Danessa Myricks Alien, Cosmic, Milky Way Colorfix Foils Reviews & Swatches
Alien
Danessa Myricks Alien Colorfix Foils ($18.00 for 0.34 oz.) seemed to have a translucent base with finer and larger shimmer and glitter particles that shifted from copper to pink. It contained plastic (PET) glitter, though it was listed as safe for use on eyes, lips, and cheeks.
The consistency was more fluid when initially squeezed out of the tube, but it dried down quickly (which is a selling feature of the formula) and felt tackier and more prone to pilling/bunching up on itself when I worked with it–even as it was drying down–so I found this shade particularly difficult to work with. It seemed to dry down even faster than the matte/metallic finish in my experience.
I think the end result, because it was quite glittery, looked better in person (as one moves) than swatched alone, but it is definitely a product that can’t be looked at too closely. It had semi-sheer color coverage that applied somewhat evenly but was hard to really spread and blend out perfectly. Once it dried down, it was fairly budge-proof.
It wore well for nine hours with very minimal fallout as an eye and cheek product. It wore well for five hours but had noticeable migration as a lip product, which degraded more readily if one ate with it on (water was okay, coffee was not). I found it easier to apply a little more product on my lips to get more coverage compared to eyes/cheeks.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Pat McGrath VR Violet (PiP, $25.00) is more shimmery, darker, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Pat McGrath CosmiK (LE, $25.00) is brighter, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Give Me Glow Mystery Topper (P, $7.00) is more shimmery, lighter, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Linda Hallberg Cosmetics Moonwake (PiP, ) is more shimmery, lighter, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Celestial Pearl #2 (LE, ) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Danessa Myricks Venus (P, $18.00) is more shimmery, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Celestial Eyes (Prime) (LE, ) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Make Up For Ever 107 Bronze (P, $26.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Anastasia B2 (Norvina Mini Vol. 1) (LE, $12.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- Pat McGrath Binary Sunset (LE, $25.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$18.00/0.34 oz. - $52.94 Per Ounce
The formula is a cream product that is supposed to be "highly pigmented," "smudge proof," "waterproof, and "rapid drying." They're multi-purpose products that can be used on the eyes, lips, and cheeks (though note: the Foil finish includes plastic, or PET, glitter, which is technically not considered eye safe via FDA).
The key takeaway with this formula is that they really do mean "rapid drying" -- it is both a pro and a con, but you have to work quickly and efficiently when using this product on the skin where one might want to diffuse, spread, or blend out edges. While the brand is consumer-friendly, this product is particularly favored by makeup artists, and I did feel like there was a learning curve with them.
Some shades dry a little faster than others, and once they dry down, they are pretty smudge proof as marketed, so they don't want to be moved. Attempts to blend them out after they set often resulted in the product lifting off the skin. They are also, typically, quite pigmented, so one should exercise caution when applying to cheeks initially. I found that some of the more sparkly shades were sheerer.
The consistency was thin, lightweight, and a runnier cream, which meant that it was easy to squeeze out more product than desired from the tube for the uninitiated. After a few uses, I was able to dial in the pressure I needed to squeeze out the product and was consistently able to get what I needed from there.
Eyes
Depending on the intensity of the shade relative to your skin tone and whether you wanted a sheerer or more opaque end result, fingertips or synthetic brushes would be the primary tools. I found that I often preferred to put a little product on the back of my hand and then used either my fingertips (for more all-over application) or a brush (for more precise or opaque application). For precision and ease of use (as my fingertips are a little large compared to my eye size), I liked fluffy, synthetic brushes to diffuse the edges or sheer out the product.
Some of the Foil shades in particular tended to a little thicker and tackier when applied, and I wasn't always able to maneuver them evenly. They seemed to work better as an accent, like on the inner tear duct or on the middle of the lid.
The majority of shades were very pigmented, fairly blendable, and long-wearing, while most shades lasted 10 hours without fading, creasing, or flaking. I did feel like my eyelids got a little drier from wearing several of these shades for multiple days in a row.
Lips
They applied a lot better to lips than I anticipated, as I often find that multi-purpose products do well on one or two areas but rarely all of them. The product applied well with a fingertip or a lip brush, though for speed, I liked using a fingertip. The majority of the shades applied evenly, didn't emphasize my lip texture/lip lines, and were comfortable enough to wear.
The dry down was noticeable, but the product had light tackiness, though I didn't have issues with the color lift up. Despite having more of a liquid lipstick kind of dry down, it still felt lighter-weight and was flexible, which is what made it more comfortable to wear. I didn't see marks left on my glass, and they easily lasted through a cup of coffee. Most shades seemed to wear for six hours or longer on me.
