Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Loose Eyeshadows!
my answer: They’re often quite pigmented and more nuanced, but they can be messy – even if you take precautions and make sure to tap the brush so you don’t get excess, it can still get all over your counter top or under your eye.
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I agree with you, I don’t love loose eyeshadow. Ialways press mine with rubbing alcohol. You just make a paste with rubbing alcohol, press it into a mold, and then the alcohol evaporates to leave it really silky and sleek. It’s also a great way to use up old space in palettes that have empty pots in them. Try it out sometime
I have tried pressing! It’s okay – I don’t feel like everything always presses the same as loose. It can definitely depend on the formula & color!
Exactly what you’ve said, Christine – often, the colours and the intensity and complexity are unequalled but the downside is the potential for fallout. And with some brands (MAC, for example) the containers are both tall/narrow (as opposed to short and squat) and don’t have any sort of sifter in the top so if you knock one over (or even just nudge it hard), you can lose a lot of product. The old Mac pigment jars had a wider base in relation to their height, so were less “tippable” but still, if you did knock one over, you lost most of the contents (to say nothing of the mess of trying to clean up what spilled).
I don’t have any luck with them. I end up with a faint haze of eyeshadow all over my face.
I pretty much avoid them at all costs! My inner neat freak goes insane when I think about the potential mess. I do, however, really love the packaging of Rouge Bunny Rouge Loose Glitter Pigments. I’ve never had any fallout from it!
While I admit that I like the convenience of pressed shadows, I find that loose shadows are so much more beautiful when applied. I almost exclusively used loose shadows. I just put a square of toilet paper under my eye (covering my bottom lashes too!) to avoid the fallout that can land everywhere. Problem solved!
I agree with you Christine, for the most part they are messy but they do tend to have incredible dimension. That’s why I generally stick to using them as a lid color that I can pat on instead of something I try to blend through the crease. I take certain precautions to prevent fallout. I use some sort of sticky base and then dampen the brush with a bit of fix+. These steps make it a bit easier to get the look I want but most mornings I don’t want to make that kind of effort. One of my favorite loose shadows is Bare Skin by Bare Minerals.
I can’t be bothered to use them. Way too messy, not necessarily when you apply them, but just opening the jars can cause a huge mess.
I love their complexity and versatility and the way they can be layered to add more depth to other shadows, but not a product type I would use if in a hurry! I inevitably end up with loose shadow under my eyes and have to clean up. Some brands produce less fallout than others, but I’m usually looking through a magnifying mirror to do my eyes so I see every little fleck and get all anal about it.
I like loose eye shadows, but I don’t reach for them on a regular basis since they can be a nuisance.
I like them because they can be so pretty and multi-toned, but I rarely reach for them anymore because I find them messy. I have a ton of them tho!
I love how versatile they are but I hate that there is no earthly way to stop them from getting into the grooves in the cap. When you open them…shadow everywhere!
I think they are messy and don’t buy them. However, I got a Mica Beauty pigment in my Ipsy bag this month and I really really like it. The pigmentation is great and there is no fallout provided I tap my brush beforehand.
I love loose eyeshadows! Sure they are a pain but they are so great for layering and effects. I especially like the very light duochrome eye shadows. MUFE star powders are soooo great.
I’ve always been meaning to try the MUFE star powders. Do you have a favorite? Or one you would recommend? Thanks!
I have a small collection of them and I think they can be very beautiful if carefully patted onto the lid. I look for ones that are not glittery. I agree that they are messy. Just opening them up is often so messy that I only reach for them when I have ample time to do my makeup and clean up afterwards.
Love the color intensity, hate the messiness.
I absolutely *love* them! I also have a MineralsMate palette that I can scoop a small amount into, as I like to use a damp brush, ande this helps prevent contamination. Mixing 2 or more shades is fun, too, and because the model I have has lids, I can keep the mixed shades for some time. I happened to win mine, but they retail in the $20 range, and are a great investment for those who like loose powders.
