I’ve been wanting an excuse to try something for Rare Beauty, but I have too much makeup overall, plus I don’t mess with cream/liquid blushes (if only they released powders!). This year, however, they launched a palette that caught my eye. And here is the review.
The shades in the Give Yourself Grace palette are, from left to right:
- happy: a matte, muted pink;
- hope: a frosty mauvy pink;
- faith: a shimmery berry;
- splendor: a rosy taupe glitter (that has an almost mirror-like finish);
- love: a very warm medium matte brown;
- joy: a matte muted coral;
- cheer: a shimmery yellow-y beige that has a pink sheen (reminds me of Motif from MAC, if anyone remembers that shade).
Texture: the matte shades (happy, love and joy) are a traditional powder formula, and they actually feel a bit dry, but they are not stiff or too powdery. The shimmery shades (hope, faith and cheer) feel a bit more creamy, particularly the hope shade, but they are still a traditional powder, so not at all like the very creamy metallic/foiled shades we have grown used to. The glitter is small and not too gritty (but definitely still feels like a glitter) and it’s not a cream but there is a binding ingredient in the formula that makes it stick to the skin when you press it in.
Application: all of the shades (apart from the glitter) have a little bit of kick up when used with a brush, but I had no fallout. The shades blend well into each other, but you have to be careful with the darker tones because you can blend them into (almost) oblivion. The glitter had minor fall out upon application, but it’s really not too bad. You really have to pack it to activate the binding base that makes it stick to the eyelid, but once you do, the glitter stays put.
Pigmentation: all of the shades have medium pigmentation, and the lighter shades are reasonably buildable, but the darker tones (faith and love) can not be built up. I tried, by packing the colour on my lids, but as soon as I start to blend them, any extra opaqueness just fades away.
Longevity: After 12 hours of wear, there was a bit of fallout from the glitter – but nothing too bad, just a few specs here or there. I noticed no fading or creasing with all the other shades (when worn over an eyeshadow primer), but they did look like they blended more into each other as time went on. That could be something in its favour, because the look ended up being more seamless by the end of the day.
Packaging and other info: the compact is quite large, it’s the same height as my smartphone. It’s made of plastic, but it feels solid and well built. There is a nice mirror on the inside. Each of the six half moon pans contains 0,84 grams (about half a full sized single eyeshadow) and the glitter contains 1,22 grams. The price was 33,99€.
Final thoughts: the most interesting shade in the whole palette is definitely the glitter, so if you don’t enjoy glitters, this is a pass. Honestly, this is just okay, and the run-of-the-mill colour story, coupled with the less than exciting performance, makes me regret getting this – particularly at the 34€ price point. It’s the type of quality I would be happy to see in a Revolution 5€ palette, but that I’m disappointed to find in the first Rare Beauty product I’ve ever tried. I don’t see myself reaching for this unless I remember there is an interesting glitter in it to pull out for special occasions.
