Lancome Audacity in London Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
Audacity in London
Lancome Audacity in London Eyeshadow Palette ($69.00 for 0.576 oz.) includes 16 eyeshadows and most of them are terrible. Even when they swatched decently–which is probably being generous–they applied worse on the lid, as the thin, dusty textures did no favors on my lids. The eyeshadows applied unevenly, patchily, and often looked like faded versions of the way they did in the pan, which meant that they tended to muddy and lose contrast as they are more muted colors to begin. If the palette was actually pigmented, blendable, long-wearing, and easy to use, the color scheme would be more unique. Instead, we have a palette that does little well.
The brand describes the eyeshadows are “ultra-creamy” with “high-pigment metallics” that can be used as a top coat or on “the whole lid for a dramatic, glitter effect.” If the eyeshadows were more blendable and less prone to fading, it might work for someone who likes sheer washes of color, but I just think the formula is poorly done across the board. Some of the eyeshadows felt really firm and chalk-like; they were noisy eyeshadows as they felt so dry and were so thin on the skin.
The four shades that are positioned horizontally in the palette are just massive glitterbombs with seemingly little binder, and they did not work alone or patted over one of the other eyeshadows unless applied with a glitter adhesive. I tried them over three primers–MAC Paint Pot, Smashbox 24HR Primer, Too Faced Shadow Insurance–and the performance was still dismal over a primer. It is funny, because a lot of high-end brands use a creamier, almost wet-like formula with their glitter eyeshadows these days, which may not be foolproof or yield fallout-free wear yet, they are usable and function decently without a primer.
Look Using this Product
Audacity in London
LELimited Edition. $68.00.
Queen's Lace
Queen’s Lace is a light beige with warm, yellow undertones and a matte finish. It had a thin, dusty texture that had a tendency to sheer out on the skin and fade quickly (six hours or less of wear). It had semi-opaque color coverage.
Top Dupes
- LORAC Crepe (LE, $19.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Sephora Secret Boudoir (DC, $10.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Tarte Free Spirit (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- KVD Beauty Laetus (PiP, ) is more muted (95% similar).
- Tarte Summer Breeze (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Hourglass Monochrome #1 (PiP, ) is warmer (95% similar).
- Tarte Big Baby (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty The Night Owl #4 (PiP, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Ciate My Tribe (LE, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Too Faced Dream On (LE, $16.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
Queen's Lace
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Trenchcoat
Trenchcoat is a soft, medium brown with moderate warm undertones and a satin finish. It had semi-opaque color payoff, but the texture was firmer and drier in the pan, and I really had to jab at the surface with my brush to get any powder to come off of it. This shade lasted for six and a half hours on me.
Top Dupes
- MAC Nano Nude #4 (LE, $21.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- MAC Sax Appeal (LE, $17.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Bite the Beat (LE, $17.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Clarins Brown #2 (PiP, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Sleek MakeUP Entwined (PiP, $9.99) is warmer (85% similar).
- Natasha Denona Suede (58V) (PiP, $29.00) is warmer (85% similar).
- Chanel Ombres Lamées de Chanel #1 (LE, ) is more shimmery, warmer (85% similar).
- LORAC Cognac (PiP, $19.00) is warmer (85% similar).
- Sephora Espresso (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker (80% similar).
- MAC Soba (P, $17.00) is warmer (80% similar).
Trenchcoat
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Woody Bar
Woody Bar is a soft, medium brown with warm, yellow undertones and a matte finish. It had medium color coverage, which wasn’t buildable as the texture was dry, powdery, and did not want to adhere to the lid. I felt like it mattified my lid and then made it so nothing more would stick, yet I could barely see it on! It seemed to last six hours, but it was very hard to tell since so little adhered to my lid in the first place.
Top Dupes
- Tarte Tan-gled Up in You (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Tarte Frameworthy (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Wet 'n' Wild Rose in the Air #6 (PiP, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Too Faced Skinny Latte (LE, $16.00) is cooler (95% similar).
- Becca Ombre Nudes #2 (PiP, ) is cooler (95% similar).
- Too Faced Fawned of You (LE, $16.00) is more muted (95% similar).
- Pat McGrath Statuesque (DC, $25.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Buxom Gimme Gorgeous (P, $12.00) is more muted (95% similar).
- Tarte Bold (PiP, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Tarte Smarty Pants (PiP, ) is darker (95% similar).
