L'Oreal HiP (High Intensity Pigments)

For a few months now I have noticed the vibrant ads for L'Oreal's new HiP line on the pages and back covers of all of the fashion and beauty magazines. I definately have a bias against "drugstore cosmetics" being as for the most part they don't last as long as higher brands, nor are all of them made with as high quality ingredients. Don't get me wrong, there are definately a few drugstore winners, but usually they are few and far between. Nonetheless, I have been intrigued by the HiP line, mostly due to the fact that the shades are extremely bold and shocking. This week, when I ran to Ulta, I saw that they were on sale for half off. I took this as an opportunity to test them out and see just how much high pigment are in these babies.

I'll start with the Pure Pigment Shadow Stick because that is the one I ended up liking more. I chose the striking silver shade Dazzling 928. Since I've been on a metallics kick since my encounter with the Chanel Lumiere D'Artifices, I thought this might be just what I needed. My first complaint about this product is the shape of the stick. It is like trying to take a piece of chalk and using it to cover your eyelids. Trying to get it into the corners of my eyes without getting onto parts of my skin that were to remain eyeshadow free was quite a tast. The L'Oreal HiP website recommends that you use a sharpener to shade the pigment stick before you use it. Does anyone else think that this is an absurd waste of product? Much of the pigment will be wasted as shredding in order to shape the stick. Genius idea on L'Oreal's part in ensuring that consumers will go through the product quickly thus requiring them to purchase more. Anyways, as I applied the pigment to my eye (yes, eye...I decided to use the pigment stick on one eye and the loose pigment on the other to see which one had more staying power) I was very happy with what I saw. The color was extremely bold and vibrant. I applied this dry, yet it still had a very sheen metallic look to it. The color also made my blue eyes pop. Downside? It only lasted about 2 hours. And this was 2 hours of lounging around my apartment watching television and surfing the web. This was not 2 hours of running around, working up a sweat, rubbing my eyes, etc. After 2 hours it looked like I had simply rimmed my eye as opposed to covering the entire lid. Now, I am not the kind of girl who likes to touch up her make-up. I want to put it on in the morning and know that I won't have to look in the mirror for the next 10-12 hours. While I did like the look and feel of the Pure Pigment Stick immediately after I put it on, I cannot say that I will be using this product regularly in the future.

Next up, the Shocking Shadow Pigment. There weren't a lot of shades to choose from as most were sold out. I chose the Intrepid 914 shade. The shade is hard to describe. Looking at the swatches available online, it appears to be a reddish-pink shade. In person, it appears more reddish-brown. It was a nice looking shade, but since it was darker, it did not make my blue eyes pop the same way the silver shade did. It is clear that L'Oreal is trying to recreate the MAC Pigments in a drugstore cosmetic product. The name "pigments" as well as the container 100% resemble the MAC brand. Unfortunately, the staying power and the coverage do not match. L'Oreal is not even close to being comparable with MAC pigments. Not that I was expecting that. As I applied the shadow, I was suprised by how thin it was. The coverage was almost non-existant. After 5 coats (yes, FIVE), I was able to see enough of the product and left it at that. It did not come close to the coverage afforded by the Pure Pigment Stick. Even worse, this shadow only lasted for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The shadow was completely gone after that time. It didn't even look like I had rimmed my eye with the product like the pigment stick did. The only good thing I can say about this product was the "professional brush" that came with the product. Now, this was no way a "professional brush" in comparison with those from MAC, NARS, Bare Escentuals, Sephora, etc. However, as far as drugstore cosmetics go, this one is one of the best brushes I have ever seen. The brush hairs were extremely soft and did not fall off the handle. While I will not be using the shadow again (it's already been tossed), I will keep the brush on hand. It is about 3 or 4 inches long making it the perfect size to throw in my to-go cosmetic bag.

Anyone else have any opinions? Feel free to comment and let us all know. But as for me, I'll be sticking with MAC's pigment line from now on.