Colourpop Element of Surprise Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

Hi, dolls! Today, I am bringing you my review of the Colourpop Element of Surprise Eyeshadow Palette! As you probably know by now, I am obsessed with Colourpop’s Pressed Eyeshadow Palettes 🙈 I have already reviewed the Colourpop Yes, Please! Palette (blogpost here), I Think I Love You Palette (blogpost here), Fem Rosa She Palette (blogpost here), Golden State of Mind Palette (blogpost here), and You Had Me At Hello Palette (blogpost here). Of course, I had to add this Element of Surprise to the collection.What it is: Get a load of this bold beauty. The perfect mix of edgy dramatic with a girly twist and bold pops of colour, this baby has you covered for the season. Our first palette with all four finishes: matte, metallic, satin, and duochrome, make it so easy to shake up the scene (colourpop.com).Price: $16, 12 x 1.05g (colourpop.com)Packaging: Like their other palettes, the packaging is super sleek, compact, sturdy, and travel friendly with the strong magnetic closure. The names of the shades are directly on the back of the palette and there is no mirror. The purple packaging with pops of pink and green is cute.Formula: There are 6 metallic, 3 of which have a duo-chrome finish, and 6 matte shades so there is an equal playing field. Both matte and shimmer shades are pigmented and feel buttery to the touch. The shimmers are creamy, but there is a good amount of kickup with the matte shades, and a fair amount of fallout, so I recommend doing your eye makeup first. I’ve found this common with the Colourpop Palettes. Details, the matte brown shade on the bottom row, in particular, tends to have the most fallout because of the pink glitter reflects.Color: This palette has a beautiful assortment of warm brown shades with pops of pink and lavender metallics. I like that you can create a very neutral look or go bold with a pop of vibrant color. Sea Stars, the matte caramel on the bottom row, is a delicious transition shade that I reach for every time I open this palette. Subdue, the metallic lavender, is such a unique shade with a beautiful blue-green duo chrome. The only thing missing in this palette is a matte or satin browbone highlight.Swatches with Natural Light: Swatches with Camera Flash: Overall Rating: I thoroughly enjoyed this Element of Surprise Eyeshadow Palette so I award it a rating of 9/10 stars. The quality is definitely on par with Colourpop’s excellent pigmented and blendable eyeshadow formula. However, because I’ve tried pretty much every Colourpop Eyeshadow Palette I could get my hands on, I personally don’t see myself reaching for this particular one on a daily basis or packing it on my travels. Would I recommend this palette? Absolutely, it all comes down to a matter of personal preference about shade selection. If these shades call out to you, I am certain you won’t be disappointed as this is undoubtedly a beautiful palette.