September 13, 2012

Revlon Midnight Express Cream Eye Shadow Palette Review & Swatches

Ahhh here’s the Revlon Midnight Express Cream Eye Shadow Palette ($7.49 at Harmons) that I was discussing today with my earlier post on the Revlon the Shanghai Collection by Gucci Westman for Revlon Fall 2012.

This is a slim line compact that features six shades of cream eyeshadow in a variety of richer jewel hues for Fall. The palette’s focal point is a burgundy wine purple shade topped with a bronze-y copper for lids. I’d never thought combining these two shades would produce such wonderful results. But indeed, the shades work well together for the Fall.

Let’s take a look at this palette!

I should start out by saying I’ve never really liked the Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow Quads that the brand has had around for a while. The Revlon Midnight Express Cream Eye Shadow Palette does have a very similiar formula to these so if you aren’t truly a fan you might want to skip.

I indulged because the Midnight Express Palette is one of those selections of color that just looks stunning together. It features beautiful shades of green, silver, black, copper, white, and burgundy. I can think of any number of looks I could create with these shades that range from a warm Fall look all the way up to a traditional smoky eye. It really is a pretty palette.

On that thought…

I don’t like the formula. It’s just too much of an issue getting it applied correctly and takes some real TLC to get it in place. That’s not to say you won’t love it. I think it’ll prove a toss up. Some people will rave and others will rant it, like me.

The shadows have a thicker face paint feel. They kinda remind me of those little Halloween kits you can get from Wet n Wild, that’s the sort of the consistency you have here. The texture isn’t terribly hydrating so they blend out a little rougher and tugging is involved to get them in place. As I blend I disliked the fact that they would leave behind such a sheer layer of color. They are pigmented but building takes tons of time because as you swipe them on and blend out they end up getting sheerer and sheerer, revealing patches of skin. I used a brush to layer it on for the best intensity and to lightly blend out to avoid the patchiness. I noticed they had a slower dry down time so layering wasn’t too messy or too much of a problem. I’d say you need about five layers of product to get medium coverage on lids and even than the color looks a little weak.

Even with proper prepping and priming they crease horribly within the first hour of wear. A little pat will get them back in order but color fades and doesn’t look nearly as vibrant as original application.

Overall, I really liked the idea of the Revlon Midnight Express Cream Eye Shadow Palette. It’s a rich, warm selection of beautiful Fall shades. It’s the formula and application that’s an issue. It’s really up to you whether or not purchasing it is worth the hassle of actually getting it on your eyes. No denying, I think it will create some fine Fall looks but sadly, the time you need to apply the look and the hassle of worrying about how long it’ll remain in place is a deal breaker.

This palette is available now for a limited time at drugstores.

I got mine at Harmons.

Tried it?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

I purchased this item.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Kiss & Make-up

    It’s really hard to find decent cream eye shadow. And it looks like this one isn’t it either 🙁 My go-to cream eyeshadow is Shiseido’s Shimmering Cream Eye Color.

    • Tammie

      I used to have problems with creme eyeshadow, but I’ve found some that work for me. Here are my favorites, in order from best to meh: Estee Lauder Double Wear, Bobbi Brown, Benefit, MAC, Urban Decay (shadow pencils) and Too Faced.

  • JoElla

    aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh BOOOOOOOOOOOO! I was hoping with Gucci’s name on them they would perform well.

    I wonder how these will work with powder shadows on top?

    • the Muse

      prob messy 🙁 they crease alone with powder I imagine it’ll be not so good :-/

  • auroragyps

    Looks like it’s a good concept, but poor execution. That’s a shame, since I liked the old Revlon creme shadows you mentioned. If this was the same formula, I’d get it for the green shade alone.

  • Jax

    The colors in this kinda remind me of the Camo compact my ex had to use when he was in the Marine Corps lol. This is just more sparkly lol.

  • Stephanie

    Muse, what are you wearing on your lips in these pictures? I’ve been looking for this exact shade of lip color- it’s fabulous on you!

