Revlon ColorStay 16 Hour Eye Shadow Quad- Addictive (500) Review & Swatches

To say that Revlon has stepped up to the plate, and therefore has been instrumental in helping bridge the gap between high-end and low-end cosmetic quality- is an understatement. Their Colorburst Lip Butters were a real game changer that created a renewed interest in the line that appealed to drugstore and luxury brand shoppers alike. In fact, I have personally witnessed many a fashionista grabbing the Lip Butters from the displays by the handfuls. With all of this in mind, I headed to my local CVS to see whether or not I wanted to give Revlon's new ColorStay 16 Hour Eye Shadows the same opportunity to potentially wow me in the way that the Lip Butters had. It just so happened that CVS was having the buy one get the second 1/2 off sale- so I decided to give a few a try. Don't you just wish that the department stores did that?! Can you imagine going to the Chanel counter and getting that kind of a deal?! 

I selected 7 (see pictures here) of the 16 shades available, and so far I am quite impressed by the quality from my preliminary swatching and playing with the colors. Addictive (#500) is a very neutral quad, so neutral in fact, that with the exception of the slightly warmer brown (#4) it should work across most skin tones (with warm or cool undertones). I swatched vigorously- so it is unlikely that one would pack on color to the extent that I did for these swatches. Even so, the first two colors are barely there- but not in a bad way. In fact color #2 is a nice all over the lid wash of color if you are going for a natural look. Color #3 is worth the price of admission alone-- it's a buildable taupish shade that is really lovely. At first it reminded me of a cooled down MAC Patina, or a less purple NARS Lhasa, but as you can see from the swatches at the bottom, #3 is quite different from them. Click on photos to enlarge.

All four colors in this quad are buttery soft and apply with great ease. I tried them with and without a primer and both ways the colors did last without creasing or fading on my non-oily lids. I did not test their claims about lasting 16 hours so I can neither validate, nor refute the accuracy of this claim. I will say, however, that the soft and smooth texture does remind me of higher end shadows. There wasn't a gritty or chalky one in the bunch. The palette seems nearly matte, but the first three shades have the slightest amount of sheen that gives a bit more dimension. However, numbers 1 & 2 are so light that it's barely detectable. Number 3, on the other hand, has greater depth and complexity. #4 is more of a matte brown shade. I would recommend mixing the colors to see what kind of interesting custom taupe shades you can create.

Photo taken indoors.

Photo taken outdoors in the sun.

Photo taken outdoors in less direct light.

 Both photos taken outdoors with varied lighting.

Overall assessment: I'm quite pleased with this quad. The overall quality is very good, and it is a nice neutral palette at a bargain price.

0.16 oz./4.8 g $7.49-$7.79 at CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens. Check out their prices at Target as well. They are often on sale- so you can snap them up for even less.