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What is your biggest annoyance/concern with eyeshadows?


What is your biggest annoyance/concern with eyeshadows? (e.g. texture, pigmentation, finish, etc.)

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I hate eyeshadows with bad texture. I don’t want chunky, powdery, or chalky eyeshadows!

Thanks to Dolce Aria for this question!

70 Comments

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Catherine Avatar

Hm, bad texture is definitely #1 concern for me, but staying power is a close second. Even layering two primers, I sometimes still have trouble with fading for some shadows (NYX, UD =/).

Vivian Avatar

i love urban decay, but some of their shadows have too much glitter! i hate the chunky glitter that causes major fallout. i wish they were all smooth in texture.

AZ Avatar

I hate glittery eyeshadows.. and all the fallout i just can’t deal with.

side question:
Christine: Remember when Nordstrom had the get 2 mac eyeshadow, get shroom free deal? So I bought 3 eyeshadows. Except I was trapped inside for a week due to the huge snowstorm and they didn’t get delivered for over a week. For some reason my All Races and Shroom eyeshadows are really bad. I can’t grab any eyeshadow with my brush or my fingers. It just seems like the eyeshadow melted into a rock. They’re just like a block and unless I use my nails to pick at it, I can’t get any. I don’t know if I’m making any sense but I don’t know what to do. I don’t think it’s because UPS had it for over a week… I also depotted them but I depotted all of my eyeshadows and they’re all fine. I have no idea why they’re not working. Can you help me figure out what’s going on?

Sarah Reding Avatar

I have the same problem with a Nars duo I just got called Rajasthan and its even a replacement for a duo I ordered that sucked called BoraBora and this was a free replacement. Im confused I have Rated R and its great buttery shadow and this is just like you said when you swipe it nothing hardly and brush doesnt wanna grab it. I did what Christine said and scrapped it a bit and now you can get it. Why should I have to do this though its almost like its got a layer of weirdness on top!! Hope ya had some luck.

Alicia Avatar

It bothers me when a shadow has a beautiful color but is packed really hard so the pigmentation cant be seen. does that even make sense? MAC’s Embark sucks for me.

Rosanna Avatar

Pigmentation, Fallout or chalky/powdery textures.

Colour sometimes worries me (something like if it’ll work with my skintone?), but rarely!

Chester Avatar

Glitter balls and bad color pay-off. I hate it when it looks like color+a little bit of glitter in the pan but when you put it on it’s almost no color+glitter ball. Bad color pay-off in general is annoying.

Virginia Avatar

I hate chalky eyeshadows that are almost impossible to blend. I have some Bobbi Brown shadows in a palette that look so great on, but I need like 5-10 extra minutes in the morning for my eye makeup, because it takes so much effort to make them look even. I also can’t stand fallout and creasing, although I used a base.

Mora Avatar

i hat when e/s have a shimmery texture in the pot, but are all matte, when they are applied. this often happens with drugstore products.

i don’t like also bad color payoff – i like strong colors.

Simone Avatar

All I really have to say is MAC Beauty Marked! beautiful colour in the pan, apply it and…ew.

but my peeves would be glitter OD and chalky shadows.

dolce aria Avatar

My biggest annoyance is a combination of a few. I want shadows to at least have the POSSIBILITY of going on “true to the pan”. I hate when colors change drastically when you put them on because they’re so sheer/chunky glittery/chalky. I don’t care ifs using it wet, over a base with a different primer—I just hate it when I want a specific color, that that product SHOULD be able to provide, and then it goes on like talc powder, and I can’t get the effect. I mean, I don’t mind the subtle differences/sheerness/variation to the finish, for most looks, But I always want there to be some way I can get JUST that shade of shimmery-purple-gold, since that is what i was visualizing when I started preparing the look in the first place!

Carrie Avatar

Fallout! I’m not in the habit of putting loose powder on my face first to help take it off, so I get annoyed when it happens.

Angie Avatar

I hateeee eyeshadows the glitter chunks that fall out. So horrible! I had the worse experience with urban decay eyeshadow in Midnight Cowboy. The fallout was so terrible I can’t imagine its their best selling shade!

caleigh Avatar

Fallout and I have a shadow from urban decay that was in the Alice in Wonderland palette and it had a lot of glitter and wouldn’t stay nicely

AnGeLwInGz Avatar

Christine, I’d like to copy your answer verbatim. On a side note: have you tried the single Maybelline Eyestudio shadows that have a solid color on one side and a swirly one on the other? Stupid me bought 3 of them just because they were cheap and I really don’t care for the texture or pigment. If you’ve tried them, what’s your opinion?

