The quality of the palettes themselves is not bad. The packaging used for shipment, I think they can do better as the products are marketed as higher-end--I've seen Etsy vendors sending out bundles of cheap eye colors in better, more protective packaging while still keeping things attractive. That being said, I think Em is expensive for the target demographic of teens and young college-age women. For a more mature career woman who routinely buys higher-end cosmetics, Em has a price point on par with department stores; I don't find it prohibitively expensive myself, but then I'm in my late 40s and a Life Palette (should I choose to buy one--I'm not much of an eyeshadow person so I have little need for one) would not cost half a paycheck. For the college student working part time flipping burgers, however, it might be too much. I think the minds behind L'Oreal have essentially a good idea, but poorly executed. Were I marketing these products I'd scrap the idea of the big Life Palette altogether, except perhaps as a special edition offered a few times a year, and concentrate instead on the smaller and more manageable ones (I think they're called Moment Palettes?) I believe that they would better meet the needs of the young women who are being targeted by Marketing and R&D, both in terms of practicality and budget.
/emoticons/
