I've read all the less than stellar reviews for these Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion Luminizing Eyeshadow and got curious, wanting to try them for myself. After all, they don't look half bad in the bad, and plus some of the negative reviews did say that at least the sparkly top wash (at top) was redeeming. Hey, if someone says a sparkly top is the redeeming point of an eye shadow palette, I'm getting it. Out of the 5 variations available, I picked 2 palettes, 05 Caffeine Rush and 25 Pink Punch. I haven't used these yet, so this is a preview post.
To be honest I actually had a hard time deciding which palette to get. I definitely wanted the 05 Caffeine Rush and 25 Pink Punch, but it wasn't cut and dry that I didn't like the other 3 either. In fact, the only color I didn't like in 10 Amethyst Ablaze is that bright peri wrinkle, for 15 Forest Fury it's that bright limy green, and for 20 Blue Blowout it's also the bright neon pool blue. But in the end I figured I better try out just two first and then go back for the others if I like them enough.
05 Caffeine Rush and 25 Pink Punch. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.
I can see why some people hate these. The pigmentation is totally inconsistent from one palette to another. For the 2 palettes I have, the 05 Caffeine Rush is decently pigmented while the 25 Pink Punch is so sheer I had to layer its swatches a few times to get the colors to show up well. If I were the person who bought only 1 palette and it happened to be 25 Pink Punch, I'd hate these too. Good thing I bought 05 Caffeine Rush too, because I had something else to compare to.
I've also read that some of the colors in the other 3 palettes are patchy, but during swatching I didn't see any patchiness with mine. Texture wise they're surprisingly smooth and fine, though not as buttery as eye shadows can get. But that sparkly top wash, gosh I love me some sparklies ^.^ Actually, the sparkly top washes in these palettes are some of the prettiest I've seen as they are so sparkly they have this "wet diamond" effect. I'm impressed! Now if they would keep going in that direction, things would get much more interesting, no?
- 05 Caffeine Rush: a taupe brown palette that's pretty neutral save for that peach nude color on the left. When I first swatched this, I thought, how can they call this sheer? This palette is not sheer at all! It's decently pigmented, at least more so than 25 Pink Punch. Love, love, love the sparkly top wash!
- Top: sparkling top wash, high shimmer, very sheer. A gorgeous golden champagne.
- Middle: liner shade, satin, high intensity. A nice chocolate brown.
- Left: lid shade, satin, low intensity. A warm peachy nude color.
- Right: medium crease shade, shimmer, medium intensity. A very pretty taupe, I do wish it had a more metallic finish but otherwise it's pretty.
- Bottom: base/highlighter, satiny pearl, low intensity. A pearly ivory.
- 25 Pink Punch: a sheer but still pretty pink violet palette. Let's just say the swatches were done heavily and even then, the liner shade is neither dark or pigmented enough to be used for lining. But I totally agree with the folks out there who think the sparkly top wash is the palette's redeeming feature.
- Top: sparkling top wash, high shimmer, very sheer. Looks white but does have a wet pink sheen.
- Middle: liner shade, satin, low intensity. A muted wine color that's pretty but unfortunately sheer. I have other liners I can use of course, so this will be a crease shade instead, not entirely a waste I suppose.
- Left: lid shade, satin, low intensity. A bright bubblegum pink.
- Right: medium crease shade, shimmer, medium intensity. A muted violet with some mauve.
- Bottom: base/highlighter, satiny pearl, low intensity. Appears a pale pearly cooler pink in the pan but goes on me a pretty pearly lilac.
Sneak peek for next time - the US vs. Japanese release ^.^ Oh yes, they have these palettes here too, and in much much more interesting color combos xD
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