Wednesday 27 July 2011

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion Amethyst Ablaze

Awhile ago in New York, I picked up two of the new Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion palettes in #10 Amethyst Ablaze and #14 Forest Fury. According to the Maybelline USA website, there are 5 new palettes in total. These were retailing at US$10.99 each at Duane Reade, before sales tax. These aren't available in the UK, which has small duos instead (but I'd take the quints any day over duos as the former are much more versatile).


These are similar in concept and layout to the Eye Studio Hyper Diamonds palettes that are available in Singapore, Thailand and Japan. (See swatches of the Hyper Diamonds in this earlier post.) However, the Eye Studio Color Explosion palettes are made in Canada and contain 2.6g/0.09oz of product while the Hyper Diamonds palettes are made in China. Maybelline's eyeshadow palettes haven't appealed to me in the past due to the lacklustre shades and poor colour payoff but these new Color Explosion palettes looked much more promising.

Amethyst Ablaze is a lovely combination of purples and pinks with very fine shimmer particles, plus a silver glitter shade that is supposed to serve as a "luminizing topcoat". All the shades applied smoothly with good payoff except for the silver shade which is really just flecks of silver glitter.


After prepping with Urban Decay Primer Potion, I used a brush to apply the light pink shade over the browbone area and the fat sponge applicator to apply the purple shade along the upper lashline. Next, I blended the medium pink shade at the inner half of the upper lid and the burgundy shade in the outer half of the upper lid and along outer one-third of the lower lashline. I used the thin sponge applicator to apply the silver shade along the lower lashline.

Amethyst Ablaze impressed me with how well the eyeshadows held up over more than 12 hours of wear without fading. There was no fallout except with the silver glitter shade which got on my cheeks. For the price, I think the Color Explosion palettes are an excellent deal, as the shades are well pigmented and apply smoothly and true to how they look in the pan. The color payoff is even better than some of the recent Lancome palettes I've tried. The Color Explosion shade combinations are also more vibrant than the Hyper Diamonds palettes available in Asia.


List of ingredients.

14 comments:

quinn said...

you look really pretty in purple eye shadows :)

kuyam said...

whoaa...so pretty...the combinations of the colors drive me mad..i want it too! :)

akiki said...

oh my god... u look really good in purple!!!!

Maya said...

You look SOOOO PRETTY in the pic! :)

Von said...

omg so pretty n pigmented! u look radiant in this look.

Light Love said...

You look amazing! Love the palette idea :)

Tess said...

I'm lovin' it

insomniac said...

LOVE your look! the colors look fab too :D Wonder if these would be sold in Singapore?

maccaroon said...

You look pretty in purple :D

Haru said...

hi insomniac,
I doubt these will be available in Singapore as Maybelline Singapore usually gets the same product releases as Japan, not the US and Europe.

galpal.hi said...

This is a really gorgeous look! I love how you did your makeup!

*Kat*

Jessy said...

Lovely colours!

chalette said...

this is your best photo yet--you look so soft and angelic!

Anonymous said...

i second chalette! i am a silent reader but i just hv to post u rly look veh pretty n sweet in the last photo!