Press Samples
Check here for our Collection Spotlight and Part 1 of the swatches!
We're back for the second half of Volume I, a collection of matte eyeshadows from Blackbird Cosmetics. We are specifically comparing Blackbird's original formula with the recently reformulated version.
Let's start with the eye look! I did the same look with the same shades on both eyes, but used old formula shadows on one eye and new formula shadows on the other eye. Both looks show Thirteen on the lid, Imogen in the outer crease, Lucid on the upper lashline, Gravity on the lower lashline, and Immortals as a browbone and inner corner highlight.
I started with Urban Decay Primer Potion but skipped a base shadow so I could see how the shadows performed without extra assistance. I also skipped my usual tightlining and mascara for these photos to keep the focus on the eyeshadows.
Old formula:
In general, I didn't see as much of a difference in the final eye looks here as I did for part 1. The most noticeable difference in the final eye look is that Thirteen (the lid color) is a little lighter, so I could see a little more contrast between the lid and crease shades in the new formula eye. Gravity (the lower lashline color) also looked a little softer/more blended in the new formula eye. I found some noteworthy performance differences between the old and new formulas, so I'll discuss that more under the individual swatches below.
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Check here for our Collection Spotlight and Part 1 of the swatches!
We're back for the second half of Volume I, a collection of matte eyeshadows from Blackbird Cosmetics. We are specifically comparing Blackbird's original formula with the recently reformulated version.
Let's start with the eye look! I did the same look with the same shades on both eyes, but used old formula shadows on one eye and new formula shadows on the other eye. Both looks show Thirteen on the lid, Imogen in the outer crease, Lucid on the upper lashline, Gravity on the lower lashline, and Immortals as a browbone and inner corner highlight.
I started with Urban Decay Primer Potion but skipped a base shadow so I could see how the shadows performed without extra assistance. I also skipped my usual tightlining and mascara for these photos to keep the focus on the eyeshadows.
Old formula:
New formula:
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| Apologies for my shaky upper liner! |
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From the website: Dark to medium muted complex plum.
Eye Shadow Ingredients: Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Myristrate, Iron Oxides, Boron Nitride, Isoeicosane, Zinc Stearate, Mica, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Alkyl Benzoate, Lauryl Laurate, Caranauba Wax, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Jojoba Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Vegan & cruelty free. Eye, lip & face safe.
Personal Comments: The Gravity samples look really different in the bags, but on the eyes the new version just looks a little softer than the old version. The new version of Gravity blends out right away on application, whereas the old one stays more or less where it's put. I had a similar experience with Fire Pledge in the previous post, and as I said there, this could be good or bad depending on whether you want it for a precise or diffused application. I applied Gravity with a smudge brush, so you'd likely get a more diffused application with a fluffy brush regardless of which formula you use.
Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion. This picture was taken outside in natural light.
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From the website: Soft lightened pink.
Eye Shadow Ingredients: Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Myristrate, Iron Oxides, Boron Nitride, Isoeicosane, Zinc Stearate, Mica, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Alkyl Benzoate, Lauryl Laurate, Caranauba Wax, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Jojoba Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Vegan & cruelty free. Eye, lip & face safe.
Personal Comments: I genuinely love most of Blackbird's shadows, but Immortals is a miss for me. To be completely honest, I didn't notice any difference between the old and new versions, and I didn't really like either of them. They both looked quite textured on the skin (even over primer) and I had trouble blending both of them into the shades around them. If you want a light pink from this line, I'd say Imogen is the way to go.
Also, my eyes may have been playing tricks on me, but I thought Immortals was nearly indistinguishable from Thirteen once I got them both on. Looking back this might have been because I only applied a single thin layer of Immortals, and as you can see from Kristin's beautiful swatch photos above the pink tones stand out better when you build this shadow up.
Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion. This picture was taken outside in natural light.
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From the website: Medium muted mauvey pink.
Eye Shadow Ingredients: Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Myristrate, Iron Oxides, Boron Nitride, Isoeicosane, Zinc Stearate, Mica, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Alkyl Benzoate, Lauryl Laurate, Caranauba Wax, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Jojoba Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Vegan & cruelty free. Eye, lip & face safe.
Personal Comments: The new version of Imogen seems ever so slightly less intense than the old version, but otherwise I found them to be identical in color and great performance on the eyes. I'm not usually a fan of soft pinks against my warm-toned skin, but I was surprised at how nice this looked in my crease.
Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion. This picture was taken outside in natural light.
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From the website: Black.
Eye Shadow Ingredients: Talc, Magnesium Myristrate, Iron Oxides, Boron Nitride, Isoeicosane, Zinc Stearate, Mica, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Alkyl Benzoate, Lauryl Laurate, Caranauba Wax, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Jojoba Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Vegan & cruelty free. Eye, lip & face safe.
Personal Comments: On the eye, the new version of Lucid applies more smoothly and is a little more pigmented than the old formula. I was also delighted to see it has substantially less fallout! I noticed a couple specks on my undereye area from the new version of Lucid versus a pretty notable dusting from the old version. And that's even with my, uh, overly enthusiastic application of this shade on the new formula eye! I have a lot of trouble with matte blacks like Shiro Dwarf in the Flask and Fyrinnae Snow White causing pretty hardcore fallout when applied dry, so the new version of Lucid definitely exceeded my general expectations for shades in this family. I'll need to do some testing between all my matte blacks before I make a final call though, so I'll keep that in mind as an idea for a future post. Bottom line - I think Lucid wins for most improved so far!
Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion. This picture was taken outside in natural light.
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From the website: Light to medium exactly neutral brown.
Eye Shadow Ingredients: Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Myristrate, Iron Oxides, Boron Nitride, Isoeicosane, Zinc Stearate, Mica, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Alkyl Benzoate, Lauryl Laurate, Caranauba Wax, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Jojoba Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Vegan & cruelty free. Eye, lip & face safe.
Personal Comments: On the eye, the new version of Thirteen looks lighter and just a bit smoother than the old version. Other than that I didn't notice any real difference in their pigmentation and good performance. I enjoyed Thirteen as a lid shade and I love Dog Days (reviewed in the previous post) as a crease shade, and since they're both described as exactly neutral browns, I bet they'd make a great combination for a simple neutral eye on lighter skin tones.
Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion. This picture was taken outside in natural light.
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Stay tuned - we'll take a look at Volume II of Blackbird's mattes starting next week!
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