Review: Edward Bess palette in Back to Basics

Back to Basics ($75), the name truly describes the palette itself. Simple, natural yet sophisticated and chic. It is incredibly user-friendly. The colors are elegantly coordinated by mixing neutrals, warm, cool and a touch of mauve and pink. From left to right, you have (click on the image to enlarge)

- The Cheek and Lip color is mauvy brown that (comparable to Compact Rouge) is creamy, long-wearing, natural. I don't own any Compact Rouge (yet), so I can't tell if the Check and Lipcolor included in Back to Basics equals the Compact Rouge. 

- The highlighter, a medium rose with fleck of pink shimmer, is slightly smaller than All Over Seduction (0.07 oz compared to 0.08 oz). It's smooth, long-wearing, very pretty but not as delicate and luxurious as All Over Seduction. 

- The 4 eyeshadows (a satin ivory, a satin champagne, a satin pinkish tan and a satin medium brown) are highly pigmented, buildable and silky but a tad less even than his regular eyeshadows. 

- The two lipglosses (a peach and a rosy) are sheer, non-sticky and stays put. 

All colors of this palette are new to the line so rest assured that you won't get anything repetitive from the permanent Edward Bess line. I think this is, particularly, a big plus when you splurge $75 on a single product, you'd want to make the best out of it. The highlighters of Back to Basics and Berry Chic differ from each other (although share pink shimmer and undertone) and from Sunlight and Afterglow. 

Gaia of The Non-Blonde and Sabrina of The Beauty Look Book agreed that on the glosses are the weakest link of this palette. Given that I expected the glosses are on the sheer side and sticky as Nude Satin, I'm gladly surprised that they're actually non sticky and stay on just as long. My least favorite is the highlighter. Edward sets the bar sky high with Sunglight and Afterglow. Even though the highlighter looks pretty and has very good quality, it's not as great as Sunlight and Afterglow.

Back to Basics is housed in a more than a sturdy and sleek case. It comes with a practically large mirror and a high quality double-ended brush, one for eyeshadow and the other for cream products. When I saw the palette mixing cream and powder products without a separate covers, I was concerned that the powder would get all over. Actually, the wells are deep and thick enough to divide the products. After 2 months of careful use, I haven't detect any cross pollination. Bravo Edward!

I half expected this all-in-one palette to have a lower quality than Edward Bess regular line. It was such a nice surprise that it didn't follow some other quickly produced palettes of this season and past (like Bobbi Brown's or Dior's). Now, 75 bucks might sound hefty. Considering how much products of great quality this palette has to offer, I'd say it's a good deal.

Bottom line.  Truly fool-proof. Easy to work with. Well-edited. Chic. Perfect for clean, fresh and youthful looks. Worth every penny. What else can we ask for? Edward impresses us again!