Fred Farrugia Makeup

Formerly the artistic director of Lancome cosmetics, Fred Farrugia broke new ground by inventing the first ever all-cake brand offering customisable palettes that are highly portable and easy to apply.

Known as the "iPod of makeup" thanks to the ingenious packaging designed by Ora Ito, the line offers powder eyeshadows, lipglosses, foundations, concealers, highlighters and even cake mascara in generously sized pans within a sleek white "module".

You start with the First Kit, which includes the top and bottom covers and a black sleeve (similar to those made for iPods), and simply add the modules that you desire. The bottom module includes a mirror.

The modules snap together easily and swivel out for convenient access. The interlocking mechanism is made such that the modules close up with a reassuring click and stay closed no matter how they are held.



For modern day nomads, the slim lightweight packaging is a welcome relief from the bulky blockbuster palettes proffered by other brands. Each eyeshadow pan is 0.05oz (same as a MAC eyeshadow) while the blush is 0.15oz. They are made in France.

The sleeve comfortably fits my palette, which currently includes four eyeshadow modules and one blush, with enough space for me to add another module.

It covers up the palette well, so that there is no need to worry about the modules accidentally swiveling out while in one's bag.

When browsing the Fred Farrugia display, I was naturally attracted to the vast array of Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadows. The first pair I picked was #10 Vert Sapin / Gris Platinium. The Gris Platinum shade reminded me of Lancome's Erika F eyeshadow but when applied, it has less of an olive undertone than Erika F.


My next pick was Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadow #27, a shimmery grey mauve paired with a shimmery violet. The violet shade felt dry and dusty whereas the grey mauve shade has a smoother texture. Both have to be layered a bit to show up well.


Pearlized Twinkle Eyeshadow #34 is another shimmery grey with a shimmery light turquoise.

Satin Eyeshadow #37 is a satin white with a cobalt blue that reminded me of NARS Outremer Eyeshadow from their fall collection.

To complete the palette, I added Blush #2, a satin coral orange.

Swatches on bare skin without any primer underneath.

The eyeshadows are formulated with shimmering mother-of-pearl particles rather than glitter. When applied over a good primer, they last very well over more than 13 hours of wear on me with very minimal fading and creasing at the inner corners. The texture and level of color payoff do vary amongst the individual shades. Some shades required a bit of effort to pick up with my brushes. The pearlized twinkle eyeshadows look very rich and sparkly in the pan but most of them are not intensely pigmented like Sleek eyeshadows. Instead, they require a bit of layering.

Here's the look that I did today with Satin Eyeshadow #37 and the light turquoise shade from #34, with Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Curacao along the upper lashline.


When wearing such a bold, vivid shade, I usually refrain from applying it above the crease so that it does not look too over-the-top. Even then, the cobalt shade was eye-catching and got noticed by friends. It's not a shade that I would wear very often but it's fun to play around with on days when I'm feeling more adventurous.

For more reviews, do check out Makeup Stash and Makeup & Beauty Blog's posts here and here.