Top 7 | Favourite Cream and Liquid Eyeshadows (2021)

Are you lazy? I know I am. It’s a sign of intelligence, according to some article in some magazine that was based on some study by I don’t know who and that I didn’t bother to check the veracity or validity of. I’m good with just getting my news from a headline when it serves me. Part of my laziness.

All of this elaborate paragraph just to make an intro to this post about cream eyeshadows, because they’re perfect if you’re in a hurry or are just, and here’s the connection, lazy. These cream shadows don’t require a tool to be applied (other than your finger for some of them), last all day and they’re all it takes for you to achieve a nice, polished eyeshadow look.

Of course, you can use them with other eyeshadows. If you want a better, more complex look. You overachiever.

So here’s my selection:

Ciaté London Marbled Metals in shade Wicked

I’ve talk about it before, but I want to talk about it again. I have yet to see the beauty community go cuckoo for this pot, so it bears repeating that it’s amazing, magical, and there’s nothing else quite like this. These shadows have that cream to powder texture that’s best applied with the fingers in order to get maximum impact. Wicked is a very opaque purple with multicoloured shimmer that applies evenly and lasts all day. It’s a party look in one swipe. You can’t go wrong with it.

Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in shade DGAF

I’ve only tried this Super Shock shadow but it was enough to justify the hype. This is amazing. It’s a putty cream like texture that applies evenly and blends out effortlessly. The shade is a coral-brown with gold sparkles. A light application will give you an orange leaning coral, but too layers turns the shade into the coppery brown you see on the pan. I think it’s best applied with fingers because the gold sparkles get blended away with a brush.

What impressed me the most was its lasting power – I use it no primer, and it did not budge, it did not crease, it did not fade. No matter how long I have it on my lids. This is a cream! What sort of physics bending formula is this?? Get this. Get it.

Huda Beauty Matte & Metal Melted Shadows in shade Limelight/Gold Chains

Huda Beauty’s Metal & Matte shadows are a bit underrated. Specially the mattes. They’re super opaque, can be built up without lifting the product underneath, and after they dry down they aren’t going anywhere until you tell them to – with makeup remover, that is. They’re very similar to the Christian Louboutin liquid eyeshadows apart from the fact that they do take longer to dry so you have a bit more time to blend them out if you want to. They set to a completely dry, non tacky fully opaque colour.

The sparkly side is ok, it’s a bit hard to get an even coat of shimmer on your lid with this product and I’ve tried other sparkly topcoats/glitter eyeliners that do a better job. The shade I chose to showcase here is Gold Chains (sparkly side) because it looks really good over a bright or dark shadow, and Limelight (matte side). Because sometimes you need a lime green lid. It just happens.

Christian Louboutin Tape à L’Oeil Nude Matte Eye Colour in shade Mariza 455

Well, I’ve reviewed and raved about the Tape à L’Oeil Matte formula before, and there’s really not that much else to say about these. Mariza is great, she’s uber-pigmented, super long lasting, she reminds me of chocolate merengue, and you can poke someone’s eye out with this b*tch. What else could you want from a liquid eyeshadow?

NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in shade Milk

This is the one cream shadow in this list that I never use by itself. It never really sets and it is very tacky, making it perfect as an eyeshadow base to make bright or pastel colours pop more. I still use it over a primer, and I apply it sparingly because a thicker coat will make your eyeshadow crease, so it’s a bit high maintenance, but totally worth it. I can relate.

Every time I want to wear a light colour and have it be super pigmented and fully opaque, I use this pencil. Works every time. It’s also good for costume or editorial makeup – I’ve used it on my face as a foundation once for Halloween and it didn’t crease or fade for the whole night. Also, it’s inexpensive. A cult favourite for good reason.

Kiko Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick in shade 05 Rosy Brown

I’ve mentioned this shade before but haven’t really featured it in any post. This is the best Kiko eyeshadow stick I’ve tried so far. This shade is a medium tone mauve with quasi metallic shine and a lot of micro shimmer. Really micro. It’s a very muted, subdued, work-appropriate colour with a tiny bit of “oomph”. A librarian’s version of loud. A great shade to have and probably the easiest to wear on this list. The colour lasts for a whole day and it’s easy to apply, blend and build up.

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in shade Golden Pink

Performance is just like the Kiko shadow stick. Normally I wouldn’t include something that’s a more expensive dupe of another product in the same “top something” list, but this one in particular is here because it’s a light shade, and I didn’t have much luck when I tried a KIKO eyeshadow stick in a lighter colour in the past. Light colours can be patchy and poorly pigmented in cream formulas. Not this one though. And the pink champagne shade is perfect for the inner conner.

Comparison & Eye Swatches

And for you to get a glimpse of what these look like on the eyes (excuse the unkept eyebrows, I forget that up close photos are much less fuzzier than the zoom meetings I’ve become acostume to).

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4 Comments

  1. I love cream eyeshadow! I’m always in a rush when I do my makeup and whenever I get some spare time to do my eye makeup I always go for cream eyeshadows because they’re super easy and quick to apply. I haven’t tried any of these you mention but Ciate and Colourpop cream eyeshadows look really good, I must try them out. My current favorites are Mac Paint Pot, CharlotteTilbury Eyes To Mesmerise and Max Factor Masterpiece Colour Precision Eyeshadow, but this one is more of a liquid eyeshadow. Thank you for sharing your favorites!

    1. Oooh I need to try that Max Factor eyeshadow then! I’ve never tried anything from Max Factor but I hear and read good reviews about them, I need to go get a few things from that brand! I also really like Mac paint pots but I used up my favourite (Rubenesque) and currently only have a long discontinued one, so it wasn’t included in this post.

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