Time for something a little different on the blog. I try out a lot of eyeshadow, but mostly those are pressed shadows in premade palette form. What I review less is single shadows, let alone loose pigments! I only own a handful of loose pigment shadows and for good reason: they are messy to use and come with so much product that you will never use it up. In short, there never is any reason for me to invest the money into this kind of product. However, when I was in NYC last October, I wanted to track down JCAT Beauty as it was a brand I hadn’t tried yet. Their one product that stood out to me was their Vanity Goddess Chromatic Pigment in Mirror on the Wall.
JCAT Beauty Vanity Goddess Chromatic Loose Pigment // Mirror on the Wall // Review, Swatch & Makeup Look
I don’t know much about JCAT as a brand. I think it is more of a drugstore priced brand. I spotted it at ULTA in the US once, but this time I found some products at Ricky’s. The Ricky’s I found this at was closing down, so they even had 50% off on all JCAT products. Instead of the standard $5.99 I paid just $3 for this loose pigment. After a bit of a Google I found that it is also available in Europe from Kosmetik4Less.de for €6.26.
The Packaging
The packaging of loose pigment is always a nightmare, but this extra show. You know going into these products that it will be a mess, but this doesn’t even come with a sifter. This is just a loose shimmer powder in a jar. I do feel that if you are careful enough when you open it, it certainly won’t go everywhere. Another tip I use whenever I use a loose powder product, whether it is eyeshadow or a face powder, is to tap some product into the cap and use that.
The Eyeshadow
If you’ve never worked with a loose pigment shadow before: meet a loose, unpressed powder that you definitely do not want to tip over. This is what shadow looks like before it is pressed into a pan. But that is not what I decided to buy this. Can you just look at that shade? My camera had a hard time capturing the full beauty of this as it is an intense multi-chrome shade. I was able to capture two of the shades with my camera here: the silver topper and brownish base shades. But what if I told you that this has a strong blue/ green flip to it when the light hits is just so. Don’t believe me? I used it in this Get Ready With Me and show you a live swatch which shows the shift of this color a lot better.
The Swatch
Again, pictures don’t do this shade justice as it is 1000x more stunning in real life than it is here. But can we just stop for a minute and admire that full, intense pigmentation? How stunning is that? Even if these merely showed up as a taupe-silver I would have loved it, but that added blue/ green flip that it has in real life makes it extra special. I applied it with fingers to prevent fallout, but didn’t wet it and still this manages to look full on and intense as if you have foiled the shade. Very impressive for such an affordable product.
The Application
The Look
If you watch the video I referenced above you will be able to see that this shade looks a lot more stunning in real life. In pictures I couldn’t get this to show up any differently than a darkened silver, but in real life this is so much more. It was easy to apply all over the lid, had little fallout and I also used it on the lower lash line. That is usually when fallout happens for me, but this shadow had no issues to be packed onto the lid. It stayed put all day too. Can you tell I’m impressed?
My Final Thoughts
Yes, I have become quite smitten with the JCAT pigment in Mirror on the Wall. It is a stunning shade and very affordable. Most multichromes I own are quite expensive, so it is great to find one that doesn’t break the bank. While more difficult to apply than most regular shadows, this shade is so different and special that I know I will go out of my way to wear this more often. Will I wear it on the daily? Certainly not, but for a special occasion, this will make for a great shade to amp up any look.
2 responses to “JCAT Loose Pigment Mirror on the Wall”
This is a gorgeous shade. I own a few similar colours from Sydney Grace.
This has very similar quality to SG shadows.