Review: L'Oreal HiP Shadow Duo in Gilded

I have to be honest, I don't usually do drugstore makeup. I am a loyal Sephora nerd. So if one of my bffsters (thanks Holly!) hadn't given me this shadow for Christmas, I probably would never have tried this shadow, and that would be a shame.

L'Oreal HiP Metallic Shadow Duo in Gilded, $8 at drugstore.com:

I didn't actually buy this shadow, but the price is right. You get a significant amount of each shade for $8. It looks small here, but the compact is pretty big. That said, I hate the packaging. The top half is fine, but there's an empty compartment under the shadows themselves that holds a mirror and a brush. First off, the compact itself is freakishly hard to open (so. annoying). The included brush, a basic foam-headed tester brush thing, sucks, and why do I need a mirror in my shadow compact? Is my shadow going to migrate so much that I need a mirror for touchups? If they just eliminated the bottom half of the compact, it would be so much better. As for the shadow itself, it's actually pretty darn good. I had low expectations, but both shadows are INTENSELY pigmented, finely ground, and super-long lasting. Because they're so pigmented, it can be hard to get a sheerer wash of shadow. The swatches above are pretty accurate. The gold side is extremely gold and extremely metallic, almost to the point where it's too gold. It takes a little bit of effort, but you can work the gold side into a really pretty look. The dark side is another story. It's this brown/gray hybrid that's really cool with silver shimmer. I have really warm skin, so the coolness is a bit of a problem for me. It's also very dark, and again, it's super-pigmented. You need to blend it A LOT and it works best for me when layered over another, lighter brown/gray as a contouring color. So, these take a bit of effort to work with, but I think they're worth it. The color payoff is extreme, the lasting power is phenomenal, they go on smoothly, and there's no glitter fallout. That's pretty good for an $8 shadow. I'd give it a 7/10.

L'Oreal HiP Color Rich Cream Eyeliner in Eggplant, $12 at drugstore.com:

I haven't actually tried this, but it got a 9/10 at Blogdorf Goodman, so it has to be awesome. I've heard the inclosed brush sucks, so try it with a decent, thin brush before judging it. And how gorgeous is that metallic plum? It's dark enough for definition, but so much brighter than the typical brown/black.
Image Sources:

Gilded: drugstore.com, makeupalley.com, makeupalley.com
Liner: makeupalley.com