Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

Nabla was high on my list of brands to try in 2020, so when Trendmood announced that one of their boxes was going to be a "brand takeover" box back in November, I knew I had to grab it so I could try a few of their products in one go! 

(Yes, I picked this up a while ago, but I've had lots to try and I've made sure to try everything for about a month, so I have a pretty solid opinion about what I think of them!)

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set
I purchased everything in this post - this post contains affiliate links

One of the products I've really wanted to try by the brand was the Skin Glazing Highlighters and Blushes and sadly, this box didn't come with one, so I'm still hoping to try one of those soon! 

But, this box did come with an eyeshadow palette, mascara, glitter quad and brush set, so I feel like I've tried a decent amount of products now! Here's a look at my thoughts on all the products:

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

Nabla Side By Side Nude Palette ~ $55.75 US or € 39,90Created to be with you, always. Side by Side pulls together chromatic classicism and the daily artistic gesture of makeup, celebrating self expression and inner artistry. Inside, 16 brand new shades were developed to create an extended range of neutral looks and to easily define eyes, with a game of reflections, lights and shades. The different finishes, carefully developed for each shade, give a precious touch to each look, making it iconic.

Let's start with the product that I was most excited about (that should come as no surprise), the eyeshadow palette! I've honestly heard pretty mixed things about Nabla's eyeshadow palettes - I think the general consensus is that their single shadow formula is fantastic (I can't confirm this because I haven't tried their single shadows yet), and that the eyeshadow palette formula is not as good. But, this one had better reviews, so I wanted to try it! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

This is their first 16 pan eyeshadow palette (they normally do 6 - 12 shades), but I liked the look of this neutral palette! This comes with a good mix of mattes and metallics, and there is actually a few different metallic and shimmer formulas, which is different and feels like there is a good variety in the shadows! I also like that this is a mixed warm and cool nude palette and it feels like there is a good mix of light, medium and deep shades! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

Bonjour ~ Light rosy nude. Super matte.
Ray Of Light ~ Light neutral champagne. Metal foil.
Halftime ~ Sand. Super matte.
Magic Moment ~ Duochrome burnt peach with gold and pink reflects. Metal foil.
Body and Soul ~ Top coat shade with a transparent base and amber, peach and pink reflects. Celestial.
Paradiso ~ Intense gold with an amber base. Metal foil.
Beauty Mark ~ Neutral walnut. Super matte.
Clan ~ Dark olive brown. Super matte.

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

Burnt Sienna ~ Intense sienna. Super matte.
Better Society ~ Wet top coat shade with a hazelnut base and nude and bronze reflects. Celestial.
Cedar Wood ~ Intense copper bronze. Fluid metal.
Tempera ~ Dark cherry wood. Super matte.
Rarity ~ Antique white. Super matte.
Love Ritual ~ Cool mirrored taupe. Fluid metal.
Cubism ~ Mist grey. Super matte.
Untitled ~ Black. Super matte.

So, this eyeshadow palette formula to me is good - it's not fantastic or bad, it's good. For the most part, the mattes applied well, especially Bonjour and Halftime, and I think you can see the difference in the swatches with those and the other mattes - they were much smoother and applied nicer than the others. I found some of the mattes a little stiff and a little harder to blend out. They seemed to pack on better than blend (especially Cubism, Untitled and Clan). The metallics were all pretty gorgeous and applied well - I liked the variety of formulas, from super pigmented to toppers and even a duochrome in there! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

Nabla Ruby Lights Glitter Palette ~ $36.50 US or € 24,00Ruby Lights Glitter Palette is a quad full of endless magnetic and chameleonic reflects. Light breaks up and turns into hot and precious red, like a treasure chest full of rubies that shine in the dark. Ruby Lights means no compromises: with only one swipe glitters remain adherent as long as you want to your skin.

I will start by saying that I know that this glitter quad specially is sold out - I'm reviewing these a few months late, so this was a holiday release; but, I felt like it was still worth it to review because it was their second release with a limited edition glitter quad, so I think it's something that they will release more! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

What I love about this pressed glitter quad is that Nabla decided to put them in a separate quad as opposed to throwing some pressed glitters in their palettes! That way, if you like glitters, you can purchase these on the side! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

Ruby ~ Intense ruby with gold, flamingo and holographic violet reflects.
Capricorn Duochrome copper gold with tangerine and electric coral reflects.
Virgo ~ Mauve with holographic lime, amethyst and rose-gold multi-reflects.
Whisper ~ Intense rose-coral with amber reflects.