Woody Bar
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Rich History
Rich History is a soft, medium lavender with neutral-to-cool undertones and a satin finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation, but the texture was so dry and dusty that so little of the color adhered to the skin. As soon as I tried to blend it, I had a ton of fallout and almost nothing left on the lid. The best guess I had at wear time was maybe five hours, because there was just so little to start with.
Top Dupes
- Laura Mercier Wind (LE, $22.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Swing Out (LE, $17.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Give Me Glow Grunge Lavender (P, $7.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Give Me Glow Trust Fund (P, $7.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Viseart Cool Mattes 2 #8 (PiP, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Natasha Denona Redox (347CM) (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC Freakshow (LE, $17.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- ColourPop Sky High (LE, $4.50) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Violet Hour (LE, ) is warmer (85% similar).
- NARS Strada (P, $19.00) is more shimmery, darker, brighter (85% similar).
Rich History
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
London Is Callin'
London is Callin’ is a muted, mauve-y purple with a smattering of gold shimmer over a matte finish. The shimmer separated from the base color, so it looked matte applied to the lid. The texture was dry, firm, and chalky to the touch, which made it extremely difficult to blend out on the lid. It lasted for five hours on me before fading.
Top Dupes
- Cle de Peau Purity (Left) (PiP, ) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Ciate Pony (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Marzipan (LE, $17.00) is lighter (80% similar).
- Sleek MakeUP Forbidden (PiP, $9.99) is warmer (85% similar).
- Pat McGrath Lilac Dusk (PiP, $25.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
- Laura Mercier Wind (LE, $22.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- MAC Quite Spoiled (LE, $17.00) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).
- ColourPop Bill (P, $6.00) is lighter, warmer (80% similar).
London Is Callin'
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Purple Queen
Purple Queen is a deep, purple taupe with subtle, warmer undertones and a cooler overtone paired with a frosted finish. Oh, the joy of this shade, because it was one of the most pigmented shades in the palette, and the texture was usable–it actually blended, adhered decently, and didn’t sheer away to nothing with a soft breeze. It lasted for seven hours on me.
Top Dupes
- ColourPop Meow (LE, $6.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- KVD Beauty Darkstar (LE, ) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Chanel Illusoire (P, $32.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Coloured Raine Platinumberry (LE, $6.99) is lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Electroplate (LE, $22.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Inglot #434 (P, $7.00) is darker (90% similar).
- MAC 2x Dare #3 (LE, ) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Make Up For Ever #2 (P, $23.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Giorgio Armani Organica (Left) (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Dangerous Cuvee (DC, $23.00) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
Purple Queen
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Fresh Garden
Fresh Garden is a light-medium green with warm, yellow undertones and a pearly sheen. It had decent color payoff, but the texture was firmer and difficult to blend out; this was another shade that required jabbing and pushing at the top layer to get the product to come off of the pan’s surface. It wore well for six and a half hours.
Top Dupes
- LORAC Sea Haze (LE, $19.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Aveda Lemongrass (LE, $14.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- MAC Lady Grey (LE, $17.00) is darker, cooler (80% similar).
- MAC Floridazzle (LE, $17.00) is less shimmery, lighter, brighter (80% similar).
- IT Cosmetics Tranquility (P, ) is less shimmery, lighter (80% similar).
- MAC Juxt (DC, $17.00) is lighter, brighter (80% similar).
- Dior Peacock (434) Eyeshadow #1 (LE, ).
- Cle de Peau Champagne Supernova #4 (PiP, ).
Fresh Garden
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Misty Morning
Misty Morning is a dark, muted olive green with warm undertones and a satiny sheen. It had semi-opaque pigmentation, but it was ruined by the dry, dusty texture that sheered out and faded within four and a half hours on me. Even over primer, it looked half-gone by the seventh hour.
Top Dupes
- Guerlain Coque d'Or #5 (DC, ) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- NARS Never Too Late (DC, $25.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- theBalm D4 (LE, $16.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Chanel Affresco #9 (LE, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Midnight Blaze (LE, $19.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Make Up For Ever I628 Reptile (DC, $21.00) is more shimmery, warmer (85% similar).
- Chanel Verde (18) (LE, $30.00) is cooler (85% similar).
- Makeup Atelier Amazon #3 (P, ) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Anastasia Moss (DC, $12.00) is brighter (85% similar).
