Lunasol Vivid Clear Eyes

After the detour that was Lunasol Three-Dimensional Eyes, I was back on the prowl for Maquillage True Eyeshadows, and was promptly derailed again -.-" Guess who done it? Yep, Lunasol. Again. This time with Vivid Clear Eyes.

I mean, can you blame me? Not only these quints look similar, I would actually get a lot more color from Lunasol, a full pan each for the medium and liner shades, and a split pan for the lid and accent shades. Whereas with Maquillage, there are two pans of highlighter and sparkling top wash, a smaller pan of lid shade, and a split pan of medium crease and liner shades. Sold.

Lunasol Vivid Clear Eyes released spring 2013 versus Maquillage True Eyeshadows released summer of the same year. Looks like someone's a copycat :P

 Screencaps from Lunasol-net and Maquillage JP.

I did my research before taking the plunge with Lunasol. It seems out of 5 palettes available for the Vivid Clear Eyes and its beige theme (yes, beige again, but I don't mind at all, you'll see why below ^.^), two are much more pigmented than the rest, 04 Khaki Beige and 05 Pink Beige. So I picked them up along with EX01 Bronze Brown which was a summer 2013 limited edition.

Vivid Clear Eyes in EX01 Bronze Brown, 04 Khaki Beige, and 05 Pink Beige. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

So, do I regret my choice of going with Lunasol instead of Maquillage? Are you kidding? Quite the opposite! Holy crap these Vivid Clear Eyes are phenomenal! They really knocked my socks off with their buttery texture, high pigmentation, and metallic finishes. Wow! I'm really tempted to try the other palettes in this line as well, but having read that they're not as pigmented, I'll exercise some self-restraint (or not...) and savor these instead. I'm really tempted to get backups but I probably won't, as I'll never hit pan with these to begin with. The packaging is the same as the Three Dimensional Eyes, so I won't describe it again.

Suffice to say I'm officially in love with Lunasol. I was so impressed I already looked into their other popular eye shadows, "sampling" one palette whichever still available (surprisingly a lot are!): Lighting for Eyes from 2005 in 04 Neutral, Geminate Eyes from 2007 in 01 CE (Cat's Eyes), Nature Color Eyes from spring 2010 in 04 Nature Beige, Aurorized Eyes from fall 2010 in 05 Contrast Variation, as well as 15th Anniversary Summer Eyes from summer 2014 in EX01 Cool Beige Collection, and the most recent Party Coffret winter 2014! Suffice to say I went a little batty there, just a little xD I haven't been this excited over a Japanese brand for a while!

- EX01 Bronze Brown: I went back and forth deliberating this palette for a while, but I'm so so so glad I went for it. It's a gorgeous bronze brown palette just as named, very typical of Japanese eye shadows, if not even a little boring. But I absolutely love it! I guess that makes me boring but I don't care :P I've worn these colors several times now and was pleased with the results every single time. The brown Lunasol overspray disappeared after the first use.

Clockwise from top left:

- Base/highlighter: semi metallic, low intensity. A beige cream.

- Lid shade: metallic, medium intensity. A lovely metallic beige that's just perfect on its own.

- Sparkling top wash: high shimmer, very sheer. Can you imagine a green-tinted lemony yellow sparkling top wash? Enough said. *drools*

- Liner shade: shimmer, high intensity. A dark chocolate that's warmer in the pan but more neutral on me. Makes a great liner!

- Medium crease shade: metallic, high intensity. A gorgeous and pigmented metallic golden bronze. When I wear the beige above all over my lid and dab this bronze shade into the outer corner, it adds instant and flattering depth to my eyes. Love!

It's hard to believe but the 04 Khaki Beige and 05 Pink Beige palettes below are even more pigmented than the limited edition EX01 Bronze Brown above. And despite being warm-looking, they're both neutral versus the EX01 that's definitely warm (but absolutely wearable!). Before I got them in the mail I had guessed that the upper right pan would contain a sparkling top wash, but I was correct only with the green-tinted lemony top wash in EX01. These 04 and 05 palettes actually don't have a top wash at all. The strip of color in the top right there is in fact an accent color, and a very pigmented one at that! Woot!!!

- 04 Khaki Beige: a gold khaki combination and I honestly cannot pick a favorite among these 3 palettes I have. That says a lot, because it's very rare that I equally love everything I got, rare but not impossible, I guess ^.^

Clockwise from top left:

- Base/highlighter: shimmery pearl, low intensity. A cream with a pearly gold sheen that's more pigmented than the base/highlighter in EX01.

- Lid shade: metallic, medium intensity. A metallic champagne, again perfect on its own.

- Accent shade: metallic, high intensity. A pigmented metallic 18K gold. My jaw dropped the moment I swatched it. OMG swoon! You bet it can be worn all over the lid or on the crease.

- Liner shade: shimmer, high intensity. A deep olived brown with gold shimmers, another lovely liner.

- Medium crease shade: metallic, high intensity. More like antique gold instead of khaki, but may be it's just me. Either way, it's beautiful.

- 05 Pink Beige: a pink beige palette, true to its name. But don't let the mundane name pink beige fool you. This palette is anything but boring in my humble opinion, thanks to the pink-tinted taupe accent and the golden pink medium crease shades.

Clockwise from top left:

- Base/highlighter: shimmery pearl, medium intensity. An off white with a pearly sheen that's the most pigmented base/highlighter of all 3 palettes.

- Lid shade: metallic, medium intensity. A metallic pink-tinted cream, yet again perfect on its own despite being on the lighter side. 

- Accent shade: metallic, high intensity. A pigmented metallic pink-tinted taupe. Lovely!

- Liner shade: shimmer, high intensity. This liner shade is interesting, it's a deep pink chocolate with gold shimmers and a tinge of olive, rendering it surprisingly neutral on me. I was dead sure it would be warm but nope, it's neutral.

- Medium crease shade: metallic, medium intensity. A semi translucent but pigmented metallic pink gold, sooooooooo pretty!