When things heat up and the weather warms, I reach for eye makeup that won’t melt away as the day wears on. Enter Clinique’s new Quick Eyes Cream Shadows ($15), part of their Long-Last Bronze collection for summer 2008. Not only do these shadows pack staying power to last throughout the day, but they’re easy to apply and come in 10 luscious colors. Here’s a quick look at three of them: Sparkling Nude, Sunlit Palm and Rock Violet.
Rock Violet
Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadows deliver a water resistant, crease-proof creamy powder formula able to last a full 10 hours, according to Clinique. Each works by itself, in conjunction with the other shadows in the collection, or as a base for powder shades.
Doe foot applicator
Each tube comes with a doe-foot applicator, making the shadows easy for your girl to apply when she’s in a hurry (all the time) and doesn’t have the time to whip out her brushes.
The three shades I’ve mentioned here — Rock Violet, Sunlit Palm and Sparkling Nude — all seem to look good when used in conjunction with each other, but I prefer to use each one by itself.
I played with the following two looks: 1) a sheer wash of color over the entire eye, and 2) to add a pop of color to my lids.
Swatch of Rock Violet
Sparkling Nude and Sunlit Palm Swatches
Look 1: All-over color wash
Before hitting the gym the other day, I did a sheer wash of color with Rock Violet, applying a few dots over my entire eye (brow bone, crease, and lid). I then used my ring finger to blend the color into a single sheer layer. Two coats of mascara later, and I was done. Quick Eyes Cream Shadows stayed put throughout my entire two-hour workout and didn’t crease or smudge, even under sweaty duress.
Look 2: Add a pop of color to your lids
Before going to brunch with friends in San Francisco last Saturday, I used Sunlit Palm to add a pop of color to my lids. I placed several dots on the lid area (close to the lash line), and then used my finger to just barely blend it into the crease. Then, I repeated the process with a second layer to intensify the look. It was unusually hot weather that day, and my friends and I sat outside on the sidewalk to eat and catch up. Sunlit Palm lasted through three hours of gabbing and chatting in near 80-degree heat. Later at home, when I checked my makeup, it looked exactly like it did when I left the house hours earlier!
I chose not to use these with an eye primer because they just didn’t seem to need one. These shadows last plenty long enough on their own, and the formula dries very quickly, so if you plan to blend several different colors together, have your brush ready and within reach.
These will get a lot of use throughout the summer, and if I go on vacation they are so coming with me!
Happy Wednesday, ladies! I woke up a little woozy this morning, but it wasn’t anything a few cups of coffee couldn’t cure. 🙂
Hope you’re feeling rested and pretty today.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Glosslizard says
April 16th, 2008 at 2:27 pmOoh! I’ve gotta get Sunlit Palm! Such pretty sparkle in a beautiful green! Perfect for lasting the day at Disneyland and then into the pool! 😀
Karen says
April 16th, 2008 at 2:37 pmHi Glosslizard,
It’s super pretty… I’m wearing it today. 🙂 I kinda want all of the shadows (doh! story of my life).
Hope this morning was better than yesterday’s.
TUPRNUT says
April 16th, 2008 at 2:41 pmVery pretty! Any “looks” coming our way?
Glosslizard says
April 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pmI can relate! I’ve been loving the Shiseido lemon sugar so much that now I want more of their cream shadows! Not to mention my terrible, crippling paint pot addiction (I just found Rollickin’ at my local store and snagged it)! 🙂
This morning was much better, thanks!
Karen says
April 16th, 2008 at 2:49 pmHi Tuprnut,
Yup! I will bust out a FOTD with these soon…I’ve been wearing them practically every other day so I just have to remember to grab my camera. Any news on the job front?
Karen says
April 16th, 2008 at 2:51 pmHi Glosslizard,
Oh, you just reminded me … I need to go to Shiseido to get more sunscreen (bah) and “visit” with the Tiger cream shadow.
Paint Pots are so much fun. I’ve been all about using my fingers with them lately (too lazy to bust out with the synthetic brush, to tell ya the honest truth). Do you have Cash Flow?
JK says
April 16th, 2008 at 2:57 pmI’m so excited for these…do you think they’d be a good base for other shadows?
Karen says
April 16th, 2008 at 3:01 pmHi JK,
Yes! I haven’t tried it with any yet but think that these will really give powder shadows a good base to stick too. If you use a shimmer shadow on top I bet the color will really pop, too! What colors are you thinking of getting?
JK says
April 16th, 2008 at 3:20 pmMaybe sparkling nude–I’ve been looking for a sheerish light base for a while. Rock violet looks beautiful too…
d says
April 16th, 2008 at 3:25 pmHi Karen,
Just a quick question. Have you used the Clinique’s Touch Blush? Just wanted your advice–should that be worn underneath foundation or above? I use mineral foundation; I’m not sure which should go first. Also, I am definitely going to pick one of these cream shadows up to take part int he free gift with purchase at Macy’s(in sparkling nude), I’m excited!
