A Blush With Greatness — Why The Maybelline New York The Blushed Nudes Palette Comes Up Roses

This summer, following the success of its The Nudes palette, Maybelline New York released The Blushed Nudes palette ($11.99 at Walmart, Target, and select mass market retailers nationwide), an assortment of twelve shades ranging from a pearlescent ash gray to an earthy deep bronze, a golden seashell pink, a taupe-tinged mauve, and a deep shimmering plum —most infused with rose gold pigments to give them the desired pink undertones. This palette represents a new take on the ever-shifting concept of neutrals, a realm that Urban Decay has successfully explored with its Naked I, II, and III eyeshadow palettes, and which now mass market beauty brands are broaching — though no one with as much finesse as Maybelline New York.

The Blushed Nudes palette, then, explores the concept of pink, mauve, and plum hues as neutrals, as shades that can be mixed and matched with virtually any other shade, but it does so without simply amassing together an assortment of well, pink, mauve, and plum eyeshadows. Instead, this curated collection of eye shadows relies on subtle nuances to come up roses.  A blackened brown shade with a smoky, almost sooty matte finish is transformed by a sprinkling of rose-colored glitter that gives the shade an almost galactic feel, as if the specks of glitter were tiny stars in deep space. A subtle warm pink hue is given a sensual and sun-kissed allure via the incorporation of yellow gold pigments and shimmer. A copper color with an all-over metallic sheen boasts finely milled rose gold-toned pigments that make the shade look more feminine and refined.

Also worth noting: the palette boasts a nice balance between matte, satin, and shimmering eye shadows. Below, I’ll offer a glimpse at all the eye shadows in the collection.

Because the eye shadow shades in the palette aren’t named, I’ve allotted a number to each shade, starting with the shadow all the way left on the top row of the palette. This shade will be marked as No. 1 in the swatches below, with No. 2 and No. 3, referring to the following two shades on its right (in sequential order). Here’s a look at those first three shades:

As you can hopefully see, the first eyeshadow shade is a creamy off-white color, almost a creme brûlée hue, with just the faintest hint of opalescent shimmer. The second shade, meanwhile is a dainty warm pink, a faint seashell pink, with rose gold shimmer to make it feel all the more beach-y and radiant. The third shade, meanwhile, looks like a light gray in the palette pan but, when applied to skin, it looks like more of a white gold shade, perfectly marrying a cooler silver-like  base with rosy and golden shimmer.

Next, you’ll find the following three shades in the top row of the palette (again moving from left to right on the palette):

The No. 4 shade pictured above is one of the only straight-forward pink eye shadows in the mix. It’s a cool, lavender-toned pink that’s been whitened quite a bit to give it a certain edginess — all without making it look too chalky. The No. 5 shade, meanwhile, is among the only matte eye shadows in the palette. I’d describe it as an earthy mauve pink,almost a dusty antique rose shade. Finally, the No. 6 shade is a brownish bronze saturated with rose gold shimmer for a fresh take on the classic metallic hue.

Moving on to the bottom row of eyeshadows, let’s start again with the shades on the left-most side and make our way right. Below, you’ll find the next three shades, labeled 7, 8, and 9.

The No. 7 shade is a true metallic hue, an amber copper shade infused with rose gold pigments that move it a bit toward the pink champagne territory. The No. 8 shade, meanwhile, is among the darkest in the bunch: a deep bruised plum  color that marries reddish purple and espresso brown pigments, then gives them a playful jolt through scattered pink shimmer. The No. 9 shade, meanwhile, is more of a deep mushroom color, not quite as grayish as a taupe hue but definitely heading in that direction — but, again here, those rose gold pigments give the color depth and an intriguing finish.

Next, we have the final three shades in the collection: No. 10, No. 11, and No. 12.

As you’ll see above, the No. 10 shade is a subtle mink grey shade with scattered pink shimmer that eliminates any gloominess associated with grey hues. The No. 11 color, meanwhile, is a delightful metallic rose gold (as defined by the Pantone universe, at least!), that’s saturated with tonal shimmer. Last, but not least, the No. 12 shade has a matte, sooty, carbon black base and is infused with rose gold shimmer. The color isn’t very opaque and it was one of the only ones I had trouble really applying and blending but, if you wet your brush slightly before gliding it over the eyeshadow pan, that will help the color to adhere better.

All in all, I’ve LOVED this palette — the shades in the palette harmonize extremely well with those in The Nudes and The Smokes palettes, and they capture the warmth and light of the summer season. Also, I appreciate that there aren’t too many straight-forward pink hues and that, instead, the palette focuses on a handful of pink and plum hues, then gives earthy, gray, and nude shades a reinvention through the addition of rose undertones or rose gold shimmer.

I’ve created tons of looks using the palette, but here’s just a small sampling:

For this look, I started out applying the No.3 color to my entire lid and all along the crease. Next, I applied the No. 11 shade to the inner half of the lid. Third, I swept the No. 8 shade along the outer half of lids, blending it with the No. 11 shade along the center. Last, using the No. 3 shadow again, I blended all of the shades and smoothed put the color along the cease.

For this look, I wanted a warmer, more golden touch, so I focused on the No. 7 and No. 8 shades, applying the former to the lower lid area, then applying the latter to the outer corners and working into the crease . I blended these shades along the crease using the No. 5 color.

Here’s a look that incorporates more of the pink shadows in the collection. To create a base layer, I started out by applying the No. 1 shade all over the lower lids, the crease, and up to the brow bone. Next, I applied the No. 11 shade all along the lower lids area. Next, I worked  the No. 9 shade into the outer corners and into the crease, buffing as I worked the shade into the crease area. To give the outer corners greater definition, I applied just a hint of the No. 8 shade along the outer edges of eyes, blending it with the No. 9 shade. Last, I traced the lash line with the No. 11 shade one last time to make the rose gold pink really pop.

Of course, these are just a few of the many, many, many looks you can create with the palette, but they’re all natural and soft without being boring or overly conventional. If nude eyeshadow is a bit too vanilla for you, consider this a sexier, more indulgent cherry vanilla or, better yet, a bourbon vanilla. Who can resist?