Beige

Catrice The Great Christmas Advent Calendar Eyeshadow Palette Review

By Maychiri's Thoughts - February 26, 2025

Opening the calendar and finally seeing this palette inside filled me with joy! After all, I am an eyeshadow junkie (you don’t want to see my makeup shelf... trust me, it’s got a lot of items there)! So adding another eyeshadow palette to my ever-growing collection is truly a cause for celebration! I am filled with so much inspiration, what kinds of looks will I be able to make with this? Will they be New Years Eve appropriate? Catrice eyeshadows are usually incredibly good, so I cannot wait to finally start using this palette... it’s been a long time coming. 23 long days... but now it is here. So, let’s check it out, shall we?
 

 
 
Packaging: geez, this packaging is so extravagant – ahh! I adore it! It really channels the 1920’s theme so perfectly, but it does look familiar, doesn’t it? That’s because the design is lifted straight from the Advent calendar, they just changed the centre into a dark teal. I don’t mind this, this way, I will be reminded of this luxurious Advent Calendar every time I use the palette. 
 
 
 
 

The design is totally art deco, with golden swoosh trims and architectural styles mixed together – as was the style back in the roaring 20’s! The red is really popping here, and the gold makes it look like a real jewel! Adding to this is the dark teal centre, which is like an emerald in the centre of a very extravagant and special piece of clothing. God I love this! The back continues this red/gold theme, including the metallic golden trims! It’s a very cohesive design, that looks like a lot of thought had been put behind it. The Catrice logo in the front is – but what else – golden, to match the rich, flamboyant tone of the rest. In the back you’ll find the ingredients list and some other info, but it’s not golden text. Instead, it is light cream, which still fits with the theme! 
 
 
 
The lid of the palette closes tightly enough, it doesn’t feel loose. The whole palette, though made from cardboard from front to back, still feels quality-made and hefty. Perhaps some of the weight comes from the mirror that is included inside? The mirror is good, the reflections aren’t weird so the optics are good (I have had some products in the past whose mirrors had wonky optics so the reflection would be all bent like you were in a hall of mirrors, that is why I am mentioning this). Then, once it is open, you can gaze upon the selection of 12 gorgeous colours that are part of this eyeshadow palette... but that part comes in a little bit!
 

Ingredients: vitamin E for nourishment present in every single shade;  also, no parabens at all. The ingredients are, as you might imagine, pretty identical across all 12 shades, aside from the dyes, of course. The scent is extremely subtle; honestly, the cardboard surrounding the eyeshadows smells more than the eyeshadows themselves. I don’t think the eyeshadows have any kind of scent, tbh. The expiration date is 12 months after opening.
 

Macro shot collage of all 12 shades

So, what kinds of colours could be hiding inside such an extravagant palette? They are mostly neutral, with a few pops of colour. This makes the palette extremely versatile, as you could make a subtle everyday look or you could add the more intense, darker shades and make it more dramatic and suitable for evenings. It’s a pretty nicely matched range of colours; the maroon is sticking out a bit, but it could work with the lighter shimmers. The purple shimmer is a surprising addition, as is the matte dark green, but it fits with the rest of the calendar. I already see 3-4 looks that could be made just with a quick glance, so the possibilities are truly endless – given enough creativity, of course! I cannot decide which shade I love the most, but the dark green is beautiful and the cool-toned dark brown is really speaking to me! Also, those two blindingly bright shimmers (8 & 9) – I cannot wait to see them on my eyes, the are breathtaking! The only shades I am not too keen on are the purple shimmer and the very light yellow shimmer, but if it’s just 2 shades out of 12 that are meh to me, that is a good ratio! Also, I see a possibility of making a 1920’s style eyeshadow look with some of the colours... very interesting!
 

Now, an arm swatch for good measure. The matte shades swatched relatively poorly, but they aren’t meant to be applied using fingers anyways. Check out the shimmers though! They are all blindingly bright and sparkly – wooow! They are mesmerising! And they applied much better using a finger swipe, as expected. Most of the colours look good on pale skin, there’s just 2 shades that are too light to be seen on my skin. I also like how the browns aren’t all very warm, I especially love that cool-toned dark brown!
 
