Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Less Than Adored

Sportsgirl’s beauty products have always been a little hit and miss. I have a heap of their nail polishes, and while the formula isn’t amazing, it’s perfectly adequate for the price point ($7.95, but often on sale for $4.95 or cheaper). The large array of shades are constantly updated to deliver the latest trends and there's one to fit every occasion and mood. I use their dual-ended eyeshadow brush every day and I’m a fan of their liquid eyeliner pen and matte lipstick in Fruit Tingle. Some of their lip glosses were huge disappointments though, with very little pigmentation, synthetic smell and taste, and gimmicky packaging (I don’t really need my lip gloss opening up and emanating blue public toilet lighting).

I spotted this Work of Heart eyeshadow palette few months ago when it was on sale. The cute packaging and the combination of wearable and bolder shades made me curious to give it a go. There wasn’t a tester in the store and while I’m usually a little wary of cheap eyeshadow palettes, I'd been using two neutral shades in Sportsgirl's Time to Shine Bronze Cosmetic Palette almost on a daily basis, so I had fairly high hopes I'd like at least a few of the colours.






For the sake of taking a photo, these were swatched like my life depended on it. To cut to the chase, as pretty as they look, these eyeshadows are not good. They're powdery, chalky, lacking pigmentation and devoid of staying power. I wiped these off my arm with a tissue without a trace of residue. There are more matte and light shades here than in the Bronze Cosmetic Palette, which probably accounts for why Work of Heart is chalkier and less pigmented. If you were so inclined, you could try to make these work with a primer and a white base, but that's too much effort for me.

Notwithstanding the fact I can't imagine myself wearing the more colourful shades (that red on the end looks especially challenging), the fact that they're so underwhelming in quality effectively makes them useless. The second and third shades from the left (the glittery peachy gold and lilac-toned silver) are the only workable ones that aren't complete duds in terms of pigmentation and texture. They're actually quite nice colours and I did wear them out once when I first bought the palette. Not sure whether it's worth keeping the whole thing just for them though. Either way, for affordable makeup, Sleek this ain't. I'll definitely need to be convinced from swatching available testers at the store if I decide to take another chance on Sportsgirl eyeshadows in the future.

12 comments:

  1. Oh that's disappointing!! The colours look really nice but I suppose you swatched really well haha. Thanks for letting us know though!

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  2. I hate it when you buy something that you think will be good and then you take it home and its awful but its too late! Thanks for the blog post - i will know to stay clear haha! :)
    http://strawberry-picnic.blogspot.co.uk/ xx

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  3. The packaging of the palette is so cute but it's too bad the shadows aren't all that great. I also agree with your sentiments on the red eyeshadow - definitely something hard to pull off.

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  4. What a shame they're not good, it's possibly the prettiest palette I've seen! xxx

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  5. The packaging is so pretty! Adorable, really. Such a shame that the eyeshadows don't live up to expectation, considering the colours are so pretty!

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  6. Lovelovelove the packaging! I'm obsessed with florals ;P
    And the eyeshadow colors are perfect for Spring and upcoming Summer! :D

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  7. This is a pretty palette! I like the look of the black sparkly one :) x

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  8. I definitely agree with you regarding their eyeshadows, they are pretty dodgy. However, their lipsticks are winners! I have newly acquired fruit tingle and I own bombshell, and they are both great!

    www.teganiasthoughts.blogspot.com

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  9. aww sucks that they didn't turn out that great! they do look very chalky and powdery on your arm in the swatches pic. The packaging of the palette is really lovely though and all the colours look so pretty together- but looks are deceiving! thanks for reviewing though :)

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  10. Sportsgirl cosmetics can be very hit and miss. I love their blushes, eyeliners and lip products but their eyeshadows aren't so great. Except the pretty packaging. x

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  11. haha i laughed with the swatched as your life depended on it comment, to be honest yes they look pretty chalky and matte for their own good except the two shades you mentioned which look ok. the package is beautiful but i don't see this being worth the money, thanks for introducing me to sportsgirl. i didn't know the brand

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  12. I can't get over the cute packaging on this palette. I would've probably bought it for that alone!

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