- YSL Scandal #1 (LE, ) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
Look Using this Product
Misty Morning
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Steel
Steel is a soft, greenish pewter with a frosted finish. The consistency was very powdery and loose in the pan, which resulted in a lot of fallout during application, as it did not stick well to bare skin. I had the best luck using a fingertip to press the eyeshadow onto the lid. It lasted for six hours on me.
Top Dupes
- MAC Lady Grey (LE, $17.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Sleigh (LE, $6.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- YSL Avant Garde #5 (PiP, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- Melt Cosmetics Bamba (PiP, ) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- NARS Never Too Late (DC, $25.00) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
- Chanel Metamorphose (44) #3 (LE, ) is lighter (85% similar).
- Anastasia Victorian (P, $12.00) is more muted (85% similar).
- NARS Lost Coast #1 (DC, $25.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- Hello Kitty Cookie (LE, ) is warmer (85% similar).
- L'Oreal Gilded Envy (755) (P, $7.99) is more shimmery, darker (80% similar).
Steel
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Rainy Afternoon
Rainy Afternoon is a medium silver with cool undertones and a sparkling, frost finish. The texture was gritty, a little grainy, and incredibly prone to sheering out on the lid. It applied unevenly and lasted for five hours on me.
Top Dupes
- Viseart Chloe (PiP, ) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- Sydney Grace Polished Silver (P, $6.25) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- MAC Silver Bells (LE, $21.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
- MAC Eggplant Blend #3 (LE, ) is lighter (85% similar).
- MAC Guise (LE, $21.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- L'Oreal Silver Sky (757) (P, $7.99) is more shimmery, lighter, brighter (85% similar).
- Guerlain Les Gris #4 (P, ) is darker, cooler (85% similar).
- MAC Evening Grey (P, $20.00) is darker, cooler (85% similar).
- LORAC Silver (PiP, $19.00) is lighter, brighter (85% similar).
- Make Up For Ever ME116 Silver (DC, $21.00) is lighter, brighter (80% similar).
Look Using this Product
Rainy Afternoon
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Purple Pageantry
Purple Pageantry is a dark gray with a mostly matte finish. It had decent color payoff, but the firmer, drier texture did no favors on the lid, where it was difficult to blend out and always looked patchy. It actually seemed to look worse the longer I spent blending it out. It started to fade after six hours.
Top Dupes
- MAC Cinder (Right) (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Smashbox Slayer (PiP, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Sydney Grace Cocoa Beans (PiP, $5.25) is darker (95% similar).
- MAC Gravel (LE, $17.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Chanel Architectonic #4 (LE, ) is cooler (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Serious (DC, $19.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Tarte Wow (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- MAC Nutcracker (LE, $17.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Sydney Grace Boaz (Light) (PiP, $5.25) is darker (90% similar).
- KVD Beauty Graphic Nature (DC, ) is cooler (90% similar).
Look Using this Product
Purple Pageantry
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Midnight Purple
Midnight Purple is a blackened navy blue with a faint hint of lighter blue shimmer. It was ridiculously stiff and firm in the pan; I scraped away multiple layers to get any product to show up in a swatch. The eyeshadow did not want to blend when applied, and it applied unevenly to begin with, so blending was not just a nice-to-have but a necessity with this shade… but it always looked terrible to me. It wore for six hours on me.
Top Dupes
- Ciate Beauty (LE, ) is warmer (95% similar).
- Too Faced Bad to the Berry (PiP, $16.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Platonic (LE, $19.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- MAC The Void (LE, $20.00) is less shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- Chanel Mystere et Intensite #3 (PiP, ) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Sleek MakeUP Sorcerer (LE, $9.99) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Too Faced Ooh La La (Left) (LE, $16.00) is darker (90% similar).
- MAC Gameplayer (PiP, ) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Too Faced Ooh and Ahh (Left) (LE, $16.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- ColourPop Midnight Curfew (LE, $4.50) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
Midnight Purple
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Midnight Haze
Midnight Haze is a soft, orangey copper with chunks of copper and gold glitter. It had sheer color coverage with a gritty, chunky texture. It felt more like a loosely pressed glitter than anything else, and it did not seem to have a lot of creaminess or binder to it, so the glitter did not stick without an actual adhesive.
Top Dupes
- MAC Copper Aura (LE, $17.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Tarte Bronze Casting (LE, ) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- NARS Kink (DC, $25.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- MAC Whiz Kid (PiP, ) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- MAC Phresh Out #2 (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- NARS Outer Limits (DC, $25.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Daybreak (LE, $19.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Sephora Lucky Penny (220) (P, $9.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Sunfrost (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Givenchy Palette Ors Audacieux #3 (LE, ) is darker (90% similar).
