L'Oreal HiP Metallic Shadow Duos (+1)

These L'Oreal HiP Metallic Shadow Duos were all the hype when they first came out. Unlike the first two series, the Concentrated Shadow Duos and the Bright Shadow Duos, which were not very consistent in the quality of each product, all of the Metallic Shadow Duos are smooth and pigmented. That is not to say that these duos are perfect. They definitely are not.


The reason I wrote plus one in the title is because I am including the review of all Metallic Shadow Duos plus a Concentrated Shadow Duo (the purple one in the bottom right of the picture). I will focus first on the quality of the Metallic Shadow Duos. The major selling point of these duos is that they are very pigmented and require little layering on your lids to get the intensity of the colors in the pans. The powder in these duos are pretty fine, but the darker shades of the duos are a little rougher, and I do get a lot of fallout when applying the darker shades. These duos also don't last long on my oily lids. I can make them go without creasing for maybe 7-8 hours if I apply them over UDPP, but without UDPP, they only last about 3-4 hours at the most. The one Concentrated Shadow Duo I own is of pretty much the same quality as the Metallic Shadow Duos, except the darker shade is much less pigmented than the darker shades of Metallic Duos when applied on the lids.

All of the duos (Metallic and Concentrated) include a sponge-tip applicator that work pretty well in applying the shadows. The applicator is kept in a lower compartment with a mirror. The mirror included is pretty much useless since it's on the bottom so you'd have to flip back and forth between swiping the shadow and looking at the mirror if you want to use it. Also, the cover for the bottom compartment is a little looser in some duos so you may accidentally open the bottom compartment when you actually mean to open the top compartment where the shadows are. This little design flaw doesn't bother me much, but it can be considered a major nuisance to some users.

The first two Metallic Shadow Duos I own are Gilded and Platinum. Gilded is a gold-themed duo with a vivid yellow gold and a black with gold shimmer. The shimmer in the darker shade in Gilded is a little bigger than the shimmer found in the darker shades of the other duos. In contrast, Platinum is a silver-themed duo with a white silver and a black with silver shimmer. The darker shade in Platinum is a little more matte (i.e., contains less shimmer) than the darker shades in the other Metallic Duos.


The next two Metallic Shadow Duos are Sculpted and Gunmetal. Sculpted is a pink-themed duo with a shimmery warm peachy pink and a black with pink/red shimmer, which appears more like a black with a hint of red rather than a dark red. On the other hand, Gunmetal is a green-themed duo with a shimmery olive green and a black with green shimmer that appears like a dark forest green.


The last Metallic Duo is Magnetic, which is a blue-themed duo with a shimmery icy blue and a black with blue shimmer that appears like a navy blue. The one Concentrated Shadow Duo I have is Charisma, which is a purple-toned duo. The lighter color in Charisma is a shimmery pinkish lilac, whereas the darker color is a matte eggplant that needs several layers to get it to the intensity in the swatch.


All of the photos in this entry were taken under a mix of yellow and white light.

In short: The pigmentation in these shadows are excellent (except for the darker shade in Charisma), but the powder quality of the darker shades is not the greatest. There is also a little design flaw with the compact. Overall, these are a steal if you love playing with colors and can get them during a buy one get one free deal at a local drugstore.

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Please click here to see Gunmetal and Charisma used in EOTDs.