Saturday, June 8, 2013

Middling Metropolitan

The new Revlon PhotoReady Primer + Shadow eyeshadow palettes weren't hugely enticing to me, but after a foiled trip to Chemist Warehouse for 50% off the newly released Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Crush and Rendezvous (for whatever reason, the powers that be decided to deprive Australia of them until recently), I ended up turning to Myer as a last resort. Though I baulked at the idea of paying full price for them, at the very least Myer were offering a Revlon gift with purchase that included the Metropolitan (501) Primer + Shadow, normally $25.95. Let's just begin by saying the Revlon PhotoReady Sculpting Blush Palette in Pink Rose (001), also in the GWP, is such a huge product fail that it's hard to believe it passed any kind of quality control. Believe the hilariously negative reviews on MakeupAlley and stay as far away as possible. Despite the disappointment with the blush, I hoped the eyeshadow would be something worth writing about, especially as the colours seemed promising.







l-r (numbered per diagram at back of palette): 1, 4, 2, 3, 5



The eyeshadow palette consists of 5 shades, though one of them is supposed to be a primer. I don't really get the idea of using another powder eyeshadow as a primer, as I'm more used to clear, creamy primers like Urban Decay Primer Potion or cream eyeshadow bases. The primer (shade 1 according to the diagram at the back of the palette) could double as your standard highlighting shade. It's a frosty pale pink with a slight peachiness to it, very similar to Urban Decay Sin, though Sin is more beige-toned and a little darker. The top highlighting shade (4) is a shimmery pale sherbet orange with a subtle golden pearl. The crease shade (3) is a cool, grey-toned medium taupe with white shimmer that flashes almost a duochrome green. The lid shade (2) is an almost matte bark brown with sparse, nearly undetectable silver glitter. Finally, the "sparkle top coat" (5) is an antique bronze with iridescent glitter particles, basically the poor man's version of the gold leaf shade in Clarins Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Odyssey.

Maybe I'm now more discerning or demand more of my eyeshadows, but I found the overall quality to be uninspiring. The color payoff is acceptable (especially when layered) but fundamentally, they aren't very vibrant or richly pigmented. The shadows feel quite powdery and could easily be wiped away when I swatched them on my arm. The primer shade was surprisingly the standout in terms of pigmentation and texture, though I don't picture using it regularly and I already have multiple eyeshadows similar to it. Perhaps the shadows would be more impressive to me if applied wet, but let's face it, I won't ever be bothered.

The shade selection puzzled me somewhat, mainly because the lid shade is so dark for the daytime. I instead use the crease shade for my lid, but the colour is a bit too grey and cool to complement my colouring. I do like the subtle green duochrome quality that it has, which adds some unexpected interest. The glitter top coat seems more for special occasions to delicately dab onto the centre of the lid as a finishing touch. This shade was the most powdery, least pigmented and most susceptible to being wiped away to nothingness (be prepared for loads of glitter fallout), but the purple/blue, green, orange and diamond sparkles are pretty, though not all that pronounced. At first I thought it might be a more affordable version of the glitter top coat in the Clarins Odyssey quad, but the richness and density of the Clarins is simply incomparable.

32 comments:

  1. Hmm, it's a shame these shadows weren't up to par! I would definitely expect more from Revlon, as well with the cheek palette/thing!

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  2. Beautiful colours but such a shame the quality wasn't as good! xx
    http://xtouchofbeautyx.blogspot.co.uk/

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  3. I have never had a good experience with Revlon eyeshadow, I bought the Colourstay 16 Hour Eyeshadow palette in Decadent a few months ago and it lasted about 2 hours on (admittedly without primer), and the shadows were ridiculously powdery. Can't say I am surprised about your poor experience with this palette. xx

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  4. It's a shame they aren't good, as the packaging is quite lovely. Doesn't look like a drugstore palette!

    Molly x
    Lyonsnotes.blogspot.co.uk

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  5. I have yet to try one of these palettes, usually I hate it when drugstores try to do primers in shadow palettes because I find that they get messy very quickly. I'm usually not a fan of Revlon powder shadows either :p

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  6. I've seen these atound but have never bothered to pay attention to them. I like the palette you have!

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  7. These colours looked so promising. It's a shame they were pretty rubbish. Totally get about not being bothered to wet shadows, do people really do that day to day?

    xoxo

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  8. I am not a fan of Revlon eye shadows in general as they seem to be powdery, and don't have great pigmentation.This palette looked promising though, all shades looked like they were made to work together in harmony, sad that it didn't fulfill your expectation..