 
Now, to go more in-depth on the colours. There are 6 matte eyeshadows and 6 shimmery eyeshadows, with varying levels of shimmer. Shade 2, for example, is much chunkier shimmery than the other shimmers. They all feel soft though, even if there is a lot of large shimmer inside. Really well-blended-out formula! 
 
 
Eye swatch of all 12 shades
 
So, in terms of colours, we have, in order, a: very light rosy beige matte, almost like ‘unbleached silk’, a rosé wine shimmer with matching shimmer colour, a darker terracotta-like warm brown matte that is also similar to a pale maroon, a reddish-purple shimmer with multicoloured shimmer inside that is mostly blue, a warm peachy brown shimmer with matching shimmer colour, a lighter warm brown matte that is similar to tan, a darker warm brown matte that is similar to buff but darker and more grayish, a dark champagne shimmer with matching shimmer colour, a light champagne shimmer with matching shimmer colour, a light yellow shimmer that is similar to ‘vanilla’ with matching shimmer colour, a dark teal matte and, finally, a medium toned taupe matte.
 
 
 
As for pigmentation, it, naturally, varies. Let’s start with the mattes first, as they are simpler. All 6 mattes are extremely pigmented, though two of them don’t show up as much on my skin as they are quite close. Those would be shades 1 and 6. That doesn’t mean they are not pigmented – they are, as I can clearly see them covering foundation, they are just close to my skin in colour. The terracotta matte is surprisingly pigmented, as are both of the medium browns! I have to be careful how I use them so that they are not too intense. 
 
 
 
The taupe colour is very, very pigmented, so you really need to be careful with it, or it will take over completely. But the colour that is by far the most pigmented out of the mattes – and overall – is the teal. Man, that colour is so pigmented that just a tiny dot of it is enough to get dark green eyes! That is also by far the most tricky colour to use because of that. I am very happy with the level of pigmentation the mattes have, Catrice matte eyeshadows usually do have fabulous pigmentation, but this is even better than usual!  
 
 
All the colours are true to their appearance in the pans, and a little goes a long way – especially with the teal!
 
 
 
Now, it’s the shimmers’ turn! So, how pigmented are they? Extremely, that’s how! They are even more pigmented than the most pigmented mattes, though, again, two of them don’t show up on my skin as they are too close to the colour of my skin. Those are shades 9 and 10. They are the lightest, obviously to be used as highlighting shades, so it’s natural that they wouldn’t show up very much on me. But they are still super sparkly! 
 
 
 
 
The darker champagne and the peachy brown are so intense that a single layer already is enough most times, though I love to layer it on for maximum shimmer! The rosy brown takes that up a few notches, being so extremely pigmented that you seriously have to be careful how you use it or it will look piled on. It’s also got some other issues, but I’ll get to those soon. Really, the only shimmer that doesn’t have such extreme pigmentation is the purple one, which is a shame, but I saw that coming. 
 
 
 
Purple pigments can often be tricky to manufacture right. This is also the only colour of the shimmers that isn’t true to its colour in the pan; all the others look exactly like they do in their pans, but the purple shimmer ends up looking red and ashy. It just looks way too dirty, and it’s that that makes it much harder to use. All the others? Just swipe and done, but the purple shimmer is very tricky to use. But overall, that’s just one shimmer out of 6 that has issues with its pigmentation – that is an excellent ratio! And I am mesmerised by how sparkly and magical most of the shimmers are! It’s on par with very expensive shimmer eyeshadows, for sure!
 
 
 
But pigmentation isn’t everything! The formula must be good as well for the eyeshadows to be usable! Again, let’s separate the mattes and shimmers for simplicity. So, the mattes all seem to have the same awesome formula. They are soft and super finely milled, so they apply incredibly nicely. I didn’t notice any fall-out with any of them, not even the vibrant teal! At least, there is no fall-out when applying them to the eyes; there is a bit of fall-out in the pan but that doesn’t matter nearly as much. 
 
