Last Fall, Revlon introduced us to their Colorstay ShadowLinks, a range of individual eye shadows that “link” together to form a customized palette. The idea of these shadows is that you choose the shades that appeal most to you and then interlock them together, forming your own personalized palette. With an affordable price point and 18 shades and finishes (i.e. pearl, satin & matte) available, the mix & match combinations are endless.
Shadows with a matte finish are not everyone’s cup of tea but the trend is certainly on the rise. A matte finish does not reflect light and has no shimmer or glitter to it. You can use matte shadows to create a subtle wash of colour over the entire lid or use them in combination with other finishes to add dimension to any look. Some of my favourite matte shadows have been from NYX, theBalm, Urban Decay & Too Faced. Let’s take a closer look at five matte Revlon ShadowLinks to see how they measure up?
Shadows with a matte finish are not everyone’s cup of tea but the trend is certainly on the rise. A matte finish does not reflect light and has no shimmer or glitter to it. You can use matte shadows to create a subtle wash of colour over the entire lid or use them in combination with other finishes to add dimension to any look. Some of my favourite matte shadows have been from NYX, theBalm, Urban Decay & Too Faced. Let’s take a closer look at five matte Revlon ShadowLinks to see how they measure up?
Shades
Bone – sheer matte ivory
Greige – sheer matte taupe
Chocolate – matte chocolate brown
Purple – matte light purple
Charcoal – matte slate grey
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| Revlon Shadow Links MATTE Swatches (*heavily swatched) |
Texture & Wear:
Depending on the shade, these shadows were “hit & miss” for me – they were either too sheer or they performed well. Bone was not easily buildable and when I tried to apply it to my inner corner, it basically vanished. It didn’t have very much pigment to it, but it worked ok as a brow bone highlight. I experienced some chalkiness and fallout with this shade, but only when I applied more product in an attempt to intensify the colour.
Greige was another sheer shade. Unfortunately, the pretty taupe colour that you see in the pan didn’t come through on the eye lids. It worked fine as a neutral matte base for other shadows but the more layering I did, the more dryness I seemed to experience.
Chocolate, Purple & Charcoal on the other hand, all performed really well! Each one had good colour payoff and decent wear time. I would still recommend using a primer with any of these shadows to help improve wear and further enhance colour. My favourite of the three was Charcoal, a medium slate grey shade that I’ve been using to create my signature smokey eye.
Greige was another sheer shade. Unfortunately, the pretty taupe colour that you see in the pan didn’t come through on the eye lids. It worked fine as a neutral matte base for other shadows but the more layering I did, the more dryness I seemed to experience.
Chocolate, Purple & Charcoal on the other hand, all performed really well! Each one had good colour payoff and decent wear time. I would still recommend using a primer with any of these shadows to help improve wear and further enhance colour. My favourite of the three was Charcoal, a medium slate grey shade that I’ve been using to create my signature smokey eye.
Packaging:
The packaging of these shadows is quite good. I really like their durability and the customization that these shadows offer. They click together easily and have a secure closure. Too often, with pre-packaged eye shadows (i.e. duos, trios, quads, quints or larger palettes), there are often shades that go untouched, so these are great because you are essentially hand-picking what you want to use.
Final Thoughts:
These shadows are quite affordable when purchased separately but building a small palette can add up and cost you more $$ than pre-made options that contain four or more shades. Keep in mind though, that the size of each shadow is 1.4g (slightly smaller than a MAC shadow, which is 1.5g) which is a good value and that you are also getting the ability to customize your own palette! Since there have been mixed reviews on the quality of these shadows and how they individually perform, I suggest doing some research before determining which shades you want. Some of them are definitely worth checking out while others I would skip all together.
These shadows are quite affordable when purchased separately but building a small palette can add up and cost you more $$ than pre-made options that contain four or more shades. Keep in mind though, that the size of each shadow is 1.4g (slightly smaller than a MAC shadow, which is 1.5g) which is a good value and that you are also getting the ability to customize your own palette! Since there have been mixed reviews on the quality of these shadows and how they individually perform, I suggest doing some research before determining which shades you want. Some of them are definitely worth checking out while others I would skip all together.
Have you tried these shadows?
What do you think of them?
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