Alamar Cosmetics is an Indie brand that has launched two palettes and two sets of eye brushes. The founder of Alamar Cosmetics, Gabriela Trujillo, is known for working for Boxycharm, a monthly beauty subscription box, which is how I was first introduced to the brand. I received Reina Del Caribe Vol. 1 in a Boxycharm subscription box in August of 2018. I fell in love with that palette! So when I saw Vol. 2 was being launched and the color story, I really wanted to purchase the palette.

I battled myself on whether or not to purchase Vol. 2 because I had recently purchased the Urban Decay Born to Run palette – which, I think I may be the only one who feels this way, but the Born to Run palette is just an “ok” palette to me 😦 – but there are some similar colors in the Born to Run palette and in the Vol. 2 palette. I think had I been in love with the Born to Run palette, I probably would have been able to talk myself out of purchasing the Vol. 2 palette. But since the Born to Run palette was just ok for me, I had to try the Vol. 2 palette.

The Reina Del Caribe Vol. 2 palette comes with 8 shades, a beautiful, sleek, deep blue packaging with Caribbean flowers and foliage, and a nice mirror which is an upgrade from Vol. 1. Alamar Cosmetics also released a new eye brush set to coincide with the new palette which is also what they did with Vol. 1.

The price of both the Vol. 1 palette and Vol. 2 palette is $28 + tax and shipping. Each brush set costs $18 and there are 3 eye brushes in each set. Personally, I am not a fan of the brushes. I love the aesthetics of the brushes, the lime green (Vol. 1) and fuscia pink (Vol. 2) with rose gold ferrule is gorgeous. But the brushes themselves are not for me, especially for the cost. I much prefer my Bad Habit eye brush set, which contains 8 brushes for $24 and if you purchase them on the ShopHush app, you can get free shipping!

Ok, so back to the Vol. 2 Palette. Just like Vol. 1, I love this palette! I have created two looks so far and I have used all but 2 of the 8 shades. You can view the looks here on my Instagram account. The colors blend well together and don’t get muddy on me. I was a bit concerned because Gabriela mentioned they had changed the formula of the mattes in Vol. 2. She said the mattes in Vol. 2 were supposed to be creamier to the touch than the mattes in Vol. 1. I don’t feel like they are creamier when I swatch them and actually the shades, Flamingo and Damas, feel dry and gritty to the touch. But, honestly, that isn’t something that bothers me as long as they preform well on the yes – which I feel all the mattes in this palette do.

I have really enjoy the looks this palette has given me. They have been bright and somewhat smokey/sultry at the same time. My only disappointment so far with this palette is the purple shimmer called, Rumbera. The shimmers in Vol. 2 – with the exception of Rumbera – are outstanding – as they were in Vol. 1! I don’t feel the need to put them over a shadow stick or spray them with setting spray to get them to “pop”. I always use my finger to put shimmers on my eye and I am very pleased with the pigment and look the shimmers in this palettes provide. I was hoping Rumbera would be the same as the other three shimmers. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it definitely needs a shadow stick or setting spray to help it “pop”. I can even tell the difference in the pan. It just has a different look than the other shimmers in the palette.

Overall, I am very happy with this palette and I am very happy I purchased it!

How about you? Have you been eyeing this palette? Have you purchased it? If you have, what are your thoughts?