Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Finding Treasure

I'd always been keen to try the L’Oréal Color Infallible Eyeshadows, but the $19.95 price tag put me off. Priceline is currently selling a L’Oréal gift pack called the Silver Collection to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. The set retails for $39 but has been marked down to $15, incredible value given that each pack contains a Lash Architect 4D MascaraNutriShine by Colour Riche Lipstick and Infallible Eyeshadow. There are 3 varieties of the gift set, with a different eyeshadow (a choice between Hourglass Beige, Flashback Silver and Endless Chocolat), the lipstick in either Shiny Grapefruit or Rose Guava, and the same mascara in Noir/Black. Considering the whole pack costs less than one eyeshadow (and being the hopeless beauty junkie I am), I purchased all 3. I gave away the multiples I had of the lipstick and mascara, but kept the individual eyeshadows.

But it didn't stop there. There was a stand for the L'OR Precious Gold Collection that showcased some seriously gorgeous shades. Sahara Treasure especially caught my eye, but I didn't purchase it at first considering it was still full price. When I returned to my local Priceline to take a closer look, to my surprise, there weren't any left. For two weeks, I searched fruitlessly for the elusive shade in every Priceline, Kmart, Target, Big W, Myer and random chemist that I happened to come across. I was about to give up until miraculously, I located a sole pot tucked away in some plastic stand at one Target last weekend. Most recently, taking advantage of 30% off all L’Oréal products at Priceline, I decided to pick up Bronze Goddess to complete my collection.




l-r: Hourglass Beige, Sahara Treasure, Flashback Silver, Bronze Goddess, Endless Chocolat

With flash, out of focus so you can see the glitter

Hourglass Beige is a super shimmery light champagne that leans white. Sahara Treasure is a multidimensional old gold shade, not brown or dark enough to be a proper bronze, not quite warm or saturated enough to be a gold. Almost like a metallic, cool-toned tan. I've heard people describe this as a taupe, but I don't see any grey in it to classify it as such. Whatever it is, it's one of a kind. Flashback Silver is a blueish, slightly lilac-toned silver with white shimmer. Bronze Goddess is somewhat inaccurately named as it's not really a bronze, but more a rich olive gold. Endless Chocolat is, as its name suggests, a bronzy, deep, warm chocolate brown.

These compressed shadows, especially the lighter shades, can be a little tricky to apply with a brush as the texture (somewhere between a cream and a powder) makes it a little hard to pick up the product. I'm sure there are brushes that can do the trick, but I find it easier and get better results just dabbing these onto the lid with my fingers, then using a brush to blend out the edges or blend with other shadows. Being ultra-shimmery, they're not for everyone, but used in moderation, the lighter shades really do give a brightening effect. Only 3 of the colours are completely wearable for me, as for the most part, I envisage only using Hourglass Beige in the inner corner of the eye as a highlight, and as pretty as Flashback Silver is, I don't think the colour flatters my skin tone when applied as a wash over my lid. But Endless Chocolat is great for a bronze smoky look, or to add depth and definition to the eyes, and Bronze Goddess and Sahara Treasure have become my newest favourite eyeshadows. It's a shame those two are limited edition, because I vastly prefer them to the shades in the permanent line.

19 comments:

  1. Oh I've heard so many good things about these eyeshadows! Haha, you basically went for the colour scheme that I would have gone for. Crazy how these are $19.99 here - more expensive than a MAC eyeshadow in the US I think. :/ I've stayed away from these and pigments in general because I'm not fond of loose eyeshadows, but the 'pressed' type seem interesting. Sahara Treasure and Bronze Goddess are definitely my favourites; seems like those could be used just as a sweep of colour all over the lids! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, makeup is so expensive in terms of retail price here :( Believe it or not, I don't have a single MAC product. (Can I even call myself a beauty enthusiast in light of that fact?) :p Loose eyeshadows can get a little tricky and messy, I'm not a huge fan either. In all honesty, these pots aren't super convenient compared to say, a certain famous 12-shade palette with a magnetic strip that just opens up and closes (wink wink), but I'm glad to have them anyway.

      Delete
  2. amazing review :)
    great post!
    http://bubblemylicorice.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. thanks for your review!
    i love love infallibles.
    i honestly think using fingertip or sponge tip applicator is the right way to apply this product.
    sahara treasure is so pretty! i hope it is avail in the u.s. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Which ones do you have? I think there might be naming discrepancies between the US and Canada/Australia. I haven't tried a sponge tip applicator to apply these, but I'll try that out - thanks for the tip! Hope you manage to find Sahara Treasure somehow, it's really a gorgeous shade.

      Delete
  4. Great swatches!! :) Your description of the eyeshadows is really good :D Are you a new blogger? =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you :) Yes I am, this is my first beauty blog that I started just this year. Call it a New Year's project, so to speak :)

      Delete
  5. OMG I LOVE ALL THOSE COLORS!~ I ABSOLUTLEY LOVE THEM AND THEY ARE SERIOUSLY A STAPLE IN MY MAKEUP COLLECTION. I WANTED TO ASK IF YOU LIKED THE SLEEK BLUSHES??

    http://harperandmonroe.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're pretty aren't they? I'm glad to have them. I only own one Sleek blush in Rose Gold that I ordered when I purchased 2 i-Divine eyeshadow palettes about a month ago directly from the Sleek website. I'll review it soon. I wish I could get my hands on the blush palettes they just released though, but they're only available currently in the UK.

      Delete
  6. I totally just ran out to my local Priceline while grabbing lunch and picked up the very last one of those L'Oreal packs. $15 is such a steal!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that officially makes me an enabler ;) Which set did you end up getting? It is a bargain, hope you enjoy the products.

      Delete
  7. Aaaahhh Sahara treasure and Hourglass beige are gorgeous! They cost about the same here in singapore! That is before they got discontinued after selling for less than 6 months! Have fun with them :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ugh- those are beautiful! Wait, did you say you can get them in a set? Because I agree- pricey!

    ReplyDelete
  9. WOW! Those colours!!!! They are so pigmented!!!

    I love your blog!! You deserve more followers!! I've followed your blog! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your commentary leaves me torn: I wanted Hourglass Beige but it sounds like Sahara Treasure is more wearable for our skintones? Pity because Hourglass Beige is so pretty! I want a champagne-y light coloured eyeshadow to use as a wash all over the lid for days I have class and work but I'm guessing Hourglass Beige is as too light? x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh! Is Sahara Treasure similar to any of the Storm palette shades?

      Delete
    2. It probably is as an overall lid shade as it is extremely shimmery, it's not what I'd call a champagne, it's more like a pale yellow white. Sahara Treasure is one of those shades I love to own and swatch, but it never seems to really work for me when I apply it. I actually swatched it alongside the Essence cream eyeshadow in Glammy Goes To and they were very similar, like almost exact dupes. However, the Essence applied quite patchy on me (I'll probably do a post later on dedicated to it), whereas the Sahara Treasure had better texture and pigmentation. If you're looking for a light champagne I probably wouldn't recommend either, though Sahara Treasure is a better all over lid shade than Hourglass Beige in my opinion. I'm sure you have something in your Sleek palettes that's kind of a champagne shade?

      Delete
    3. Not really, the closest would be the first and fourth colours in the first row, but both of those lean considerably yellow/orange (gold and peachy), Sahara Treasure is more taupey/brown in comparison. They're all very shimmery though. I think it's just such a pretty colour, I'm happy to have it even if it never looks as good worn as it does swatched :p

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...