I love eyeshadow - whether it be singles, palettes, powder, cream or liquid. Whatever format, whatever formula - I am always on the hunt for the next best thing and while my palettes and powders are two departments that are never anything less that bursting at the seams, two categories which I always feel like my stash in lacking in is those that fall under the the 'cream' and 'liquid' formulas - especially the latter. It's not that I don't love 'em (infact it's quite the opposite) but for some reason, the beauty arena never seems to have such a wide variety of options on offer - especially at the likes of Boots and Superdrug. And I can never understand why as honestly, while I will always be a huge fan of the power of a good powder shadow, I am always appreciative of something with a little more slip to it. So, when L'Oreal launched these new Infallible Eye Paints recently, it's safe to say I was more than a tad eager to pick one or more to give a whirl. I originally picked up three to test out but as you'll know if you read this post that I did at the end of last month, they more than got the thumbs up from me so I actually went back and picked up a further three which originally caught my eye but I resisted (until now). And what better excuse than to do a whole, dedicated post on them and why I think they're so darn awesome addition to the drugstore scene...
Shade-wise, there's actually two collections of colours to choose from - the original range and also the Nudist' range. As you'd expect, the former contains everything as more wide variety of different hues (from the nude to the more colourful), whilst the latter is more of a strictly neutral-based range of shades and personally, I just went for all of the shades that appealed to me the most, ending up with a mixture of both of the different collections. First time round, I went for the shades 'Keep On Khaki' (a - you guessed it - pretty, khaki green), 'Sunset Goals' (a lovely, warm orange) and 'Cocky Bisque' (a true champagne); but I later went back for three more that has originally grabbed my attention and I fancied also giving a go - 'Peach Me Bare' (a slightly peachy-toned light brown), 'Eternal White' (a super-shimmery, icy shade) and 'Irresistible Rose' (a pretty, baby pink). These were all of the colours which I feel I wanted most in my collection in terms of the types of colours I tend to wear and also how I envisaged me utilising each one and I have to say - I am equally impressed by them all. From what I've tried, there is no 'dud' in the range which is slightly (or a lot) worse than the rest - every colour performs just as good as the one before. There's also an overall mix of different textures and finishes throughout the entire range of colours on offer - from the more shimmery likes of 'Keep On Khaki', 'Cocky Bisque', 'Eternal White' and 'Irresistible Rose'; to the slightly more 'matte'-esque finishes that have just a touch of a subtle sheen to them like 'Sunset Goals' and 'Peach Me Bare'. I love the versatility on offer - both in colour selection and also the different textures - and from what I can see, there's definitely something there for pretty much everyone which is always a winner.
So finally, what about the product itself, eh? As I said, in terms of across the board - there's no obvious 'dud' from one colour/texture to another so that's always a good thing and as a whole, I just love the formula. It's thick enough to give full opacity in basically one layer but not too thick as to feel heavy, cakey or be difficult to blend at the edges. The small, doe-foot applicator makes it a breeze to swipe the product on across the entire lid in basically one swipe, with the pointed tip making it super easy to get a nice, precise shape. Though it is great to be able to blend for an everyday look, sometimes (like when you're doing something like a cut crease), it sure comes in handy to get a clean-cut, smooth line. And these really do make it super easy for just that, so I think one of the lighter shades just might well be what I reach for when I next fancy cutting that ol' crease of mine (sounds pretty grim when you say it like that). However, as I said, the amazing thing about these is that, they do blend out like a dream when you want them too. For most eyeshadow looks, you typically want a soft, seamless finish and these provide just that. Simply ensure you do one eye at a time (as you always tend to have to with cream/liquid shadows) so you have plenty of playtime to blend and buff things out and in no time at all, you are left with that ultimate, 'concentrated at the lid, faded out at the edges' effect that we all aspire to. You can layer them up after doing this - when the colour can get a little lost and diluted - and they work just fine, with no clumping up or issues with blending and once they dry down, they are darn well staying there. They quickly turn to more of a powder-like finish that doesn't budge all. day. long and they never crease or fade throughout the day either. Because of this, as you tend to get with shadows with that bit of slip to them, they work great alone as a cream-based look, or used as a kind of 'primer' for powder products to sit on top and make appear more vibrant and just generally 'pop' - a great little multitasker. All in all, they're rather perfect and personally, I know that if I want or need a liquid shadow in my life from now on, one (or maybe more) of these will be what I'm reaching for...
As I said, creams and liquids as a whole aren't often represented in the drugstore arena. Over the years, things have improved and brands are gradually expanding their ranges to include more variety of formulas - which is always a good thing - but while creams are definitely much easier to come across nowadays, I still feel like liquid-y formats are still not as much so. For example, you're much more likely to be able to find a good, affordable cream eyeshadow (Maybelline Colour Tattoos, anyone?) when popping into your local Boots than one of the liquid variety - until now, that is. The L'Oreal 'Infallible Eye Paints' (£5.99 each) claim to be 'the boldest eye colour that stays put from AM to PM' with a 'highly pigmented liquid-to-powder formula that blends seamlessly for flawless application, intense colour and all day wear' so they certainly had a lot to live up to and I was more than happy to put them to the test when picking the first three shades out for my last edition of 'New In At the Drugstore'. Having pretty much always had amazing experience with L'Oreal, I was pretty self-assured that they would not disappoint and I'm happy to say they definitely didn't.
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