The more sparkly shades with less opacity tended to be least even and felt tackier, and if I pressed and rubbed my lips together, it seemed like some product moved a bit.
Cheeks
As cheek application is often sheerer, rather than full coverage, applying the more pigmented shades to cheeks took some getting used it as one has to work quickly and start with way less than you need. I preferred using more feathery, duo-fiber brushes for really vivid shades to diffuse and apply product on cheeks better, but fingertips worked for getting an initial placement and then a clean brush was lovely for the blending portion.
The wear time on cheeks was comparable with eyes (so around 10 hours of good wear).
Editor's note: I don't know why I didn't make this connection previously (at some point, I was aware they were multi-use), as I bought these as cream eyeshadows for review. If I had to go back and do swatches of each shade on cheeks and lips, I might never, ever review (based on the volume of other products I have in the queue), so while I tested each shade for application, pigmentation, longevity, etc. for all three purposes, you will only find a skin swatch.
Browse all of our Danessa Myricks Colorfix Foils swatches.
Ingredients
Water/Aqua/Eau, Mica, Polyurethane-2, Alcohol, [+/-: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI77492, CI77499), Red 40 (CI16035), Yellow 5 (CI77288)], Polyethylene Terephthalate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol.
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Alien
PPermanent. $18.00.
Cosmic
Danessa Myricks Cosmic Colorfix Foils ($18.00 for 0.34 oz.) is a deep black with fine flecks of silver glitter/sparkle that gave it a smoother, metallic sheen that twinkled subtly in the light. It contained plastic (PET) glitter, though it was listed as safe for use on eyes, lips, and cheeks.
It was richly pigmented to the point where a little went a long way, and one would definitely want to use less rather than more whenever working with it on the eyes/cheeks where blending was desired. It was easiest to work with this as an eyeliner, lid color, and a lip color as it was difficult to get a truly diffused edge as a cheek color.
The consistency was very fluid, thin but substantial enough not to be prone to sheering out, and quick to dry down (as marketed). It wore well for 10 hours without fading or creasing–and had minimal fallout–as an eye and cheek color. As a lip product, it went on a lot more smoothly than I expected and lasted for a solid five hours but sparkle migration was more noticeable over time. The formula felt a little drying to me, particularly as a lip product.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Makeup Geek Dark Matter (P, $12.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Coloured Raine Smoke Screen (LE, $6.99) is less shimmery, cooler (95% similar).
- Dose of Colors X-Ray (P, $20.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- ColourPop Iced Latte (PiP, $4.50) is lighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Revenge (Misunderstood) (LE, $4.50) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Makeup by Mario Master Metallics #12 (PiP, ) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Chanel Noir Lamé (908) (LE, $30.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Black Sand (Cream) (LE, $45.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- ColourPop Friskie (P, $6.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty SS18 (LE, $36.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$18.00/0.34 oz. - $52.94 Per Ounce
The formula is a cream product that is supposed to be "highly pigmented," "smudge proof," "waterproof, and "rapid drying." They're multi-purpose products that can be used on the eyes, lips, and cheeks (though note: the Foil finish includes plastic, or PET, glitter, which is technically not considered eye safe via FDA).
The key takeaway with this formula is that they really do mean "rapid drying" -- it is both a pro and a con, but you have to work quickly and efficiently when using this product on the skin where one might want to diffuse, spread, or blend out edges. While the brand is consumer-friendly, this product is particularly favored by makeup artists, and I did feel like there was a learning curve with them.
Some shades dry a little faster than others, and once they dry down, they are pretty smudge proof as marketed, so they don't want to be moved. Attempts to blend them out after they set often resulted in the product lifting off the skin. They are also, typically, quite pigmented, so one should exercise caution when applying to cheeks initially. I found that some of the more sparkly shades were sheerer.
The consistency was thin, lightweight, and a runnier cream, which meant that it was easy to squeeze out more product than desired from the tube for the uninitiated. After a few uses, I was able to dial in the pressure I needed to squeeze out the product and was consistently able to get what I needed from there.
Eyes
Depending on the intensity of the shade relative to your skin tone and whether you wanted a sheerer or more opaque end result, fingertips or synthetic brushes would be the primary tools. I found that I often preferred to put a little product on the back of my hand and then used either my fingertips (for more all-over application) or a brush (for more precise or opaque application). For precision and ease of use (as my fingertips are a little large compared to my eye size), I liked fluffy, synthetic brushes to diffuse the edges or sheer out the product.
