| Review | Westman Atelier Eye Pods in Les Jours

These luxurious little pots of eyeshadow are the latest release from the luxury clean beauty brand, Westman Atelier. These Eye Pods are what you'd expect from the easy, breezy clean beauty brand, luxurious, chic, and clean. From the packaging to the formula, these eyeshadows are designed to be an innovative and new take on eyeshadow. Described as a cream-powder hybrid formulation, I couldn't resist picking these up to put to the test. This one of the two color schemes available and it is the more wearable tones that I'm sure many will be interested in but I have also reviewed the smokier eyeshadow pods in Les Nuits here.


The Westman Atelier Eye Pods in Les Jours retails for $88.00 USD and is available at Westman Atelier and other retailers. Housed in little pots, or pods, each set comes with three pods in three different colored pods. Reflective gold, matte black, soft light grey, and matte soft pink are the iconic colors of the brand, which are all represented in the packaging of these eyeshadows. 






Each little pod is made of a thick and sturdy plastic with a screw on cap, which locks in. This is very chic, unique, and secure packaging. It's really is great for traveling with because they're so compact and the fact that the caps actually click closed means you're less likely to damage your eyeshadows during travel. Each of the pods are also magnetic, so the conveniently stack on top of each other and don't rattle loosely in your makeup bag.  It's a very cool and unique style of packaging. These pots look small but you can stick your finger into them, if you want to use your fingers for application. 




Let me just talk about how amazing an innovative these stacking pods are! It's not just a fun gimmick but it serves a really great purpose for both makeup artists but also anyone using these shadows. You can easily hold the stack of pods, take the cap from the one you're currently using and pop it underneath to hold the cap! Then, when you're done, you can grab the cap from the bottom pop it back on and switch pods! This is ingenious! I love this packaging and concept! I just didn't realize it until I started using the product!  



This stack of eyeshadow pods also comes with a little dust bag or storage pouch. This is something she includes with all her products but is something I rarely use. I will admit it is handy because some of my other products have gotten banged up and a little scratched from use. If you're really concerned about perfectly preserving the packaging, use the pouch. It's a nice addition but I personally don't use it. 

SHADES 

This is one of two Eye Pod sets or palettes because really, this is just a uniquely packaged palette. This trio contains three shades meant to compliment each other for a complete eye look. This set is the more natural combination of shades of the two sets currently available. Westman Atelier explains that each trio contains a "core" shade meant to be a base or smudgy liner, one shade that is an "accent" shade for an amplified pop of color, and one "highlight" shade to brighten the lids and tear ducts. This trio contains: 





Neige (highlight) - This shade is a true white pearl that doesn't lean cool and silvery or warm with gold tones. It really does resemble bright white snow, as the name implies. This shade has very fine white sparkles throughout but the shimmers are so fine, they aren't noticeable particles. They just add a soft glow to the eyes. 


Tabac (accent) - This shade is actually shockingly unique! I initially thought it was just a gold eyeshadow but when you swatch it, you can see it is a shade in between a gold and a rose gold. It has a beautiful warmth that adds depth to the this golden shade. I really love this tone and shade. It feels very different from your usual gold eyeshadow color and it is much more wearable for a range of skin tones. 



Chocolat (core) - This shade is a medium chocolate shade with a bronze undertone and there is a very subtle ultra-fine pink and green shimmers. These shimmers are obvious but they add a lot of depth and interest to what would be a brown eyeshadow. 

Swatches from left to right: Neige, Tabac, Chocolat

Swatches from top to bottom: Chocolat, Neige, Tabac

Swatches from left to right: Neige, Tabac, Chocolat

FORMULA 

This formula is described as a cream-powder hybrid formulation and this is a very accurate description for this formula. It has the look of a powder eyeshadow in the pan but when you dip your brush into it and swipe, you can see the creamy texture of this shadow. I recommend swiping several times to pick up product because it has a drier cream texture so, it requires more effort to pick up product with a brush.

The formula is very similar to the Colourpop Super Shock Eyeshadows but they have a drier texture, more like an emollient powder. The Colourpop eyeshadows are creamier but if you're looking for something similar and you don't need a clean formula, you may want to look into the Colourpop eyeshadows.



When you swipe these Westman Atelier shadows on the eyes, it applies like a dry cream eyeshadow, it doesn't have a super emollient texture but it does blend out like a cream. You will find that there is a medium pigment, depending on how much product you pick up on your brush. As you blend it, it sheers out a bit but you can always layer more product on. I prefer using a brush but because these behave so much like a cream shadow, you can use your fingers for easy application.

The nice thing abut this buildable pigment is that it is versatile and allows for a variety of ways to wear the shadow. You can wear it really sheer for just a wash of color on the lids, you can smudge it out for a smokey look, or you can keep layering for more impact. Due to its creamy texture, I didn't get any fallout during application. That isn't to say there isn't potential for fallout because while they behave like a cream, they still have the finish and texture of a powder. So, if you happen to pick up too much product on your brush, you could get a bit of fallout. Overall, it is greatly minimized by the creamy formula.

Without a primer, these shadows will last you 4-5 hours before starting to fade. You can get closer a full day of wear without fading, if you use an eye primer. I did notice that because of the emollient texture of these shadows, if you have a hooded lid or and eye lid that folds, there is potential for the shades to blend together into a muddy color after only 5 or so minutes of wear. This blend of shades only happens where the colors are layered and the lid is folding.


Without an eye primer you will also notice some creasing, it isn't extreme but it actually looks quite chic. When these shadows start to crease and fade, they give you a very "lived-in" look, like a purposefully smudgy and slightly grungy look. I actually really like the way it looks as it wears throughout the day but you can also layer on more product to touch up without an issue.

THE LOOK 

For this look, I took the shade Tabac all over my lid and into the crease, blending above the crease. Then I took Neige and applied it in my inner corners blending in toward the Tabac and upwards to brighten the inner corners. Then I took a dense smudging brush and applied Chocolat on my outer lower lashine blending slightly upwards to create a wing shape. I also smudged Tabac and Chocolat on the lower lashline to complete my look. 




FINAL THOUGHTS

This unique formula has me quite smitten! The formula is so easy to work with and looks so good with minimal effort! Using your fingers or a brush is so easy with this cream-powder hybrid. It creates an even and luminous veil of color over the eyes without enhancing texture, making the eyes look bright and youthful. While the wear time isn't long, it does wear beautifully throughout the day, leaving you with a very chic lived-in eye look. I think the color combination is so beautiful, sophisticated, and wearable for any skin tone. I'm very impressed with this unique formula and I am already excited to an extension to the shade line up! I also hope that perhaps they'll offer come of these as singles because I can see myself using some shades much faster than others. The quality of this formula and the fact that it is made with clean ingredients, makes it worth the slightly high price tag. I think everything about these eyeshadows is so well thought out. From the packaging to the formula, it is incredible impressive and I highly recommend it!

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