Revolution x Carmi ‘Make Magic’ Eyeshadow Palette Review + Demo
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Hey, pretty people!
My history with the Make Magic palette is kind of a funny one. Let me just say that I am a big fan of Carmi’s (find his YouTube channel here and his Instagram here!), but I wasn’t 100% convinced I wanted this palette.
The shade range seemed interesting, but I did not get to see it IRL. The pictures on the Revolution Beauty website seemed fine, but I was still very much unsure about the purchase. Everything changed about a month ago, while I was able to see the palette on display in a store.
The products were finished, and the tester was the only one available. I took a good look at it, and swatched a couple of shades as well.
Needless to say, I fell completely in love with it. I decided to place an order on the Revolution Beauty website as soon as I got home, and the palette finally came in the mail.
So, did the Make Magic palette perform as good as I hoped?
Let’s find out!
GENERAL SPECIFICS
- 15$ | 10£ | €11.99
- 20 shades total
- 9 mattes + 11 shimmer shades (1 duochrome)
- Net Wt. 6 x 0.04 Oz. (1.3g) | 14 x 0.02 Oz. (0.65g)
- 12 months shelf life
- Cruelty-free
- Full size mirror
- Versatile shade range
Find the full ingredients’ list at revolutionbeauty.com.
PACKAGING
This packaging couldn’t be more different from the one of the previous collab.
The Make Magic palette comes in a reflective electric light blue cardboard with gold writings. I personally like these two colors together, especially for the summer.
The golden designs pop perfectly, making the product not only eye-catching, but very easy to read and identify.
One thing I don’t really appreciate about this cardboard is that the writings on the back are all black. This is a bit annoying if you want to read the ingredients’ list and a few general specifics.
AESTHETICS
The aesthetics of the Make Magic palette stay consistent with the actual palette, preserving the electric light blue color and gold writings. This time, however, the background is enriched with water-like designs. It makes the background look like a pool, which is even more fitting with the season.
Another detail I appreciated about this packaging is that the writings on the back are in white. They pop perfectly against the black sticker!
Opening up the Make Magic palette, we are met with a wonderful full-size mirror; you could easily complete your entire routine with it, not just your eyeshadow. Also, the shades’ names are written directly on the palette!
SHADES’ SELECTION + BREAKDOWN
The first thing that comes to mind while observing Make Magic is how eclectic it is.
You have bright and more mellow tones, shadows that range from natural to more colorful. I personally am a big fan of this type of diversity in a palette, especially when I spot a matte black among the bunch.
I also love how wearble this selection is, in terms of seasons. You have more fall-ish shades, like ‘Integrity‘ and ‘Camo‘, but you also have bright and fun colors such as ‘Bite Me‘ and ‘Self Made‘.
You have enough room to experiment with more complex colors and formulas (like with ‘You Got This‘) or stay in your comfort zone, which is something that I love – especially at a drugstore price.
One thing I did not fully appreciate was the kind of obvious similarity between ‘Bite Me‘ and ‘Desire‘. The two are slightly different in color, but couldn’t be further apart from each other in terms of formulations. I would have much preferred another color to replace ‘Desire‘, but hey – I like the Make Magic palette either way!
ROW #1
Coz of U. The first row starts off with a beautiful peachy shimmer shade that has gold sparkles to it; it’s one of those colors that work in every season, and you could easily wear on a day-to-day basis. One thing you’ll certainly notice right away is that this eyeshadow is extremely creamy and smooth, wether you’re using a brush or your fingers. It has an overall good pigmentation to it, but may need a little bit of building up if you’re using a brush.
Bite Me. This magenta pink shimmer is definitely pretty, but it didn’t tickle all of my boxes to be honest. The pigmentation is good, but it sure isn’t anything special. The color comes off as true to what it looks like in the pan, but I wouldn’t jump up and down for it. It has an overall nice formulation, but it didn’t really leave an impact on me.
