Not to long ago I posted a review of that Maybelline Color Explosion Pink Punch palette and didn't really care for it... Yet, for some reason I decided to buy all but one of the Color Explosion palettes anyway? Okay, it was for the awesome glitter, but still... stupid decision. Anyway, here's another one of the Maybelline Color Explosion palettes- this one's called Amethyst Ablazed.
I used the light shade on the inner lid, medium shade on the rest of lid and in the crease and on the lower lashline and the glitter on the center and inner lid with Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy.
This palette is slightly better than the Pink Punch in terms of color payoff, but I still don't think it's good. It's patchy as hell no matter what primer I use it over and the colors just don't want to stick to the skin or blend at all. You can see how patchy it looks on my eye up there. The glitter is really the best part of this palette. It's amazing; it has silver and pink and blue and purple and it goes well with pretty much anything... So at least the $10 I spent on this palette isn't a total waste.
This is honestly some of the worst quality drugstore shadow I've used in years. After my shockingly good experiences with Wet n Wild and L'Oreal HIP, I had assumed that all drugstore brands had improved their formulas, but I guess I was wrong!
But, if you think the Maybelline palette is beautiful, take a look at this...
This is the Lancôme Color Design palette in Amethyst Glam. They look pretty similar, don't they? In fact, all the Maybelline Color Explosion palettes seem like dupes of the Lancôme Color Design palettes. Except... the Lancôme palette rocks. Sure, it's like $30 more than the Maybelline, but it actually is good instead of just looking good.
Ah, well... at least I'll get a lot of use out of the glitter. Should I even bother reviewing the other Color Explosion palettes I bought? I already took pictures and swatched them but haven't felt like writing anything about them...
I sort of think that if you've swatched them and taken pictures of them but don't feel like writing anything about them, that IS your review. Good enough for me - they're not very good.
ReplyDeleteThe Lancome palettes are great. I only have one, but I do love it.
pretty! i love your blog :]
ReplyDeleteI was going to ask you to review them, but I like aimee's point. It's kinda damning how blah they are when they are so uninspiring!
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE it!!! mwak and kisses from Spain
ReplyDeleteI love the look you did with them. You definitely made the most of what you had. :) Gorgeous eye look!
ReplyDeleteGood thing I didn't waste my money on the Maybelline palettes, they're expensive too!
ReplyDeleteMaybelline has the worse eye shadow ever. :(
ReplyDeleteThis is so odd, I have this palette and I really like it, it doesn't apply patchy at all for me.
ReplyDeleteIt's true the purple had blending issues and the pink one was just blah, but seriously try the green one! It blends much better. the brown one isn't bad, but the blue one is just iffy colors like the pink.
ReplyDeleteI pined over the Lancome one for months. It's just completely unreasonable to me to spend $50 for 5 strips of eye shadow, especially as a broke-ass college student. That said, I just adore my Maybelline knock-off. It's not patchy in the slightest for me, and the colors are vibrant and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMaybe slap the swatches in a post and skip the review, or just do a general "it sucks/it's okay" kind of thing. It's a shame that the shadows are so patchy because that dark purple-blue looks quite pretty.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's so beautiful! ^_^
ReplyDeleteI have this, too! Amazing color!!
ReplyDeleteI have *never* had any luck with Maybelline shadows. It's a shame because they look great in the pan, but they always do this to me. You have to really pack on the color to get any payoff at all, and then it's patchy and uncooperative. Meh. The look is pretty, but I can totally see the patchiness.
ReplyDeleteI have that Lancome palette (also the gold one). LOVED it... till the day I lightly brushed the base color and the whole thing crumbled to bits and I had to dump it out of the container. I mean, lightest little swipe and it fell apart. I haven't had any problem with the other 4 shades in the set, just that base one. I won't even touch that strip in the gold palette.
ReplyDeleteI actually bought this palette awhile ago. The glitter is simply amazing dispite the poor quality of the other shadows. It would be nice to see the other looks you've created :-)
ReplyDeleteI've seen the green shadows in their ads. Looks to be very pigmented. I guess they aren't. Glad I didn't waste any money. Don't think I would've bought these anyway. Your makeup looks lovely. That glitter is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the green and neutral palettes. The purple was only okay, and I, too, was disappointed with the pink. I think, for low-end shadows, it's hard to get a lot of pigment in the pinks and purples for some reason, because I always seem to find that those hues in particular don't go on as nicely.
ReplyDeleteOdd-- I have the green, blue, and purple palettes and they work great on me. I don't use primer, though....
ReplyDeleteYou know, its such a shame because Maybelline singles are good and the Eye Studio quads are fantastic. I've collected them all, so naturally, because those totally rock, I bought these as soon as I could find them. I got four for ten bucks each. So it's carp and I could have purchased a good Lancome for that amount. I have blogged the Lancome shown and quite a few others...I have eight of those at this point. The only one that sucked was Coral Crush but the rest are pretty darned fun,
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see your other photos even if you don't write any text. Just link to this post.
ReplyDeleteI have these in Amethyst Ablazed and Caffeine Rush. I only wish the glitter was stronger, but I love the accent glitters (silver and gold with pink and green sparkle). Maybe it's my monitor but they're brighter and more violet in person.
Have you tried any of the EyeStudio quads? I have Pink Persuasion for the black with pink and green glitter and I like it enough that I just bought two other colorways.
I also found Revlon's Diamond Lust single shadows and I'm in love, especially with Night Sky, a black with a rainbow of glitter. They definitely need primer or Pixie Epoxy. Have you seen or tried these? I'd be curious what you think.
Wow those are really pretty!
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