Last weekend, we looked at five picks for nails, so continuing on with the spring-theme, here are five eyeshadows that say spring is in the air!

• MAC Styledriven — soft, sky blue with a subtle satiny finish
• Inglot #412 — metallic, light-medium green with yellow undertones
• Benefit Fancy Pansy — iridescent lavender purple
• Inglot #319 — pale, cotton candy pink
• theBalm Luscious Lani — shimmering peachy-beige

What eyeshadow reminds you most of spring?

5 Lovely Lilac & Lavender Eyeshadows

Purple can be a hard color to nail, and even lighter variations of purple can be tough. For those who love the idea of purple but haven’t found a good way to wear it yet, consider a lighter shade, which can be easier to work with.

1. Benefit Fancy Pansy
2. Inglot #440
3. MAC Digit
4. Inglot #346
5. MAC Beautiful Iris

What’s your favorite lavender/lilac eyeshadow?

Benefit Fancy Pansy Eyeshadow ($18.00 for 0.11 oz.) is described as an “orchid silk.” It’s a cool-toned, pink-lavender with a pale, iridescent lilac shimmer-sheen. At first glance, it seems like it might be like shades such as MAC Stars ‘n Rockets, but it’s much, much lighter with less of a duochrome; it’s more like the iridescence of those types of shades without the strong fuchsia base. Inglot #346 is a matte version of this shade. Milani Royalty is the closest dupe I found.

It has a silky smooth texture, and the powder is finely-milled. It’s not powdery but so soft that it makes blending a breeze. The powder feels dense and buttery, so it delivers good color payoff without having to pack it on. Compared to other shades in the range, this one is just a tiny bit under-pigmented but that’s being nit picky.  Velvet Eyeshadows wear well, too, without fading during the day and no fall out occurs.  Another nice thing about the range is that they’re twice the size of most eyeshadows.  Fancy Pansy pairs well with darker purples, whether blue or red-based, along with navy blues.

The Glossover

	Fancy Pansy A+
	Benefit's Velvet Eyeshadows seem underrated or under-appreciated, because I think it's a really solid range, but I don't feel like I see people raving about these! They're double the size of typical eyeshadows with good color payoff and an amazing texture.
	Product 10/10 Pigmentation 9.5/10 Texture 10/10 Longevity 10/10 Application 5/5
	Where to Buy
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Benefit Fancy Pansy Eyeshadow

Benefit Fancy Pansy Eyeshadow

Benefit Fancy Pansy Eyeshadow

Benefit Fancy Pansy Eyeshadow

Benefit Fancy Pansy Eyeshadow

Benefit Velvet Eyeshadows for Spring 2010

Benefit Spring 2010 Eyeshadows ($18.00 each) come in six, limited edition varieties:  Bo Peep, Buns, Nice Melons, Shamrocker, Mermaid, and Fancy Pansy.  They’re new and only available for a limited time, unfortunately, but they are perfect spring-friendly shades.

I am a big, big fan of Benefit’s Velvet Eyeshadows. I have been for awhile (you can see my original review, if you’re curious), so when I found out that there were six new shades for spring, I got a little excited. When I saw that they had pops of color, I couldn’t wait to try them.  You know me, I love me some color–even though I can totally appreciate a good neutral–and Benefit finally brought me some color.

• Bo Peep is an icy pink with a silver sheen.  This is probably the one with the most frost-like appearance.
• Buns is a caramel brown with a soft golden bronze sheen.
• Nice Melons is a peachy-pink with gold sheen.  It would appear that nobody is going to escape spring without some sort of melon-esque shade in their makeup wardrobe.  Yes, it totally reminds me of MAC Melon pigment, but it’s in glorious pressed form.  (For the record, I do not like MAC pigments pressed… they’re not the same!)
• Shamrocker is a fresh, minty green with silver sheen.  I don’t even know if I have any minty greens in my stash–it’s just not a color you see too often.  I like!
• Mermaid is a dark green with a teal edge and gold sheen.  I would have loved to see a little more boldness and vibrancy from this shade, even though it is very much in line with the look and feel of Benefit as a line.
• Fancy Pansy is a iridescent fuchsia-purple pearled shade with an icy sheen.  It’s like a much more purple version of MAC Stars ‘n Rockets (which runs a little fuchsia in comparison).

All six shades have the same softness, smoothness, and pigmentation as I’ve come to expect of Velvet Eyeshadows.  One of my favorite qualities about these is the consistency across the line — there are no duds.  There are no misses in texture, color pay off, or feel.  Everything is as it should be, even if one color may not be to your taste.  I can really appreciate the consistency, because it means you don’t have to worry, “Is this one going to be a flop?”

I would, of course, love to see Benefit add even more vibrant hues (a girl can dream, right?) or even a line of matte or semi-matte eyeshadows to complement the Velvet Eyeshadow line (which is all on the shimmery side of life).  But nevertheless, I hope they’ll continue to release new and/or limited edition shades throughout 2010!

Can’t wait to do a look with these!

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• Product: 29/30
• Value: 9/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you love soft, smooth, well-pigmented eyeshadow, Benefit’s Velvet Eyeshadow is all that and more.

Availability: Benefit

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Bo Peep

Buns

Nice Melons

Shamrocker

Mermaid

Fancy Pansy

Bo Peep, Buns, Nice Melons

Shamrocker, Mermaid, Fancy Pansy