I just remembered today that I hadn’t yet reviewed this shadow – and it so rightly deserves attention. I do not own ANY shadows that have a lovelier texture than this. Wowza. I personally find UD’s shadows quite smooth and soft, and these easily trump those. Similar to UD, the pigmentation is also excellent; I find more and more I really appreciate when color payoff is exactly or very close to what you see in the pan…it can be a rare thing. It was tricky getting a photo that captured the pretty eggplant shade and the depth of color – the first photo is a tad blurry but it seemed to get the plumminess across the best.
I found the wear of the eyeshadow exceptional too – I put it on before a night out (sans primer) and it was still relatively in place by the evening’s end. All in all, while this shadow is expensive at $44CDN, you get two shadows (sizes: 3g / .10 US oz each) – to give you a reference point, a single MAC eyeshadow is 1.5g / .05 US oz, for $17.50CDN , and a NARS eyeshadow duo retails for $38 CDN and is a total of 4g / .14 US oz (so, 2 x 2g / .07 US oz). Doing the math, thats:
$220 / oz for Hourglass
$350 / oz for MAC
$271 / oz for NARS
Which is kind of crazy when you think about it. MAC’s price point is the ‘lowest’ yet you’re paying considerably more per oz than more high-end brands. Go figure!
Ultimately, aside from a handful of MAC and NARS shades (which even then aren’t completely on par), the smooth-creaminess of the Hourglass shadows highlights its considerably higher quality and justifies the price regardless of anything else. I’m totally sold! I just wish they had more/different shades – there are only 6 duos to choose from, and the shade range is relatively demure: a bronze duo, a plum (like mine), two blue based, an olive, and basic neutral duo. If they threw a couple fun shades in there, with that texture and that pigmentation…ooohh ~shivers~ Who am I kidding, I’d go broke if that happened! Guess it’s better as is 
Have you tried this brand yet? Any other standout products? It’s certainly making me take a second look, if the quality remains along these lines!
~10 days~
#1 by Liz (Beauty Reductionista) on April 13, 2011 - 8:09 am
I LOVE Hourglass! They have a small variety but every single one of their product is amazing. I almost prefer it that way – better quality and smaller range of offerings.
#2 by Toyarosie on April 17, 2011 - 11:23 am
I’m going to have to check out their line in person when I’m in Maine this weekend! I am going to have one heck of a haul to showcase when I get back