In Our Makeup Bag: Clarins 4 Colour Eye Palette

By Alex K.

What It Is:
Clarins 4 Colour Eye Palette in 02 Nudes

Why This Should Be in Your Bag:

Not everyone wears eyeshadow, but I absolutely adore it. It can really transform the look of your eyes and whole face. Eyeshadow (that is well applied) is mark of maturity for me. Palettes are a convenient way to store shadows, but a good eyeshadow palette is hard to find!

Clarins have recently released a series of eyeshadow quads featuring mineral eye shadows in gorgeous color combos. I took 02 Nudes for a test run!

How To Use It:

The 4 colors in this quad were expertly chosen and all work well together.

(applied dry)

(applied wet)

The natural way to use all 4 shadows is as follows:

1. Apply light brown to entire lid

2. Add dark brown to crease and outer corner

3. Use cream as a brow bone and inner corner highlight

4. Light pink shade can be used to add more sparkle, either as an all-over wash or in the inner corner (I skip this step for daytime).

CC Rating: A

I’m a NARS and MAC junkie when it comes to eye shadows, so I’m quite surprised at how much I like this Clarins quad. The shadows are absolutely buttery and apply beautifully. The smoothness allows for easy blending and the fact that they can be applied wet or dry is a huge bonus.

The only downfall of this palette is the top right shadow (sparkly pink). Applied dry, there is almost no color payoff, only sparkles. You have to use a very heavy hand to get the pink to show up and wetting the shade seems to actually dull the sparkles. This just limits the usefulness of the shade and I almost wish there had been another lid color (perhaps a taupe?) included instead.

Overall, I’m totally impressed with these palettes. They are cheaper than a MAC quad (although lack the customization), and since they can be used wet and dry, it’s like getting 8 shadows. The Clarins 4 Colour Eye Palettes retail for $40, which I’m more than happy to pay!

[Need some new makeup but not sure what to buy? Check out Alex's other beauty reviews here.]