Natasha Denona Aeris Eyeshadow Palette 5 for Holiday 2017

I wasn't necessarily planning to purchase this palette, but (spoiler alert) I'm happy that I did.

Natasha Denona landed in Sephora late last year, and launched the Star palette for holiday last year. I balked at the $169 price tag and passed (and regret it). For Holiday 2017, she's incorporated lessons learned from the popularity of Sunset and Lila and brought a (relatively) affordable collection for Holiday 2017. There are 2 Eyeshadow Palette 5s and four chroma top coats.

 One of my local Sephora locations stocks the full range, and it was after a full swatching and comparison party (particularly with Sunset) that I came to the conclusion that Aeris was my correct selection. I briefly mulled the cream toppers, but I don't wear cream shadows often enough to justify the purchase.

A quick note on why I didn't purchase Joya. That blinding yellow gold drew me in; if you're looking for something similar, the Tarte cream shadow that was just released is similar. Joya is really similar to shades from the Sunset palette; if you have Sunset, you don't need Joya.

Let's talk about pricing and product here. The 5-pan palettes retail for $48, and you receive 5 2.5g/0.08oz shadows.

This packaging is slimmer than the normal 5-pan palettes, and it's rose gold with a better clasp. It's really satisfying to open and close.

Aeris comes with five shades, all of which were made in Italy:

I'll briefly break them down (briefly).

Nude (140CP) is a glowy nude that actually works in the inner corner on my fair complexion.

Red Bronze  (141K) is a pure burgundy glittery shade. Even though it's a Khroma formula, it does work with a MAC 228, patted on the lid.

Burnt Terracotta (142CM) is the lone matte. It's a bold, orange matte that's creamier than prior mattes.

Ice Blue (143CP) is the type of shade that might give you pause, but it's glorious. It blends well both over over shades and with darker ones on the lid.

Peach Bronze (144CP) has a serious golden reflect that's not captured in the pan.

Now, let's look at some swatches with a huge warning. These are brush swatches, and they're much better both with fingers (but I was afraid of sealing my pans eventually). These perform so much better on the lids than in these swatches.

As usual, I used a dry synthetic brush for all swatches because my OCD likes the straight lines. I will note that three of the sparkling shades (1,2,4) were built up- but they do full opacity if you use a better-suited tool such as a MAC 228 or, ya know, your finger. The lone matte was one pass, the blue was 2 passes- but that was to get the full length of the swatch. You're seeing the intensity with one pass on my swatch.

I had fun testing this over a few different days. I prefer to get new palettes late in the work week so I can photograph on Friday night and then crack into a brand new palette on Saturday. Let's talk about how I've been able to use this to make so many different looks (that's one of the things I liked about this palette since Joya produces only warm looks.)


Look #1: A bit much, but blends like a dream.

In this look, I've got mattes from Viseart Neutral Mattes and Warm Mattes supplementing the look, and Morgana from the Sunset Palette along my lower lashes.

Since it was a Saturday, I was attracted to Red Bronze. I put that all over my lid at first- here's an "in-work" shot because the final product looked so different. I know, I know with the iphone photo. But look how insanely pigmented this is.

Although I liked it being bold, I decided to tame it down by haloing Nude and blending the two shadows on the lid- that's how I got that pretty but intense shade. How often do shimmers blend so seamlessly like this? Call it love.  I also have Nude in my inner corner.

By the way, looks a lot better after I finished the look, right? Wow.


Look #2: All-in.

I started out thinking I'd do a gold look with Ice Blue on my lower lashline- but thought "screw it, go big or go home." BOOM.

That's Ice Blue to the midpoint of the lid, and then a shadow I'll be reviewing tomorrow (that left the glitter in the crease sadly) further out.

Not a combo I'd wear during the week, but fun to play with on a weekend.

Overall, I love this palette. I haven't had any issues with fallout, and they've stayed vibrant all day long. I've heard that this is a new formula- it's superior to any of my other Natasha Denona palettes, including the other 5-pan that I have. I highly recommend checking these out for holiday, but make sure Nude is in-tact in your palette first!

I wasn't sold on this collection, to be honest. Luckily, I reserved judgment and budget until I saw and played in-store. I do think this formula is great, and in terms of holiday palettes I'd slot it in at #3 right now.