My idea of the perfect summertime eyeshadow palette? One that has some nudes and a fun colour thrown in. So naturally, I was totally digging Mary Kay’s summertime jewel-inspired quad.

As part of their summer collection, the legendary direct-buy brand has released an assortment of products, including some baked blushes, a summertime quad, a lipstick, a charcoal mask, and more. Their PR team was kind enough to send me a few products from the line to try out and since their stuff has blown me away in the past, I was very excited to try this all out.

The thing I was most excited for? Those baked blushes. Available in two shades, Kind Heart (peach-toned shimmer) and Giving Heart (reddish pink with purple shimmer) don’t look that special when you see their black compacts, but as soon as you open them up, the product is shaped as a heart and totally Too Faced-esque.

Both are stunning shades and you can either wear them separately or mix them together for a custom look. Not only are they super chic, but each purchase of these limited-edition Beauty That Counts blushes (C$18) benefits the Mary Kay Foundation, which includes its support of women’s shelters and survivors of domestic abuse.

I totally love rocking peachy blushes in the summer months so I’ve been loving Kind Heart. In case you aren’t familiar with the difference between a regular blush and a baked one, baked blushes are originally creams that are baked to a solid. The process of baking it creates a powder that is creamier in texture and also includes fewer filler ingredients. As a result, the colours are more concentrated and pigmented, making them often last longer. I did notice that when I applied these blushes, a little definitely goes a long way. Go in with these with a light hand as they do pack on product.

The other makeup item I received to try out is the summertime jewel eyeshadow palette. This guy comes in a compact that lets you flip up the powder portion enabling you to pop out the pans if you would rather put them in something like a Z Palette.

This palette contains a blush in the shade Sunny Spice, a mauve, and three eyeshadows – Sweet Cream (bone cream), Hazelnut (dark brown), and Emerald (shimmery green). Even though there are three eyeshadow colours in here (all of which are mineral), you can definitely create a variety of looks. You can do just a normal eyeshadow look (cream on the lids, brown in the crease), a bold look (emerald over the lid, brown in the crease, cream as the highlight), a pop of colour (with emerald as the lower liner), and more.  If you are used to pigmented shadows, keep an open mind with these as they apply a little more subtle. For the emerald, I had to swipe my brush in it a few times to get colour, which was quite disappointing (even after using mixing medium it didn’t really apply the colour more pigmented).  I guess though if you are scared of colour, then this formula may be for you.

As you can see, I’m totally digging Mary Kay’s summer collection. It may seem plain when you first look at it, but these are all staple shades (okay, maybe not the emerald, but it’s fun!) that really anyone should include in their collection.

Have you purchased anything from Mary Kay’s summer 2017 collection?

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