You know how some parents will say they love each of their children equally but you kinda get the feeling that they favor one kid over the others they have? Well, my new Givenchy Le Prisme Mono Eyeshadow #14 Elegant Taupe isn't one of those favorite kids.Sorry. This is not my favorite taupe eyeshadow. I'm sitting here at my desk writing a review for this Givenchy eyeshadow and I'd much rather watch True Blood on HBO. ( Yeah. I just started watching it, I'm a little late to the party.)
OK. Let's get to the point here. What attracted me to the Givenchy Le Prisme Mono Eyeshadow in the first place? The 4 different textures of Taupe, TAUPE, taupe and TaUpE. You get a Matte Taupe, 2 pearly taupes and a sparkle-y taupe. Awesomeness personified right? Well. Not so much. The pigmentation is so sheer that it is hardly worth applying all the shades individually. It may just be better to mix them with a swirl of your brush rather than painstakingly trying to apply each little shadow on its own.
See the EOTD below? Yeah. I used each shadow individually. Can you tell? Yeah. Not really. It almost looks like I'm not even wearing eyeshadow...OK. maybe not THAT bad, but pretty bad.
The Quality of the eyeshadow is the same high Givenchy standard. Medium soft with minimal powder fall out. The Shadow lasted well into the day without creasing or any fading (using an eye base). An ample 0.12 ounces, is a goodly amount for an eyeshadow single. But the lack of pigmentation is a huge downer for me. I don't need or want sheer eyeshadow. Subtle is not in my vocabulary.
Do you NEED this? NO. The eyeshadow retails or a whopping $29. It is SO NOT WORTH IT. Seriously. I'm glad I purchased it from Sephora so I can return it. And YES I tested it in the store but I'll tell you what...seeing a swatch on my arm is NOT the same as wearing it on my eye. Even looking at the swatches in this post and then seeing how it applies on my eye you notice there is a huge difference. That's why I'm fortunate to have a store that will accept returns, but sadly even having full access to testers is not fool proof.
This little taupe is going back to the orphanage. Sorry.
I think they are stretching the word "taupe" beyond its original meaning--that's not really taupe. Taupe is....magical. Complex. Soul-inspiring. The Givenchy is just....blah. Ugh. Thanks for the review--I had been wondering about that. Did they have MUFE Aqua Cream #15?
ReplyDeleteAgreed Amy. The #3 shadow is bordering on magical but not quite there yet. And I have not checked out my local Sephora for the aqua cremes yet.....yet!
ReplyDeleteI agree, #3 looks kind of pretty. But everything else just looks like brown in taupe's clothing. Too bad, this could have been great.
ReplyDeleteWell thanks for saving me from buying this (or one of its 15 brothers), I had been eyeing these for a while but fearing the lack of pigmentation (which I have already experienced with Givenchy). Too bad the quality of their products don't live up to their pretyness.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this review! I was contemplating buying it, just because it promised four shades of taupe, but now I can save for Chanel fall instead!
ReplyDeleteStef: Excellent observation. It is just brown in taupe's clothing!
ReplyDeleteMusings on Beauty: ITA! I saw a review of another Givenchy Shadow on The Non-Blonde blog and it looked very unpigmented was well. Oh well. At least you save some money!
Mimi: OMG Chanel Fall looks amazing doesn't it? I can't wait until August!
This is sad, it looked so pretty in the pictures that I was really curious about how it does in real life. Pity it does bad.
ReplyDeleteLiliana: Yes. it is sad. I was very disappointed with this one. I hate when I get a bad product but I hate it more when it's a taupe eye shadow.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you most looking forward to for Chanel fall?
ReplyDeleteI'm overcome with excitement for the shadows.
Wow, that's pretty sad that it didn't show up so clearly on the eye even though it swatches pretty well! I guess you really never know huh.
ReplyDeleteYou really are lucky too with the sephora returns policy. Here in the UK all stores operate a no returns on cosmetics unless defective policy! It's kind of sucky.
Ha ha that sucks. Yeah I hate to be disappointed by a product I test in the store. But thank god for great return policies!
ReplyDeletei saw this eye shadow at the counter the other day and thought of you. i tried out couple of so-called mono eye shadows from this line but found them super unsatisfying. i don't understand the logic of doing a same colour with 4 textures in one palette... beats me...
ReplyDeletei am sorry to say but it really didn't show up on you. your eye is, eh, naked...
I've been disappointed in anything I've gotten from Givenchy. Their products draw you in because they look so beautiful but they just don't perform for me at all. I must admit I had a twinge of wanting this in spite of my feelings but now that twinge is totally gone.
ReplyDelete