Finally, I can present to you a palette that I have been wishing for such a long time. A bright, fun and affordable palette from the drugstore. Ladies and gentlemen, your best companion for spring: The NYX Ultimate Brights Palette.

I’ve always wanted a bright, colourful eyeshadow palette because I love editorial looks and rainbow colours are the way to go in the editorial industry. However, I never wanted to spend a buck load of money on high-end palettes such as the Urban Decay Full Spectrum palette because in the words of Kathleen Lights “Das esspensive’”. So, I was on the lookout for a nice affordable palette and I think I found it with this one!

The Ultimate Brights palette consists of 16 shades that resemble a rainbow. The palette is shaped in a square, which also applies to the eyeshadow pans, and is made to be compact, hand-sized and easy for travelling. It also has a click shut mechanism which can be extremely hard to open but that’s not a big deal, let’s train those muscles! The Brights palette, unfortunately, comes without a mirror. The ingredients and other extra information are printed on the back of the palette. I searched the web to find out whether or not this palette was cruelty-free or vegan but my search was fruitless so I’m unable to tell you. Now some swatches!

The formula of the Ultimate Brights palette differs a lot depending on the shades. This palette has 3 different finishes being matte, satins and pressed pigments. The pressed pigments are shades 2 – 3 and 6. Some shades also have reflecting particles in it, being 1-11 and 13. There is some kick up and fall out with this palette but truly nothing major. The shadows are slightly chalky and quite dry but apply nicely on top of the eyes!

When it comes down to blendability most of the shades blend like a dream, such as the bright yellow shade and the grass green shade. Most of the colours also have great pigmentation and are easy to build up, however, other colours such as the deep purple and certain pastel colours don’t perform as well and are a struggle to build up. Taking all those details in mind, this still is a great affordable palette with a nice formula from the drugstore!

Here’s a look that I previewed on my Instagram (@peculiarbelgian) using the NYX Ultimate Brights palette! I used the shades 3 (peach-orange), 13 (grass green) and 16 (bright yellow). Shade 3 was extremely hard to build up but I think that might be because I applied it onto the lid and it does perform better in the crease! The green and yellow blended nicely and were also quite pigmented! I will be creating more looks with this palette and will be posting them on my Instagram, so make sure you’re following me! I cannot wait to create editorial makeup looks with this palette in the future and I already have a look in mind called “Honey Glazed”.

I wouldn’t necessarily say this palette has the best formula in the world, however, it is impeccable for a drugstore brand, very easy to work with and I love that NYX dared to bring this out! I purchased mine on a Dutch website but this palette is also available on Cult Beauty! The Brights palette retails for £16.
What do you think and do you own anything from NYX?
Lots of love and see you next time!