Makeup Geek Fall Eyeshadow Colors Will Make You Swoon

When I was younger, I loved colorful eyeshadow. A bright, satiny red from Urban Decay was my jam, borderline neon pinks, greens, it would be fair to say I was all about painting with the colors of the wind. But lately, I find I've grown drawn more to neutrals that technicolor.

So when I saw on Instagram that Makeup Geek had not one but two fall-themed eyeshadow bundles coming out, it was basically like dangling beauty catnip in my face. How fast could I toss my wallet at my computer to make these mine?

Real fast, my friends, real damn fast. 

I'm no stranger to the brand, having bought a bunch of shadows a year or two ago and really liking the variety and quality for $5.99 per shadow. I haven't really run into a bad shade in terms of pigmentation and wear, so the prospect of two gorgeous looking bundles of neutrals was pretty much a gimme.

Let's take a look at the Makeup Geek Fall 2016 Signature Eyeshadow Bundle and the Autumn Glow Eyeshadow Bundle!

The Fall Signature Bundle is what I would consider the more everyday wear of the two. You get 7 mattes and 2 satin-shimmers of warm neutrals that definitely fit with the season. The color palette evokes feelings of apple cider, of warm, sweet spices, and of wood ready for the bonfire.

The colors included are: Faux Fur, Bandwagon, Bake Sale, Early Bird, Tan Lines, Pocket Change, Sidekick, Lucky Penny, Cabin Fever.

Here they are swatched below on bare skin with no primer in indoor lighting with one swipe of my finger. 

Some of the top row got lost in translating through swatching, and I've found the mattes show up better on the eyes than on my forearm. The two shimmery-satin finishes, Pocket Change and Lucky Penny, are pretty pigmented so when working with them (and most MUG shimmery-satin) it's better to use a lighter hand and build up. 

Early Bird, the matte pumpkin-orange, was a surprising delight of this palette as the one real pop of color that's still rooted firmly in the warm tone. I've been playing with oranges more as we move deeper into autumn, and find this shade to be a beautiful middle ground between Chickadee and Morocco. 

I also really enjoy using Faux Fur, Bandwagon, Bake Sale, and Tan Lines as crease colors, especially as a matte contrast to using Lucky Penny, Pocket Change, or other satin-shimmer colors in the crease.

Overall, this is a fantastic palette for when I'm feeling a neutral eye look or want to do my many adaptions of Lisa Eldridge's Soft, Tonal Look.

If the Fall Signature Bundle is neutrals, the Autumn Glow Bundle is more playing with color. This is bonfires and vivid foliage in a palette. It includes 5 mattes, 3 foils, and a subtly sparkly color, and is great for when you want to do slightly edgier warm-colored looks. 

The Autumn Glow Bundle includes: Peach Smoothie, Chickadee, Morocco, Magic Act, Legend, Curtain Call, Bitten, Sidekick, and Bada Bing.

Did I realize I technically ordered Sidekick twice? Nope. I guess I've truly made it a makeup hoarder now? ;P

Here are the colors swatched below in order listed, on bare skin, no primer, indoor lighting.

THOSE FOILS THOUGH. Seriously, they are some of the softest shadows I've ever swatched and after doing some eye looks with them I think you'll find they're best applied with fingers over brushes. They are seriously packing color and Curtain Call, the foiled cranberry red, is so so gorgeous I can't even. If there's one shadow overall I'm not super in love with it's Bada Bing, which I suspect will be relegated to Eyeshadow-As-My-Liner status on lazy days.

Morocco isn't as daunting as I expected such a bold orange to be, and Chickadee really is such a different, neat transition to play with on fair skin. And speaking of, that's one thing I appreciated while looking at the swatches on MUG's site for these; there's swatches for the Fall Signature Bundle on both fair and dark skin to better demonstrate how the color shows up for both, which is super helpful as some shades are going to pull more mauve, more taupe, or lighter on darker skin. 

The Fall 2016 Signature Bundle is $45 and the Autumn Glow Bundle is $49, both sold on Makeup Geek's site. Getting 9 full pans for the under $50 (which is about a $10 savings compared to if you bought them individually) is a pretty decent deal. I do wish they ran better sales sometimes on shadows and bundles, though.

Overall I'm really happy with both bundles and think they're worth picking up if you like warm neutrals and warm pops of color that aren't too crazy.