Friday Faves: Cream Shadows!

     Because of the length of my morning commute, the hours the work and the job I have I prefer not to wear a lot of make up to work. I like a really quick routine that I can do without paying much attention to and that doesn't require a lot of product to haul to the gym with me (and to remember to take OUT of my gym bag if I'm not going the next morning!!!!)

     Then I found cream shadows. I have to admit I was pretty much a cream shadow virgin until September when I went a little crazy with a Sephora birthday haul... I had tried (I think) one of the Maybelline cream shadows many moons ago and found it creased, rubbed off, melted etc. Since then I had just never bothered to look into creams.

     Then comes my birthday shopping trip with my bestie. She was kind enough to give me a gift card (and I was smart enough to bring my credit card that's NOT shared with hubby) and I believe I put my first cream shadows into my cart while saying, "F%*k it, it's my birthday." I grabbed the Eye Gotta Annie Collection from Benefit, which has three powder shadows and two creams. I also grabbed two Paint Pots from MAC and some Buxom creams that are waiting for Christmas to go in my stocking!!!

     My new AM make up routine takes me all of two minutes to put together, looks professionally minimalistic and, best of all, is EASY! I conceal, fill in my eyebrows, throw on some eyeshadow primer, one of my cream shadows and then mascara and I'm DONE! I find this look really makes me look rested too.

MAC Paint Pot on the left and Benefit on the right

MAC Morning Frost on the left, Benefit Flash top right, Benefit Foiled bottom right.

     Now, in the pot MAC's Morning Frost and Benefit's foiled look IDENTICAL. But on the eye they are nothing alike. Morning Frost is a really nice mauve/silver wash of shine and colour and Foiled is a darker pewter kind of colour. There is a swatch at the bottom, but sadly it's a terrible iPhone swatch (I swear I asked Santa for a camera).

MAC Let's Skate!

     And then there is MAC's Let's Skate! I was most excited about this one... It swatched beautifully in the store - a nice icy pink with a slight gold sheen to warm it up. But on the eye? YIKES! Hello glitter-ball fairy princess freak show. It's too creamy and WAY glittery. I think mine is a lot more glittery than it was in the store. Maybe I have to get a little further in to the pot or maybe mine is just a freak. I have heard a few people say the same thing about this shade though. Maybe it's just one you want to love so much you convince yourself it's beautiful.

Bad iPhone swatches L-R: Let's Skate! Morning Frost, Foiled, Flash