Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quad in Addictive

I have been really curious to try the new Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quads... I don't know about you guys, but I've been trying to spend less on makeup, and aside from just reducing the amount of makeup I buy, I've also been trying to find drugstore alternatives to higher-end products. In the last couple of years, it seems like a lot of drugstore brands have been releasing improved formulas that really compete with high-end brands, and I've been really very pleasantly surprised! We've seen great eyeshadows from Wet n Wild, amazing mascara from Prestige, some really decent foundation formulas, great cream blushes from Maybelline, amazing matte lipsticks from Revlon, amazing sheer lip butters from Revlon, wonderful glosses and lipsticks from Boots No. 7 and their collaboration with Poppy King, and (I hear; I have yet to try them!) great eyeliners from Milani, among others. I had high expectations for Revlon's reformulated Colorstay eyeshadow quads!

 I've been reaching for subtle mattes and neutral shades a lot lately, and putting more color on cheeks and lips. Unfortunately, I don't actually have very many subtle eyeshadow colors, so I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a couple of shadows to round out my collection. All of my nudes are glittery or very shimmery, and most of my brown shadows are versions of gold or copper. So, when Rite-Aid had all Revlon eye products on sale for $40% off awhile back, and I had a coupon for a couple of bucks off one of the new Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quads,  I picked out Addictive to try. It looked like it would be the most practical set of colors for what I needed to round out my collection. According to Rite Aid's website, these are regularly priced at $7.49, but if you do a little bit of comparison shopping or don't mind waiting, you can catch these on sale or find a coupon. I think I ended up spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.50 on mine by stacking a coupon with a sale. These contain .16 ounces of product, divided up between the four shades. I should point out that not all of the colors have equal amounts of product; some of the pans are smaller than the others, which is annoying if the bigger colors are your least favorite, and the smaller ones are the shades you'll use the most!

So, do these eyeshadows live up to Revlon's hype? They're supposed to stay put for 16 hours without creasing, smudging, or fading, be non-irritating, and deliver rich, velvety color. Well... not quite. I didn't even attempt to wear these on my eyes without primer, since swatching them dry with a finger proved they were seriously lacking in the pigment department, so I can't speak to how long they stay without creasing or fading without primer. However, I can say that without primer, they barely show up. With primer, you can get medium pigmentation, and they'll stay put with minimal fading through at least a normal 8-10 hour day.The texture of these shadows is a bit hard and dry (as opposed to richly pigmented, blendable powder shadows that tend to be creamy and velvety). I found that applying them with the foam applicators they came with or with a finger was the best way to get opaque color, but this still wasn't an impressive product. I don't hate it, and I've been using it on and off combined with other shadows, but I'm not going to be picking up any more of these anytime soon. Maybe if I saw another palette getting rave reviews from multiple bloggers, but not based on my experience with Addictive.

Take a look:

Revlon Colorstay eyeshadow; Addictive

 Here's the back, with a diagram of how to use the shades in a look; I did not follow this with mine. Whoops.

The back label! Click to enlarge if you'd like to read the text. 

 And here are the shades themselves; as per the diagram above, 1 is a creamy custard matte with GLITTER (I know, that took me by surprise, too); 2 is a kind of wheat-ish beige with small silver glitter; 3 is a slightly duochromatic greige with a satin finish; and finally, 4 is a a warm matte brown.

Revlon Colorstay in Addictive

 And swatches! Wait, what happened to 1....? The glitter all fell out, and the shade itself is too sheer and light to show up. I swatched these heavily, dry, with my finger; left to right they are 2,1,3, and 1. You can't really see 1...

Left to Right: 4, 2, 3, 1 

 And here I am wearing the eyeshadow quad; I have 2 from lashline up through and slightly above the crease, 3 on the lid, 4 on the outer corner and into the crease, and 1 on the inner corner and under the brow bone. I used Urban Decay Primer Potion as a base under these eyeshadows. I am also wearing Prestige's My Biggest Lashes mascara in Black, and Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Stray Dog.

Wearing Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quad in Addictive on my eyes 

Look with Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow in Addictive

Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow Quad; Addictive

Summary: This is a mediocre eyeshadow formula. If you want a soft neutral brown and beige look, this is a fast and easy way to get a coordinating eye look with very little fuss. However, the pigmentation in these is seriously lacking; I am wearing the colors as dark as they'll get when layered dry. That being said, I don't hate this palette; it's an easy and soft look, just not what I was expecting from a product called "Colorstay" that promises it won't fade for 16 hours. I could see this palette being a nice, inexpensive, all-in-one work safe look. If there's a set of colors in this line that you like and wouldn't mind wearing sheer, and you get it on sale, go for it; however, if you're on the fence or are expecting highly pigmented shades, I'd pass on these.