Review: New Almay intense i-color smoky-i kit for brown eyes

Before I get into this review, I want to make a point to thank all of you who said that you remember this product from the 80s. I LOVED reading your comments on this post about how you either remember owning these palettes, or that you remember your moms owning this palettes! The moment I saw this new display, it was like I had hopped into a time machine and was looking at my makeup stash from 1987! And I'm SO glad I'm not the only one!

I am thrilled that Almay brought these back, and even though they're not exactly like they were in the 80s, they're very close.  When I finally saw the display at my local CVS, I bought one immediately because I just HAD to see how they compare to my memory of the original version:

Almay intense i-color smoky-i kit

for brown eyes

(retail: around $6)

These pictures above are EXTREMELY accurate in terms of color. I just held the palette up to my monitor and the colors are pretty much spot-on. I'm very happy that I can show you exactly what this palette looks like in real life (for once!).

Here are some swatches taken with and without primer:

 

(primer used: Jesse's Girl Eyeshadow Primer)

As you can see, the kit for brown eyes contains some very wearable, universal shades that would look good on a variety of skintones. They're definitely safe-for-work shades that are just made for daytime looks, in my opinion.  I like to think of this palette as "the no-brainer". If you're running late and you just need something on your eyes in order to look pulled-together, this is the palette for YOU.

This was a look I did WITHOUT primer. I used all three colors in this palette, and I used them in the exact order they appear in the palette.  It's hard to see in photos, but the lovely icey-violet taupe shade (the crease shade in the palette) really provides a softness to the overall look that I just love. To me, it's the perfect shade for transitioning from the bronzey-brown lid to the cream highlighter.

As for the shadows themselves, I don't think Almay reinvented the wheel with the texture or consistency, but I think these shadows are of higher quality than other Almay shadows I've used over the past few years. I found them easy to pick up on my brush and easy to apply (although I was a tiny bit surprised by the sparkle that was visible on my eyes--you can't really see sparkle in the pan). But the sparkle is not really big or chunky so it didn't bother me much.  I also found these VERY easy to blend.

The pigmentation of these shadows is light-to-medium on their own. They would do much better with a primer (as you can see in my swatches) BUT, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that after seven hours of wear, these babies were still hanging in there:

Not too bad for applying them with NO primer beforehand, right? No severe creasing, fading or migration!

I also want to let any of you who might be concerned with the size of the strips of shadow in these palettes  know that I didn't find a problem with them at all. In fact, the width of the smaller strips (the violet-taupe and the cream shade) are the EXACT width of my trusty $1 e.l.f. eyeshadow brush. So you can run that brush right down the strip with no problems at all.

Final verdict: If you need a "no-brainer" palette for your work week that contains three wearable colors that you can actually use on a daily basis, I would consider this product. Wear it without primer for a softer look, or with primer for a more intense look. Either way, I think these are some universally appealing shades that would work with just about anyone, except for maybe those with deeper skintones. If you have a deeper skintone, I would suggest using a primer first so that the colors are more vibrant. If you're an NC30 or below, I think you can get away with not using a primer first.

And if you can get this on sale (and you have coupons) then DEFINITELY, by all means, give it a go!

Do you already own a new Almay intense i-color smoky-i kit? Are you thinking about getting one? I'd love to hear from you!