Review: Better Than Palette in Pampas Garden and Mahogany Garden (Romand)

This product was sent to me by StyleKorean for review purposes. I was not paid for this post but please note that affiliate links are used on my blog. These go towards supporting Oh My Stellar and future content.

I’m actually consciously trying to spread out my Romand reviews but, to be honest, I’ve just completely fallen in love with this brand. Every time they release something new, it’s on my radar right away and I can’t relax until I’d gotten my hands on them. That’s exactly what happened with this one! I saw the Better Than Palette being teased on Instagram a week or do before the launch, so I’d been waiting for it – and now it’s here!

All of these are now available at StyleKorean for USD$23.10 (on sale from USD$33) so absolutely jump onto there if you want to pick these up! If the full 10 shade palette is a bit much for you, Romand also do wonderful quads (currently USD$14.40 and on sale from USD$18) called the Better Than Eyes.

I’ll be reviewing and sharing some swatches from the Pampas Garden and Mahogany Garden palette today so if they’re the ones you’re keen on… let’s get into it!

Product Description

The Better Than Palette is actually Romand’s first ever eyeshadow palette (if you don’t count their quads). I was actually surprised that they hadn’t released something like this before, especially because I absolutely love their shadow formula – which is one of my Top Products and reviewed here.

These new palettes contain ten shades each and are available in four different highly wearable colour stories. They are generally catered for different ‘seasonal’ skin tones (which is a tonal system much more predominant in kbeauty than in the western beauty industry). If you’re not sure what your skin tone is, check out this very useful post on The Klog to learn the distinctive differences.

The four variants of the palettes are:

• 01 Pampas Garden: Warm coral pinks (Spring Warm)
• 02 Mahogany Garden: Warm neutral browns (Fall Warm)
• 03 Rosebud Garden: Cool, rosy-mauves (Summer Cool)
• 04 Dusty Fog Garden: Both neutral and cool toned browns (Winter Cool)

According to the product description, colour stories are curated into “five stages of systematic brightness” with distinctive depth and allowing for easy layering. Most of the palettes (aside from Dusty Fog Garden) contain a combination of matte and glitter shades, which claim to use super fine pigment for smooth application and strong adherence with minimal fall-out.

In addition to this, the product description states that there are four different glitter textures used throughout the palette range – Vaseline Glitter (which I assume is a standard pressed glitter), Aurora Glitter, Shimmer and Glitter Bomb. To be honest, I don’t really know what each type of glitter is meant to be. However, I can confirm that I have found the four different textures within these palettes – especially in the Mahogany Garden – so will do my best to guess-timate which is which! Haha!

Packaging

The packaging for these palettes are simple, minimalist and absolutely beautiful.

The general concept is that all four of them have been monochromatically co-ordinated, with the Pampas Garden palette using a coral tone and the Mahogany Garden using a beige-brown. The exterior unit carton uses a solid colour and large logo for a modern, trendy vibe. The cardboard has a soft touch finish and is actually supported with thin corrugated cardboard inside too (as all Romand boxes are) so that the packaging will retain shape during shipping, as well as minimising any possible damage.

Opening it up, the palette has a semi-opaque base with a clear plastic lid – the back (including the sticker) also has a soft matte finish, whilst the front is shiny. I really like that they have even colourized the Romand logo – it’s a small detail but really perfects the design. Although I’m usually not a fan of clear fronts, I really like how it looks here: the colours pair together perfectly and they’ve also used a high quality, sturdy plastic – this is something that I would feel quite comfortable putting into my handbag or to take travelling.

Overall, I’m very happy with the packaging. It looks great, it’s sturdy and functional too. Interestingly, I noticed that the closure fixes inside of the palette, instead of having the little plastic tab on the outside. This may help to ensure the palette doesn’t accidentally open in your bag, as well as preventing that closure from snapping. The overall shape is streamlined too – there’s not really any excess bulkiness or gimmick here. Just classy, simple and modern.

