Review: Makeup: Lavshuca Gradually Compact Shiny Sand Beach Summer 2008

About 3 weeks ago, I received the Lavshuca Gradually Eyes eyeshadow palette for Summer 2008 in the mail. It took me a while to get round to using it, but I have been testing it out for a week now and now feel comfortable enough to review it.

This is Lavshuca’s offering for Summer 2008. It is a slim metal palette similar to Stila’s palettes with the gorgeous Lavshuca logo and design embossed in the cover. I checked and the palette is almost exactly the same as Stila’s palettes except that the Lavshuca one is slightly smaller and lighter and Stila’s palette comes with a mirror on the inside.

I got Shiny Sand Beach which is the neutral toned palette. The other palette has shades of blue and turquoise. When I originally wrote about the release of Lavshuca’s summer palette, I mentioned that this one looked a little too warm and that I’d probably get the blue one. However, I realised that I have lots of blue toned colours in my collection and I figured a neutral toned one would be used more often. Anyway, here are my thoughts on this palette.

The Lavshuca Gradually Compact has 6 colours. If you look at the picture of the package it came in, you are expected to assemble the palette yourself. I guess it gives you the option of mixing and matching it with the other palette available but I prefer it if palettes came pre-made. Sticking it into the metal case isn’t difficult and it holds with a sticky glue. It comes with 2 applicators which I don’t use.

Here are some colour swatches of each of the 6 colours in the Lavshuca summer palette on my arm.

The row at the top is from the white side of the palette while the row at the bottom is of the black side.

I found that the white palette has brighter more shimmery shades but the color tone was warmer. The black side had darker shades and the tone was cooler.

The cooler tones suited me better and made for a good neutral eye. I might add it to my neutral eye colour collection. The colour right at the end is almost matt and I use it as a base. The 3 colours can be used by themselves as they have a decent light, medium and dark shade. The darkest shade isn’t quite dark enough though for lining but its enough to create some contour. I’d have preferred if the palette had a darker shade so its all in one.

The texture of the black side of the palette is smooth with a decent shimmer which I found nice. It was something I could use for work. My previous experience with Lavshuca was with its eyeshadow singles which I did not quite like for its gritty texture.

However, the white part of the palette is a different story altogether. The texture is grittier and the colours are highly shimmery, almost metallic. I liked the light gold and white but the bronze colour threw me for a loop. It is very warm compared to the rest of the colors in the palette and it did not quite fit with the other colours, I felt. I can see me using the other shades but probably not this one. I was asked if I had a bad night when I used this colour, despite the fact I slept like a baby the night before – not good!

Another gripe I have is that the colours faded on me throughout the day. I don’t usually have a problem with colours fading. I reckon using an eye base or eye primer will help the colour stay but I don’t usually use these because I hardly have serious problems as I don’t have oily lids. So, I’m docking points for this.

I wonder if the blue palette might have been better for me. Its quite hard to say without being able to see it in person. If its anything like this gold palette, I’d expect the white side to be sheer metallic shimmer and the black side to be more pigmented with understated shimmer. That peach shade right at the end throws me for a loop though. But I’m not getting it after all (although I thought I might)

All in all, I’d say, buy the Lavshuca Gradually Compact for Summer 2008 if you like pretty compacts and shimmer and sheer-ish colour. The gold compact I bought will make a very nice summer palette to complement your tan and to complement the sunny weather. As for me, I’m not terribly impressed. I don’t think I’ll be getting more Lavshuca after this.

Be warned though that the size of the palette is small. The colours are quite tiny. It only just about fits my finger to swipe the colour. So, with a price tag of US$27.90 (RM89) on Ichibankao its quite expensive. I think its something like 1890 Yen (RM59) if you can get it from Japan. I can’t so its only online for me. You might want to read another review on this Lavshuca Gradually Compact Shiny Sand Beach by PJ of A Touch of Blusher.

Pros: Shimmery, Nice for summer, Good neutral colours

Cons: Bronze is too warm, expensive, not available in Malaysia

[rating:3/5]