Napoleon Perdis Prismatic Eyeshadow Quads Reviews, Photos, Swatches
Napoleon Perdis Air Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Prismatic Eyeshadow Quads
Several months ago, I swatched four of Napoleon Perdis Prismatic Eyeshadow Quads
($35.00 for 0.47 oz.). I always meant to post a look using one of them, but I never got around to it. Usually, when I test out products, I put a whole smattering of various products on my face and do partial looks but nothing one would really want to be seen wearing… (One eye has one set of eyeshadows while the other might be testing mascara and liner… and don’t even get me started on mismatching cheeks, LOL!) So even though I may not have an actual full look to show you, I did put these through the rigors I normally put eyeshadows through.
I actually thought these were a lot more affordable than they were; I had classified them as drugstore–but to the contrary! The packaging feels a little cheap to me–it’s clear acrylic with visible, gold hinges. Each palette also includes two sponge-tipped applicators that look as cheap as they feel. For $35, the packaging really leaves a lot to be desired. The eyeshadows are textured with a “wave” shape (see the photos–it’s visible!).
- AIR features a rather spring-y palette of muted sunshine gold, baby pink with silver sheen, frosted lilac with silver shimmer, and silvered brown. I found this one a little on the sheerer side, which is partially owed to the colors themselves as they’re on the lighter end of the spectrum. All four had very frosty finishes to me, though.
- EARTH includes a dark navy blue with a satin-shimmer finish, subtly yellow-tinged green with muted gold shimmer, sheer seafoam green with soft gold sheen, and lightened peachy orange with peach sheen and shimmer. The blue shade swatched beautifully, but the other three shades were a little on the sheerer side, with the seafoam green shade being notably lacking in pigmentation.
- FIRE has a darkened orange-copper with a shimmered sheen, medium-dark beige with champagne shimmer, medium-dark violet purple with a blacker base, and a high-sheen pinkish white. I found this quad to be the most pigmented; all four shades went on really smoothly and vibrantly.
- WATER contains a sheer, shimmery white, cool-toned gray-cast brown with silver shimmer, glowing periwinkle blue with teal sheen, and light, frosted pink with subtle blue undertones. The periwinkle shade is so pretty, and I don’t have anything quite like it, but the white and pink shades were rather sheer.
Even though at first glance, these palettes seemed really pretty, I wasn’t fond of their textures nor color payoff. They’re incredibly soft, but they veer on powdery, which makes them difficult to work with. You really have to pack on the color, and inevitably, you’ll need to clean up the noticeable fall out that lands on your under eye area. A few shades were nicely pigmented but many fell short–a little sheer, which may also be a result of the powdery formula.
For $35, I wouldn’t put it towards these palettes. You just can’t make the justification of affordability for the reduction in quality here, because this is under the Napoleon Perdis label (rather than NP Set, which is sold at Target), which is “high-end.” There is a decent amount of eyeshadow in each palette, so it’s a shame that the formula doesn’t have that wow factor.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 🙂
- Product: 20/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 3/5
RECOMMENDATION: I don’t recommend these unless you find them on sale. Each palette has one or two interesting shades in it, but the quality is just so-so with rather soft, rather powdery textures and less pigmentation than I’d expect for a high-end brand.
AVAILABILITY: ULTA
Napoleon Perdis Air Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Air Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Air Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Air Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Air Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Earth Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Earth Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Earth Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Earth Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Fire Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Fire Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Fire Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Fire Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Fire Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Water Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Water Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Water Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Water Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
Napoleon Perdis Water Prismatic Eyeshadow Quad
The fire one is the favorite one out of the bunch! What’s yours, Christine? We can’t get these here so my wallet’s safe! 🙂
Probably Earth if I had to pick one!
I bought one palette last summer when I visited San Francisco. Everything was 20% off so I decided to try it. I actually love the palette so much I went back the other day and bought a few more different palettes and 2 lipsticks. You are right about the shadows color payoff; however, when I use it with Urban Decay shadow insurance, the color stays whole day and the color pay off is real good. However, the lipsticks were really disappointing. The color and color payoff is great, however, it so soft that when I apply it the lipstick bends and scraps the side when I close it….
Which ones do you have? I find you really have to pack these on, even over a base 🙁 Lots of fall out, too!
