Sydney Grace x Temptalia

Playing with make-up makes me so happy, it’s a relaxing moment that I appreciate, whether I am going for a basic or for a bold look, it’s the process of playing with the products and with the brushes that I enjoy so much.

I have had Christine’s palette in my rotation since November 2021, I know that there are already so many reviews, so many gorgeous inspiring looks on Youtube or Instagram and on Temptalia’s blog, but I just wanted to write this little post because I appreciate Christine as a person, and I am enjoying her shadows a lot. Maybe I can share how I have been using them and what I love about them the most? Anyways, if you are still unaware of these Sydney Grace x Temptalia’s palettes, please check out Christine’s collaboration story here and the details of her collection here, you will see the intense work that has been put into these palettes!

The palette is stored in my brush holder with a protective tissue underneath to protect the base from shadow residue

This palette is the result of a 2021 collaboration between Sydney Grace and Christine Mielke. Christine is the founder and author of the cult blog Temptalia – a huge reference for us in the beauty community, I have known her blog for well over 10 years now!  I would open her blog regularly -if not everyday because I admit I was a bit obsessed- to see what was new, to read her thoughts about the performance and formulas of the products, for recommendations and comparisons of make-up and brushes, her blog is such an extensive source of information, there is nothing like it!
I have been chatting with her a few times – which seems completely surreal to me, I never imagined that one day I would have the opportunity to talk to her! I told her that I don’t know how she manages to deliver so much content, in such an organized structure and consistent manner, I am in awe. She is clearly a very hardworking person, extremely dedicated, extremely focussed and her blog helps so many of us!

You may remember that Christine also did one collaboration with Mac in 2011, she created a green eyeshadow called Jealousy Wakes, of course I bought it and I still have it.  I have never been into green shadows but I had to have it!  I was so happy that she did this collaboration and her Jealousy Wakes eyeshadow will forever stay in my collection as a sweet souvenir.

Christine sent these new palettes to me when they launched, it was summer 2021…  I apologize that I wasn’t able to post on my blog about them before. It has been a tough year, many things happened and kept happening one after the other. Then, when I had the time to post about them, I hadn’t played with them enough to do so, and when I was ready to post about them, I couldn’t do it…

There are 3 palettes in total and they come in a DEEP or LIGHT version. It’s exciting to see such a colourful range of shades! She mentioned that she was inspired by the space for the names, colours and textures, this is also reflected in the packaging beautifully designed by her husband. You can see the silhouette of her beloved bog Mellan (Magellan) on the cover of “On the horizon”.

I have to mention that when it comes to eye make-up, I use a million shades of taupe and purple but I don’t regularly use bright blues or greens on myself. I did in the past, when I had more opportunities to do so and when I felt more comfortable with colourful shades but today, my looks tend to be subtle in color, even when they are bold (=dark or shimmery), they aren’t an explosion of colors.

I asked Christine if she didn’t mind that I switched the shades of the palettes around, this allows me to group my most used shades and build a palette with a color story that suits my daily routine best. We don’t need to do this of course but it’s very convenient and it’s fantastic that they are magnetized and so easy to lift off.

I marked the shadows that I was using the most and then grouped them together in the palette below. I added two Sydney Grace shadows that aren’t from Christine collaboration just to have a crease shadow that suits my skintone better, and also a lighter shade for the browbone and transition.
Today I have small dips in each shadow, dips are good, it means that we are using and enjoying the shadows 🙂

The names of the shadows are written on the palette itself, underneath the shadow, I have added little labels next to the shadows to show the actual names of the ones that took that spot, just to avoid confusion. It doesn’t look great but it works.
Before I switched the shadows around, under each pan I wrote the initials of the palette and the name of each shadow, just in case I needed to check the names.

I used mostly this bespoke palette out of the three, I tried several looks with the other two brighter palettes and while I loved the results and how beautiful the shadows paired with each other, I just simply feel more comfortable with more subtle looks in this more neutral and purple color story.
I am happy to have the three because I need to have a mix of everything in my collection, colors and formulas, I apply make-up 2, 3 or more times a day when I am testing and developping new brush designs and having a variety is definitely a necessity.

