EOTD: Clinique Color Surge Eyeshadow Duo – 203 Coffee Shop

Received my Clinique Color Surge Eyeshadow Duo in Coffee Shop (what a cute name!).  Was considering between a couple of duos when I finally decided on this due to the number of raves in MUA.

Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadow Duo – Coffee Shop

swatched in direct sunlight

this shot shows the shimmers better

 I took the liberty of swatching it against other Urban Decay Naked Palette eyeshadows which I think look similar. Toasted has more of a metallic/frosty sheen as compared to the light tan shade in Coffee Shop whereas Darkhorse applies a little khaki-greenish against the rich chocolaty brown of the Coffee Shop duo. Not dupes at all!

I used Sin (from UD Naked palette) all over the browbone as a highlight, the sandy tan from Clinique Coffee Shop duo on the eyelid and lastly, the dark chocolate brown shade on the lashline and low outer V. The shadows from the duo are also generously swept on the lower lash line in the same order.

Other products used: Red Cherry Lashes #523, Bobbi Brown Gel Liner – Caviar Ink, Milani Liquif’eye Eye Pencil in Brown on lower water line, Clinique Lash Power Extension Visible Mascara in Black on lower lash lines

My thoughts:

Honestly, I generally do not have good experiences with Clinique eyeshadows. For instance, my trio in Nude Deluxe lacked pigmentation and felt very gritty to touch. It was virtually impossible to show up on the eyes even with UDPP. Also, a lot of Clinique eyeshadows are made for the conservative work environment and therefore could lack the vast colour variety we are used to. This duo, however, is able to take you from day to night depending on how much you use the chocolate-y brown shade. The Clinique Colour Surge Eyeshadow Duo in Coffee Shop does not consist of the most unique shades but these are definitely good quality neutrals that are nice additions to my stash. The Urban Decay Naked palettes are gorgeous but sometimes they look over the top with their shimmers but that is not the case with Clinique, making it a perfect choice for offices or dress-down days. The pigmentation is also commendable – this duo really wow-ed me with the ease of application and blendability because the colours are so soft.  The beauty of this duo is the finish and texture – I love how soft the shimmers are, as you can see they are hardly visible on the eyelids, only adding the subtlest pearly sheen to the eyes.   The only downside is the lack of a suitable highlight shade in this duo but that can be easily remedied with using your own. Clinique does offer eyeshadow trios that come with a highlight but I find it difficult to pay more for a highlighting colour that may be easily dupe-able. Nonetheless, I’m really happy that I bought this duo and I am pretty sure it will be getting a lot of use! I am looking forward to trying out their other eyeshadow duos.

Price: 

$34 / 2.2g