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Monday, January 21, 2013

Review: New Wet n Wild Fergie Centerstage Collection Eyeshadow Palettes

Continuing my series of reviews covering all of the new Wet n Wild 2013 releases, today I'd like to talk about the Fergie eyeshadow 5-pans, which are now available at Walgreens. I've seen some not-so-favorable reviews of these new eyeshadows, so let's see how they worked for me...

Wet n Wild Fergie Centerstage Collection Eyeshadow Palettes
(retail: $4.99 each at Walgreens, 0.19 oz)

Keep reading for my full review...

Notice how the packaging indicates that these palettes contain "intensely-pigmented shadows in a range of textures from translucent highlights to subtle mattes to shimmering glitters." I think it's important to note that Wet n Wild states that some of these shadows are "translucent" and "subtle".


Each compact comes with a curved, double-sided sponge tip applicator, which is nice since some of these shadows apply more easily with a sponge applicator vs. a brush.

There are four different palettes in this collection so let's start with Dutchess Lounge:

Dutchess Lounge
Left: over bare skin
Right: over Wet n Wild Fergie Take On The Day Eyeshadow Primer

I thought it would be fitting to use the new Fergie primer with these shadows (click here for my full review of that primer). But as you can see, the colors that were already vivid without primer didn't really change over primer, whereas the colors that really could have benefited from a good primer didn't become terribly more intensified with primer. But let's keep in mind that Wet n Wild calls the highlighter shades "transluscent" (see the silver swatch above) and the matte shades "subtle" (see purple swatch above).  I'll further discuss this at the end of my review.

As for the colors in this palette, I was a bit disappointed that the lovely shimmery eggplant shade becomes so dark, when applied to the eye, that it might as well be black. So the biggest disappointment in this palette, for me, was that you essentially get three dark shadows that all look pretty much the same on the eye.

Next up, Desert Festival:

(apologies for this photo--I actually started to use this palette and then instantly remembered that I had not yet photographed it, so any imperfections you see on the surface were due to me and my horrible memory)

Desert Festival

 
Left: over bare skin
Right: over Wet n Wild Fergie Take On The Day Eyeshadow Primer

Overall, this palette performed better with primer than Dutchess Lounge. I think that most of the shades in Desert Festival became more vibrant over primer, although the champagne nude shade, which I was very excited about, really didn't show up on my skintone at all. Since the highlighters in these palettes are "translucent" and the color of that shadow is already close to my skintone, it's just didn't get any better, no matter how much primer I used or how much I packed it on.

Next up, Metropolitan Nights:

Metropolitan Nights

Left: over bare skin
Right: over Wet n Wild Fergie Take On The Day Eyeshadow Primer

I wanted to love this palette. But I'm afraid that, without primer, the two colors I really wanted to love the most (the gold and golden-taupe) were so weakly pigmented that even with primer, they didn't work for me. And as with Dutchess Lounge, we've also got a few colors in this palette that are so similar in nature that they both essentially read as black when on the eye.

And finally we have Maldives Sky:

Maldives Sky

Left: over bare skin
Right: over Wet n Wild Fergie Take On The Day Eyeshadow Primer

The name of this palette is so beautiful and conjures such gorgeous imagery. However, the reality of this palette was quite the opposite for me. Again, I've been keeping in mind that the mattes are supposed to be "subtle" (per the packaging) but I just can't stop myself from comparing them to the Coloricon mattes, which are so much better overall. As you can see above, primer did help boost a few of these shades (teal being the biggest improvement) but I was really expecting a more dramatic increase in pigment when worn over primer.

Texture and consistency: I found the shadows in all four palettes to be quite dry, quite difficult to pick up with a brush (I did have better luck with the accompanying sponge applicator) and chalky when applied to the eye.  There were a few exceptions and I found some shadows less dry than others, but if we're going to compare these to the Coloricon shadows (how can we not?) then I'm going to go ahead and say that they're all considerably more dry in texture and they lack the pigmentation and butter-like smoothness that we've come to expect from Coloricon shadows.

Finish and pigmentation: As I've repeated throughout this review, I believe that Wet n Wild was quite accurate in describing the highlight shades as "translucent" and the mattes as "subtle". However, they also said that these shadows are "intensely-pigmented" and that is where I have to disagree. With very few exceptions, I found these shadows to have weak pigmentation, especially when compared to the Coloricon eyeshadows.

Staying power: Without primer, most of these shadows lasted 2-3 hours on my oily skin before I started to see some major fading/creasing. With the Fergie Primer, however, these shadows performed much, much better, lasting a good eight hours before fading/creasing.

FINAL VERDICT: I think that Wet n Wild may have wanted to separate these shadows from the Coloricon range and give us something special with this collection. However, I think that the attempt to give us something different and great ultimately failed on all accounts. Wet n Wild set the bar very high with their Coloricon shadows, and I think that this line of shadows could have been a huge hit if they had just used the same Coloricon formula, but with new, unique shades that we've never seen before. Instead, it pains me to say that the Fergie Centerstage eyeshadows were a major disappointment for me, with their dry texture and weak pigmentation. They're almost the exact opposite of the Coloricon 8-pans, which, as we all know, generally have super pigmentation and a buttery-soft formula. Sorry, folks, but I just can't recommend these.

The Wet n Wild Fergie Centerstage Collection is a permanent addition to the Wet n Wild line and can be found at Walgreens.

Do you own any Fergie Centerstage eyeshadow palettes? If so, I would absolutely love to hear if you had a similar, or opposite, experience with them.

