Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 3)
Makeup Geek Houdini Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadows ($9.99 for 0.064 oz.) are supposed to be a cream and powder hybrid that “does not require primer” and “does not crease, flake, or smudge” with “intense pigmentation.” Two of the four shades reviewed here were a less foolproof to use; the consistency wasn’t as smooth, and the color payoff didn’t transfer as well from brush to lid to get the intensity applied as seen in the pan. The shades wore seven to seven and a half hours on me, and they definitely crease (rather than fade), so that’s a bit of a bummer–I would definitely use primer with these. As I’ve mentioned in the previous two reviews, these are more like powder eyeshadows, so color will transfer/smudge/blend if you touch it, even hours later–they don’t set like a cream eyeshadow, they act just like powders in that respect.
They reminded me of Ardency Inn’s Manuka Honey Eyeshadows as well as some of the Make Up For Ever Artist Shadows (more the Metallic finishes) or even some of the ultra metallic Sleek eyeshadows (Sunset #3 comes to mind). All are more powder-like than cream, but they have a creaminess and intensity to them that is reminiscent of cream eyeshadow.
Makeup Geek Magic Act Foiled Eyeshadow ($9.99 for 0.064 oz.) is described as a “light gold with yellow undertones.” It’s a light-medium gold with warm, yellow-orange undertones and a metallic sheen. There’s a slightly muted quality to the color, so it doesn’t read true gold. It had good pigmentation with a buttery, dense texture that went on smoothly and was very blendable. It started to crease after seven hours of wear. MAC Lithe (LE, $21.00) is less metallic. Guerlain Petrouchka #2 (LE) is yellower. MAC Canter (LE, $15.00) is lighter. Too Faced Honey Pot (LE, $16.00) is slightly warmer. Ardency Inn Sunday (P, $21.00) is similar. Stila Vitality (P) is similar. Sleek MakeUP Meet in Madrid (LE, $9.99) is similar. Urban Decay Blunt (P, $18.00) is similar. L’Oreal Eternal Sunshine (P, $7.99) is yellower. Lancome Eternal Gold (P, $24.50) is similar. Dior Night Golds #4 (LE) is similar. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Makeup Geek Jester Foiled Eyeshadow ($9.99 for 0.064 oz.) is described as a “bright mossy green with slight gold undertones.” It’s a light-medium, yellowed green with warm undertones and a metallic sheen. It had fairly good color payoff with a silky, creamy consistency that went on smoothly. This shade started to crease after seven hours of wear. Sleek MakeUP Fig (P, $9.99) is lighter. Too Faced Very Merry (LE, $16.00) is less golden. Urban Decay Jealous #2 (LE, $18.00) is lighter. Urban Decay Mildew (P, $18.00) is darker. MAC Lucky Green (P, $15.00) is brighter. Guerlain Coup de Foudre #1 (LE) is darker. Inglot #412 (P, $6.00) is a touch lighter. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Makeup Geek Houdini Foiled Eyeshadow ($9.99 for 0.064 oz.) is described as a “deep emerald teal green.” It’s a cool-toned, blackened teal with a metallic sheen. It had a slightly drier consistency that made it more to flaking in the pan (but it doesn’t flake off once applied, to be clear), and as a result, the pigmentation wasn’t as strong. It lost a lot of the richness/intensity of the teal color and looked more like a muted version of itself applied. Once on, the color showed signs of creasing after seven and a half hours of wear. LORAC Deep Teal (LE) is warmer. bareMinerals Dazzle (P) similar. Marc Jacobs Beauty The Siren #7 (LE) is lighter. Sephora Collection Midnight Swim (16) (P, $13.00) is less metallic. MAC Deep Blue Green (P, $21.00) is similar. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Makeup Geek Center Stage Foiled Eyeshadow ($9.99 for 0.064 oz.) is described as a “bright royal blue.” It’s a rich, navy blue with a hint of violet/purple and a metallic finish. It had really good color payoff with a fairly soft, smooth consistency. It felt a little drier/less creamy compared to the other shades in the range, and it didn’t seem to apply as easily as the other shades. This shade started to crease after seven and a half hours of wear. theBalm Pipeline (LE, $16.00) is more muted. Make Up For Ever I218 Indigo Blue (P, $21.00) is bluer. Make Up For Ever D222 Night Blue (P, $21.00) is less purple. Urban Decay Evidence (P, $18.00) is similar. MAC Blue Storm (LE, $21.00) is darker. MAC Wintersky (LE, $32.50) is lighter. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Magic Act
PPermanent. $9.99.
Jester
PPermanent. $9.99.
Houdini
PPermanent. $9.99.
Center Stage
PPermanent. $9.99.
See more photos & swatches!
Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Magic Act Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Magic Act Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Magic Act Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Magic Act Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Jester Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Jester Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Jester Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Jester Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Houdini Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Houdini Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Houdini Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Houdini Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Center Stage Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Center Stage Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Center Stage Foiled Eyeshadow
Makeup Geek Center Stage Foiled Eyeshadow
Magic Act, Jester, Houdini, Center Stage, L’Oreal True Teal Eyeliner
Magic Act, Jester, Houdini, Center Stage, L’Oreal True Teal Eyeliner
Ehhhhh I was hoping Houdini would be absolutely stellar. I think I might just grab the MJ Siren Palette. It’s still available online and I’ve got my $25 coming in the mail!
Aww! A few of the blues/teals I’ve tried with a really dense and creamier consistency have performed better just swatched than applied unfortunately (Gucci’s Iconic Ottanio comes to mind).
CENTER STAGE @_______@
It is very vibrant!
Jester & Magic Act are my favorites! I would say these new shadows are more metallic than foiled. Are these similiar to the Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows?
Nah, Milani’s feels mostly like a powder eyeshadow to me, IMO. Milani feels like like a finer, less dry, baked eyeshadow.
Houdini is calling out my name!!!! I’ll buy it even with the ‘B’ 😀
Wear it over a primer, and it’ll be easier to use, I think! 🙂
I agree! It’s so gorgeous, regardless of the B! (at least it’s not worse :))
A lot of this line looks really dupable to me.
Side note: but I’m guessing you didn’t get the UD Vice LTD palette before launch, Christine? I was hoping they might have snuck you one for a review before tomorrow morning lol.
Sorry, Sarah! I have tried (I ask about once every two weeks about it) since it nano-launched on Sephora. I’ll be setting my alarm to get up at 1AM tonight to try to get it, but if it sells out again, I’m not sure it’ll make sense to review, you know? (I’ll photograph/swatch if I manage to get one, but I might not test it in full if you can’t buy it!) UD said their store won’t take phone orders (I tell you, I’ve tried my best!) so yeah.
Gosh, that sucks! I’m waking up at 4am ET to try and snag one because the swatches I HAVE seen look impressive but it’s odd that they didn’t send out some for reviews/testing beforehand. You would think that they’d be trying to get some promo for the launch. It’s also such an odd launch time though. I’m kind of confused by all of it haha!
Jeez! Really making it impossible/ more covetable, huh? Gahh!
I like all of these but I also have dupes for all. Gotta go dust off my Sephora Midnight Swim!
You totally need to wear it soon!
Soooo Center Stage + Caitlin Rose = Blurple magic?
I’ll have to try that combination when I receive these eye shadows. Next week? Maybe? The initial orders were GONE by the time I got to the pre-order party. Well, if it arrives closer to Christmas I’m sure future me will be surprised by Christmas presents from current me =p
It could be, haha! 😉
Here’s hoping you get yours soon!
Jester and Houdini are sooooo me 😀
They are ;D
Center Stage is so stunning! Love.
It is a vibrant shade!
I’m really excited about this launch! I’m hoping MG has a sale sometime soon so I can snatch some up– is that even a thing they do? I feel like I haven’t lived through one, but I also haven’t been following them for that long.
I don’t think they do sales, but sometimes they’ll do bundles, so if you buy a lot, you’ll save (some).
they have all 10 for 89. that’s saving money.
Center Stage is stunning!
It is!
Even though Houdini didn’t fare quite as well in the ratings it’s still my favorite by far out of this bunch.
I love the color but wish it applied better!
I too had my heart set on Houdini. I’ll probably still get it at some point. 🙂
Let me know how it works out for you, Kimmy!
Houdini looks so gorgeous in the swatch. I’m disappointed it’s not more vibrant when applied
Same here!
What a shame Houdini wasn’t as good as the others! It is my very favourite colour. I think I am going to wait for Sephora’s Midnight Swim to be available. That looks beautiful. Anyway, jester is lovely. Your eye look was amazing Christine. Don’t your eyes water when you put on eyeliner on your lash line underneath your eyes Christine?
No, I don’t have any problems wearing eyeliner on my lower lash line! There are, of course, a few formulas that don’t work as well for me as others, but I don’t usually have issues.
when i try it makes my eyes feel so dry. what do you recommend?
It could be a formula that doesn’t work well with you, or it could be a dye or something like that. If it doesn’t feel good, I just wouldn’t do it!
These are pretty, but they aren’t as steller as I expected. The overall color selection reminds me of the Makeup Forever Artist Palette, so I think I’ll get that for now instead since the quality is better, and the cost per color is much lower, especially with the coupon Sephora just sent. I may get some of these Makeup Geek foil shadows down the road.
