e.l.f. Studio Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow

e.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow

This review is long overdue.  I meant to review the e.l.f. Studio Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow months ago, but life happened, so here it is finally.  I’m going to say it outright here in the beginning, I love these shadows!  E.l.f. did a fantastic job with the formula.  If you haven’t tried the Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows yet, you really must.

E.l.f. says of their Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows: “Soft and fluffy, these vibrant, shimmering Long Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow colors can be used as eyeshadow or a bold liner. The whipped gel texture is easy to blend and lightweight for lasting comfort and wear. Perfect for highlighting the brow bone and adding extra shimmer for a truly glam look.”

E.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows have a very interesting an unique texture.  They are similar to a cream shadow, but they truly do have a gel formula.  The product with the closets texture that I am familiar with would be the Maybelline Bouncy Blushes.  But the Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows aren’t a mousse.  They are squishy like the Bouncy Blushes, but the formula feels cool going on and much more lightweight.

e.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow squished to show texture

The Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows feel great on the eye.  The formula is smooth, and despite how shimmery they are, they don’t feel gritty.  I was worried at first that the gel formula would make my eyes feel suffocated or sticky, but I thought the Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows were so lightweight that they were hardly noticeable at all.  They blend very easily on the eye, both with each other and with powder shadows.

Of the four shades that I chose, three were richly pigmented, but can easily be sheered out.  The fourth shade was just as easily built up for better intensity.  I found that it was best to apply the Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows with my fingers for intense, concentrated pigmentation, and use a brush to blend and sheer out the edges.  For a light wash of color over the lids, I’d use a brush.  Keep in mind, however, that the more sheer the color pay-off, the more apparent the shimmer will be.  That’s why I really do prefer my fingers with these.

I found the Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows to indeed be very long-lasting.  The formula performed perfectly for me.  Keeping in mind that I have dry lids, I have been able to wear the shadows without a primer underneath for at least eight or nine hours without any fading or creasing.  In fact, I wonder if e.l.f. built some primer into the formula, because they do not budge on me until I choose to take them off.

The only drawback to the e.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows is how sparkly they are.  The “lustrous” part of their name is meant to indicate how packed with shimmer these shadows are.  I, for one, have no issue with shimmer shades.  I welcome them, even in the day time.  But I know that some of you are not as big a fan of shimmer, so that would be a huge deterrent for you.  I have found that pairing them with matte shadows cuts down on the impact of the shimmer to make them more appropriate for day time, but it really is a matter of personal taste.

E.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows come in seven shades, and I have four of them.

e.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow in Party

Party is a shimmery asphalt gray shade.  It appears darker in the pan than it applies.  Party was the least pigmented shade of the four that I have, and definitely takes two layers for full opacity.  You can build it up for very nice color pay-off, and I thought it was an easier to work with than a true black.  The sparkle in Party is more of a micro glitter than a shimmer, and is pretty high-sparkle.

e.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow in Gala

Gala is the most pigmented of the four shades that I have.  One swipe delivers intense opaque color.  Gala is a warm, coppery brown with plum undertones.  The plum becomes more apparent when you sheer it out.  The sparkle in Gala is more subtle than some of the others, making at a much more wearable shade in the day time.  They are more like subtle shimmer particles that full-on sparkle.

e.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow in Soiree

Soiree, like Gala, is extremely pigmented.  It is a lovely iced pink and looks beautiful paired with a variety of shades.  I really love Soiree.  There is a lot of shimmer, more so than Gala, but I feel it is less noticeable than what’s in Party.  Soiree is gorgeous, and really versatile in my opinion.

e.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow in Festivity

Festivity is the final shadow I have in this line.  It is not as pigmented as Gala or Soiree, but more so than Party.  Festivity is a brown based Plum shade.  It looks  more purple in the pan, but the brown comes out during application.  The shimmer falls somewhere between Gala and Soiree.

Here is a swatch of the four shades, one in indoor light and one in sunlight.  In the pictures Festivity is looking pretty brown, but in real life it looks a little more plum.  Also, the sparkle was hard to capture in the photographs, but you can get the general idea.

(L-R) Party, Gala, Soiree, and Festivity (Indoor Light)

(L-R) Party, Gala, Soiree, and Festivity (Sunlight)

All in all, if you like sparkle, the e.l.f. Studio Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows are awesome.  If you are more of a matte eye girl, so are going to want to skip these entirely, but otherwise, give them a try.  At $3.00 each, what do you have to lose?  The three remaining shades in the line are a gold, a white, and an ice blue.  I have heard that the lighter shades are less pigmented, but remember that these shadows are quite buildable.  Aslo, I have had them since November, and there is no sign of them drying out at all, so no worries there.  I do not believe that the Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows are at Target yet, so be sure to check them out at eyeslipsface.com to order.