Wednesday Wish List: Sephora Color Play 5 in 1

Okay... I know it's not really Wednesday but I couldn't help myself!

I know a lot of people look down on the 88 color palettes (either via Coastal Scents or generic E-bay ones) but for me I love it! It's probably my single most used product. Yes there's a mix of quality and pigmentation, some are a little chalky or sheer, and the sizes are small but overall I'm quite happy with most of the colors. I love the variety and options which sparks my creativity, and in general I'm a fan of large palettes rather than a zillion little single eye shadows that you have to open and close individually, it's way faster and more convenient. My problem lately is I've been doing a lot of short travel, just for a night or 2, so I need to pack light. Larger palettes thus aren't the most convenient thing in the work. Enter my new drool item...

Sephora Color Play 5 in 1 for $29.50

What is it? Sephora's latest pallet containing 50 eye shadows (looks like a mixture of matte and shimmer), 10 lip glosses, and 5 blushes.

What's so special about it? It looks like a lot of other generic eyeshadow/blush palettes. It's composed of 5 smaller interchangeable mini pallets that can be taken out and put in another smaller pallet that's better suited for purses and travel. SCORE! I get both sides of what I want, a large diverse palette that easy to use daily and has lots of options but can also be separated and made smaller for travel!



Here's Sephora's official spiel on it.

Color Play - 5 in 1 ($150 Value)

What it is:
A versatile eye, lip, and cheek set featuring five interchangeable color stories.

What it does:
Create a look to fit any mood or style with five sub-palettes, each of which fits easily into a conveniently portable compact. To switch color stories, just pop out the previous look and insert a new one. New Sephora Collection formulations provide long-lasting wear and excellent color payoff for seriously stunning results.

Each of the five sub-palettes contains:
- 10 x Eyeshadows
- 2 x Lip colors
- Blush

I think the $150 value part is a little bogus (where do they always come up with those magical numbers?) but I think about thirty dollars is reasonable for everything the palette has. Obviously it's a little pricer than the 88 by about 10 bucks but it also has glosses and blushes, but I think what you are really paying for is that extra convenience of versatility. I know some people are critical of the Sephora brand products but I can't say too much about them as I've had limited experience (a lip plumping pencil, mini mascara sample, a manicure pen, and 2 glitter pens) and never really tried any of their shadows or blushes. I think I'd go into this expecting about the same as the 88 palette, a couple good shadows, some mediocre, and a few washes.

Another thing I like about the palette is the fun color stories of the individual palettes. There's one that looks good for a smokey eye, one for a neutral look, and 3 more colorful coordinated ones. Each palette has it's own name too.

Dinner in Paris: Grays and blacks

Coffee in New York: Browns and neutral eye

Shopping in Milan: Purples and pinks, green

Tango in Buenos Aires: Blues and greens

Clubbing in Tokyo: Baby blues, pinks, and yellows

I'm super super tempted for this one but so far I've only been able to find a couple reviews and they're the "I-haven't-tried-it-yet-but-here-it-is-out-of-the-box, the-colors-look-pretty-and-might-be-really-pigmented" type of reviews which don't really do much for me. Right now out of 67 reviews on Sephora it has a 4.7 out of 5 but I generally find the reviews are more favorable on the site and come from such a mix of people (young/old, newbies/old timers) that it's not as specific and useful to me. The past Color Play palettes haven't gotten such good reviews but so far this one does seem to be beating some peoples expectations. I'm dying to see some swatches and hear the quality is at least equal to 88 and I'll dive right in. Who knows, maybe I'll have to take the plunge and swatch it for all you folks. :P