Ulta Complete Eye Palette in Alternative

I don't have much experience with Ulta eyeshadows, but the design and colors of the Alternative palette grabbed my attention recently.  It didn't hurt that it was on sale for $5 either, as that lowered the risk considerably if it turned out to be a dud.

I love the design of the shadows, there is something so Art Deco about it!  The shadows in the generously sized compact are not named, but you get 4 shimmer shades surrounding the center dark brown matte.   I found these to be somewhat loosely packed, or perhaps powdery is a better description, in that I pickup up a lot of loose shadow when running my brush across them.  Tapping the brush before applying or patting the shadow on before blending helped reduce fallout.

Three of the shadows are really nice, and 2 are flops.  First, the star performers:  The lightest shade on top is a warm golden tan with a nice shimmer, and the shade beneath is a warm bronze.  The smaller band beneath the dark brown is a lovely burnished olive green and probably my favorite of the five. 

Inside lighting

Now, for the duds:  The center dark brown matte and the blackened forest green along the bottom were lacking pigment, difficult to build, and applied patchy in the arm swatches. Fortunately, these were the colors that would have received the least use from me, and the other three shadows are really pretty! 

Outside lighting

There are eight color combos of the Complete Eye palettes available, all with names based on different genres of music.  If these interest  you, I'd wait for another sale, as the quality seems to vary shadow to shadow.  I'm happy with them for the $5 I paid, but at the regular retail of $12....not so much.

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.