Midnight Haze
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Garden Rose
Garden Rose is a muted, mauvey purple with chunky brown and lilac glitter. This seemed to have even less of a base color compared to the first glittery shade and was primarily chunky glitter. Again, it had little staying power (like an hour) and massive fallout without an adhesive base.
Top Dupes
- Surratt Beauty Glamour Eyes (Glitter) (PiP, ) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Provocateur (LE, $19.00) (85% similar).
- ColourPop Sugar Sugar (LE, $4.50) is lighter (85% similar).
- ColourPop Prickly Pear (PiP, $6.00) is warmer (85% similar).
- Too Faced Sugared Raisin (LE, $16.00) is lighter, cooler (80% similar).
- NARS Night Rider (DC, $25.00) is darker, cooler (85% similar).
- Too Faced Mauvelous (LE, $16.00).
- Fenty Beauty Stone Cold (LE, $36.00).
- Huda Beauty Sand Haze #4 (PiP, ).
Garden Rose
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
SoHo Lights
SoHo Lights is a soft green with chunky green and silvery gold glitter. It had almost no color payoff, due to the incredibly dry texture that felt like shredder paper. The glitter came off of it in large chunks, and it was not usable without a glitter adhesive–it would not adhere whatsoever, whether patted on the lid with a fingertip, damp brush, or used alone.
Top Dupes
- MAC Green Clean #1 (LE, ) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Cle de Peau Modern Era #1 (LE, ) is less shimmery, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Tarte Mint Sprig (LE, ) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Sublime (LE, ) is brighter, more pigmented (85% similar).
- Natasha Denona True Gold (20M) (P, $29.00) is more shimmery, brighter (90% similar).
Look Using this Product
SoHo Lights
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a bright silver with chunks of silver and white glitter. It had a stronger base color–semi-sheer, slightly buildable–but the drier, looser consistency resulted in a ton of fallout during application as well as during wear (almost no glitter was visible on the lid after an hour of wear).
Top Dupes
- Tom Ford Beauty Lilac Dream #2 (PiP, ) is cooler (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Iced (LE, $19.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Cle de Peau Pewter Veil #4 (LE, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Too Faced String of Lights (LE, $16.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- bareMinerals Silver Dollar (LE, $14.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- MAC Lovesmoke (LE, $17.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Ice Queen #2 (PiP, ) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- MAC Morning Ticket (LE, $17.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- MAC Electric Illumination (LE, $22.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Revolt (DC, $19.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
Yikes! I feel like their last palette, was it Audacity in Paris? Also sucked! I feel like Lancome is a really good brand when it comes to their foundations, eyeliners and mascaras, but they aren’t super great in everything else they have. They need to spruce up their formulas!
Paris wasn’t great, IMO, but this was even worse!
Wow, how could Lancome put out something that awful? smh
I wish I knew!
I always love your F reviews so much. But this one in particular had me cracking up just with the elegant, simple, to-the-point first sentence. Hahahahaha *applause* Real shame about the palette but that was fried gold. It’s sad to see a brand with such high involvement from Lisa Eldridge crash and burn like this.
And yeesh! You really tested them on some very hardcore primers and they still couldn’t do anything! Yikes.
I really tried with this one. It’s taken me so long to write the review because I’ve been trying to write it when I wasn’t so irritated by it!
It’s a shame this is so bad, but your opening line made me LOL!
Thanks for always keeping it real 🙂
Of course! 🙂
I freaking adore you! You already know I’m thankful for your honesty but thank you for being a solid adult able to give your expert opinion ( I DEFY anyone to challenge that!) without apologizing for doing so! If you don’t like something and it deserves an F I love that you aren’t going to tiptoe around and never be “negative”. I don’t trust anyone that says they don’t like to be negative when they are a REVIEWER lol isn’t that a really important part of the job?
I like to think of it as just being honest, but I will try to think about who might like the product (in this instance, if the textures were better, then it would work for someone who likes sheer washes of color, but I think the palette is just bad across most metrics), despite its shortcomings (especially if it’s just related to mismatch in claims).
Wow, this is BAD…! They should be ashamed of themselves for A) releasing a palette of such poor quality and B) allowing people to pay so much money for it…
It was really hard to work with!
