Josie Maran Eye Love You Too Palette

Here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the way I shop and: blog: I plan my reviews weeks ahead, keep a file to track brands and collections and even my wishlist is a spreadsheet. All this means little glamour and very few spontaneous shopping sprees. Josie Maran Eye Love You Too Palette was a rare spur of the moment purchase. I was at Sephora and just as I was picking more Josie Maran makeup removing wipes (yes, I still do it for the bears) this low-key neutral palette caught my eye. I swatched and fell in love.

The palette offers eight colors in matte and shimmer textures. It can be described as dusty earth tones with olive leanings; on my skin these are easy everyday shades. Josie Maran included a "serving suggestion" card with simple day and night looks. It can definitely be a starting point but my preference is to mix the colors myself and blend them, taking advantage of the soft texture.

Speaking of the texture of these Josie Maran eye shadows,  I noticed from the very first swatching at Sephora that they vary greatly. I was even a little hesitant about a couple of them so I tested at the store applying them on my lid. They all require a good primer (seriously, get the Paula Dorf one as it cements everything in place), but once you have one on, the eye shadows go on smoothly and look a lot more appealing than on the arm. Without a primer the texture tends to crumble and/or fade, so this is not the right product for a 5 minute makeup look. But it's absolutely worth it to take your time and apply the colors carefully and properly. It can be your one go-to palette this summer.

The shades included in the  Josie Maran Eye Love You Too Palette:
Bottom row, left to right-
1) matte buttery vanilla, 2) light pink copper (metallic), 3) matte palest lime chiffon, 4) dry brown earth with barely-there gold shimmer.
Top row, right to left-
5) bronze, 6) a very complex almost duo-chrome but incredibly subtle taupe/teal 7) shimmery golden olive 8) medium brown(matte)

You don't need me to tell you that the star of this Josie Maran palette is 6, the taupe/teal shade, aptly named Dragonfly. If you were looking for a grownup alternative to MAC Club, for example, this is the one. It's sophisticated and doesn't look experimental at all, while still maintaining that unusual edge. The matte lime chiffon (I think it's called Meadow) is a lot more wearable than one would think. I use it as a non-shimmery highlight in the inner corner or mix it with other colors. It's worth trying even if this kind of shade usually scares you.

Bottom Line: one of the nicest surprises I had lately.

Josie Maran Eye Love You Too Palette ($42) is limited edition. Available from Sephora, online and in store.

All photos are mine.