Cargo You Had Me At Aloha Eyeshadow Palette

Cargo is a brand that remains under the radar amongst beauty junkies but if you value quality over fancy marketing, I think it deserves a spotlight in your vanity. Recently they collaborated with Hawaii singer Rylee Anuheakeʻalaokalokelani Jenkins or better known as Anuhea via its You Had Me At Aloha Eyeshadow Palette. Her beautiful voice and dynamic personality make her so endearing to her ohana. If you are from Hawaii or live in any of our islands, everyone is uncle, auntie, bradah, cousin, manong and manang to anyone even if you’re not blood-related. It’s the aloha spirit in us so to say that I am excited for this makeup release is an understatement!

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Retailing for $34, You Had Me At Aloha features 12 eyeshadows, 1 eyeliner and 1 dual-ended eyeshadow brush. They are housed in a rectangular cardboard-type palette with decent mirror to boot.  The shades are named after popular Hawaii names, spots and objects, which to me is a cool way to introduce our beautiful islands to makeup lovers around the globe!

The shades are predominantly neutral, except for Kai (teal) and Lei (violet) which render quite a pop to this smorgasbord of awesomeness. Worn over eye primer, the longevity is around seven hours with minor fading thereafter. I was particularly excited to try the black liner that came with the palette because I’ve had great experience with Cargo waterproof liners in the past. Unfortunately, the color budged about two hours into wearing it, and we’re not even in the thick of summer yet. The dual-ended brush is a nifty addition because let’s face it, a makeup junkie can never have too many brushes!

Although I favor neutral eye makeup, I can see myself wearing Kai during the summer as accent liner along the upper lash line. I might do that one of these days but meanwhile, here’s my typical daytime look using some of the shades from this palette.