Review, Swatches | Kylie Cosmetics Holiday 2021 Reindeer Eyeshadow Palette

Shall we get controversial? Let’s shall.

I haven’t paid much attention to Kylie Jenner’s makeup line because it didn’t used to be available in my country (I think some items are now at Douglas stores), so I saw no point in it. Being an avid beauty content consumer, I’d see a review here and there on a particular item or collection, and it seemed like it was an ok line with some star products. So when I saw her brand for sale in Paris, I knew I wanted to get a blush, and I wanted to try her eyeshadow formula. And this was the only palette that was available. The colour story was not that appealing to me, but I decided to try it anyway and scratch it off of my makeup bucket list.

Unbeknownst to me, this is her holiday palette that she didn’t reveal in November like she usually does because of the Astroworld tragedy (if you don’t know what that is, I suggest you google it, there will be a ton of articles that will do the subject more justice than I can in a makeup review post). Apart from a few “leaked” (sure) photos, there doesn’t seem to be any information on this palette – and I don’t even know the name of it because it is nowhere in the packaging! Nowhere. It just says “Kylie” on the front of it. So unless the Red Nose reindeer has had a sex change, I’m assuming that’s just the name of the brand, and “Rudolph” might be a more appropriate name for the palette.

I think the palette will still be released (or maybe it is already) in the US, but without any publicity, due to the current public outrage. I have a few thoughts about if the release should happen or not, so if you’re not interested in my opinion about it and just care about the review, totally understandable, just jump to where “Rudolph(?) The Red Nose Reindeer Palette Review” is later in the post.

My thoughts on the release controversy

Some people believe Kylie Jenner should not release this holiday collection, claiming that would be insensitive due to what recently happened at Travis Scott’s concert Astroworld, who is her boyfriend/father of her children. Or that if she does release it, it is her moral obligation to give the entire proceeds of the sales to the families of the victims. That got me thinking.

Imagine things were reversed. Imagine there was something in the lab where a few palettes ended up with a poisonous component that severely harmed some of Kylie Jenner’s fans and customers. Do you think people would turn to her boyfriend and say he should not come out with music/ profit off of new singles? I might be wrong, but I don’t think they would. I think people wouldn’t attribute any responsibility to him. “He’s a musician, what does he know about makeup and labs?”. It would be her mess. “He had nothing to do with it, it’s her company.” Accountability where accountability is due. And I would agree with that.

Maybe I’m reading more into this public reaction than I should, but it feels like women are responsible for themselves, and wives are responsible for their man. Adult people’s irresponsible decisions is not a burden on their partners (even if they do know better!). It was not her concert, her decisions, her industry even. So even though I bought the palette before knowing the controversy surrounding it, now that I know I’m still reviewing it for anyone who is interested. My sense of justice is satisfied when the guilty parties are the ones punished, criminally and in the public sphere. Sure, she may be self-absorbed. And insensitive. And money hungry. And if that’s enough for someone not to want to buy from this company, that’s fine. But you don’t need to love – you don’t need to even like – Kylie Jenner to believe she isn’t morally obligated to participate in someone else‘s clean up, and I treat this like I treat any other major brand: if I cared if the CEO or face of the company was money hungry and/or self absorbed, I’d have a hard time buying anything. That’s where I stand.

Rudolph(?) The Red Nose Reindeer Palette Review

When it comes to colour story, this is as basic as it gets, with a pop of yellow. Not a bad thing, just not very unique. The palette contains 9 matte eyeshadows and 7 shimmers/metallics. The matte eyeshadows all perform the same: they’re easy to blend, easy to build up pigmentation, and the colour is pretty true to pan. They are a touch powdery, kick up a bit of powder in the pan, but nothing dramatic, and I find it doesn’t affect longevity, because they stay on (with primer) without creasing until I remove them (12+ hours).

Within the shimmer shadows, there are a few different textures. Reindeer Wonderland and Love U Deerly are very creamy and smooth, and lean more metallic than shimmery. Santa’s Helpers, Fawntastic and Blitz & Glam are more gritty and chunky, with a lot of shimmer, and are more prone to fallout, with Fawntastic being the worst offender; I would recommend using them with a wet brush to minimise that problem. Dash Away and Forest Fawn are not as chunky but not super creamy either – they’re in between the two formulas. Apart from the fallout, I didn’t have problems with fading or creasing except with Love U Deerly, that creased slightly after 10 hours of wear, over primer.

I’ve been enjoying this palette. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it has nice quality and it’s easy to create looks with it. The neutral, brown and yellow colour story reminded me of another palette I’ve recently reviewed:

Huda Beauty Wild Obsessions Tiger palette on the left, Kylie Jenner Reindeer palette on the right.

They may not be sisters but they’re certainly related. The formulas are very different: the mattes on Huda Beauty’s Tiger palette are much dense and creamier. You’ll get more pigment with them on first application than with the Kylie palette, but that makes Kylie’s mattes more buildable and foolproof. The shimmers are also very different. Although Huda’s shimmers are quite chunky, they are creamier, less gritty than Kylie’s chunkiest shades. And if you’re wondering about shades overlapping, here are some comparison swatches below (Kylie’s shadows are the left swatch, Huda’s are the right):

Left to right: Glowing Red Nose (Kylie’s palette, K), 2nd shadow last row (Huda’s palette, H), Elf Made (K), 3rd shadow first row (H), Guide My Sleigh (K), 3rd shade last row (H), Reindeer Babe (K), 1st shadow first row (H).

I think you can see Huda Beauty’s Tiger palette mattes are more intense. the orange/yellow colours are very different, but the reddish rosy tones and the dark browns are very similar. Glowing Red Nose is pinker than Huda Beauty’s version, and Elf Made (the brown) is lighter and more warm toned.

The palettes don’t really replace each other, but depending on how much you would use them, it may be redundant owning both. I think this Reindeer palette was made to be the only thing someone needs for day-to-day looks. If you like more options, or just want to have one palette to create multiple complete looks, go for Kylie’s Reindeer palette – but the Tiger palette does have more interesting shades.

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