I had written about Eye Majic previously after I stumbled upon it online. I also read that it had been featured on Oprah and anything featured on Oprah is bound to garner a lot of interest. Among the many comments I got about this product were questions about where to buy it from and I compiled 2 sites from comments made.

Sharon, of the New Zealand Eye Majic distributor contacted me and was kind enough to offer to send me a sample of each of the 12 colours currently available to try out! I was thrilled! She kept to her word and a week later, I found a package on my desk with 2 boxes of Eye Majic instant eyeshadow inside.

The boxes were larger than I had expected. Each box would contain 7 pairs of a colour but for this purpose, I had one of each colour in it. The side of the box gives very clear and precise instructions on how this instant eye shadow is to be worn. Essentially, you press the pad containing the colour on your closed eyelid for about 4 seconds, then slide the strip off and blend the colours using the reverse side of the strip.

Eye Majic claims that their strips of eyeshadow are:

• Quick to use, giving you confidence
• Great for travel
• Keeping you up to date with fashion
• Individually sealed for your protection
• No more stretching your eyelids whilst applying, giving you even application on both eyelids
• Longer lasting than conventional eye shadow due to its secret method.

Intriguing! I opened up the boxes and true enough there were 12 pairs of eyeshadow colours. Each of the colours currently available for purchase. As there are no pictures of the colours online that I’ve found, I took this picture to show what they look like.

They are actually mostly shimmery tones from what I can see. Each pair comes in a sealed slim plastic pack and you can easily peel away the plastic. Here are better pictures with some colour descriptions (not official ones just how I see them).

#1 – Dark silver-grey, silver and shimmer white highlight
#2 – Brown, brown-gold and light champagne highlight
#3 – Rust, Cranberry and white highlight
#4 – Rust, Bronze and champagne highlight

#5 – Light brown, Light green and white highlight
#6 – Rose, orange and peach highlight
#7 – Dark grey, Cranberry and white highlight
#8 – blue-grey, Cranberry and white highlight

#9 – Purple, lilac and white highlight
#10 – Light blue, light pink and white highlight
#11 – Light green, Rust and white highlight
#12 – Brown, pink and white highlight

I noticed that there was a lot of colour repetition and to be honest, some of the colours looked a bit odd together. #9 didn’t have much colour difference between the 2 purple shades and #6 was a bunch of very similar shades. I think #6 would look better on darker skin tones than light but we’ll see.

How to use and my review

For my trial run for this review, I used Shade #2 for work. You peel off the plastic backing first. The fact its sealed is good as it means its hygenic. However, I found that there was a lot of colour transference from the pad onto the plastic. So a lot of colour is lost that way. I also found that the pad is anchored onto the hard plastic shell by a dab of glue so it doesn’t move around.

From the picture you can see that quite a lot of colour had transferred off the pad onto the plastic cover. This might have resulted in the uneven application I experienced.

Using it is easy. You remove the pad from the shell and press it for 4 seconds (I counted) onto your closed eyelid. Make sure that you place the pad as close to your lashline as possible. Then, lightly but firmly pull it away from your lid. You’ll find that the colour has transferred nearly fully from the pad onto your eyelid.

However, it would have transferred in the exact manner it was placed on the pad which means that the lines of the colours are very sharp and defined. It would definitely make you look odd if you don’t blend. You can use the back of the pad to blend but I just used my finger.

I found that the colour on both the pads were not very balanced. It might be something to do with the colour transference onto the plastic cover earlier. So, I used my finger to remove some colour from the plastic (there was a lot) and balance up the colour. I then blended the colours again with my fingers.

The colour actually looked quite nice once blended properly. You could see that there was gradational colour with the darkest colour close to the lashes and lighter shades on the lid. It was also quick. 10 seconds to do both eyes is not an exaggeration. It really did take 10 seconds or less for me!

However, having proper eye makeup does not stop there. My eyes looked unfinished with just the eyeshadow on. So, I added my usual gel liner and mascara for my everyday work look. That takes time so the time saving on the eyeshadow application was not really felt in the bigger scheme of things.

Gosh! I look cross-eyed don’t I? Lol

What did I think

I had it on the whole day. I actually got compliments on my eye makeup today, which was a surprise. I must admit that my eye makeup looked more evenly applied. Since its “instant” I would expect that.

It was not very shimmery but had just the right touch of shimmer so your eyes don’t look flat. The lasting power was good. It was still there by the end of the day with minimal fading. I don’t have oily lids so most eyeshadow don’t fade on me anyway.

The convenience is probably what makes this most useable. I can see it being useful for travelling. Bring a strip for every day and you don’t have to fiddle around with little pots and palettes. You can also be assured that your eyes will more or less looked balanced every time as the colours are “pre-printed”.

Honestly though, as someone who love her makeup and especially eye shadow, I cannot see this product taking the place of conventional eyeshadow pots. I like mixing colours and coming up with various combinations. I like messing around with my pots of colour and I don’t think my fingers or brushes stretch my eyelids any more than tugging on the pad to release the colour would.

I’ll give this product top points for innovation, portability, convenience and novelty. For its price of approximately $15.95 (excluding shipping) for 7 strips, I think its quite expensive. So, whilst its a good product, I just don’t see it taking the place of conventional eyeshadow.

Pros: Portable, convenient, long-lasting colour, easy to use, idiot-proof eye makeup

Cons: You still need your liner and mascara, expensive, few colour combinations, colour transference

[rating:3.5/5]