Sephora Colorful Duo Reflects Colorful Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches
Sephora Colorful Duo Reflects Colorful Eyeshadows
Sephora Colorful Duo Reflects Colorful Eyeshadow ($13.00 for 0.07 oz.) popped up online a week or so ago, and three shades are already out of stock (count me surprised!). I’m not sure if they’ll be restocking these, but hopefully they will for those of you who had this on your radar! They’re interesting in concept, but I wouldn’t consider the majority of them duochromes at all (only one had a subtle duochrome). They’re more frosted to metallic in finish with some shades having noticeable sparkle (both in the finish as well as some fall out). I swatched them both dry (left) and damp (right), but they don’t need to be used damp at all, and I didn’t think it really transformed the color much more than intensifying and smoothing out the finish slightly.
Sephora Hidden Treasures (114) Colorful Eyeshadow ($13.00 for 0.07 oz.) is a medium-dark, olive green with warm, golden shimmer and sparkle and a frosted finish. It had good color payoff both wet and dry, and the texture was denser but a little dry in feel. I felt like the formula with these wasn’t as smooth as the regular Colorful range. The eyeshadow wore well for nine hours but had some sparkle fall out over time. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Sephora Mermaid Tail (112) Colorful Eyeshadow ($13.00 for 0.07 oz.) is a purpled brown with a blue metallic sheen. This had the strongest duochrome out of the six, where it shifted from bluish-brown to brown. The texture was soft but a little dry, though blendable and applied without a lot of work. It stayed on well for eight and a half hours with very minor fall out over time. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Sephora Seahorse (115) Colorful Eyeshadow ($13.00 for 0.07 oz.) is a brightened, eggplant purple with warm undertones and a frosted, sparkling finish. The consistency was dry and less easily blended on the skin as a result, as the edges tended to reflect the drier texture. It had decent pigmentation dry, but it was easier to work with when I used a damp brush, as it was more pigmented and the dryness had less of an impact. On me, the color started to fade after seven and a half hours of wear, and there was some fall out over time. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Sephora Siren’s Charm (111) Colorful Eyeshadow ($13.00 for 0.07 oz.) is a muted, burgundy brown with gold and mauve sparkle. The texture was soft but dry, and it tended to kick up an excessive amount of powder when used it. The pigmentation was good whether applied dry or damp, but it was prone to sheering out when used dry on the lid. There was significant fall out throughout the time I wore it, and it only lasted for six and a half hours before fading noticeably. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Sephora Iridescent Shell (110) Colorful Eyeshadow ($13.00 for 0.07 oz.) is a brightened silver with a metallic finish. Again, there was a dryness present in the texture that made it harder to use as it was a little powdery and not as readily blended along the edges. It had good color payoff, but damp application helped to minimize some of the issues I had with the texture. The color showed signs of fading after seven and a half hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Sephora Stormy Seas (113) Colorful Eyeshadow ($13.00 for 0.07 oz.) is a medium-dark blue with a frosted finish. It had a soft, lightly powdery texture that felt somewhat dry but was still blendable on the skin. It had good pigmentation both dry and damp, but it was smoother and adhered better to the skin when applied damp. It lasted for eight hours on me, and as it wasn’t as sparkly, it had minor fall out towards the end of the day. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Hidden Treasure (114)
LELimited Edition. $13.00.
Mermaid Tail (112)
LELimited Edition. $13.00.
Seahorse (115)
LELimited Edition. $13.00.
Siren's Charm (111)
LELimited Edition. $13.00.
Iridescent Shell (110)
LELimited Edition. $13.00.
Stormy Seas (113)
LELimited Edition. $13.00.
