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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Review: Sally Girl Baked Eyeshadows from Sally Beauty

When I was at my local Sally Beauty last week picking up my free lip gloss, I noticed that Sally's store brand of makeup, Sally Girl, had some new shadows (well, they're new to me because I haven't been in Sally Beauty in a while). Since they were having a deal where you could buy five Sally Girl items and get the 6th one free, I decided to give these a whirl. For $0.99 each ($0.94 if you're a Sally club member) it's hard to pass these up, right?


I've had VERY good luck with Sally Girl's little connecting eyeshadows, which I have reviewed in the past. (FYI, I also love the Sally Girl powder blushes.) So I was hoping to have the same luck with their baked shadows.


As you can see, these babies are small. The pans are roughly the same size as a penny. For a shadow junkie like me, who never hits pan on baked shadows to being with, I was actually happy with the size. These fit in a makeup bag with such ease that you might forget they're even floating around in there!

Even though they're small, I don't find them difficult to work with, and I was able to easily use my trusty e.l.f. eyeshadow brush with these, no problem.

On to some swatches:

From top to bottom:
Sage, Bronze, Light Pink, Dark Green (which is actually a teal), Dark Purple and Silver

Sally Girl Baked Eyeshadows come in twelve shades and you can see them all here (see right-hand sidebar).

I found the pigmentation without primer to be pretty standard for drugstore-level baked shadows. They're sheer, but not invisible. As with some other drugstore-level purple shadows I've encountered in the past, the baked purple shadow in this collection had a harder consistency than the rest, the pigmentation was the weakest and it was also the most matte of the bunch.

For the most part, these are shimmers (although some shades border on metallic) and each has a bit of sparkle. The great thing about the sparkle is that I found it to be VERY fine in texture, and I didn't experience crazy fallout, which was such a relief.


As you can see, over primer, these shadows have great pigmentation. I didn't try these foiled, but according to the reviews on the Sally website, a lot of people really seem to enjoy them foiled (applied with a damp brush).

Now if you look at the reviews on the Sally website, you'll see that these are a HIT. I read just about every review and I was surprised to see how many people adore these and compare them to MAC shadows.

But here's the thing: over primer when swatched on my arm, I am in total agreement with the reviewers. The pigmentation level is amazing and the colors are so rich and vibrant it's hard to believe these are $0.99 shadows.

BUT, when I actually applied these to my eyes (over UDPP), I found that during the blending process, these shadows actually reverted back to their sheer consistency! I didn't get the same vibrancy and pigmentation that you see in the swatches above. I've tried these shadows about four times now, using every shade that I purchased, and every time, they seem to revert back to sheer shadows on my lids, even with the help of primer. I'm not heavy-handed when I blend, so I don't think that's the issue. Perhaps they just don't play nicely with UDPP?

I can't give you a final verdict on these, but what I can tell you is that if you purchase them, try them foiled, and try them with a few different primers. Perhaps you'll find the perfect combination to make these work for you, but as of now, they are not working for me when used with UDPP.

I'm not jumping ship on these just yet, but I'm thinking maybe you need to pack these onto your lids, as opposed to swiping or brushing them on. I will certainly update you if/when I find a better method of application that is able to maintain the vibrancy I got when I swatched them on my arm.

As far as inexpensive baked shadows go, I'm still in love with the Jesse's Girl collection and would rate them number one on my list. The pigmentation and vibrancy do not diminish on my eyes, no matter which primer I use.

TEMPORARY VERDICT: I'll keep trying to make these work by using them foiled, and with a different primer. As of now, they don't work for me using UPDD because I find they revert back to sheer shadows the minute I start blending them. Hopefully I can find a way to make these work, because I find the colors to be quite pretty, and I'm VERY pleased that the sparkle in these shadows is fine in texture and I haven't experienced heavy-duty fallout during application. Also, the price is definitely right.

Have you tried these Sally Girl Baked Eyeshadows? If so, have you found a way to make them work for you? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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18 comments

  1. Great review, I'll be checking these out!

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  2. Those look amazing over UDPP, but it's disappointing to hear they fade away when applied. Have you tried using UDPP then using a base like NYX jumbo pencils or Pixie Epoxy? They would probably work better with a base! I need to go find these now!

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  3. What a coincidence! I just bought these yesterday!
    I haven't had the time to try them over UDPP or using the foiling method but I applied them ontop of TooFaced Eyeshadow Insurance with my fingers and I get the same amount of pigmentation as your over-primer-swatches!
    Not an ideal method of application but it's better than layering with a brush :)

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  4. I've had these for a while - they are little gems! I really like them, and the price is hard to beat!

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  5. These do stay on better if you foil them. I have about every color!

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  6. Just W.O.W at the pigmentation over UDPP!

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  7. Tara: Thanks! :)

    Kimberly: Good idea! I will definitely give that a whirl and see how it goes. Thank you! xo

    Ashley: I would have never thought to use my fingers, but now I can't wait to try that! Thank you, hun!

    ShakeupYourMakeup: Oooh, can you tell me your method for application and what primer you use? Thanks!

    ashwillis83: That settles it. I need to try foiling them. Thanks!

    Aya: I know, right? It's crazy! ;)

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  8. I have all of these as well and I glued them onto a blank CD to make a "palette" of the colors! I find it more difficult to apply with a brush, so when I do use them I use my fingers!

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  9. When I want maximum pigmentation I use these in 1 of 2 ways: foiled or over a corresponding shade of cream shadow. Both of those methods give me excellent color payoff and great staying power. But I sometimes where them more sheer at times too(like to church, lol). I have every single shade and LOVE them.

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  10. Kim: what a cute idea! :) You're the second person to say they apply these with their fingers--can't wait to try it. Thanks!

    Samantha: Thank you so much! I can't wait to try them foiled, and I'll use a jumbo pencil underneath too. Hopefully that does the trick!

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  11. I bought one of these about a year ago and after one use, the eyeshadow disc (or whatever you want to call it) came completely apart from the packaging and it ended up flopping around on it's own within the container.

    I also applied it with my fingers.

    -papayabunny

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  12. Hmm...I might need to get my hands on Sage. It looks lovely. Thanks for reviewing/swatching these.

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  13. Please apply these with a damp applicator. Seriously-you won't believe the intense pigmentation of these. Try it! I would love to see an update w/pics if you do!

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  14. I have two of these and i found that they don't apply well with a brush. I use my finger or a sponge applicator and they stay on pretty well with UDPP.

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  15. I have this in bronze and love it but found that if I removed it from it's original container and put it in a jar then break the color up (so it's like a loose shadow) it works better but not by much. These baked shadows by Sally Girl remind me of Hard Candy's baked shadows and I have the same problem - not as vibrant and well pigmented on the eyes.

    I think I'll try it with Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy next.

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  16. I have the bronzey one and I really like it.
    I also use my fingers and out it over Tarte Lifted Natural Eye Primer or Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer.

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  17. I have almost all of these, and I love getting them wet and using them as eyeliner!

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  18. I have found that these shadows work MUCH better for me if I apply them with my fingertips. Normally this ruins my eye shadow pallets, but since these are only 99 cents I think it's worth it. I'll just buy more!

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