My thoughts on the Multi-Dome Eyeshadow quads vary greatly from shade to shade, making it difficult to try and come up with an overall “verdict.” So, I’ll be breaking this down into parts…
The runt of the litter: Midnight
Seeing as Midnight was the quad used in the gorgeous promo image, I had the highest expectations for this one. I swatched it first, and I have to say: it really did not live up to my hopes.
The shades were desperately sheer swatched dry, and the lightest two (the bottom ones) remained unpigmented and frighteningly chunky (I may even say “flakey,” in accordance to the glitter) when swatched wet and over a base. The dark blue shade, while lovely, goes on patchily and the colour blends away quickly — a huge letdown, seeing as I’ve loved Annabelle blues so much in the past. I did really like the glittery black, but… one out of four? Not looking great so far.
The better choice: Insomnia
Funnily enough, I ended up swatching these in order of worst to best! (Insomnia was swatched second.) The shimmer in this quad really was that — shimmer, rather than glitter flakes. While still quite unpigmented swatched dry, these really perked up when used wet.
The top two shades (the yellow and green) were the hilights of this quad, going on smoothly, while the supersupersheer light violet was the biggest letdown. I’m still undecided about the darker violet; it’s stunning in real life and swatches as an almost-perfect purple, but like the dark blue in Midnight, it too goes on patchy.
The cream of the crop: Disturbia
When foiled, these are every bit as impressive as regular Annabelle shadows. My favourite shade is the chocolate brown: it’s nice in the pan, but it’s downright delicious on my lids! The red is gorgeous as well — imagine the cranberries on top of the chocolate cake, fi you will.
Huh. I think I might be hungry already…
Like most of the Annabelle lineup, these are packaged in a very drugstore-appropriate manner. The plastic quads are light and simple, holding up to normal wear but definitely not conveying feelings of luxury or opulence! However, at $13.95 apiece (that’s $3.49 per shade,) I have no complaints with the packaging.
Though I’ve heard some hemming and hawing over the price, I personally think it’s pretty decent. Most drugstore eyeshadows [worth their salt] in Canada run $4-8, so $3.49 per shade is sounding pretty nice to me!
Overall, I think these shadows are worth a look — but they’re not fabulous. I’m a huge sucker for a domed eyeshadow, and of the mid-range and high-end ones that I’ve tried so far, these definitely come out above the others in terms of quality and wear. If you’re looking to spend under $15 on a baked shadow, these are your best bet!
However, compared to the rest of the Annabelle line, I found these pretty disappointing. While they’re not as pretty in the pan, the Mono and Trio Eyeshadows really take the cake in terms of quality. It’s not these are all terrible, it’s just that they’re… average. For drugstore shadows, I mean. Y’know?
More insomnia…
- Glitterama Eyeliners; Dark Angel and Night Light
- Dome Face Powder; Nox
- Rouge Velours Lipstick; Hypnotic {still to come!}
- Multi-Dome Eyeshadow; swatches and photos
- Multi-Dome Eyeshadow; Disturbia EOTD
Reviews of other products mentioned in this post:
- Annabelle Mono Eyeshadows: Hype, B-Ray, Painted Love
- Annabelle Trio Eyeshadows: Creme Caramel, Blue Hue, Blue Hue EOTD
