Review: Napoleon Perdis NP Set Lash and Dash Lipgloss Palette and Mascara

I happen to be in the town area, dropped by Kinokuniya and came across this set of freebie that came with a Australian magazine "Dolly". I was quite curious about the set as i do recall reading it somewhere about NP Set and so i decide to satisfy my curiosity.

NP Set is a drugstore or rather pocket-friendly brand (it is not available in Singapore from what i know), it is a lower end brand which was developed from Napoleon Perdis (a high-end brand whereby a 4 colour Eyeshadow palette is priced at US$35.00). The founder of the brand is none other than Napoleon Perdis himself, a native Australian who is currently based in Los Angeles. Apart from developing cosmetics, Napoleon Perdis has a skincare line and a Makeup Academy in Australia and USA.

And so... the review of today's loot.....

L-R: NP Set Lash & Dash Lip Gloss Palette and Black Mascara.
NP Set Lash & Dash Lip Gloss Palette.
Made in China, 3g or 0.11oz.

Inside of the Lip Gloss Palette.

Swatches L-R same order as the Lip Gloss Palette.

Swatches again.

A closer look.

The Lip Gloss Palette is packaged in a compact that resembles those plastic compact mirror that one can easily get from stores like SASA. It doesn't feel all that filmsy but at the same time it doesn't signify quality too, which is pretty reasonable as NP Set is a lower end branch of Napoleon Perdis. Having said that, there are drugstore brands whose packaging are much more prettier to look at and sturdier too despite its lower end price tag.

Personally, i am not too keen on the white plastic compact that house the Lip Gloss Trio, especially the double end lip gloss applicator (usually i will just throw away those and use my own brush). I rather the people at NP Set totally do away with the applicator and give more or better products.
The Lip Gloss Trio has a fruity vanilla scent which might appeal to the younger female demographic (young ladies : ) ), i am neutral to scented products most of the time but this is a little too artifical for my liking.

When i tried to use the given applicator to do the swatching, i realised that the applicator is unable to pick up the lip gloss properly (the texture of the lip gloss is rather jelly-like). Despite trying a few times, the swatch turn out to be too sheer, so what i did in the end was to dig and scoop the lip gloss in the palette and spread it on the back of my hand which the colours turn out decently (though they are sheer and the shimmer in the lip gloss didn't show up in the swatches). If you are into pigmented lip gloss, this is clearly not for you.

The colours in palette were not stated anywhere and so i will describe them to the best i can (from left to right), Bright berry red, Coral Orange and Dusk Violet Pink.

I would say the colours in the palette are universally flattering and there shouldn't be any problems carrying off them, however one needs to reapply quite frequently as they don't really have much staying power. The amount in the palette, i think is sufficient to last a week or so.

This palette is more suited for the 12+ (in my humble opinion), serious or hardcore makeup fanatics need not apply.

The Black mascara on the otherhand didn't fare that bad......

NP Set Lash & Dash Black Mascara. Made in China, 4.3ml or 0.15oz.

The applicator.

Swatch of the mascara.

Trying out the mascara.

Eye Shut.

I am not usually a mascara user and it has to be quite some ocassion if i were to put it on (too much of a hassle for me... cannot rub eyes, bad skills in removing them blah blah blah). I was quite keen to find out how it would fare and so i curled my lashes carefully with my Maquillage Eyelash curler and apply the mascara to it.

Upon application, the first thing i noticed was the instant lengthening effect it has on my lashes, it doesn't clump but i do notice too that the mascara doesn't hold the curl of the lashes well, so my lashes appear to be long and straight, no volumising effect too. I gather this is a very basic mascara that girls who are blessed with thick nicely curled eyelashes would be able to put much use into it. I am not saying that it is a bad product, just that it doesn't WOW me or maybe wrong technique in the application.....

In conclusion for both the lip gloss palette and mascara, its ok to splurge a little money to try out brands that we can never get here (yet), especially since they are freebies from magazine. However if you ask whether i would give my dime to buy them from the stores... nah at the moment.

Do check out the websites if you are keen on them,
NP Set :http://www.npsetcosmetics.com/

Napoleon Perdis:http://www.napoleonperdis.com/