I've been on an eye shadow quest lately, but keep shying away from the high end brands to try and save money. The problem is the cheaper eye shadows often don't wear well, lack pigment, crease, or just don't cut it. I think I've found a happy medium here with Maybelline.
~ Product Description Maybelline Expert Wear Eye Shadow Trios, Crown Jewels is a trio of coordinated eye shadow shades in square pans including a light pink, a deep plum, and a light ivory. All the shades have a medium shimmer. Each shade also is embossed with its suggested application area; the light pink for the eyelid, the deep plum for the crease, and the ivory for the brow bone.
The case is your basic cheap plastic type case with a transparent lid. Included is a dual-tipped sponge applicator. There is no mirror.
On the back of the case Maybelline says that for a subtle look, just use one shade, for a casual look, use two, and for a classic look use all three.
I found this at Target for about $4.00. Not bad for three shades.
~ My Experience
The included applicator is longer than many eye shadow applicators, and it works pretty well. Sometimes I use my own brush, but generally this one works just fine. Each tip is the same shape, rounded with a slightly pointed tip. You can use the tip and the darkest color to line your eyes.
The dark plum shade has a decent amount of pigment, and the color goes on fairly rich and deep. You can always layer for a deeper shade. The light shimmery pink for the eyelid doesn't end up looking too pink, but just slightly pink - perfect. The ivory brow bone color is a little to white for me and I don't use it much. But the two other colors look great, and of course I always blend with my fingertip to blur the application for a smooth look.
I've found that Maybelline Expert Wear Eye Shadow Trios, Crown Jewels applies smoothly and fairly evenly, and you don't need to layer and layer to get a decent color. I love the look, from causal to more dramatic, that you can achieve with this eye shadow.
Now for the other important part - how well does it wear? Frankly, I'm relatively impressed, for an inexpensive drugstore shadow, because it doesn't crease, and the color lasts longer than many other shadows I've tried. I have kind of oily eyelids, and I don't bother with a primer, but this shadow always looks good when I check my makeup. Of course by the end of the day it has faded, but at least I don't have horrid dark crease lines.
~ Final Thoughts Maybelline Expert Wear Eye Shadow Trios, Crown Jewels, is an excellent value at around $4 for three colors, and the best part is it wears nicely and doesn't crease. The colors are fairly rich and go on smoothly. Give it a try!
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.