In the summer (and, let's be honest, pretty much all year round), I tend to reach for cream eyeshadows exclusively. I'm a big fan of one-wash colors that can be easily slapped on and blended out, and to me this look is most often achieved with a cream. My makeup drawer is full to the brim with Color Tattoo upon Color Tattoo, but I've been reaching for a few high end options that actually work extremely well together as well as on their own.
You may remember from my Beauty Wishlist from early last month that I was pining for the Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerise Cream Eyeshadows, and if you happened to write a post on them or mentioning them, I probably left a comment on it telling you how much I wanted them (sorry about that). The shade I was most desperate for was Marie Antoinette, described as an antique bronze, because I just don't have enough bronze eyeshadows, you know (can you feel the sarcasm radiating at you through the screen yet)? I also wanted Mona Lisa because of the name (hello, art history nerd here) and the beautiful warm chocolate brown color, and Jean because you can never have too many pinky champagne colors (and because it was modeled after Marilyn Monroe's look).
After I made some extra money house/pug-sitting, I finally bit the bullet and justified my purchase of Marie Antoinette and Mona Lisa based on how long I had been thinking about them and my proclivity towards anything in cream form. Jean got the axe from my shopping cart when I realized I was close to spending $90 on eyeshadow and it was probably similar to my Benefit cream eyeshadow that was gathering dust at the back of my drawer. Fast forward to me wandering around a Cosmetics Company Store while on vacation last week and picking up the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Golden Pink and finding it was probably pretty similar to the one that got away, Jean.
Whew, thanks for listening to me blab about how this trio came to be, but what I came here to really tell you was how beautiful these three shadows are. Golden Pink is, as you'd guess, a really pretty pale rose gold shade that really adds some brightness to the eyes. The formula of this eyeshadow stick is incredibly creamy and blendable, but once it sets it's there for good. This color is super shimmery, which I love as it adds even more light to my eyes, but if you're not one for shimmer I'd give this one (and in fact, all three of these) a miss.
Marie Antoinette, as I said above, is a perfect bronze shade that's not too warm and not too cool. It's actually a little similar in color to the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze, but the formula could not be any more different (this is how I'm justifying it and I'm sticking to it). Mona Lisa is a gorgeous deeper chocolate brown color that has a hint of burgundy - I'm thinking it's like a deeper, darker version of MAC's Sable eyeshadow (another firm favorite). The Charlotte Tilbury cream shadows have blown me away and have become my favorite cream eyeshadow formula. It's got a more liquid-y/mousse-y formula than the Color Tattoos and is much softer to the touch. They're so so pigmented - I just have to gently tap my finger into the pot and have enough color to produce a lovely, even wash over the eyelid. They're packed with shimmer, but it's so fine that it gives the eyes a glossy, almost metallic look. I was nervous about the incredibly creamy formula making its acquaintance with my "everything creases on me, even with primer" eyelids, but it was a hit. I still do use primer of course, but like the Bobbi Brown offering, once set these do not budge or fade or do anything you don't want your eyeshadow to do.
All three of these are beautiful on their own, but I realized while swatching them all together that they'd look perfect together for a really pretty neutral eye look. I like to sweep the Bobbi Brown Golden Pink over the inner third, then pat on some of the Marie Antoinette on the outer two thirds and blend through the crease, and finally add a little of the Mona Lisa into the outer corner for some depth and definition. They complement each other nicely - I usually don't wear more than one cream eyeshadow at a time because ones like the color tattoos can become hard to work with if you're trying to be precise with them, but the three of these are so creamy and blendable that it's easy-peasy.
Do you like using multiple cream eyeshadows for a look, or are you more of a one-and-done kind of person?