I was originally not very interested in this collection since I've always felt that Maybelline is for teenagers and I'm past that age. However, after my cousin repeatedly talked about how she wishes this collection would release in the U.S. (it's been available in Asia for a couple of years now), my interest piqued a little. So when I saw that Maybelline products were on sale at a local drugstore, I picked up two colors from the collection at $5.69 each just for the heck of it. Now I only regret that there weren't more color combinations that would work well for my skintone!
Maybelline's Eye Studio collection is packaged very simply. I don't have any qualms with that, but it does kind of annoy me that the case clicks loudly when you close it. Anyway, that's a minor detail. The upside to the packaging is the clear lid that allows you to see the beautiful colors within, though the tradeoff is that there is no mirror. Each palette comes with a double-ended sponge-tip applicator that's a little longer than what you usually see in palettes thanks to the size and shape of these quads. I believe that the length of these applicators would make them easier to use, but I haven't actually used them yet so I can't say for sure.
The two colors that I got from this collection are Legendary Lilac (first picture way above) and Mad for Mauve (above). Both quads contain extremely silky shadows with a texture comparable to Stila's. The shadows are silky with a slightly moist feeling versus Chanel's texture which is silky and dry (but not in a bad way). These Maybelline shadows are fairly pigmented and most colors contain lots of fine to medium shimmers. I haven't had any problems with the shadows creasing over UDPP, though the vibrancy of the colors do fade quite a bit during the day.
So first, the colors in Legendary Lilac are a lilacy ivory, a crossover between pink and lilac, a lavender, and a medium-dark purpley plum. The color of the lavender is very similar to the lavendar in my MQ Eye Creator VI367, and both contain gold shimmers. The only difference is that the lavender in the Maybelline palette has more fine shimmers whereas the lavender in the MQ palette has less shimmer but the size of the shimmers are a little bigger. Overall, Legendary Lilac is a simple purple-based gradational palette. However, because all three shades on the left are rather soft, there is no medium shade that works well as a crease color. Therefore, the overall effect is gentle and reminiscent of spring flowers.
The colors in Mad for Mauve are much bolder in comparison. The quad contains an ivory, a medium mauve, a medium forest green, and a dark brown plum. Because of the green, the palette is more interesting and not just straight up gradational. The colors seem more appropriate for fall and reminds me of a Lunasol quad released years ago called Black Tea Rose (if I remember correctly). I don't have the Lunasol quad though, so I can't actually comment on the similarity between the individual shades.
The product picture for Legendary Lilac and the top swatch pictures for the two palettes were taken under indirect sunlight, whereas the product picture for Mad for Mauve was taken under whitelight. The bottom swatch pictures for the two palettes were taken with flash to show the shimmer.
In short: These palettes are definitely worth checking out when you see a sale at your local drugstore! I've heard that the quality of the palettes vary from color to color though, so you should check reviews for the particular color you want or at least make sure you are able to return an opened product to the drugstore of your choice.
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