All pictures taken in natural light without flash.
After having Vivid Clear Eyes sweeping me off my feet, this 15th Anniversary Summer Eyes dropped me from cloud nine :X This palette is not terrible, but it's a far cry from Vivid Clear Eyes. I guess Lunasol can't keep upping themselves, but I can't help but be disappointed. Texture wise it's smooth and silky, but sadly it's no butter. Finish wise there's only one semi metallic (top right), with the rest being softly shimmery. I think they were aiming for sophistication but it ended up being, umm, yawn-inducing :( And don't get me started with pigmentation, which is sorely lacking in this palette, and no, it's not because 3 out of 5 shades are translucent (top and bottom left, and bottom right).
I did wear these colors yesterday, following the instructions down to the tee. It actually didn't look so bad. No, I'll rephrase that -- it was actually quite pretty and exactly as I expected, a softly shimmery and sophisticated look. However, it's missing that special something that I can't quite put a finger on. If you're looking for an office-safe palette, this will suit quite well. Then again, you can find many other office-safe palettes at the drugstores at a fraction of a price, some with better finishes and pigmentation to boot. So my honest conclusion is that this palette is not worth the money unless you're a Lunasol collector.
- EX01 Cool Beige: a neutral taupe beige palette that's mostly shimmery (read: boring). That said, I really love that liner shade (center) even though it's nowhere dark enough or pigmented enough for a liner. The silvery "15th" is sprayed on and wipes right off with the first use.
- Center, liner: shimmer, medium intensity. I know my pictures can't quite capture it but don't be deceived: this is not just a deep taupe brown - it's actually a deep taupe-purple. You can kind of see a hint of purple in the swatch, but in natural light it's very obviously purple. This color pretty much saves this palette for me, as otherwise it bores me to tears. I'll be frank that it needs to be darker and more pigmented to make an effective liner, so it's fine for lining the lower lash line but will need a darker pencil for the upper lash line. It pairs exceptionally well with Stila Smudge Stick Tetra, and it doubles for a medium crease shade as well, which this palette also lacks.
- Top left, base: shimmer, very sheer. A pink tinted white with very fine shimmers and is translucent. I had to layer the swatch several times for it to show up.
- Top right, crease: semi metallic, medium intensity. A pretty beige gold that's perfectly fine just by itself. According to the instructions, I am to wear this shade in the outer corner, layering on top of a wash of the taupe-gray below all over the lids. While this adds depth, the gray-wash all over my lids somewhat clashes with my skin tone, so the next time I wear these colors again I'm going to do the reverse, as in wearing this beige gold all over the lids and the taupe-gray in the outer corner.
- Bottom right, lid: shimmer, low intensity. A pretty taupe-gray that's unfortunately lacking in pigmentation as well as being translucent. I think they made it translucent on purpose as this color's intended to be worn all over the lids, but the gray disagrees with me so I'm left to mourn the could-have-been were this shade *not* translucent :(
- Bottom left, highlighter: shimmer, very sheer. A translucent golden sand that's slightly more shimmery than the rest of the colors but is not a sparkling top wash. And no, it's not opaque when seen from an angle either. Instructions says use this shade to highlight the inner corners of the eyes, but next time I plan on layering this over the semi metallic beige gold above, all over the lids, for a touch more shimmers.
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