For the Lazy and/or Layerer: Eyeshadow Sticks

The "My Collection" page on the blog is about half unreviewed products, so I'm going to make a concerted effort to try and talk about some pretty things! I've culled my stash several times over the past year, getting rid of things that no longer work or that don't get the love they deserve, and at this point, I'm pretty happy. I think I've still got a couple purging cycles left (and don't even get me started on my closet), but the effort of trying to decide what to discard is more than I feel like putting forth right now!

I have a zillion "new" lippies (some of which I've had more than a year, hence the scare quotes) and I don't really know where to start, so instead, I'm going to talk about cream eyeshadow! Yay! Eyeshadow!

Clockwise from top left: Laura Mercier Sugar Frost*, Mally Champagne,
Rimmel Bulletproof Beige*, Laura Mercier Rose Gold*, Laura Mercier Khaki,
Laura Mercier Pink Opal*, Boots No7 Cool Mink, BECCA Romanticism*,
Sephora+Pantone Tuscany

I've found that I really adore eyeshadow sticks (it's like drawing on yourself!), and between the generosity of friends and some fortuitous sales, my stash has grown considerably. I now own 7, plus two liquid eyeshadows, which, while slightly less convenient, serve a similar purpose: they work great as quick washes or as bases underneath powder (the "lazy" and "layerer" from the title, respectively).

The shadow sticks are:

Laura Mercier Sugar Frost, Mally Champagne, Rimmel Bulletproof Beige, Laura Mercier Rose Gold, Boots No7 Cool Mink, Laura Mercier Pink Opal, Laura Mercier Khaki

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Sugar Frost*: Glittery beige
Mally Evercolor Shadow Stick Champagne: Sparkly warm beige-gold
Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Stick Bulletproof Beige*: Shimmery light gold
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Rose Gold*: Shimmery rose gold
Boots No7 Stay Perfect Shade & Define Cool Mink: Shimmery cool light brown-taupe
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Pink Opal*: Sparkly light pink
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Khaki: Shimmery greenish brown

same order, different angle

Sugar Frost and Champagne are really similar, in color, pigmentation, and performance, and you probably don't need both; Rose Gold is darker and pinker than Bulletproof Beige, and they do look different on my eyes, but may not depending on your skintone. You can see from the swatches that some of them are really sparkly, with distinct glitters (Sugar Frost, Champagne, Pink Opal), whereas others are shimmery and more opaque (Bulletproof Beige, Rose Gold, Cool Mink, Khaki). I apply the glitter ones all over the lid and do not blend, because I find doing so removes a lot of the sparkle (and I am all about that sparkle, y'all), whereas the shimmery ones I do take the extra step to blend out, as it makes them more even. If you like blingy eyes, the glittery cream shadows are amazing, because they're a cinch to apply, last all day, and have no fallout whatsoever (seriously, none, and the effect is so pretty!!). The shimmery ones are better if you don't like glitter or prefer to use your cream shadows as a base for powders (though the glitters do work for that, I usually don't use them because it dulls the sparkle); they're lovely on their own, too, but they excel at adding complexity to powder eyeshadow. All of these except the Rimmel are twist-up, and Cool Mink comes with a sharpener and can be used as an eyeliner or shadow stick, but I only use it as the latter and am looking forward to the point being worn down.

And the liquids:

Sephora+Pantone Light Storm Liquid Eyeshadow Tuscany**: Very shimmery purpley taupe
BECCA Eye Tint Romanticism*: Matte lavender

I only have two liquid eyeshadows, but they're both very pretty; Tuscany is the only one of these that I can wear on bare lids all day without creasing or fading (if your lids are less oily, you could get away with using the others straight, but I layer them over UDPP), and it's a really pretty duochrome purple-taupe. It was unfortunately LE, and I wish Sephora would bring back the formula, because it works really well for me. I treat Tuscany like the glittery cream sticks and usually wear it solo, or perhaps with a matte grey in the crease. The BECCA is matte and less opaque, but it's lovely for brightening up the eye (and layering under purple shadows), and you only need a tiny (no, less than that) amount. The BECCA is more liquidy, though it is still viscous, while Tuscany has dried out some and is a moussey cream now.

I prefer the cream shadow stick format to liquid just because it's easier to apply, and I am supremely lazy, but neither is remotely difficult. I know some people don't like the sheerer glittery shades, and I will concede the texture can be grittier, but I just love the sparkliness so much. The shimmery LM Caviar Sticks have the smoothest, creamiest texture (and it is truly magnificent), but the Boots and Rimmel are both perfectly lovely. I am very happy with all of them, and will gladly add more to my stash (I'm coveting LM Grey Pearl and Orchid, for example) once I find a good sale/stash of cash.

In the process of getting prices and amounts for these, I have discovered that companies really fudge a lot with ounces (usually only given out to the second decimal place); the gram measurements are more precise, as a whole gram is only ~1/30 of an ounce. I have listed the grams and ounces for each according to the packaging, along with the ounces out to two significant figures if different than listed. The most irritating thing is that some round up while others round down: Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks are 1.64 g and claim 0.05 oz^, whereas Mally Evercolor Shadow Sticks are 1.6 g and claim 0.06 oz. WHY?! Yet another reason we should switch to the metric system, I guess. (I also just realized that now all oz product claims are suspect. Sigh.)

Purchase information:

BECCA Eye Tints: $24.00 for 7 ml / 0.24 fl oz at Sephora, Ulta, and BECCA 

Boots No7 Stay Perfect Shade & Define: $9.99 for 1.4 g / 0.04 (0.049) oz at Drugstore.com, Target

Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks: $28.00 for 1.64 g / 0.05 (0.058) oz at Sephora, Laura Mercier, Nordstrom, SpaceNK, among others; the mini size (part of kits) is 1.00 g / 0.03 (0.035) oz

Mally Evercolor Shadow Stick: $25.00 for 1.6 g / 0.06 (0.056) oz at Ulta, Mally, Beauty.com

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Sticks: ~$4.49 for 3.25 g / 0.11 oz at Ulta, Drugstore.com, and drugstores

Phewf! I will work on taking pictures of EOTDs using some of these, if y'all are interested in seeing them in action. And one last shot of all of them in a row:

L to R: Laura Mercier Sugar Frost, Mally Champagne, Rimmel Bulletproof Beige, Laura Mercier Rose Gold, Boots No7 Cool Mink, Laura Mercier Pink Opal, Laura Mercier Khaki, Sephora+Pantone Tuscany, BECCA Romanticism

Do you like cream shadows? And do you have any favorites? How do you like to use them? I don't have any potted cream shadows, but am not strictly averse to the concept, so if you have any suggestions, I'm interested!

*Gifts from lovely ladies
**Discontinued
^At least, my full size packaging does; The LM site lists them as 1.64 g/0.058 oz; Sephora and Nordstrom say they are 0.05 oz, and SpaceNK says 0.06 oz. Even the same product isn't consistent!