  • JoElla

    Oh man, this product is total crap!! I just used two combos on my eyes (a lovely look that I am thankful only my cats were able to see) and the green/black combo creased and faded in 20 minutes! WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

    I only slapped it on, didn’t use a primer. But still 20 minutes?!

    *sigh*

    Good thing I can return it.

    • the Muse

      I prepped well girl and I got an hour! damn 20 mins?! jeez! yeah 🙁 did you have issues blending!? I just got so much patchiness going on 🙁

      • Ruthless

        I figured it was the same as the old cream eyeshadows, those are awful. But the burgundy is pretty

  • BeautyMaven

    Well dangit! I saw pictures of this collection and was really excited for this palette…. wish they had gone with a velvety powder instead of a cream. Creams refuse to stay on my lids, even with primer. I’m so glad you reviewed this so I can cross it off of my “must find” list, lol!

  • OrangeLipstickBlog

    The colors are realy nice but boooo on the execution. Even in your pictures it looks the color is already bunching up. No good! Thanks for the review so I’ll know to stay away!

    • the Muse

      my pleasure! 🙂 I think you’ll find some folks raving it, I’m glad I got it, but I know I won’t use it that much b/c the formula is rubbish :_/

  • JoElla

    Kinda. The green was really flat and not as pretty in the palette. The gold, very orangy.

    The silver and the pearl.. barely any color payoff. The plum, looks like I has socked in the eye.

    The only hope for this (for my eyes) is maybe smudging the black under my eye.

    Right after I posted how craptastic this is, I removed it, slapped on my elf eye primer and tried again. This is what happened in about the same time frame (20 minute)

    Right eye.. I used the plum color, putting it on, I still got the socked in the eye look. I put on a few layers, at that time, I got a pretty good layer of color. I paired it with the pearl.

    20 minutes in.. major fading. But some chunkly looking glitter left by the pearl.

    Left eye.. tried the green again paired with the gold. The green has faded into a pretty almost watery sage color. One that you can see happening after hours of wear and not 20 minutes! The gold still leaning orangey on me and has some sparkle, not as chunky as the pearl.

    The black smudged under my eye is still there. No fading. This was never a true black but maybe a deep charcole color.

    For me, this is total crap and will be returned later today.

    • the Muse

      UGH awful! I had issues with application as well, saw creasing within an hour and lost it’s vibrancy within the next hour. Had major problems getting it into places, they apply smooth but actually getting a layer of color in place on my eye that was vibrant without skin showing through seemed impossible! 🙁

  • JoElla

    I am a huge fan of Revlon, but boy do these suck big time.

    Perhaps they should try to learn how Mabelline makes the color tats.. They sure could use the help!

  • Tammie

    Products like these always make me wonder how they got past the testing stage or why they think anybody would buy these.

    • Jane

      I honestly think they underestimate the honesty of the internet. I love Revlon, but I will shout from the rooftops my terrible experience with their cream shadows, which are so bad that their continued existence makes me smile.

      • the Muse

        jane i had one a VERY long time ago and couldn’t stand them, purchased this on a whim, had the same experience :-/

      • Tammie

        Even without the internet it only takes one cream shadow purchase to realize how awful they are. I guess they are banking on lots of people buying at least one and not realizing they they can return them…

  • Caitlin

    I have never had a good cream shadow from Revlon. Love the brand overall, but wow do they make some lousy cream shadows.

  • SJG

    I loved the Illuminance shadows with the “old” formula but haven’t gotten any since they “improved” it. You just have to know you are not going to get heavy pigment or super long lasting color – more of a glow. For me the colors are/were so awesome it’s worth it. Oh and I always apply with a finger, never a brush. You need the heat of your skin to warm them.

    This looks great, but the black shadow…I don’t know.

  • Katie

    Wish they’d done the burgundy/wine shade as a sheer but buildable blush and the white shade as a highlighter, both in the Photoready Blush formula, which is nice, and then the four leftover shades in a Colorstay Quad.