Concrete Minerals Eye Shadow & Primer (+ Elf Glitter Base)

Flowery Flat by Nishihara Kenichoro

Concrete Minerals is an indie makeup company based in the USA. They don't test on animals, all their shadows are vegan (gluten free) and they don't have fragrance, parabens, talc or bismuth oxychloride.  I was on a long time hunt for Talc free shadows because I think sometimes Talc (perhaps powder eyeshadow in general) irritates my eyes and the brand has a fun vibrant array of shades to choose from. So one day I took the plunge and ordered some items (with 2 free eyeshadow samples!) - I believe it did take a while and I received a hefty enough custom charge to dissuade me from making any hurried US purchases any time soon. 

If you're like me and no longer can contend with US shipping plus UK customs charges -  try Cute Cosmetics (a UK website) that has a good amount of the Concrete Minerals range, so depending on which products you want, you might just want to buy them there. 

Warning: Whilst I'm not an avid eye makeup wearer I'm doing my best to get in the swing of things so, take this post as the gentle wanderings of a beginner and over time my views may or may not change (I'll update). Anyway, let's get into this ...

Mineral Eye Shadows

Minerals: The mineral shades have flecks of varying super fine shimmer and shifting colours that are easy to play up or down. In hindsight, I would have rather bought more mineral eyeshadows than pro mattes but, I'm pretty smitten with the two I have to be content (P.Y.T does call me every now and then). If you like duo-chromes and shimmer eyeshadows then Concrete Minerals (CM) shadow may really interest you.

SMUT

Dirty silver with pink and purple undertones

Smut: Who'd want sexy eyes, when you could have smutty ones? No longer is it shameful to be smutty ... well, at least not with an eyeshadow like this. Smut is a smoky grey with an iridescent lavender reflex. True to Concrete Minerals description it's hard to capture the beauty of this shadow. Now, apart from catching a smirk over the name - smut is more than a quick gag, as it's easy to wear and will work with a multitude of skin tones and eye colours. Whenever I get the feeling to wear a CM eyeshadow I naturally gravitate to this as it understated and stunning all at the same time. 

In the left swatch smut looks like a pastel ashy grey but, in the right picture, you can see some of the mesmerising lavender shimmery qualities. To further help document the shading I did a bonus eye swatch so you can see some of the iridescence.

Smut applied on top of e.l.f glitter primer - worn for a good number of hrs on a sweaty evening with hayfever and the odd nap to contend with. This shows how well it holds up even when quickly applied with fingers and against great adversity.

BITCHES BREW

Electric lavender with a golden-orange shift

Bitches Brew: My oh my, what a name ... Well, what do you think happens when an eyeshadow is inspired by Miles Davis classic experimental 1970s album? Excuse granted! Plus, its a duo chrome so that's more reason to fall in love with the ... brew. This shade is filled with electrifying shimmer that sets this pastel lavender ablaze. 

Mile Davis Album Cover

What can I say? I'm impressed by the inspiration and the execution of this shade. The glitter sparkles really set this perhaps insipid pale lavender shade into something really enchanting. Ultimately, Bitches Brew is indeed a real bewitching shade. 

PRO Matte Eye Shadows

Pro Mattes: I was actually pretty disappointed by the shade intensity of CM pro mattes on my bare skin. What I had expected to be vibrant rich pigments turned out to be kinda chalky (white based) shades which blended out to nothing or more rather a lukewarm wash of slightly patchy colour when using a brush. Granted CM recommends using a "deluxe base" with their pro-mattes which I think means a base/eye primer - otherwise, it's pretty hopeless to get an opaque and non-patchy lid unless you pat it on. Soo .. if you're considering purchasing a pro matte shade make sure you have an eye primer in your makeup arsenal and eye brushes at hand to avoid disappointment. 

RISQUE

True Red Matte

Risque: Is a hot spicy red. Risky indeed. 

I'm actually no stranger to red eyeshadows and bought one fairly fresh in the makeup game from Stargazer. Risky reminds me a lot of that shade as it too was on the chalky bright red side and pigmented. One of my main reasons for buying CM shadows was to get Risque, but after trying it out I found myself a lot less excited. Applied to bare skin its bright but suffers from the sin of all CM pro mattes when used alone (patchy & chalky). Thankfully, using a base corrects the crimes against its name but, it does deepen into a less jarring Bordeaux rich red that is much more palatable for my taste. Overall it satisfied my red lust but, I do find myself every now and then pondering over Sugarpill's Love + ...

