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(*affiliate link) Hey Guys! Welcome back! I have not been updating my reviews for a while as I have been busy with work recently. Feeling good to start writing again! I got the Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette* last week and have been testing it out! The color story may look very monotone but I actually love a good black smokey eye palette!
This mini Xenon eyeshadow palette is the same size and set up as her other mini 5-pan eyeshadow palettes. The packaging is simple plastic with clear top. Very travel friendly.
Table of Contents
About Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette
The Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette* retails for $25 USD. There are 4 mattes and 1 metallic shades, each containing 0.028 oz or 0.8 g of product.
According to Natasha Denona, this mini Xenon eyeshadow palette contains 5 essential shades to create her signature smokey cat eye look, and that this is the “first and only mini palette to include the supremely rich and velvety Blackest Black Eyeshadow”.
This Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette is made in Italy.
Ingredients and formulation of the Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette
I was really surprised that the mattes in this mini Xenon eyeshadow palette do not contain talc as any of the ingredients. Even more surprising is that, the silver metallic foiled shade in the middle (Chromatic) is made of talc as the first ingredient! I hardly see metallic or any shimmer shades to be made of talc, including in Natasha Denona’s own formula.
Even they are not made with talc, the mattes in this mini Xenon palette performs very well for me! I won’t mind if Natasha Denona is going to keep this matte formula from now! Always welcome when eyeshadows are talc-free!
This Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette is paraben, phthalates- and cruelty-free. It also does not contain fragrance.
Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the eyeshadow formulation of this mini Xenon palette. I like how the two lightest matte shades (Mist, Puff) blend out. At first I was expecting these two shades to be chalky and looked extremely pale on me, but they were not as pale on the lid as I thought. They help to lay down a smooth and cool base of the black smokey eye look!
For the second deepest shade (Gloom), it wasn’t as deep on the lid as I expected, which relieved me. It works very well in creating a nice gradation for the black. Gloom is easy to blend and having the right pigmentation.
As for the black matte shade (Blackest Black), I honestly don’t think it is anything special as a decent black matte in any eyeshadow palette, as opposed to what they described as “supremely rich and velvety”. If anything, I think it is not the smoothest I used so far, it can be somewhat patchy if you’re using it on a large area like the whole outer corner.
The silver metallic foiled shade (Chromatic) works well as a center lid shade. It is creamy and smooth, very foiled. I use it with finger. It adheres well even without a primer. The eye look created with this mini Xenon eyeshadow palette last me a whole day of about 8 hours.
However, I do have some fallout on my face after I finished the look. Both the mattes and metallic shades contributed to it.
Swatches for the Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette
Most of the shades in this Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette swatched nice and smooth, with the exception of the black matte (Blackest Black), which was somewhat patchy imo.
As I mentioned before, I am happy with the light grey (Mist) and off-white (Puff)! They are smooth and non-patchy at all. All the shades swatched true to the colors you see in the pans.
Other than Chromatic, I think the shades are generally less pigmented than a typical Natasha Denona formula. But this is not a bad thing for an intense black smokey eye eyeshadow palette! It allows more control over the finish of the look.
Eye look created using the Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette
I love how this smokey eye look turned out! The 5 shades curated in this Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette is everything you need to create a beautiful and professional-looking smokey eye!
Although some of the shades may need a certain level of building up and layering to achieve the intensity I wanted, it is one of the fastest and great-looking smokey eye that I have ever created!
You may add some other shades on top of the silver, like an icy or navy blue, to change up the smokey look! This mini Xenon palette can be the base of as many different smokey eye as you may think of!
Other than deepening the outer corner, I’ve also used the black matte shade as liner and it works well. I used all the 5 shades to create this look.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I highly recommend this Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette if you like smokey eyes, or if you are looking for a palette that helps you create one easily! I personally love this palette.
Yes, it is not the greatest quality eyeshadow palette, especially among the palettes from Natasha Denona, but it is very effective for its purpose.
Although I think the price of this palette ($25 USD) is reasonable for what it is, there are more affordable options out there if you’re wondering. Like the XX Revolution XXpress Shadow Palette XXtinguish*, which I recently found out on Beauty Bay* and am really tempted to get it! Having tried the XXpress Shadow palette XXposed palette* from XX Revolution* before (a dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk palette*, reviewed here), I know that they have great eyeshadow formula.
I will rate this Natasha Denona mini Xenon eyeshadow palette as:
- Texture: 7/10
- Color payoff: 8.5/10
- Longevity on eye lid: 9.5/10
- Quality consistency among shades: 9/10
- Color scheme uniqueness: 7/10
- Affordability: 8/10
