Danessa Myricks - Lightwork VII Freedom Palette
If this your first eyeshadow palette or a prized addition to your collection, I'd say it would be difficult to be disappointed with this purchase
I'll admit, I fell off the beauty wagon long enough to completely miss the initial launch and rise of Danessa Myricks. She's now a leader in the creative beauty space and as a person, a treasure of the beauty community. We're now looking at Lightwork VII (seven for those of us who slept through Roman history,) and third in the "Freedom" series. If you are unfamiliar with the Lightwork series, they are eyeshadow palettes released typically on an annual basis that feature highly coveted multi chrome and other creative pigments. Also noteworthy is that these palettes sell out and are not restocked. Lightwork release have always been limited edition and once they are gone they are gone.
If you love makeup you can often see when someone has a Danessa Lightwork shadow on their eyes, making these often pricy palettes worth the splurge (supposedly, this is the first one I've owned but I've seen what they can do.)
The Danessa Myricks brand speaks to me personally because of how the user is encouraged to explore the edges of their creativity for self expression. The products are often labels as "face and eye" instead of just "eyeshadow" or "blush." The user is encouraged to play and try new ways of using the same old. Also unique to the brand in support of artistry is the DMB University which features free and paid online makeup artist lessons.
Value Breakdown
$128 for 18 Shadows = $7.11 per Shade.
10 Different finishes, really cool packaging. See image below.
This is on the pricy side, yes. It also might be more colors than you asked for. Earlier in 2025 there was a mini Freedom Pastel Dream palette released which, works with this "Freedom" system. The Freedom system was first seen in Lightwork VI and was the first time a creator made a large eye shadow palette that could be condensed into a smaller palette. You can also rearrange each individual pan to create your own custom palettes. All Freedom style palettes are interchangeable with each other for ultimate customization. The Freedom system uses magnets to make the trays easily removable. This component alone I fee adds tremendous value to the Lightwork VII palette and the Freedom series in general.
The amount of care taken in protecting this product during transit I felt was noteworthy. Outer box included two layers of bubble wrap, the palette itself was protected by an inner box protector and thin cardboard box, on top of another bubble wrap layer. Front case of the palette was protected by a clear film and under the lid was another thin layer of foam and stiff clear protective plastic over the pigments. After unboxing I took a step back and was like, oh wow, that was a lot of packaging....but you know what, nothing was broken and there was less waste than if I need to return this and have it replaced with a new one. We win some we lose some.
Images of some of the unboxing including clear protective film on platte casing, magnetic travel bag, double inner box protected with bubble wrap. Would have taken a major disaster to damage this is transit.
You're paying for the packaging innovation but the formulas are also worth their weight. You can even remove and reorganize each individual shade. This allows you to fully customize the palette.
Danessa Myricks is know for releasing some of the most advanced formulas working with exclusive factories, making these pigments difficult to replicate. So, you're also paying for the development behind the scenes as well as the packaging component, hence the $128 USD price tag.
Swatches
There was drama over the Lightwork VII release because, the Lightwork VI was all special shades. This year we're seeing matte shades in the Lightwork series which is giving Groundwork but, I'm fine with it. To me, a cohesive palette needs mattes. As a consumer I want to be able to complete an entire look without reaching for multiple palettes and, I find mattes an essential part of the process.
Shade names are noted on the back of the palette as well as on the back outer box. You might typically be accustomed to shade names being printed directly under the shade in the platte but, since this is a Freedom system and each pan can be removed and rearranged that's not the case here. Instead shade names are included on the bottom of the pan. Wonder if we'll see single Freedom pans for sale in the future?
Golden Child - Iridescent golden topper (Elastin Multichrome)
Warmth - Bronze shimmer (Elastin Sheer Metallics)
Sand - Matte beige (Soft Touch Color Accurate Matte)
Enchanted - Shimmer forest green (Hypershine Metallic)
Rooted - Matte coca (Soft Touch Color Accurate Matte)
Mother Earth - Blue green metallic (Velvet Chrome)
Love Potion - Pink purple irridecent topper (Elastin Multichrome)
Wish - Champagne shimmer (Elastin Sheer Metallics)
Guiding Light - Silver gold metallic (Foil Flakes Metallic)
Spellbound - Purple pink duo chrome (Hypershine chrome metallic)
Toasted - Matte tan (Soft Touch Color Accurate Matte)
Open Heart - Purple, pink, gold multi chrome (Foil Flakes Chrome)
Northern Lights - Champaign silver gold shimmer (Velvet Metallic)
Dreamer - Iridescent blue topper (Chrome Topper)
Magic Moon - Matte grey (Soft Touch Color Accurate Matte)
Mother's Love - Metallic blue (Hypershine Metallic)
Grounded - Matte black (Soft Touch Color Accurate Matte)
Star Power - Metallic silver (Hypershine Metallic)
Performance
These pigments are fun and easy to work with. Like most special shades these also apply better with the use of a finger or silicone applicator. Matte shades have an effortless blend that softens at the edges with little effort. Difficulties may include minor fallout and product control with special shades but, otherwise a very enjoyable experience.
Ingredients
The Danessa Myricks Lightwork VII palette is vegan, if that’s important to you. Here are also some other ingredients that caught my attention.
Looking at the INCI list for this product we see a good balance of "natural" and synthetic ingredients.
Kaolin: This is a really interesting clay product used in skincare, this is likely an oil absorbing base for the matte shades.
Magnesium Myristate: It's a fatty acid that helps the pigments stick to the skin better. This would contribute to longer wear in combination to the oil absorbing bases of silica and mica used in these pigments.
Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate / Calcium Sodium Borosilicate: Borosilicate is glass! There's literally tiny particles of glass in these which help give intense reflective and colored shimmer properties. Borosilicate is the gold standard when it comes to glass and what is used to create high quality glassware. I think it's really interesting to see this used in an eyeshadow.
There are some ingredients like Petrolatum and Colorants (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1) that might be red flags for some. This is not marketed as a "clean" product but, so long as you are not eating the pigments you should be fine (?).
Overall Thoughts
If this your first eyeshadow palette or a prized addition to your collection, I'd say it would be difficult to be disappointed with this purchase. Being able to rearrange the color story and condense the large palette into a travel friendly size greatly increases this palette's worth.
I like the pre-set color stories but I can see how creatively this could stifle idea generation. I do see myself moving around shades for inspiration and discovering new color combinations.
A minor critique I do wish one of the matte browns was a bit deeper to be used as a high contrast liner like the black shade but, maybe one day we'll be able to purchase individual pans I can make that dream come true.
