Review: Collection 2000 Smokey Eyes Eye Palette

So a few weeks ago I was mooching around Boots, looking for birthday present ideas for my housemate when I came across this little lovely.  Now to be honest, I've never been a huge fan of Collection 2000.  I feel that there are other affordable brands that just seem to do it better (Sleek anyone?).  Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere and you have to pretty much make do with what you can get on the high street in my town!  The girl I was buying for doesn't tend to wear a lot of make up (she's one of those annoying people that doesn't really need it).  So I was looking for an affordable palette for beginners that contained colours that were wearable and not intimidating.  This seemed to tick all those boxes, plus it comes with a handy set of instructions for application.  All that and it retails for £4.19, meaning I could buy her lots of other pretty things to go with it.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.  I had high hopes...

The palette comes with 3 medium shades, 3 dark, 2 light shades and a cream highlighter.  Cue swatches...

Top Row

Middle Row

Bottom Row

I couldn't get a swatch of the highlighter to show on camera, maybe it's my camera, maybe it was the lighting. It was probably both!

The colours themselves are very wearable and (unlike many shadow sets) there is no 'dodgy color' that will never get worn.  The shimmery shades tend to be stronger and feel better quality.  The main drawback is that the texture is a little chalky leading to quite a bit of fallout.  I'm also a bit confused by the cream highlighter...the instructions suggest putting it in the inner corners however it's texture is...well...a bit greasy(!?) I'm just not sure I'd want that anywhere near my eyes.  From looking at it, it seems to be intended as a dupe for Benefit's Eye Bright and I didn't like that either so maybe it's just me.

All in all, the quality is not the best.  It's not going to be rivaling anything by MAC anytime soon, but at £4.19 with such a wearable colour range and nifty instructions on the back, it's perfect for anyone just starting with make-up or that wants to experiment with smokey eyes.

xxx