It’s rare that I write about make-up on my blog though I’ve been obsessed with it for years and wear it just about everyday. And though my obsession with make-up has begun to shift more over to skincare, I’ve recently gained a new love of creating vivid eye shadow looks using the Coloured Raine Vivid Pigments Palette, which I’ve had for months now.

Coloured Raine is a Black owned make-up company I discovered on Youtube of course. The Vivid Pigments Palette is legendary among many MU lovers and I was lucky enough to grab a palette while it was on sale. It sells out very quickly and I believe it is sold out presently because of it’s immense popularity on the Coloured Raine site.

At first, these very vivid intensely pigmented colors can seem very intimidating. They were for me. I looked at them for days after the palette arrived just in awe but having no idea how to use them, particularly after having gotten comfortable with creating fairly safe matte nude looks with touches of peach or coral shimmer. But after taking in a few tutorials, getting some better brushes and pushing past my fear of fucking up, I’m starting to understand a bit more about how these colors work together. Some knowledge of color theory doesn’t hurt.

Looking at the Coloured Rained Vivid Pigments Palette is almost like looking at a color theory chart actually. It’s really set up to make creating eye looks easier for you.

I’ve been playing around with the purples and the blues this week which can also be mixed carefully (using transition shades) with greens and pinks. Once you understand how to transition from one color the next you can use as many colors as wish. You can even break the rules once you understand how doing so will result in the outcome you’re looking to produce. I’m not quite that good yet. I did create a fun pink smokey eye look  using this palette in one of my latest videos. But I’ve gotten even more adventurous since then.

I get up in the morning thinking I’ll do something faster and easier using a more tame palette but I keep going for this one because it’s just fun for me to make eye looks up on the fly with a palette that delivers such inspiring and intense pigment and blends out so nicely. I’m discovering for instance that I really love a denim and periwinkle colored eye look. These are colors I would never have previously dreamed to try out on my eyes before, let alone love because I don’t rock blue in my wardrobe much at all aside from jeans. And yet, the blues in this palette are among my favorites. The purples are amazing as well.

I’m excited to create a look with this palette for an adult prom party/ wedding anniversary that my BFF invited my husband and I to attend in April. And in general I’m just excited to usher in Spring using these beautiful colors because I am blooming too.

-Urban Eve