Italian Indie Brand review: Nabla Dreamy 2 palette

So, Nabla...my new favorite brand of 2020.

It's not a brand that is new as of 2020-They launched some time earlier than 2018, but I only tried them this year, and I have a lot to say.

First off, I have heard a LOT of Indie makeup lover Beauty youtubers talking about them, and Julia Adams has also done a few videos reviewing their products.

I only got interested in their eyeshadow palettes-specifically the Dreamy 2, when I saw a review by Angelica Nyqvist on it and fell completely in love with the look she made using it.

Nabla is an Italian indie brand. From the website:

"PHILOSOPHY

To be crystal clear, to be truthful and free. This is the underlying philosophy that gave birth to our Company. NABLA is an Italian indie brand born to be sincere to its clients, going well beyond the normal market conventions and to provide high-quality makeup products, highly efficient and totally safe to use. Our research is based on high performance, balanced with use of the best ingredients and preferably natural ones.We will take pride in showing you our products and to explain our choices step by step.

All our formulas are extremely innovative, rich in details that make the difference, producing the final objects that must be beautiful, cured, practical and never banal."

I was so excited when I ordered it from Ulta, and I have to say, the inside is stunning, but the packaging...it's just on another level. It's so expensive and just beautifully designed and I absolutely love it.

They even have a YouTube channel where there's something like a trailer for each palette, and for Dreamy 2, there are swatches done for each shade, and they mention the formulas. So, for the Dreamy 2 palette, there are the following formulas: Super Sparkle, Matte, Metal Foil and Super Matte.

So, swatched out on the hand every shade looks stunning, but when I was researching this palette pre-purchase, I realized something that I thought was important to mention-I don't think this palette is for beginners. I think this palette is something I'd recommend to people who seriously want to learn about makeup and are interested in trying out new formulas and working with different textures.

I saw quite a few comments on Ulta, one of them saying that there were too many shimmers and no mattes and that was why it was a pass for them, but something to understand is that this palette is quite unique, in the sense that it has over one type of matte, and over one type of shimmer, and if you aren't patient and you haven't experimented with eyeshadow, that isn't something you'll truly be able to appreciate.

I would suggest that if you really love the color story, work on improving your makeup skills, and save up to get a Nabla palette, if not the Dreamy 2.

The brand is exceptional because they have smaller sized palettes called "Cutie" palettes and you can choose whatever color story you like from those if you just want to try the brand but don't want to spend $40 on a palette.

For me, it has become my favorite palette ever. I really love how long the shadows lasted, how easy they were to apply to my eyes, and I think I'll be going back to purchase more from Nabla.

As for ease of use, I want to talk about the neutral looks I did with the palette. I don't have pictures of those looks, but Angelica Nyquist originally did a tutorial on the purple smoky eye that I did with the palette in her video (Links below!). I also did another look on my own, so here's a step-by-step guide of that:

Step 1: After priming the eyelids with the Urban Decay Primer Potion eyeshadow primer, I went in with a fluffy crease brush with the shade Déjà vu. I focused this shade lightly in the crease, buffing it out towards my brow bone, and using the remaining product for a light wash all over my lids.

Step 2: I picked up New Past with another fluffy brush-this one was still fluffy, but less than my previous brush. I put New Past in the outer corner and a little in the outer part of my crease so that Déjà vu and New Past blended together.

Step 3: I picked up Offline on a pencil brush and lightly tapped the shade onto my outer corner and blended it towards the outer half of my eyelid.

Step 4: I primed my eyes with the Nyx Glitter Primer. Tip: Don't apply this primer with a finger. Instead, put a small amount on a flat brush and place it onto your eyelid. You'll get more precision that way.

Step 5: I picked up the shade Oniric-it's a bronze-gold shade that looks similar to Libertine, but it's not as chunky. Place this shade onto the lid, blending into the crease a little and also blend it with the outer corner shade, Offline.

Step 6: To finish the look, I added mascara. For fluffier lashes and a falsie effect, use the Milk Makeup Kush Mascara. A budget-friendly, drugstore mascara choice would be the CoverGirl Outlast mascara. It will give you softer looking lashes so they look natural.

So, that's it for me! If you like what you're seeing, I'd love it if you would subscribe, that way you can get notifications every time I post on The M Word !

Links to beauty YouTubers you should DEFINITELY check out:

Angelica Nyquist

Julia Adams (my favourite youtuber of ALL time!)

I'll catch you next time:)

-May