Confessions of a Makeup Magpie: LA Splash Golden Gatsby Review

If you’re a fan of The Great Gatsby or the roaring ‘20’s or just excited that the ‘20’s are back then I have a few makeup palettes to share with you that will have you doing The Charleston.

While the Golden Gatsby collection from LASplash Cosmetics has been around for a bit, I just received the Golden Gatsby Eyeshadow Palette and the Golden Gatsby Old Money Highlighter Palette (both $28.00 USD) for review.

This line also includes, lashes, liner, lipstick, lip gloss, and mascara, which I did not received. What surprised me a bit about this line is that it didn’t include blushers. When I think about makeup from this era, the rosy cheeks stood out. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have a blusher.

My first impression: The gorgeous art deco packaging blew me away. I had to smile at the era-appropriate shade names. They really went the extra mile with the packaging and presentation. I was immediately drawn to the ‘foil shades’ in the eyeshadow palette. They looked buttery smooth but, when I swatched them it was a different story.

 

Now On To My Review…

 

Packaging

 

The packaging on both the eyeshadow palette and the highlighter is a lovely art deco theme in a matte black with golden details.

 

The eyeshadow palette has cardboard packing with magnetic closure and a mirror. On the back of the palette it says, “Darling, it wouldn’t be a party without you” in embossed gold lettering. It comes with a gold embossed slipcover, which explains the meaning of the shade names on the back.

 

While the packaging is adorable with the art deco design of a flapper on the inside of the lid of the highlighter palette, I would have preferred a mirror. The case is a sturdy plastic, I know some don’t care for plastic packaging but I actually prefer it because it protects the highlighters better. This comes in a gold embossed cardboard box.

 

Products

 

Golden Gatsby Eyeshadow Palette $28.00 USD

 

Shades:

Top Row

French 75: satin vanilla, Mary Pickford: satin peach, Highball: matte burnt orange, Old Fashioned: matte brown, Mint Julep:  matte moss

 

Bottom Row

Hotsy-Totsy: Pink foil with silver shimmer, Ritzy: 24k Gold foil, Sheba: Copper foil, Zozzled: Forest Green shimmer with gold flakes, Speakeasy: matte black



The foil shades are not nearly as sparkly as the ones in the promo picture

The matte and satin shades (French 75, Mary Pickford, Highball, Old Fashioned, Mint Julep, and Speakeasy) blend like a charm and are highly pigmented. They do have a bit of kick-up in the pan when lightly tapped with a brush. The shades Mary Pickford and Speakeasy seem to have more than the others do and I feel like I’ll go through those shades faster (especially Mary Pickford) because of the amount of kick-up they have.  After tapping off the excess, I still noticed quite a bit of fallout with Speakeasy.

 

Applied with finger over primer

The foil shades all perform a bit differently so I’m going to break them down individually.

 

Hotsy-Totsy and Ritzy are both extremely flaky and, while you can use your finger, I highly recommend that you wet your brush to achieve flake-free coverage.

You can see that the shade Sheba has flaked off in the pan

Sheba is still flakey but I would consider it a nice foil. While it can be used with a dry brush, to achieve a true foil look it’s best to use your finger or a wet brush. Zozzled is one of my favorite shades in the palette—I’m such a sucker for greens). While I wouldn’t consider it a full out foil, it is a nice shimmer with gold flakes. This one does deliver a nice color payoff when used with a dry brush although there’s a little more pop when applying with your finger or a wet brush.



From left to right: Shade: Ritzy applied over primer with a wet brush, applied over primer with finger, applied without primer with dry brush, applied without primer with finger

To get the best application these eyeshadows need to be applied over a concealer or eyeshadow primer. I tried several primers but I had the best color payoff and application when using NYX Proof It and Milani Eyeshadow Primer that I lightly set with a translucent setting powder. The brushes I used were Luxie brushes (Luxie 243 Precision blending, Luxie 231 Small Tapered Blending, Luxie 121 Mini Tapered, Luxie 245 Small Shader).

When using the foils, I do recommend wetting your brush. If you’ve never used eyeshadows wet before, here’s how I liked to do it. I pick up the eyeshadow on either a flat shader or concealer brush (my favorites are Luxie 245 small shader and F.A.R.A.H. 10F concealer), spray it once with the Hyrda Primer spray from Essence (any setting spray or hydrating spray will do), then apply to my eyelid. Before going back into my palette, I wipe my brush off on a towel then repeat the process.

I never go into my pans with a wet brush. Not only can it cause hardpan, it can cause mold and bacteria to grow in your eyeshadow pans. 

 

Golden Gatsby Old Money Highlighting Quad $28.00 USD

 

Shades:

Dough—Frosty White, Mazuma—Golden, Sugar—Champagne, Scratch—Pink Champagne

 

These are some of the most gorgeous and buttery highlighters that I’ve used and I have to say they are right up there with the same quality as Ofra’s highlighters.

 

All four of the shades in this quad have the same quality of color payoff and, when I put these on, I don’t have to worry about my highlighter disappearing throughout the day.

 

When swatched with my finger, they were a tad bit flaky but when I actually applied them with a brush, they went on smoothly. They do have a bit of kick-up in the pan both with a brush and from just sitting in my makeup drawer.

The kick up in this was just from sitting on the table waiting for me to photograph the highlighter.

Although all of the shades are lovely, I use Sugar, Scratch, or a mix of the two as my highlighter. Dough is nice for an inner corner highlight and Mazuma makes a lovely eyeshadow. If you prefer icy white or gold highlights, you’ll love Dough and Mazuma.

My overall impression: The Highlighter Quad is amazing. I’ve been reaching for this one over and over again since it arrived. Very nice quality that lasts all day. I highly recommend adding this one to your collection.

 

The Eyeshadow Palette was nice but it takes some work. The mattes and the satins glide on and blend effortlessly. The foils need to be applied wet for any color payoff or staying power. Considering this is a $28 palette, I was expecting more from the foils. I’ve had palettes that have cost less and their foils have performed better. With that being said, I do think this is a nice palette and I’ve received several compliments on my eyeshadow while wearing it.

I use Essence Primer + Studio HD Hydra Primer Spray to wet my brushes when I applied the foil shades. Not only is it hydrating for my eyelids, it keeps the foil shadows from looking like they’re dried out.