Sephora Hidden Treasure (114) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Hidden Treasure (114) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Hidden Treasure (114) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Hidden Treasure (114) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Hidden Treasure (114) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Hidden Treasure (114) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Mermaid Tail (112) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Mermaid Tail (112) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Mermaid Tail (112) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Mermaid Tail (112) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Mermaid Tail (112) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Mermaid Tail (112) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Seahorse (115) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Seahorse (115) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Seahorse (115) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Seahorse (115) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Seahorse (115) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Seahorse (115) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Siren’s Charm (111) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Siren’s Charm (111) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Siren’s Charm (111) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Siren’s Charm (111) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Siren’s Charm (111) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Siren’s Charm (111) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Iridescent Shell (110) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Iridescent Shell (110) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Iridescent Shell (110) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Iridescent Shell (110) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Iridescent Shell (110) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Iridescent Shell (110) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Stormy Seas (113) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Stormy Seas (113) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Stormy Seas (113) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Stormy Seas (113) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Stormy Seas (113) Colorful Eyeshadow
Sephora Stormy Seas (113) Colorful Eyeshadow
Hidden Treasure (inner lid), Mermaid Tail (middle of lid),
Seahorse (outer lid), Siren’s Charm (crease) (No Primer)
Hidden Treasure (inner lid), Mermaid Tail (middle of lid),
Seahorse (outer lid), Siren’s Charm (crease) (No Primer)
Man does Sephora like to put out these limited edition mica/gel formula eyshadows. I just wish they made a permanent line of them. Or if I could order the Kiko ones! 😉
I wonder why they’re always LE!
Very pretty shades. That Mermaid Tail though is GORGEOUS. @____@
It is a pretty shade!
I figured your ratings would be as such. I’m surprised, too, that some sold out!
Were people sucked in by the scales?
I’ve seriously taken back or thrown out every Sephora brand eyeshadow I’ve purchased. It took me a while to learn… haha. No more. They alway seem so hard/dry with little color payoff and fallout like mad.
I actually like many of the regular Colorful Eyeshadows! 🙂 Not all of them are great, but there are many that are crazy pigmented.
Which are your favorites, Christine? 😀
I don’t remember them off-hand, but you can check out previous reviews 🙂
Sadly, I was totally sucked in by the scales and the promise of duochrome. LOL! I don’t actually own any Sephora eyeshadows, but I have tested them out several times in store so I should have known better. Silly me–I’ve learned my lesson!
I have a lot of Sephora brand shadows that are really nice. They can be hit or miss.. but so is everything. The now discontinued chrome shadows were amazing. They were overpriced so didn’t get a lot of attention when they were released, but once they went on sale and people started buying them they were raved about everywhere.
Wow! I’m so surprised these have sub-par grades! I’m having no problem with them and I think perhaps it’s a matter of batch as reviews are all over the place, which in itself isn’t good.. Hence, I understand the grades. 🙂
What tools do you like using with them, Lotus? Do you get more of a duochrome out of them? No matter how I twisted and maneuvered my arm/eye, I couldn’t really see shifts! They sparkle, but not so much shift (except for Mermaid Tail).
Hi Christine! I often think tools, such as brushes and the whole shebang, are the last thing to try to work with when using eyeshadows like these. I use my fingers! 😀 I think that by rubbing the shadow fiercely and then tapping with a little drag.. It works well! For me, a lover of the old UD formulation, these types of shadows seem to form by themselves in the eye when less tampered with, allowing a duochrome to come through and minimal fall-out if any. Are they the best duochromes? Heck no! The price is ridiculous for a $4 hit or miss! I’ve also added a bit of gloss to my eye and then stuck it into the gloss, preferably a sticky one. I’d return them but I’m finding multiple uses which makes it fun! 😀 I hope that helps!
I was mostly disappointed that 3 out of the 4 shades I got weren’t duochrome. If I used a black base then I KINDA got a slight shift but mostly they looked like shadows with tons of glitter. The online pictures deceived me lol
Yes, same here! I’m really disappointed in them. The texture is what irritates me the most, though: dry and sort of sooty on.
Hi Jessica! I’m sorry the duochrome doesn’t scream color shift for you, pressed on the eye, smoothly packed gently, I’ve been able to achieve a not over the top duochrome effect which is very polished, muted, but definitely there! Brushes move the setting of the cohesive formula, in my experience, so I’d say to give application with fingers a try! 😀 I hope you get better results! They aren’t the best, but they’re decent. <3
Oh too bad so many of them are not good quality. The colors are so pretty, and sparkly (yay!) 🙂 At first glance, I thought they were the Gucci eye shadows — intentional I’m sure.
I like a couple of these, especially Mermaid Tail! I prefer the blue/brown to the usual teal/reddish brown duochrome that is common. Do these pop out and fit in the Sephora palettes?
