New L'Oreal HIP Eyeshadow Duos: "Crystal"

Popping up recently in the special displays at the drugstores are new HIP (High Intensity Pigments) Eyeshadow Duos from L'Oreal in a "Crystal" finish. Today I have swatches from three of the five new duos.

I haven't had a chance to try the shadows, but they struck me as subtle, shimmery, and metallic, with the potential for a bright, glimmer effect perfect for a winter evening...perhaps New Year's eve? Or, at this point, another festive midwinter evening celebration.

First, I wondered, what is "Crystal" supposed to mean here? As opposed to the other categories, such as the metallic or bright. According to the L'Oreal site, the powders "contain a high pearl content, leaving the irridescent, crystalline finish that beautifully highlights eyes." So, that's the "Crystal" label, as opposed to calling them "Pearl." The finish promises to be "shimmery" and "pearlescent" and "glimmers like pure crystal."

Second, I noticed a little re-branding going on: "HIP Studio Secrets Professional Crystal Shadow Duos."

Now to the swatches, first the duos from left to right: Romantic, Charming, and Darling.


First up is Romantic, with a silvery color on the left and a pale pink-brown on the right:


The first thing I notice is the texture. Without really pressing my finger down TOO hard, the shadows really flaked up like crazy, especially the silver on the left:

Correspondingly, the shadow did not adhere very well to my arm in coherent swatches:


The middle shadow duo is "Charming" with silver on the left and a purple, almost a blurple, on the right. This duo was the one I was most interested in:

The texture was just as flaky and problematic:


And, the third duo, "Darling", in pale, pearlized beige (left) and brown (right) tones:

The now customary pic of the loose flaky mess left by the swipe of a finger:



Comparison swatches:




The shadows look great in the containers until you swipe them with your fingers. I wonder how one would apply them and make them adhere. Put an extra layer of eye shadow primer?? Coat one's lid lightly with Vaseline?? And the eyeshadow brush as well?? It seems these duos with the pearl-crystal finish were in theory a great concept, but I am not sure, based on swatching these crazy-flaking shadows, how well they will work in practice. Hmm.