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Shades – Pampas Garden

The Pampas Garden variation of the palette is intended for people with Spring Warm skin tones – meaning those who have a warm undertone and best suit bright, lively colours. This palette mostly contains coral-pink tones and has four different textures – matte and four glitters (two of which are shimmers). The shades are also noted on the back and can be described as:

• Glam Star (Aurora Glitter): Blue-pink iridescent glitter with a clear base
• Sparkling Petal (Glitter Bomb): Rose gold glitter with both micro and larger particles
• Shining Pampas (Shimmer): Blue-gold iridescent shimmer with a coral base
• Coral Day (Matte): Medium coral matte
• Sunshine Shower (Shimmer): Copperish shimmer with gold-pink iridescent micro glitter
• Skin Beige (Matte): Light beige matte
• Pink Pampas (Matte): Light coral matte
• Mellow Coral (Matte): Medium orange-coral matte
• Mood Brown (Matte): Warm medium brown matte
• Deep Brownie (Matte): Warm dark brown matte

You can also scroll down to see the swatches for each shade. In general, I think that the Pampas Garden palette has a more common colour story – I actually think I already own a lot of these matte tones in other k-beauty palettes. However, it is still really beautiful and – from what I’m hearing on Instagram – easily one of their most popular. I find the variety of tones pretty easy to work with and I can easily build the depth. The ‘Skin Beige’ shade is pretty much spot on my skin tone so I use that to set my shadow primer, before working with the colours.

Formula – Pampas Garden

As expected, the formula for the Romand eyeshadows are outstanding! The mattes were soft, buttery and easy to build up – you can get one swipe opacity with finger swatches for darker colours so, depending on the brush you use, you can either pack it on opaque or lightly layer the colours up. I find that these blend together so seamlessly and, when worn with my eyeshadow primer, did not crease or budge throughout the day (except for my inner corners where my eyes water the most).

I also loved these glitter shades! I had high expectations because I loved the glitters in their quads and these definitely don’t disappoint. The shimmers are very pretty but need to be packed on with a dense brush or applied with your fingers. Be careful when using these because you will end up with fall out underneath your eye unless you use a glitter glue with it. For the more ‘glittery’ shades Glam Star and Sparkling Petal), I would recommend to apply these with your fingers only – you can’t blend these out so make sure you have the placement right from the get-go.

Overall, I love this palette and – whilst I do have others with very similar colour stories – I think that I would often be reaching for this one instead. I’m personally also a big fan of using glitter/shimmer shades on my eyes. I find that they can take a little practice at first, but can really transform a look.

You do need to be careful though as some glitters, especially with Sparkling Petal’s larger particles, should not go too close to your lash line. In fact, although it is allowed in Korea, I am hesitant about whether they would be ‘FDA approved’ if selling directly in America – definitely use them at your own discretion here! If you don’t want to use them on the eyes, I also love to add a small splash of glitter on my cheek bones to amp up my highlighter look.

Here’s the verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A ten pan palette of mattes and glitters in warm coral-pink shades

THE GOOD

• Great design and quality packaging
• Wearable colour scheme with good depth
• Versatile for both daily or party eye makeup
• Variety of textures
• Super soft and buttery matte shades
• No fall out and minimum kick back for mattes

THE BAD

• Glitter shade (Sparkling Petal) may not be suitable on the immediate eye area
• Shimmer and glitter shades need a glitter glue
• Glitters will result in fall out

RATINGS

• PACKAGING | 5/5
• PRICE POINT | 4/5
• PIGMENTATION | 4/5
• BLENDABILITY | 5/5
• LONGWEARING | 4/5
• SHADE RANGE | 5/5

OVERALL RATING? 9/10

THOUGHTS? This palette is really perfect for me! Although I was initially worried that it would be too warm, I found it very flattering on my skin tone (most likely because I have more neutral undertones anyway). I love the glitters but do think that they can be a more personal thing, so definitely take those into consideration before making your order.

If you do decide to get this and want to try out the glitters, I would highly recommend using a glitter glue beneath them (I like using the Too Faced Glitter Glue but haven’t really tried out others since) and carefully removing them with make up remover and a cotton bud afterwards!

