Have a sweet tooth? Indulge without the kilos in the Miss Candy L’Oreal Infallible Color Eyeshadows

Here’s an announcement for the ladies in Malaysia – We finally have some L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows! 😀

I remember when these first came out. I was champing at the bit to get my hands on them, but they were nowhere to be seen locally, or even regionally at the time. I eventually got a motherlode thanks to a very lovely and generous friend from Canada, and I told you about them months ago (review here). Later in the year, another very generous friend sent me more, simply because she saw them in her local Priceline store in Australia and knew I was crazy about them! Ah those were some gorgeous shades that I never got around to reviewing, because I wasn’t sure if they were still available.

A few new colors came out a little while ago under the Miss Candy collection in Europe which I tried to get hold of, but couldn’t. I later picked up 2 colours through a friend in Singapore. What this longwinded tale is about is to say that HURRAH! Everyone in Malaysia now gets to know what I’m talking about and raving over! 😀

L’Oreal did not make too much fuss about this Miss Candy collection but if you head down to the counters you will see it. Just a small little collection with some light coloured glosses, and 3 L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows in Sassy Marshmallow, Naughty Strawberry and Tender Caramel. I got some reports about the appearance of these thanks to lovely readers on Twitter a while ago but I did not have the chance to check it out till recently. When I did, I picked up Tender Caramel to complete my Miss Candy collection!

Locally, the Infallible shadows in the Miss Candy collection are Sassy Marshmallow, Naughty Strawberry and Tender Caramel. When the collection was launched in Europe, it was Sassy Marshmallow, Naughty Strawberry and Innocent Turquoise. I’m not sure why ours was substituted with Tender Caramel but I believe it might be to do with preferences of local women. Tender Caramel is a very gorgeous, very wearable eye colour and one that will appeal to most. Innocent Turquoise (which I incidentally own) is less likely to fly off the shelves.

So psychology aside, lets take a look at some swatches, some thoughts and a very quick look I did with the scariest colour of the lot – Naughty Strawberry a fuchsia pink. Boy, that stumped me for a bit! Its not a colour I’d voluntarily pick up (it was sent to me) but I was pleased to be able to get it to work 🙂

Have you already seen these and picked up any? What’s your take on them?

I’m going to preface this review with a statement : I love the L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows. So you could say I’m a little biased henceforth 😛

I’ve gone into quite an indepth review of what the Infallible Eyeshadows are in a previous review so I won’t repeat it here. Suffice to say that these are not cream eyeshadows but powder eyeshadows. Yet, they aren’t pressed like normal powder shadows, but are compacted loose powder. These are what I’d call the the drugstore siblings of the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadow.

(1) 032 Sassy Marhsmallow (2) 036 Naughty Strawberry (3) 033 Tender Caramel

In the tub, the colours can be described as thus:-

• Sassy Marshmallow – an iridescent light blue with red flecks
• Naughty Strawberry – an iridescent fuchsia pink with gold flecks
• Tender Caramel – an iridescent cool brown

I tend to use these shadows with my fingers because I feel they give the best payoff on skin which is why you will notice that the surface of Sassy Marshmallow and Naughty Strawberry look compacted. Not to worry though. Just take a brush and lightly run it over the surface and it’ll loosen up again. Like the regular tubs, there is a compacter included that I’d advise you to ensure you do not lose, because it will help you pack the product together again should it come loose at some point e.g. when it falls to the floor, as happened to me. I speak from first hand experience when I tell you that this is the first time I don’t have to worry about my eyeshadow falling to the floor. I only have to worry about cleaning up the mess.

Before I go on to show you the swatches, let me just show you the colour we did not get – Innocent Turquoise – an iridescent turquoise.

I had it picked up from Singapore when the Miss Candy collection launched there a couple of months back. Its a pretty colour, but one that I will expect to be less popular than Tender Caramel.

The thing is this. The colors swatch on skin a little sheer and a little light in this collection. This is especially true of Sassy Marshmallow, which goes on my skin almost just like a sheer wash of shimmer. It might disappoint many and if you have a darker complexion, I will have to warn you about this, because there is a chance it might just go on your skin as a wash of silver shimmer. But let me show you what happens when I layer them over a black base.

