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I am totally weak for eyeshadow palettes and pretty packaging, so what am I supposed to do when the two of those come together? Obsess and get my hands on it, of course!
This is the Prism Air Palette from CLIO, and it has been all over the kbeauty community since its release. Their brand concept is to bring make up artist quality products to a street shop price point, so it’s all about high pigmentation, longevity and cool-girl packaging. Also, Peripera is their sister brand and they arguably do the best Korean lip tints ever – so that’s ’nuff said.
This palette is currently available at StyleKorean for USD$27.30 (on sale from USD$45.60) and also comes in two colour variants – Coral Sparkle and Pink Addict. I’ll be reviewing the Pink variant but definitely check out their website if you’d like to see any other offerings from CLIO.
So, let’s jump into this review!
Product Description
As previously mentioned, the Prism Air Palette comes in two different colour ranges. It is a cohesive eight shade palette with varying textures from mattes to pearls and shimmers. It claims to have a lightweight formula with minimal fallout and high pigmentation (more on that later).
The Prism Air was originally a range of single eyeshadows – from what I could tell, they was pretty popular! I’m assuming that this palette version is inspired by that original formula because these shadows also have a very soft, creamy texture and a similar raised geometric pan design. I haven’t personally tried it myself so can’t compare (yet).
You can also check out the Prism Air Eyeshadows, Blushes and Highlighters, as they’re still available on StyleKorean.
Packaging
With this palette, the packaging was absolutely the thing that drew my attention first (and why it has been featuring so heavily on instagram feeds).
The unit carton has an eye catching design that is in line with the rest of CLIO‘s palettes. It features a subtle geometric facet texture (which is a reference to the ‘prism’ range and looks like metallic cellophane to me) with the ‘Prism Air’ branding in gold foil. I personally really like CLIO‘s unit carton designs; they’re good at keeping with their brand image (trendy, young and cool) and making things look interesting but still understated. Of course, they actually keep the majority of the wow factor for their actual packaging!
Once you open up the box, you’ll find this incredibly beautiful prismatic palette design! It’s made of a good quality, glossy plastic so it really shines (in fact, I had a lot of difficulty getting a good photo of it). The palette has a holographic foil print on the front (similar to the unit carton) and a clear rounded top – which is what allows the print to look like it’s floating. The colour also slightly gradients from inside out. It’s actually stunningly beautiful, even moreso in real life.
The palette also has a click closure which seems sturdy. You may have issues with opening it if you have very long nails but I’m personally fine with it. The only real complaint I would have is that the rounded front makes this bulkier and harder to store – I wish that they could have achieved this same prismatic design with a more slimline shape.
Shade Range
The version that I have is the Pink Addict which, as you can guess, is centred around a pink theme. Although the palette isn’t monochromatic, all of the combinations are very harmonious and easy to combine. A list of shadows (from top to bottom, left to right) is below:
- 01 Spring In Me (Shimmer) – Silver and Gold shimmer with a clear base
- 02 Flying Petal (Shimmer) – Pink and orange shimmer with a clear base
- 03 Eternal Blossom (Shimmer) – Soft pink with blue, gold and pink shimmers
- 04 Rose Waltz (Matte) – Matte muted rose shade
- 05 The April (Shimmer) – Pale pink pearl with gold shimmers
- 06 Floral Maze (Shimmer) – Sheer copper shade with magenta shimmers
- 07 Pink Drizzle (Shimmer) – Warm pink with gold, blue and pink shimmers
- 08 Love Lane (Satin) – Satin rose brown
Personal Experiences
I had really high hopes for this palette because I’m such a big fan of CLIO – and personally think that they offer some of the best pigmentation in kbeauty. However, I have to say that this palette only half delivered for me.
Formula-wise, the shadows were really soft and easy to blend. They didn’t crease or fade on me at all – even though my eyes are very watery. I used my regular shadow primer and it looked just as good at the end of the day. I especially loved the smoothness of the matte shades, which sat really naturally on the lid.
The downside for this palette though was the pigmentation. In particular, I felt that the shimmers were pretty but sparse once applied and difficult to build up. The matte and darkest satin shade would be the best out of them all but only make up one quarter of the palette.
I also found that most of these shadows need to be applied with a finger, sometimes with more pressure, to get decent concentration of pigment; it reminded me a bit of the Colourpop Super Shock Shadows which I’m not the biggest fan of (but many others are).
Overall, I don’t think that this is the best palette that CLIO has released. It all comes down to personal preference though because this palette does have its strengths (smooth formula, long wearing and crease proof as well as very beautiful packaging). It just doesn’t hit the mark for me when it comes to colour pay off!
If you’ve read my previous reviews, I actually much prefer the CLIO Pro Eye Palette. Korean eyeshadows are known to be softer in pigment, but the Pro Eye Palette was a good balance between that Korean style shadow and bolder make up trends. For me, I feel like the Prism Air Palette was a step backwards in that instance.
I don’t know – how do you guys feel about this? I think I’ll still reach for this now and then, but it won’t get as much love for me as other palettes. It does looks really pretty in photos though hehe!
Here’s the verdict!
SO WHAT IS IT?
An 8-pan palette with shimmer shades, as well as a matte and satin
THE GOOD
- Absolutely stunning packaging
- Two colour options for different undertones (coral or pink)
- Cohesive colour story that’s easy to combine (beginner friendly)
- Lightweight and natural finishes
- No creasing or fading – good longevity
THE BAD
- Packaging can be bulky
- Shimmers are sparse and difficult to get good colour pay-off
- Not a good balance of finishes – would be better to get a half-half of shimmers and matte/satins
- Most need to be applied with a finger – doesn’t pick up well on a brush
RATINGS
- PRICE POINT | 3/5
- PACKAGING | 4/5
- SHADE RANGE | 3/5
- SHIMMER FINISH | 2/5
- MATTE/SATIN FINISH | 3/5
- LONGEVITY | 4/5
OVERALL RATING? 6.3/10
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
I really wanted to like this but it wasn’t for me. If you’re wanting to try out CLIO eyeshadows and want something with good shades and pigmentation too, I would recommend checking out their Pro Eye Palettes – the packaging for this is prettier, but those palettes have a much better formula.
WHERE TO GET IT FROM
You can get the CLIO Prism Air Palette at StyleKorean for USD$27.30 (on sale from USD$45.60). Alternatively, also check out the Pro Eye Palette – it’s a bit dearer at USD$31.50 (on sale from USD$45) but has ten shades instead of eight, so it’s not a big difference.
