Price: $3.99 (0.12 oz)
Product: 17/25
Packaging: 4/5
Value: 8/10
Overall Grade: C-
I had a BOGO NYC coupon so I decided to pick up 2 things before it expired. I ended up going with 2 Metro Quartet quads -The Best of Broadway (for review) and Union Square (for giveaway.)
The Packaging: The compact is nice enough -the eyeshadows are housed in a matte black compact with a clear "window" displaying the eyeshadows inside. There's a plastic film to show which eyeshadows go where (all over lid, crease, contour, highlight.) There's also a little brush/sponge applicator inside -useless for daily use but could come in handy in tight situations. I do really like the compact size though as it's good for travel and touch ups.
The Product: At 0.12 oz, you could pay $1 more and get more product from quads by Maybelline (0.17 oz) or Cover Girl (0.19 oz) but I think it's a fair price for a drugstore product -a good but not great value.I'm going to start off by saying I was not expecting any miracles -NYC was never one of my favorite brands but I still wanted to give them another try. The eyeshadows do look really nice in the pan (nicer than they used to) but after swatching, I realized that they were poor-average in terms of color payoff. The Highlight shade actually had really good payoff while the Contour shade was horrible. I really had to pack the color on for swatches. Without primer, these last on my eyes about 2-3 hours and fade away.
However, I tried them with a primer (UDPP) underneath and they were a lot more pigmented (I'd say average-good quality.) With primer, they held up all day with minimal fading (but I did still have to pack on the color.) Also, I have no problems blending the shadows and they are fairly smooth but a little on the powdery side.
The Color:
- All Over Lid- Light pink nude with silver shimmer
- Contour- Smokey gray with silver shimmer
- Crease- Warm dark brown with silver shimmer
- Highlight- Pearly ivory champagne with silver shimmer
Above (no flash) from left: (no primer) All Over Lid, Contour, Crease, Highlight
Above (no flash) from left: (with primer) All Over Lid, Contour, Crease, Highlight
Overall: I wouldn't buy this again and next time I have an NYC coupon, I'll be looking into their other products. The eyeshadows are "OK" quality but I personally rather spend extra to get amazing quality. Also, if you're on a budget, I recommend Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadows over NYC any day -they're around the same price range.
Where To Buy: CVS
They do look lovely with the primer :)
ReplyDeleteToo bad (and good) I live in Finland, and NYC isn't a brand I've seen around here :D
Lovely review, as always!
Thank you Melly. =) Glad you enjoyed the review!
ReplyDeleteJust want to say that I have one now in my blog :
ReplyDeletetheglowmakeup.blogspot.com
check it out!!
They look pigmented with the primer but still rather chalky? Thanks for the review Kali. I'm sure you'll save a lot of people $$ with all your cool drugstore finds :)
ReplyDelete@ Kristie.. Yea.. they are on the powdery/chalky side. Aww.. I really DO hope people save because of my reviews!
ReplyDelete