I don't feel like I see a whole lot of reviews of products from the Kevyn Aucoin range and I personally have had a bit of a hit and miss experience with some of the purchases I have made.
But something definitely worth talking about are the Eyeshadow Duos-and I own two of them (both bought from Space NK btw). There are both matte and shimmer duos in the range-I have, as usual plumped for the shimmery formulas. Some of the colour combinations are quite unusual but the two I own are really complimentary to each other.
They are pricey though-£34 for 4.8g product (by comparison NARS duos are £25 for 4g of product). They're housed in a russet red compact with gold trim and a big mirror and the eyeshadow pans do seem substantially larger than their NARS counterpart.
The formula of both are sublime-really buttery and easy to work with, buildable and pigmented and a doddle to blend. I can't speak for the matte shades but the shimmer shades are top notch. (NB Laurzrah tells me the matte ones are also excellent and you can definitely trust her opinion!)
Sugared Peach/Rusted Brown Sugar (also seems to be called Peach/Rust Brown Shimmer but both carry the #210)
A peachy champagne shade which is ridiculously pigmented, next to a warm reddy brown. It's quite a warm duo that would look amazing on brunettes but I think as a blonde with green eyes, the reddy brown really highlights the green in my eyes.
Frosted Jade/Bronze
A cooler toned duo of a mid green with a turquiose-y edge and a medium bronze-this duo would suit everyone. I personally find it easier to wear greens than grays on my eyes and love using green for an evening look. These shades work so nicely together but also look stunning layered over each other.
I am also wearing it here and a lot of people asked what I was wearing on my lids.
So a really glowing review of the Eyeshadow Duos but now a not so glowing review of the Eye Pigment Primatif's which I picked I picked up recently and featured in my Space NK haul .
I should start by saying that I am not a big fan of these mousse-y cream/powder hybrid shadows-I've owned Chanel Illusion D'Ombre and Dior Diorshow Fusion Mono which are very similar. Whilst I do find that these type of shadows are generally very pigmented, last well on the lid and have an almost foil like finish, I also find that they dry out very quickly and the 'usage v price point' isn't justified for something which such a short shelf life.
So I was quite disappointed when I opened the Eye Pigment Primatif and saw that they'd both started to shrink away from the sides of the glass jar, suggesting they were starting to dry out already.
They do have that springy, mousse-y texture that you get from the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre but I have found Horizon barely shows on my eyelid. I apply with either my finger or a flat brush (like a MAC 239) and the colour barely shows, even with several layers. I also find that already the formula is 'balling up' when I swipe it and I don't find it very easy to work with. Titian is much more pigmented and looks bold in the swatch, but the finish on the lid is quite sheer, satin and almost flat as opposed to the complex micro-shimmer and depth I see from something like the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre. Am I saying they're boring? Yes kind of.
They do however make great bases for powder eyeshadow but do I really want to spend £38 on a base shadow I am then going to cover completely in another shadow? No.
So in all, a hit and a miss-and quite an expensive miss at that as I just don't see me reaching for the Eye Pigment Primatif very often at all. When I think back, from the things I have purchased I have overall had more misses than hits-but if you do want to explore the range I suggest you start with the Eyeshadow Duos or the awesome Celestial Powder in Candlelight.
PS-I am thrilled to have been nominated for 'Best International Beauty Blog' in the Bloggers Blog Awards-you can vote for your favourites here. Massive thanks to Hayley from Tea Party Beauty for all her very hard work with these awards!
No comments
Post a Comment