Swatches of this neutral / purple palette:

RR: Radiant Reflection
Q: Quintessence
OTH: On the Horizon

What I loved the most about these shadows is their stability. I think it’s important that the natural fading that occurs on eyeshadows remains even and clean, that the eyeshadows don’t move, crease or get patchy. These past months have been intense in emotions, I got to seriously test the threshold of longevity and the aesthetics of an application after an emotional storm, and I am so impressed. I used a lot of other palettes from more expensive brands and these shadows from Sydney Grace has surpassed so many of them. The application looks smooth and intentional many hours later 🙂

As you can imagine with these, the pigmentation is intense, these shadows are easy to apply, very effortless to blend and to build up.

Christine has posted many beautiful elaborated looks, you can use them for inspiration and you will not be disappointed! I have used the bright shades as well, most out of curiousity and fun, even if they are not the kind of looks I would wear on a daily basis, the result was very full of impact with an impeccable application.

I use a lot of white and variations of beige shades daily so I wished she included a bright light matte beige or an ecru, maybe something like a full moon type of shade ? 😀  But, actually, I think that it makes a lot of sense that she worked with colours and delivered such a variety of shades. During the past years she has shown us that color combination is a topic that she definitely masters and she is so genuinely passionate about.

I wanted to pick my top 5 shadows, so here they are:

Number 1: The Mielke Way (Quintessence Light)
This is a pressed pigment, it has a “medium, rosy pink base with intense, gold-to-green shift and metallic finish“.
It’s gorgeous and it goes with pretty much everything, so fun and brings life to any look,  the pink base and the shift is visible but on my ageing lids it still looks appropriate, not over the top at all. I use a dry brush to apply it, my Builder Three is my favorite brush to use with this formula. If I need more opacity I will use my fingers but for the results I aim, I just use the brush.

Number 2: Sumptuous Serendipity (Radiant Reflection Light)
This is a pressed pigment, it is “a moderately warm-toned, medium-dark plum with a metallic finish“.
I was surprised by this shade, it doesn’t look like it’s sitting on the surface of the skin but truly melts onto the skin, almost looks like a wet shadow effect. Feels super smooth and it’s incredibly easy to apply and blend.  It does not emphasize the texture of my lids at all.

Number 3: Magellan’s Light (On the Horizon Light)
This is a pressed pigment, it is a “moderately warm-toned, very dark peach with a sparkle finish“.
It seems that my favorite formula is the pressed pigments… They bring shine and sparkle without a strong metallic effect, still fun but more elegant and more forgiving.
I was also very surprised by this shadow, it is not emphasizing the texture of my lids but adds light and shimmer in an elegant way.

Number 4: October Odyssey (On the Horizon Light)
This is a matte shadow, it is a “slightly warm-toned, dark pink with a matte finish”.
It’s just a beautiful matte shade, easy to pair, muted but not dull. I sometimes use this shadow on its own to give a little bit of depth in my crease, really very lightly, then I use a subtle black eyeliner.

Number 5: Unstoppable Love (Radiant Reflection Light)
This is a matte shadow, it’s a “lightly warm-toned, medium-dark plum with a matte finish“.
These matte shadows blend so well. I use this shade to darken the outer v and outer crease, it never disappoints. It’s the most important shadow in my look because it will support the “structure” of the whole look, if this shadow starts to get patchy and move around it will be very visible but it doesn’t move, it stays put and clean.

Bottom Line

Sydney Grace is a brand that I love and it’s wonderful to see Christine (and other amazing people) collaborating with them. I have been using Sydney Grace shadows for a long time, before they started doing any collaborations and before I received any PR from them. Sydney Grace make fantastic shadows that we can rely on, fun and with a very good price point!

They are made in the USA and available to purchase on Sydney Grace website.