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  9. These guys nearly got me, too, but I'm glad I managed to quell that urge in time. Surprising about the primer bit though. Maybe it's time for Revlon to come out with an affordable eye primer instead!

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  10. Shame about this palette and the blush! The colours look nice but the last one looks like it has so much fallout.

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  11. LOL about the blush palette! Yeh i really didn't get the eyeshadow "primer". My palette always gets so messy after use because it is so powdery, i always have to give it a brush around the sides before i put it away. I think now that i've tried a bunch of purple eyeshadows, since i didn't have many before, i can go buy better quality ones LOL

    à la foliee

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    1. That's how it always goes right - buy cheaper options, then after you've bought all of those, finally let yourself buy the pricier ones that you really wanted :p

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  12. I don't get why they market eyeshadows for primers either, you'd think it would only prevent the others from showing up nicely. Thanks for an honest review, I was looking at these the other day but would not pay the ridiculous price haha. xx

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  13. I have never been a fan of Revlon eyeshadows. I've always found them severely lacking pigmentation, they're chalky, don't last long on me, etc.

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  14. #5 is pretty, but bleh the quality just sounds horrible. Revlon eyeshadows have always been a little disappointing.

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  15. the selection of the shades are quite nice but too bad the quality was a bit bleh :(

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  16. That's disappointing - I liked the look of these when they came out. To be honest I'm not a huge fan of the photoready line apart from the illuminator, I much prefer the colourstay range.

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  17. Boo. :(

    I don't think I've tried any shadows from Revlon (not that I can remember, anyway!), but I tried a blush and it put me off for life. It had zero pigment and was just shit. :/

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  18. thanks for your review!
    I have been eyeing on these but I guess I can move on.
    I find it cute you said the color payoff is "acceptable". lol. I know what you mean. ;)

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  19. it's always so tempting to try these products because they're available everywhere here and very affordable so I really appreciate this review! Sucks that the staying power is really low and powerdery... :( the colors are gorgeous!

    alex @ carouselstreet.com

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  20. Ohhhhhh Revlon... you put so much greatness into your lip products, why don't you carry over that fantasticness to your eyeshadows??? Looks like yet another Revlon shadow letdown unfortunately :/ The colors had potential but I've experienced that powdery/wipes-away-easily texture from Revlon before and would never bother with it again.

    ♥Cassie
    thriftthick.blogspot.com

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    1. So true - their eyeshadows have always been a little hit and miss (and mostly miss). I know your experience with the new ColorStay quad, I wish they could make as awesome eyeshadows as they do lip products!

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  21. i'm not fond of Revlon eyeshadows, I can't seem to find a really good one from them. it feels like they're only great with their lip products and foundation. it's a shame because the packaging is really pretty and the colours of the shadows are amazing. hopefully they'll add more pigmentation on their eyeshadows next time and make the formulation better. thanks for the review and swatches hun! xx

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    1. I do like their eyeshadow single in Polished Bronze and the CustomEyes Shadow & Liner palette in Naturally Glamorous - but those are the only two I've tried that have really impressed me! :)

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  22. It is weird to me that a powder shadow would also be considered the "primer." I haven't used a Revlon shadow in years but it's a shame this palette was sub-par.

    xo, alison*elle

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  23. I'd always wondered about these palettes, I didn't realise that the 'primer' shade was just a shadow, weird. That gold colour looks gorgeous but doesn't sound like it's worth it.

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  24. Too bad that the shadows aren't pigmented and the overall quality is not that great. The palette and colour combo looks nice, and kind of reminds me of japanese eyeshadow palettes like Majolica Majorca. The glittery gold shade is pretty and it's a pity that there is a lot of fallout! I have tried the Colorstay eyeshadow palettes from Revlon and found they were really pigmented and quality was good.

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    1. I think Revlon is a bit hit and miss with their eyeshadow palettes - I do like their eyeshadow single in Polished Bronze, CustomEyes Shadow & Liner palette in Naturally Glamorous and a couple of their old ColorStay quads are pretty good and nicely pigmented (though I barely ever use them). This quad was a bit more powdery in texture than their better eyeshadows and the colours didn't really work for me :\

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  25. That's too bad this was a fail, all colours look so pretty : / I agree with what you say, Revlon is a hit or miss when it comes to their eyeshadows, I have 5 of their quartets and somes are plain awful. Thanks a lot for the review Lena xx

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  26. Gorgeous colours but a shame that this wasn't too great.. it looks pretty in the pan?
    xx

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  27. Revlon have really disappointed me with their eyeshadow palettes lately. I was underwhelmed by their 16 hour quads too :^(

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