It’s finally here!! The coveted Ride Or Die eyeshadow palette from US brand Violet Voss. It must have been August last year when I first started seeing pre production teasers for this on Instagram and even then knew I’d have to have it! I already own 2 of Violet Voss’ other eyeshadow palettes…the Violet Voss X Laura Lee colab (read more and see swatches here) and my personal favourite, the Holygrail Palette (read more and see swatches here) so was excited to get my hands on this and add it to my collection!
It’s official US launch was on 23rd Feb, with a few very limited stock preview sales towards the end of January before that. I held off ordering from the US as I knew it was winging it’s way over here soon, but it just feels like I’ve been waiting forever! Violet Voss palettes don’t stay in stock for long, so if you’re thinking about picking any of them up, my advice…don’t hang around! The Ride Or Die Palette is available NOW at Beautybay* and if you miss it or don’t want to get it right now, it’s due in at Cult Beauty* where you can sign up for an email alert so you don’t miss out!
Just look at it! So beautiful! The packaging needs no explanation really, but it’s holographic leopard print and exciting even before it’s opened! The palette itself shares the same eye catching print and I knew it was a big palette, but compared to the others especially, it’s a lot more substantial and definitely heavier than I expected!
Not that I tend to use mirrors in palettes much myself, but one of the first things I noticed was the mirror…hard not to really, it’s huge but also it’s a decent one which is always good!
According to Violet Voss, this palette was named after your ride or die best pal. Your ultimate ‘go to’ that always has your back no matter what look you want to go for. All shades also have gal pal names. It contains 42 shades of Jojoba Oil infused, ultra blendable and highly pigmented shadows and a good mixture of mattes, satins, shimmers and metallics. From highlights and neutrals, to warm orange, red and cooler smoky tones that really pack a punch! However you like to wear your makeup, there’s plenty of choice. All full sized pans (1.8g) in this palette which is great and means it’ll definitely keep you going for a long while.
The Ride Or Die palette is cruelty free and also Vegan.
So let’s get in to the swatches! As usual…I swatch with my finger once and don’t use any primer or Fix + spray, just straight on to my arm. Natural as possible light, so the colour you see is the colour you should get and just for comparison my skin tone is generally a MAC NC15/ KVD Light 43, fair with golden undertones (hence some of the very light swatches disappearing in to my pale skin!).
I really like Violet Voss’ eyeshadow formulas, in general pretty smooth and blendable all round. The metallic shades are always very pigmented! A few of the matte/ satin shades are a little less pigmented than I’d like, but still blend and build up well. I love how there’s a few duo chrome shades in there too. I only noticed when swatching, but they’re more unusual and are a great addition to the colour selection. The shade Paula reminds me of Old Gold by MAC, Emma and Allison (both pretty much the same) are so similar to one of my favourite old (now discontinued) MAC Pigments, Pink Bronze and the shade Ann has a beautiful blue/ violet shift to it! I think if you know me and know my love for the Holygrail palette already, you’ll know I’m naturally drawn to the gorgeous warm tones. I feel like the addition of some cooler tones might encourage me to step out of my comfort zone and reach for those more often too with them all being in the one place.
Unusually (as it’s not always the case especially when it comes to black in palettes) the 2 black shades…Natalie is a black with glitter and Carly is a matte black are actually really pigmented and intense black. The main weak link for me (if you can call it that as it’s still not terrible by any means!) is the bold orange shade Riley. One of the first that caught me eye/ that I swatched and the pigment just wasn’t there straight away. I expected it to be more intense like Realgar, the orange from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette* but saying that it did build up nicely after, just takes a bit more work. The stand out shades for me are definitely Rachel (a metallic deep brown and universally flattering), Holly (a metallic burgundy) and Sarah (a matte dirty burgundy).
Is it worth the money? Well if you break it down simply, it’s less than £2/ €2 per shadow which is amazing especially for the quality of the Violet Voss eyeshadows. Great if you’re just starting out in makeup or for your personal makeup collection for the variety alone, a really good wearable selection of shades! A perfect addition to a professional makeup kit too, yes like me you probably have all the shades x100 or at least something similar, but it’s good to have all your most used in the one place and in my opinion, it’s a palette you’d end up reaching for over others as it has everything you could possibly need!
Will you be picking up the Violet Voss Ride Or Die Palette?? Or any of their others? Violet Voss eyeshadows are some of my favourites out there! Let me know if you try them or your thoughts if you already use them too!
The Violet Voss Ride Or Die Pro Eyeshadow Palette is available from Beauty Bay* or Cult Beauty*.
Lyd X
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