Karen says
April 16th, 2008 at 3:56 pmHi JK,
Sparkling Nude would be a great all-purpose base. It reminds me of MAC Bare Canvas Paint, one of my go-to eye bases. I sometimes have a hard time with purple but Rock Violet is super wearable! I am going to use it with my Lancome Stylish Neutrals Palette soon.
Karen says
April 16th, 2008 at 3:58 pmHi D,
I haven’t used their Touch Blush. I’ve used cream blushes before and I always apply them over my foundation. If I’m layering them then I do this:
1.) Foundation
2.) Cream blush
3.) Powder
4.) Powder Blush/highlighter.
Hope this helps… if you need cream blush rec’s then just holla.
BTW, the Clinique GWP is great. The palette’s pretty awesome!
Brittany says
April 16th, 2008 at 4:13 pmNow this is soooo up my alley! What a fab idea!
Brittany’s last blog post..Yessss, I got tagged!
Breezy says
April 16th, 2008 at 4:30 pmI agree w/ Glosslizard, the sunlit palm is sooo pretty! I wonder if they would last while in the pool too. I just took a job as a swim instructor again and havin somethin on at times without worrying it would slide all over my face might be nice!
Karen says
April 16th, 2008 at 4:32 pmHi Brittany,
I love ’em too. So easy to use and they last forever. Are you gonna pick any up?
Karen says
April 16th, 2008 at 4:34 pmBreezy! That’s awesome that you teach swimming. I used to take swimming lessons as a kid and I always looked up to my instructors.
I am crushing hard on the Sunlit Palm these days. I haven’t tried it in the water but the formula is supposed to be water resistant. I sweated like a mofo at the beach a few days ago and they held up really well, that’s for sure.
TUPRNUT says
April 16th, 2008 at 4:58 pmThanks for checking in on the job… I’ll hear the middle of next week sometime. 🙂
Glosslizard says
April 16th, 2008 at 5:28 pmNo, I think Cash Flow is the only Fafi paint pot I didn’t get! It’s a little too yellow-gold for me, which is why I opted for the slightly whiter-gold Lemon Sugar instead!
J-Money says
April 16th, 2008 at 6:06 pmThat shadow rocked on you! Sold, I am!
Teresa says
April 16th, 2008 at 8:07 pmHi Karen,
I’m new to the site but I’m already hooked!! These shades look super pretty.
🙂
I’m excited to keep reading and seeing what you come up with!
JaxXx says
April 16th, 2008 at 10:03 pmHEEEYYYY!
i looove it when you talk about clinique (i use to work for them, i now work for the body shop)
anyway, i actually stopped by the clinique counter today because of your previous post about their SPF lipglosses. (SPF is sooo important) and picked up my free gift.
man, im so tempted to get the shadows now. *grrr ms.karen* 🙂
Eru says
April 17th, 2008 at 3:02 amHey Karen! 😀
I tried to play with the new eyeshadows some days ago (while the SA was trying to sell me the whole collection) But I found them a bit dark, since I try to get more pastels and such as summer is comming.
Anyway, Violet also caught my eye. I´m thinking about re´checking them with more time.
Oh, Karen I wanted to tell you that I receieved my tokidoki palettes and they are shimmery and sheer so I used them for my lessons yesterday. I´m proud of myself, LOL. 😀
Hugs!
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Victoria says
April 17th, 2008 at 8:13 amKaren,
I am diggin that sunlit palm… i will have to do a stroll by on the clinque counter and check it out!!!
Megan says
April 17th, 2008 at 8:51 amGirl… these are gorgeous. I was already in my head trying to justfy a trip to pick up one of the long last glosses…and you may have just put me over the top 🙂 even though I’m supposed to be on makeup probation. BTW…I’ve been rocking the estee lauder eyeshadows every day from the GWP i got a couple weeks back. I’ve been using a tiny dab of the prescriptives concealer on my eyelids as primer…and they’re not budging at all – even for like 14 hours!
Tanya says
April 17th, 2008 at 9:42 amThere you go again, creating lemmings 🙂
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Amanda says
April 17th, 2008 at 10:03 amoh my, those are nice! all three look very pretty and unique. I really like them. I’m really into easy, long last shadows as washes. (like bobbi brown’s creams! Love that they have a doe foot applicator-that’s a really nice touch. (one of the only minus for BB-using and then washing a brush, LOL. sometimes I’m too lazy!). and these are really affordable too. hmmmm. I think I’m gonna see what the other colors are!
Dao says
April 17th, 2008 at 10:40 amHow are they compared to paint pots? I always find cream shadows too drying for me so I stopped using them a long time ago. Now my heart belongs to paint pot and that Bare Study one is god sent! I use it as a base for all over the lid, then put some more underneath the brows as highlight. After that I just apply eyeshadows in the lid/crease/lashline area and I’m done. And my powder eyeshadows last all day too.
Glosslizard says
April 17th, 2008 at 10:48 amHi Dao!
I just got Bare Study yesterday! It’s the perfect all-over base for me too! 🙂
eye4style says
April 17th, 2008 at 12:55 pmI tested these as well and they are really fantastic. Great staying power, easy to apply and gorgeous colors!