I’m not one to wear such shimmery shadows like these, but that Mermaid shade MIGHT change that. That is beautiful!
Your review is spot on, Christine! I was just going to to post my review on Sephora until I saw yours. I would essentially be repeating everything you wrote.
No, these are hardly duochrome, except for Mermaid’s Tail and Iridescent Shell, if I can ever get the extreme angle I need for the pink lavender duochrome to show up. All of mine are just shimmery/glittery with a rather dry texture that crumbles easily if I’m not careful. I’m no stranger to eyeshadow technique, and even I had a bit of trouble making sure these didn’t get all over my face.
I think the best method of application was either to use a firmer brush or my fingers so that I could really smooth it on. I do like the colors and the play of shimmers on some of them, so I’ll probably be keeping a couple or three, but most of them are definitely going back. I was really looking forward to a duochrome effect or at least a unique complex shimmer a la Armani Eyes to Kills. Alas, they disappoint me big time.
I forgot to mention, using it over primer didn’t help much either!
I’d been wondering about these. I love the colors and the scale texture embossing. I wish Seahorse and Siren’s Charm weren’t as powdery as you describe. I was also hoping they’d all be true duochromes. Mermaid’s Tail is beautiful.
I find Sephora shadows to be a mixed bag. Some were awful, others ok, a few really good. The swatches are pretty, but I think Color Pop has a better formula at only $5 each.
I like Mermaid Tail!
Hidden Treasure and Seahorse, oh my <3
A few years ago, Sephora had this great (though small, in terms of colour choice) collection of Prisma Colour shadows (they had a quilted texture not entirely dissimilar to these) and they were SO amazing. I only got one of them but it’s such a great shadow. These look somewhat similar; I was hoping they’d be as good, though they don’t seem all that great, depending on the colour. No surprise that I really love Hidden Treasure and quite a few others (even some with crummy ratings). Iridescent Shell swatches so interestingly – quite different from what I’d have expected….
The colours are really pretty! I like the fish-scale pattern too. I see that they’ve done one of those ‘oilslickgreengreywithredundertones’ things in Mermaid’s Tail… It’s a shame about Seahorse, though.
I’m soooo getting Mermaid Tail when it’s back on. Shame they are not in store. Am I dreaming, but they seams to have a little slot to depot them. If so, they are even more “I want That”.
Wow, these are beautiful! I’m a little disappointed Sephora made them limited edition though. I didn’t even know they existed until now lol
Love the duochrome in mermaid’s tale. Sephora is putting out a lot of hits lately
OOh all so pretty .sirens charm looks sooo gorgeous ! I also wish they had more of a duochrome but they’re really pretty nonetheless!
Mermaid’s Tail really catches my eye, but nothing else from this collection excites me. Very run of the mill shimmer jewel tones. Pretty, but not unique.
Might pick up Stormy Seas as well, but I can never have enough teal/blue shadows.
The first two look great! I usually only pick up items from the Sephora brand that have received positive reviews.
I love Mermaid Tail!
ok!! all gorgeous! i’ll need all of them now… dammit! <= l
Love, love, love these – especially Hidden Treasure, Mermaid’s tail, Iridescent Shell and Stormy Seas – great that Sephora are bringing in some beautiful cool toned colours.
Your eye look Christine is gorgeous.
*grin* It figures the two colors I like best got the worst ratings. Christine, thanks for saving me $26!
These are stunning!
Does this eyeshadows formula the same as ColourPoP? They look too similar.
Nope – this is a powder product, and ColourPop is a cream product!
Wow, these look really pretty! Too bad they don’t collectively make the grade re: quality, wear, etc.
How many times can they fit colorful into the name of the product?! COME ON! At least try a little.
Are those comparable to Mac’s Extra Dimension or Nars’ Dual-Intensity eyeshadows Christine?
The colours look lovely!
Yes, in terms of what the formula is supposed to be, but the texture feels different (drier).
That eye look is so pretty and mermaid-y, Christine! I love the multidimensional shimmer in these (especially in Siren’s Charm) — it’s a shame that the formula in these isn’t quite as good as the Colorful shadows.
I have came across a review on Sephora, saying, it’s a knock-off of ColourPop eyeshadows. And I totally agreed.
Colors may be similar, but the formula itself is totally different (powder vs. cream!).