Jeffree Star Cosmetics Beauty Killer Eyeshadow Palette

For those who don't know who Jeffree Star is, he's an "American singer-songwriter, makeup artist, fashion designer and model from Orange County, California. He started his music career on MySpace with over 25 million plays on his self-released music," and is known for his "his transgressive, gender-bending appearance and persona." He is now most famous for his online presence, both on YouTube and Instagram (with 3.5 million and 4 million subscribers, respectively), and his successful indie cosmetics line, Jeffree Star Cosmetics, which has seen a huge surge in popularity over the last year thanks to social media. He started out with his Velour Liquid Lipstick and Velour Lip Scrub ranges in 2014 (making his one of the first brands to re-popularize liquid lipsticks), but has now expanded into eyeshadows, highlighters, and bullet lipsticks. 

Last May, Jeffree Star Cosmetics released the Beauty Killer Eyeshadow Palette, his first foray outside of liquid lipstick. It is named after his 2009 debut studio album, Beauty Killer, and is described as "a ten shade palette created to provide everything you need for a variety of looks. Always one to stand out from the crowd — like its creator himself — the Beauty Killer Palette is a must have for any adventurous beauty lover. Developed with extreme pigment and an ultra-blendable formula, the hues range from neon pinks to soft peaches in a trio of finishes; matte, glitter and frost for an endless amount of stunning eye looks." It is housed in a huge rectangular baby pink cardboard palette with an interior mirror and magnetic closure; the lid features the Jeffree Star Cosmetics logo and "Beauty Killer" written in script. The eyeshadows are embossed with Jeffree Star's star logo. Each Beauty Killer Eyeshadow Palette contains a total of 25.2 grams of product, and retails for $45 USD. It is available online at Jeffree Star Cosmetics, Beautylish, and Beauty Bay.
Star Power, Princess, Violence, Rich Bitch, and Courtney

Star Power is a medium-dark cool blue-toned neon pink in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more blue-toned than MAC Process Magenta Pigment, more blue-toned than MAC Bright Pink, and similar to Urban Decay Savage (Electric Palette).

Princess is a pale cool icy pink in a frosted finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is similar to MAC Phloof!, warmer than MAC Ready to Party, and slightly more pink than Make Up For Ever D914 Crystalline Mauve.

Violence is a medium-deep warm red-toned plum with a blue-violet shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly brighter than MAC Plum Dressing, more purple than MAC Cranberry, and more red than Urban Decay Backfire.

Rich Bitch is a medium warm true yellow gold with gold shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is warmer and more yellow than MAC Gold Pigment, darker and warmer than Makeup Geek Fortune Teller, and warmer and brighter than Urban Decay Blitz.

Courtney is a medium warm muted peach-beige in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more peach than MAC Soft Brown, darker and more brown than Too Faced Georgia, and lighter and more peach than Makeup Geek Creme Brulee.

Expensive, Confession, Vanity, China White, and Black Rainbow

Expensive is a medium-dark cool brightened teal blue with blue sparkle in a glitter finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is slightly powdery, but can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly darker and more muted than MAC Teal Appeal, darker and more glittery than Makeup Geek Shark Bait, and brighter and more glittery than Make Up For Ever I238 Blue Cedar.

Confession is a medium-dark warm copper-burgundy with a cranberry-pink shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is brighter and more reddened than MAC Cranberry, darker and more burgundy than MAC Coppering, and brighter and more copper than Makeup Geek Anarchy.

Vanity is a deep-dark cool blackened brown in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and cooler than MAC Embark, darker and warmer than MAC Brun, and similar to Makeup Geek Americano.

China White is a pale warm cream white in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily.  It is similar to MAC Vanilla, slightly darker and warmer than MAC Gesso, and slightly cooler than Too Faced Coconut Créme (Semi-Sweet Chocolate Palette).

Black Rainbow is a deep-dark cool black with gold and teal micro-glitter in a matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is slightly powdery, but can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker than MAC Black Tied, more sparkly than Urban Decay Blackout, and less sparkly than Make Up For Ever D104 Black Diamond.

The first thing you'll notice is the size of this palette: It is huge. By far the biggest pre-assembled palette I have ever seen. Each pan of eyeshadow has a whopping 2.52 grams of product, which means it is nearly double the average eyeshadow size (about 1.3 to 1.5 grams). The second thing you'll notice is that the colour placement in the palette doesn't seem to follow any particular scheme. It's got neutrals and brights. Cool tones and warm tones. Mattes and metallics. But it's actually far more wearable than you might think. There are a myriad of really gorgeous looks that you can create from this, from bright and colourful halo eyes to dark and sultry smoky eyes. You can even create subtle, office-appropriate, everyday looks with it. That having been said, this palette is not for basic eyeshadow wearers. It is for someone who loves playing with colour and experimenting with different eye looks. Like Jeffree Star himself, this palette is fun, flamboyant, expressive, and a little wild.

What's most outstanding about this palette is the textures of the shadows. The mattes are incredibly pigmented, smooth, and blendable. Like most black or blackened shadows, Vanity and Black Rainbow are a bit powdery so they do cause some fallout (and, as a result, they look patchy in arm swatches), but they have amazing colour pay-off and blend out well. I will note, however, that the glitter in Black Rainbow doesn't translate on to the eye, which is common with a lot of matte eyeshadows with sparkle; for full impact, I would use a tackier eye base and then pack the shadow on with a flat synthetic brush. The truly impressive shades here, though, are the frosts/metallics: Violence, Rich Bitch, and Confession. They go on with a dense, buttery smoothness and give off the kind of rich, saturated colour pay-off found in pigments and foiled shadows. (Rich Bitch is especially striking. I actually exclaimed, "Holy shit!" the moment I swatched it.) That having been said, this palette will intimidate the majority of people. Beauty Killer is for people who love and embrace wearing colour, and it's totally in line with Jeffree Star's artistic vision and indulgent style — his liquid lipsticks and highlighters also come in very unique, "editorial" colours that look amazing but aren't for the average consumer. So, is this a must-have? No, not by any means. But, god, it sure is gorgeous.