Revlon Colorstay Smoky Shadow Stick Atomic

Another product review today!  These Revlon eyeshadow sticks were an enormously well received product in 2012, and while I've had it for months, I haven't reviewed it yet. Sorry.

205 Atomic

This is a comparison of Rubenesque paint pot and the gold half of Atomic.  Rubenesque on the left and Atomic on the right.  

I really like this product.  I've never tried it without Too Faced Shadow Insurance, so I don't know how it performs by itself, but it doesn't crease with it and powder on top.  I'm going to compare this product a lot to Rubenesque paint pot, because it's a well known product and it's similar in color.  They both work well, but in different ways.  Paint pots are thicker, so when you layer eyeshadow over them, it adds a very unattractive textural look, especially when it's kind of dried out, like mine is.  But it actually looks pretty on its own.  Atomic goes on thinner and smoother; less pigmented.  It doesn't set quite as quickly either, which makes it easier to pack eyeshadow on. It makes one of my difficult eyeshadows (Inglot 407) actually look good when layered on top!  

This is a duo, though, and the dark green side doesn't work quite as well. I wouldn't use it directly in my crease the way that's recommended.  That may work, I would just never use the product like that.  It's a nice crease color, I just feel like it would be patchy.  I would use it all over the lid, but since it's darker, I don't use that very often.  It's also drier than the other one.  Pulls on your eyelid a little bit.  It's totally usable, just not as much of an everyday color as they other one.

This product is definitely a good option if you don't want to buy Rubenesque paint pot, or something similar.  It's about $8 which would probably be worth the gold half alone if you were to use it all the time. I don't really use it that often, so it's not as worth it to me, but it's definitely a good product when I am using it with 407.  

Would you buy a duo for only half of it?

NYX Glam Shadow Stick in 24 Karat

Have you been liking all of the looks that I've been posting? I love it! But, I also have quite a few product pictures backed up in my folder, so I'm going to do a couple in between looks. Today, we're presenting the NYX Glam Shadow Stick in 24 Karat. It's an eyeshadow stick and as far as NYX goes, it's pretty expensive, retailing at $15, I believe.

I couldn't figure out which swatch was best, so I just chose all of them. 

The bottom one is blurry to show the sparkles!

This is a very interesting product. If you've ever watched my videos, you know that I never just use a primer; I always use a base too. So, I'm a big fan of shadow sticks and the like.  This one interested me, just because of the amazing color. Look at it!

First of all, this is pretty sheer. You could wear it on its own and get a cool color, but the color of your skin would definitely poke out from under it, especially if you're darker, and especially if you blend it out at all. When you blend it out, it disperses into more sparkles and less color.  I really don't think that it's a deal breaker for this product to be sheer, though. I don't mind it at all.

Secondly, this product is not the same as the famous Jumbo Eyeshadow pencils. I think that it stays longer, but I still wouldn't use it without a primer.  I particularly like that it's a wind up instead of having to be sharpened like the Jumbo pencils, because that wastes less product.  Also, this product does wind down when you wind it up, unlike other similar products. That's a big thumbs up.

Overall, I really do like this product. The color is gorgeous, and it's so hard to find a yellow color as vibrant as this, or a yellow at all. My only major grip is the price. It's as expensive as a Mac eyeliner! That's ridiculous!

Would you spend as much money on a drugstore brand item as on a mid-high end item?

China Glaze Harvest Moon

 China Glaze Harvest Moon from the 2012 Hunger Games Capitol Colors Collection.

 

Wow. This color is like MAC Amber Lights Eyeshadow in a bottle.  It is a very bronze foil with yellow, gold and orange tones to it as well.  One of the standouts from the collection.  Since it's called Harvest Moon, I think that it's from district 11, the agriculture district. Sound right? This is two coats of polish, and it's perfectly opaque at that. Very pigmented, very beautiful. Not much else to say.

Have you seen The Hunger Games movie yet? (I haven't.)