These are a good pressed glitter formula - they have pretty intense glitter with a clear base so you can build them up to an opacity that you like. I do think the formula applied and adhered well to the eyes. There is some pretty big glitter particles, so this might not be a formula that everyone is comfortable wearing on their eyes, but I did think it wore well and I didn't have any concerns while wearing them and they wore for a long time! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

Nabla Major Pleasure Mascara ~ $23.25 CAN or €15,90Major Pleasure mascara boosts your lashes with instant volume, extreme length and an extraordinary panoramic effect. The full bristle brush in a soft hourglass shape wraps lashes with product from roots to tips, for an intense gaze and a lash extension effect. Thanks to the ultra-flexible formula, lashes can be quickly and easily amplified in a buildable dramatic volume.

It's been a while since I've picked up a new mascara to try and I was excited about the claims! I love the full, fluffy bristles and I love an hourglass wand. 

This formula did give me volume and length, but it also made my lashes kinda clumpy and spidery. I didn't think it was very buildable as it just added to the clump - you can see in the pictures that they do look a little clumpy. It can be combed out, so I will use the mascara up, but it's not something that I would repurchase. I also didn't think it was a super flexible formula and it made my lashes a little stiff, but they did hold the look during the day (also, it was a nice deep black!)

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

Nabla Ruby Complete Eye Brush Set ~ $52.75 CAN or €38,90Ruby Complete Eye Brush Set is our selection of 8 brushes, designed as a complete range for makeup application on eyes, under-eye area and eyebrows. The super soft fibers, synthetic and 100% cruelty free, perfectly mimic high quality natural bristles. A precious ruby-smoky metallic bag keeps the brushes together, and with their transparent ruby look, they add a stylish touch to your beauty collection!

This was the one thing in the box that I wasn't super excited about, not for any reason except that I have a ton of eye brushes. That said, I like the shapes of all of these eye brushes -  there is some really small blending brushes and they are all synthetic. 

These were fine, I have been using them since I got them and have no complaints - they do what they are supposed to and are nice a soft. 

So, there are my thoughts on all the products, and I created three eye looks with the Side By Side and Ruby Lights palettes, using the eyeshadow brushes and wearing the mascara in all the looks! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

For my first look, I started with a "basic" neutral look - this is an easy, beautiful go-to look and it's my typical every day look, especially for work. 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

For this look I started with Rarity as the base shadow and Halftime as the transition shade in the crease. Then I used Beauty Mark and Burnt Sienna in the outer corner, Better Society on the middle lid and Body and Soul on the inner lid. I finished the look with Ray of Light on the inner corner. 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

These lighter simpler looks were probably the easiest to create looks with - the mattes used in this look are the best in the palette and everything blended and wore really well! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

For this second look, I wanted to do something on the cooler side and play with the shades that I typically wouldn't always reach for and then yes it needed a full lid of glitter! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

For this look I started with Rarity as the base shadow and used Bonjour as a transition shade. Then I applied Cubism in the crease and packed it on the the outer corner and then deepened it slightly with Untitled. Then I applied Virgo from the glitter palette to the inner lid and Love Ritual to the middle lid. 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

This was such a fun look to play with - I loved using the glitter and Love Ritual is a gorgeous bold metallic too. I struggled a little with the patchiness of the light grey and it applied much nicer when it was packed on the outer corner as opposed to blended. But, the look ended up being very pretty and I like it! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

And, for the third look I wanted to play around with the warms and golds and dipped in to the red glitter too! 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

For this look, I started out with Rarity as the base shadow and applied Bonjour and Halftime to the crease. I added Tempura to the corner and Paradiso all over the lid, and Body and Soul to the inner corner. Then, I added Ruby from the Glitter palette to the lower lash line. 

Nabla Side by Side Eyeshadow Palette, Ruby Lights Glitter Quad, Major Pleasure Mascara and Ruby Brush Set

I thought the shadows in this look all applied and wore well too - this is a good way to play with the pressed glitters if your concerned about them falling from your lid in to your eye, but you still want to play with pressed glitters! 

Overall, I'm happy with the products that I tried - they eyeshadow palette wasn't perfect, but it is a good palette and I know I will get lots of use out of it. The glitter palette is nice - I love the formula and think that the quad is a great way to play with glitters and the shades included were great. The brushes were fine and the mascara isn't my favourite, but I will use it. 

I'm excited for this little into to the brand - I wish they were available at a Canadian retailer so they were more accessible, but Nabla and BeautyBay both ship to Canada. I really want to try their single eyeshadow formula and highlighters next - I've heard amazing things about both of those! Have you tried anything from Nabla?

2 comments :

  1. The shades in the eyeshadow palette looks amazing, too bad the formula wasn't consistent. And that glitter quad is very pleasing for the eyes :) I love all the looks you created, especially the second look, it seems very fitting for Valentine's Day ♥️

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    1. Thank you! I'm happy with the looks too and will still get good use out of the palette!

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