Money Maker. Soft, pigmented and very bright: these are the first 3 adjectives that come to mind when working with this amazing yellow gold shimmer. It’s definitely not something you would use on a day-to-day basis, but it will sure steal your heart once you try it out. Its barely-perceptible red sparkles create a very interesting effect, and the pigmentation is definitely top-notch.
Under My Spell. It’s marketed as an icy blue shimmer, which is completely true, but in the pan it looks a bit darker; nonetheless, the icy element comes out fully once the shade is applied to the eye. It’s a very creamy and pigmented eyeshadow, and it’s truly a pleasure to work with it.
Make Magic. A light cyan shimmer that is the perfect marriage between green, light gold and a vague icy finish on the eye. The pigment does not disappoint once again, either with a brush or your fingers (pretty much like the rest of the shimmers of the palette), and the formulation is smooth and buttery.
You Got This. This violet and blue duo-chrome shimmer was the reason I fell in love with this palette, but as soon as I started playing around with it I realized that it’s also the shade that needs more love. It is pigmented, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a bit crumbly in the pan; also, it creates a little bit of fallout on the face.
ROW #2
Flames. This matte orange could be the perfect transition for deeper skintones, but will also work on lighter ones. It looks a little bit brighter on the eye than it does in the pan, but it’s not an overwhealming difference. Also, it has a very good pigmentation but creates the tiniest bit of build-up in the pan.
Confidence. A biscuit matte shade that could serve as a very soft transition for lighter skintones, but also as a base for lighter medium ones. I can’t really say anything bad about it: I loved the pigment, the blendability and the fact that the color stayed true to what it looks like in the pan.
Desire. To be completely honest, I find this fuchsia pink to be the most useless shade of the palette. Even with a few differences, the shade is very similar to ‘Bite Me‘, and the pigmentation is almost non-existent. I would have easily gone without it, especially when you count all the work you have to put into it for it to show up on the lid.
Self Made. I feel like this mermaid blue shimmer is ‘Under My Spell‘ and ‘Make Magic”s love child. It’s not only one of my favorite shimmers of the palette, but also one of the best performing; you need the smallest amount to have a perfect result, and that’s pretty amazing. It also has a barely perceptible golden shift to it that enriches its color, in my opinion.
Bless. This matte pale cool pink only looks pale in the pan, believe me. It reminded me a lot of ‘Hazy Lilac‘ from the PS Violet Mist palette from Primark, but it’s thankfully different performance-wise. Once applied on the eye it turns a lot more pink and gives out a far warmer undertone, so don’t be too intimidated by how light it looks in the pan!
U Do U. A (deep) chocolate brown that pulled a weird trick on me. After a little bit of blending, a plummy undertone came out of nowhere; I am not overly bothered by it, but I would much prefer a true chocolate brown shade nonetheless. Regardless, it’s a nice outer-corner shadow for lighter skintones and a good base for deeper ones.
Dark Side. Holy macaroni, this shade is so pigmented! It will work amazingly on any skintone and deepen up any look, and I love that Carmi decided to include it into the selection. It blends out really well, and I also noticed that it does not loose much power once completely blended out. Truly one of the best performing mattes in the palette, and in my collection as well!
ROW #3
Overcome. A matte terracotta shade that could be an interesting transition for medium and deeper skintones, but looks good on lighter ones as well. It’s truly one of the most pigmented mattes of the palette, and an authentic pleasure to work with.
Integrity. This olive green shimmer is undoubtedly very pretty, but I would define it as an ‘average’ eyeshadow. Don’t get me wrong, it performs really well, with a good pigmentation and formula, but it didn’t impress me as much as the other ones. Nevertheless, one of my favorites for fall!
Love Yourself. Much like ‘Integrity’ from above, I wasn’t very much impressed by this coral shimmer. Once again, pigment and formulation make the perfect team, but I didn’t find any elements about it that just made me think of it as something more, especially when compared to the others. One thing I will say, however, is that the fuchsia particles in it are really cute.
