L’Oreal has new eyeshadows! And no one seems to be writing about them… Shame on them, because I picked up two of these babies on a buy one get one free deal a few weeks ago and absolutely adore them. So I thought I would do my blogger duty and tell the world about the new launch from L’Oreal’s Color Riche Ombre Pure Gel-Infused eyeshadows.

L’Oreal Color Riche Ombre Pure eyeshadow
201 Café Saint Germain (Nude) & 502 Quartz Fumé (Lumière)

The name is quite the mouthful, but these eyeshadows don’t only look promising, they are. The new line seems to have replaced the Color Infallible pressed pigment line is most drugstores where I have seen these popping up. Only if a store has an extensive L’Oreal selection have I seen these being offered side by side. In total the line contains 16 shades in The Netherlands (in the UK, 24 different shades are available) which are divided over 6 different finishes: Nude, Pop, Matte, Lumiere, Smoky and Chameleon. These eyeshadows retail for €10.49 in The Netherlands, and £ 5.49 in the UK.

I picked up two colors from two different finishes: 201 Café Saint Germain from the Nude line and 502 Quartz Fumé from the Lumiere line. L’Oreal says the following about these eyeshadows:

Color Riche L’Ombre Pure eye shadow offers a uniquely rich choice of colours in irresistibly attractive packages. […] Thanks to the expertise of L’Oréal Paris Laboratories, pigments & mixed pearlescents are skilfully selected to offer intense and bright colour payoff. Color Riche eye shadows reveal a creamy and smooth texture which transforms the make-up gesture into a precise and comfortable sensory application.

The packaging definitely looks nice and the finish and color selection is what attracted me to check these out in the first place. But let’s have a closer look at the colors and texture of these.

The two colors I selected are easy to wear neutral tones. They were simply the two shades that appealed to me most. There was also a pretty chocolate brown shade from the smokey line, but I already have so many chocolate browns. Another option I saw was a stunning pearlescent shade in the chameleon line, but I wondered whether I would actually wear that. And since I am the last person on the planet who needs more make up, I decided to opt for shades, which looked a bit different than my usual picks.

L’Oreal Color Riche L’Ombre Pure Gel-Infused eyeshadow in 201 Nude Café Saint Germain

Café Saint Germain immediately caught my eye. In the pan the shade looks like a taupe with a rose gold undertone. How pretty is that?! I was hoping this to be a shimmery skin tone type shade. I love shades like that for simple basic looks and then pairing it with a bright bold lip or some eyeliner. When I swatched this this texture felt velvety soft and this eyeshadow feels most like a pressed pigment.

L’Oreal Color Riche L’Ombre Pure Gel-Infused eyeshadow in 502 Lumiere Quartz Fumé

Quartz Fumé came in swiftly. This shade is a cool-toned brown and the shine makes it look a little bit steel-y. Since this is in the Lumiere line I hoped this had some nice shine to it as in the pan it looks a bit metallic. Paired with Café Saint Germain I thought this would make a great crease shade to give some depth and definition to a look. And so that is also what I did when I created the look you can see below.

The swatches of these two colors are wonderful. The texture is buttery soft and glides on smoothly. These eyeshadow blend amazingly well, but not so much that they disappear completely when you apply them. Pigmentation is bang on: it’s intense and with one swipe across bare skin I already got amazing results.

Café Saint Germain looks a lot more rosy on my skin than it did in the pan, almost a little less special, but the swatch does have that taupe feel to it. It fits my skin tone perfectly though and this is a great slap-on-and-I’m-out-the-door shade. Quartz Fumé is in fact a stunning duochrome eyeshadow in this swatch. I find this a lot more true to the color in the pan than Café Saint Germain.

On my eyes I created a simple look, showcasing both shadows. On my lid I’m wearing Café Saint Germain and Quartz Fumé is in the crease. I had some trouble picking up Café Saint Germain with my brush. It was almost as if the product simply wouldn’t stick to it. I ended up dabbing it on with my finger first and then blending it out and I loved the result that gave. On the eye, this color gives a nice pop of brightness and I think this is a super versatile shade. I can totally see myself wearing this on my lid, inner corner and brow bone.

Quartz Fumé went on like a dream. I do feel the pretty duochrome effect is nowhere to be seen when you fully blend out the shade or apply it very subtly like I did here. The steely brown color is still very much there and that is a good thing. I still have to apply this full on, but I expect this to then look a lot more like the swatch. Especially if I wear a different base color underneath. I love how these two shades work together to seamlessly.

Yup, with these eyeshadows I feel L’Oreal has launched a great new product that is well worth having a look at next time you visit your drugstore. If you’re in The Netherlands, make sure you pick these up on a discount (Kruidvat is having one right this moment!) as they are quite expensive here. But that goes for most L’Oreal products anyway. I am now very tempted to go back and purchase the brown and pearlescent shade that I didn’t pick up the first time round.

What do you think of the L’Oreal shadows?