BH Cosmetics Opalescent Palette review

So, another wildly unnecessary makeup purchase, but one I really wanted.

The BH Cosmetics Opalescent Palette really caught my eye because it’s a warm-toned palette featuring neutral browns, pinks, purples and golds – all of my favourite colours. I also hadn’t tried BH Cosmetics before and I used this as a justification to buy this palette.

BH Cosmetics has launched some fire products recently and I always see a lot of positive reviews about the brand, so I couldn’t wait to try the Opalescent Palette.

What is BH Cosmetics?

BH Cosmetics is a Los Angeles-based makeup brand that offers affordable, high-quality and cruelty-free products.

Opalescent Palette claims

According to BH Cosmetics, the Opalescent Palette is a cruelty-free and vegan eyeshadow palette featuring buttery mattes and luminous shimmers, boasting a pigment-rich formula that blends effortlessly.

This essential collection features luxe neutrals with warm undertones and opulent pink and plum hues to create endless magical eye looks.

BH Cosmetics

The brand says that this eyeshadow palette can be used for both day and night looks.

First impressions

At a first glance, I like the overall packaging. I’m not in love with it and I think the design is a bit chaotic, but it’s pretty, eye-catching and very different to other eyeshadow palettes in my collection.

It comes with a nice big mirror on the inside, which is really important to me. Some of the more expensive brands don’t put mirrors inside their eyeshadow palettes and this is a massive no-no for me as it makes travelling with them less appealing. So good job BH Cosmetics on that front.

But most importantly, when I opened the palette, I loved every single shade. There isn’t one shade in the palette that I dislike. They’re all beautiful. A lot of palettes I own contain shades I’m not fussed about or wouldn’t wear, but this one ticks all the boxes.

Fave shades so far:

• Captivating
• Opaline
• Twilight
• Magic
• Delight
• Vivacious
• Wish

Opalescent Palette swatches

After an initial look at the Opalescent Palette, I went on to swatch the shades.

Swatching is a good indicator of the quality of eyeshadows because it allows you to get a feel for the formula, pigmentation and if the colours look the same on your skin as they do in the pan.

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4

I’ll be honest guys, there’s major variation between the quality of the shades in the palette.

I found all of the lighter mattes, as well as some of the other mattes, to be lacking in pigmentation. They looked patchy and very washy. I’d actually say that the quality of these mattes was clearly cheap.

You can particularly see that the shades Bright, Alluring, Grace, Dainty and Stunner were chalky. I had to keep putting my finger in the eyeshadows to get even a half-decent swatch.

However, with most of the darker mattes, the pigmentation seemed to be better. I definitely wouldn’t say amazing, particularly when you compare them to Morphe palettes (which are a similar price), but there was more to work with.

To make up for this, though, the shimmer shades were incredible. Pigmented, buttery, beautiful. They were very creamy and I loved every single shimmer.

So, the swatches from the Opalescent Palette were a bit of a mixed bag. The mattes were underwhelming, while I was very impressed with the shimmers.

But, I wanted to see how they’d work on my eyes.

Opalescent Palette makeup look

I wanted to create a look using the peaches, pinks and browns in the palette to go with my outfit for the day.

I started with concealer as my base and then used the shade Flutter all over my lids as the base colour.

Then, I tried to use the shade Bright all over my lids to built a bit of a softer colour. But honestly guys, there was just NO pigment. I used different techniques and brushes but hardly any colour appeared.

After, I attempted to use Alluring all over my lids and nothing. Again. Same with the shade Dainty. These light mattes didn’t do anything.

So, I moved on to a shimmer shade. I wet my brush with a bit of Iconic London’s Prep-Set-Glow and went in with the shade Opaline. And the payoff was insane. It was the complete opposite of the light mattes: vibrant, shimmery and pigmented. I applied Opaline all over my lids.

Then, to try and add some sort of softness and depth to my look, I used the shade Mystic (a darker, brown matte) in the outer corners of my eyelids and into my crease. This shade had more colour and pigment than the other mattes, but I still wanted more from it. However, I managed to get it to work after some time and actually ended up with a nice look.

Here’s how it turned out:

I liked the finished look. Opaline is such a beautiful colour and I created a simple look that was just perfect for what I wanted.

It wasn’t my best work, but I was happy with it.

Longevity

The eyeshadows lasted all day. As you’d expect, the colour faded a bit throughout the day, but I was pleased with how well the eyeshadows lasted. Especially because of the trouble I’d had with those light matte shades, I wasn’t particularly hopeful!

Where to buy

The best place to buy the BH Cosmetics Opalescent Palette from is Beauty Bay because of the fast and free-over-£15 delivery. The Opalescent Palette costs £19 from there and it has a total of 24 shades, which is extremely good value.

Final thoughts

I like it, but I’m not over the moon with this palette.

The pros

• The shimmers are absolutely stunning: creamy, pigmented and vivid. There’s a lovely mix of unique shades to choose from.
• It’s affordable. £19 for 24 shades is a great deal, making it suitable for those on a budget and those not wanting to drop £50 on an eyeshadow palette.
• The packaging is quite nice and it has a large, handy mirror, which means it’s great for travelling as you don’t need to pack an extra mirror.

The cons

• The mattes were bad. While the darker mattes worked a bit better, they still weren’t that pigmented and required extra work than other eyeshadows I’ve used.
• As for the lighter mattes, there was nothing there. I tried, I really did, but there was pretty much no colour. This is annoying because it means the mattes in the palette are pretty irrelevant.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Get this palette if you really love the shimmers and have a lot of brown mattes in your eyeshadow collection already. It’s a shame because the price of this palette is wonderful and the shimmers are stunning, but the mattes really let it down.

I’ll be intrigued to try some other BH Cosmetics palettes in the future to see whether the mattes are better in those or not. But I’m not in love with the Opalescent Palette.

Looking to purchase an affordable eyeshadow palette? Why not check out my reviews of the Beauty Bay EYN Bright Matte 42 Colour Palette, Morphe 35M Boss Mood Artistry Palette or Makeup Revolution x Soph collection?

Sarah Sarsby is the owner of A Woman's Confidence. With over 6 years' experience of writing in the fields of beauty and lifestyle, Sarah is passionate about all things content, makeup, skincare, wellness, and lifestyle. She has oily skin, is obsessed with lip gloss, and loves cookie dough.