Palladio Cosmetics Review & Huge Contest Giveaway

Hi Bellas,

I'm back with another review and i'm also announcing a huge contest giveaway.  Today I'll be featuring a product that I'm sure many of you have seen if you've ever been in one of my favorite stores - Sally Beauty.  Palladio is a brand that has been at Sallys for a long time.  I even have products from them from high school!

I was glad to have an opportunity to be reintroduced to this product line.  They actually have some really amazing products and they're super affordable, many of them around $10 and less.  Many of their products have the name "herbal" built into them because there are a lot of vitamins and good herbal ingredients infused into them.  Not only do they serve as makeup, but it's also like having built-in skincare.

To see my review and details of the giveaway, click here!

I already did a makeup tutorial featuring the products.  It's a celebrity inspired makeup tutorial featuring a smokey taupey,cranberry look on Mila Kunis. Check out my video tutorial!


In addition to doing that tutorial, I also wanted to do a video reviewing all of the products.  Palladio has a huge range of products which are all extremely affordable...in the drugstore price range.  They are very accessible at Sally Beauty stores and some drug stores.  In the video I also announce a huge contest so make sure to watch!

Check out my video review & contest announcement!


I also went ahead and reviewed each item for those who can't view the video. 

Herbal Liquid Concealer in Banana $6.00 (comes in 6 shades:  porcelain, nude, beige, honey, mint, banana).
This concealer has different color corrector shades as well as skin shades.  It's supposed to also helps reduce puffiness and the build up of toxins.  I found that the consistency on this concealer requires a little bit of work.  It dries really quickly so hurry and blend quick before it starts to dry.  I don't really use yellow concealers for undereye circles so instead I decided to use this as a liquid highlighter.  OMG, it looked amazing!  The extra blending is worth it.

Lipstick in Smokey Rose $6 (40 shades)
I love this lipstick.  The finish is amazing and the color is gorgeous.  It's super moisturizing and it doesn't make all the lines and wrinkles in your lips stand out like some lipsticks.  It doesn't have a weird lipstick smell like other drugstore lipsticks either.  The packaging is pretty standard but I like how it lets you see the shade through a see-through bottom layer.  Loves!

Tinted Lip Balm in Champagne $4 (9 shades)
Okay so I was super surprised that I liked this product so much.  Next time I'm at Sallys I'm definitely picking up some more colors.  That's the true test of how good a product is...when you receive something for free but then actually go buy it. The balm isn't waxey at all...it's super moisturizing.  It also contains natural UV filters to help protect your lips from the sun.  They remind me of MAC slimshine lipsticks.  I pop this Champagne color on top of the Smokey Rose lipstick and it's an instant gorgeous nude lip.  This is the surprise winner of the collection.

Herbal Face Primer $12
This herbal primer has built in Gingko Biloba to help promote blood circulation and Aloe Vera to help sooth the skin.  I find it to be a pretty standard silcone based foundation primer.  It has a nice amount of slip and applies easily.  I actually like how the container is small because it's perfect for travel.  It's also great for us makeup junkies who want to try out different products and who can't seem to ever finish a single container.

Herbal Liquid Foundation Tubes $10 (comes in in 8 shades from fair to golden beige...unfortunately not a lot of darker skin tones)
I also like the packaging for this.  It's small and comes with a tip that you can squeeze the foundation out of.  It keeps makeup sanitary and you can squeeze out a tiny portion or a larger portion.  You don't often get this with a foundation.  I like pumps because they're sanitary too, but they can squeeze out too much product.  The consistency itself is a little thick...almost like a liquid/gel concealer.  It does apply a little streaky so I find that using it with a wet Beauty Blender sponge works best.  The two shades I tried, Sandy Beige and Honey beige are awesome matches.  I apply Sandy Beige in the center for a natural highlight, and Honey Beige on the outside.  Overall, the liquid foundation was alright...I didn't really like the finish it left on my skin...kinda cakey.

Baked Bronzer $10  (4 shades)
Gorgeous!  I think this is such a subtle, bronze shimmer that would look amazing on many skin tones.  It's similar to MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes but way cheaper.  On paler to medium skin, this would make a great cheek/bronzer color.  On darker skin tones, this would add radiance to the skin.

Baked Blush in Choc-Au-Lait $7 (5 shades)
This blush is an amazing dupe for the MAC mineralized blushes.  They are so pigmented and the color is gorgeous.  You can even use them wet.  I swatched them next to my MAC ones and you couldn't tell a difference.  They do have a frost to them though since they're mineralized so keep that in mind if you only like matte blushes.  Really really good!

Retractable Eyeliner pencil in Black $4.50 (11 shades)
This pencil is really soft...to the point that the tip broke when I first used it.  Hate when that happens!  That's why when you use these retractable pencils, you have to roll it up only a little bit.  The color is actually more of black with a slight tinge of green.  It applies very easily but I actually have seen better drugstore pencils.  Also pictured is the eyeliner pencil in Taupe which makes an amazing eyeshadow base for taupey colored shadows.

