I was given a trial of CoverGirl Smoky ShadowBlast to sample and review. I was quite wrathful to try it. Let me start by saying, I DO know how to create a smoky eye look on my believe. I didn't technically need this product, but the thought of a quick smoky discover seemed handy for days when I didn't have time to fuss with eye shadow. With that said, here is my review.
I received this product in the shade Silver Sky. I love the look of silvery smoky eyes so I was even more excited to try it. In the package the product looks nice. It is a chubby double-ended cream shadow stick. There is a rounded smoky silver side, and a tapered brownish plum side. I have green eyes and pale skin so I was obvious this would be a great color combo for me.
I decided in order to give a completely objective review on this product I would use it on its own. I normally use an recognize shadow primer under all of my eye shadow, to ensure staying power. Since the directions on this never stated to use a primer, I skipped it, so it would not interfere with the results.
This product included a card with directions on how to apply the shadow. I started by using the rounded silver side and applied the color all over my lid as directed. The first thing I noticed was the rounded tip created a lot of tear on my bare eye lid. This means that instead of it flowing on smoothly, it tugged at the eye lid and pulled the skin, making it very hard to get a smooth layer of color. For reference, I have normal eye lids. They are not too dry and not too oily and I normally never have a problem applying cream eye shadow products. To fix that quandary I pulled my eye lid taut as I applied the shadow and that helped the color to glide on better. I try to avoid doing this though because tugging at your eye lids is not agreeable for the delicate skin around your eyes.
After I finished the lid, I proceeded to apply the silver color to the lower lash line as also directed on the card. This was tricky. With one swipe, the shadow on the lower lash line was uneven and blotchy. I ended up having to line the bottom lash line 5 times before the color looked level-headed and even. Even then it looked very shiny and somewhat "off."
Next, the directions state to apply the tapered tip side to the upper lash line and in the crease. Don't bother with lining the upper lash line with this. The color did not show up on my upper lash line at all. I'm sure this has to do with the fact that I applied it over the thick layer of silver. Oh well. I planned to finish off my look with black eye liner anyway so no hurt done. I applied the brownish plum in the crease. I did appreciate the color and thought it went well with the silver. The tapered raze made it very easy to exercise in the tight corner of the crease. The formula is another story. The product was so sticky that when I closed my eye and opened it again, the color would crease and ruin the look. I had to reapply to even it out. I finally got it to look halfway decent and repeated the entire process on my other eye.
After this was done I stepped back to look at myself. I was not happy with what I saw. By the time I had finished with my second eye, the shadow on the first eye was already blotchy, creasing, and wearing off. Yuck! Also, the directions did not state to blend the eye shadow in any way. I found this so odd because the trick to a good smoky gaze is all in the blending. To me, the crease looked very harsh. With my eye open, the eye lid color looked pretty. It was quite sparkly and the silver was a deep smoky silver that my pale skin could pull off. When I closed my eyes however, the crease looked hideous and greasy. I decided to try to fix it by using my finger to blend it all out a bit. Since this was a cream, I dilapidated my finger and lightly tapped the areas that needed blending so I wouldn't rub too much of the product off. This helped a bit. What tremulous me though is that the cream had not dried at all. When I touched it to blend the first notice it was composed wet, sticky, and even a minute greasy! The blending did seem to help it look less harsh though.
I finished the look off with my favorite black eye liner on the upper lash line and the waterline. The eye liner ended up turning purple. I realize now it was the tapered side that I applied to my upper lash line that caused this. I used two coats of CoverGirl LashBlast mascara, which was recommended on the product's directions. I normally love LashBlast. Unfortunately, somehow the silver color had migrated a dinky into the base of my lashes coating them with a greasy silver residue, so the mascara ended up failing as well.
Though I do like the colors, I am very disappointed in this product overall. I checked my face every hour after application, and each time, it had faded and creased more and more. I constantly had to mess with it, blend spots that had become gunky and apply more product on spots where it had veteran off. I wasn't a big fan of all the glitter fallout I now noticed under my eyes either. Also I never have a problem with my eye liner, but it wore off within the first hour of wearing it over top of the ColorBlast. Four hours later, I decided to stop messing with it. I didn't check it again for the rest of the night. At the end of the night I did a final check. All that was left on my eyes was chunky silver glitter and the remnants of creased up shadow lines here and there.
I am quite embarrassed to post the picture I have of my witness with this product on. It was taken 1 hour after application and before touching it up. It really made me look like a beginner who has no idea how to apply or blend makeup, much less create a graceful smoky eye. Maybe with a primer this would have worked better. But, I don't think a product should require a primer in order for it to do what it claims to do.
A smoky eye in my plan is just that, smoky! It should be blended nicely to behold like it melds with your skin while creating a deep, sultry, smoky effect. CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blast did not give me a smoky look at all. It was a shiny, sticky mess that creased up horribly and had absolutely no staying power. I honestly don't recommend it to anyone. If you already know how to do a decent smoky eye with an eye shadow, stick to that. This product would be a downgrade in my opinion. If you're a beginner who wants to learn how to create a smoky eye this could possibly be helpful. The tapered end of the crease color really does a good job of following the eye sockets' natural curve. Unfortunately, you have to use the product with it. I honestly think if I were a beginner, and I tried this, it would only frustrate me.