Monday, November 3, 2014

REVIEW - Mally Beauty - Evercolor Shadow Stick



Get thee to an Ulta and buy this immediately.

Ok let's step back a bit and start with a regular review shall we?  I love pretty shimmery neutral shadows but I am cursed with very oily eyelids so my shadow creases at the drop of a hat - or a blink of an eye as it were.  Normally I have to wear a eye shadow primer (Urban Decay Primer potion or the Wet and Wild Fergie one works decently as well) - otherwise my shadow creeps into the creases of my lids within a couple of hours.  I got a Mally Evercolor Shadow Stick in a kit from Ulta because I wanted to try out the Poreless Defender.  Little did I know that this shadow stick was going to blow my socks right off.

I normally write off eyeshadow sticks because they never last.  Never.  Last.  Ever.    I might be able to squeeze 3 hrs out of one if I set it with a bunch of powder shadow but meh.    I got the color Saddle Shimmer in the Mally Bulletproof Essentials kit.  It is a shimmery bronze that just hints at a duochrome but doesn't really look like that on the lid.  I ignored it for many moons because I figured it was just as crappy as all the other shadow sticks I've tried.  

One busy morning I was late getting going and didn't have the time to do my normal eye makeup.  I swiped the Mally Shadow stick over my lid, blended with a finger and ran out the door.  12 hours later,  I get home and wash the warpaint off of my face and my eye shadow is not only still there - it is PERFECT.  No fading, smudging creasing or ANYTHING.  It looked like I had just applied it.

While I was picking my jaw off the ground, I decided that I need to test this shadow further.  The next day I used it as a base for my Urban Decay NAKED palette and my eye shadow stayed put ALL DAY.  No fancy primer has ever gotten that kind of performance for me, even from UD shadows which are pretty darn good quality.  I decided I needed more of these - and then got kicked in the gut - $25 a stick.  So it is pricey.  But even at this price I'd say it is worth it.  Get a color that you love that will work on its own for you as well as work as a shadow base.  My favorites are Rosy Taupe, Taupe and Dusk.  All three go really well together and under my favorite shadow palettes.

L-R: Champagne, Rosey Taupe, Taupe, Saddle Shimmer, Dusk, Gunmetal, Purple Rain
I got really lucky and found a kit on Ebay that had 5 of the shadow sticks in it for only 40$ - an amazing deal and I snapped that up so fast I nearly gave myself whip lash.  The Champagne was pretty but not as pigmented as the others and seemed to not do as well with the rub test.   Purple Rain is just incredibly beautiful, a near duochrome as well but it was more easily rubbed off than the others,  same with Gunmetal.



Rosy Taupe, Taupe, Dusk and Saddle Shimmer are nearly bullet proof once they are set.  Highly highly recommend all four of those colors, and if you had to just pick one - it would be Taupe for me.  It is just so darn pretty.

You can find these as part of kits at Ulta and on QVC - they are well worth the splurge.