Free Hugs. I just recently realized how much I like dusty rose shades, and this matte makes no exception! I really like using it into my crease, but it could easily make a nice everyday lid color for light to medium skintones as well. It’s undoubtedly very pigmented, but it does create the tiniest bit of build-up in the pan.
Honesty. I like to use this chartreuse yellow shimmer as an inner-corner highlighter, and I have to admit that I quickly grew dependent to its brightness. It may not be the most pigmented eyeshadow of the bunch, but a quick build-up will easily solve the problem. Also, it looks slightly warmer on the eye than it does in the pan.
Addicted. Matte mustards are among my favorite colors ever, and this one does not disappoint. It wants to work together with the other colors and blend with them, but the pigmentation could be a little bit better. Nonetheless, it blends out very well.
Camo. This matte khaki green is truly one of my favorites of the palette! It has a very nice payoff, and it doesn’t loose strength after blending it out. Also, it looks perfect even after many hours.
DEMO #1
After I primed my lid with my DIY eyeshadow primer and set it with some translucent powder, I started buffing ‘Free Hugs‘ into the crease for definition; once I blended it out, I used ‘U Do U‘ to reinforce it. I started deepening the outer corner with ‘Dark Side‘, and then cut the crease halfway; then, I used ‘Self Made‘, ‘Money Maker‘ and ‘Bite Me‘ to set it, from inner to outer corner. I swiped ‘Dark Side‘ and ‘Free Hugs’ on my lower lash line and used ‘Honesty‘ as my inner corner highlighter.
DEMO #2
On a primed and set lid, I created a halo shape with ‘Camo‘ and blended it out with ‘Addicted‘. Then, after cutting the crease with my Cut Crease Canvas in Halo White, I set it with ‘Integrity‘; since I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the result, I packed ‘Honesty‘ on the center. After swiping the crease colors on my lower lash line, I used ‘Honesty‘ as my inner corner highlighter as well.
DEMO #3
On a primed and set lid, I started buffing ‘Free Hugs‘ into the crease and packing it on my outer corner as well; then, I added ‘Overcome‘ and the slightest bit of ‘U Do U‘ to make the color stronger. After buffing them out using ‘Bless‘, I placed ‘You Got This‘ on the inner third of the lid using my finger. To finish the look off, I also swiped the crease colors on my lower lash line and used ‘Bless‘ as my inner corner highlighter.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This has been quite the ride! All in all, would I recommend the Revolution x Carmi MUA Make Magic palette? In a heartbeat!
I am annoyed that I already published my top 5 Makeup Revolution Eyeshadow Palettes. This baby would have been the top ranking one!
The color selection of Make Magic is cohesive, but also well thought out. You have transitions for a good amount of skintones, and the essential matte black. This means everybody can use this palette, wether their skintone is lighter or deeper, and that’s honestly all that matters.
Overall, the formulation of the shadows was good and consistent. Almost all the shades performed well, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the matte shades. The build-up certain shadows created was minimal, and they all shared an amazing pigmentation and an even better blendability.
The shimmers performed quite good as well, but I feel like that’s something to be expected nowadays. The first row in particular wowed me. All the shadows presented an almost foiled finish, which I deeply enjoyed.
Overall, these eyeshadows are incredibly long-lasting and will work through your base breaking.
It’s been quite hot the past weeks, and I could feel my lids getting oily throughout the day. These shadows did not disrupt, and stayed right where they were supposed to!
DOWNSIDES
Now, what did I not like about the Make Magic palette? Few things, thankfully!
I would have easily gone without ‘Desire‘. In my opinion, that’s the worst performing shadow of the palette, and the color is way too similar to ‘Bite Me‘.
Another thing I did not fully appreciate is the slight plum undertone of ‘U Do U‘. I would have much preferred a true matte chocolote brown, but let’s be real: this palette is pretty amazing as it is!