Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow | Review.

Sometimes there are brands that you just take for granted. You love it to a fault, and because of that awesome experience (halo effect!) you are always interested what new products they come out with. Eyeshadows were one of the first thing that got me into the beauty world. Give me super-buttery smooth, long-lasting, highly pigmented, and a fabulous color selection, you can bet that I will restock, and repurchase (*ahem*Lorac Pro Palette*ahem*). With Make Up For Ever, it had been their complexion products, so trying out their new, innovative eyeshadow range was another one of those things that I had to cross off my list.

To celebrate Make Up For Ever’s 30th anniversary (Happy Birthday!), the brand has re-formulated, and re-launched the product that made it world-famous. The Make Up For EverArtist Shadow ($25 – single; $39 – duo; $50 – trio – prices include the custom palettes, available here) is a collection of 210 eyeshadows, featuring new formula that offers superior blendability, and intense colour payoff. This new range of eyeshadows is so unique and unlike anything else in the market.

These are big claims to make, but like always, Make Up For Ever delivered, yet again!

In my opinion, there are three things that really differentiate this range from many eyeshadows we see in the market today.

• The formula which lends itself to the outstanding texture, colour payoff, and pigmentation
• The variety of shades (210) and five finishes (matte, satin, metal, iridescent, and diamond)
• The build-your-own concept which ensures that you have only the colours you want – forget about buying palettes because you like 4 out of the 12 eyeshadows!

These eyeshadows features the pigment atomization technology which involves a rigorous multistep process to get the pigments to its finished product while maintaining the integrity of the colour. What this does is maintain the ratio of the pigment to other ingredients (the “fillers”) as much as when the process started. That means the money you pay to buy these eyeshadows goes directly towards paying the actual colour, and not fillers they use in the beauty industry. To give you the food analogy, it’s like buying a McDonald’s chicken sandwich: do you want more of the chicken or the filler (AKA the “pink slime”)?

You can purchase these eyeshadows in singles ($24), duos ($39), or trios ($50). Even though that sounds like a steep price to pay (I can get 12 eyeshadows for $64 from Urban Decay!) think about how much you’re getting with these palette in terms of the quality, and actual volume of the product (which is 1.4x more than a single Urban Decay or MAC eyeshadows!)

To give you a frame of reference, here are several pictures comparing the size of the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow to other well-known brands including MAC, Lorac, a MAC Blush and Inglot.

The Artist Shadow comes in a re-fill format with a temporary plastic casing, costing $24 each (the palettes are $1 each, irrespective of the size). These eyeshadows are magnetic, and compact. The plastic palette is simple yet compact and durable, while the clear lid makes it very functional and easy to spot colours.

Just like other Make Up For Ever products, the naming convention of the colours involve a single letter and numbers. Here’s how you can decipher the naming convention of Make Up For Ever’s product: the first letter describes the finish (matte, metallic, iridescent, diamond and satin, and the number describes the colour in the colour wheel (starting with black as #1, and working your way counter-clockwise).

Customizing your palette is very, very simple: You can move them around easily since like the Make Up For Ever HD blushes and HD Pressed Powder, there is a tiny hole at the back of the palette so you can insert a toothpick to pop the eyeshadows out. Since the pans are magnetic, they will stick onto a Z-Palette or a magnetic MAC palette quite easily, allowing you to build and customize your palette without being limited to the palettes sold by Make Up For Ever.

One interesting thing I found with the size of these eyeshadows is that they are almost as big as the MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadows. If you have a MAC palette with a MAC Pro insert, like the one pictured below, with a little bit of double-sided tape, you can customize your own 6-pan palette. The Make Up For Ever Artist shadows are a smidgen smaller, so without a tape, they will come right off!

Another nice-to-know about these eyeshadows is that due to the gel texture, they don’t crack or break as easily. In fact, I’ve dropped the eyeshadow a couple of times already and it’s still perfectly intact. Even if it ends up cracking or breaking, you don’t need to use alcohol to mend it – simply use a sheet of tissue and press on the eyeshadow, and it should immediately be good as new.

The Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow shades I own are:

• M870 Yogurt (Matte)
• I544 Pink Granite (Iridescent)
• S836 Pink Ash (Satin)
• I414 Yellow Ivory (Iridescent
• M536 Milk Tea (matte)
• D826 Fig (Diamond)

If I had to choose my favourite finishes, it would be the matte and iridescent out of the shadows I currently own. I found the diamond to be harder to work with as it had more fall out, and larger flecks of glitter.

How Do You Purchase The Set Online?

STEP 1: Add a 1-pan, 2-pan, or 3-pan MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Shadow Custom Palette Case to your cart for $1.
STEP 2: Add 1 or more MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Shadows to your basket.
STEP 3: When you add 2 MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Shadows and a Duo Palette to your basket, a $9 discount will be applied automatically at checkout. When you add 3 MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Shadows and a Trio Palette to your basket, a $20 discount will be applied automatically at checkout.

*Add a MAKE UP FOR EVER Mono, Duo, or Trio Artist Shadow Custom Palette Case to your cart for $1. When you add 2 MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Shadows and a Duo Palette to your basket, a $9 discount will be applied automatically at checkout. When you add 3 MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Shadows and a Trio Palette to your basket, a $20 discount will be applied automatically at checkout. Only one discount applied per order; discount not applicable for orders shipping outside the U.S. This offer is valid while supplies last. This offer is subject to change, alteration, or termination by Sephora at its sole discretion at any time.

These shades come packaged in a temporary case; the custom palette cases are sold separately. The three different palettes are shown above.

Source: Sephora Website

Now it’s your turn! Have you tried the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Share with me comment section or through Twitter or Instagram!