| Review | Victoria Beckham Beauty Smokey Eye Brick in Tuxedo
When Victoria Beckham first announced the launch of this collection, I knew I had to get a couple pieces. I'm not one to jump at grabbing celebrity makeup collections but this one really spoke to my style and makeup aesthetic. I was a huge fan of Victoria Beckham's previous collaboration with Estee Lauder and since the Co-Owner and CEO is Sarah Creal, who worked to create those collaborations with Victoria, I knew these products were going to have a similar quality and style. Like the Estee Lauder collaboration pieces, the eye products being released include satin eyeshadows designed after Victoria's iconic smokey eye looks and sparkly post of shadow for pops of shimmer. This Smokey Eye Brick in Tuxedo is designed after Victoria's iconic red carpet smokey eye look, which is a mixture of cool-toned taupes and grays. Read on to find out if the music, fashion, and now beauty icon nailed her first beauty release.
PRICE & PACKAGING
The Victoria Beckham Beauty Smokey Eye Brick in Tuxedo retails for $54.00 USD and is available at Victoria Beckham Beauty. These eye palettes are luxuriously housed in a very sleek compact with an almost-tortoise shell-like pattern on the front. The unique design and texture of the cover feels very Victoria Beckham. It is luxurious, chic, and sophisticated. Everything you would imagine coming from the fashion icon. The compact is very slim and is a lot smaller than I imagined. It's about the size of a credit card. You still get 8.5 grams of product, which for a luxury quad, is a great value. Comparing it to other luxury brands, Tom Ford as an unusually high amount of product in their quads at 10 grams and Charlotte Tilbury only offers 5.2 grams of product in her quads. For the price, I would say you're still getting a good value from these palettes. The compact is light but still feels very significant and luxurious in your hands. Using the little button on the side, you can release the compact and the top elegantly pops open. It feels like a very modern take on vintage packaging.
I have to commend Victoria Beckham for not only designing a beautiful compact but for making her packaging environmentally-friendly! From the exterior boxes to the packaging itself, she has tried to make everything eco-friendly as possible. The exterior boxes are made of recycled paper and minimal use of plastics in their actual packaging. Their very strong attempt and constant strive toward sustainable packaging is impressive and should be celebrated. Many luxury brands would not put in the effort to create sustainable packaging but they would rather put aesthetics over their impact on the environment.
SHADES
Victoria Beckham released 4 different Eye Bricks with 4 shades in each. This is one is modeled after her iconic red carpet smokey eye and includes a grayscale of shades in what is described by the brand as a satin-matte finish. The shades also vary in size depending on the shade. I believe the intention of this is because some shades will be used more or more often than others. For example, the lightest shade has the most product because it will be used the most as an all-over base shade. Whereas, the deepest shade is the smallest section because it will most often be used as a defining, smokey, or liner shade. The reason for all the shades being contained in one pan is to reduce the amount of packaging necessary, making the product more environmentally-friendly. It also suits Victoria's very fashionable and chic aesthetic.
From left to right the shades are:
Blanc - This is a very basic matte cream shade that works well all over the lid as a base or as a highlight on the brow bone. This shade is quite light and very brightening.
Rain - This shade is a very soft gray shade that is quite neutral, it doesn't lean too cool or too warm.
Noir - This is supposed to be a black but its more of a very deep charcoal shade. This shade has the driest formula of all the shades.
Fumée - This shade is a very cool taupe with very fine silver sparkle. The silver sparkle doesn't translate on the eyes. This shade is the patchiest of all the shades.
Swatches from left to right: Blanc, Rain, Noir, Fumée
These shadows swatch beautifully but they don't apply as pigmented as they appear in these images.
