bareMinerals The Cliff Hanger Ready Eyeshadow Duo Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:00:14 +0000

bareMinerals The Cliff Hanger Ready Eyeshadow Duo

bareMinerals The Cliff Hanger Ready Eyeshadow Duo

bareMinerals The Cliff Hanger Ready Eyeshadow Duo ($20.00 for 0.10 oz.) contains two shades: Suspense (natural stone) and Awe (violet woods). This is one of seven new duos for spring/summer. Each duo is packaged in a rubberized plastic compact with a full-size mirror inside and a sponge-tipped applicator. Each eyeshadow is the size of the average full-size eyeshadow (0.05 oz.).

Suspense is is a light-medium gray-beige with a matte finish. It’s a lighter taupe, mushroom-y kind of color. The color payoff is excellent, and the texture is soft, dense, and rich without being powdery. Guerlain Les Gris is lighter and shimmery. I was surprised when I wasn’t able to think of any other dupes!

Awe is a cool-toned, ultra dark purple with hints of teal and silver shimmer. It’s almost a blackened-purple, but there’s not enough darkness there (which isn’t a bad thing–blackened colors often lose the color nuance once applied). The pigmentation is good, but it’s not perfect–the texture is a smidgen on the drier side, especially compared to many of the other shades within the formula. bareMinerals Daring is similar but more intense, a little more purple. MAC Indigo Noir is purpler, less gray.

These two shades together aren’t quite as complementary as a lot of the other duos the brand has released. They certainly work together, but for whatever reason, it’s just not as effortless. I think it might be the beige-ness of Suspense that makes it more difficult. I love the texture and feel of Suspense, and it’s such a lovely, versatile neutral matte shade to work with. Awe applies fine, but you might need to go back to darken the area you applied it to. I did have a little fading with Awe after eight hours (without a primer–no fading when used over a primer) as well.