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JK says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:13 pmI felt like Bare Study was too sparkly for me, and Painterly was too matte, so I’m really hoping these will have a soft pearly finish…looks good from these pictures!
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:17 pmHi Tuprnut,
Oh you’re welcome. I’ll think positive job thoughts for you in the meantime!
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:17 pmHi Glosslizard,
Gotcha. I almost busted it out today, but I was in a hurry to get ready for work.
I love the name Lemon Sugar. It makes me hungry for gelato….
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:17 pmHi J-Money,
It’s easy to use to, yo…no brushes, nada! Dunno if you ever wear greens but Sunlit Palm would look good on you.
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:17 pmHi Teresa,
It’s good to meet ya, girl! Are you a Clinique fan too? They really did a fab job with this summer collection; I’m really impressed.
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:17 pmHi JaxXx,
Nice! If I worked for Clinique I swear all my money would just go back to the counter, LOL. Which gloss did you end up getting? Lots of the pinks were sold out when I went back to the counter, boo hoo, but I did manage to pick up a Bamboo Pink.
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:18 pmHi Eru,
Yah, check out the violet, pink and nude shades. They won’t be too dark for ya! OMG, I’m so jealous of your tokidoki palettes! *drools*
Big hugs back to ya!
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:18 pmHi Victoria,
It’s really pretty, especially if you do a few layers near your lash line to really bring out the intensity! It’s very fresh and simple makeup, but I dig it. Hopefully your counter is having a GWP!
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:18 pmHi Megan,
I was gonna ask you how the makeup lockdown was going. 🙂 I really do think these are shades you can get so much mileage… plus you can’t help but love the sparkle. Maybe get one this time and then wait a few weeks for the gloss! I dunno, I’m always doing makeup math to justify stuff. The Prescriptives concealer sounds miraculous!
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:18 pmHi Tanya,
I know, I know! But these are totally lemming worthy. 🙂
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:18 pmHi Amanda,
I had a feeling you’d be digging these. They are really great for simple washes and yes, the doe foot is a very nice touch. Check out the pink and Lucky Penny! Both are very pretty as well.
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:18 pmHi Dao,
These are a little drier than the Paint Pots, but I think they’re slightly easier to use because they don’t require a brush (although you can apply Paint Pots with a finger too, which I do for certain colors which have a harder consistency.) Bare Study is a fab color. I don’t have it yet though, because I think I have some sort of curse or something when it comes to that color. Whenever I go in to buy it it’s never there. It’s the weirdest thing…
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:19 pmHi JK,
The shimmer is pretty subdued with these. You can bump up the intensity via layers if you want a richer color though, which is a nice option to have!
JK says
April 17th, 2008 at 2:48 pmOh I was curious…what does Lucky Penny look like? I can’t find a good swatch.
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 5:03 pmHi JK,
It’s kinda bronzy, but not too orange bronze (more cocoa). It’s pretty in person but I didn’t get it because it wasn’t my fave out of the bunch.
JK says
April 17th, 2008 at 5:05 pmThanks Karen!
I’m pretty set on Sparkling Nude but I can’t make up my mind about the second…I wish I could go see them in person but I can’t get to a counter.
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 5:19 pmYou’re welcome! If you are wanting another shade to wear as a base then I would suggest Starlit Pink. It seemed like the second most versatile base color to me.
JK says
April 17th, 2008 at 5:23 pmThat’s probably a good suggestion…it’d be great to have a pinkish base.
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 5:29 pmIt would be pretty with browns and greens, me thinks. 🙂
Meaghan says
April 17th, 2008 at 7:51 pmHi Karen,
Have you ever tried the Benefit cream shadows? I’d love to know how they compare to the Clinique ones! I have a few and really like them 🙂
Karen says
April 17th, 2008 at 9:18 pmHi Meaghan,
I haven’t tried the Benefit shadows. I probably should one day, seeing how I walk past the Benefit freestanding store practically every day when I’m a work! Do you have a favorite shade?
Give the Clinique ones a look if you get the chance! 🙂 They are super pretty in person.
ilovecheese says
April 18th, 2008 at 6:13 amooooo I love Sunlit Palm, you’d look awesome in it Karen! Can we have a look at it on your eyes?
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Meaghan says
April 18th, 2008 at 2:34 pmI have a few of them. They are terrific by themselves or with shadow over them. I have RSVP, Get Figgy, Busy Signal, and Towne Car. I love Towne Car as a base for a really dark smokey eye but I also love to put a silver over it and it just makes your eys pop. Get Figgy is a plum color, which honestly, makes me look like I havent slept or have a bruise on my eyes- not my fave! Busy Signal is a great coppery brown which is fab by itself. And RSVP I use as a base or by iteself for a more natural look with just a pop of color. They are very creamy and go on pretty easily but dont crease which is wonderful. Like UDPP, it is pretty crazy to try to blend 8 different colors into these so if you are going for a more simple eye with just 2 different colors these are terrific! 🙂