This is a real shame! There are several colors in this palette that I would really like, if only the quality was even decent! Boo-hoo!
I know! I think the color scheme was more unique overall, but they were just so bad.
I swatched this in store, and can confirm it was horrible –sheer, patchy, muddy, dry, like DS Revlon quality shadows 🙁 I think that’s why the Lancôme video shows Lisa Eldridge applying these with her fingers, might the only way to get any pigment. It’s a shame, as I would love to add some pretty pastels for spring. BTW, speaking of pastels……Christine, KVD is coming out with Pastel Goth, and it’s an extra long cardboard package, just like MetalMatte !! I’m SO excited, she did such a great job with the hard-to-formulate colors in MetalMatte, hoping she can break the curse of the pastel shadows.
They felt really dry and chalky – noisy little eyeshadows!
Omg the sound of that KVD Pastel Goth palette, omg I need it already and I have no idea what colours are in it!!!
Right??? Me too!! I’m going to be stalking the internet for that one
I was just thinking the same thing!
I’m so looking forward to that one. If it’s even in the ballpark of Metal Matte, I’ll be ecstatic.
I don’t understand why this is so bad especially since the palettes that came with the le parisian holiday case are so good with primer. No excuse!
Even the Paris palette wasn’t THIS bad.
OMG! I’m actually angry at Lancome for producing such dismal product and pricing $hit, as if it’s made of gold! The company is showing pure disrespect to the consumer, and as such, I won’t be purchasing from them again. Is just disgusting on their part to allow such bad product to hit the market.
You and me both, Tanya. I had been trying to find a more peaceful time to write the review, LOL!
I obviously don’t WANT brands to put out bad products… but I must admit to how much I love your bad reviews! Something about your matter-of-fact, yet scathing tone just tickles me.
🙂
But seriously, how do you REALLY feel about this palette…I couldn’t tell 😉
Thanks for saving us money! (And for the laugh!)
And to think, I deliberately wrote this much later so I would sound less harsh!
Pity this reviewed so poorly! The selection of shades was right up my alley.
I know 🙁
I’m really curious about this one, on one hand when it compares to bright, vibrant, rich brands like Urban Decay or Make Up For Ever, it doesn’t perform, but I believe Lisa Eldridge used to head up Shiseido, and is influenced somewhat by Japanese beauty. I’ve use a lot of Japanese eyeshadows and those are mostly sheerer, more powdery, and drier with more fallout. I understand that is because Japanese women wear more natural makeup, with less true colour. I wonder if that has anything to do with it. It’s interesting how beauty is defined so differently across borders.
From what I’ve tried of Japanese brands (and perhaps the one that while not Japanese, I know is heavily influenced by Japanese brands, that I’m most familiar with is Surratt) the emphasis is on the texture – soft, finely-milled, velvety, almost creamy, even if the pigmentation was not opaque. The texture of Shiseido and Cle de Peau’s eyeshadows is very reminiscent of Surratt’s as well, but they are all infinitely better in texture and blendability than the ones here.
Yeesh!!! This is BAAAD!!! ?
As a matter of fact, this palette is downright laughable in its awfulness and pathetic uselessness.
Buuut! It has convinced me that I really need and want KVD Innerstellar Palette! Haha! ?
It’s really, really bad!
I saw this at the counter and, although it looks lovely, the colors swatched unevenly, felt dry, and were grainy. It was very easy to walk away and chalk it up to a case of Lisa Eldridge getting paid the big bucks to shill for Lancôme. The really sad thing about this, though, is that there are legions of people who have a girl crush on Lisa E. and who take her recommendations as gospel who will buy the palette despite the lack of quality. I can hear Lancôme and Eldridge laughing all the way to the bank. Caveat emptor!
The texture was unlike anything I’ve tried from Lancome (at least to my recollection) and even worse than most powder eyeshadows I’ve tested in recent memory as well.
I didn’t expect this palette to perform SO bad. ?
I was worried after swatching/feeling it, but I had a little hope it would perform better in practice… no dice!
Aaaand I can’t say I’m surprised. After their last Audacity palette, I only held up hope for anything better in these colors. It kills me because, assuming they were actual quality shadows, I would use all four mini quads in this palette. All the colors in this work for me! Again, though, that implies they work at all. Thanks for the honest review, Christine–you’ve saved me a lot of money and hassle.
I like the combo overall – I don’t think it would work that well on me (to my eyes) but is more unusual, which I can appreciate!
