These days there’s only 3 companies I bother buying eye shadows from. Ignoring the fact that I already have way too many and absolutely don’t need any more, the main thing I look for when I inevitably do buy more eyeshadows, whether individual pans or palettes, is good quality for a budget price, which immediately narrows the field right down.

Several years ago I discovered Coastal Scents and their Hot Pots, individual budget-friendly eyeshadow pans that can be slotted into magnetized palettes, and I’ve returned to them again and again. As such I was excited to get the chance to try even more of those Hot Pots and to also test out one of their ready made palettes for the first time, the Revealed Matte palette. The result? Coastal Scents is still part of my favourite 3!

Gifted by Coastal Scents – The Revealed Matte palette + 28 Hot Pots and Custom 28 Shadow Palette

The Revealed Matte palette is, as the name suggests, an all matte palette, with 20 shadows varying from light base shades for those of us who have pale skin, through to light and mid browns with some terracotta, purple and very dark browns to round it out. It has everything I need for creating the neutral eye I wear literally 99% of the time for my go-to vintage look, but since it has warm and cool tones across a spectrum of light-to-dark I can switch it up when I want without having to reach for another palette. It’s incredibly useful for anyone on the go and the colour payoff of the shadows is great. I wrangled my niece into lending her arm for the swatches and the lighter tones blended so well with her skin that unfortunately they don’t show up too well in the photos, but in use they work perfectly on my pale skin for base shades.

Swatches of all shades in the Revealed Matte palette in natural light and with a flash

Of course I had to use this palette to create my standard go-to vintage look, which was easy as pie, to show you how it performs:

My usual vintage look created using the Coastal Scents Revealed Matte palette

My usual vintage look created using the Coastal Scents Revealed Matte palette

Now, onto the Hot Pots! They’re individual eyeshadow pans that come in a variety of shades across matte, satin and shimmer finishes. They can magnetically slot into any of Coastal Scents’ many available custom palettes, which come in an array of sizes. I chose the 28 slot shadow palette with the clear lid to house my newest Hot Pot shades, but I already have 2 other 28-pan palettes with the solid lid full of other Hot Pots that I use every time I do my makeup.

When I chose the shades for this palette I wanted to create my perfect covers-all-bases palette. I selected an array of neutral shades that would help create my usual neutral vintage look I wear constantly but could also be worked into more exaggerated, sexy versions of that same look, as well as used to create a smokey eye. But I also wanted to include a selection of shimmers and mattes in purple, grey and green tones for when I want to have a bit more fun with my makeup.

My chosen Hot Pots in a 28 palette. L to R. Top row: Cloud White, Chamois Nude, Pale Nude, Petal Peach, Persian Peach, Tuscan Terra Cotta, Oatmeal Tan. Second row: Kokomo Cafe, Coconut Husk, Midnight Rodeo, Light Taupe, Harvest Brown, Barista, New Terrain. Third row: Deep Roast, Timeless Taupe, Wild Raisin, Maroon Berry, Concrete Jungle, Black Berry, Burnished Brunette. Bottom Row: Ash Grey, Gunpowder, Dark Golden Olive, Olivewood, Balsam, Pinehurst, Fresh Chive.

All of the Hot Pots are beautiful and easy to apply, and each has a sticker on the bottom of with the shade name so you know exactly what to re-order when you hit pan. The shimmers are pigmented and pretty, smooth to apply with no chalkiness. The mattes vary in opacity but the level of opacity of each shade is listed on their individual product page so be sure to check that out if you have strong preferences. I personally love light brown shades to be semi-opaque so that they work subtly in the crease, so I’m thrilled that semi-opaque is an option I can look out for.

Chamois Nude is my perfect base shadow to match my skin so I’ll be using it constantly, the same for Cloud Work which is my go-to inner corner highlight pop. Almost every picture you’ve ever seen of me here on the blog or on my social media will have had me wearing the other Hot Pots I already own, so you should expect to see these new shades put into that rotation. 

For this post, however, I wanted to create a couple of looks that are really different for me to show you how these shadows perform, and also just for the fun of getting to play with my new shades.

Coastal scents Hot Pots in Wild Raisin, Maroon Berry, and Black Berry

Coastal scents Hot Pots in Wild Raisin, Maroon Berry, and Black Berry

Dramatic and dark, I had fun creating this modern take on a 1920s look with the shadows Wild Raisin (base), Maroon Berry (full crease,) and Black Berry (outer V).

Coastal Scents Hot Pots in Light Taupe, Olivewood, and Balsam

And in an ode to my Slytherin friends I leaned into the green here using Light Taupe (crease), Olivewood (base) and Balsam (shimmer topper on the lid.)

My final note of what I love about these products is that they’re so travel friendly. The Revealed Matte palette is a slim, compact size which makes it easy for packing, it would even fit in your handbag without issue if you need it closer to hand while on the move. The individual Hot Pots and their magnetic palettes offer a level of customisation that you can’t achieve with standard ready-made palettes, which is perfect for travel. As someone who already owns dozens of Hot Pots, it’s been incredibly useful to swap around the colours I most want and need into a single palette to take with me on a trip-by-trip basis. Do I want to take all my neutral mattes for my day look but also some fun bright shimmers for a special event, or to give a requested makeover to my less makeup-fluent friends? Just swap around the pots and go! It’s a slim palette so it’s also easy to pack and the shadows are held firmly in place so I’ve never once had an issue with looseness or breakages.

Coastal Scents’ 75% off everything Cyber Week comes to an end tomorrow, Monday 9th December at 11am ET so if you want to grab the Hot Pots for 75c each, the Revealed Matte palette for just $5 or anything else on their site for a downright bargain, you better act fast!

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Disclaimer: The 28 Hot Pots, their magnetic palette and the Revealed Matte palette featured in this review were all gifted to me by Coastal Scents for honest review. All opinions expressed are truthful and my own, with no input from any company listed or any other individuals.