HalloBean, the sequel to the infamous It's Freaking Bats palette, is here just in time for spooky season!
Alright, we're going to talk about it, we're going to be just a touch petty, and then we're going to get the fuck over it because I really am excited to tell you all about this new collab palette from BattyBean and Shroud Cosmetics.
I was nervous going into this launch. I was immediately entranced with the It's Freakin' Bats palette and it's gorgeous and unexpected cool blue/pruple and swampy green color story, so you can imagine that having to wait 8 months - yes, 8 full Gregorian calendar months - for it to arrive had me a little wary of the brand. But when I saw the HalloBean palette, the sequal, I knew that I had to give it a try. After I ordered it, it took a week or so to get my shipping notification and then...nothing. I'm not sure what happened, but the tracking never updated while it was on its way to me. I was a little nervous that I was going to have another makeup purgatory experience, but luckily about a week and a half later, it just showed up on my door.
I was relieved, and I think I can finally get over the pettiness about the last release. Maybe.
The color story of this palette isn't as perfectly suited to my preferences as the first one was, but I love that this one really captures the spirit of Halloween. There is something about the shades here that makes me think of vintage Halloween decorations: plastic blow mold pumpkins and ghosts that light up, and those paper decorations I used to hang up in the living room window with my mom. This has that sort of classic, nostalgic feel and I absolutely love it.
I did swatches over the Ulta Matte eye primer with a finger swatch on the left and a brush swatch on the right. The top photo is under my studio lighting with no flash, and the bottom photo is under the same lighting with a flash.
Ghastly is a deep matte shade, somewhere between a navy and an indigo. This one got a little rough around the edges, but it blends nicely and can be tamed without too much effort.
Afterlife is a blackened orange shimmer with lovely coppery orange glitter flecks. In some lights, this almost could pass for a bronze, so if you're looking to punch up a neutral look without going full It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, this is a great option.
Crypt is a swampy, murky yellowy green...or greenish yellow. It's one of those ugly colors that is just the right kind of ugly to be sort of cute. I bet this shady paired with the title shade from the Likely Makeup Ugly palette would be a green-toned swampy dream!
Woodsboro is a bright peachy orange with a gorgeous and glittery golden shine. I don't even like orange that much, and I am entranced by this shade.
It's Showtime is a matte lime green. This one looked a little washed out with the flash, but it generally blends well and has good color, but just know that flashes can make it look a little more dull than it is.
And the newest entry in the "I don't have the skill needed to do a damn bit of justice to how gorgeous this shade is" file, Black Flame is a black-based multichrome that is glittery and shiny and has a shift from purple to red to gold, maybe even a big of golden olive at the extremes. This is really pretty and I just couldn't capture it. The multichrome isn't as metallic as some versions of this kind of shade, but it's got a nice glittery reflect that boosts it up.
Loser's Club is a deep matte orange. This has a sort of grungy, vintage feel. This row in particular makes me think of Halloween decorations and cards from the 50s. I know that doesn't help you understand this shade or its performance, but that's what my mind does when I'm writing these reviews. You buys your ticket, you takes your chance.
Ghoulish is a sheer to white base that has a golden green shift to it. This shade isn't particularly unique but it is well formulated, and it's got a lot of great shine to it. And when am I ever going to complain about adding another green item to my collection?!
Speaking of green, Wicked is a lovely deep forest green matte. This shade with It's Showtime and Ghoulish to great a dark, mysterious green look? Shut the front door! That's a gorgeous combo.
This spooky treat was exactly what I needed to get over my saltiness with the brand - it's a Halloween palette that hits a lot of my "must haves" to really represent the holiday (green, orange, and purple are the uniform!) but it does them with a twist so that it doesn't look just like any other Halloween palette. I've seen people post that this is the "perfect companion" to the It's Freakin' Bats palette, and while I'm not sure I agree, I think there are a lot of ways to pair some of the shades together in unique and interesting ways.
Side note: can someone point me in the direction to find out when/why Betty jean changed her handle from beautbean to battybean? I'm assuming it's in reference to the first palette but I haven't been able to find it. It's not need to know info, but I'm curious to know more of the story.
Also, in my order I picked up the Creepy Cute and Creepy Cute 2 palettes. I did a review of the OG formulation of the Creepy Cute palette way back in the day - that might have been for the first version of the site, when the brand was still called Strobe Cosmetics! I know these palettes aren't the new-new, but let me know if you're interested in seeing a review and I'll see about working them into the rotation!