Meet Clarins Ombre Matte Eyeshadow, a new cream to powder formula and stand out release from ‘Ladylike’, Clarins’ Autumn 2014 collection. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the consistency, assuming from the packaging and name it would be quite like Chanel Illusion D’Ombre, but this is entirely different. It doesn’t have that bouncy feel in the jar and although creamy to the touch, has the appearance and texture of a powder once applied to skin. The rich, neutral colours appeal to me a lot; the texture is velvety, buttery - all the good stuff - with amazing payoff.
The three shades I’ve been trialling are:
- 01 Nude Beige - a yellowy beige very close to my own skin tone - great as a base for any other eye product. Works well with a liquid liner flick or with added shimmer.
- 04 Rosewood - a perfect taupe with a whisper of rose, the most buttery of the three - works well alone, for contour or as a smudgy liner alone upper and lower lash line
- 05 Sparkle Grey - pewter shimmer (shimmery matte?) that begs to be smoked out. Looks good paired with Nude Beige.
Swatches
Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base can be used as a base for colour or alone to even out any redness on the lids. The above swatch is quite intense and it appears lighter when sheered out - a tiny drop goes a very long way. While I like this on my mobile lid, I avoid using it around the crease as unlike light reflecting products, this is quite matte.
There’s a lot I love about these new releases, though I do have some issues with them too… My lids aren’t as smooth and taut as they once were and having hooded lids (geez what a pretty picture I’m painting) I have to be very careful about which formulas I use to avoid creasing and drawing attention to said ‘attributes’. Too much shimmer or too much matte are a no-no for me; somewhere in the middle tends to work best. For this reason Clarins Ombre Matte eyeshadow works best on my mobile lids, though my favourite way to wear them is as a slightly smudgy, lived in liner. Applied with a pencil brush, they can be blended out really nicely for a soft, flattering finish.
Those with younger, perfectly smooth, non-hooded or oily lids will have a lot more options with these (not gonna lie, I’m a little bit jealous), so I think it’s worth experimenting to see what works best for you.
Clarins Ombre Matte Eyeshadow £19
On my Radar
Other Clarins releases on my radar include:
True Radiance foundation £27 - medium coverage with a natural-looking, radiant finish. Skin Illusion foundation is one of my all-time favourites, so I’m always excited to try new Clarins base formulas.
Instant Concealer £21 - has received a lorra love from all directions and I can’t believe I haven’t tried it yet. This will be rectified asap (I’m on a concealer mission at the moment!).
The 3 Dot Eye Liner £20 - has been released in a limited edition brown shade as part of Clarins’ Ladylike collection. Not gonna lie there was a time I thought these were a gimmick, but brown is my liner shade of choice (much more forgiving and less harsh than black) and I’m loving the idea of this to enhance my lashline - I have invisilashes to match my invisibrows, so every little helps - and I’m thinking this could be the perfect partner for my Ombre Matte smudgy liner. I’ll report back!
Which Clarins products are you a fan of - and are any of these beauties calling your name?