 
Oh yeah, this formula is very luxurious! It feels high-end and very high quality! And it is the same across all 6 mattes, that is incredible level of quality!
 
 
 
And the shimmers? Well, they vary; by that, I mean that they don’t share one formula like the mattes. While the majority do seem to have a very similar very soft formula (5, 8, 9), the others are problematic in varying ways. 5, 8, and 9 are so wonderfully soft and the shimmer is milled finely enough that it applies evenly and still sparkles like a million jewels! These are the best quality shimmers here, imo. Shade 10 suffers from some dryness, but it is still quite soft nevertheless. 
 
 
 
 
On the opposite end, shade 2 is way too soft. It feels almost mushy from how soft it is. This affects its usage, as you’ll see. The shimmer is chunky, as well, so it tends to clump up and look piled on. That can be fixed, of course, buy it just shows how much too chunky the shimmer is for such a soft formula.  And the purple shimmer is... just there. The formula feels more silky than anything, which probably explains why it applies so grimy and ashy and uneven. The shimmer is just thrown in, it’s like it isn’t mixing well with the base. I don’t know what went wrong with this colour, but it is a lot. Shame. It could have been a vivid purple. But overall, the shimmers are about the same level of quality as most Catrice shimmery eyeshadows, which is to say, phenomenal! 
 
 
I am used to Catrice shimmers being ol’ trusty, so I am very happy that these formulas are just as good or even better!
 
 
 
Okay, time to apply these eyeshadows and see how easy they are to apply! As before, I will separate the mattes and shimmers. The mattes apply mostly incredibly well. I say ‘mostly’, because the teal shade can sometimes apply a bit patchy, requiring a few layers to really develop its full pigmentation. But it still applies much better than I expected it to! The rest all apply incredibly evenly and richly with just a single layer! Of course, since these are mattes, they are best applied with brushes, not fingers. And using brushes, they always end up evenly applied! And they are quite buildable, as well! I was able to gradually build up the smokiness of my eye look with the browns, just be careful with the taupe, as it is very intense. And be extra, extra careful with the teal! 
 
 
 
 
The shimmers are a bit trickier to use overall, though most of them apply extremely evenly and richly with one layer. Of course, you’ll want to use either dense brushes or fingers to apply the shimmers. I prefer to use my fingers, because these shimmers are so buttery soft that they are so easy to stamp onto the skin with incredible pigmentation. Well, most of them are, anyways. 
 
 
 

Again, shades 2 and 4 apply more unevenly. And shade 2 has quite a bit of fall-out while applying it to the eyes. The rest don’t, they stay where they are applied. 
 
 
 
How easy these eyeshadows are to use depends. The mattes are much easier to use overall – barring the teal. Of course, for me, the easiest to use is shade 1, as I tend to use it as a base, and since it is so close to my skin, I don’t need to worry as much about it looking right. The two warmer browns are so extremely easy to use that it’s literally like playing! Although, they are very pigmented, so you still need to be careful how you apply them, but they apply so evenly that there isn’t a whole lot needed to do to get them to look perfect!  
 
 
 
The maroon/terracotta shade is similarly very easy to use, but again, it is pigmented so you need to be careful how you apply it. And lastly, the teal. The teal was the cause of many a headache... it applies relatively evenly, but it is so goddamn pigmented! That makes it hard to use, as just a tiny bit can already be too much. I had to go little by little because it was honestly intimidating. The slightly uneven patches meant I needed to go back into the pan and apply a new later to cover that up. 
 
 
 
But then, that, too needs to be blended out... which is way easier said than done. In the end, it looked fantastic, sure, but it took a lot of time and effort to get it to look like that. Much more than any other matte – or shimmer, for that matter! This is definitely the hardest colour to use, and since it doesn’t mesh too well with most of the colours in the palette, it can be hard to come up with a well-balanced look. I was able to smoke it out with the taupe shade, but that’s the only one that can do that. Compare that to the rest of the mattes, which are all so nicely balanced together that they make a cohesive look together and you see why the teal is such a problem. Side note: the teal is so fricking extremely pigmented that it is a nightmare trying to get it out of brushes... I still had a slightly teal tinge to the black eyeshadow I used afterwards.
 
