Lets get this out of the way before we get into the review. I did not buy this collaboration palette with Kathleen Lights because it is a ‘zodiac’ palette. I don’t believe in the zodiac but I totally respect your right to do so. I think it is novel and interesting and probably a bit fun but I don’t follow it seriously. I watched Kathleen’s youtube video where she discussed this palette and explained why she chose each colour in relation to its corresponding sign so I appreciate that to a degree she was being led by the theme, but I am not going to review this palette on those terms. I am just going to say what I think of the shadows as is.
And on that note, normally the 12 pan ColourPop palettes really excite me but when I saw the promo images of The Zodiac I was a bit uninspired. At first it just looks like a bit of a mish mash of colours and I wasn’t sure what I would do with it in terms of creating looks. The packaging is stunning, and I appreciate the mirror but this palette has the “browns and oranges with a pop of blue and green” colour story of the Mar palette that was also released this season so it feels a bit repetitive even though the colours themselves are different. The rosey shades are very pretty and I have found myself reaching for those the most. I do appreciate that overall this palette has an even distribution of cooler and warmer tones and I also enjoy the fact that this is a colourful palette with a pop of brown (as Angelica Nyqvist from Youtube would say) rather than being another straight up neutral palette.
Now, onto the shadow quality. Overall, I would say the quality is good, but it isn’t the most consistent palette in terms of quality that I have seen from ColourPop.
The Aries is much more of a satin shade than it appears in the pan. I was expecting this to be metallic but was disappointed to find that actually it is quite a flat colour. So much so that I have blended this into the crease and put The Leo on the lid and it was a pretty, simple look but not what I was expecting.
The Aries, The Taurus, The Gemini, The Cancer
The Capricorn is in my least favourite formula of a matte base with glitters, and in my least used colour of black but this one has surprised me. I used this for a dark smokey eye with the browns in the crease and then I picked up The Capricorn on my brush and really wet my brush and patted it onto the lid and I found that it looked quite satin and the glitters really did transfer well to the lid. Honestly, its not a colour I will reach for but it does work well. I then blended the edges gently with more of The Capricorn and I didn’t notice any glitter fallout.
The Leo, The Virgo, The Libra, The Scorpio
The Pisces is the most disappointing shadow of the palette for me. I love the colour but it is super flakey and whenever I wore this I had glitter fallout all over my cheeks by the end of the day. Ironically, I am a pisces so… bummer. I think a glitter glue is required to really make this one work.
The Sagittarius, The Capricorn, The Aquarius, The Pisces
My favourite shades from this palette would have to be The Cancer and The Libra – stunning and quite unique and together with The Scorpio and The Sagittarius they make a really stunning eyelook.
Overall, This is just an ok palette for me. I do enjoy the rosey, cool tones and I will reach for this palette just for them but if I had my time again, I probably wouldn’t pick this up, at least not for full price. Its a shame really, because I love Dream St. which was Kathleen’s first palette collaboration with ColourPop. Saying that, if you really enjoy the zodiac I think this has been really well curated and you will totally love this I’m sure!
Have a great day 🙂
