Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette Review + Looks

Hey, What’s up you guys? Yes. Today I have a review of the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette. I  got this little beauty for my birthday this year and I have been playing with it since to so I can give a good in-depth review. I have created a few looks with the Desert Dusk and I have a million more that I want to create. Spoiler, I kind of love this palette. I will admit was kind of whatever about it until I swatched it in store and mind blown. Pictures and swatches don’t do these eyeshadows justice. However, there are some downsides worth mentioning so if you want to see my full review and looks, just keep reading below.

The Packaging

The Desert Dusk Palette comes in this pretty purple box with a wavy sand pattern with a metallic finish. It’s really pretty.

The palette itself is in classic Huda style with her eyes on the cover. If I had her eyes, I’d put them on every package too. What’s cool about it is the foiled effect on the eyeshadow and jewels as well as the fonts.

The palette is made of hard cardboard with a large mirror on the inside. There is also a really nice plastic leaflet with her eyes printed on it to protect the eyeshadows. I thought it was a nice touch. Even though the palette is cardboard, it doesn’t feel cheap. You can tell a lot of thought and effect went into the design and theme of the palette and I appreciate that fully from a graphic design standpoint and as an artist.

The Eyeshadows

One thing I really enjoy about this palette is that it has a clear concept and color story. The shades are inspired by the desert at dusk and you can really see that in the palette with warm reds, purples, and oranges.

The eyeshadows are more than what meets the eye. Even the mattes are surprising and nuanced in shade that translates beautifully on the eye.

Within the palette, you have 18 shades with 4 finishes. A really cool pressed glitter, 8 mattes, 6 pearl metallics and 3 duo chromes. You can get a variety of looks from the palette though warm-toned, there is still variety. I really love the addition of the purple shades to a warm palette.

I will go more in-depth with each shade on performance but on a whole, the mattes are pigmented and blend beautifully. I was really impressed. As for the pearl shades, they swatch amazing but don’t stick very well to the eye, you need a sticky base. I found using the NYX Glitter Glue really allowed these shades to shine. The duo-chromes are rather chunky and not super pigmented. These are more like eyeshadow toppers which can add really cool dimension to a look and with a glitter glue they look AMAZING! Just keep in mind you will need a base for metallics and duo-chromes to do them justice unless you are going for subtly and obviously a glitter glue is needed for the pressed glitter because it is pure glitter.

There was also little kick up from the shadows and minimal fallout. Fall out and kick up isn’t a big deal to me but apparently that matters now.

Let’s get into the shades.

First up is Desert Sand which is just as the name suggests, a matte light sandy color. A tad to warm and deep for a base shade on my skin tone but works great to blend shadows out with.

Musk is a warm taupe and one of my favorite mattes in the palette. It’s a more neutral transition color that can cool down a look while still having a warmer leaning undertone.

Eden is a creamy peach matte perfect for the transition.

Amber is a matte burnt orange/amber shade. Very pretty as a transition and crease shade.

Blood Moon is a pearlized rose gold shade. Applies best over a stick base but is super pretty on the lid. It has a smooth metallic finish.

Oud is my favorite matte. It looks like a boring ol’ matte brown but no, it’s a matte brown with a pinky/purple undertone that is really unique. It’s a beautifully nuanced matte shade that was really surprising to me. If it was sold as a single I would buy it. Like all the mattes it’s smooth, pigmented and blends out like a dream.

Celestial is a pretty cool shade. It’s one of the duo-chromatic ones. It’s a gold with a rose gold/pink shift. This one is gorgeous over a glitter base or patted over any of the other shades for added dimension.

Nefertiti is a metallic light gold with gold micro glitters. Again, looks great with a glitter base so the glitters stick. I’m a fan of this shade too.

Twilight is a purple to blue shifting duo-chrome. I have some plans for the shade pairing it with a black base for a vaporwave inspired look. Heell yeah. This is a fairly common type of shade but it’s well done and makes a lovely topper.

Amethyst is a matte warm toned purple. Oddly makes a really cool transition/crease shade. Pigmentation is nice and it blends out softly. Not a shade I thought I would enjoy as much as I do.

Royal is a shade I have in other palettes. A metallic plum but still a nice addition to a warm-toned palette and I have always loved a good metallic plum.

Retrograde is a medium plum brown to green shifting eyeshadow topper. The pigmentation of this shade really lacks. I was disappointed in this one but again, over a glitter base, it looks pretty damn good. It looks so stunning in the pan and I wanted it to look like that on the eye but sadly it just doesn’t will out some work.

Cashmere is oddly my favorite metallic shade. It’s pearly warm taupe kind of shade. Far cooler than the other shades in the palette. I don’t know what it is about this shade but I love it paired with Musk and Oud.

Next up is Angelic. This isn’t said to be a duo-chrome but in my opinion, it is. In the same way, Nars Orgasm is. A pinky peach with a gold shift. It’s a pinker rose gold where Blood Moon is deeper and more bronze.

Cosmo is a rather unique pressed glitter that performs great over a glitter base. It’s a mix of bronze, pink, gold and purple glitters. Cosmo was kind of an issue for people I gathered as it is meant to just go on alone without a glitter glue. Don’t bother and use a glitter primer as I would recommend with all the metallic shades.

Turkish Delight is a metallic cranberry. Another very pretty shade that can pull more red-orange in some lights and more pink-red in others. I have this one is a few palettes as well but always a welcomed addition to me as I love red eyeshadows.

Saffron is muted matte cranberry red. another favorite. This is a super flattering red eyeshadow, not to warm, not too cool.

And lastly, Blazing is a matte vibrant burnt orange.

The Verdict

The Huda Beauty Desert Dusk retails for $65 which is pretty up there in price and you do need a glitter primer to get the most out of shes in my opinion BUT the colors are so damn pretty and pretty unique to me that I think it’s worth it. I want to use this palette constantly. It’s versatile, it’s fun and it’s glam AF. I can create really soft pretty looks to really glittery glamorous looks and even get a little avant-garde with it. You know I am a fan of a darker aesthetic ie goth and this isn’t normally a palette you would associate with the style but I have created some looks I love with it that fit my “refined goth” vibe. 

I know there are currently similar palettes on the market but Desert Dusk offers something special. Like I said, I am a fan of the concept and the color story. I would love to see the Desert at Dusk myself.

Despite my critiques, I loved this palette so much I just ordered all 4 of the Obsession Palettes from Huda Beauty. I’m not into the Rose Gold one though. I don’t know why it doesn’t do it for me.

The Looks

Here is a selection of my favorite looks I have done with the palette. 

Get the Look | Spellbound – Valentine’s Day Makeup Tutorial featuring Huda Beauty Desert Dusk + Colourpop

Get the Look | As the World Falls Down – Valentine’s Makeup Tutorial Featuring Huda Beauty Desert Dusk + Colourpop.

What are your thoughts on the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk?

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