Brow Pencil in Dark Brown $6 (4 shades:  black, brown, auburn & taupe)
The color I received was actually a little too dark.  This brow pencil applies a lot of color.  So instead of applying it directly to my brows, I use an angled brush, swipe some product off the pencil and apply it to my brows.  It works much better that way.  It also comes with a spoolie on the end to help blend out the color.  Personally, I found the spoolie a little bit too rough on my brows.

Black Eye Ink $6 (6 shades)
I was surprised to see how small this liquid eyeliner was.  It has a felt tip applicator and a screw on cap.  The length is probably about 3.5 inches.  I actually found it hard to apply since it was so short.  Also, the color goes on streaky.

Clear Brow Gel $6
This is your standard clear gel.  I find it to be a must-have in my kit, especially for clients with unruly brows.

Luminous Bronze Mosaic $10 (8 shades available)
First off, I like the packaging on this.  It's really sturdy and expensive looking.  The powder itself is a mix of 5 coordinating bronzes.  They all have a nice sheen to them and they're not too sparkly.  I think you could even use this as a contour color.  Really pretty!

Rice Paper $4.00 (3 shades:  translucent, natural and warm beige)
I actually think this product is pretty cool...it does have its pros and cons though.  The matte side is the oil-blotting sheet, and then the powder side is for occasional touch-ups.  The products contains the famous Palladio rice paper and the paper is also made from rice.  I didn't have a setting powder with this collection, so after I used the foundation I used these sheets to set.  It's basically a blotting paper with powder on it.  The color warm beige was a really nice match.  I found that it set the foundation and also absorbed the extra wetness on my face.  There were a few spots where a little extra powder stuck but I easily blended that away with a brush.  I think this would be great to have on a gig for touch-ups.  You could actually take your brush and swipe it on the paper to touch-up...and then throw away.  I think that you'll either love or hate this one so you'll just have to test for yourself to find out!

Trio Baked Eyeshadows $6 (12 trios available from bright to neutrals)
I was sent two trios to test out.  Again, these are a great dupe for the MAC mineralized eyeshadows.  If you apply these wet, they're amazing.  I noticed that the colors all have a slight silver shimmer to them...so darker skin tones need to be aware of this because I can see it going ashy on some.  Since they're all shimmery, I would definitely recommend mixing in some matte shadows for balance.

 Angle Shadow Brush $10
This is your basic angled brow/liner brush.  I think it's actually pretty good.  The cut of the bristles is thin enough so that you can actually use it for precise liner application.

Bronzer Brush $10
This is a large, short handled brush for bronzer application.  During shampoo I noticed that I lost quite a few bristles...not entirely unusual to a large face brush.  However, after it dried I noticed that the shape of the brush was a little bit rough.  The bristles on my face also felt rough and I think they caused little allergic bumps and itchiness.  I would not recommend.

Fluff/Eye Blending Brush $10
At first glance, this brush might not seem anything spectacular.  However, after trying it, I'm in love!  It's really, really good.  It's very similar to the MAC 217 in that it can lay down color and also blend.  It's soft and the cut makes it just dense enough to pack color, but the edges are tapered to help you blend.  I definitely recommend.

Final Thoughts
For the price, these cosmetics are an amazing value.  They really are above many of the other drugstore lines in quality.  If you're looking for a lot of MAC dupes in the mineralized line, they've got them.  I think that Sally Beauty has a real jewel with the Palladio line.  They're so accessible yet I don't know if many have tapped into this amazing line.

If you want to look at the different products and shades, visit your Sally Beauty online or in the store, or check out www.PalladioBeauty.com

Contest Alert Contest Alert Contest Alert!!!

I'm so excited!  Thanks to Palladio I'm hosting a huge giveaway.  I haven't done a video entry challenge in a while and this time around we'll have 13 winners!

Here's how to win:

• Subscribe to my YouTube and blog
• Make a video response to the Review/Contest video.  
• The video must follow the theme "Summer Makeup Tutorial Using Bright Colors"
• You can have a live video or pictures (if you do pictures, make sure to have a full face shot...image theft is not condoned)
• It doesn't need to be a full tutorial, but just show the beginning, middle, and end and how you pulled off the look.
• Must be an original video
• You can entire multiple times
• Contest is 1 month long ending at midnight eastern standard time on August 17th, 2010.  I will pick a winner and announce it two weeks after contest ending.

Check out the prizes:

• 1st place:  Complete set of mineralized eyeshadow trios
• 2nd place:  Complete set of lip stains
• 3rd place:  Complete set of glitter liners

I know not all of you can make a video so I'm not leaving you all out.  
COMMENT WINNERS!

• Ten of you will have a chance to win.  Leave a comment on the wall of my video and tell me "What's Your Favorite Part of Summer."
• Make sure you are subscribed to my YouTube...only comments on the wall will be accepted
• Comments with "Enter Me" and that's it, will not count.
• You can enter multiple times
• Ten of you will win your own black eye ink

Good luck to everyone!

FTC Disclosure:  Products were sent for review.  I am not affiliated with the company and am not paid to write this review.  These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

Atlanta Makeup Artist