The Hit List: Worst Eyeshadow

Date: Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 Author:

Worst Eyeshadow? What eyeshadow wins this category? Brand? Specific color/shade?

85 thoughts on “The Hit List: Worst Eyeshadow

  1. Marni says:

    Icing eyeshadow palettes. It’s too powdery.

  2. valecia says:

    I really hate MAC’s cordorouy on me it is pointless I see nothing but thats just on me on my lil cousin its adorable GO figure!!! Oh and I am NOT a fan Femme Noir either

  3. Ariana says:

    MAC’s Forgery. Hate the finish and the color – I never use it!

  4. Shefali says:

    I’d have to say the shadows in Suite Array (duos) were really terrible. I’m really mad that I bought one. They’re not blendable and the color payoff is terrible.

  5. Allysha says:

    When eyeshadows get that gross oily layer on top of it, you can’t get any colour payoff :(

  6. Viv says:

    Kid was a waste of money..the texture is so hard to work with.

  7. Aprilrobin says:

    I haven’t puchased a “cheap” eyeshadow in years, so kepe that in mind when I say…

    MAC mineral shadows. Oh the creasy, super shiny lack of pigmentation. I wish they’d stop making them.

    • Maren says:

      I think exactly the same as Kandice in the below post. Really weird, how different eyeshadows can come out on different people. On me the Fresh Green Mix Mineralize eyeshadow e.g. is the most intense and pigmented bright green MAC has ever made beside Chartreuse pigment.

  8. Lindsay says:

    Trax…so pretty in the pan yet so horrible on my eyes. I really hate it.

  9. Nicole says:

    I hate MAC lustre finish. They are so dusty and the color is always under the eyes.

    I was once at a counter with a friend of mine. She looked for a new green. My friend and the MA chose a color and she applied the shadow and praised the colors to the skies. It suited her perfect, but it was a lustre! Holly shit. The powder was nearly everywhere but not on the lid. I told my friend not to buy a lustre and she picked a similar color. The MA was totally pissed because she had exchance the color, and in my opinion that was the worst service ever, because we said several times, no lustre and she didn’t accepted our wish.

    • viv says:

      are lustres really that bad? i’m planning to buy lustres, but if they’re that bad then…

      • Angi says:

        I have several that I like just fine. Swimming for instance. Something you have to test for yourself. And the ones in the Fafi Eyes 2 quad work very well for me

      • Danielle says:

        I think it just depends, mac retrospeck is fine! Pandamonium is fine.

        • pquanda says:

          Tempting and Charred are the best lustres I’ve come in contact with. Lustre’s aren’t HORRIBLE, but here’s the deal: You’re paying top buck (10.50 or 14.50), to not have some glitter, chunky, poor colour-payoff shadow. Not admissable.

    • Nicole says:

      In my opinion, yes, they are horrile!
      They are dusty, rough, glittery, the payoff isn’t good and I have to apply several coats to get good coverage. The restult is everything but not even.
      I own Retrospect, Gleam, Pink Venus, Idol Eyes and Smoking.

  10. Ummilkhair says:

    So far Mac’s Newly Minted. I hate it with a passion!!

  11. Mariah says:

    I have to agree about the MAC mineral eyeshadows. I truly hate them and never use them. I wish, I could’ve returned them!!!

  12. Julie Vognsgaard says:

    I think Cornflower is very difficult to work with. The more I try, the bluer it gets and the tiny purple sparks end up under my eye, even when I use paint pots.
    Sadly, since I am in love with the color, so now I use it wet.
    Same goes for Helium.

    I think Viz a Violet and Stars n Rockets has horrible staying power, even though everthing else stick well to my eyes.
    I have made a close match of Stars n rockets by mixing Violet and Fuchsia in a seperate jar.

  13. cloudburst says:

    MAC Pink Venus – I hate this colour so badly, it’s got such low pigment and makes me look like I was rubbing my eyes.

    I have to agree witht he Suite Array formula – so hard, so chalky…nice colours, but low quality.

  14. Chica says:

    Maybelline shadows have the worst colour pay off ever, I’ve bought 2 or 3 quads and thrown them away because I can’t make them work, even with mixing medium. Pure Luxe, despite rave reviews on youtube didn’t work for me either – they’re difficult to blend and the colours don’t translate well – for me at least, they all look too dark/too glittery on me.

