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Blue eyeshadow palettes always interest me, even though I rarely wear blue eyeshadow looks! This Melt Blueprint stack eyeshadow is not a new release (it was released in early 2019) and it has been on sale on Sephora’s website for a while but has been out of stock for a long time. A few days ago, I saw it back in stock! So I went ahead immediately to place an order.
Table of Contents
About Melt Blueprint Stack eyeshadow
This Melt Blueprint stack eyeshadow palette was the first eight-shade split-pan stack from Melt Cosmetics. They described it as ‘this mix of bold neutrals and extravagant shades of blue is carefully chosen to complete any look for every frame of mind. From an easy, neutral look with a pop of blue to blown-out blue smoke, the Blueprint Stack has you covered’.
This eyeshadow stack contains 6 metallics and 2 matte shades.
Ingredients and formulation of Melt Blueprint Stack eyeshadow
This Melt Blueprint Stack eyeshadow does not contain talc in their ingredients! It seems Melt Cosmetics usually don’t include talc in their formula.
There are 3 different types of textures for the metallics in this stack eyeshadow. The first type is very soft and almost crumbly. It is the baby blue shade in the stack (Skylight). When you smooth it out on the lid or on the arm, the texture is not uniform and somewhat loosely packed, but it is very sparkly.
The second type is very smooth and uniform, very opaque no matter you use your finger or an eyeshadow brush. The other 2 blue metallics (Deadbolt: a cerulean blue, and King stud: a royal blue or sapphire), the orange-copper (Hot wire) and the bronzed gold (Nailed) belong to this category.
The last type is more like in between the first two types of texture, it is less crumbly and not as soft as Skylight, but less opaque and smooth than the rest of the metallics. It is the shade Beaming, which is described as a bright gold shifting pink.
For the 2 mattes, midnight blue (Dim-out) and mahogany (Hammered), their textures are basically the same. It is on the dry side and not creamy in touch. Dim-out and Hammered are both pigmented. The former leaves a blue stain on my arm for couple hours (but not on my lid) after cleaning with a makeup remover oil.
Packaging of Melt Blueprint Stack eyeshadow
This is the first-ever eyeshadow stack that I own or used. I know other brands like Kaja and Tarte have something similar in the eyeshadow or blush categories. I think it is worthwhile to talk about the packaging.
Con #1: as people have pointed out in some reviews too, this eyeshadow stack can be quite messy. The kick-ups from the shadows (both metallics and mattes) can fly everywhere as the stacks slide along each other when you open up or close them. Moreover, the kick-ups on one layer of the stack can stick to the bottom of the layer stacked above it. It may potentially leave a stain on your clothing or purse if not paying attention carefully.
Con #2: comparing with the typical clasp closure of palettes, holding the palettes together with only magnet (with no hinge) doesn’t seem to be secure. It can easily fall apart if you just throw it into your purse, the shadow can then get everywhere. It is also likely that the eyeshadows will dry out faster too.
Pro #1: if you just want to carry one layer of the stack (in this case 2 shadows) with you for traveling, you can just put the mirror on top as the lid. It is very compact and handy. But remember to put it in a makeup bag!
Swatches of Melt Blueprint Stack eyeshadow
The colors of the blues are very vivid and brilliant! Although the matte midnight blue is slightly patchy, it is pretty easily blended and have a good color payoff.
For the browns, I have no bad things to say, except the shade Beaming (third from the bottom on arm). The swatch was fine, but I can barely pick anything up with even a natural hair eyeshadow brush. I used my finger for this shade in making the eye looks. Interestingly, Beaming is described as a bright gold with shifting pink, but it looks like a cream color when you look at it from the front. You can see the gold more in the video below.
The metallics are so nice and sparkly:
4 eye looks created using the Melt Blueprint Stack eyeshadow
Of course the first eye look is blue!! I can tell you I have never wore such a vibrant blue eyeshadow look in my life! I still think I probably am not ready anytime soon yet to do so, but the quality of these blue eyeshadows make it pretty easy to create this look. The 4 blue shades in this stack allows a smooth transition to create a gradation of blue. I used the metallics in my outer corner too.
However, I had quite some fallouts on my face in creating any of these looks.
In eye look 2, I used all the remaining 4 brown shades in creating the look. I like and will wear this look again and again! It is not as bold as the last blue look but still have a lot of shine and sparkles in it!
I’ve to admit that there are not tons of looks you can create with these 8 shadows in 2 color family. In this 3rd look, I tried to use both the blues and browns. It turned out I just used the midnight blue matte as the eyeliner and the baby blue metallic as the inner corner highlight. It may not be the best blue/brown eyeshadow look, but that’s what I can wear within my comfort zone I guess.
I intended to create a rather low-key look with this stack palette. I consider it as a success as it is the lightest look among the 4! I used the matte brown as eyeliner.
Comparison swatches with Milani Gilded Coast and Tom Ford Soleil Neige
The blue shades in the Melt Blueprint Stack eyeshadow remind me of the blues in the Milani Gilded Coast palette a lot. Although these two palettes don’t have a lot of similarity other than the blue, I figured it’ll be a good comparison if you own one of these palettes and interested in another.
Another palette that I have containing blue is the Tom Ford 01 Soleil Neige released the previous winter. I’ve reviewed this 01 Soleil Neige palette with the 02 Soleil et Lune earlier. I don’t think the deep blue in Soleil Neige is a dupe to the blues in Melt Blueprint Stack, the former is more subdue and deeper, but I’ll just swatch it too.
It turns out the royal blue in the Milani palette (#3) and the sapphire in the Melt stack (#2) are quite similar, although #3 leans a little bit purple. Surprisingly, shade #4 in the Milani palette has a similar color base as the blue shade in the Tom Ford palette (#6). However the finish is quite different between the two. #4 is almost like a matte and #6 contains lots of sparkles.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the quality of this Melt Blueprint Stack is unbeatable. Given that blue tone eyeshadows are not easy to make, especially with such vibrant color payoff, I will highly recommend it to those of you who like good and effortless blue eyeshadows. I’m sure if you pair this palette with other palettes for more transitions and shades, it’ll give you a wonderful eye look.
I especially like the coppery/brownish tones in this palette. Hot wire (the orange-copper shade) is right up my alley! This type of shade is the reason why I like the Tom Ford Suspicion quad (reviewed here) so much.
For its original price of $48 USD, I would take a step back to make sure I’m gonna use the blue shadows enough for the purchase. But for an almost half-off price of $25 USD, I think it is a good investment given the quality!
One last thing to mention again is the amount of fallout you might get in using this Melt stack. It can be an issue for the midnight blue matte, but it can also be avoided or minimized by using appropriate techniques like doing eye look first before the face, and tapping off the excess before application.
I’ll rate this Melt Blueprint Stack eyeshadow as:
- Texture: 9/10
- Color payoff: 10/10
- Longevity on eye lid: 9/10
- Quality consistency among shades: 7/10
- Color scheme uniqueness: 10/10
- Affordability: 8.5/10
