W7 "Silky Eyes" Shades of Brown Eyeshadow Quad: Review, Swatches and FOTD

Hi guys!

I must admit that I'm a huge sucker for cheap eyeshadow palettes, so when I saw this quad lying on the shelves in a drugstore nearby, I couldn't resist (I believe it only cost me about €3,-). All the eyeshadows have a silky (hence the name) metallic finish to them and this particular one contains a soft pink, a bronzy brown, a chocolate brown, and a frosty white (I wish they would've named/numbered the colors *sigh*).

As you can see, these shadows pretty much suck balls when used dry, whether you apply them over a base or not. I kind of saw this coming, since the swatches I made in the store were pretty crappy too. But I was hoping that, since these are baked shadows, they would turn out way more vibrant when used wet. And as you can tell by the picture on the right, they did!

A characteristic of baked eyeshadow is that its formula isn't very creamy, which makes it hard to apply on bare skin without giving it anything to adhere to. This is why baked eyeshadows work so great when you mix them with water - for example by using a dampened brush. Another way to make these shadows work is to apply them with your finger instead of a dry brush. The warmth of your skin will kind of 'melt' the shadow onto your lid, giving you the high density application you're looking for. I guess what I'm trying to say is: Try giving your crappy shadows a second chance! There are tons of simple tricks out there to make them look as pigmented as those expensive high-end ones.

I thought I'd show you a very basic brown smokey eye using just this quad. All I did was apply the pink shade to the inner two-thirds of my lid and to the inner third of my lower lid using my ring finger. Then I put the bronzy shade onto the outer corners, gently blending it together with the pink shadow. I used a damp brush to apply the darker brown into my crease and along my upper and lower lashline. Then I blended any harsh edges with a bit of the pink and the bronze on a dry fluffy brush. To finish off, I used my pinky finger to apply a touch of the frosty white to my inner corners. And there's your simple everyday smokey eye!

I also used some of the pink as a highlighter on my cheekbones. It really isn't necessary to spend tons of money on top-notch highlighting powders. You probably have more than enough eyeshadows lying around that will do the job just fine!

What else did I use:
- L'Oreal True Match foundation in C1
- Miss Sporty Liquid Concealer
- Essence Fix&Matte Translucent loose powder
- Sephora blush in #12 Raspberry Sheen
- Rimmel Vinyl Max Lipgloss in Outrageous
- Eveline Cosmetics Gigantic Volume Turbo mascara
- Catrice Eyebrow set

That's it for today guys! There's another FOTD coming up using the W7 "Silky Eyes" Purple Shades quad (which contains a KILLER deep purple), so stay tuned!

Love,
Linde