Product Description

What these are: Almay Shadow Softies have a hypoallergenic, “whipped powder” formula that is supposed to feel super lightweight and “cushiony soft” while offering a sheer, crease-free wash of color.

Price/Quantity: About $5 for 2g / 0.07 oz.

Availability: Drugstores, Ulta, Target, Walmart (in store only), CVS, Walgreens, Amazon.com

Shade Range: 12 Shades

• Creme Brulee – Iridescent pale peach. Looks peachy in the pan but is mostly just a sheer wash of pale golden iridescence on the skin.
• Cashmere – Mostly-matte pale yellow. Sheer but does show up and lighten up my lid a bit.
• Honeydew – Iridescent pale yellow-green. Sheer wash of pale yellow-green iridescence.
• Moss – Golden-olive shimmer. Good color payoff, easy to build up. Has more of a frosty shimmer finish.
• Seafoam – Baby blue shimmer. Good color payoff, easy to build up. Not quite as shimmery as Moss.
• Midnight Sky – Dark blue with a satin finish. Semi sheer but builds up easily.
• Lilac – Pale purple shimmer. Sheer but easy to build up.
• Vintage Grape – Mostly-matte dark purple. Very sheer and doesn’t build up very easily.
• Hot Fudge – Mostly-matte chocolate brown. Sheer but easy to build up.
• Smoke – Mostly-matte dark taupe. Sheer but buildable.
• Peach Fuzz – Mostly-matte light orange. Sheer but easy to build up.
• Petal – Mostly-matte pale pink. Sheer but builds up easily when swatched. Seems harder to build up on the lid.

Packaging: These come cased individually in plastic, dark grey snap-shut compacts. They are easy to open and close and they stay shut securely. The tops and bottoms of each eyeshadow are completely flat so you can stack them together.

Smell/Fragrance: None.

Performance

All of these feel incredibly silky smooth to the touch. They have a soft, squishy consistency that falls somewhere between a powder and a cream formula. They mostly feel like a powder but they have a moldable quality to them and will become deformed if you press too hard on them.

The pigmentation is pretty sheer but they apply evenly. Usually sheer eyeshadows bother me because they make me feel as if I’m being ripped off but because they apply evenly I enjoy how quick and easy they are to work with. They blend very easily as well and make excellent eyeshadow bases. My lids have a tendency to look dry so the creamy formula works really well for me. If your eyeshadows crease easily, then I’d recommend using a primer like NYX HD Eye Shadow Base underneath to prevent creasing.

The best way I found to work with these was to first apply color with fingers, then go back in with brushes to get more precision in the crease, along the lash line, or in the inner corner. Using my fingers was the best way to get the strongest color payoff and using a brush was best for getting a smooth blend in the crease and between colors.

These are not irritating in the least to my eyes. I’m not particularly prone to eye irritation but I do find that some eyeshadows tend to cause a tiny bit more eye redness than others. These have been some of the most gentle I’ve tried. They don’t make my eyes red and they don’t cause any itching on the skin either.

The biggest pitfall these have is that they don’t last long. On unprimed eyes, these last about 3 hours before starting to show minor creasing. I can get them to last about 6 hours if I wear them over a primer and with powder eyeshadow on top.

Worth Buying?

Even though these don’t last long, there’s a lot about these that I like enough to look past that. They sit really nicely on the lid, blend really easily and can be applied quickly with just my fingers. I love that they come in a fun range of colors and can be used as eyeshadow bases to help intensify powder eyeshadows. The iridescent shades are especially beautiful and have a different kind of shimmer than what I usually find in powder eyeshadows. The things that some people may not like are that they are pretty sheer, don’t come in very many neutral shades, and they can crease early in the day especially if you have oilier lids.

Most of the shades are good enough quality that they are worth picking up but a two of them were so sheer that I kind of regret buying them. Cashmere was buildable but was such a light shade that it barely showed up on my lids at all. Vintage grape was the only one I’d call a dud. For being such a dark shade it was incredibly sheer and pretty much not buildable at all.

Product Description

Official Product Info: Almay.com
Price/Quantity: About $6 USD for 7.1 mL
Availability: Drugstores, Target, Ulta
Color Range: 10 Shades
Color/Finish: Apricot Pucker is a semi-sheer bright coral. It has no sparkle and gives the lips a soft shine rather than the glassy, reflective look of a gloss. This color looks a lot brighter in the tube than it does on the lips.
Packaging: Lipgloss-style tube with a doe-foot applicator. I think that having a balm in this type of tube is more convenient for carrying around in your purse because it will not melt and break in the heat like a traditional lip balm stick would.
Smell/Taste: This shade had a light fruity fragrance that reminded me of starburst candy but it didn’t taste like anything.

Performance

Application: Apply it just like you would a lip gloss.
Texture: It did feel a little heavy on my lips and was ever so slightly sticky to the touch (if you touch it with your fingers or if your hair accidentally catches on it) but it did not feel sticky in the way that a Mac Lipglass does, where your lips almost stick to each other. It was just quite thick. It stayed evenly distributed on my lips and did not slide around or gather in one spot even if I pressed my lips together. These are definitely more moisturizing than a lip gloss but they aren’t nearly as moisturizing as my Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment or Jack Black Lip Balm.
Longevity: This lasted about 2 and a half hours before the color and moisture faded.

Overall Opinion

Pros:

• Moisturizing
• Convenient to carry around, even in hot weather where traditional lip balm sticks would melt and break
• Add a sheer tint of color
• Decent color selection
• Smells nice

Cons:

• A tiny bit sticky/heavy feeling

Would I buy this again? This is one of those products that isn’t bad but it doesn’t blow me away either. There are so many lip balms and glosses on the market but I like the convenience of the packaging, the price, and the range of colors so I would buy it again.