Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette {Review}

Overview

Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Price Tag: $19.99 USD
Weight: 0.2 oz
Palettes Available: 1 palette
Where to Buy: In Target stores; online at target.com

The Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette by Pacifica is a Target exclusive. It is part of the Made to Matter initiative launched in early 2015 to expand the natural products selection at Target. You can also purchase it online through target.com. You can find my reviews on the Target Made to Matter collection here.

Pacifica is a cruelty-free and now a completely vegan brand.

View of the Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette opened.

Packaging

Like all of the Pacifica palettes, the Power of Love Eyeshadow palette is packaged in a cardboard based palette covered with glossy paper.

Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette box packaging.

The ten shadows are located in small square pans. Instead of a mirror, the top of the palette has a plastic window that allows you to see the eyeshadows when the lid is closed.

The inside of the lid features the words “you are so pretty”. All of the other Pacifica palettes also have this, except the Charmed palette that sports the phrase “you are so lucky”.

Reverse of the Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette box packaging.

The artwork isn’t as pretty as some of the previous palettes, with its bold circles, concentric rings and heart accents, but I’d hardly call it unattractive.

While this palette is nearly as large as the first two incarnations by Pacifica, it contains less product than before at 0.2 oz compared to the original 0.25 oz. Both the Power of Love and Charmed palettes are about half the height of the Enlighten and Mystical Supernatural palettes.

Comparison of the Pacifica eyeshadow palettes: Enlighten, Power of Love, and Charmed

The palette is also substantially more than previous eyeshadow palettes: $19.99 vs $11.99 for the Mystical Supernatural palettes (the Charmed palette retails for ~$17 USD). Probably explains why Target no longer carries the less expensive palettes. I did not realize how much more expensive the Power of Love palette was until I got home. I had expected the palette to be more expensive than the Mystical Supernatural palette, like maybe fifteen dollars, but I was not expecting twenty. There was about a week-long period where I strongly considered returning the thing to Target.

Formulation

I’ll be honest. Pacifica is a bit like e.l.f. in terms of their eyeshadow pigmentation and formulation. Sometimes they are good while other times they are…not. Many of Pacifica’s eyeshadows have consistently suffered from poor payoff.

Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of shades have very good payoff and a very buttery texture. As the owner of all Pacifica palettes but one (two, including the Solar palette), I can say this is the best palette they’ve produced.

Shades

The box lists shade names, but I have not worked out which name goes to each shade. I know that Treasure is the second shade from left on the top row because I own it as an eyeshadow single. This seems to indicate that the list is not in any type of order.

I call the Power of Love a neutral palette with attitude. Most shades are neutrals, but it has a few fun colors thrown in for good measure. There is a good mix of pearl, shimmer and matte finishes with a variety of highlighting, base and contouring shades.

Swatches of the Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette over e.l.f. Essential Glitter Primer.

Top Row (L-R)

Coral [Pearl]

This coral is much better than Coral Sand found in the Enlighten palette (you can find my review on that palette here). There is actual pigmentation here. However, it is still not one of the better shades in terms of color output in the palette.

Treasure [Metallic/Shimmer]

The one shade name I know. Treasure is one eyeshadow shade by Pacifica that consistently has good pigmentation and buttery texture. While I call it gold, it’s more of a brassy, dirty gold. It works especially well for those with warm undertones.

Tan [Matte]

A good neutral tan shade that leans a little towards taupe. I find it useful for lightly contouring my crease, but those with medium to darker skin tones could use it as a subtle eyelid color. It should work well for all undertones.

Olive [Pearl/Glitter]

A dark olive green shade with gold glitter flecks. I did not expect it to be so pigmented, but it definitely packs a punch. Good for an unusual smoky look or eyeliner.

Deep Mauve [Pearl]

Pigmentation is patchy with this shade and not as consistent as I would like. It should work better on those with cool undertones. I generally stay clear of these dark pink shades, but I have layered it under some of the long-range shades to create depth.

Swatches of the Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette over e.l.f. Essential Glitter Primer.

Bottom Row (L-R)

Navy [Matte]

Another shade with patchy pigmentation. The navy shade Supernova in the Mystical Supernatural palette likewise has pigmentation issues, so I’m not surprised the same is true here. Use in the crease or as an eyeliner.

In the swatch photos this shade comes off as a royal purple, but it is navy in person.

Rosy Gold [Shimmer/Metallic]

Think YDK from Urban Decay’s Naked Palette 3, or AKA from Silk Naturals. This shade is a stunner with exceptional pigmentation and buttery texture. It’s the best shade of the palette. These types of colors are my favorite, so I’m very pleased with this shade.

Pale Yellow [Pearl]

A highlighting shade. I don’t wear this shade that often, but it has fair enough consistency and pigmentation.

Turquoise [Shimmer/Glitter]

This looks a lot like the shade Mermaid Aqua that Pacifica put into the Solar palette, but that name isn’t listed here. It has fairly decent color payoff overall. I feel this shade is better for those with cooler undertones, but I find I can occasionally pull it off.

Pale Pink [Pearl]

Another highlighting shade. This looks similar to the shade Opal in the Mystical Supernatural palette, but without the blue shift. While the shade has fair pigmentation, it doesn’t really show up on me. I guess it’s to similar to my skin tone.

Images

Final Thoughts

Pros: Pigmentation, shade variety, buttery texture, pretty packaging
Cons: Price, no mirror, only available at Target

This is certainly Pacifica’s best eyeshadow palette to date. The eyeshadows are varied and capable of producing many different looks, with most having decent pigmentation and texture.

However, I’ve long felt that Pacifica palettes are overpriced, especially considering their often lackluster performance. You’re mostly paying a premium for pretty packaging—both the palette design itself and the throwaway store packaging with their typical gold accents. Beautiful, sure, but not necessary. That they’ve released a palette that’s almost twice as much as their original palettes with less product makes me hesitate to recommend the Power of Love palette. Then again, it is difficult to find good vegan eyeshadows widely available in stores.

There are the rare times that Pacifica offers coupons for Target and the brand does occasionally pop up on Cartwheel (Target’s mobile sorta coupon app). If you have a Target Red Card—either the credit card or the debit card linked to your bank account as I do—you can get an additional 5% off. You might be better off waiting for a deal to purchase the palette than paying full retail.

You can find all of my reviews for the Pacifica brand here.