I was coveting the Neons palette *hard* from the moment I first saw it in-store, and then when it came up as a possible BR trial I waited to see if I'd be selected. I wasn't, so I ended up picking up not only the Neons, but the Ultra as well. At $10 each, why not? (Price was at Love My Makeup; have also been seen in the Warehouse for $7.50)
The LA Girl Palettes each feature a crazy 12 eyeshadows, housed in a simple black-gloss stiff cardboard case with a double ended brush (brush/sponge applicator) and a long, thin mirror. They are easy to use designs, with thin strips of each colour in a long thin rectangular case.
The brushes provided are average at best - the sponge is a little hard for my liking, and the brush a little soft, but it does the job in a pinch.
In the Ultra palette, the colours range from bone through a spectrum of pinky-beige tones and purples, with brown and bronze to finish out the set. They are colours that can be blended nicely to create a muted or darker look, both subtly sexy without being over the top. There are no bright shades in this palette, and the shimmery options are faintly shimmery, not over the top. It's a very pretty neutral set tending towards the purples, and looks great with my hazel eyes.
The Neons are, as expected, BRIGHT. There is a shimmery white and silver to highlight and soften, and a charcoal for features, but the other 9 shades are bright, screaming neons. Pigmentation is okay - not exceptional, but you can definitely see the colours loud and clear on your eyes. You have options for complementary colours, clashing colours, or a myriad of other options - creativity is key! I use this set to do a mottled eye fairly often and it always works using this product.
The shadows last through a full day on my eyelids (note: I do use a setting spray as well but even when I haven't I have been happy with the lasting time) and maintain impact right throughout the day as well. They can be blended or built up to achieve the desired effect, and even used with a slightly damp brush to get even more impact.
For the price, I can't fault the sets at all, but whether or not I'd recommend them depends on how makeup savvy the person was - sometimes people don't need a 12 colour palette, especially if they're happy with what they are rocking - I like to use all the colours all the time but palettes aren't for everyone.
Go instore and play with the 4 options - the smoky and nude palettes are also lovely!
I was lucky to review the L.A.Girl Palette Ultra. It is the perfect palette choice for me, because it has gorgeous purple tones. And did you know that no matter what eye colour you have purple works great to emphasize it? Yep, this is so true! I really liked that there are at least three colours of one colour scale in the palette. The range goes from pinks to greyish blue, purple and to brown. All the colours are shimmery why I substituted my base after a few times with another matte eye shadow. They are very soft and powdery but fortunately the colours do not seem to fall off when applying and afterwards. The single shades have a different consistency. Some are more pigmented and easier to blend than others. The packaging is not the highest quality, but a double-ended makeup brush is included that has a synthetic bristle flat brush on one end and a sponge-tip applicator on the other that is very good for applying. All in all I think this palette is a really good choice if you like shimmery colours. You get a lot for the relatively small price.
Tips: Try the colours before putting them on your eyelid. I found that it did look nothing like the colours in the pan.