Cargo Cosmetics You Had Me At Aloha Palette

Today we are going to talk about one of two early summer palettes that I've had for months but procrastinated about discussing.

I can't remember the last time, if ever, that Cargo Cosmetics caught my imagination. Yet I became obsessed with acquiring the You Had Me At Aloha Palette ($34), the brand's Spring/Summer LE offering about three months or so ago. I literally wouldn't stop thinking about it until I had it in my hands. Guess what? I bought it. Yet, I didn't feel compelled to review it in the first few posts back.

So, I thought that I'd review it because I saw it on Ulta.com.

Well.

Here's a screenshot of Ulta's Cargo page from July 3 at 1800 EDT:

But the palette's not on the site.

However, it's still in stock on kohls.com and we're going to roll with it, ok? I try not to feature something that you can't purchase.

The You Had Me at Aloha Palette contains 12 powder eyeshadows, one dual-ended brush (which I used for swatches), and a black eyeliner.

Before we get back to the palette, let's talk about the extras.

Normally, the brushes included in palettes are meh. I actually liked this one, and all of the swatches that are down below are done with the smaller end. I liked it enough that it survived my massive brush purge a few days ago.

Let's talk about the liner. It's your standard black pencil eyeliner, and a bit stiff-looking.

OK, surprisingly good and creamy. I'll actually pop this into my eyeliner stash- which means that I'll use it in the future. I don't use many black pencil liners these days but it's all good.

This is a good sign, right? Now, let's look at some dry swatches. (I specify just because I've been wetting so many shadows as of late)

Row 1: Hula, Waikiki, Hapuna, Jona, Shell, Shaka

These really are in line with the on-trend warm shades. Some of these aren't the most pigmented that I've seen, but I'm not going to be picky. I really like Waikiki.

Row 2: Hibiscus, Island, Kai, Tiki, Lei, Luau

The purple and teal are a little patchy and have less pigmentation than I'm generally looking for, but otherwise I like the palette. This would be excellent for someone looking for neutrals and is a little hesitant about pops of color.

I got better swatches than they translated to the eyes, but I've been working with it. Either accept this is meant for a summery, lightweight look or be prepared to spend some time. I'm not afraid of committing some serious time to my shadow, but I was a little taken aback initially.

I want to go back and keep testing- especially the teal (which is what I was dreaming of). I wasn't happy initially with the payoff along my lower lash line, but it's workable if you're willing to carefully layer.

Do you need this? Not at all. But if you have this and have gotten better payoff on the eyes, please let me know! Do I need to wet? Different base? (I generally use the MAC Paint Pot in Painterly). I adore looking at this palette and want to make it work like I'm hoping for.

Bottom Line: This is a fun summer palette in all facets of that term. It's lighter and has some beautiful on-trend shades. I know purples are hard to formulate as a purple-lover, so I'm willing to overlook that they don't all perform as great as I'd hoped. This is an easy-to-travel-with palette. I'm glad that it caught my eye, and I will be looking to explore more of Cargo's offerings in the future.