I have to say that looking at it, there are shadows that look like they have doubled up on which I am not a fan of. I dont think they have enough of a difference between them to warrant adding them, so to me this is more of a 10 shadow palette.
However, what I absolutely LOVED about this is that on the back there are diagrams on how to apply these in a way to get a certain effect. And I got some great compliments! I got myself a lovely natural smokey eye (as natural as that sounds!)
As like every eye shadow, it came with the awful sponge tip applicator. I haven't used it as I have great brushes, however, I did like that it had a different size on each end.
All in all, I am really impressed with this palette. Its nice powder to apply and the info on the back proved to have very happy results with compliments from others!
My first impressions of the palette is that it looked very sleek & elegant, no unnecessary bulk or packaging. It was love at first sight but the first time I used it I was disappointed there was no mirror as I prefer to use a hand mirror when applying eye shadow. At first glance I thought the colours of the shadows were gorgeous & a good variety for creating a lot of neutral looks. I really loved the narrow ends of the sponge brush which I used to smudge the eye shadow to create a smokey effect & helped to intensify & add definition on the lower lash & inner eye area.
I liked the "how to use" duos, trios, quads demonstrations on the bottom of the palette which I thought would be really helpful for beginners and for those people who aren't really familiar with using more than 1 eye shadow, it's really good to have that direction of what to do. Also the placing of the eye shadows in the palette is a very well thought-out concept of mixing & matching.
Due to the fact that the eye shadows aren't highly pigmented or glittery I can't recommend using an eye shadow primer enough, it'll help bring out & make the colours last a lot longer. However something to think about & maybe the direction where Maybelline was heading with this product... Do you really want over the top sparkles with a nude palette? After all when I think of "nude" it makes me think of a product that enhances your natural beauty not a product that is designed to dress you up as a Vegas showgirl.
I found most of the shimmery shades to be creamy in texture but sheer once blended (again, not highly pigmented), the downside is that the matte shades were a bit difficult to blend, they were chalky/powdery and were a bit more challenging to get the desired look. I did find using a more dense brush in a patting motion worked a little better but still had to work at blending more than I would have with any other palette. I didn't like the black in the palete, it's not the blackest of blacks.. more like a ashy black/grey.
I am some what impressed with this palette, it's great having a variety of colours where you can be creative while enhancing your natural look however I do not think it is worth $30. No mirror, a little stiff & awkward to open and the textures of the eye shadows didn't perform as well I would have expected from Maybelline.