The Kaleidos Makeup Futurism Collection: A Comprehensive Review

I first heard of Kaleidos Makeup when they launched the first three palettes from their Futurism Collection. I was immediately intrigued. As I’ve learned more and more about my makeup preferences, I have figured out that I vastly prefer smaller palettes with focused color stories over giant palettes with every color under the rainbow. The Kaleidos Futurism collection was just what I had been searching for in the indie world: a collection of small, curated palettes. (Note: I know a lot of brands do curate bundles of shadows, which I also think is awesome and really appreciate.)

So, I picked up the first three palettes. And spoiler: I really, really like them. So when they released the second round of Futurism palettes, I decided to pick both of them up as well. After quite some time with them, I’ve written up my thoughts on all five palettes, and I also included a few notes on who might like which palette.

A note on the packaging: I find that the Kaleidos packaging for these palettes is actually quite streamlined. The palettes came essentially across the world (from China), and they were placed in a really nice box (both of which I have reused), nestled in foam inserts. The box came with one layer of large bubble wrap around it, with no overlapping parts, which I appreciate. I feel like Kaleidos did a really good job protecting the products while minimizing the shipment materials. Of course, I would love it if they would move towards biodegradable materials, but they don’t over-package their palettes. I do not feel the same way about their packing methods for the lip products, but that’s another post.

Futurism I: Sci-Fi Green

This one was definitely the palette that got the most attention when the Futurism collection first launched because many people thought it looked similar to the Melt Cosmetics Gemini Palette. In fact, I ended up doing an entire comparison post between this palette, the Melt palette, and the Give Me Glow Juicy Olive Palette.

My thoughts on the palette remain much the same as they were when I first wrote that post. In fact, my thoughts on the first three palettes, in general, are the same. The mattes are on the drier side, but they build upon themselves really well and blend out quickly and beautifully. The shimmers are STUNNING. In all these pictures, I didn’t layer any of the shimmers over glitter glue or primer. They are just that good. They are smooth and have a metallic finish, and they are extremely pigmented. I love the shimmers in these first three palettes.

Who would love this palette: Fair warning – most of these suggestions are simply going to be based on the color story, since the formulas are all fairly similar! That being said, if you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the Melt Cosmetics Gemini palette, this is for you. If you love greens or are looking for some grungy greens to try out, this is for you. The two mustardy browns are also very beautiful, so if you enjoy mustard-toned neutrals, this would be a good pick as well.

Futurism II: Cyber Bronze

This is definitely the neutral palette of the collection, but what I love about it is that it’s still a very interesting neutral palette. You get a bright red metallic along with some stunning mattes, and that beautiful silver. I think Kaleidos did a great job with the mattes, too, in terms of the range of depth.

The shadow formula in this palette is truly phenomenal, better than that of the green palette, in my opinion, though that is likely because greens are quite difficult to formulate. I especially love that this palette could be an excellent little travel palette. The packaging on these are pretty sturdy, so they would make a great addition to a travel makeup bag.

Who would love this palette: If you love neutrals but also want to be able to use a bit of color, this one is for you. I think this would work well for pretty much all skin tones, too, due to the depth to the palette. If you are a red-toned lover, I would recommend this one as well. The red metallic is just absolutely stunning, and I love how easy it is to use. It would look amazing just all over the lid on its own (might have to do that someday…).

Futurism III: Astro Pink

The blue in this palette is hands-down my favorite shade from this entire collection, not just the palette. It is so. frickin. stunning. And the way it swatches is how it looks on the eye. I used it in a Get Ready With Me video that you can view here (Part 2 is here) to create the look below.

I will say, however, that I do find this palette a bit redundant in terms of its neutral shades. They are quite similar, and they don’t really add any depth to the palette. They work well as transition shades on my skin tone, but even on me, they don’t show up different on the eye. However, the rest of the shades are certainly varied, and they are all beautiful. I ended up doing two looks for this palette because of the variety of shades present, and I think that goes to show how versatile this palette is.

I feel meh about the black with the glitter. It’s not a bad eyeshadow, and I just generally tap off the glitter from my brush after tapping it into the shade. I feel meh about mattes with glitters in general, so this shade is no exception. It does its job, though, and it isn’t a knock against the palette for me personally.

Who would love this palette: I think this palette is perfect for those of you who love cool-toned colors but are a bit nervous to splash straight into it. Because of the two neutral shades, you can tone down the colors and use them as accents rather than the focus of a look (of course, this would work best for people with lighter skin tones, which is not great, to say the least). Also, anyone who wants that blue… go get it. Cuz it’s stunning. (Unless you have a dupe already, of course.)

Futurism IV: VR Neon

I was super excited for this palette when it launched. I really only have one other set of neon shadows in my collection: the Melt Radioactive stack (hint, hint for another comparison…). And I definitely have had tons of fun using this palette. It’s actually quite inspiring to me and it really gets my creative juices flowing, for some reason, and I created probably one of my favorite looks of all time using the VR Neon palette.

I was most impressed with the red shade in this palette. In the picture above, I left my concealer unset, but didn’t use anything else under the shadow to make it pop; it did that all on it’s own. I did layer it up, but it didn’t get patchy or anything. I frickin’ love the red shadow so much. The yellow and green shades are noticeably drier than the rest of the shadows in the palettes, and the orange is closer to the red in formula. I find that the yellow and the green are the hardest shades to work with because they are drier, and they are harder to build up. But they still blend out nicely and I especially love them as accent colors rather than the main focus of a look.

The shimmers, however, are not the same formula as the shimmers in the first three palettes. They are a chunkier formula, with an almost glitter-like quality to them (they aren’t actually glitters, though). They are still beautiful, but truth be told I was a bit disappointed; I had really loved the ease of use that the previous formula had. I wouldn’t feel comfortable using the shimmers in the second two palettes without a glitter glue like Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy underneath them like I did with the shimmers in the first three palettes. I will admit that they do have a really cool texture, though, due to their more glittery nature. And they are super pretty on the eyes. But still.

Who would love this palette: If you love neons, but don’t want to spend a ton of money trying out a whole ton of neon shadows before figuring out how you like using them best, I think this palette is for you. You might also enjoy this palette is you are looking for a good accent color palette. The two shimmers complement the mattes wonderfully as well so anyone who loves bright colors would love every shade.

Futurism V: Electro-Turquoise

This palette was the one that confused me the most when Kaleidos released it. And truth be told it’s the palette I have had the most trouble with due to the orange shade. It is really difficult to work with and a bit patchy on the eyes. However, the deep teal is stunning, and I actually really love the silvery shimmer shade – it makes for a beautiful, wet-looking inner corner highlight, and it doesn’t need Pixie Epoxy underneath it to be used as such. I actually really want to play with it more, as I’ve used it layered over the orange shadow before and it gave a really cool effect. Essentially, it’s the perfect topper shade: it gives the shadow underneath a wet look without altering the shade.

Who would love this palette: If your sport team’s colors are blue and orange, go for this one. Alternatively, if you happen to like the blue and orange combo, go for this one. If you are looking for a fun topper shade and would use the rest of the palette as well, go for this one because that silvery topper is super cool.

And that’s all, folks! If you have any questions regarding these palettes, please leave them below! I will get back to you as soon as possible. I hope this helps you make a decision between these palettes if you were eyeing them!