bareMinerals Ready 8.0 The Sexy Neutrals | Review & Swatches

Last month, I was at Ulta picking up some travel-sized items for my beach vacation and I came across the bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow 8.0 palettes ($40). There are three different shade selections and the Sexy Neutrals was calling out to me with its wearable rosy peachy shades. I've used bareMinerals BB cream eyeshadows (in fact, they're holy grail for me!), but had never tried their powder eyeshadows before, so I was intrigued.
Plus, these palettes are the perfect size for travel! Let's take a look...

The Sexy Neutrals comes in a shiny metallic compact that's beautiful to look at and also really reflective. Depending on the light, it can look like two different colors...above, it looks rose gold, but in the photo below, it looks like a coppery color. It's also a total fingerprint magnet, so unfortunately if you're addicted to keeping your makeup looking like new like I am, it doesn't look pretty for long.

Size-wise, it fits in the palm of your hand which is so great for travel...bringing an 8 shade eyeshadow palette would normally take up a lot of room in a bag, but this one would fit in even the smallest of bags.

It seems like there isn't a lot of product in here for $40, but those 8 shades add up to .28 oz for $40...that's the same total weight as the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette, which appears much larger (and contains 14 shades vs. 8) , but also contains .28 oz worth of total product.

However, the Sexy Neutrals contains a little less than half the product contained in the Tarte Tartelette palettes ($45 for .636 oz) and the Urban Decay Naked Palettes ($54 for .6 oz.). Granted, those are a little more expensive but at the same time, they're giving you more than double the product.

Still, if you're the type of person who rarely hits pan on those larger palettes anyway and you really value the smaller, more compact size for travel purposes (or to keep in your handbag for touch-ups) the price may be worth it to you.

There isn't a lot of room inside the palette for the shade names, but they've listed them on the back which I really appreciate! It's so much better than putting a plastic sheet inside with the names on it (so many brands do that!)...I like to have them permanently on the palette somewhere. 

Inside, there's a full-size mirror and eight shades with both matte and shimmer finishes. The shades are perfect for daytime, especially if you work in an office where you can't really wear bolder, brighter shades. Even though some of these have shimmer, they aren't glittery so it translates as more of a "glow" on your eyelids.

The shades include:

• Hot Commodity (metallic medium copper)
• Nude Beach (light warm sand shimmer)
• Bare Skin (copper rose)
• Pure (light airy peach matte)
• In The Buff (light golden peach)
• Natural (light buttery peach matte)
• Perspective (deep espresso matte)
• Celebrate (yellow cream matte)

I'm in love with this formula. I wasn't sure what to expect from my first bareMinerals powder eyeshadows but they're incredibly pigmented in one swipe, yet still very blendable. I don't have to work hard at all to apply them with a brush on my eyelids, they show up really well with barely any effort. I'm really impressed by the matte shades too, especially Perspective, the deep espresso shade. It's not streaky or chalky at all. I used it on the outer-v of my eyes and only had to use the tiniest bit on the brush and blend it in and it really stood out nicely. They also don't have a lot of fallout, which is awesome.

The only thing I feel like this palette is missing is a medium matte transition/crease color. There are medium shades like Hot Commodity and Bare Skin (1 & 3 on the top row) but they have shimmer in them. So for that reason, I don't do many complicated looks with this...and you know what? That's perfectly ok...I have other palettes I can use for that. 

On a day when I want a pretty, natural look, I use one of the medium shades all over my lid and one of the lighter matte shades on my brow bone. If I want more drama, I add the deep espresso shade to my outer-v or use it as a liner. 

Below, you'll see my swatches on bare skin with no primer...

Overall, this palette has me wanting to try more bareMinerals eyeshadows! The highly pigmented, buttery texture is quickly becoming one of my favorite formulas. 

Have you tried any of the bareMinerals Ready 8.0 palettes yet? 

Grab yours now at Ulta.com

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