If i ever decide to abandon my current 'career' and become a makeup artist, then i'd probably purchase several high-end eye shadows i have tried in the past- you know, as a necessity of my pro kit. Until then, i found out i simply don't need them-my favorite eyeshadows are drugstore. So if you expected something like MAC or NARS, you might as well search for the multitude of blogs full of swatches and photos. Sometimes being versatile on a budget is quite fun and beautiful at the same time.
I'll very soon blog about my experience with MAC products tested and purchased here in Sweden (It was a complete disappointment, by the way). However, now i just wanted to share some of my prettiest eyeshadows i wear on a daily basis as the nude lover that i am.
They are the Isadora palettes (quads) in 20 Classic Brown and 31 Gold.
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| Mattes: Classic Brown (flash) |
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| Classic Brown (no flash) |
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| Flash |
The 20 palette is the ultimate mini-collection of everything nude you'll ever need. It has four brown-based colors- a light, creamy beige, a cork-ish brown, a medium-toned chocolate brown with no orange/red undertones and a taupe-ish darker brown with a bit of finely milled glitter. They're all mattes except for the fourth one. I use this palette perhaps every day; first discovered it in my friend's beauty kit, it was all abandoned and forgotten (my friend is a blues, greens and pinks person), got it as a gift from her and the next day i ran to the store and got myself a brand new back up. The colors are also sold in double shades, so if you're interested in two shades only you can purchase them separately.
My favorite part about these shadows- they are very pigmented. I definitely think this is an Isadora thing- all their powder-based products, whether they're bronzers, blushers, face powders or eye shadows are very pigmented and creamy in the sense of fine consistency. Perhaps the only eye shadows i ever tried and came close to resembling these ones' pigmentation and softness are the Chanel singles- but for €30 a pop, i'd much rather go with my Isadora and be absolutely happy.
(Notice how the shadow got all over the fuzz on my skin-they have a really fine, satin consistency that feels creamy on the skin)
Another point would be that it's incredibly difficult to find matte drugstore eyeshadows. One and a half years ago it was 100% impossible, at least in Sweden. Plus, most of the high-end products were also 99% shimmery/frosted. I seriously believe this quad can successfully dupe many high-end shades- i've stopped at several MAC eyeshadows- just imagine all of them were mattes. Here you have the baptized Isadora mattes:
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| Flash |
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| Nylon |
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| Arena |
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| Cross Cultural |
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| Romp |
Keeping in mind my camera didn't manage to capture the exact shades (especially the lightest one), i think all of them can work as dupes for the aforementioned shades if used at their full potential (think about a swatch or a medium-hand; a light layer would probably not bring out the entire potential of the shades and pigmentation as in the MAC ones). In flash photography the shades look lighter. Also, the Isadora bottom right is a bit glittery whereas Romp is not.
31 Gold quad
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| No flash. First row-pearly white and cobalt brown |
This is a typical 'golden' eyeshadow quad, not necessarily a lot different from many drugstore brands out there- Maybelline's Chai Latte, Rimmel London or L'Oreal quads.
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| L'Oreal Open Eyes Chrome Intensity quad-image from plusizekitten.com |
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| Rimmel London Walnut Pearls-image from chemistdirect.co.uk |
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| Rimmel Glam Eyes Mono Eyeshadow in Spicy Bronze-image from makeupandbeautyblog.com |
Therefore given this universality there's no need to go purchase something else in this chromatic family. Perhaps the Rimmel Mono would be a cool addition since it looks like a beautiful champagne shimmer but Rimmel has been discontinued in most Swedish drugstores/perfumeries so yep.
...my point being that these are the only brown palettes/shadows i need for my everyday nude/neutral cravings, whether it's for a satiny finish or a natural/dramatic matte dichotomy. Most people already own a ton of drugstore eyeshadows 90% similar to these, but the mattes are truly a find and i personally recommend them as high quality eye shadows.
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