    Also – have to agree with the suite array comments, super chalky, a problem i’ve never had with any of the ‘normal’ MAC shadows :(

  15. Shyan says:

    Mac’s swish eyeshadow, makes my eyes look like i have pink eye :P

  16. Nepenthe says:

    Wondering by Fresh Minerals. I don’t know if it’s the line, or just that colour.. I could pile on the whole pot and it wouldn’t make a differences as far as pigmentation goes. A shame too, it looks lovely in the pan. :|

  17. Erin says:

    MAC’s Lotusland and Sunset B from the Starflash collection. TERRIBLE chalky mess!!!!! I am so mad that I purchased them.

    • DevilishDoll says:

      Wow, really? I have them both and they aren’t even slightly chalky for me. I love them so much that I want to get backups of them. Also got Blue Zone from Suite Array and I love it too. So far, I haven’t found a single MAC eyeshadow that I don’t like. I hate every other brand of eyeshadow I have found though.

    • minsue says:

      really?!? I love those colors! Sunset B is actually the only pink MAC has that i think had a good color pay off… i

    • Shefali says:

      OMG I didn’t buy anything from Starflash for the same reason! Chalky messes and no color payoff.

      • Amy says:

        You REALLY should reconsider this. I own almost the whole Starflash collection of eyeshadows… They go on smooth and perfect… almost no need for a base in fact, and the color payoff is insane!!!!

      • Amy says:

        From higher end lines… By FAR MAC violet pigment… It seems to clump together even in the jar… It creases… It doesn’t work well even wet and it loses pigmentation when you attempt to blend… BLECH! What a disappointment for such a beautiful color!

    • Amy says:

      DAMN! I love Sunset B!

  18. Katherine says:

    I have to second the Maybelline diss – I have a duo that even with Primer Potion, crumbled and creased into a mess after only a few hours of wear.

    I also really, really hate Rimmel shadows. They are chalky and cheap.

  19. Jen says:

    I don’t like Mac’s showstopper, way too dark and I can’t seem to make it work for me, I also hate all the lustre finishes.

  20. Danielle says:

    ok don’t laugh but I actually like some of Maybelline’s e/s’S… I have a few that I refer to as dupes to some of MAC’s like Humid and Deep Truth, for ex. From what I’ve gathered, Maybelline recently changed their e/s formula, like in the past 2 years I’d say, and you can see a diference. This does not apply to all of their e/s’s, just to some that I refer to as diamonds in the rough lol… I feel the same way about make up as I do about people, there are good and bad in every kind, in this case, in every brand.

    As far as worst e/s… I’d say Stila, Rimmel, and Claire Accessories M/UP

    • pquanda says:

      Stila? Wow! Id never thought I’d see that. What don’t you like about ‘em (nothing wrong, just so shocked to see that on here!)

  21. DaniMae says:

    MAC’s Honey Lust. I think it’s the only Lustre I own, and now I realize why LOL It’s just chalked full of glitter. Same with all the mineral shadows. FAIL!

    • msviolet says:

      I have Honey Lust as well, which looked pretty in a swatch on my hand but when I brought it home…nothing but chunky glitter fallout. No more lustres for me!

  22. kat says:

    ugh MAC’s “beauty marked” is one shadow i wish i never purchased. on my skin, it’s the equivalent of “carbon” w/o the marroon flecks.

    NYX shadows are crap too. they’re good for their purchase price (1.99). but they’re overly powdery….almost like loose baby powder.

    also, i’m going to be on board alone here, but i HATE MAC pigments. they never seem to stay where they’re placed. i always end up with glitter all over my cheeks. even if i use udpp, the result is the same.

    • Shefali says:

      Hey Kat – I’ve been a MAC addict since 2000 and I NEVER liked pigments. Matter of fact, I only owned one, Violet, for 7 years and never purchased any for the same reason you mentioned – glitter everywhere, horrible creasing, and fallout, fallout, fallout. UNTIL…I started reading Temptalia and made my homemade mixing medium. WOW…I now LOVE pigments and have bought like 8 this year because I never have fallout anywhere or glitter on my cheeks. I use UDPP and with the mixing medium to help me put it on, I never have creasing. Plus, the pigments looks AMAZING when I put them on with the mixing medium as opposed to without.

    • abby says:

      I feel the same way about beauty marked. Waste of money for sure!

  23. Angi says:

    I am not a fan of Bobbi Brown’s shadows. I have several and I can’t get any color out of them. Not even enough to be considered neutral or a no-make up look.