Let me know how you like the Artist Shadows! 🙂
Will do! I can’t wait to try them! 🙂
I already ordered some of these, I think they’re really good, but maybe they should’ve marketed them more as hyper-metallic shadows rather than this cream/powder nonsense. In my case, anything creases within 30 minutes, my eyelids produce so much oil, I live in fear of my face getting invaded by capitalist countries. What I mean to say, eye primer is just part of my normal routine anyway. All in all, I’m pretty excited because I went ahead and snatched up a makeup geek starter set as well… this will be my first time testing makeup geek products as a whole. I have hopes of not being disappointed 🙂
LOL! Well, thank goodness primer exists 🙂
Jester and Center Stage are still my favourited from this line. LOL, I have no idea why I love yellow greens so much – it’s like my thing for chartreuse! You’d be hard pressed to find a colour that looks dodgier on me, but I can’t get enough of these types of shadows for some reason… 😀
Have you found a way to wear your beloved chartreuse?
Not yet! 😛 Sometimes I feel like I should just go all out, and do chartreuse graphic liner with chartreuse glitter lips, and then dare anyone not to be won over by sheer force of CHARTREUSE OMGWTFBBQ. 😀
Yes. I think you need to do that. I issue the challenge, and thus, you must accept……
May I please inquire as to if these sheer out, or do they flake off? How metallic and foil-like are these on the eyes? Heavy with fallout? Depends on application? One color is so much like my main love single eyeshafow DCd that was a matte/velvety but the color! If it’s possible to work with.. Perhaps! Everything seems so shiny right now! Then again, I was just playing with MJB Twinkle Pops eye crayons.. Eagerly awaiting! 🙂
They’ll only sheer out if you work at it, as they’re pretty pigmented. They definitely don’t flake!
Cora from Vintageortacky showed these in a recent video and talked about them being duochromatic. Would you agree with her? Because I don’t really see that in your swatches and you didn’t mention it…
Thanks a lot for your help!
I wouldn’t use the term duochrome to describe them myself, and I just went through all the swatches again and the only ones that might possibly be duochrome are Jester and Houdini, but the rest read just one color (like in this post specifically, Magic Act is gold – that’s it! same for Flame Thrower, Grandstand, In the Spotlight, Showtime, etc.) to me. They’re very reflective, so it’s possible another color will bounce off of it and create a duochrome effect? or appear lighter/darker as the light bounces off of it? maybe? I don’t think Jester or Houdini are duochromes, though, because they didn’t shift color, based on my experience with them.
Wow, Christine, you’re amazing! Thanks a lot for your in-depth answer! And so fast… Unbelievable!
Thanks again and greetings from Germany!!!
I wish I saw your review, before buying these eyeshadows, Christine. Houdini is exactly like you described. It is kind of dry and on the eyelid does not look as rich as in the pan. Center stage is hard to apply. I doubt these eyeshadows worth the price tag.
I’m glad it wasn’t just me 🙁 Since you have them already, and I’m not sure what brush/technique you used, my best advice is to try a synthetic brush, a flatter brush, and/or fingertips, which might yield better color coverage. Or a good primer or white base.
Did you get any other shades? Some of them are way easier to apply than Houdini!
Thank you for the answer. I got Center stage, Jester and Grandstand. Jester and Grandstand are ok, however nothing stellar.
I always use good primer. I will follow your advice and try synthetic brush. Though even when I use fingertips it looks muddy. I am new to your site, so from now on I will buy eyeshadows which are “Temptalia recommends” only :).
Happy to try to help! Hope you can find a way to make them more impressive for you 🙂
I can’t seem to get the pigmentation to stay on my lids even with primer. I have hooded lids, and it seems to fade after a couple blinks…Not sure if it’s just my brush? Can you recommend a brush to apply it with?
Hey Geraldine,
What primer are you using? What brush are you using?
I used MAC’s 239, and it was fine for me! You may find a slightly flatter or even a synthetic brush might be more useful. I have heard people using their fingertips (mine are so big, I couldn’t apply more than one or two colors, so not a great technique for me!).
I was using the Mac pro concealer. Usually it works great as a primer. I’ll have to try something else. I’m using a sonia kashuk brush to apply it.
My lids are too small to be using fingertips but I’ll definitely give it a shot and a different brush.
Thank you! 🙂
Jester and houdini are so unique shades.. the finish is just gorgeous .. I just couldn’t resist but drool over these beauties… I want.. I want I want.. 🙂
I know this post is like 6 months old, but I’m totally about to order Center Stage and Caitlin Rose. I saw a gorgeous picture of Scarlett Johansson with the most beautiful violet/cobalt/slightly-purpley-blue eyeshadow and have been hunting for a similar shade all week, and I just realized if I used equal parts Center Stage and Caitlin Rose, I can recreate it fairly perfectly!
I hope you can recreate it with them, Kat!