I also keep my loose powders stored upright, and this prevents alot of product from getting into the grooves of the container, as does regularly wiping down the edges of both the cap & jar. It may seem product is getting “wasted”, but it’s no more than the accumulated powder that flies all over the counter/sink when opened. I also *never* “tap” my brush directly onto the jar (which “kicks up” more powder), but instead sweep the brush onto the back of my hand. I wash my hands directly before & after doing my makeup, so there are no extra steps involved.
As for fall-out mess all over the sink/counter, I don’t find loose powders any “messier” than pressed. Maybe I’m just messy, but I manage to get makeup all over the sink, regardless of brand/formula, and end up having to wipe it down, anyway.
I have a ton of them. Bought multiple BE e/s and samples from Everyday Minerals when it was all the rage on YT. But now I find that I don’t reach for them much anymore, they are messy. But they’re beautiful. The complexities and nuances of the colors that you don’t find in many pressed e/s. MAC should definitely come out with some new duochromes, I have a couple of their e/s and find them very pretty.
i have a lot of loose eyeshadows and i love them, i don’t have problems with application
No matter the color or consistency, they are too messy to be worth it.
I love the look of the more complex ones. But I’m way too impatient to use any most of the time. And I really don’t “get” going through all of the trouble of loose shadows in average, run of the mill colors that are easily found and applied in pressed form.
I love loose powders minus the mess, ( i’ve been pretty good with loose powders so far) but i prefer them to be in big jars so I don’t make a mess. I like mixing my loose powders =] Sometimes I turned pressed powders into loose powder for easy application.
I have a ton of loose shadows from companies like Fyrinnae and Meow and I use them almost as often as the pressed ones. I always use my trusty Post-it notes under my eyes to catch fallout and I use a dense, less-fluffy brush to apply. I don’t see it as any messier than regular shadow. Some pressed shadows have really soft formulas that get everywhere too. And the complexity of color you find from mineral makeup companies can’t be beat. The only downside for me is their portability. Carrying enough for a full eye look can be bulky in a makeup bag compared to a slim palette of pressed shadows.
I bought a dozen paint-by-numbers type of paint pots in a dollar store which I use to transport small amounts of pigments in my makeup bag. I cut mine apart to take them with me individually, but leaving them attached could be an option, depending on preference. This way, if one spills, then I’ve only wasted a small amount of product, and not most of a jar of pigment.
My biggest rant is the packaging; on my Jesse’s Girl loose eyeshadows, the lid can be tight as I can make it but shadow leaks out. Same with my Geek Chic. :/ This probably doesn’t occur with OCC Loose Colour Concentrates though. I always tap off my brush if I go directly into the pot or take product from the lid to use. Decreases a lot of mess for lighter colors but with bright colors, fallout is a noticeable problem.
The array of them (pigments rather) at MAC and Inglot always seem appealing, but I like to take eyeshadow with me in case I need to touch it up at some point, and I can’t imagine doing that with a loose colour. I also don’t like the idea of fallout and mess when I open the jars and, with a toddler running around I just see it as a disaster waiting to happen. Plus there are always pigments you think would be okay as an eyeshadow, but they’re not eye-safe.
I love loose shadows and pigments and in the last 6 months or so I’ve bought a truckload, or so it seems!! I use a damp brush to apply them so the mess is minimal, and for carrying them around in my makeup bag, I have little paint pots which hold a fraction of a jar of MAC pigment, so if I happen to spill one, its only a tiny bit wasted.
agreed but they’re usually what i turn to when i want a funky bold look. i had to transfer my make up geek pigments into different containers because i was sick of losing so much when i opened and closed the jar. i appreciate how much product that was in the jar but the wide jars aren’t my favorite. i switched them to jars that are taller and just labeled the tops.
what annoys me is the constant trial of should i apply it dry? wet? over pixie epoxy? over a stick shadow? etc.
DISLIKES
Usually there is no mirror.
The fact that they are loose.
Often requires several to create a look making it difficult for travel.
Usually shimmery – which rarely looks good on me (didn’t even in my teens or 20s)
LIKES
I can custom blend a shade pretty easily.
I make little gift samples for friends who are looking for a certain color that is just difficult to find.
I really like the pigment of the loose powder, but it is too messy for me.
I like loose shadows as they seem to be more pigmented. I just don’t like the mess.