Josie Maran Argan Eye Love You Palette: Swatches and Impressions

As some of you know, I popped into my Sephora this weekend and with many wary looks for other customers I decided to swatch the Josie Maran Argan Eye Love You eyeshadow palette made with Argan Oil. This certified organic and natural brand is known for it's Argan oil use, as this ingredient is known for it's anti-aging and moisturizing benefits. All the Argan Oil they use is from Morocco and helps support local women- here's how Josie Maran's website describes it:

  "In 2002, the Moroccan government helped establish female cooperatives to manufacture Argan Oil. These programs provide women of rural Morocco with a steady income, a fair wage, good working conditions, as well as literacy and other education classes. Perhaps most importantly, the co-ops give women a keen sense of empowerment in this traditionally male-dominated society. These programs also help protect the Argan forests’ limited supply of trees. The co-ops are dedicated to responsible harvesting practices and reforestation projects, which - along with environmental protection policies - aid in the preservation of the Argan forests and women’s jobs." 

On top of that all the packaging is recyclable and at least partly recycled. Some are even biodegradable in your compost, because it's made from corn! (Biodegradable plastic packaging includes the single eyeshadows, the blush, the bronzing powder, pressed powder, cream blush, and finger paints)

But lets get on to the products themselves shall we?

Sephora's Image of the palette

My photo of the outside box (with the cute hearts and type-face!)

Back of the palette with eyeshadow names: Radiance, Crown, Cinnamon, Cabernet, Feather, Adorn, Royal and Cloak

Top to bottom: Cabernet, Cinnamon (almost invisible) , Crown, and Radiance

The first three of this palette were honestly disappointing. I'm near the fairest of the fair and if it has trouble showing pigmentation on me then there is issues. Although all three were soft, I had to do multiple swipes to even get the bare colour I've got here. Cabernet on the other hand had decent pigmentation, not amazing but still very workable.

Radiance is a soft ivory shimmer

Crown is a matte soft dove grey

Cinnamon is a beige shimmer

Cabernet is a cool to neutral medium brown

Here's another shot in slightly warmer lighting

Cooler indoor lighting

Very warm indoor lighting (I am not that orange! I swear I have no Oompa Loompa ancestors!)

The last four shadows in this however were amazing! All were richly pigmented, super luxe, and soft feeling. From left to right 

Feather is a peach shimmer
Adorn is a medium to dark purple/berry
Royal is a stunning satin royal blue (by far the winner of the palette!)
Cloak is a silver glitter infused matte black

Ingredients list (back of palette) Click to see bigger

After I had finished swatching these shadows I noticed immediately that my finger tips were smoother and softer! I was amazed as I honestly didn't believe that I'd see a difference because of the Argan oil being in the shadows. I was wrong! This palette is lovely, and I think it would be particularly awesome for people with darker skin tones as the dark rich colours are great for fall but the light ones with less pigment can be used as subtle highlights too. Plus the brand is so eco-friendly, it kind of makes you feel good to have something from it that is cute to look at as well!

Rating: 7/10 - because pigmentation was lacking in 3 shades, but other than that was buttery soft and easily blend-able with rich colour!

EXTRA! (We aren't done yet lol)

While I was there and feeling my super soft finger tips I became interested in seeing what the other single eyeshadows were like in the regular line. Here's the two I swatched:

Left: Bali, Right: Chianti

Both shades pictured are as smooth as the good shades from the Argan Eye Love You palette. They both also had a slight shimmer throughout and were richly pigmented. I'd love to look at a few more the next time I pop into Sephora because these look lovely!

Here is the swatches on my fingertips
(of course I wasn't paying attention to which finger had which
 shadow and here is the flipped result- *shakes head at self*)

To me this is a great look at a brand I've not looked at before, especially such a eco-friendly one! What about everyone else any interest generated?