Halloween is coming, and it's time to get Spooked!
I'm so excited about all of the gorgeous Halloween releases that are coming out this year! Halloween is my favorite holiday, and so often I feel like it gets overlooked. With lots of the big brands already starting to drop Christmas collections as early as August, Halloween rarely gets its due! Thank gawd for indie brands who are coming through with some gorgeous options to help turn us into the glam ghouls of our dreams!
Gourmande Girls is a brand that has started to pop up more often in the YouTube circles that I watch, and I've generally heard good things. I was tempted by a couple of palettes but just hadn't found the perfect fit - until they announced their Halloween release, the Spooked palette! This color story has all of my Halloween favorites, a few unexpected and gorgeous shimmers, and a few neutrals to tie the whole thing together.
When I think of the "must have" colors to truly be a Halloween palette at the most basic level, I think of a rich, royal purple, a bright apple green, and a pumpkin orange...with black, of course! These are the most obvious to me, though some blood read and ghostly white can't hurt. This palette hits all of those notes for me, and still manages to give me a few surprises of colors I didn't know I needed!
Swatches are done over the Ulta Matte eye primer with a brush swatch for the mattes and a finger swatch for the shimmers. The top photo is under my studio lighting with no flash, and the bottom photo is under the same light but with a flash. I decided to finger swatch the shimmer because that is how I would probably apply them, especially the chunkier, flakier shimmers. I've got a whole philosophy on swatching that will probably get its own post someday, but I like to do as much as I can to mimic the process I use to apply them to the eye. That way you don't just get a sense of the color, but you also get some early clues about how it will perform.
Ghoul is a bright matte white. This is a great shade. It can get a little chalky and inconsistent if you're not careful, but it has a soft, silky consistency that blends out really beautifully. Whenever I'm recommending a standalone drag palette for beginners, I'm always looking for one that has a matte white and a matte black, so this one would definitely qualify.
Trick is a bronze metallic shimmer with some copper notes. This is one of the softer shimmer in the palette. It struggles with a dry brush and it can get a bit chunky, but the metallic finish is truly amazing! The chunkier shimmers in this palette are truly spectacular and are absolutely worth any little bit of fuss you might have to make when applying. Just pay attention to how to handle them, and you'll be shining in no time!
Apple Bob is a slightly more traditional shimmer, less chunky and metallic, but still has a really gorgeous shine. This is a pretty apple green, and there is even maybe a slight hint of a yellow gold tone to it. I love this color.
Haunted is a matte pumpkin orange, maybe a little bit translucent, but not at all patchy or inconsistent. I just feel like I can still see a bit more of my skin through it when applied, but this blends beautifully with the other shades. Absolutely perfect Halloween shade!
Bloody is a really pretty popsicle red leaning into pink. It's a similar consistency to Apple Bob, but has a much more glittery look when applied. This has some gorgeous sparkle!
Fright is a blackened plum matte, nice and deep for darkening an outer corner if you don't want to go full black. This is a bit red leaning, but would still pair nicely with purple shades. A great option for building depth.
Cauldron is a deep royal purple matte. This shade is a pretty balanced purple, not really more blue or red. This is a great option for building out some depth as well, though you could also do a gorgeous monochromatic two shadow look with a shimmer we're going to look at in the next group of swatches. This is the perfect Halloween purple!
If you just glance at Scream, you might think that it's a simple taupe or a khaki matte, but it's actually a swampy light olive neutral that is really unexpected. It's so grungy and perfect for bridging the gaps between some of the more subdued shades in the palette with a bright shimmer like Apple Bob.
Pumpkin is a peachy orange shimmer with an amazing greenish gold shift. This one is a stunner. It's one of the chunkier ones, but as you work out that texture, you get a gorgeous duochrome metallic finish. This is definitely the standout shade in the palette, and pretty unique in my collection.
Spellbook is a basic midtone matte brown. I've a technicolor nightmare, so I'm never going to get excited about a shade like this, but it makes sense in the palette, especially with shades like Scream, Trick, and Spell to allow you a break from the Halloween madness, and it applies with ease and blends like a dream.
Treat is a slightly blue-leaning purple with a great shimmer texture. There is a glittery shift that I think looks red in certain lights, and I think that helps balance out the purple and also make it more interesting.
I accidentally cut off the names when I was making this tile, but left to right the shades are Spell, Terror, and Spooky.
Spell is a chunky, golden champagne shimmer. This is beautiful, and I'm sure the neutral lovers out there will argue with me, but I could have done without either this one or Trick for a more colorful chunky shimmer instead. Although having said that, I would pick this one over Trick because I love a bright champagne over a bronze any day. This is gorgeous and metallic with some glitter to it as well, and I think I catch a little bit of a pink shift. This is a fun shade, and really beautiful when applied.
Terror is a basic red matte, and I love it. It's got nice coverage and it's a true tomato red, not too orange or two maroon like you often see. This is a really great option for someone who wants to play with a true red shadow.
And Spooky is our matte black, very richly pigmented, but still blendable. It's pretty beginner friendly, but it's not a washed out charcoal gray. This one definitely gets my drag palette seal of approval.
Overall, I am in love with this palette, and I can't wait to try more from this brand. Truthfully, I won't have to wait long because I also ordered the C'est L'Amour palette while I was there - look for a review of that one coming sometime in the future (I am so backed up on reviews, but it's coming - I promise!). In addition to having all of the things that I want in a Halloween palette, shades like Pumpkin and Spell and Scream really surprised me and gave me some different options. The matte white and matte black are both gorgeous and blend beautifully, making this a great starter palette for a budding drag queen.
I love spooky season and I'm so glad that Gourmande Girls decided to get in the spirit of things with the Spooked palette. And with this level of quality and pretty agreeable price points, I can definitely see myself shopping their collection all year long!