Get Quick, Sultry Eyes with NYC's $5 Individual Eyes Palette

In line with several of my previous posts, I'm always a sucker for finding stellar products at the drugstore. I love being pleasantly surprised, and my wallet appreciates it too! I was at Wal-Mart last week and spotted NYC's Individual Eyes Palettes for $4.97. They offered different palettes for blue, brown, and green eyes and despite my brown eyes I was immediately drawn to their blue-eyed offering: 942 Smokey Blues.

And because it's difficult for me to pass up something so simultaneously inexpensive and pretty... Here it is :)

As you can see, the palette includes four eyeshadows, an eyeshadow primer, a shimmery illuminator, and sponge applicator. Here's a clear picture of the eyeshadow colours:

There is a warm yellow-gold, a cooler greyish taupe, a rich gold and green-tinged chocolate brown, and a deep eggplant purple. I found all of them to be very highly pigmented, especially when applied over the primer included in the palette.

Because I was so impressed with this product, I did a whole makeup look around it. Here are all of the products I used (let me know if you want to know more about any of them):



Main products used in this makeup look


For the eyes, I first used the primer from the palette, then applied the gold shade all over my lid. I next applied the chocolate brown shade in the crease, above the lid, blending it into the gold. Then, I used some of the deep purple shade on the outer corner of my eye, blending it into the brown shade. I finished with a bit of black liquid liner and mascara. And voila!

And here's how the eyes looked in the context of the whole makeup look:

I'm wearing MAC Frankly Scarlett blush and Clinique's High Impact Lipstick in Rosette.

And here's a closeup of Clinique's Rosette lipstick. I received it recently in a thoughtful care package from a friend, and I'm loving it! It's a perfect rosy pink with subtle gold shimmer:

But now back to the palette at hand! Here's my final verdict on NYC's Individual Eyes Palette in Smoky Blues:

Pros:

• This product really allows you to create a quick and effortless smoky eye!
• For such an inexpensive palette, the eyeshadows are remarkably pigmented. They have a great colour payoff- a little goes a long way- without looking muddy or garish.
• Although it's recommended for blue eyes, I think it worked well with my dark-eyed colouring.
• The shades in the palette really do work well together. Some palettes seem to feature a random combination of colours that are hardly complimentary. These are perfectly coordinated!
• The primer included in the palette actually does a great job! Not only did it make the eyeshadows more vibrant upon application, but they truly lasted all day with very minimal fading.
• The price is unbeatable!

Cons

• The applicator included is fairly useless, so you'll have to use your own brushes with it for best results
• I'm a bit unsure about NYC's animal testing policies, so this may hinder me from buying additional products from them in the future.

Overall, I was super impressed with this product. Possibly the best product under $5 I've ever tried. Wander down to your local drugstore and pick one up!

Thanks for reading :)

The final look, using NYC's Individual Eyes Palette in Smokey Blues, MAC Frankly Scarlett Blush, and Clinique Rosette lipstick