Review -- L'Oreal Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadow

Recently, when I was trying to organize my oversized makeup collection, I realized that I really don't have too many drugstore eye shadows.

There's no real reason for that. I'm a big fan of drugstore makeup -- I actually feel like some of my favorite new foundations in the past year or so have been from drugstore brands and God knows I love me plenty of drugstore lipsticks.

But with the exception of a bunch of e.l.f. shadows and a few other random brands, eye shadows from the drugstore haven't really made their way into my makeup bag.

So a few months back when I saw that L'Oreal had come out with a new line of shadow quads, I decided to give them a try. The Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadows each feature four shades, which are meant to deliver rich color and smooth, velvet-y texture.


(I'm not sure what the Dual Effects part of the product name refers to, though.)

I purchased the quads in Rose Nude and Absolute Taupe.

The Rose Nude quad features a pinky beige, a light tan, a pinky peach, and a dark chocolate brown, while the Absolute Taupe quad contains an ivory, a light gray-brown taupe, a warm mid-tone brown, and a dark black brown.

L'Oreal Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadow in Rose Nude

L'Oreal Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadow in Rose Nude

L'Oreal Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadow in Absolute Taupe

L'Oreal Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadow in Absolute Taupe

(The two dark brown shades in the quads are fairly similar, for what it's worth, though the shade in the Rose Nude quad appears to be a bit warmer.)

None of the shadows is matte -- they're all either out and out shimmery, or features a satin finish. But none contain over the top glitter, though, so I don't mind the lack the a matte shade really.

Most of the shadows in these quads are nicely pigmented -- both dark brown shades for example, as well as the peachy pink shade from Rose Nude and the taupe from the Absolute Taupe. The lightest shades in both palettes are fairly sheer, though, which isn't such a bad thing if you're using the shimmery shades to highlight under the brow.

The shadows have a pretty soft texture too, and blend easily on the eye so they're easy to use.

But I think what impresses me most about the quads is the color combinations in each. On the blurb about these shadows on L'Oreal's website, the shadows are describes as providing a sophisticated look and I really feel like that's true. They both feature fairly sedate, natural looking colors, but they can really give you a polished, elegant look.

L'Oreal Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadow in Rose Nude

L'Oreal Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadow in Absolute Taupe

Rose Nude may be my favorite of the two because of the peachy pink shade -- it is perfect for making blue eyes pop -- but Absolute Taupe is a really interesting combination too. I really like the slight contrast between the cool gray brown taupe shade (which I usually put on the lid) and the warmer mid-tone brown shade (which I typically use through the crease). It doesn't create a smokey eye really -- though you could take it there by using more of the rich dark brown shade -- but it's still a really sexy look that works well in daytime.

Around here, the quads retail for about $10, but I purchased mine at Ulta when they were doing a BOGO-half off sale on L'Oreal so I got a pretty good deal.

These shadows are really easy to use and the packaging is small and slim enough that you could easily toss one of the quads in your purse for touch-ups or bumping up a daytime look for evening.

I definitely recommend checking these shadows out and seeing if there's a color collection that strikes your fancy.

Have you tried the L'Oreal Colour Riche Dual Effects Eyeshadows? Which quad is your favorite?