Left to right: Innocent Turquoise (light turquoise shimmer), Sassy Marshmallow (light lilac toned shimmer), Naughty Strawberry (fuchsia pink shimmer), Tender Caramel (Cool toned brown shimmer), Sassy Marshmallow over black (Intense Lilac Blue shimmer), Naughty Strawberry over black (Intense Purple Pink shimmer), Tender Caramel over black (Golden shimmer), Innocent Turquoise over black (Intense Turquoise shimmer)

I loved how the black base helped intensify the pale washes of colour and bring out hidden depths of their shades. It was like unlocking a secret and discovering something magical. I mean, look at those colours! Beautiful!

The most surprising to me was Naughty Strawberry, because I could not for the life of me imagine wearing something that bright pink on my eyes. But when I layered it over black, it took on a purplish hue that was much more wearable. The best part about using the black base is this. You get a complex looking eye shadow application with zero hassle and fuss!

Here, what I’ve done is put down a black base for the eyeshadow. You can use a black eyeshadow (pick one that’s a little more intense in colour. I chose GA ETK in #13 Black) or a black eyeliner and draw it over your lid, much like what I’ve shown you here.

Then, pick up Naughty Strawberry and layer it over the black base and blend out the edges. Where it sits over the black, it pulls an iridescent purple. Where it sits on its own, it pulls pink but blended together, it looks complex and interesting and importantly, wearable.

You can do the same with Sassy Marshmallow and have it pull a lilac blue that is very pretty as well. The only colour I’m less excited about is Tender Caramel which I think looks better on its own although I would use a black to blend and define the colour better.

Here’s how the Naughty Strawberry eye looks in the big picture. It was very quick to execute, it looks interesting and very wearable. I wore it with a pink blush (I think it was Diorblush in Strawberry Sorbet) and pinkish lips (Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain in Honey).

In a nutshell

L’Oreal has finally brought into Malaysia in their Infallible Eyeshadows in the recently available Miss Candy collection now in stores. There are only 3 shades available and all are limited edition so lets hope that more will make an appearance as we go along. What these are, are compacted loose powder eyeshadows with an iridescent finish. The texture is smooth, they adhere well to skin (I do not use a lid primer but it lasts on me all day. If you have oily lids, use it over a lid primer) and they last on me. The colours in the Miss Candy collection on their own are very pastel pale and light but they instantly pop if applied over a black base which brings out some of the hidden tones of color. I have no complaints about these. I love them as I do all the L’Oreal Infallible eyeshadow I own and my only complaint will be that we don’t have more colours available! Soon, hopefully!

Pros: Smooth texture, Long lasting, Adheres well to skin, Colours can be worn light on their own or intense over a dark base, Affordable

Cons: Limited Edition

Who will like this: Anyone who likes shimmery, iridescent eyeshadows

Affordability is actually a little debatable because at RM35.90 it is a little pricey for just 1 colour. That said however, I still think it worth the money and its about the same price (or a little cheaper) than buying it elsewhere (S$14.90 in Singapore and £6.99 in the UK).

I’m not quite sure why L’Oreal Malaysia thought to introduce these Infallible Eyeshadow with these. The colours are less appealing than the ones released in the Les Ors collection where the colours were deeper and more vibrant. These are light and sheer and on darker complexions may just looks too shimmery. It isn’t the best introduction to these excellent products, I feel. It might be why they introduced Tender Caramel. That one is the most wearable and most likely to be well received by many. I’m now wondering if they’ll bring in more to come! 😀

Have you seen these at the pharmacies? Have you picked any up and which did you get?

If you could only pick one, I’d tell you to go for Tender Caramel because I expect most people will get the most use out of it. However, if you are a bit more adventurous, then go for Naughty Strawberry because of the beautiful colour shifting tone when layered over black. Sassy Marshmallow is one that can be passed on without feeling too much regret, I think 🙂

Paris B

L’Oreal Infallible Colour Eyeshadows Miss Candy collection ~ 032 Sassy Marshmallow, 033 Tender Caramel, 036 Naughty Strawberry Price: RM35.90 Availability: L’Oreal counters in leading pharmacies and supermarkets Limited Edition: Yes