Coastal Scents Hot Pots Review + Swatches

Last updated on March 6th, 2019

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As you may have noticed, I really like to use my Coastal Scents eyeshadows for eyeshadow tutorials. And I don’t have any plans to discontinue that trend.

I am sure many others can vouch for the fact that one tends to be partial to the personalized palettes because each color was selected individually for a specific reason, unlike most pre-made palettes where there are at least a couple of shades that you’re not too keen on.

I really want to talk about these is because there is a real lack of information about the Coastal Scents Hot Pots online. I’m unsure if few people buy these or if people just don’t care to write about them, but when  I was researching before making my own purchase, I was frustrated by the lack of good reviews. In many cases, I am able to decide just based on a variety of reviews whether or not I will like a product, but that wasn’t the case with these.

So I decided to dive in and give them a try.

40 of them.

Go big or go home.

See swatches of all 40 shades I purchased, how they apply, what I think of them, and which ones I recommend. It’s gonna be a long one, so let’s go! 

Coastal Scents Hot Pots — Price & availability

The regular price for the Coastal Scents Hot Pots is $1.95. However, they seem to go on sale pretty often. When I purchased mine, they were on sale for $0.99 each! It was fantastic.

As far as I know, Coastal Scents Hot Pots are sold exclusively on CoastalScents.com. I’m the first to admit that online shopping is super convenient, but when purchasing new makeup, it is nice to be able to swatch before committing. But for $0.99 cents, I suppose I can accept the risk.

Chances are, if you are looking for a specific color, you’ll find it here. The line includes over 350 shades! When I picked out my shadows, I selected a balance of warm and cool shades in a variety of colors, while still making sure they were colors that I would wear, hence the lack of the neons shades that really make a palette look appealing.

Add empty palettes for an additional cost

Of course, the empty palettes are sold separately. Shown here are the Interchangeable Palette 28 Piece ($9.95) and the Interchangeable Palette 12 Piece ($5.95.) I expected them to be the same, but they are quite different. The 12 Piece is sturdier and features a nice mirror, while the 28 Piece feels flimsier and does not have a mirror. Not a deal breaker, but I just thought I’d mention it.

Coastal Scents Interchangeable Custom Palette 28 Shadows >> Purchase at Coastal Scents

Coastal Scents Interchangeable Custom Palette 12 Shadows >> Purchase at Coastal Scents

Quality of ingredients is aligned with the low price

For $1.95 (or $0.99,) you can’t really expect the best of the best when it comes to ingredients. That being said, the Coastal Scents Hot Pots contain talc and mica as the first ingredients, as well as multiple forms of parabens.

These ingredients are safe, though they are known to cause irritations for some. If you know that talc, mica, or parabens cause issues for you, then these eyeshadows are not for you.

the Shimmer Shades

[Listed in vertical rows, starting at top left.]

1. Peach Fuzz                         15. Rich Walnut
2. Mauve                                16. Gunpowder
3. Antique Maroon              17. Sand Storm
4. Chocolate Berry               18. New Penny
5. Nectar                                19. Mai Tai
6. Dark Salmon                     20. Regalia Purple
7. Bright Copper                    21. Camel
8. Dark Chocolate                 22. Cherry Moss
9. Mimosa                               23. Dark Golden Olive
10. Sundried                           24. Kodiak
11. Amaretto                           25. Ashen
12. Deep Cider                        26. Bazaar
13. Vanilla Sky                        27. Niagara
14. Cajun Craze                       28. Rainstorm

(Click on any of the shade names for more details on where you can buy!)

the Matte shades

[Listed in vertical rows starting at top left.]

1. Cloud White
2. Pale Nude
3. Chocolatier
4. Chamois Nude
5. Tuscany
6. Black Berry
7. Persian Peach
8. Coconut Husk
9. Brownstone
10. Pumpkin Pie
11. Kokomo Cafe
12. Olivewood

(Click on any of the shade names for more details on where you can buy!)

Texture is hit or miss, though there are generally more hits than misses

As you can probably tell by just a quick glance at these swatches, the shimmers are the real standouts, especially the darker ones. Most are extremely soft, with the exception of Regalia Purple, which has a slightly firmer, rougher texture and poorer color payoff than the rest. I feel like you can purchase just about any of the shimmers and you won’t be disappointed.

The matte shades are pretty good, though they seem to have overall lower pigmentation levels than most of the shimmers. Most were not completely opaque with one swipe and were somewhat more powdery than the shimmers. They also feel quite dry to the touch, and they don’t have that buttery-smoothness that other matte shadows have. These aren’t the mattes for you if you want a strong, opaque all-matte look. However, they do make awesome transition and blending shades due to their lightly pigmented nature. This is what I typically use mattes for anyway, so I have no complaints.

I recommend getting Pumpkin Pie, Tuscany, Blackberry, and Kokomo Cafe, as I think those are the creamiest ones and have nice pigmentation for my purposes.

Blendability issues interrupt application

While the blendability of the shimmers is fair, there are some colors that just refused to blend to matter what I did. The darker mattes in particular, such as Blackberry and Brownstone, were especially bad. I sat there for what felt like hours going over the edges with a skin toned shadow to disperse the harsh line.

While the blending difficulties threw me for a loop, it wasn’t enough to completely ruin the look. To combat this issue, I recommend applying a good primer to your entire eyelid, all the way up to the brow bone. Ensure the layer is even and well blended. Next, apply a powder that is close to your skin tone all over the primer to eliminate the tackiness. You can use an eyeshadow for this, but I find that using a finely milled loose powder helps create an even more blendable surface on the lid.

Lasting power is fair, as the colors fade and muddy with time

I find that in general, the longevity of the Coastal Scents Hot Pots is not as good as some other shadows I use. While they don’t cling to my eyelids as powerfully, as say, Lorac shadows, their lasting power is by no means unreasonably short, just shorter.

Though this should go without saying, using a good eyelid primer and tacky base is essential for me to wear these because I have very oily eyelids. With other shadows, I tend to use one or the other. If I use my bulletproof Nars Eyeshadow Base, I won’t need to use a cream shadow as well, and visa versa. However, with these I combine two priming methods to get maximum wear time. With no primer, they crease and fade almost instantly, so just don’t do it.

*Note- To combat the blendability issues discussed above, apply your transition shade before applying the cream shadow on top in order to achieve an overall blended look.

A great option for beginners wanting to create an inexpensive custom palette

Would I recommend the Coastal Scents Hot Pots? Well, it depends on who is asking.

If you are someone who already owns a ton of makeup, you’ll probably be disappointed in these. They’re okay, but the quality is just not the same as, say MakeupGeek shadows. Though, if you want just one or two colors for a specific look that you don’t plan on using all the time, then these are decent, inexpensive option.

However, if you are just starting out with makeup and are looking to expand your collection, then I think these are a great starting point. The affordable price, pretty good quality, and large color selection make for the perfect combination for beginners.

That’s all for today!

Want to see these in action? Check out this using Coastal Scents Hot Pots >> Warm Cranberry Thanksgiving Makeup Tutorial

If you found this post interesting, informative, or just plain entertaining, tell me about it in the comments below! And don’t forget, sharing is caring. Share this post!

Do you own any Coastal Scents Hot Pots? What do you think? Also, if you have any questions about any of the specific color mentioned or a request for a tutorial using a specific color, let me know in the comments!

Till next time. ♥︎

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FTC- This post is not sponsored by Coastal Scents. I purchase all items myself. All opinions are my own. Some links may be affiliated.