warm undertones and a sparkling finish. The eyeshadow had semi-sheer color coverage that applied fairly evenly to bare skin, but it applied best with a dense, rounded brush for maximum packing, which helped to ensure a more even application of product. The texture was lightly creamy, thin, and more emollient, but it didn’t seem to slide around too easily so it was more workable than other shades. The color started to fade visibly after eight hours of wear.

Rose #6

Rose #6 is a light-medium yellow with moderate, warm undertones and a sparkling finish. The texture was lightly creamy, smooth, and emollient without being too slippery, so it did adhere evenly to bare skin. It had good pigmentation in a single layer, and I was able to achieve those results with either a dry or dampened brush as well as a fingertip. It stayed on well for eight hours before creasing noticeably.

Huda Beauty Rose #7 Eyeshadow

Rose #7

Rose #7 is a light-medium yellow with moderate, warm undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque coverage until it was blended out, as it promptly sheered out to semi-sheer coverage that built up unevenly and seemed to darken after the initial lay down of product.

The texture was one of the more powdery finishes I’ve dealt with; it was just billowing yellow dust as soon as I started blending–imagine sanding down a piece of wood and seeing all the sawdust… just in eyeshadow form. It was everywhere, and when I gently pulled back my brush to release any remaining powder (after use), it exploded with even more yellowy powder (how?!?). What little applied seemed to wear for four and a half hours before fading visibly.

Huda Beauty Rose #8 Eyeshadow

Rose #8

Rose #8 is a soft pink with neutral undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation that was prone to sheering out, regardless of whether it was worn with a primer or not. The results were actually a bit better over bare skin as the natural oils in my skin seemed to attract the powder more than a regular primer. The consistency was so powdery that I felt like I had more powder under my eye than on it. Because the other shades in the palette were rather weak, this shade got lost between #1 and #4 as they just blended away into one big pink-tinged disappointment. This shade lasted well for four and a half hours before fading (from what I could tell).

Huda Beauty Rose #9 Eyeshadow

Rose #9

Rose #9 is a muted, medium-dark dusty pink with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had nearly opaque color coverage so long as one didn’t touch it after patting it onto the skin. If you dared to blend out an edge, you’d be left with a semi-sheer layer of uneven color. The texture was just so powdery to the point where it was prone to sheering out, had a ton of fallout, and didn’t diffuse evenly at all. There were signs of fading after five hours from what I was able to discern (just not a lot applied visibly).