Nyx Dream Catcher Palettes: I’m Obsessed!

Dream Catcher Palettes

It’s Monday again (how does that always happen so quickly?) and I am sitting here, procrastinating doing the university assignments and tasks that I need to do, drooling over these Nyx eyeshadow palettes instead. I did a video where I spoke a little bit about these palettes that you can watch here, but I feel like they deserved a little bit more of an in depth moment of fame on my blog too! And some make-up procrastination on a Monday never hurt anyone… especially when the weather is all over the place – is it rainy, is the sun trying to peak out, that wind has a definite chill to it as well – and anything is way better than assignments on a Monday!

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while won’t be surprised to see the gorgeous variety of natural shades – the bronzes, nudes, light pinks, beiges, greys and subtle golds. What I do love about these palettes too though, are the sneaky hints of risk with the pops of blue/purple, deep, glittery purple and black. They aren’t crazily in your face, but it means that you can still be creative and step out of your comfort zone (even if subtly) to create something with a burst of colour – a stunning contrast to those naturals!

The combination of shimmery and matte shades is also something I really like. I always seem to go for a look that has a matte outer corner and a shimmery shade on the rest of the lid. I’ve found this contrast to work really well, and it just gives a bit of a different finish as opposed to an all matte or all shimmer application.

Dusk til Dawn

This first palette is this one with the warmer shades. The selection of bronze, gold, rose gold and purple are just some of my favourites. The darker shade in the top left hand corner reminds me of space – the colour and the shimmers really look like a galaxy to me! Anyone else see it? Whether or not it was meant to resemble that is another question. But I think it’s really interesting, and you could make some very fun looks with it!

These shades are really stunning for everyday, but they can certainly be darkened dramatically for an event or evening out. The space purple (I’ve officially renamed it) and the black shade in the bottom right hand corner would work perfectly to create an intense smoked-out look. The darker bronzes would also work well for a smokey eye that is less dramatic, and suitable for everyday. And I just cant’t not mention the gold and rose gold again – they are so pretty!! Packing on a lot of these two shadows onto your whole lid, or even in the inner corners of the eye, would be a beautiful finishing touch and make the eyes seriously stand out!

If you have an extremely pale skin like me, these warmer shades are more likely to suit you better than cooler-toned eyeshadows. They’ll just help to warm up your face instead of making it appear drained. The same is true for really dark skins though. Warmer colours are also better, as the cooler greys and bronzes would just appear as flat and visibly grey on a very dark skin.

Stormy Skies

The name for this palette fits so perfectly with the shades. Being the cooler-toned of the two palettes, this one has an exquisite range of blue, grey, silver, taupe and variations of bronzes too. This palette just screams ‘glamorous’ to me! The silver is the first shade I see when I look at this – it is so shiny and pigmented, I can’t be the only one!

This palette also has a little bit of a ‘space purple’ shade going on – in the bottom left hand corner. This shadow is more blue than purple though, and less galaxy-like, but I can definitely see a trend. The two bronzes in the bottom row are quite similar to the bronzes in the Dusk til Dawn palette, but they undoubtedly have cooler undertones. I really love the shadows on either end of the top row – the salmony/pink and the shimmery, champagne shade. These two shadows are very soft and graceful almost (if an eyeshadow could be graceful!)

This palette can also be used in different ways to achieve day and night looks. I personally think I would use this one more for evening looks though, just because of the cooler tones. For some reason, warmer eyeshadows just speak ‘daytime’ to me… But you could definitely achieve some stunning subtle smokey eyes, and a few bold looks too with the blue, grey and silver!

I have come to love Nyx’s products so much lately. I suppose after buying half of their stall at ProBeauty a few weeks ago, I have to love them! Jokes aside though, their products are of such a high standard and what makes them even better is that they are both affordable and cruelty-free!

These palettes are just two of the many things I bought from them, and I have really used them nonstop since. It makes me so excited when I get to play with products that are produced for professionals, but that aren’t intimidating to use. The pigments are also incredible and the shadows feel so soft!

You can buy the palettes online here.

Which of the two palettes do you prefer?

If you’d like to see any specific looks with these shades, please comment and let me know! Or let me know over on Instagram or Twitter: @laurenncarmen

• Book in background: Rae Morris ‘Express Makeup’