 
 
The shimmers are mostly extremely easy to use. I prefer to use them on the centre of the eyelid to give some wonderful sparkling to smokey looks, but also in the inner eye, for highlighting. And since they are mostly all buttery soft, it is super easy to just dip a finger in and stamp them onto the eyelid. They almost always end up looking amazing. More layers is better for all of them except for shade 2, which is far too chunky for additional layers. 
 
 
 
 
Shade 2 is also the only shimmer that has fall-out, which significantly complicates the application process because now there’s shimmer residue to clean up. And it is also quite hard to get to look smooth because the shimmer is just so chunky. However, if you are looking for maximum shimmer, shade 2 will be that! The rest of the shimmers, aside from shade 4, are super easy to use! And they all go so well with the neutral mattes! It’s a really stunning look when you combine the browns and the champagne shimmers! The yellow shimmer goes stunningly with the teal! And shade 2 goes fabulously with the terracotta matte. That just leaves the purple shimmer. I honestly have no idea what to pair it with as it ends up looking so ashy and dark and dirty. 
 
 
Maybe the taupe? No, that’s just way too dark. This shade is just so frustrating as it impossible to make it actually shimmery. It always looks ashy and dirty. And it’s simply too dark for most of the other colours here. I really would cry no tears if this colour was replaced with another brown shimmer...
 
 
 
Another critical feature of good eyeshadows is how well they blend. And judging by how extremely easily the mattes blend, they are indeed excellent eyeshadows! They already apply evenly (minus the teal...), which makes it so much easier to blend them out properly, but they are so blendable! Just a little bit of blending and they’re done! No problems whatsoever! And they usually don’t overblend and become a muddy mess. Instead, they just look professionally blended out! 
 
 
 
It’s very easy to preserve the smokiness while blending out the eyeshadows, while still blending them until they are well blended out. Again, the outlier is the teal. Gosh, that colour is such a drama queen! And most of its issues stem from the fact that it is simply way too pigmented for its own good. Sometimes, it’s better for colours to be buildable and easy to blend out, but that’s not the path this shade chose. It’s so hard to blend it out without the rest of the eyelid becoming green. I had to use so much setting powder and shade 1 just to balance it out. 
 
But, luckily, it is not prone to overblending, so at least it will keep its insane pigmentation. Gah, the teal is just so hard to work with – but I looove the result! It’s so dramatic and intense, isn’t it?
 
 
Shades used: 1 + 2 + 3 + 5 + 7
The shimmers, on the other hand, are not quite as blendable, but that is normal for shimmers. Every one of them, barring the purple, tends to lose plenty of its sparkliness if you blend it out. They are really meant to be used as toppers and just gently blended out with fingers or a brush. The purple shade... oh man, that one looks even more like a mess when you blend it out. It looks even darker and dirtier, and the shimmer mostly disappears. It’s really a flop eyeshadow, honestly, at this point. But if the rest are so gorgeous, I don’t mind! I don’t mind ignoring this one and just using those stunning super sparkly shimmers! Also, if you try to blend out shade 2, you’ll likely end up with even more fall-out than before since its shimmer really likes to just go places.
 
 
Shades used: 1 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9
Most of these eyeshadows, both matte and shimmer alike, are extra comfy to wear. The mattes are all so lightweight that I cannot even feel them on my eyelids, and the shimmers are mostly just as lightweight. Sometimes I can feel the shimmer on my inner eye corner, but usually it does not feel sharp. Shade 2, though, can feel a tiny bit irritating if some of the shimmer falls off into the eye. But across the board, superb comfort! 
 
