Hello my friends! As you may already know, eyeshadow palettes are my favorite beauty item to buy, use, and talk about. I actually already placed an order for the Glaminatrix Cosmetics Easter Pastel Gold Duochrome Collection and have plans to review that as soon as they get here. Due to Coronavirus, that blog post might be delayed, but I will do everything in my part to test them out as soon as they get here! Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves though. Elf continues to launch fabulous beauty products for those who are on a budget. And I am indeed on a budget. Whether it’s eyeshadows, highlighters, lip products, etc; you name it and Elf has probably found a way to make it cheaper without sacrificing quality. That being said, I snatched 2 of the 8 different Bite Size Eyeshadow Palettes in hopes that they would be life-changing. 

Packaging

Let’s start off with the packaging since there’s really not much I have to say. I mean these are drugstore eyeshadows, so I’m not really expecting a whole lot in the aesthetic department. The plastic palettes serve more function than anything, although I don’t think they’re ugly by any means. The best part of these eyeshadows are the fact that they are beyond travel friendly. They’re the perfect option if you don’t have a lot of room in your makeup bag or suitcase. Heck, you could even fit them in your pocket, not that I’d advise that whatsoever. If they happen to break while traveling, cleanup is a lot easier too since there’s no glass involved. 

Product

Each palette contains 4 eyeshadows, typically with 2 mattes and 2 shimmers. The exceptions are Rosewater, (1 matte, 2 shimmers, and 1 shade that leans matte, but has a little bit of glitter in it. I’ll dive deeper into this palette in a sec.) Truffles (3 mattes, 1 shimmer) and Carnival Candy (3 mattes, 1 shimmer). I picked up Cream and Sugar and Rosewater since I thought they’d compliment my eyes the best, as well as having the colors I was most drawn to. 

Let’s start with Rosewater. The color scheme is pretty identical to shades in the Urban Decay Naked 3 Eyeshadow Palette and anytime there’s a potential dupe, I’m here for it. In the pans these eyeshadows look like they’ll compliment each other, however that’s not exactly the case. The first shimmer and matte shade for sure look great together, especially for an everyday eye look. Despite that, the matte shade is so light that it looks kinda odd paired with the darker shimmer shade. And don’t even get me started on the darkest eyeshadow in the palette. I’ll go into more detail when I talk about performance. Although these colors might not work great together, the shimmers are definitely standouts when it comes to pigmentation and colors I would reach for often. 

As for Cream and Sugar, these shades are drop dead beautiful. If I’m being picky, I’d want the matte shade just a smidge daker, but every other color is perfect. I was actually surprised at how beautiful the deep brown looks on the lids. I can see myself gravitating towards this shade a lot in the future. Like the shimmers in Rosewater, the two here are just gloriously good. In my opinion, the white champagne shadow is a tad too light for an all over lid shade, but I can already see it becoming my favorite inner corner and brow bone highlight. The golden shade however, is absolutely breathtaking. To quote Lizzie McGuire, “THIS is what dreams are made of.” I live for golden eyeshadows and will totally be reaching for this one again. 

Performance

The performance of these shades is where things start to hit a little bit of turbulence. As you probably have noticed, I’ve already hit pan on the single matte shade in Rosewater. That’s because all of the mattes have a ridiculous amount of kickup when you dip your brush in the shadow. Normally, I don’t mind kickup at all. In fact, it usually isn’t a bad thing in my eyes. It only irks me in this instance because I haven’t used this shade that many times at all. The issue with the matte shade in the Rosewater palette is the fact that it’s hard to build up the color without using a lot of product. And when you use a lot of product that has a stupid amount of kickup, you hit pan quicker. So, not too thrilled about that. The mattes from the Sugar and Cream palette also have the same issue, but they are more pigmented from the get, so it’s less of a problem. Then, from the Rosewater palette there’s that odd matte, but not so matte because there’s flecks of glitter in it shade. To be honest, this eyeshadow sucks completely. It’s patchy, hard to build up, nearly impossible to blend, and just looks ugly on the eyes. I would 100% never use it again. 

Ok, I know that was pretty con heavy, so let’s look at the positives. The shimmers in both palettes are complete knockouts. They feel buttery smooth and I mean, have you seen those swatches? It makes you question how these are drugstore eyeshadows. I use my finger or a synthetic brush to apply these shades and either way you only need a little bit. For that extra punch, I do prefer using NYX Glitter Glue/Primer to achieve that beyond pigmented sparkle. However, you definitely don’t need to, especially if you’re using these in your everyday makeup routine. 

Price

These Bite Size Eyeshadow Palettes retail for $3 and come with 4 eyeshadows. Cue the math lady confused meme. You’re literally paying less money than the amount of shades that come in each palette. Like huh? How does that even work? I don’t know how Elf makes the magic happen, but my wallet is eternally grateful. With no hesitation, I believe that the Sugar and Cream palette is totally worth it. As for Rosewater, that decision is up to you. Personally, I think the shimmers in this palette are so good that it might be worth the $3 just for those 2 shades. If you really think about it, single shadows from prestige brands and even other drugstores options like Colourpop are more than $3 each. I know it sounds like I’m trying to really convince you, but sometimes it’s good to just explore all options and price points. And at the end of the day if you don’t want to buy it, you definitely don’t have to. 

Final Thoughts

If you’re on a budget, looking for travel-friendly makeup, or just want to experiment with the latest and greatest in the beauty world, I’d totally recommend picking up 1 or 2 of these. I mean for only $3 you could probably just dig for change in your purse or car and find enough money to buy one. I really just think that for the price, it’s worth trying yourself even if just for the shimmer shades. 

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