L’Oreal HIP Studio Secrets Professional Crystal Shadow Duo Review and Swatches
Remember how I was telling you the good word about the L’Oreal Studio Secrets Professional Collection that will be coming atcha this February? It’s already hit the British airwaves and finally we’ll be getting it in the US shortly.
Far be it from the Muse to rejoice in drugstore cosmetics, you know what a snob I am, but I must say I was ever so delighted that the new L’Oreal HIP Studio Secrets Professional Crystal Shadow Duos were available at my local Harmon’s. I ended up snagging all five of the shades because I can’t resist anything that has shimmer and these are just too pretties for words.
Have a little jump to hear my thoughts.
These are a hot mess. OMG fall out all over the face, the cheeks, and even on my chest.
Here’s the deal.
First off let me point you to an interesting development. HIP has now been deemed “HIP Studio Secrets Professional” where as before it sported some mojo about color rich pigments they have now changed the name. I dunno, noticing useless stuff like this makes the Muse curious.
L’Oreal HIP Studio Secrets Professional Crystal Shadow Duos are available in five shades. They may be a little difficult tracking down at first but they are out there. I’ve heard a whisper or two about how they aren’t very different from the metallic range of shadows that HIP has out but personally I think they are pretty different.
The formula is a crazy flaky mess of pigment. Basically it looks like they took some MAC Pigment, one of the flakier ones like Kitschmas, and loosely pressed it. It’s a big old mess but you know what I loves it anyway.
With a little time and patience you can create really pretty looks with these. It seems the base shadow which is used on your lid is the flakier and less pigmented in my experience and the contrasting shade used on the outer V is the one that’s more pigmented and less likely to cause fall out woes.
Some colors are a bit worst than others in terms of formula. For example the Romantic duo seems the flakiest and less pigmented of the five colors, where as Mystical has the least fall out. It seems formula and pigmentation varies from shade to shade.
As I mentioned I got five shades which are as follows:
Charming (Gray and Bluish Purple)
Mystical (Warm Golden Beige and Watery Green)
Romantic (Silvery Gray and Pink)
Precious (White Gold and Penny)
Darling (Beige and Brown)
My favorite shade is Precious as it’s the easier to blend. It creates a really pretty warm look on my eyes.
Overall, they are simply one big mess to work with in terms of blending and fall out but I love them anyway. I think some of the shades are real gems (such as Precious) and worthy of a pick up. If you can’t stand shimmery shades of shadow or just don’t have the patience to deal with major fall out you might want to pass. I think they are kinda the equivalent of trying out a MAC pigment but cheaper and pressed.
Loves ’em. Color me impressed with a drugstore find. Could prove a pain to work with but still worth checking out.
Anyone see these yet?
Do share your thoughts!
Disclosure: The following item was purchased by me for review purposes (and because I like flinging my money at makeup products of any kind) on Musings of a Muse. For further information please see my FTC Guidelines or my Disclosure/Disclaimer posts.