Catrice Aloe Vera Eyeshadow Stick [040 - Lavender Brown] Review
By Maychiri's Thoughts - July 05, 2023
Hello!
This is the Catrice Aloe Vera Eyeshadow Stick, shade 040/Lavender Brown!
I have been wanting this eyeshadow stick ever since it first
released as part of the Catrice autumn/winter 2022 refresh. This shade in
particular was a bit difficult to find, as most shops had all the other shades
but this one. Fortunately, Notino had it. So I ordered it; I was so excited to
try this eyeshadow out, I literally couldn’t wait to open it and start using
it! So, is my eagerness warranted? Or will it end up being a disappointment?
Let’s see!
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Packaging: pretty simple, just a black plastic crayon with
gold reflective text on it. The text isn’t the most legible because of how metallic
it is; perhaps a matte colour would’ve been a better choice? Anyways, the cap fits
securely, although it doesn’t really feel like it; it seems like it is loose,
even after it makes a soft clicking noise. But it’s not, that’s just what it
seems like.
The cap matches the colour of the eyeshadow, and, if you look
closely enough, has the tiniest shimmer on it, to show you that this isn’t a
matte eyeshadow, but a more metallic one. Inside, the retracting mechanism
isn’t the best, really, as it seems quite flimsy.
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| Source: catrice.eu |
Ingredients: Aloe barbadensis leaf extract, rosemary
(Rosmarinus officinalis) leaf extract for nourishment. No parabens. The scent is
a bit unpleasant, and bitter. Given that it’s perfume-free, this is to be
expected; this is what the ingredients themselves smell like, without any added
perfumes. Still, it’s not a nice scent! The expiration date is only 6 months
after opening. Why so short?
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This is a smoky, grayish medium brown that does seem like
it’s got a minuscule amount of lavender tint in it. There’s a lot more silvery
pigments, though. It’s a very dramatic colour but still perfectly usable for
everyday use. I love how extra smoky it looks on pale skin!
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The pigmentation is very intense from the first layer.
Additional layers aren’t even necessary to get rich pigmentation. The texture
is slightly metallic, quite shiny.
The formula is extraordinarily smooth and soft, it’s almost
buttery! It literally glides across the eyelids with absolutely no tugging; though
it can deposit pigment a bit sparsely sometimes. The formula also becomes crumbly after a short while.
It’s super easy to use because of the smooth, easy-glide
formula, though it can look a bit patchy. It’s extremely easy to blend, way too
easy, actually, as you can over-blend it if you blend just a bit too much,
which just makes it look dirty smoky, not seductively smoky. I don’t know why
it ends up looking patchy and crumbly in certain areas, but it’s not a nice
look at all. I actually noticed that, if I blend it after about a minute has
passed (so, after it has dried), it will start to crumble and be difficult to
blend. So, good luck fixing any mistakes that might have happened.
Catrice claim that this eyeshadow stick is long-lasting;
well, sort of, as, while it does stay on the eyelids for hours without any
significant changes or fading or whatever, it’s the crease area that’s
problematic. I have oily eyelids, which makes it incredibly hard for any softer
eyeshadow formula or shimmery formula not to crease. Indeed, this eyeshadow
creased almost immediately after applying it, and only got worse as time went
on. 7 hours later it was visibly creased, though the soft colour helped to hide
it somewhat. For something that is supposed to be long-lasting, this shouldn’t
happen. I did notice that, if you apply a second layer of the eyeshadow over
the crease, some time after the initial layer (like, say, an hour or two later),
it will stop creasing for a while. However, that’s not really a solution.
Really disappointing!
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This eyeshadow stick is extremely easy to remove with pretty
much anything, including fingers, or a dry tissue. Just swipe with a dry tissue
and it is gone. Of course, a much gentler approach would be to use a cleanser,
be it oil-based or a gel cleanser, or even micellar water; it only takes a
couple of seconds to remove this eyeshadow completely using the aforementioned
cleansers.
All in all, I am quite disappointed by this eyeshadow! I had
high hopes, and they have all been squashed. And I was so looking forward to
using this eyeshadow stick! The formula is super soft and almost buttery, which
is fantastic on the skin and it glides easily across eyelids; therein, however,
lies the crux of all the problems. Because of the too soft formula it tends to
look patchy even when you try your best to make it look even, and it is
especially finicky to somehow make both eyes look the same. This is also the
root of the problem called creasing: this eyeshadow creases a ton, and that’s
immediately after applying it; luckily, it doesn’t get a whole lot worse but it
is definitely visible. If the formula wasn’t so buttery, it might not crease as
much. And it’s also the reason why you can remove the eyeshadow using literally
anything, even your fingers. So, yeah, the colour is quite pretty and I like
the shiny, almost metallic finish, and I love the longevity (outside of the
creasing, that is), it barely changes during 7 hours of wearing it. But it also
becomes really crumbly not even 5 minutes after applying it, so if you try to
blend it then, you will just ruin it. Speaking of which, it is, unsurprisingly,
quite easy to blend with fingers or brushes (at least until it dries and
becomes crumbly); however, it is also way too easy to over-blend it and make it
look dirty and smudgy. I really wanted to love this eyeshadow, I really
fricking did, but it is just not good, unfortunately. If you do use it, you
must use a primer underneath if you want to try to prevent all the creasing. So,
in the end, this eyeshadow will not be getting any kind of recommendation.
Rating: 4/10
Would buy again? NO (huge disappointment)
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