The concept/combo is decent and fairly idiot proof. The execution/mfg is execrable, well beyond bad. It doesn’t even seem to work on a sheerest level. Woody bar has 4 Tarte dupes, which says a little something about Tarte, too. Unfortunate, bec as Kazan/Brando said ‘I(t) coulda been a contender.’ Really shameful.
Yeah, I agree, KJH – even if you like sheerer shades, there are better options out there, I think, where you can get better blendability, soft and more forgiving textures, and just an easier-to-use formula, period.
I will never NOT appreciate honesty when dealing with beauty products! A+ for you Christine!
It is a shame though because the color scheme does look unique, especially in comparison to ones out right now.
Yeah, you can definitely tell it is more unique as some shades had very few dupes! I guess there’s a reason for that, LOL!
A pity — brand-damagingly poor, as I think their last palette was poor also, so now a pattern.
Yeah, I remember a fair number of people seemed disappointed over the Paris palette, and it did not seem like the London one was getting great reviews either (there seem to be even less reviews of the London palette, though).
just looking at this before I saw the was a total UGH. It looks cheap and dollar store-ish. Yikes
There was something really off about the texture… papery in a way.
The fact these palettes have the word “audacity” right in the name should be a warning… The sad part is, they keep going back to these subpar formulas.
I just happened to be going through some old products that I keep around for nostalgic reasons, several being Lancome shadows, and I know they can do solo much better!
I’ve reviewed and swatched some of their palettes (I think they have five colors in them), and they were soft, blendable – perhaps a little prone to sheering out – but fairly pigmented. They were at least decent to good on average!
And definitely, the singles range has more pigmented and better textures last I tried!
OMG – what is happening to Lancome? I have Jade Fever, their most beautiful and pigmented quint from the past and every shade is done beautifully. But this is rubbish. I hope they read the reviews.
There were some beautiful shades here too and it could have made the palette quite unique if they had worked.
Thank you for the review Christine.
It reminds me of the Laura Mercier Watercolor palette – unique in scheme but less than stellar in quality!
I can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m now seriously questioning Lisa Eldridge as a makeup artist if she’s willing to put her name on BOTH these awful palettes.
She is a great artist and very knowledgeable., so hopefully, the responsibility rests with Lancome’s production! Even if I set aside pigmentation, there are just so many things wrong with the texture/wear/application 🙁
It would be so interesting to know what is going on at Lancome in regard to these palettes. When the Paris palette was released and did so poorly you would think Lancome would have spent the intervening time working on improvements, instead they release an even inferior product? There has just got to be a story.
It says something that both these palettes are marked down to $39 on Lancome’s website – from $69 to $39!
What a shame! There are some nice colors there, but if you can’t wear them, what’s the point?
Exactly!!
Oh Christine, thank you for your honesty. I laughed out loud with your opening sentence. That line was as wonderfully candid as your line, “as I tested the palette, all I could think of, “Did TooFaced even try”. Thank you for confirming my opinion. ?
Glad I could make you laugh! 🙂
Oh dear! I wonder if Lisa Eldridge didn’t have complete control over the formulation of this palette, I’m sure she would be mortified at how bad this palette is! I love her, she’s so lovely in her video tutorials.
She does seem very nice and knowledgeable in her videos!
Beautiful shades in the pans, but those swatches, WTF were they thinking!? Lancome just needs to stop doing shadows unless they improve their formula. Otherwise, what’s the damn point?
Their singles and smaller palettes weren’t bad, from what I remember (it’s been awhile) – like they might not be the most pigmented/best ever, but they were decent overall.
The 5-color palettes are decent to good on balance but I’ve found they each tend to have one super-glittery shade – not as “shredded paper” as you describe, but definitely a glitter with little to no base color that is hard to get to stick to the lid. They’re pretty in the pan but not do-able for daytime at all, and even for evening the fallout would be problematic. (The one exception of the ones I have is the Chocolate Amande palette, and that was a major reason I bought it – that I could potentially actually use all five shades.)
Wowwwwwwwwww
Appreciate the honesty!
This makes me question Lisa Eldridge, because this palette is kind of her pet-project at Lancome and she has done a couple tutorials with it already. I could tell it was made up of mostly sheerer colors, even on Youtube. Surprised she put her stamp of approval on it considering she is so spot on with other things.
Once again, thanks for the discerning eye.