BULLETPROOF

Electric Matte Blue

Bulletproof: A vibrant blue. 

Again chalky and jarring on my skin but, thankfully with a primer, this turns into a rich deep vibrant deep sea Persian blue. It's so gorgeous and bold. 

TOXIC

Matte lime green

Toxic: A yellowish grassy green.

Everyone seems to know that golds, coppers and bronzes look great on dark skin but, I'd like to add green to the mix too. I know those with red/ginger/auburn hair get first dibs on looking stunning in green but, I think those with dark skin and brown eyes also benefit from this leafy colour. Toxic does not disappoint - like all the pro mattes it deepens with a base so it's not pale and chalky (thankfully).

THRASH

Matte forest green

Thrash: A dark deep green.

This is a smooth bright dark green. The pigmentation is much greater than all the other pro matte eyeshadows and it applies less patchy thus, making it easier to place onto the lid and blend. Whilst it does slightly darken, the pastel like brightness remains true with this one and overall it's less patchy and easy to build colour and blend on the lid.  

Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer

Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Mineral Primer: This is one of the best eye primers I have in my collection (I like it better than this one - click here). The packaging is very hassle-free (screw lid), the formula is very smooth and easy to apply with clean fingers and it really enhances the colour intensity and longevity of eyeshadows. I really love it and would feel comfortable wearing it alone on my eyes as it has a slight shimmer and is so smooth. Don't worry though when using matte eyes shadows the shimmer doesn't obviously show through, although there are glimmers. 

I really enjoy using this as a base with pressed eyeshadows. I don't apply all my makeup with hands but, when I can get away with it - I will. Yet, using this primer and my fingers for loose shadows especially the pro mattes is a no-no ... Other than that, this primer has everything going for it and with a decent brush to pack on colour, it'll be easy to create a full bold and vibrant look, even with loose shadows like the pro mattes. At $12 for an eyeshadow primer that doesn't crease (on the sporadic days I wear eyeshadow) and lasts a really long time it's not a bad deal.

Applied and the blended in. I hope you can see the shimmery golden look it creates to the skin/eyes. Very subtle and dark skin friendly.

e.l.f. Glitter Primer

Glitter Primer: Has a creamy smooth feel and slightly tacky finish. When rubbed into the skin it is virtually undetectable apart from leaving the surface slightly more adhesive for things like glitter and shadows to cling to. Whilst I do adore Concrete Minerals primer and use it as my main eye base when wearing eye makeup - elf's glitter primer also gets a great deal of affection from me. It's not irritating (for me), there's no shimmer, it's well priced £3 (on offer for £1.20 right now), makes eyeshadows more vibrant and works much better at building the colour of CM pro mattes. So I have to give this primer the love it rightly deserves too - especially since the bulk of ingredients are waxes (not vegan) and not a bunch of silicones (perhaps due to snobby illogical preference). This glitter primer doesn't claim to be crease resistant but, I think it does a good job keeping creasing at bay (see smut swatch). 

Now you see it and then you don't!

Testing

From L to R: CM Electric eye primer, e.l.f. glitter eye primer. I used CM on my left eye and e.l.f on my right. I applied the Toxic eyeshadow with my fingers.

Electric Eye Primer (first picture): Balled up from the application. The results are a light wash of colour. In fairness, I had just used Bioderma Hydrobo micellar water to remove my eye makeup so perhaps that explains it balling up. Plus, I used my fingers to apply and pat the shade on ... meh

Glitter Primer (second picture): Patchy but the colour is strong. So if you're in a pinch and have no brushes at hand and want some colour using a sticky base like e.l.f glitter primer will work better. 

Of course, using a brush to do this test would've been better so I did just that below on the inside of my arm to be helpful. The first picture shows the shaddows without any primer and the last shows the pro mattes with a primer. 

CM loose shadows applied with a brush no primer.

Applied CM primer underneath each primer-free swatch and then applied the loose shadows with a brush ... the formula made the colours ball up ... so not great like I said with the loose pro mattes ...

Positives

- No talc 

- Unique/Interesting colours and shades

- Secure and well thought through packaging (good size, professionally labelled, has a shifter)

- Reasonable/well priced

- Good products

Negatives

- Buying from the US takes some time and customs charges

- Pro mattes need a base to become intense

- The primer can ball up perhaps if not blended completely in - takes some smoothing depending on how much you use

*I'll swatch the free samples in another post (still need to test them out)

Have you tried anything from Concrete Minerals?

What're your favourite eyeshadows?

Your comments are always welcomed and appreciated!