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Shades – Mahogany Garden

In comparison, the Mahogany Garden is intended for Fall Warm skin tones – again, also for those with a warmer skin tone but whom suit darker, muted undertones better. This is a more brown-based neutral palette and will potentially create a more natural eye look. This palette contains fie different textures – the mattes and four glitters (all of which are different). The shades can be described as:

• Dazzle Honey (Aurora Glitter): Gold, pink and silver iridescent glitter with a peachy-gold base
• Glaring Sun (Glitter Bomb): Peachy-gold holographic glitter with both micro and larger particles
• Glazed Gold (Shimmer): Copper-gold shimmer with a golden base
• Burny Brown (Matte): Medium rose-brown matte
• Earthy Glam (Vaseline Glitter): Brown-silver pressed glitter
• Cotton Beige (Matte):Muted light beige matte (very slighter darker than Pampas Garden)
• Soft Dream (Matte): Light brown matte
• Mildy Wood (Matte): Medium neutral brown matte
• Maroon Brown (Matte): Medium warm brown matte (very slighter warmer than Pampas Garden)
• Deep Mahogany (Matte): Dark rose-brown matte (very slighter darker than Pampas Garden)

Agan, you can also scroll down to see the swatches for each shade. In comparison to the Pampas Garden palette, I actually think that brown neutrals are more unique to my collection – I just feel that corals are very popular in kbeauty and so I appreciate a palette that doesn’t lean so pink. Some of the shades (namely three of the mattes) are quite similar across the two – there are only minute differences which are noticeable in the pan but will otherwise look the same on application.

In practice though, both of these are very different. Mahogany Garden has the potential to create some very wearable, natural looks through the use of those varying matte shades (perfect for creating depth and dimension on the eyes). The four different glitter types are also great for amping up a look, whether it’s because you want some extra sparkle or you’re dressing up.

Formula – Mahogany Garden

The formula across these two palettes is very consistent and I’m loving these just the same – the mattes are pretty much perfectly soft, blendable and easy to build up. I do feel like there’s some unnecessary repetitiveness between some of the shades even if the undertones are different (Mildy Wood and Maroon Brown are similar depth, whilst Cotton Beige and Soft Dream are also very alike on application). I would have liked if they put in one even darker shade – like a brown-black – and put in an extra shimmer instead.

When it comes to creating dimension on the eyes, you really only need 3-4 different depths and then can use the different textured shimmers to customise the look.

Aside from that though, most of the glitters here are also very beautiful. I especially love the iridescent particles in Glaring Sun. The only shade that I’m not personally a fan of is Earthy Glam – I like the colour, but I’ve just never been a fan of that type of shimmer. You will be able to see it in my swatches below and can make your own decision on whether you like it. I just personally find that those aren’t as interesting!

Overall, this palette has the same gorgeous quality as Pampas Garden. The colour story is more unique to my collection but does have more repeats and – I daresay – some unnecessary shades. Still, the quality is great and it’s very easy to use. I can see that a make up beginner would have an absolute breeze working with this because of how well its been laid out.

Here’s the verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A ten pan palette of mattes and glitters in warm neutral-brown shades

THE GOOD

• Great design and quality packaging
• Wearable colour scheme that’s suitable for every day
• Versatile for both daily or party eye makeup
• Variety of textures
• Super soft and buttery matte shades
• No fall out and minimum kick back for mattes

THE BAD

• Some repetitiveness in matte shades
• Glitter shades (Glaring Sun and Earth Glam) may not be suitable on the immediate eye area
• Shimmer and glitter shades need a glitter glue
• Glitters will result in fall out

RATINGS

• PACKAGING | 5/5
• PRICE POINT | 4/5
• PIGMENTATION | 4/5
• BLENDABILITY | 5/5
• LONGWEARING | 4/5
• SHADE RANGE | 3/5

OVERALL RATING? 8.3/10

THOUGHTS? Honestly, both of these palettes are create and the only reason that I rated this one lower is because of the shade range – again, just some repetitiveness. If this is your type of colour story though, I would still really recommend these palettes! Again, if you’re wanting to use the glitters too, I would also recommend to dab a little glitter glue beneath to minimise fall out!

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When I first looked at these two palettes, I actually thought that I would like Mahogany Garden more than Pampas Garden – mainly because the latter felt so ‘typical’ for me. However, once I’ve actually used these, I can appreciate both of them.

Pampas Garden has more variety in shades and depth. Mahogany Garden has some similarities between shades but, once you’re more familiar with them, it’s pretty easy to use too. Both of these are great for daily make up, party make up and even for travelling!

I’ve loved Romand for a while now and this is just making me love on the brand even more. If you want to check out these palettes, head on over to StyleKorean and pick them up for just USD$23.10 (on sale from USD$33) – and don’t forget the glitter glue too! 😉

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