L’Oreal Smoldering Plum Infallible Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches
L’Oreal Smoldering Plum Infallible Eyeshadow
A Very Sultry, Smoldering Plum
L’Oreal Smoldering Plum Infallible Eyeshadow ($7.95 for 0.12 oz.) is a deep, dark, and wickedly intense red-toned burgundy purple with a subtle frosted sheen. It’s a more intense versino of Urban Decay Rockstar. MAC Young Punk is purpler, less burgundy. MAC Dynamic Duo 4 is reminiscent, but less red-toned and matte. MAC Indian Ink is a matte version. Giorgio Armani #2 is slightly richer, blacker, and has red and blue-violet shimmer–so it translates a bit differently. Giorgio Armani #3 has a very reflective sheen that’s more silvery–the purple is a bit grayer, less red-toned.
I love the intensity of this shade, and it even had a fair amount of darkness even when applied dry. It’s definitely smoother and richer-looking when applied damp/wet, though, but what’s worth noting is that the color will stay that intense even after it dries so long as you use a damp brush to apply the color initially. The texture is soft, smooth, and finely-milled. It’s not dry at all, and it really has that creamy-powdery feel that’s a hallmark of the L’Oreal Infallible/Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense ranges.
Smoldering Plum wore very well–a solid twelve hours without fading or creasing. The newest released shades seem to have a lot better wear than a couple of the other shades I had tried previously (notably, Perpetual Purple, which was more like a perpetual disappointment).
For a comparison against Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense, please see this post. As a quick summary, L’Oreal’s colors can be less nuanced/have less depth, and then the wear seems to be a little more inconsistent with L’Oreal (some wearing fantastically, others creasing/fading more rapidly). The way I look at it (assuming you wear primer, because then the wear is usually fine), the more the merrier! There doesn’t seem to be a lot of overlap between the color ranges, though–they’re not putting out dupes so much as different shades in a similar formula.
Permanent
L’Oreal Smoldering Plum Infallible Eyeshadow
L’Oreal Smoldering Plum Infallible Eyeshadow
L’Oreal Smoldering Plum Infallible Eyeshadow
L’Oreal Smoldering Plum Infallible Eyeshadow
L’Oreal Smoldering Plum Infallible Eyeshadow
Giorgio Armani #29, #27, L’Oreal Smoldering Plum
Giorgio Armani #29, #27, L’Oreal Smoldering Plum (12 hours of wear)
This one I’m definitely considering picking up!
I guess L’oreal has named these shades differently for the India launch. Here this shade is called Burning Black, its absolutely gorgeous!
Very pretty on you Christine. I think this would make a lovely fall colour!
12 hour wear??? WoooWzer. Christine, did you use a primer?
Dinitchka No primer – if I use primer, I always let you know if the wear is over a primer 🙂 Full disclosure!
For a second there I thought I was looking at a Georgio Armani eyeshadow! That’s a compliment. Anyway, I like the color a lot, so rich and deep. Beautiful!
Burning Black in Europe? If so, I have this and it’s gorgeous, but mine matches almost exactly to ETK #2. I wish they’d either name them the same or put numbers on the EU ones!!!
oops mine does have a number on it, it says 013, still frustrated though! 😛
amalia22e Yep it is Burning Black! Kinda reminds me of Stila’s Little Black Dress.
I bit the bullet and ordered Burning Black off ebay, literally a few days before this hit the shelves. I happened to walk into CVS and saw this, but BB was en route. This is my second favorite, after Golden Emerald, which pair beautifully together.
Yup, I’m all over this one. You shall be mine, my precious!
Gorgeous look, Christine! Oh, I’m so tempted.
This color is gorgeous!! I am definitely going to look for that one later today! I would have bought it when I got Golden Emerald, but I definitely did not see this shade
ohhhhhh want this!
I do not understand why Oreal has decided to give different names in Italy (Smoldering Plum in Italy is Burning Black) … however, the most beautiful of all is lame Emerald (or Golden Emerald)
Me neither Ornella Miao! It’s really annoying and confusing!