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.
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28 comments

  1. Desert Festival is the bomb!! I love it! The orange was the one that drew me to the pan but all the colors are awesome. The pigment is what I expected from WnW....heavy and divine!

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    1. I agree! I have the same palette and it worked really well for me over UD Primer Potion.

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    2. I love the Desert Festival, too. Likewise - the orange did it for me!

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  2. how disappointing. I loved the color icon shadows too so i'm sad to hear this new formula was sub-par.

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  3. I used the new WnW primer and I didn't buy the other colors...they were so similar to the 8 pans and I scored the Holiday ones too.

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  4. After reading this and seeing emilynoel83 doing her video review, I feel fine skipping them. I never did find the recent set of 8-pan shadows that. I wanted so badly but I guess I just have to live without them.

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  5. I'm with you on the Metro Nights: I'd been eye-ing it at Walgreens, for the gold and the taupe shades -- two loves of mine -- but this isn't grabbing me enough. I went online looked at the Drew Barrymore Flower brand offerings online, and I am more interested in her eye shadow quads; a couple of those look really pretty, and for a couple bucks more made in the USA, not China. (I hope you'll be reviewing a couple Flower quads ... hint, hint...)

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  6. After reading your review and Musings of a Muse, I'm not going to hunt these down. I love the Coloricon shadows, so I'm very disappointed!

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  7. I haven't been able to find the fergie display but I will definitely pick up at least one of the palettes

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  8. The only one that sort of piques my interest is the Desert Festival palette; otherwise, what a bummer (but I'm glad we have the opportunity these days to check reviews before shopping and potentially wasting money). On an unrelated note, does anyone know of a decent yellow eyeshadow for a reasonable price?

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    1. I guess my first pick would be satin, but I'll happily take any recommendations you can offer. Thanks so much!

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  9. I was looking at these at Rite Aid on Saturday and I am so glad I allowed myself to be talked out of picking these up until I read your review. Totally gonna skip

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  10. Maldives Sky was the only palette that appealed to me--I pounced on it, but the others just didn't look like they'd work with my coloring. While the pigmentation seems ample to me, I should note that I'm pretty pale and it doesn't take much color to really pop on me. I've used this with the Fergie primer and liked the results, but for people who aren't as washed out as I am, YMMV.

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  11. I saw these today in my local Walgreens and passed until you reviewed them. I've read others, but I find that your reviews are 100% on the mark for me, even though I have dry skin. Yeah, I'll stick to the ColorIcon palettes.

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  12. I'll pass... I got the shimmer blush shade thing, sorry it isn't by me, and mix it with other blushes and love it. Nothing else grabbed me.

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  13. I don't think you are wrong about these eyeshadow palettes.I have not purchased any of the Fergie line yet, though I spotted it before reading your whole new posts proposal of the launch for this line. I am also upset to hear such bad news about this line. I've seen 3 reviews on YT and man they were all negative. I really don't get why they decided to not use the Coloricon formula. I only buy Wet n Wild eyeshadows in drugstores because I have so many bad luck with other drugstore brands that is more expensive. Oh btw, I heard that the Fergie eyeliner isn't that good either. If I am not wrong, you have not done the review right? I would love to hear yours. Overall, I sometimes feel that many would be fool in buying a product just because of a famous celebrity name on it, but the product itself is not worth while to buy. Just like the Kroma beauty line thing from the Kardashian sisters, I've seen many reviews and none that worth buying.

    Thank you for ur review! I wish that Wet and Wild continue to produce more Coloricon palettes and put them in permanent line. I am so disappointed that I never got my hand on the latest LE ones.

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  14. The biggest disappointment for me was the color selection, and it seems to be a consistent problem with everything in the "Fergie" line. Just so blah and boring. Way too many charcoals and blacks.. every single palette has one, and there are a total of eight across the four palettes. Almost a total absence of brown, which would have been much more complementary for many of the palettes.. as well as making them much more versatile. Of the few actual colors none are unique, and most are poor quality. Desert Festival is really the only one that has a decent selection of colors, and it would have been much more appropriate for release last year when the focus was on "tangerine". There are so many other products that use similar colors that were released that I have no interest in this one.

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  15. I bought desert festival, but returned it after discovering how different the formula is from the "originals wnw coloricons" when I read the ingredients, they were different than the original- if I remember correctly- they were paraben free..

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  16. I was so disappointed in these too. I'm not glad that you didn't like them, exactly, but I'm sort of relieved to know that I'm not crazy and the quality really is that poor.

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  17. I am glad you kept your review honest. I saw the line at Walgreens, but like one of the commenter mentioned "Way too many charcoals and blacks". I did not understand why. I get that Fergie is edgy and cool, but I am sure she has her days when she wants to look beautifully natural. They should had had a mixture of metallic (with the original 8 pan palette quality eyeshadows), and a complete matte collection of eyeshadows for daily wear. The only thing I bought was the primer because I want to compare/review it to my udpp. WnW missed a great opportunity to showcase something out of the norm... What a shame...

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  18. I have Maldives Sky, and I am not impressed. I have come to expect such great shadows from Wet N Wild and thought these would be on par. It's just not pigmented enough for me. And you're right about the formula-very dry and hard to pick up with a brush.

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  19. I cannot find any of these!!! i really want to try them!

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  20. I'm sad that Metro Nights has such a sheer gold, I've been looking for such a long time for a palette with black, gold, and silver together! I guess I should just get a palette with switchable pans, but they are so much money.

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  21. Desert festival looks amazing!!

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