 
Shades used: 1 + 6 + 10 + 11 + 12
Longevity is again, superb! But let’s separate the mattes and the shimmers once more, shall we? The mattes last an entire day without changing much – if at all! I don’t use eyeshadow primer (just foundation in its place), but the mattes still don’t crease! They might start to crease on totally bare eyelids, though. My eyelids are very oily so I am astonished that not even the teal is creasing! Of course, that is the shade that you would least want to crease since it is the most vibrant, so it’s awesome that it doesn’t! The mattes stay in place during the day, there is absolutely no vertical migration.
 
 
 
As for the shimmers, they don’t seem to crease either. At least, I didn’t see any creasing after wearing them for 6+ hours a day. This is even better, as shimmers are much more likely to crease than mattes! Again, they would probably crease on my bare eyelids as they are very oily, but using a foundation as an eyeshadow primer is apparently super effective. Whole day and not a trace of creasing, although, especially with the more chunky shimmers (*ahem* shade 2 *ahem*), some of the shimmer is likely to fall off during the day. But as long as you set it in place with a good setting spray, they should stay put! I also did not notice any vertical migration with the shimmers, either, which is awesome! 
 
 
Shimmers are more likely to move around than mattes; it seems that these shimmers, though, are locked in place!
 
 
Removing these eyeshadows is a breeze – yes, even the shimmers! Although, to avoid the shimmer exploding everywhere, I do suggest using a specialised remover instead of micellar water. Because if you try to swipe it off with micellar water and a cotton pad, the shimmer is most definitely going to go everywhere. The mattes are pretty much single-swipe remove, so they are all very easy to remove.
 
 
 
 
All in all, definitely a jewel to cap off a pretty good Advent calendar, all things considered. This leaves a wonderful taste in my mouth, very sweet and pleasant! This palette’s design fits with the rest of the 1920’s themed calendar, and the colours inside are as gilded as that age was. Well, most of them are. The colour story is interesting; it has both neutrals and a few vibrant colours, but most of them go well together so it is a cohesive collection of colours. The only ones that stick out are the teal matte and the purple shimmer. There is an equal amount of mattes and shimmers, 6 of both, for a total of 12 eyeshadows. This is a good amount of eyeshadows, it should allow for a number of different eyeshadows looks – provided you are creative enough, of course! Although, I see around 3 possible looks just from a quick glance: a neutral brown smokey look, an intense teal look with the taupe and the gold shimmer, and something with the purple shimmer. The quality of the eyeshadows is, for the most part, excellent. Most of them are super pigmented and apply extremely easily. Even the colours that are close to the colour of my skin are very pigmented! The only shade that is less pigmented is the purple one; indeed, that shade is problematic in more ways than just this. It is patchy, the shimmer doesn’t show up properly, and it just looks ashy and dirty. It’s the worst shade in this otherwise fantastic palette. The other slightly “problematic” shade is shade 2, which suffers from having too chunky shimmer for its super soft base, so it has fall-out issues and it looks very chunky if not applied carefully. All the other shades apply evenly and richly to eyes, and are a joy to blend out! Making a neutral brown smokey eye is way easier than before, I really don’t need to spend a long time applying it before it looks perfect! And I was even able to wrangle the teal shade, which is like, if the other eyeshadows were ‘normal’ difficulty, this one would be ‘veteran’ difficulty. It is hard to blend the teal colour out without the entire eye becoming green – that is how insanely pigmented this colour is! But it really looks stunning on eyes! And they all last ages without any creasing! So my precisely applied eyeshadow look looks just as good 6 hours later as it did when I first applied it. And the formula of most of the eyeshadows is so gorgeously soft! It’s really a dream, this palette! I was anxiously waiting to finally start using it and... yup, it was worth the wait! It is beyond fantastic, and it also synergises greatly with the lip products from this calendar, namely the lipstick and lip pencil C01! Or with the liquid lipstick! Ah... I am so happy with this palette! I will cherish it and use it until there is no more than a little crumb left of the eyeshadows! Yay! What a fantastic Christmas present, wow! 



Rating: 9/10 



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