Review: Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad in 'Velvet Crush'

Today's review is an eyeshadow quad I picked up from the drugstore.  I've been in the mood for purple eyes lately and before I splurge on some expensive Dior or MAC purple hues, I wanted to check out the drugstore to see if I could find a pretty purple elsewhere for less money.  I also wanted to see if I liked the look of purple on my eyes!

The palette I picked out is the Maybelline Expert Wear eyeshadow quad in 'Velvet Crush:'

Let's start with the packaging first: The quad is made of a super light black plastic with a clear lid.  The packaging is quite flimsy and I know that the clear tops tend to pop off.  The four eyeshadow colors are arranged so you get most of the white 'base' color, but I wish I got more of the lid color. That is usually the color I use the most in my makeup looks. The container also comes with two sponge-tip applicators which are good for if you really want to pack on the color.  I don't recommend reusing these guys though because they can hold onto bacteria!

The Base color (top left) is a pretty eggshell color with a hint of lilac to it.  It has a small amount of shimmer in it.  The Lid color (top right) is a light purple lilac color.  In the pan it looks similar to MAC's  Beautiful Iris.  That's the color I was most excited about in the palette! The crease color (middle right) is a taupey purple, and the Liner color (bottom) is a dark purple with a navy hue to it.  The colors are all fairly shimmery in the pan (apart from the base color).

Here are the colors swatched on my arm.  The lightest base color was quite smooth and creamy to the touch which I really enjoyed, however the three other colors were quite chalky and rough.  They required me to press my finger down into the product and into my arm quite a bit to get a good swatch and as you can see, the dark color is a bit chalky still.

This is the eyelook I managed to pull together with the palette.  I put the base in my inner corner and under my brow and spread the lid color all over my eyelid.  Then I used a mix of the crease color with the liner to fill in my crease. I finished the look off with some black liner and mascara.

The colors in this quad were a bit hard to work with.  The lid color took some building up to show a true purple and then the crease color did not show up on my eye a different color than the lid color which is why I chose to mix it with the darker liner color.  I liked the look I achieved in the end, however it definitely took some effort to get there.

I think the fact that this is part of the 'perfect pastels' line means that maybe the color payoff of this eyeshadow is not meant to be as strong.  I think I will use these eyeshadows again for a purple look, however, I do not think it will be too hard for me to find a better set of purple shadows, even from the drugstore.  This quad will quickly be replaced when I do.

This quad cost $5 from the makeup section of Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and I would say to skip it and go with a different set of purple shadows if that's what you're looking for!

xxSJ