Review -- e.l.f. Prism Eyeshadow Palettes in Sunset and Naked

I've had some seriously good luck with e.l.f. purchases lately.

The brand certainly has its fair share of misses, but when they get a product right, it's nearly impossible to beat the value.

Particularly if you're like me and do all your shopping when their website is having a sale.

One of my latest big hits from e.l.f. are the Prism Eyeshadow Palettes.

e.l.f.'s track record with shadow palettes is a little spotty in my experience -- I've tried a couple that were pretty nice, especially considering the price, and others that have been major disappointments regardless of how affordable they were.

The Prism Eyeshadow Palettes are from e.l.f.'s Studio line, where many of the brand's most successful products can be found, so it's hardly a surprise that they're some pretty impressive little palettes.


Each palette contains six shadows and comes in the usual black plastic packaging that the Studio line products come in.  These are nice and slim, though, and feature a decent size mirror inside.

According to e.l.f., these are powder shadows that feel like a cream -- that might be a slight exaggeration, but they are definitely soft, buttery and incredibly easy to blend. They're also seriously pigmented and they all have a gorgeous shimmery, almost metallic finish that brightens up the eyes like nobody's business.

elf Prism Eyeshadow Palettes in Sunset (top) and Naked (bottom)

(If you're not a fan of shimmer, then you likely won't enjoy these palettes. There isn't a single matte or even satin shade in the any of the palettes.)

With an eye primer underneath, the shadows last all day, so there are no issues with their staying power at all.

I originally purchased the palette in Sunset because peachy/rosy/golden/purple-y tones were just too gorgeous to pass up. It includes a white, a pinky-peach, a light bronze, a yellow gold, a darker bronze, and a pinky purple.

elf Prism Eyeshadow Palette in Sunset

elf Prism Eyeshadow Palette in Sunset

I liked the Prism Eyeshadow Palette in Sunset so much that I went back and placed another order for the palette in Naked. As you can imagine, it includes all natural brownish tones.  The shades feature a white, a pale gold, a light golden tan, mid tone bronze, a darker bronze, and cool tone brown.

elf Prism Eyeshadow Palette in Naked

elf Prism Eyeshadow Palette in Naked

My one complaint about the Naked palette is that the fourth and fifth shades are extremely similar, as they're both kind of medium bronze shades. I might replace one of them with a copper type shade or a deeper chocolate brown.

I typically supplement these palettes with a matte brow bone highlight or crease color, so the look isn't too shimmery. But I've also used nothing but these palettes to do a look when I was headed out for the evening and wanted something more dramatic.

Either way, I think these are really pretty palettes that are super easy to use. They retail for $10 each, which is certainly reasonable, but e.l.f. is always running sales and deals on their website so if you time it right, you can get them even cheaper. (I think I purchased the Sunset palette for just $5 and the Naked palette for $6.)

If you're interested in the palettes but aren't a fan of either color collection, there's a third option in Smoke, which features cool gray, blue, green and purple shades.

Have you tried the e.l.f. Prism Eyeshadow Palettes? Which one is your favorite?