I don’t mind if they are sheerer, though I think that brands need to make that a lot clearer – I think that the general expectation is pigmentation, so when you deviate from that, it’s good to market it as something different, you know? Even when I set aside the pigmentation, the texture is still so off 🙁
Yipes! What happened to Lancome? I worked for them in the early 90’s and they were pretty solid as far as the quality of their products went. I bought their Teint Visionaire foundation a few months ago & finally tossed it. I should have known when the SA took 15 minutes to get it to look ‘right’ in the store there was something wrong. After I left the store it gradually turned to Oompa Loompa orange! There’s no returning products here in India so I tried to make it work with different primers & mixing it with other foundations – but it still went orange!
Oh no, that is too bad! 🙁
Ouch! Sad. 🙁
I know!!
Great review as always! It seems there might be a bit of a formatting error, at least on mobile. SOHO Lights appears twice, once with the actual review of SOHO lights, and again with the shade reviewed right before it.
It may just be because I’m on mobile, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a similar problem before, so I thought I’d give you a heads up.
I will look into this, thank you, Aubrey! It probably means I put in the wrong ID (or the ID for SoHo Lights twice!).
Christine, I have to thank you with absolute sincerity for the laugh I had tonight when I read “and most of them are terrible” right in your first sentence. I think half of what made me laugh was the slight shock– I’m so used to seeing beauty gurus sugarcoat bad reviews, but you were so frank about the quality. It’s amazing to see you be so honest and right to the point as soon as you started the review. You’re always looking out for us, the consumers. Thanks 🙂
You’re welcome, Anna! 🙂 This was an exceptionally bad product in my experience… not just a situation where everything was sheerer but just hard to use, apply, and a significant departure from even Lancome’s own eyeshadow formula over the years.
Wow…just wow. Their earlier one (Paris?) was bad; this one looks even worse. I dunno how these things really work but I’d like to think I’d be more careful before I allowed a really crummy product to be released in “my name”. Mind you, look at all the really big name (and highly paid) actors who’ve been in really dreadful films. I guess this is the cosmetic equivalent.
Yeah, Paris was not good, but I’d take Paris-level quality for this one, lol!
Noooo! I had a hunch it’d be bad, but I was hoping it was B or C bad, you know, still useable but not quite perfect. So very disappointed.
It was a real miss 🙁
Shame on Lancome for putting out something like this! The rating/point breakdown for SoHo Lights made me giggle, just .5 for pigmentation!!! This is new levels awful! I’m really glad you reviewed it and saved everyone their money!
It is always interesting when something is that bad… sometimes it is harder to rate it in those low numbers, as they don’t come around as often! I am much better at the higher end of the ranges, lol!
It’s like they didn’t even try….I expect this time of quality from the Dollar store
I thought for a second Soho Lights might get an F minus, lol!
It’s sad though. I think Lancome shot themselves in the foot with this palette. The shade combo is really pretty and unusual in these days of neutrals and reds, so it could have been an amazing palette. To think that they went on to release it after testing… I don’t understand. They hired well-respected Lisa Eldridge to improve their reputation and image in the beauty community, and then they release something like that. Ugh.
I love a lot of Lancome’s products, especially their lippies and cream cheek products, but their powder eyeshadow formula is so hit and miss. This palette reminds me of the cool one from the Sonia Rykiel collection: looked like a great moody shades combo, but they became so muddy on the lid that they all looked the same sad gray. Sigh.
Oh come on, almost 70 dollars for that piece of… whatever?
What’s wrong, Lancome. Aren’t there people testing this stuff before release? If i’d bought it, I’d bring it back to the store. You get better stuff at any 1$-shop.
I am so disappointed with the Audacity in Paris palette – it stinks! I like Lisa Eldridge and love her tutorials but I don’t understand why these palettes are so poorly done.
How could Lisa Eldridge do this to us? ? What a piece of… I’m sorry you had to test this, Christine, but thanks for letting us know to avoid it.
I’m glad that my favorite shade Purple Queen was good, or mostly good but holy hell, how terrible!
The one shade, haha!
I’m so glad I didn’t get this when it was on sale! It’s so pretty, I was tempted, but knowing how lousy the last palette like this was, I wasn’t going to take any chances, especially since I loathe returning anything. As always, thanks for your great review! 🙂
Just … wow.
Really unfortunate, because my first thought when I saw this was that it would fill a whole bunch of gaps in my eye color collection. Sad.