FORMULA
THE LOOK
For this look, I started with Fumée on the lid and blended it up to the crease with Rain. I applied Noir on my outer corner and used Blanc to highlight my brow bone. This is a pretty basic and classic grey and black smokey eye. This is how it looks freshly applied. The shades are very muted and only got more muted throughout the day.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I really wanted to love these but I just think they're ok. They're not bad in any way but they're not very special. The formula is frankly, mediocre. For a luxury brand, I expect a lot more in formula and performance, this palette falls a little short. The drier texture of the eyeshadows is really the biggest downfall in this formula. It doesn't adhere well, it doesn't wear well, and application requires a fair amount of effort with a fair amount of fallout. All of this produces a decent finished look but isn't impressive in any way. For the price and the prestige of the names behind the brand, I was expecting a much more exceptional finished look and for the application process to be a dream. While I don't regret getting this product, I probably won't buy another one unless there is a formula change. I also have a hard time recommending this product, as it is quite pricey and the quality is lackluster. I really wanted to love these because I'm such a huge fan of Victoria Beckham and I have seen many makeup artists use these eyeshadows beautifully but I can't seem to get these shadows to look as beautiful at the end fo the day. I'm going to keep working with them but I just don't think they're exceptional enough to recommend at the moment. Additionally, these shades are very basic and can be found almost anywhere and unfortunately, with a better formula.
This powder eyeshadow formula is very soft and on the drier side. When you initially dip your brush into the powder, there is a bit of kick-up and as you apply the eyeshadow, I noticed a fair amount of fallout. This powdery texture presents several issues, the first one being that it doesn't adhere well to the skin. This is the cause of the fallout but it also causes the deeper shades, like Fumée, to apply patchily. When I applied Fumée in the crease with a blending brush, it applied a bit patchily but when I patted it onto the lid with a flat eyeshadow brush, it didn't have this effect. The second issue the powdery texture presents is that it doesn't last very long on the eyes before it begins to fade. I was actually shocked to discover that after I applied the eyeshadow, in about five minutes it began to fade. It was really strange and it looked like my skin was absorbing the eyeshadow because it was so much lighter than when I initially applied it. As fifteen minutes passed, I looked at my eyeshadow again, and there was a bit of creasing but there was significant fading! I layered on some more eyeshadow and continued to finish up my face makeup and fifteen minutes later, it had faded again. Keep in mind, I was testing it without an eyeshadow primer but I would still not expect the eyeshadows to fade as rapidly as they did. Although they faded, it did so fairly evenly so, it gave me that kind of lived-in smokey eye look that is still very flattering. The fading is so disappointing because the eyeshadows are actually very pigmented and when initially applied are very true to color.
With primer, the eyeshadows experience significantly less fading, however, there is still subtle and noticeable fading within the first two hours. By about five hours in, there is still significant fading even with the eyeshadow primer. If you want more intensity and a bit more wear time, you will need a stickier base, like an eyeliner or cream shadow. Even with a stickier base, I still don't find the shadows to maintain their intensity like other formulas, which is a real shame. For some reason, my skin just absorbs and eats up these eyeshadows. I can't get them to stay on my eyes and I have never had this issue with other eyeshadows. THE LOOK
For this look, I started with Fumée on the lid and blended it up to the crease with Rain. I applied Noir on my outer corner and used Blanc to highlight my brow bone. This is a pretty basic and classic grey and black smokey eye. This is how it looks freshly applied. The shades are very muted and only got more muted throughout the day.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I really wanted to love these but I just think they're ok. They're not bad in any way but they're not very special. The formula is frankly, mediocre. For a luxury brand, I expect a lot more in formula and performance, this palette falls a little short. The drier texture of the eyeshadows is really the biggest downfall in this formula. It doesn't adhere well, it doesn't wear well, and application requires a fair amount of effort with a fair amount of fallout. All of this produces a decent finished look but isn't impressive in any way. For the price and the prestige of the names behind the brand, I was expecting a much more exceptional finished look and for the application process to be a dream. While I don't regret getting this product, I probably won't buy another one unless there is a formula change. I also have a hard time recommending this product, as it is quite pricey and the quality is lackluster. I really wanted to love these because I'm such a huge fan of Victoria Beckham and I have seen many makeup artists use these eyeshadows beautifully but I can't seem to get these shadows to look as beautiful at the end fo the day. I'm going to keep working with them but I just don't think they're exceptional enough to recommend at the moment. Additionally, these shades are very basic and can be found almost anywhere and unfortunately, with a better formula.
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2 Comments
My experience was the same sadly, using either the Signature or the Tweed palettes. Because they are dry I only use them as base shades now to layer other (better) eyeshadow on top. Very much a shame, as the launch with Estee Lauder was one of my favorites of all time, and I bought almost everything in that first collection.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s the color on your lips? Pretty color
ReplyDelete