NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Loose Pearl Eye Shadow

One of my first foray into loose powder eye shadows are these NYX Ultra Peal Mania Loose Pearl Eye Shadows. I actually started collecting these way before Aube Loose & Line Eyes (liner is okay, but otherwise utter crap), Kate Loose Eye Shadow (more like a loose sparkling top wash), as well as Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Luminous and Sparkling Shadows (actually decent!). In fact, the only loose colors I own before these NYX ones are the True Colors Original Loose Powder Mineral Makeup (these are lovely and I still have them, believe it or not)! 

NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Loose Pearl Eye Shadow. Of all pictures in this post, some are taken indoor with flash and others in natural light without flash. I will note accordingly. The picture below was taken in natural light without flash.

I own all 30 available colors for these Ultra Pearl Mania, and this post contains the first 10 of them with more to follow. I didn't buy all the colors at once. I figured I'd try some first, then get the rest if I like them enough. Gradually, I collected them all, buying several at a time whenever there's a sale. These are currently going for $3 each, so they're very affordable, but I got all of mine for less than $1 each with combined sales and promotions. There hasn't been any new colors released recently, at least not that I know of. I'm also eyeing the newer Chrome Eyeshadows, though for some reason I can't find these on NYX's official website.

NYX Chrome Eyeshadows

***Picture from Cherry Culture.

Anyway, these Ultra Pearl Manias are nice, though being loose powder shadows they come with a big fat warning - they're super messy! Despite the jars having a slightly tapered mouth, more often than not the powder spills anyway as soon as I untwist the lid. But otherwise, the loose powder themselves are very finely milled, blend easily, and are decently pigmented. These are quite well made for their price range, and I've read that pressing them will make them much easier to manage in addition to intensifying their pigmentation and finish. I can't comment on this of course, because obviously I haven't pressed any of mine.

30 Colors available for NYX Ultra Pearl Mania.

***Picture from NYX Cosmetics.

The colors are shimmery, some with slight pearly finish, some with semi metallic finish. They are not perfect, however, I do notice that the finish, especially the metallic ones, tends to lose its brilliance after a short while. For example, the LP09 Lime below, immediately upon application it was fully metallic before dulling a bit after about 30 minutes, becoming only semi-metallic in the end. Also, the white and/or silver shimmers seem to separate from the darker colors, like the LP04 Silver, LP05 Charcoal, and LP06 Black Pearl below. If you look closely at their swatches you'll notice an outer ring that is white and silvery. Then again, this may have been because my Ultra Pearl Mania are already a few years old. For all paired photos below, the left was taken indoor with flash, the right was taken in natural light without flash.

- LP01 Nude: shimmer, low intensity. Not nude but rather a shimmery golden marzipan. It's a base/highlighter but will probably make a nice lid shade too if layered.

- LP02 Pearl: shimmer, low intensity. A cool shell pink with slightly pearly finish. It's a tad more translucent than LP01 Nude and LP03 White. A base/highlighter.

- LP03 White Pearl: shimmer, low intensity. A soft true white with a slightly pearly finish. It's also somewhat opaque for a base/highlighter.

- LP04 Silver: shimmer, low intensity. A grayish silver. A nice crease shade.

- LP05 Charcoal: shimmer, low intensity. Not charcoal but more of a smoky gray that's much sheerer than expected. It makes a good crease shade but may be dark enough to line with if layered.


From left to right: LP01 Nude, LP02 Pearl, LP03 White Pearl, LP04 Silver, and LP05 Charcoal. Swatch picture taken in natural light without flash. See the white shimmer ring on the LP04 Silver and LP05 Charcoal?


- LP06 Black Pearl: shimmer, low intensity. Now this is charcoal, not black, with larger sparkling silver shimmers that can cause major fall out. Again it's much sheerer than expected but at the same time too dark for a crease shade, so it's better for lining.

A comparison between LP06 Black Pearl and LP05 Charcoal. Picture taken indoor with flash. Barely distinguishable in the bottle, no?

- LP07 Fanta: shimmer, medium intensity. An bright orangey coral.

- LP08 Baby Blue: shimmer, very sheer. The swatch was layered, so despite its appearance in the picture, this shade is very sheer. It's a pretty cloud blue with a blue slight iridescent sheen.

- LP09 Lime: semi metallic, low intensity. A close dupe for the grassy lime green Majolica Majorca Shadow Customize GR185, only nowhere as metallic. It was actually a lot more metallic when first applied, but the metallic sheen dulls after a short while. But hey, it's a fraction of the Majolica's price and is readily available.


- LP10 Ocean Blue: shimmer, medium intensity. A bright pool blue. Very pretty!

From left to right: LP06 Black Pearl, LP04 Fanta, LP08 Baby Blue, LP09 Lime, and LP10 Ocean Blue. Swatch picture taken in natural light without flash. The white shimmer ring is slightly less noticeable with LP06 Black Pearl, but it's still there.

My recommendations for this batch? Definitely LP07 Fanta and LP09 Lime!