Review: Huda Beauty Desert Dusk palette
Huda Beauty's second eyeshadow palette "Desert Dusk palette ($65)" has finally launched after the major reveal in August left us oohing and aaahing at the stunning purple and orange warm tones.
If you've been living under a rock, Huda Kattan is probably the largest beauty influencer in the world with 21.6 million followers, and the popular Huda Beauty makeup line. She began her foray in the makeup world with false lashes, that have become a cult favorite to so many including me. Then she ventured into the lip world with matte lipsticks and then took on eyeshadow with the Rose Gold textured palette, which will soon be discontinued.
I really enjoyed the first palette, although I know it received much dislike over the textured pressed shades; so I knew I wanted to try Huda's newest project. I purchased my palette from Sephora and paid less than half the price since I had a gift card/
According to the Sephora website, the palette contains:
- 8 x Matte Eyeshadows in Blazing, Saffron, Amethyst, Oud, Amber, Eden, Musk, and Desert Sand.
- 6 x Pressed Pearl Eyeshadows in Turkish Delight, Angelic, Cashmere, Royal, Nefertiti, and Blood Moon.
- 3 x Duo-Chrome Topper Eyeshadows in Retrograde, Twilight, and Celestial.
- Pure Glitter Eyeshadow in Cosmo
Below are some swatches to get a closer look at the colors found inside:
I gave this palette a week trial, for yes even those simple running errand days and stay at home casual days. (I did get a lot of compliments at the grocery store - just saying)
Below are just some of the looks I created. Keep in mind, on many days I did not even use an eyshadow primer and the shadow still held up well. It's not that I forgot to apply it, it's just that I normally do not use an eyeshadow primer on the daily.
Looks:
For the first look, I dipped into Desert Sand to cover my entire lid after priming with Mac Soft Ochre. I then used Eden and Amber as the transition shades and finished off with Celestial for the lid. Celestial is a pretty shimmer, that works for daytime. I applied this with my finger and blended the look. The shadow lasted all day. Before I went to bed, (and I go to bed super late, like 1 a.m. or later), I noticed the color and shimmer was there and had not faded.
For the second day, those purple shades were screaming my name. I used the shades musk and amethyst for the transition and then used saffron for the crease. I topped off the middle with the twilight shade. This shade is super stunning, and is a duo-chrome. I did use some Mac fix plus to make the color stand out even more. I received many compliments on this look and once again it stayed all day. I made it a Huda day and used the lip strobe Snobby to finish off the look.
The next duochrome shade I was dying to try since the palette was revealed was retrograde. I worked this color into the next look. It's such an eyecatching shimmer color. At first I actually felt it looked super similar to the shade Turbosan in the Dose of Colors x Desi x Katy palette. However it is different and the color shifts in the light. I used saffron, blazing and amber in the crease and placed retrograde on the lid. These colors blended really well together.
For the last look before my final review, I knew I wanted to go all out and I mean ALL OUT. I wanted to recreate the look on the cover of the Desert Dusk palette. To get the eye look, I used musk and amber in the crease. I then went in with Oud and Amethyst to give a purplish smoke on the outer corner. Turkish Delight was the star for the lid and then I dabbed into Nefertiti for the center. For the lower lash line, I used Amber and applied Turkish Delight in the middle of the water line. I used Anastasia Beverly Hills Dolce liquid lipstick for the lips. I really love the way this came out.
Final Thoughts
To be honest, I'm really finding it difficult to find something wrong with this palette. I truly and genuinely enjoy the looks I can create, the smoothness of the shadows and the pigmentation. There was a teeny bit of kick up but nothing like the Subculture palette. I didn't have an issue blending or picking up color from the shadows. I would highly recommend this one if you're in search of a fall palette. Compared to the Rose Gold palette, I feel people will have a much easier time using this one. There were some days where I just applied the shadows with my fingers to create looks since I was in a rush and they blended well and looked seamless. This is definitely up there with my favorites and all of these colors are up my alley. I know this will be one of my go to palettes.