I have this one, the gold, and I just got Midnight Blue. Can’t wait to try it out. I love them!
@Temptalia Do the Infallible Eyeshadows play well with powder eyeshadows?
BooBooNinja Yes! 🙂
I am sold! I suppose I must break down and actually order something from Ulta..
18thCenturyFox At this price it’s not nearly as painful 🙂
See I didn’t like this one! I bought it and returned it to Ulta the next day. To me it just looked black with some burgundy sparkle, like Mac Beauty Marked. Black shadow looks too harsh on me so I sent it back.
I’m so glad you reviewed these, Christine. I traveled California this summer and forgot my makeup bag (eek!!) so I went to the nearest drug store and bought because they had really nice pigmentation. I really was surprised at their versatility and durability. At first I was frustrated with them because they had a lot of fallout. I changed my brush from synthetic to natural bristle and dampened it. It worked! I bought four then, and today I have them all. A great find if you use the right tools.
VJNS Such a good point. The correct tool makes all the difference in the world. I see a lot of times Christine will try different tools with different products and I’ve learned from that myself to not necessarily give up on the first go. So glad these worked out well for you and thanks for the advice.. I’ll be all set when this purple shade arrives in the mail 🙂
I almost bought this color last night, but bought the Golden Emerald shade (on your recommendation, Christine!) instead… now I am going to have to go back to CVS and get this one too! Wore my Emerald today, actually… it’s wonderful stuff!
I was going to pick this one up the other day but couldn’t find it 🙁 all out of stock. I’ll have to check other places, it’s so pretty!
blueraccoon If all else fails..I picked one up fairly cheap off eBay 🙂 There seems to be a number of sellers with the full monty.
wwendalynne I will keep that in mind! Thank you 🙂
I have this one and it is stunning. It wears really well too. But I do always use a primer.
I think Indian Ink is discontinued, I want them badly but I couldn’t find it, even in the mac pro store
Yum! Deep, rich plum! My favourite. I’ll definitely consider picking this up when I’m in the US. This is one of the very few actual colours I like for my face.
Oh man! I own 2 of these so far and while the formula unfortunately doesn’t last too well on me, I’m PINING for this shade! Maybe I should give these another chance hmmmm
WOW this is beautiful! I will have to pick this one up. I have a couple of the other Infallible shades, and I prefer to put them on with my fingers instead of a brush. Perhaps I waste more product, but there’s no fallout and it’s a bit easier to blend.
Are the names diff in Canada too? I have been looking for this color everywhere!
I just bought my first three infallible eyeshadows thanks to your reviews (and ulta’s buy 2 get 1 free sale!) I spilled a small amount of midnight blue on the floor as I was swatching it… If it wears half as well on my face as it does on bathroom tile, I will be a very happy girl tomorrow! took me five wipes to get all the color cleaned up…. holy pigmentation batman!!!
Thats a fab shade !!
I picked this up yesterday and, honestly, I’m struggling to like it. It is not as purply-plum nor as intense as the swatches appear on my monitor. And I actually think that Rockstar is *more* intense, not less intense, than this. Ultimately, my problem is that the colour looks a little flat on me. I first put on the Golden Emerald and my jaw was open at the absolutely INCREDIBLE colour, the depth, the sparkly light reflectors (which is the only way I can really describe the richness of the green and gold) and the intensity of the colour. Then I put on Smoldering Plum in my crease and V, and… meh. I tried it wet. I tried it dry. I changed brushes. I just didn’t see richness. So, to compare, I layered Rockstar in the V of one eye and in a side-by-side swatch on my hand. Rockstar is more intense. It’s definitely more purple and with more shimmer than the brown-tinged Smoldering Plum. I’m mulling it over, but I think I’m going to return it and get the Navy Blue one instead, despite a terrible review from you. The little bit that I swatched of that showed a colour well worth working with.
I can’t find this one any where!