Filed In: L’Oréal Color Infaillible

L’Oréal Color Infaillible (part 2): Sahara Treasure, Black Onyx, and Bronze Divine (swatches, comparison & review)

 

Rounding up my review on these new shadows (see part 1 here), winter/holiday 2011 saw L’Oréal introducing several new and limited edition shades to their Color Infaillible lineup, three of which I bring you today. I also noticed that the name appeared slightly modified as well, going from “Color Infaillible/Indéfectible” to “La Couleur Infaillible/Indéfectible Iridescent Finish”, although the product itself remains the same (at least in my eyes!).

 

#021 Sahara Treasure is a really stunning and versatile taupe, made so luxurious with its deep golden sheen.  The texture was smooth and creamy, and I found it an excellent shade for layering, although it looked equally good worn alone for a quick & easy daytime look.

 

in sunlight

with flash


#023 Black Onyx (renamed from ‘Black Star’ – for the Québec market, perhaps?) is a real eye-catcher; a pewter/lead base colour, filled with deeper charcoal and fine iridescent particles, it felt slightly grittier to apply with very minimal fallout, and while it did not bear the same creamy consistency as the other two here, it was no problem to blend. I also found it to be slightly more sheer in texture, although still easily buildable.

 

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

When Liz of Beauty Reductionista first wrote about the incredible similarities in colour between ‘Black Onyx’ and CHANEL’s ‘Graphite’, I had to see it for myself; placing them side by side really highlights their uncanny resemblance.


#024 Bronze Divine is gorgeous. Really. Utterly creamy in texture, this is an antiqued golden bronze shade that will literally bring out the best of every single eye colour. I have worn this alone as well as layered, but my favourite look is by using this as a liner for a unique twist on a smokey eye.

 

in sunlight

with flash


My first thought upon viewing ‘Bronze Divine’, was that it was possibly a dead ringer for the much pricier Armani Eyes To Kill #6 Khaki Pulse (review forthcoming), and while side by side they do look rather alike, it’s fleeting at best. On the plus side, the more budget-friendly price point of ‘Bronze Divine’ makes it an excellent alternative to the steeply priced ‘Khaki Pulse’, but do not expect the quality to be anywhere near the same. The following photos are: ‘Bronze Divine’ – the 2 swatches on the left, ‘Khaki Pulse’ – the 2 swatches on the right.

Khaki Pulse

  • 4 g of product
  • multi-tonal
  • glass container + box packaging
  • incredible “gliding” texture
  • lasts easily twice longer, even without primer
  • more depth to the colour
  • easier to blend out
  • made in France

Bronze Divine

  • 3.5 g of product
  • single shade/mono-tonal
  • acrylic container
  • creamy texture
  • brassier hue with less visible depth of tone
  • lasting power approximately 6 hours before creasing
  • significantly less expensive
  • made in Italy


inner protective seals – almost identical

in sunlight

with flash

 

Final thoughts: From all the Color Infaillible (yes, I’m spelling it the French way – it’s not a typo!) shades I now own, I would have to say that these three here are my favourite, primarily for their colour. As I stated in my previous post, I love the fact that these innovative eyeshadows can be found at a wallet-friendly price and that the shade range, while not overwhelming, is adequate to satisfy all tastes. Possibly because I’ve become spoiled by the vastly superior quality of the Armani Eyes To Kill shadows (I really need to get that post out now, wouldn’t you say?!), I find myself not that drawn to these and while the Armani products are priced at close to 3 times higher, in my opinion they are definitely worth investing in. That being said, this is a great product on its own – a fabulous product when compared to other drugstore brands, and if you happen to find them on sale (like I did!), worth giving them a shot.

 

L’Oréal Color Infaillible (part 1): Purple Obsession, Endless Chocolat, Burning Black, and Flashback Silver (swatches & review)

 

When I began hearing the buzz about L’Oréal’s range of  new and innovative eyeshadows, I confess that I didn’t really “get it”.  Then, I came across a few displays which caught my eye and my curiosity was piqued.  Finding these ‘Color Infaillible/Indefectible’ eyeshadows on sale (CDN $6.99 vs $11.99) clinched it for me, and I came home with these four.

What makes these eyeshadows so unique is their formula: a hybrid crème/powder mix, they claim to last 24 hours, are crease & rub-proof, and can even withstand showering. Naturally, I questioned … then, I put them to the test and found that while they are indeed rather impressive, especially for a drugstore brand, they don’t exactly meet all that was stated. In the name of proper testing, I broke my cardinal rule of “always removing all traces of makeup before bed” and actually wore one of these shades a full 24 hours (it wasn’t easy *shudder*). Bear in mind that while my eyelids are not dry, they’re not overly oily either, although I always layer any eye makeup over primer – which I did NOT use here.  The results:

  • I got a full 6 hours wear before I noticed the first signs of creasing
  • gently rubbing my eyes did leave a faint residue on my fingers
  • showering/water minimally affected the product, but did not remove it
  • after a full 24 hours, the shadow was completely in my eyelid crease*

*since I would never need or wish to wear shadow for this duration anyway, I only included this test to verify the claim of the company.

The following swatches are all applied heavily (on the left) using a synthetic fibre brush, and blended out (on the right), using a natural bristle brush.

 

inner protective seal

#005 Purple Obsession is a deeply electric looking shade of purple, and while the level of pigmentation was quite good, it actually applied somewhat sheerer than the rest, which also meant that it could be thinned out and blended easier.

 

in sunlight

with flash


#012 Endless Chocolat is luxurious brown hue, given a wonderful depth with the faint prismatic particles within its shade.  The formula was exceptionally creamy and fully colour saturated.

 

in sunlight

with flash


#013 Burning Black is a blackened red hue with a faint burgundy sheen once applied. While the formula was a touch grittier than the others, it nevertheless applied easier than I was led to believe from other reviewers.

 

in sunlight

with flash


#015 Flashback Silver is a molten silver shade, made so original by its lavender duochrome finish.  This was probably the smoothest and creamiest of them all, yet not the most wearable shade due to its highly reflective surface. That being said, I loved how this shade complimented my eyes and skin tone.

 

in sunlight

with flash

 

Final thoughts: Naturally, one of the first things people want to know is how well this product compares to Giorgio Armani’s Eyes To Kill range (3 of which I do own and will be posting soon), and whether these are simply less expensive knock-offs. Remember that cosmetics giant L’Oréal actually owns Armani cosmetics and it therefore stands to reason that some similarities will pop up … but trust me when I say that they do NOT compare. I found that these ‘Color Infaillible’ shadows are remarkable in many ways (colour, pigmentation, longevity, and formula) and I did not expect this degree of quality from a drugstore brand, although I personally prefer powder eyeshadows as I find they afford you better control in application. All in all, these are rather versatile, especially if you’re looking for a long-lasting & quick swipe of colour, and while the shade range is rather limited, there’s a decent colour selection just the same. Had they not been on sale, however, I most likely would not have picked them up, but at this price, I basically got 3 for what 1 Armani Eye To Kill would have cost – too good to pass up!