Review: New L'Oreal The One Sweep Eyeshadow

The time is here, my friends! When I first saw this product over a month ago I knew I had to try it, so when I spotted it at my CVS recently, I purchased the trio with the lovely taupe-ish shade. I've been testing it out for several days now and I'm ready to give you my verdict!

When I first showed you pics of this display, so many of you cried "Gimmick!". Even though I kind of knew deep down inside that this probably wouldn't work, I'm a sucker for gimmicks so I had to try it for myself.

So...does it work? Keep reading to find out!

L'Oreal The One Sweep Eyeshadow in Natural for Brown Eyes

(retail: $8.99)

In the above collage, I put the applicator next to a bottle of L'oreal polish just for perspective so that you can get an idea of the size of this applicator (it's large!). I like the packaging of this shadow, and I appreciate that it comes with a mirror.

After studying the directions for a minute or two, I was ready to give it a try. I documented my first encounter so here we go:

The directions say to start with your right eye, so that's exactly what I did. Unfortunately, after my first swipe, I realized that because of the angle at which I held the applicator to the shadow, I only covered the tip of the applicator with product and 90% of the applicator had no shadow on it. Scared to go back and swipe again (for fear of blending the colors already on the applicator) I decided to just go for it and swipe this baby across my lid.

As you can see, the results were less than stellar. OK, on to the LEFT EYE:

When you do your left eye, you simply flip the applicator, turn it upside down and swipe up, instead of down, on the shadows. I learned from my mistake on my first eye and this time I held the applicator so that shadow would be deposited all over the sponge (see second photo above). I thought this was do the trick but, I was wrong. Very wrong. I actually think it looked better on my right eye! What do you think?

After using this shadow over five times now, I've come to the conclusion that it simply does not work for me. Aaaah! I can hear your "I told you so" as I type this!

In my opinion, this has to be one of the worst gimmicks I've ever seen come out of a drugstore. What adds insult to injury is that the shadows are just so lightly pigmented that no matter what I do, I cannot really see them on my eyes when I use the accompanying applicator.

And speaking of the applicator, my main source of frustration lies in getting that thing 100% clean after every use. If you don't clean it off, then the three shades are going to blend together more and more every time you use it, until there will be no distinction between the shades at all (thus defeating the entire purpose of the product).

Never one to give up, I decided to throw the applicator out the window put the applicator aside and just use my regular brushes to apply these shadows. AND use a primer beforehand. I mean, they're still eyeshadows, so I really wanted to see if I could make them work somehow:

No, no, and no! It's hard to tell in these pics, but these shadows are so frosty and the colors so "blah" that it really gives my eyes a dated look. I don't like these shadows at all, and not just because of the dated finish and colors. I don't like them because even with Urban Decay Primer Potion, the pigmentation was nothing to write home about. Weak pigmentation and a frosty finish? that's a combo I will most certainly be returning to my friendly CVS cashier.

Final Verdict: No matter what I tried, I could not make The One Sweep work for me. It did not live up to its promise of "one sweep eye color" and the sponge applicator is impractical due to the fact that you must clean it completely before each use. On their own, I found the shadows to be too frosty and the colors uninspired. Also, using your favorite shadow brush is difficult because the color strips are narrow (especially the darkest shade). It's virtually impossible to avoid picking up the middle color onto your brush when you're trying to use the darkest shade. I say run, don't walk, right past these when you see them. Not worth the trouble or the price. I have a funny feeling that we'll be seeing these this time next year at the CVS beauty clearance sale.

PS: If you're looking for a new "no-brainer" shadow trio that comes with corresponding lid, crease and highlight colors, I strongly recommend these over The One Sweep.