Don't Go Glammy

When I saw the Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting cream eyeshadow in Glammy Goes To... (02) on Cherie's blog, I was immediately intrigued. I wasn't aware that Essence had a range of cream eyeshadows in their permanent collection. The limited edition Eye Soufflé in Pas Des Copper is one of my absolute favourite products, and when I spotted Glammy Goes To on display at Target, I picked up the last pot hoping it would be more of the same. There wasn't a large shade selection (I might have also taken home Coppy Right, but there weren't any left), and I wasn't particularly interested in the cool, silvery colours or darker metallics.

Swatched on my hand, Glammy Goes To looks like a goldish, light taupe shade. However, when applied to my eyelid, it resembles more of a super shimmery dirty yellow gold. I was also disappointed that the texture wasn't the same as Pas Des Copper, considering they're both cream eyeshadows made by Essence. I found the Stay All Day to be patchy and difficult to apply evenly with enough pigmentation, without it looking overly frosty. Once you pack on the colour (which you kind of have to, unless you want a barely noticeable, light shimmery wash), it starts looking scaly and extremely frosty. Definitely not recommended for those with dry eyelids. In comparison, the Eye Soufflé is much smoother and easier to blend, and generally a more flattering, wearable colour. The packaging of the Stay All Day eyeshadows is also a lot less sleek, with the thick, rounded lid. On the plus side, the lasting power does live up to its name.

I thought to compare Glammy Goes To with my other cream eyeshadows and the closest shades I could find to it in my collection. It's not as nicely textured as the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour eyeshadows in Bold Gold and Bad to the Bronze, which are much easier to blend and not patchy when applied. Surprisingly, I discovered Glammy Goes To is almost an exact dupe of L’Oréal Infallible eyeshadow in Sahara Treasure, though Sahara Treasure is not as aggressively shimmery and slightly less yellow. The taupe in the L’Oréal HiP Metallic Shadow Duo is also similar, but darker and more brown/bronze.

l-r: Glammy Goes To, Pas Des Copper, Bold Gold, Bad to the Bronze, Sahara Treasure, taupe in Electrified

l-r: Glammy Goes To, Pas Des Copper, Bold Gold, Bad to the Bronze

l-r: Bold Gold, Bad to the Bronze, Sahara Treasure, taupe in Electrified

It's clear from the similarity to Sahara Treasure and the taupe in the Electrified duo that I'm drawn to shades like Glammy Goes To, but I've finally come to accept that they don't really flatter me. As much as I love the look of Sahara Treasure, both in the pot and swatched on my hand, something about how it applies to my lid never seems to work. I think slightly darker, more bronze-leaning shades (like Pas Des Copper and Bad to the Bronze, if only the latter was less frosty) are more wearable options for me. Notwithstanding the shade, I have to say the Stay All Day cream shadow was a bit of a letdown for me, as it tends to apply unevenly and is blindingly shimmery if you want to build up the colour. An intensely shimmery eyeshadow that really lasts isn't necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was after.