  24. Macaddict says:

    Hey kat,
    Actually u r not alone: don’t hate them but own 25 of them and they are very difficult to work with since they seem to always end up on my cheeks and everywhere else but the eye lids. Very messy. I have been using makeup for 30 years so I am not a beginner…
    Also I don’t buy cheap makeup but many higher end makeup[ and e/s don’t have good color payoff for the price:
    - Elizabeth Arden
    - Lancome
    - Christian Dior (too shimmery)
    - Bobbi Brown (way too many neutrals….)
    - some Chanel (not all are created equal…)
    - MAC Suite Array (of which, I am happy to say, I did not buy any)
    - and, to my utmost dismay. some of the NARS Night collection e/s have way too many sparkle bits, making them useless on the eyelids (such as the white one, the peachy one, and the lavender one. Sorry I don’t remember the names by heart)

    • Terry says:

      I confirm: some Nars e/s from the Night Series are useless, because their colour and sparkles don’t show on lids. I’ve tried Night Fairy (the lavender one), a total waste of money.

  25. Theresa says:

    MAC’s Pink Venus wins hands down for me.

    It put me off lustre finishes for quite a while. Took a chance with MAC’s Greensmoke (this one’s also a lustre) but surprisingly the payoff for Greensmoke is awesome for me!

  26. jess says:

    Stila shadows are generally too darn shimmery for me, but I do like Kitten and a few others.

    I really dislike the Sephora brand eyeshadows – no color payoff, don’t go on smoothly, etc.

  27. Sana says:

    I would have to say MOST but not ALL of the MAC Lustre eyeshadows…there is too much fall out, color pay off is rarly decent and it just ends up IRRITATING me!

  28. Jennifer says:

    Urban Decay’s Midnight Cowboy Rides Again.

    Seriously.

    I know people love it. But I just look like a fairy exploded on my face. The glitter goes everywhere except for where I want it.

    Some MAC Lustre shadows are not so nice either – Swimming takes too much work to get the payoff I want, in my experience.

  29. claudia says:

    Rimmel shadows are the worst! I don’t know how the rest of their stuff is, but I’m really turned off of that brand!

    As far as MAC goes, the only ones I have truly disliked are Motif (I could not get good color payoff for the life of me!), and also Forgery (white glitter is not flattering).

  30. Jackie says:

    I wish I would have never bought MAC Sumptous Olive. It just really doesn’t look good on me. Also the mineralized eyeshadows from MAC. They are a hot mess.

  31. Nell says:

    MAC Mineralize Eyeshadows, Lustre Finishes and all UD shadows with glitter in them – HATE glitter!!!

  32. Chocobon says:

    For me the ones I like least are MAC Pink Venus and MAC Forgery, so difficult to work with, glitter everywhere, such a mess! I still haven’t given up on them though!! Oh and Dreammaker from Starflash!!

  33. sophia says:

    The MAC suite array are disappointing, which is why I never bought any of them.
    I thought Climate Blue is pretty chalky too, as with Bitter.

    I have no problems with the MAC lustre eyeshadows I have, mainly Aquadisac and Tempting.
    Overall, MAC eyeshadows are very good in quality. I bought a Mineralised duo (Bright Side/Gallery Girl) from their minerals collection recently, but color payoff is great and it doesn’t fallout, especially when used wet.

  34. Steve says:

    I agree Climate Blue was a major let down. I really really wanted a nice intense indigo…insted it just turns grayish.

  35. Nicky says:

    All red eyeshadows. it’s always like you’ve been hit or something.

  36. Lisa says:

    Wet ‘N Wild eyeshadow. I haven’t used it in YEARS but had to buy some when I went on a trip and forgot to pack eyeshadow. Talk about a heart-stopping moment!!! It really doesn’t have any pigment to it – almost like wearing nothing.

  37. Brooke says:

    any Milani shadows for sure, they don’t stay on with even UDPP, and all MAC Lustre shadows. MAC should be ashamed to even sell them lol

    • Amy says:

      Wow! I really like Milani shadows. Definitely not the Wet/Dry shadows that were raved about – they’re overrated. But I have an awesome sparkly black that is one of my staple shadows. I do use them with mixing medium, though.

  38. Dawn says:

    I bought a pallet from Clinique, Polar Ice? Polar Blue? It was a quad of 3 blues and a cream colored highlighter, and they are really bad. I even tried to blend with some MAC but nothing helps it. The color pay off is bad and they are just weak.

    • Dawn says:

      OH! and I agree with the others; I dont like MAC Lustre shadows. I have tempting that is pretty but it gets so messy. I can work with one, but thats all!

  39. Alyssa says:

    MAC Beautymarked. Terrible texture, terrible color pay-off, terrible eyeshadow in general. I’m not all that impressed with MAC shadows to begin with (I prefer Urban Decay and Stila), but Beautymarked was a stand-out terrible eyeshadow in my opinion.