I Finally Tried Alter Ego & I’m Not Impressed- Reviews for the Harmony Palette & Liquid Lipsticks

Alter Ego is a brand I’ve been curious about for a long time. They’re known for creating affordable dupes, with some original products. They were having a massive sale so I grabbed the Harmony Eyeshadow Palette and Matte Liquid Lipstick Collection. I paid around $22.00 for everything so this brand definitely has affordability going for it. Unfortunately, I really didn’t love the palette but I did enjoy the lipsticks so let’s talk about them first.

The Matte Liquid Lipstick Collection is usually $30.00 but has been deeply discounted for awhile at just $12.00. This could mean that they’re going to be discontinued. You can buy them separately for $5.00 apiece. The collection consists of six matte lipsticks. The packaging feels nice, not cheap, and they have a doe foot applicator. They have a lightweight formula that is long lasting but not 100% transfer proof. This is fine with me because I’ll take a little bit of transfer to have a more comfortable lipstick. They are slightly drying but nowhere near as bad as many matte liquid lipsticks are. I found the formula to be similar to the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. 

I’m going to share the name and shade description of each lipstick. These lipsticks don’t have descriptions on the website so I’ll describe them the best I can. I’ll be going in order from the top swatch to the bottom on my arm. They are in the same order on my lips. 

• Euphoria– muted rosy pink
• Crush– coral pink
• Jealousy– mauve
• Intrigue– orange toned brown
• Infamous– deep ruby red
• Vanity– true red

I really like each of these shades. They’re distinct enough from each other to warrant having them all. They wear well and are overall a good formula. I recommend them… unlike the palette.

The Harmony Eyeshadow Palette is $20.00 and contains fifteen shades: five cream to powders, six shimmers and four mattes. It has cardboard packaging with a mirror and a firm magnetic closure. Let’s get into the pros and cons!

❤Pros:

• I thought the color story of this palette would be beautiful around Valentine’s Day and it really is. I love the burgundy and taupe shades. 
• The mattes performed really well. They were easy to blend and build up.
• The shimmers were more on the subtle side but they were also easy to work with.
• The cream to powder shades picked up easily with a brush and blended well.

💔Cons:

• The cream to powder shades were duds. They blended well but had very little pigment. I would have much preferred regular mattes.
• The shimmers, while pretty, were just kind of meh. If you’re wanting a subtle shimmer that almost looks like a satin, these would be good.
• It’s impossible to get a look with any depth because the deepest colors are the cream to powder shades and they have too little pigment to deepen a look.

Swatches & Shade Descriptions:

These eyeshadows do have names but no shade descriptions so I will describe them to the best of my ability. I’ll be going from left to right, top row to bottom row. These photos were taken with flash to show off the sparkle.

• Tender– matte rosy brown
• Chorus– pink with gold shimmer
• Nurture– cream to powder mauve
• Glory– cream to powder burgundy
• Charity– light pink with silver and pink shimmer

• Amity– metallic taupe
• Shy– cream to powder cream
• Grace– matte burgundy
• True– matte off white
• Will– metallic deep purple

• Admire– cream to powder peach
• Chime– metallic rosy bronze
• Mercy– cream to powder gray toned brown
• Accord– metallic copper
• Sense– matte purple with a red undertone

Eyeshadow Looks:

I created three looks using this palette. I don’t hate any of them but none of them wow me. I don’t always wear an eye primer but I do set my base with a cream colored shadow.

1. I set my base with both Shy and True.
2. I blended Glory into my inner crease.
3. I blended Grace throughout my whole crease.
4. I deepened my crease with Sense and smudged it on my lower lash line,
5. I applied Will over most of my lid and smudged it on my lower lash line.
6. I applied Chime on the innermost part of my lid.
7. I applied Charity in my inner corner.

*I applied the L.A. Girl Eyeliner in Blackout on my water line.

1. I set my base with Shy.
2. I blended Nurture into my inner crease.
3. I deepened my crease with Tender.
4. I applied Amity on my lid.
5. I applied Chime on my inner lid.
6. I smudged Mercy on my lower lash line.

*I used a highlighter in my inner corner.

1. I set my base with True.
2. I blended Admire into my crease.
3. I applied Accord on my lid.
4. I topped Accord with Charity.
5. I applied Chorus in my inner corner.

Brushes Used:

• Crease Brush
• Detail Crease Brush
• Flat Eyeshadow Brush
• Angled Liner/Brow Brush 
• Smudge Brush
• Eye Crease Brush– I use this for inner corner & brow highlights.
• Blending Brush– I use this brush to blend out the edges and set my primer.

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:

I could see myself trying Alter Ego again in the future but it’s not a brand that really excites me. While I like the lipsticks, I don’t think they’re so good that you must try them and the palette is very basic. If you’ve tried something else from them that you think is amazing, let me know. As always, thanks for reading!