UNII Palette

I finally received my UNII Palettes! I ordered a Pomegranate (Red/Pink) & Coal (Black - for a friend). Shipping time was quite good considering it was sent during the holiday season.

I won't give you a blow by blow review about the palette as there are plenty of those, but I will give you my thoughts.

First Impressions


I have to say my very first impression was, wow that's small. I saw other reviews mention this but didn't realise it was smaller than my palm to my finger tips.

The palette seems to be very well made however, & is quite sleek. As you probably know the UNII Palette has a clasp that keeps it closed & is easy to open. I haven't used it "on the road" yet, but it doesn't look like it could accidently open in your bag.

The pans & brush fit in perfectly. As you can see from the photo I've fit 8 x Inglot square eyeshadows in (2.7 grams each) & an EcoTools Eye Shadow brush in between. On the left bottom sideside is the powder half of my Smashbox BrowTech. The left top has a plastic thumb grip which you can move to whichever position you need. You don't have to use it if you don't have the room but it's a good idea as you have something to hold onto, rather than holding the palette precariously or accidently digging your nail(s) into an eyeshadow.

What I would use the UNII Palette for?

I wouldn't recommend the UNII Palette as a makeup storage solution as it's just too small, however it looks like it will be perfect for travel.

I can see that I will probably still need to use a separate makeup bag for brushes - unless I sacrifice some eyeshadows, which could probably happen if it is just an overnight trip.


Is it better than other small style palettes?

If you asked me a month ago, I would have said yes, but whilst waiting for the UNII Palette to arrive I bought a small Inglot Freedom palette (the older style) & started to use it to travel with makeup.

One thing that the small Inglot palette has over the UNII Palette is that it is smaller, thinner & lighter. It holds the same amount of Inglot shadows & also has a mirror. It doesn't have a clasp but it seems to close up tight.

The EcoTool brush you see above fits in the Inglot palette, but the thicker highlight EcoTool brush did not (the Inglot palette wouldn't close, but the UNII one did.

The other thing that the UNII Palette has over the Inglot palette is pizazz. What other palette comes in a pretty colour & looks like a little notebook? It's definitely adorable. :D

Also, if you're wondering, the UNII Palette is a LOT better than the SMH/ACW small magnetic palette - I wouldn't travel with that one. Too flimsy.

Please note: the bottom is not magnetised

One other thing I noticed is that the metal plate at the bottom is NOT magnetised.

UNII Cosmetics provides a square of magnet adhesive for you to cut & stick to the bottom of your pans. I don't want to stick the magnets under pans that are already magnetised, so I got around this by placing the supplied adhesive magnet sheet on the bottom - it's the exact dimensions of the palette. I placed my eyeshadow pans on that & voila. The magnets stick.

This seems to work but I'm a little apprehensive that the magnet square might move or fall out accidentally (remember I just sat it in the palette). If it falls out, it takes ALL of my shadows with it. I'm not game enough to hold it upside-down to test. I guess I'll have to see see how it goes.

Verdict


This verdict is only on first impressions as I haven't even had it for 24 hours, however I think the UNII Palette is really sleek & pretty. I really like the design & it will be my travel palette from now on. It looks like it will do a great job (as long as the "unstuck" magnet adhesive stays put).

I will do an update to let you know what I think once I've had more experience.