Maybelline Expert Wear Luminous Lights Eyeshadow Quad Review & Swatches
Maybelline Expert Wear Luminous Lights Eyeshadow Quads are a new range of shadow palettes from the brand available in four shades. At a glance these were an exciting launch as they looked like something you’d seeing coming out of Asia.
The palettes are portrayed as a shimmery shade selection in promo images that offer a luminous finish to eyes. I think Maybelline successfully captured “luminous” here but the formula might not be everyone’s bag.
Take a look!
These palettes are available in four shade variations at $3.99-$5.99 each depending where you purchase. Each contains a base, lid, crease, and liner color.
I appreciate the fact that Maybelline labeled each shade and included a mini diagram and instructions for application on the back of each compact however, I was disappointed that the “label” of each disappears when you stroke a brush across it. Thankfully the instructions on the back remain forever.
These are portrayed as a shimmery shadow in promo images but they come across as more of a frost. All four shade selections offered have an array of lighter more pastel shades of color so these aren’t bold, vibrant looks you’ll be creating with the colors included.
I think the idea and marketing behind the quads does exactly what it promises. The shades give a luminous, bright, ethereal glow to eyes. It can be a pretty look but it can also turn out quite frosty and a bit too sparkly in some cases.
The formula is a loosely packed powder with a chalkier texture that applies with a good deal of frost. There isn’t any real sparkle here so you aren’t looking at chunks of glitter or sparkle bits in the shadow formula however, they do apply frosty which gives them the appearance of a sparkly finish.
The looser texture of the shadows means you’ll have to contend with a good deal of fall our during application particularly when using a bushy brush for application so I do highly suggest packing shades on with the included sponge applicators. All the shades in the quad, right down to the liner color, are very sheer with minimal color pay off. I had a very difficult time getting any real contrast when using the lid and crease colors and felt like they blended together to create a single shade without any real definition. The liner shade, although deeper, also proved rather sheer and you couldn’t technically see I had any liner on at all after completing a look.
Rose Lights
Gold Lights
On the upside, they really do have a rather nice glow on my eyes but the frost factor isn’t something I favor and I feel like it makes my rounder face even more fuller. They do brighten and create a more natural, “I barely have makeup on look” however, the shades won’t prove friendly for many skin tones and some folks will feel the pastels wash them out.
Overall, I wasn’t really all that keen on these but I notice that many Expert Wear Quads seem to end up frosty somehow so this isn’t a terribly great surprise.
I imagine these will become part of the standard line but I’m not sure. Maybelline doesn’t mention if they are or aren’t limited edition on the display.
I personally didn’t like them but I think they might appeal to a few select users that enjoy pastels or frost finishes.
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