L'Oreal HIP Metallic Shadow Duo in Gilded.

i haven't expected to buy yet another gold eyeshadow - i thought i already had all the good ones of 'em ;)
but when i was browsing around for another of the Metallic Shadow Duos of L'Oreal's HIP (High Intensity Pigments) range, i stumbled upon some swatches of #806 Gilded and instantly felt the urge to have it hahaha, i still cannot resist a good gold. it seemed like a great duo, right up my alley.
unfortunately for me, L'Oreal doesn't sell their HIP line here in germany (and if they did, i'm sure only at a ridiculous price point). i was lucky to find this duo offered on ebay, though, at a moderate price (i think i paid 6-7€, shipping included).

its container is simple and opens two ways, in the bottom section there is a little sponge applicator.

the duo itself consists of a intense metallic gold, almost with a foil finish. it has a fine texture and a high pigmentation, it applies opaque in one swipe. i like that it has no orange tones to it. however i find that this eyeshadow doesn't "glide" onto my lids easily like good eyeshadows do. still, it applies evenly and intensely light reflecting.
the other shade is a shimmery rich coffee-brown infused with gold sparkle bits. the gold sparkles won't blend away like in many other similar eyeshadows.
this one feels even more dragging upon application as the other one (as if it contains too much xanthan gum or other binders), i don't like this fact but at least it looks even after proper application.
it has a good pigmentation but is harder to blend than i'd like to, even a bit muddy and grey if one doesn't blend precisely. a soft, fluffy brush can't do much here but once again, my Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush could show off its skills ;)
my other complaint is a bit of very fine, but very stubborn fall out that won't go away unless you remove the foundation/concealer on your cheeks and apply anew, otherwise it will darken your eye area subtly or give you a grey cast.
the shadows last on me without any problems when i apply them over my UDPP.

overall i think this is a nice duo because it houses a beautiful gold eyeshadow and you can do great eye make ups with it. also i think it is a good dupe of some fabulous higher end eyeshadows. but that matter will be discussed below. however i think the quality could be better.

L'Oreal HIP Gilded in natural light

with flashlight: L'Oreal HIP Gilded

two totally different eye make up looks i did with this duo:

#1 - the "subtle" look

for the softer look i used the gold shade on the inner 2/3 of the lid, the dark shade in the outer corner and blended into the crease, also used as a soft liner on the upper lashline. on the lower lashline i had MAC Patina and in the tearduct area a dab of MAC Retrospeck.

with flash:

#2 - the bold look

for the more intense, smokey eye i packed on the dark shade all over the lid and up over the crease to a slightly elliptical shape, i also applied it on the lower lashline. blended out the edges. then i used the gold shade just on the center of the lid, center of the lower lashline and in the most inner corner. on the picture the gold shimmer in the dark shadow looks very apparent, so you can't distinguish the colours, but in real the gold foil effect is just very intense in the center of the lid.

with flash:

comparison

MAC Rose Gold - MAC Mayhem - NARS Etrusque - L'Oreal Gilded - NARS Cordura - Hourglass Dune

MAC Rose Gold - MAC Mayhem - NARS Etrusque - L'Oreal Gilded - NARS Cordura - Hourglass Dune

as you can see, the gold of L'Oreal Gilded is quite a good dupe to my beloved NARS Etrusque, eh? but look at Etrusque, how it's cracked and crumbled at the corner :*((
well, the gold in Gilded is a bit more metallic than Etrusque, and the quality is not as nice.
it's less orange than MAC Mayhem Mineralize Eyeshadow and is lighter and less bronze than MAC Rose Gold Pigment , but almost similar from the finish.
the dark side remembers me of NARS Cordura (the dark brown of the duo, or, in my case, bottom right in the Pleasures of Paris Palette), but is cooler and less red toned than Cordura. it might be similar to NARS' Mekong, i have bought the latter, too, but still am awaiting it so i can't compare yet.
the brown in Gilded is warmer than the dark shade in Hourglass' Dune duo, though. Dune has a green tinge to it which Gilded doesn't.