NYX Cream Shadow Review & Swatches
NYX has released not one, not two, but 24 shades of Cream Eyeshadow. Phew!
These shimmering, pigmented cream shadows promise all day wear and intense color payoff with a crease free, water resistant formula.
I was excited to check them out to say the least.
Take a look!
Urban Decay released their Cream Shadows back in 2009 and I proceeded to want to throw them out a window. The formula proved difficult to work with but finally after a little TLC during application I proceeded to love them long time.
NYX Cream Shadows suffer a similar fate. You need a little time, patience, caring, and attention when applying these bad boys as they are challenging to blend out and get onto your lid just right. The formula has a slower dry time which is both good and bad as it gives you plenty of time to blend out and build colors up but that “wet” finish does make blending a tad on the difficult side sometimes.
The colors are rich in pigment and have incredibly vibrancy that is simply stunning to say the least. If anything at all you won’t have any complaints about the color pay off here. The jewel-like tones of the colors is simply stunning and each shade has a rather brilliant metallic finish and in some cases, some shades have a super sparkly finish.
Each shadow comes in a tube with a sponge tip application. The best method for application is prime, prime, prime…make sure you have a good, dry surface you’re working on. If your lid is dry already you’re golden but if you’re lid is oily be sure to prep well prior to application as you’ll experience a good deal of creasing if you don’t. Even with a solid eyeshadow primer on I still saw some creasing towards the end of the day. A reader had commented and said the colors flaked on her but I didn’t experience the issue myself. With eye primer I can get through an eight hour period with minor creasing issues around the end of that day and without the primer I see creasing around hour six or seven.
(Chestnut)
(Gold)
(Deep Blue)
(Pink)
(Ice White)
(Copper)
(Silver)
(Oolong Tea)
(Chocolate)
(Musk)
(Pinky Beige)
I found that with each color I had a different experience with application. Some shades blended great but others went on patchy (you’ll see this in a few of my photos below) and I couldn’t get an even layer of color in place. Do use the sponge applicator or a flat head brush of some sort to aid you in getting an even layer of color on your lid. Fingers are great as well but you need to commit yourself to the challenge of getting this into place just right. Chocolate was easy enough for me to apply. It went on smoothly, blended out easily, and allowed me to build the color up to a nice intensity. But Chestnut proved a challenge and applied patchy plus it felt cakey once I did get the desired amount on my lids. I find the most challenging aspect of the shadows is the build up process. Too much and things get cakey, too little and you end up with more of an eye gloss finish with subtle color pay off. The textures of the shadow is quite thick but it sheers out rather quickly while you blend so you do have to build up a few layers to get the best intensity. It is possible to get excellent color pay off but it is a challenge to do so. For my looks below I have at least three to four layers of product in place.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend these as a base product. Use them alone for the best results. I tried loose pigment and shadow on top but it definitely over does things and creasing will happen even faster using other mediums so just stick to using one shade of cream shadow minus any extras outside of eyeliner if you want.
Lighter shades, such as Pinky Beige, proved the most flattering if you prefer lighter more natural colors plus these prove the easiest to apply and blend out. Darker shades such as Chestnut, Oolong Tea, Deep Blue, etc…have the most vibrant color pay off but are also the most challenging to apply.
(Chestnut and Gold)
(Deep Blue, Pink, and Ice White)
(Oolong Tea, Silver, and Copper)
(Chocolate, Musk, and Pinky Beige)
Overall, the NYX Cream Shadows are a steal at $5. The formula is suburb in terms of pigmentation but they are a challenge and you have to be willing to commit yourself to the task of application in order to really enjoy them. These need a little time and patience to apply for the best results and can’t be rushed. Not everyone is going to love them particularly folks who typical don’t enjoy using cream eyeshadows or those who have oily lids. I personally loved how intense they were but I’m actually looking forward to indulging in some of the lighter shades like Suede and Frost Beige. I don’t love the amount of time and effort that goes into application but I can’t deny that the results are pretty incredible when I do take the time out to apply these correctly.
(Pinky Beige)
(Oolong Tea)
(Chestnut)
(Chocolate)
Anyone try ’em?
Do share your thoughts!
Available now at www.nyxcosmetics.com