The product: Physicians Formula Butter Eyeshadow review in Sultry Nights and Tropical Days

Edmonton may be experiencing a spring cold snap right now, but my eyeshadow looks have been swiftly moving towards summer. The new Physicians Formula Butter Eyeshadows offer a moment of tropical bliss. My world is otherwise pretty grey and snowy right now, so it’s a nice little break!

(Has anyone else ever noticed that it’s “Physicians Formula” and not “Physician’s Formula”? That seems weird to me.)

Physicians Formula “Sultry Nights” Butter Eyeshadow review

The Physicians Formula Butter Eyeshadow formula

While we’re talking about Physicians Formula, we may as well talk about the formula of their butter eyeshadows. I had a mixed experience with these: some shades are chalky and talc-y; others are buttery and pigmented. It’s an experience that’s common in eyeshadow palettes, and especially in drugstore eyeshadow palettes, but I was a little disappointed.

Physicians Formula makes some of my favourite products from the drugstore, so my expectations were high. Their eyeliners and lip products are great, and their base products with SPF are really innovative and well-done. But at $16.95 USD each, I think I’d have liked these palettes to feature more pigment and less talc. 

Physicians Formula “Tropical Days” Butter Eyeshadow review

The Physicians Formula Butter Eyeshadow palettes smell like a tropical drink or a sunscreen-filled beach day. It’s unique and a little weird, but it doesn’t bug my eyes at all—even though they’re sensitive. The formula contains murumuru butter, cupaçu butter, and tucuma butter. It’s just as “incredibly soft and ultra-creamy” as promised, but I definitely find that these eyeshadow apply better wet over primer, rather than “wet or dry.” On me, they fade throughout the day, but don’t crease as long as I use a good primer. However, they have a rather massive amount of fallout (especially for the shimmery shades), so take care to apply before finishing your base layer and clean up the skin in between.

The Physicians Formula Butter Eyeshadows are lovely, but they rely heavily on a high talc content. Apply wet and blend gently, or use a super-tacky primer for best results.

Physicians Formula “Tropical Days” Butter Eyeshadow swatches (primed skin, indirect sunlight)

Physicians Formula “Tropical Days” swatches & photos

The Physicians Formula Butter Eyeshadow Palette in Tropical Days is the warmer of these two, with lots of rich, red hues to set it apart. It’s best, I think, on medium skin with a bit of a bronze to it. (Luckily for us, Physicians Formula also do a Butter Bronzer! I haven’t tried it, but I do think this kind of creamy, pressed powder formula is suited well to cheek products.)

These palettes are just over $16 USD, or about $21 CAD. I think that price is a little high for what you get, but Physicians Formula tends to price their products just a bit higher at the drugstore—which they make up for with awesome sales every season or two.

If you can wait to purchase these, I would; they have a considerable amount of fallout, and blend away with too much ease. But they’re far from a bad product, and I love Ready for Rio in Tropical Days. It’s the bronze shade in the upper right hand corner, and I swear, it’s like someone took metal and melted it down into a butter. The amount of fallout it produces is over the top, but it’s so creamy and rich—I really like it.

Physicians Formula “Sultry Nights” Butter Eyeshadow swatches (primed skin, indirect sunlight)

Physicians Formula “Sultry Nights” swatches & photos

Both of the Physicians Formula Butter Eyeshadow colour palettes have shades that call to me, but Sultry Nights is special. With a bit of extra effort, it really shines, despite its more finicky nature.

Reservation for Two, the flakey taupe on the right hand side of this palette, is the exact kind of transparent shimmer that I love. Rainforest Queen, in the centre, is equally as gorgeous. But both need proper care: the flakey taupe needs to be patted on top of other eyeshadows to really shine, and the centre shade needs to be applied over a black base to look as intense and gold-black as it can.

After Dark (bottom right) is also done well. It’s a simple black, but its formula is free of the tiny issues that pop up in other shades of this palette. Instead, it’s intense and blendable, with the perfect amount of pigmentation for a soft eyeliner accent.

The only place where these eyeshadow suffer is in this palette’s beiges, as in Tropical Days. Moonlight Beige (top right), Sun Down (centre left), and Bae-Cation (top left) are all pretty chalky and sheer. If you’re hoping to get a lot of natural makeup looks out of this palette, I think there are better options out there—even within the Physicians Formula line. But for a bit of summery fun, this is nice!

The Physicians Formula Butter Eyeshadow verdict?

Honestly? The scent of this formula is so unique, and there are a couple of shades in these palettes that are knockouts. But despite all of that, I don’t think I’d recommend these palettes. Their talc-heavy formula is thick and chalky, and most of the shades blend away to nothing in two quick flicks of a brush.

Physicians Formula do so many amazing products, but their Butter Eyeshadows get a pass from me. Instead, I’d recommend the Physicians Formula Eye Booster Gel Eyeliner Trio ($11.95 USD), which are some of the least smudgy pencil eyeliners I’ve found for monolids at the drugstore. I know Chelle of Makeup Your Mind loves their 2-in-1 Eye Booster Brush-Tip Liner as well, and they’re doing some really cool things with their skincare line at the moment!

Availability: $16.95 USD at Physician’s Formula and Ulta.

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These palettes are press samples, supplied by PR for editorial consideration only. This post also contains affiliate links.