Some of the Foil shades in particular tended to a little thicker and tackier when applied, and I wasn't always able to maneuver them evenly. They seemed to work better as an accent, like on the inner tear duct or on the middle of the lid.
The majority of shades were very pigmented, fairly blendable, and long-wearing, while most shades lasted 10 hours without fading, creasing, or flaking. I did feel like my eyelids got a little drier from wearing several of these shades for multiple days in a row.
Lips
They applied a lot better to lips than I anticipated, as I often find that multi-purpose products do well on one or two areas but rarely all of them. The product applied well with a fingertip or a lip brush, though for speed, I liked using a fingertip. The majority of the shades applied evenly, didn't emphasize my lip texture/lip lines, and were comfortable enough to wear.
The dry down was noticeable, but the product had light tackiness, though I didn't have issues with the color lift up. Despite having more of a liquid lipstick kind of dry down, it still felt lighter-weight and was flexible, which is what made it more comfortable to wear. I didn't see marks left on my glass, and they easily lasted through a cup of coffee. Most shades seemed to wear for six hours or longer on me.
The more sparkly shades with less opacity tended to be least even and felt tackier, and if I pressed and rubbed my lips together, it seemed like some product moved a bit.
Cheeks
As cheek application is often sheerer, rather than full coverage, applying the more pigmented shades to cheeks took some getting used it as one has to work quickly and start with way less than you need. I preferred using more feathery, duo-fiber brushes for really vivid shades to diffuse and apply product on cheeks better, but fingertips worked for getting an initial placement and then a clean brush was lovely for the blending portion.
The wear time on cheeks was comparable with eyes (so around 10 hours of good wear).
Editor's note: I don't know why I didn't make this connection previously (at some point, I was aware they were multi-use), as I bought these as cream eyeshadows for review. If I had to go back and do swatches of each shade on cheeks and lips, I might never, ever review (based on the volume of other products I have in the queue), so while I tested each shade for application, pigmentation, longevity, etc. for all three purposes, you will only find a skin swatch.
Browse all of our Danessa Myricks Colorfix Foils swatches.
Ingredients
Water/Aqua/Eau, Mica, Polyurethane-2, Alcohol, [+/-: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI77492, CI77499), Red 40 (CI16035), Yellow 5 (CI77288)], Polyethylene Terephthalate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol.
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Cosmic
PPermanent. $18.00.
Milky Way
Danessa Myricks Milky Way Colorfix Foils ($18.00 for 0.34 oz.) seemed to have a translucent base that was packed full of silver and gold glitter/sparkle. It contained plastic (PET) glitter, though it was listed as safe for use on eyes, lips, and cheeks.
It had sheer to semi-sheer pigmentation that didn’t build up much from there; it was best thought of and used as a layering product to add more sparkle/reflect to anything. I’m not sure why this shade, like some of the other Foils, aren’t touted as sheerer since they really don’t have much of a base color. The texture was lightweight, fairly spreadable, and most importantly, it had good diffusion of the sparkle so that it yielded an even layer and good distribution of the sparkle/glitter particles.
The formula is quick to dry down, so working one area at a time and working quickly at that was necessary–this is a selling point for the formula, so buyer beware. I did find it was a product that looked its best in motion, aka real life, as it was shiny and twinkling but could look “chunky” in a still photo. It wore well for nine hours with very minimal fallout when used as an eye/cheek product.
As a lip product, it felt smoother than I would have thought, and it had more medium coverage as I could load up the product without concern for blending the edges. It stayed on well for five hours but had noticeable migration of the sparkle/glitter, which was worse if I ate/drank (anything besides water).
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- ColourPop Strike a Match (LE, $4.50) is warmer (95% similar).
- ColourPop Hillside (LE, $4.50) is warmer (95% similar).
- MAC Frostwinked (LE, $20.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Moira Quartz (P, $7.50) is darker (90% similar).
- NARS Castaway (P, $28.00) is brighter (90% similar).
- KVD Beauty Sterling (LE, ) is less shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Tassel (LE, $6.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Give Me Glow Highlight (P, $7.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Natasha Denona Sparks (PiP, ) is brighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Dream (LE, $6.00) is more shimmery, cooler (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$18.00/0.34 oz. - $52.94 Per Ounce
The formula is a cream product that is supposed to be "highly pigmented," "smudge proof," "waterproof, and "rapid drying." They're multi-purpose products that can be used on the eyes, lips, and cheeks (though note: the Foil finish includes plastic, or PET, glitter, which is technically not considered eye safe via FDA).
