I have a quick swatch post for you this morning. I was a little underwhelmed by MAC’s Gift of Gold Holiday Collection this year, so I only got the Chromacrayon Eye Shadow Stick ($28) in the Shade Bubbleglam. I was more interested in the Bobbi Brown City Lights Collection, but the eyeshadow duo sets had mascara and liner that I wouldn’t use. So, I went with the Dual-Ended Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick Set ($58) with the shades Electric Plum, Taupe, Soft Bronze, and Midnight.
At some point in the last few years, I decided that eyeshadow sticks were not my style. However, in the last 6 months or so, I’ve started to wonder if they would be better for me than the MAC Paint Pot. I like the longevity and coverage I get from using MAC’s Contemplative State as an eyeshadow base, but it’s a little dry. It is not so dry that it looks bad and doesn’t feel uncomfortable to wear, but it is finicky to apply. I think the shades of the paint pot with some shimmer are easier to work with for me, but I’m hoping these shadow stick formulas will sit a little better over texture. So, anyway, let’s look at some packaging and swatches.
For shade reference, my best foundation matches are the NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in Tahoe and the Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Foundation in 4W4. MAC’s Chromacrayon in Bubbleglam does have a lot of light purple shimmer particles in it that aren’t translating in the swatch. As far as I can tell, it doesn’t feel chunky, but I haven’t tested these on the eyes yet.
The Taupe shade of the Bobbi Brown Dual Ended Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Electric Plum/Taupe is cool-toned when built up or swatched heavily. However, when sheered out, it is more neutral.
MAC and Bobbi Brown Holiday collections don’t typically sell out, so I would wait for a sale if you are interested in either of these. I got mine when Bloomingdale’s was having a promotion, and especially for the Bobbi Brown set, I wouldn’t have paid the full $58 for it. Also, I noticed that the Bobbi Brown set is $68 if you order it directly from the Bobbi Brown website, so I would advise you to instead get it from Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, or Nordstrom, where it is retailing for $58. Remember that if Macy’s has a 15% off beauty sale, Nordstrom will price match it. Lastly, both brands are owned by Estee Lauder Companies, which has an outlet store. If you want to take a chance, you could wait for them to land at a Cosmetics Company Store and be marked down 40%. However, that isn’t guaranteed to happen. The outlet carries overstock and discontinued items, so what items they have really depends on how things sell.
If you are interested in more products from Holiday 2024, I have a post featuring lip products from this year’s NARS Holiday collection. You can check that post out here.
If you enjoyed this post, please like it below. If you’d like to see more of my content, you can check out my Brands A-Z index to see what products I have posted about in the past.
Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. This site receives a minimal commission from participating in the WordAds program. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Nikki From HR 