J. Cat Beauty is quickly becoming one of my favorite brands. So far, I haven’t tried anything from them that I haven’t liked. They recently released a few new palettes and the Noche Palette, with its rich metallics, really grabbed my attention. The only other palette I own from the brand is the Walk of Stardom and it’s great so I had high hopes for this new release. It’s only $8.00 for fifteen shades; four mattes, one satin, three foiled and seven metallics. Can an $8.00 palette be any good? Keep reading to find out!

Pros:

• The foiled and metallic shades in this palette are UNREAL. They feel almost wet to the touch and go onto the eye smoothly. They do require a little extra work, however, but I’ll talk more about that in the cons section.
• The mattes are good. I wouldn’t say they’re the best but they have a solid formula. They’re very buildable and had no noticeable fallout but I do tap off my brush.
• This palette has a very unique color story. I personally like that about it but others may find it difficult to create cohesive looks using this palette alone.
• The packaging is plastic but sturdy. There is no mirror, which is fine with me.

Cons:

• The foiled shades (Luna, Crystal Fog & Night Thinker) are beautiful but messy. They’re not pressed glitters but they’re chunky. They are best applied with a finger or a flat brush, not a fluffy one. I recommend the ShopMissA Flat Shader Brush or something similar. They also need to be applied wet.
• The metallic shades aren’t chunky but they do have quite a bit of fallout. They need to be applied wet and with a flat brush as well.
• The matte blue shade, Late Night Snack, was harder to blend and patchier than the others.
• I recommend always using an eye primer but for the foiled and metallic shadows in this palette, it would definitely be necessary. They’re so creamy that they will crease without a base.

Swatches & Shade Descriptions:

These eyeshadows do have names but no shade descriptions on the website so I’ll describe them to the best of my ability. These shadows perform better than they swatch so don’t judge them by that. This picture was taken with flash to really show the shimmer. I’ll be going from left to right, top row to bottom row.

• Meditate– matte tan
• Dusk to Dawn– matte orangey tan
• Boogeyman– matte brown
• Late Night Snack– matte blue
• Express Gratitude– satin burgundy
• Luna– foiled gold
• Crystal Fog– foiled silver
• Play Harder– metallic aquamarine
• REM– metallic burgundy base with lavender shimmer
• Night Thinker– foiled gunmetal base with gold and silver shimmer
• Exhale the Past– metallic gray toned lavender
• Unplug From the World– metallic rose gold
• Night @ the Museum– metallic brown with a red shift
• Radiance Sunset– metallic red with a slight orange shift
• After Hours– metallic green with teal shimmer

Eyeshadow Looks:

I created four looks using primarily this palette alone. I always use the essence Colour Intensifying Primer and set my primer with a cream colored shade. When explaining the looks, I will go in the order of the swatches on my wrist; left to right and top to bottom. You can click on the pictures to see them better. Since these eyeshadows do have names, I won’t be describing where they are in the palette or what they look like.

I love the way this look turned out! It was so easy to use the foiled gold (Luna) as a liner on the lower lash line. I did use a highlighter in my inner corner and brow bone.

1. I blended Meditate above my crease.
2. I mixed Boogeyman with Express Gratitude and blended them into my crease and up into Meditate. This shade mixture is also on my lower lash line.
3. I mixed Night @ the Museum with Radiance Sunset and applied them over the majority of my lid.
4. I then applied Luna over the innermost part of my lid and in my inner corner.
5. I smudged After Hours underneath my lower lash line and used Luna to line underneath it.

This look makes me think of the beach and I love it.

1. I blended Late Night Snack into my crease.
2. I lightly blended Dusk to Dawn around the edges of Late Night Snack. I also used this shade on my lower lash line.
3. I applied Play Harder all over my lid. I also smudged this shade underneath Dusk to Dawn on my lower lash line.
4. I applied Crystal Fog in my inner corner and on my brow bone.

I often will do one or two shadow looks on my no makeup makeup days. I decided to try that with this palette but these shadows aren’t the best for it. As I mentioned above, they really need a base to apply and stay to their fullest potential but they did alright without one.

1. I applied Exhale the Past all over my lid.
2. I applied Unplug From the World in my inner corner and on my brow bone.

I really like the way this look turned out. I did use a highlighter on my brow bone.

1. I blended Express Gratitude into my crease and over the outermost part of my lid.
2. I applied REM over the rest of my lid.
3. I mixed Unplug From the World and Crystal Fog in my inner corner.
4. I lined my lower lash line with Late Night Snack.
5. I smudged Night Thinker underneath Late Night Snack.

Brushes Used:

• Detail Crease Brush
• Tapered Blending Brush
• Flat Eyeshadow Brush
• Small Angled Brush
• Smudge Brush
• Eye Crease Brush
• Blending Brush, I used this brush to blend out the edges.

If you are curious about any of the other products on my face, you can find these looks in my recent posts on Instagram.

Final Thoughts:

Like most J. Cat Beauty products, this palette is an affordable gem. I fully recommend it. Does this look like a palette you would get a lot of use out of? Let me know! Thanks for reading and have a great day!