The intimidation factor with Make Up For Ever’s Studio Case ($59.50) is high…
If I were unable to tell the difference between a domed brush and a shader brush, or the words “lid” and “crease” made me immediately think of mason jars and those ubiquitous pressed khaki pants worn by tech dudes, I may have just cruised right by the sleek black Studio Case and thought, “That is some scary sh*t.”
But not “scary” as in The Taking of Deborah Logan, which scared the living bejeezus out of me, but scary as in daunting as all hell — as in, you can only be allowed in its presence if you wear a brush belt around your hips at work.
The question is, does one require an advanced certificate from the Tabs the Cat School of Makeup Artistry (est. 2007) to beat major face with this kit?
No, I don’t think so… Not after seeing it up close.
In fact, the products in the case are surprisingly user-friendly, thanks, in part, to the way MUFE organized the 12 shadows (you can also pop the palette out of the case if you want).
The colors are arranged by recommended look into four columns — Natural, Bold, Smoky and Chic. On top of that, MUFE includes a look booklet with clear, detailed instructions.
To hold your hand through the process and make it even easier, MUFE included a book with clear, detailed instructions on how to get each of the looks.
The $59.50 Make Up For Ever Studio Case includes…
- 12 x 0.024-oz. Artist Shadows in Natural (M-530, S-516, I-544), Smoky (M-122, ME-108, M-100), Bold (D-236, D-926, I-218), and Chic (I-524, D-826, ME-828)
- A 0.01-oz. Artist Liner in Matte Black (M-10)
- Step-by-step guide
As someone who occasionally needs a few hits from her asthma inhaler when faced with too many eyeshadow options (PANIC! TOO MANY COLORS!), palettes like these, with around 12 or so colors, are right in my sweet spot. There are enough colors for an almost limitless number of looks, but not so many colors that I short circuit trying to figure out what to do.
The standouts here for me are the Smoky, Chic and Bold eyeshadow shades, which, I’m tellin’ ya, winter in Pigment City. For attention-getting holiday looks, look no further than these shades, and the step-by-step booklet, which I think is better than most, shows you exactly where to put each one.
As for the three eyeshadows in the “Natural” column, I haz trubs. Once I get them on my lids and start blending, the colors pretty much look the same. Gals and guys with medium and deeper skin tones may feel the same way (I’ve ended up primarily using these shades as boring ol’ highlighters, bah).
Also, prepare yourself for fallout. But it’s not too bad. It’s not a torrential downpour of fallout. Just a light drizzle.
Incidentally, yes, it’s still raining here. 🙁
The Make Up For Ever Studio Case won’t be around forever, but it is available online now and at Make Up For Ever counters.
PRICE: $59.50
AVAILABILITY: Limited edition, available now at Make Up For Ever counters and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+/A-
Heaven really is a place on earth…and it’s called HomeGoods
I have come to the conclusion that the HomeGoods chain of house/home stores is basically my nirvana.
One recently opened nearby in San Rafael, and I’m already a regular there! My latest discount acquisitions: a jar of fancy fish seasoning, a set of fall plates, a farm house key-shaped decoration for the kitchen that doubles as a bottle opener, a kitchen utensil holder with a chevron pattern, and a cute Christmas bird.
And the prices are GOOD (like Marshall’s).
The biggest bummer I’ve found is if you see something you like, you can’t dilly-dally and go home to think about it, because the store’s inventory changes all the time. If you see something you want, you gotta move!
Do you ever go to HomeGoods? It’s kind of amazeballs, right?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I never really got into MUFE but the swatches from this case are pretty…
Too bad I am overflowing with eye shadows and palettes right now. The new Clarins spring 2015 eye palette (it’s December and I can’t believe we are talking about spring makeup) popped up online at Macy’s and I want to buy it! I shouldn’t add another eyeshadow to my collection (I say this as my Tom Ford Platinum cream eye color is due to arrive in the next couple days LOL).
Love the package the studio case comes in! If I ever bought it I would totally re-purpose it to hold other items!
I like the bird.
His name is Paulo.
Fellow HomeGoods lover here, too. It actually relaxes me to walk around & browse through that store 🙂
When are the best days to go to your store? Mine gets the new stuff on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. So the evenings on those days are good!
Looks like great lil box! but all neutrals look similar? that’s a bummer!
I loooove Home Goods. Then again, anything cosmetics or home/cooking related is my thing. I can forego most other stores lol. My mom is visiting next week from Europe so I’m thinking a HG trip needs to happen soon. Plus I lover Paulo, I may need to find Paulette..
PS I’d been wondering about the ‘purple’ eye look, it looks really nice on you 🙂
At first glance, I thought The bird was a walrus. Must have been the bow.
I love the look of such kits, making me feel all professional.
This is on my Christmas list. I have several MUFE shadows/”blushes” and I love them. The Bold and Chic columns have me lusting. One good thing about my being so pale-skinned: The neutrals will all look like different colors on me.
Love the eye look you did. So pretty.
I have this set of shadows, and love them! My complexion is NW 20-ish, and the neutrals are all quite useful on me, they don’t look the same at all. I adore the shades in the ‘bold’ column, the ‘smoky’ shades are wonderful, and I love the fact that there are base, blending, highlight and liner shades all in the same case — I don’t have to pull out other shadows to create a complete look. The case is nice enough for me to re-purpose it. The shadows can be popped out with a strong magnet, I’m thinking of putting together a Z-palette with the shadows from this set and my other MUFE shadows.
MUFE fan here! Especially of the eyeshadows. So yeah, this kit makes my heart beat faster, fo sho 🙂
That is SUCH a handsome and dapper Christmas bird! I try not to go to Home Goods because I can’t resist buying things I don’t need. I’m not sure how anyone can walk in and not see 100 awesome things. 🙂
I like the instructional booklet with this kit but it’s an easy one for me to resist. I’m not a shadow wearer and anything over three shadows in a palette gets me a bit itchy. HAHA!
OMG Karen. I watched The Taking Of Deborah Logan with the bf over skype (in broad daylight, mind you) and I was freaking OUT. It’s seriously good and creepy for an independent film.
Also, is it weird that I thought your Christmas bird was a walrus? I think the bow tie fooled me.
I really like the bolder shades. They definitely give this set a little more oomph. It seems like a pretty nice value though
Oh, the tutorial looks interesting and helpful. Are these eyeshadows the ones from new formula? I wish they come in less colors though, these 12 colors are kinda over killed for me. 🙁
I love this set!! The colors are so pretty and the perfect size. I wanted to try the artist shadows but never knew what colors to pick! This was perfect!
I like this set because it’s right combination of neutrals and fun but wearable shades.
Makeup Forever products are generally of very good to excellent quality. I love the grey, teal and blue colours the best. They look gorgeous. I think there are plenty of colours here to suit everyone. May I say that I think this is better than Vice 3?
This is on sale at Sephora for $39 and the MUFE Vol 1 Nudes is $42. For a newbie who doubts she’ll use bold, which do you suggest?