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.

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Lancome Audacity in London Green Eye Look

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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• theBalm D4 (LE, $16.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
• Chanel Affresco #9 (LE, ) is darker (90% similar).
• Guerlain Coque d'Or #5 (DC, ) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
• NARS Never Too Late (DC, $25.00) is lighter (90% similar).
• Urban Decay Midnight Blaze (LE, $19.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
• Laura Mercier Pewter (PiP, $22.00) is lighter (85% similar).
• NARS Night Porter (P, $19.00) is cooler (85% similar).
• Makeup Geek High Tea (DC, $6.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% 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).

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Lancome Audacity in London Green Eye Look

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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.

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.

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• Viseart Chloe (PiP, ) is less shimmery (90% similar).
• Sydney Grace Polished Silver (P, $6.25) is more shimmery, cooler (90% 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).
• 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).
• Make Up For Ever ME116 Silver (DC, $21.00) is lighter, brighter (80% similar).

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Lancome Audacity in London Green Eye Look

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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.

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• Tarte Wow (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
• 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).
• Chanel Architectonic #4 (LE, ) is cooler (95% similar).
• MAC Gravel (LE, $17.00) is darker (95% similar).
• Urban Decay Serious (DC, $19.00) is warmer (95% similar).
• Le Metier de Beaute Thunder (P, $30.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
• Tarte Smoke & Mirrors (LE, ) is warmer (90% similar).
• Milani Untamed (PiP, $5.99) is darker (90% similar).

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Lancome Audacity in London Green Eye Look

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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• Cle de Peau Modern Era #1 (LE, ) is less shimmery, more pigmented (90% similar).
• Tarte Mint Sprig (LE, ) is less shimmery (90% similar).
• MAC Green Clean #1 (LE, ) is lighter, warmer (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).

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Lancome Audacity in London Green Eye Look

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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).

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Queen's Lace Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Queen's Lace Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Trenchcoat Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Trenchcoat Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Woody Bar Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Woody Bar Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Rich History Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Rich History Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome London Is Callin' Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome London Is Callin' Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Purple Queen Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Purple Queen Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Fresh Garden Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Fresh Garden Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Misty Morning Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Misty Morning Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Steel Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Steel Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Rainy Afternoon Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Rainy Afternoon Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Purple Pageantry Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Purple Pageantry Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Midnight Purple Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Midnight Purple Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Midnight Haze Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Midnight Haze Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Garden Rose Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Garden Rose Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome SoHo Lights Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome SoHo Lights Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Tower Bridge Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Tower Bridge Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Audacity in London 16 Shadow & Liner Palette

Lancome Queen's Lace Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Queen's Lace Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Trenchcoat Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Trenchcoat Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Woody Bar Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Woody Bar Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Rich History Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Rich History Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome London Is Callin' Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome London Is Callin' Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Purple Queen Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Purple Queen Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Fresh Garden Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Fresh Garden Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Misty Morning Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Misty Morning Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Steel Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Steel Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Rainy Afternoon Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Rainy Afternoon Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Purple Pageantry Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Purple Pageantry Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Midnight Purple Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Midnight Purple Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Midnight Haze Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Midnight Haze Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Garden Rose Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Garden Rose Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome SoHo Lights Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome SoHo Lights Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Tower Bridge Color Design Eyeshadow

Lancome Tower Bridge Color Design Eyeshadow