Marc Jacobs The Siren (Summer 2014)

Despite being a neutrals gal at heart, I'm always on the lookout for that one perfect colorful palette. You know, the only palette that will satisfy all of my colorful shades needs. Supposedly. I passed on the Urban Decay Electric, because to be honest, the fact that not all of the colors are safe around the eye area scared me a bit. Okay, a lot.

So when I saw that Marc Jacobs had released The Siren palette, I couldn't help but place an order. Sleek packaging with seven beautiful colors? Sold.

First things first, the goods. I have always been a fan of Marc Jacobs' packaging, especially with his 7-pan eyeshadow palettes. This was no exception, and the glossy white packaging really complemented my glossy black Starlet palette -- quite possibly the only palette from his permanent line that I can wholeheartedly recommend. They are super slim and compact in nature, and they don't attract fingerprints in the same manner as NARS. I had heard that The Siren was designed to mimic the keys to a piano, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

Onto the not-so-goods: the shadows themselves, with swatches to prove.

1. Slightly shimmery white: Easily my least favorite shadow, this not only swatches chalkily but applies patchily too.
2. Slightly shimmery burgundy red: Like the white, this is on the drier side as far as shadows go but applies slightly better.
3. Shimmery, metallic copper bronze: My favorite shade of the seven, this is beautiful and a dream to work with. Highly pigmented and very blendable!
4. Shimmery, metallic gold: My second least favorite shade, this reminds me a lot of MAC lustre formula eyeshadows (translate: glitter-laden with poor pigmentation.)
5. Shimmery aquamarine: Another disappointment of a shade, this needed a white base in order for it to show up true to color on the eyes.
6. Slightly shimmery blue: Very dry in nature and nowhere as vibrant as the color seen in the pan.
7. Shimmery dark teal: One of the better performers, this actually applies well and blends effortlessly.

As you can tell, chalky and dry seems to be the common theme when it comes to the shadows of this palette. With only two stand out, note-worthy shades, I cannot recommend snatching The Siren -- which is a shame, since it is pretty to look at. For the luxury brand and price tag of Marc Jacobs, the performance should not be questionable.

 
On the topic of luxury, might I also add that the included sponge tip applicator is absolutely flimsy and useless? If Dior includes two sponge tip double-ended(!!) applicators with its quints, the least MJ could do is make it double-ended, right? Or not include it at all, because quite frankly, it's insulting for those of us who actually reach for such applicators from time to time.

I had high hopes for (and wanted to like) this palette, but truth be told, it fell short of my expectations. A friend and I were just talking about how there might possibly be different batches of The Siren, since some palettes actually swatch better than others. That might be the case, and if you're one who's willing to take the risk, you might be able to snatch a better performing septet of a palette. This currently retails for $59 at Sephora -- in stores and online. Despite it being dubbed as "Limited Edition", I really cannot see this palette selling out. If anything, I'm half expecting it to show up under Sephora's sale section within the next few weeks.