UPDATE (June 17, 2021): Unfortunately, the Coastal Scents brand has gone out of business.

UPDATE (JUNE 17, 2021): Right now, the only affordable, build your own palette, single eyeshadows that I have personal experience with are Makeup Geek ($6.49 – $8.49). You can check out my review and swatches of their most recent formula by clicking here. Syndey Grace is another brand with single eyeshadows ($5.00 – $6.00) and they get rave reviews, although I’ve never personally tried them. I do not currently know of any single eyeshadows that are priced as low as Coastal Scents was priced.

Coastal Scents recently had a 99 cent sale on their single eyeshadows and I decided to place an order.  If you’ve been into makeup for a while, you may remember when Coastal Scents’ eyeshadows were always 99 cents when they went on sale.  At some point, the eyeshadows went up to $2.95 each.  Now the popular 99 cent sale has become the 50% off sale with a cost of $1.50 each.

If you are looking at this picture and thinking that the yellow sticks out like a sore thumb, I agree with you.  This was actually a mistake with my order.  I ordered the shade Amber Bronze and somehow was sent Midas Gold in its place.  No Worries, Coastal Scents has already shipped me the correct shade, but I decided to go ahead and swatch it with the rest in case anyone wants to see that shade.

I also just want to quickly add that even though there was a mistake with my order, that is not typical in my experience with the brand.  I have been ordering with them since 2015 and this is the first time I’ve ever had an issue.

If you are interested in knowing my thoughts on the formula, you can find that information at the bottom after all of the swatches.

On to the swatchfest!

1st Row (chamois nude, new penny, canyon coral, oatmeal tan, redstone, deep merlot, maroon berry)

2nd Row (burnt umber, golden sienna, barista, peach, bright copper, petal peach, victorian ruby)

3rd Row (boca mocha, rich walnut, oktoberfest, raspberry tart, vibrant plum, amethyst, bronze peach)

4th Row (midas gold, violetta, chocolatier, earth rose, wild raisin, vintage burgundy, deep grape)

At one point in time the company had over 300 hot pots.  I’ve only tried about 45 of them, so my knowledge and experience are limited to those particular colors.  Most that I have tried has been nicely pigmented and easy to work with.  Since it has been so long since I’ve used some of the shades I previously owned, I’ll just be discussing the 28 pictured in this post.

Chamois nude, oatmeal tan, maroon berry, burnt umber, barista, petal peach, oktoberfest, vibrant plum, bronze peach, midas gold, chocolatier, wild raisin, and deep grape (discontinued?) are mattes.  I enjoy the matte shadows the most. Overall, they blend well for me despite kicking up a small amount of excess powder. I’m in the habit of tapping off my brushes before application, so it never causes an issue. Petal peach and wild raisin are messier than the others I’ve tried.  If you have read other eyeshadow reviews of mine then you know I prefer a firmly pressed eyeshadow.  I would say that while these are less powdery than ABH shadows, they are not as firmly pressed as a MAC shadow.  Obviously, they are not nearly as pigmented as ABH or MAC, I just wanted to give you a formula reference point.

Canyon coral, redstone, earth rose, vintage burgundy, violetta, and peach are satins.  The shades listed as satin finishes are not consistent in finish. For example, peach feels like a shimmer and violetta performs and looks like a matte. Other satin shades like vintage burgundy and redstone have a slight sheen to them. Basically make sure you do your research and read reviews carefully on the satin shades. To me, a satin has less shine to it than a shimmer finish, which is almost going toward a more metallic look. Hopefully, that helps explain what I’m trying to say. All brands can have inconsistencies in finish, so don’t let this discourage you, I just want you to be aware.

New penny, deep merlot, golden sienna (discontinued?), bright copper, victorian ruby, boca mocha, rich walnut, raspberry tart, and amethyst (discontinued?) are shimmers.  I like to use the shimmer shades with my fingers to improve color payoff and minimize the fallout I experience. I think the color payoff issue has more to do with my skin tone than the eyeshadows themselves. In most cases, they are much more pigmented in swatches than when I applied them to my eyes.

While I do think that these are decent eyeshadows, $2.95 can add up quickly if you’re not careful. You also have to keep in mind that you need a storage case for them which is an additional cost if you don’t have anything. I actually prefer the palettes that coastal scents sell over the free form z-palettes, so that is what I got.  If you order 12 at full price and a palette to store them in, you’d pay about $41.35 before even considering shipping (but always wait for a sale). This is an affordable option for customizing a palette, but only if you end up liking and using all 12 that you ordered.  That is the problem with this type of company, you are taking a gamble on the colors and finishes being what you expect. So if you are adventurous and like variety in your eyeshadows, I’d say go ahead and give them a try. If you are very particular, I’d opt for buying from a store where you can see the products first.

Again, Coastal Scents Hot Pots now retail for $2.95 per shade.  If you sign up for the brand’s newsletter you’ll be notified when they have sales.  For the Hot Pots, they typically have 50% off sales bringing the price down to $1.50.

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