I normally don’t like to recommend things that I haven’t tried, especially if they seem questionable.  I came across a makeup website selling eye shadow for a dollar.  At first I was thrilled, and then I read some mixed reviews.

Then I actually found the eye shadow in a store (Big Lots) and bought it.  And now, of course, I will review it.

The eye shadow? e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color eye shadow quad in Nouveau Neutrals.  e.l.f. stands for “Eyes Lips Face”, which is usually what we’re making up with cosmetics.

I got this quad at Big Lots at a discounted price as part of a set (with eyeliner that I’ll review next week) so I got it cheaper than normal.  But you can find it on their website for $1.

Now, it’s time to get down to the real deets:

Pros:  Of course, the best thing about this product is the price.  One dollar?  Seriously?  That’s the lowest price I’ve ever seen on an eye shadow compact.

Another good thing about e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color is the sheer number of color combinations.  I have Nouveau Neutrals, but they have a total of 9 compacts with 4 colors each.  That means you could get 36 eye shadow colors for less than ten bucks.  I love makeup math.  The best compacts seems to be Pretty n’ Pink and Luxe.

I heard a lot of people complain about the size of the compact and say that’s why it’s so inexpensive.  Honestly, it’s not as small as they like to elude.  Yeah, it fits in the palm of your hand, but do you really need a huge wad of color?  In this way, it’s worth the money.

Cons: Okay, I need you to do me a favor.  Scroll up to the top of this post and click on the picture of the product packaging.  This will take you to a bigger view.  See anything weird?  It took me a while to realize.  It’s the spelling of Brightening Eye Color.  Apparently that added ‘g’ means extra savings!  I looked on their website and their own product pictures have it spelled right.  Maybe I got a discount at Big Lots from the spelling mistake.  Let’s hope that’s the case.

What really makes a product good is the way it works.  For eye shadow, this is how well it applies.  While the shadow in the e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color compact goes on well, it goes on a lot lighter than you would expect.  See the picture to the right?  That’s me with the eye shadow on.  I layered and layered and used a lot of the product.  Can you see it?  You might need to enlarge.  Yeah, you can see it a bit, but not as well as you would expect.  This shadow is good for a very light look.  Maybe something for work or a funeral.  Definitely not a night at the club.

And this is really the crux of the matter.

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There’s good and bad about this compact.  Maybe if I chose brighter colors like Pretty n’ Pink, I would have had better luck.  When you take price into consideration, it’s really hard not to fall for this product.  Sure, it doesn’t work as well as most brands, but it’s still alright.  It’s especially good for a travel makeup bag because it’s small and you won’t have to worry about losing it.  After all, it’s only worth a dollar.

With all this in consideration, I give e.l.f. Brightening Eye color a:

C -

P.S. I have heard that buying on the e.l.f. website has problems and some people don’t get what they ordered.  Other people had no problems at all.  Keep that in mind if you plan on ordering.  I don’t know of the validity of either side of the argument since I bought mine in stores.

Have you tried it?  What did you think?  Worth $1?