I have Prismatic Eye Shadow Quad 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 14. I know….I am crazy…..
They have 50% off everything when I went to San Francisco in August but then I have almost all the eye shadow quads already and I don’t like their lipsticks…so I didn’t get anything….
Much better deal at 50% off though 😉
It’s a shame you don’t love these, i adore my Napoleon Perdis Quad
Which one do you have?
I have prismatic quad #6, it’s four matte shades (blue, yellow, white and purple). They are a tad chalky, but the color payoff is good!
They look very pretty! Though I wouldn’t know what to do with the gold coloured one.
nor for price, but if it was cheaper, the Earth quad looks very decent…
Those are 35 bucks? Honestly, by just looking at it I would have guessed 4-5 bucks at a drugstore =/
This could just be discrepancy between our tastes, but I feel like your packaging rating was overly generous. (Ew, clear plastic and sponge applicators xP)
Thanks for your honest opinion, as always. If the packaging weren’t such an ick factor for me, I might’ve gone for these because of the nice-looking colors.
Supposed to be a 3 on packaging, LOL! I do think the packaging holds up (though very scratch-prone), but it’s not line with a $35 price tag at all.
HA! Thank you Christine for confirming what I always conjectured! I mean, I always wondered, are these like, amazing, silky wonders? Because they better be, to be $35 bucks in a $2 case!! They really look terrible! What were they thinking?? Their case and layout look worse than NYC or Elf, which are $1!!
And to hear the shadow is no big whoop, well, they won’t be getting my money!! (And, hopefully, they didn’t get yours either. I see the disclaimer, so I think it means these were free for you. Good!)
Nope, did not pay for these!
LOL
when I saw the picture, i thought you were going a drugstore post because I’ve never heard of napoleon. $35.00, really? That’s ridiculous.
Same thing for me, I saw the picture before the price and was like whoa that’s not worth 35$ at all.
Apart from earth, I think the colour combos are horrible! I would never wear them together!
These palettes are very pretty, such interesting colors. Too bad the colors aren’t as good as expected =( the package isn’t spectacular or anything. I don’t think I’ll buy these – for 35$ dollars I can get something better.
Napoleon makeup is just rebranded La Femm makeup. I used to love Napoleon cosmetics
Yep. And La Femme is a lot cheaper (like $2-3 per e/s or blush).
The texture reminds me of the newish Maybelline quad shadows. They seem to have the powdery, shimmery consistency of many Japanese brands, which to me isn’t a bad thing. There’s no way I’d pay $35 for these color combos and cheap packaging, however.
idk they look nice swatched! just too much $…
They seem pretty nice, BUT i wouldn’t pay that much for them. I’ll just wait for the Urban Decay book of shadow 3 instead.
I find Napoleon Perdis products are overly expensive and poor quality (even in terms of packaging), and his products are overrated, particularly here in Australia. Those eyeshadow quads are like $49AUD. I can think of many other makeup items I would rather spend my money on! And I agree with ‘baby in a corner’ – the colour combinations are horrible.
Too bad these got such a bad review. They look absolutely gorgeous in your swatches.
i can’t get past the packaging/format which looks a lot like a horrible palette i had as a teen in the early 90’s…complete with the foam wand applicator, the embossed wave effect and the frost finishes…*shudder*
I agree that the packaging of these (as well as maybe the random color assortments) makes these seem cheap. I dunno why but Napoleon Perdis never caught my eye either in the high end or the NP permutations.
How disappointing that it got a C-! I have the colour correcting concealer from Napoleon Perdis, and I’m loving it. I have one of their loose powder shadows, and I’m not really liking it, but was hoping that others would be better. But based on this review, it seems that NP eyeshadows don’t give much payoff for the price of it!
ugh, what a BUMMER! such pretty colors in the pastels one. thanks for reviewing it!
I used to love Napoleon Perdis products until about 2 years ago when everything started getting made in china. His original single eyeshadows were beautiful and were made in usa or australia with excellent colour payoffs. Now he’s released a new range of eyeshadows in these tacky packaging. Why oh why??? I do still love the Chinadoll foundation and concealer, still part of the original line.