REVIEW: essence Glamo-Camo Eyeshadow Palette

by - May 17, 2019


I have to say, I really love the direction that makeup trends are going at the moment and one of the trends that is getting me the most is green eyeshadow. I can remember back maybe 10-15 years ago before the advent of the online beauty community when I was a much more casual makeup wearer and I generally wore the same one shadow look every single day using a golden olive shade in a satin finish all over the lid and into the crease and it remains one of my favorite makeup memories. So, of course, a couple of weeks ago when I was buying cold medicine at my local Shoppers Drug Mart and I saw the new Essence Glamo-Camo Eyeshadow Palette in the display, I really had no choice but to pick it up and try it out. 

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About:
Add a little glam to your routine! essence glamo camo eyeshadow palette adds an extra punch to your eyeshadow collection. Shades inspired by the rich greens and browns of nature, with metallic and shimmer finish. There will be no disguising how gorgeous your eyes will look. Paraben Free, Vegan, no animal testing.


I have to say, I really, really love the way that they laid this out. When you open the palette, it almost feels like two palettes in one. On the top side, you have a pretty classic selection of 8 warm nude shades while on the bottom you have a pretty solid selection of green shades. I like the pairing of these two vibes because it makes this palette really, really versatile and really includes all of those core shades that a lot of us reach for in every day looks while also including the really unique green shades. 


The top row of shades is all matte with your creamy browbone shade, two mid toned brown crease shades, and then this punchy-but-not-too-bold orange. I like what they chose here for the most part, but I actually find myself wishing that they had included one darker matte neutral - like a deep brown or burgundy shade - because there really is a lot of mid-tone going on and I think the palette would benefit from a little more depth. If you're deeper skin toned than I am, this row might not have much that works for you because, while they have good pigmentation, I feel like these shades are mostly intended for light skin. 

The bottom row contain four shimmer shades. Cinnamon Sugar and Golden Hour are a little bit softer and I find that to get a real punch of glow on the eyes they work best when applied wet. Meanwhile, Bronze and November are really punchy all on their own. I think this is a solid selection of very wearable metallic shades, but honestly I feel like they're a little bit boring for me personally. I would have loved to see something a little bit more bold in this selection. 


I feel like the formulas on this side of the palette are solid across the board. The Essence matte formula has definitely improved. It's quite smooth and creamy and has good cling on the skin so it's not going to just sort of fall away throughout the day. The metallic shades, like I said, get better as the shade gets deeper but I find that if I apply the lighter shades wet they give a beautiful, smooth sheen on the eyes and pack a decent amount of punch. 


Pecan Pie - matte vanilla cream matte. Decent pigmentation, smooth texture but a little bit dry.
Maple - midtoned camel brown matte. Good pigmentation, smooth texture, quite creamy and blendable.
Suede - midtoned ashy brown matte. Really good pigmentation, very smooth and creamy, good cling.
New England - muted burnt orange matte. Good pigmentation, smooth texture but a little bit dry.
Cinnamon Sugar - white gold metallic. A little bit sheer, smooth texture, best if applied wet.
Bronze - light golden bronze metallic. Really good pigmenation, smooth texture, gorgeous application.
November - chocolate brown metallic. Really good pimentation, smooth texture, gorgeous application.
Golden Hour - yellow gold metallic. A little bit sheer, smooth texture, best if applied wet.


Like the top section, the bottom section is split into matte shades in the top row and shimmer shades in the bottom row. I feel like the choices they made for this section are maybe a little bit strange but also quite beautiful and distinctly unique. The matte shades have a much bigger range in this section, going from very, very light to very deep and rich, and I absolutely love that they really went for it with matte shades that don't live in the neutral zone.

The bottom section of shimmers very much mirrors the shades that are going on in the top row but with a different finish. When you see them swatched together, you can really see how similar the shades are. I actually really like that they went with that because I think it can make getting a really seamless look quite easy and can also help to ground those shimmers. 


The formula of these shades actually makes me feel like green pigments might be difficult to work with because they're a little bit hit and miss. I almost feel like the two really light yellow shades are kind of throwaways because they're both quite sheer and a little bit chalky. The grassy green shades in the middle of the palette are quite solid, and the deeper shades perform really well. 


Mellow - pastel yellow matte. Sheer pigmentation, creamy texture, a little bit chunky & chalky.
Olive You - pickle green matte. Sheer, buildable pigmentation, creamy texture, blendable.
Spice It Up - lime green matte.Good pigmentation, creamy texture, smooth & blendable.
Coffee - deep hunter green matte. Really good pigmentation, very creamy, smooth texture, builds and blends really well.
Corn Maze - pastel yellow shimmer. Good pigmentation, smooth texture, applies best wet.
Halloweentown - Really good pigmentation, smooth texture, applies beautifully.
Pumpkin Patch - Good pigmentation, smooth texture, applies really well.
Smokey - Really good pigmentation, smooth texture, applies really well.


For this look, I started with Pecan Pie on the brow bone and then worked Suede into the crease with a very fluffy brush as my transition. Next, I used a pointed blending brush to work Olive You into the crease and blend it in with Pecan Pie for an olive toned crease. Next, I worked Coffee onto the third of the lid crease and lid, building it up for depth. For the lid, I applied Halloweentown on the middle third and Pumpkin Patch on the inner third using a flat packing brush. Finally, I worked Pumpkin Patch across the lower lash line to finish the look. 


Overall, I think this is generally a really solid palette for the price point, very versatile and brings both solid neutrals that are very wearable as well as the more unique-to-the-drugstore green shades that I know a lot of people have been keeping an eye out for recently. The formula can be a little bit hit and miss, but I think it's a very workable palette that a lot of people will enjoy and ultimately I'm really glad that I picked it up. 

The essence Glamo-Camo Eyeshadow Palette is available now at Shoppers Drug Mart and retails for $12.99!

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