Anitacska Avatar

I agree with pigmentation, bad texture and staying powder. Don’t mind fallout too much if the eyeshadows are otherwise great, you can always brush it away afterwards and I never say never to glitter anyway. 🙂

Xtina Avatar

My biggest annoyance is that I can’t wear vibrant pink eye shadows. These shadows tend to give me an allergic reaction, and it sucks because I see all these cool looks people do, but I can’t do them myself! I wish there were bright pink colors I could wear that didn’t make my skin get red, dry, and irritated.

Jess Avatar

Mac Florida cremesheen blush works really well on my eyes – can put it on lightly or more heavily and it doesn’t look shiny or greasy. Maybe something like that would work better for you?

Vanessa Avatar

Texture!! If it’s flaky and chalky I won’t ever use it. Pigmentation is a close second, if not a tie.

The other thing that that is a make it or break it is color longevity after application. If it fades and needs constant touch up to maintain vibrancy, or changes color after it goes on my lid (teal colors always oxidize on my lid to a really ugly muddy color *cries*) I won’t use it. I want it to look the same way at the end of the day as when I started.

liana Avatar

I hate dry chalky and chunky glitter the most. You really have to work your brush in them to get decent payoff, Especially Mac Lustres, I avoid them no matter how pretty the colour looks in the pan.

Laura Avatar

I agree, I hate it when you have to dig in your shadow just to get a decent amount of shadow on your brush. I always feel like i’m wasting my shadow by doing that.

Nic Avatar

Pigmentation. I don’t generally have problems with fallout or staying power – I think a lot of that’s in the application. Texture is a concern. I’m not a fan of flaky or extremely powdery shadows. But pigmentation is my biggest concern.

rose Avatar

I hate eyeshadows with poor pigmentation. It’s really annoying to have to swipe tons of times to get color. Also eyeshadows with fallout — I really like matte eyeshadows. And also ones that fade, even with primer!

Tricia Avatar

Lack of pigmentation is one thing. But being one color in the pan and looking like a whole DIFFERENT color on your skin is like wtfffff. I recently swatched an eyeshadow that looked dark olive in the pan but it looked purple on my hand -___-

Hannah Avatar

when it looks pretty, yu get home and swatch t and it’s absolutley pigmented and smooth, you apply it in your crease…
…then when you blend it a couple of times the colour just…goes
then yo have to keep layering if you want a blended look, opt for a less blended look or just take it off and try somthing new
I also hate eyeshdows you cant blend and then stain when you take it off
I struggle to get my eyes looking even as it is…

Cherokee Avatar

Texture, fallout and pigmentation are my peeves. The worst eyeshadows are MAC’s Graphic Garden in Fresh Cut. Only two colors are any good. The rest sucks big time!!!!

Katie Avatar

I hate eyeshadows that take forever to show up (bad pigmentation basically). I think that annoys me more than bad texture, although that is also irritating.

Helena Avatar

The fact that it can be so hard to find good mattes. Why companies feel the need to ruin beautiful colors with glitter is beyond me (*cough* Urban Decay).

Vale Avatar

Since I buy almost just eyeshadows, I have a long list:
1) no pigmentation. I am pale, so, as you see better colours on a white sheet of paper, why over my skin you cannot see eyeshadows? That’s the reason I stopped from buying Dior quintets!
2) when the texture (in the box, not on my eyes) changes. You use it 3 times and you no longer see the smooth texture of the eyeshadow in the box, but sort of gross chalky areas. I HATE it!
3) fallout. I use every attention to avoid it while I put eyeshadows on, and after half an hour, my under eyes area is full of small coloured particles.
4) creasing. I put eyeshadow on my lids and after 3 hours, even using a base, the colour is in the blend of my skin and no longer on my lids.
5) texture. It doesn’t bother me so much, but of course, using a nice textured is of course a pleasure 🙂

… maybe too long? 😛
Vale

lazeny Avatar

I don’t like fading or creasing. I know the condition of my eyelids contribute to the creasing but I’ve used some very outstanding eyeshadows that never creased even after 10 hours of wear and one hour of gym.

I also don’t like cream shadows for the same reason. Even layering powder shadow on top of cream it still creases on me.

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