The key takeaway with this formula is that they really do mean "rapid drying" -- it is both a pro and a con, but you have to work quickly and efficiently when using this product on the skin where one might want to diffuse, spread, or blend out edges. While the brand is consumer-friendly, this product is particularly favored by makeup artists, and I did feel like there was a learning curve with them.
Some shades dry a little faster than others, and once they dry down, they are pretty smudge proof as marketed, so they don't want to be moved. Attempts to blend them out after they set often resulted in the product lifting off the skin. They are also, typically, quite pigmented, so one should exercise caution when applying to cheeks initially. I found that some of the more sparkly shades were sheerer.
The consistency was thin, lightweight, and a runnier cream, which meant that it was easy to squeeze out more product than desired from the tube for the uninitiated. After a few uses, I was able to dial in the pressure I needed to squeeze out the product and was consistently able to get what I needed from there.
Eyes
Depending on the intensity of the shade relative to your skin tone and whether you wanted a sheerer or more opaque end result, fingertips or synthetic brushes would be the primary tools. I found that I often preferred to put a little product on the back of my hand and then used either my fingertips (for more all-over application) or a brush (for more precise or opaque application). For precision and ease of use (as my fingertips are a little large compared to my eye size), I liked fluffy, synthetic brushes to diffuse the edges or sheer out the product.
Some of the Foil shades in particular tended to a little thicker and tackier when applied, and I wasn't always able to maneuver them evenly. They seemed to work better as an accent, like on the inner tear duct or on the middle of the lid.
The majority of shades were very pigmented, fairly blendable, and long-wearing, while most shades lasted 10 hours without fading, creasing, or flaking. I did feel like my eyelids got a little drier from wearing several of these shades for multiple days in a row.
Lips
They applied a lot better to lips than I anticipated, as I often find that multi-purpose products do well on one or two areas but rarely all of them. The product applied well with a fingertip or a lip brush, though for speed, I liked using a fingertip. The majority of the shades applied evenly, didn't emphasize my lip texture/lip lines, and were comfortable enough to wear.
The dry down was noticeable, but the product had light tackiness, though I didn't have issues with the color lift up. Despite having more of a liquid lipstick kind of dry down, it still felt lighter-weight and was flexible, which is what made it more comfortable to wear. I didn't see marks left on my glass, and they easily lasted through a cup of coffee. Most shades seemed to wear for six hours or longer on me.
The more sparkly shades with less opacity tended to be least even and felt tackier, and if I pressed and rubbed my lips together, it seemed like some product moved a bit.
Cheeks
As cheek application is often sheerer, rather than full coverage, applying the more pigmented shades to cheeks took some getting used it as one has to work quickly and start with way less than you need. I preferred using more feathery, duo-fiber brushes for really vivid shades to diffuse and apply product on cheeks better, but fingertips worked for getting an initial placement and then a clean brush was lovely for the blending portion.
The wear time on cheeks was comparable with eyes (so around 10 hours of good wear).
Editor's note: I don't know why I didn't make this connection previously (at some point, I was aware they were multi-use), as I bought these as cream eyeshadows for review. If I had to go back and do swatches of each shade on cheeks and lips, I might never, ever review (based on the volume of other products I have in the queue), so while I tested each shade for application, pigmentation, longevity, etc. for all three purposes, you will only find a skin swatch.
Browse all of our Danessa Myricks Colorfix Foils swatches.
Ingredients
Water/Aqua/Eau, Mica, Polyurethane-2, Alcohol, [+/-: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI77492, CI77499), Red 40 (CI16035), Yellow 5 (CI77288)], Polyethylene Terephthalate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol.
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Milky Way and especially Alien are major disappointments. Even if they were meant to be sheerer, they just appear uneven.
Cosmic is far better. I could see it making for an excellent base for some of Clionadh, Devinah and other brands multicrome shadows!
Hmmm – I don’t like the look (or feel) of any of these – I think it’s a bit of a contradiction when the product contains PET glitter and yet it is eye safe… I just wouldn’t trust it. Also the formula doesn’t seem right either for the paler shades. A disappointment.
Oh no … I was eyeing Alien 🙁
I have decided not to buy any cosmetics that contain plastic glitter. It seems more than idiotic, IMHO to add plastics to something we flush out when washing it away. There’s enough plastics in nature as it is.
A pity though that these do contain PET as I really like Cosmic.