Maybe it is just me, but indie beauty brands excite me more than many of their mainstream counterparts. My purple-loving heart leaped for joy when I saw the promotional photos of the Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette. Please keep reading for an in-depth review, swatches, and demo.
What is Menagerie Cosmetics all about?
Menagerie Cosmetics is an American indie beauty brand that was founded in October 2019 with the launch of their well-loved, Feral Eyeshadow Palette. This indie beauty brand takes its inspiration from wildlife and donates a portion of proceeds to animal charities each year.
All Menagerie Cosmetics products are handmade, Cruelty-Free, and Vegan. Additionally, the brand formulates their shadows without talc. Read more about Menagerie Cosmetics here.
Is Menagerie Cosmetics Cruelty-Free and Vegan?
Yes! Menagerie Cosmetics are Cruelty-Free and 100% Vegan. Read about the brand’s Cruelty-Free statement here.
Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette Claims
The Violet Ink Micro Palette was inspired by the Octopus. According to Menagerie Cosmetics, the palette features 6 stunning violet pressed pigment shades. This palette includes 4 matte shades and 2 shimmer shades.
Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette
Packaging & Price
The Violet Ink Micro Palette comes in sturdy, blue and purple cardboard packaging inspired by the sea. The front of the palette contains a stunning octopus illustration using colors featured in the palette.
The Menagerie Violet Ink Micro Palette retails for $19.99 and contains 12 grams of the product. This breaks down to approximately $1.66 per gram of pigment.
Ingredients
The Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Palette contains 6 pressed pigments. This means that the palette contains ingredients that are not deemed eye-safe in the United States but may be considered eye-safe in other regions such as the EU.
Pressed pigments may cause staining or irritation to the eye area. I suggest patch-testing these pigments on your wrist before applying this to your eyes.
Again, the Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Palette does not contain talc nor does it contain any animal derivatives. All ingredients are Vegan and 100% Cruelty-Free
Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette Swatches
As always, swatches are not a perfect indicator of quality. Some products swatch better on the arm than they perform on the eyes and vice versa. Nevertheless, swatches can provide clues regarding a shadow’s pigmentation and ability to blend.
Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette Swatches
As you can tell from the swatches, this is an extremely cool-toned, violet palette with blue undertones. Some shadows look similar in the pan. However, they looked more different when swatched.
Additionally, swatching the metallics revealed that the two shades have distinctive differences. Despite looking like a pink-toned lavender in the pan, Mimic is a sheer, cool-toned purple shimmer with a grey base. In contrast, Three Hearts is a vibrant true metallic purple.
Application & Wear-Time
The Violet Ink Micro Palette impressed me as soon as I started applying the shadows. The aasy-to-apply formula works for beginners and seasoned makeup addicts.
The firmly pressed matte formula produces little fallout. The formula feels creamy. Also, the pigmentation of the shadows wowed me. Although cool-toned, the shades do not look washed out or ashy.
A simple look using all the shades in the Violet Ink Micro Palette
To create the above look, I used all the shades in the Violet Ink Micro Palette. However, the inner corner shimmer is the Fenty Beauty Sandcastle Killawatt Highlighter.
In terms of wear-time, the shadows lasted all daywithout creasing, fading, or melting together.* The shadows in this palette stayed vibrant all day long. They did not smudge or budge.
Note: I ALWAYS use an eyeshadow primer to set my eyelids because my eyelids are naturally oily.
Where is the Violet Ink Micro Palette Sold?
The Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette retails exclusively on the Menagerie Cosmetics website. Menagerie Cosmetics ships internationally. However, the brand does not post the full list of countries where Menagerie ships products.
Menagerie Cosmetics accepts credit cards, Amazon Pay, and PayPal.
Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette
Final Thoughts on the Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette
To say that I love the Violet Ink Micro Palette is an understatement. First, love supporting indie beauty brands like Menagerie Cosmetics. Second, I LOVE that the brand is 100% Cruelty-Free, Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Talc-Free.
The Violet Ink Micro Palette is a unique, cool-toned purple palette with an ultra-curated color story. The violet tones featured in this palette are unlike the pink-leaning purples found in most popular purple palettes. I am beyond impressed at the pigmentation and lasting power of the shadows.
I highly recommend the Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette to anyone who loves purple shadows or micro palettes. After trying the Violet Ink Palette, I am dying to try the Feral and Killer Pur Palettes from the brand.
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For indie beauty reviews: Bare & Free Beauty Hydrating Face Moisturizer, Melt Cosmetics Blueprint Stack, Melt Cosmetics Amore Eterno Collection Review, Uoma Beauty Black Magic Palette or Juvia’s Place Warrior Eyeshadow Palette
For prestige reviews: Natasha Denona Sunrise Palette, Tatcha Silk Canvas Primer, Viseart Grande Pro Volume I Eyeshadow Palette, Huda Beauty Eyeshadow Palette
For affordable eyeshadow reviews: Milani Soft & Sultry Eyeshadow Palette, Juvia’s Place Nubian Eyeshadow Palette, ColourPop x Disney Designer Collection Midnight Masquerade Eyeshadow Palette or ColourPop Sweet Talk Eyeshadow Palette.
Want more indie beauty content? Consider reading my 2019 indie beauty roundups – volume I, volume II, and volume III.
Have you tried the Menagerie Cosmetics Violet Ink Micro Palette? What is your favorite indie beauty brand? Please let me know in the comments below.