Max Factor Excess Shimmer Bronze

There was much talk about these a few months ago, though I feel that the hype had subsided by now, these remained in the back of my mind as being a nice drugstore buy. When I first saw the full price of these, I swiftly recoiled and focused on the rest of the Max Factor stand, but when I got a not so shy discount coupon, this eyeshadow was the first to land in my shopping basket. There were four shades available here and two caught my attention. The lighter taupe-champagne shade called Copper and this one called Bronze. Since the former was out of stock, I got this, which was my first choice anyway.

Bronze is a medium-deep warm brown shade with some bronze tones in it and gold shimmer. I think this would be a great shade on all eye colours, especially blue as it would emphasize it. It's quite a dark shade, so it's better for smoky eyes, though if you decide to wear only a sheer wash, it could be an everyday shade for those who are comfortable with such a look. 

The texture is very soft, almost like a cross between a mousse and a liquid eyeshadow, so the lightest touch of the surface with a finger leaves you with tons of colour. I would advise to apply this gradually, with lots of blending between applications to get a nice soft focus blend at the edges. It's difficult to apply in such a way that the lid is covered with an opaque coat of eyeshadow as firstly you need a lot of layers if you want a nicely blended look and secondly this creases. You'll see on my eyes how remarkably beautiful it looks when my eyes are open, but it looks patchy once they're closed. It doesn't look like that at first and I was quite disappointed to see all my blending work, which wasn't easy, erased by tiny creases that appear after about a minute. It all depends on the thickness of the eyeshadow coat, so light layers work a lot better, but I just wanted that nice liquid metal effect and with this it doesn't really work. I do love it as a nice wash of colour though and I still think this is a product that works best as a base rather than an individual eyeshadow.

Staying power is difficult to determine because it depends on how you perceive durability. Do you mean how long does the eyeshadow look intact, so with no creases or do you just care how long any colour remains on the lids? If you care about the latter, then it lasts long enough to get you through the day, but it won't look pretty. As I said before, I'd definitely put an eyeshadow over it because in that case you'll get a nice intense eyeshadow look paired with nice staying power.

I tend to apply these with fingers, though it's possible to use a brush, however, I just feel that with a brush it's ever messier. I apply the colour with a finger on the lid and then tap outwards, finishing with a blending brush around the edges for I get a nice haze of colour.  

I applied a thicker coat on my pictures, because I presume most would buy this eyeshadow to get that liquid metal effect. If you apply it more as a wash, it doesn't look as creased, but it does crease.

I general, I'm not as impressed by this as with Maybelline's Color Tattoos. They are definitely messier and they crease, but I am completely in love with this shade because I think it compliments my eye colour so well. I've been pairing it with Smog eyeshadow from the Urban Decay Naked palette, though that one is definitely a more gold shade than this and would really like to find an eyeshadow that would match this one from Max Factor.

These cost 9.99 € in DM. Are they worth it? Only if you really like the shade and you plan to use it as a base. Otherwise I'd go with Maybelline's Tattoos.

Have a great day!