Face Time Well-To-Hue Eye Shadow

Niche perfume and niche makeup are not equal. I have very few positive things to say about mass market fragrances of the last decade (I still buy an occasional vintage bottle, though). However, very often the same companies make the best makeup or skin care items. And while I'm always happy to try and find new favorites among the smaller cosmetics and makeup brands, I have yet to to be fully wowed and converted by them. Still, some of these lines are better than others

Face Time is one such company, created by NY entrepreneur Linsey Snyder. The concept behind the line is makeup items that are easy to coordinate, free of fads and ugly trends, and focused on making the wearer look pretty. That alone is a good enough reason to celebrate. They even offer a foolproof system: Beauty In A Box, a full collection of matching items, that includes everything one needs to make her face. They will even help you make a custom box according to your needs.

As cute as the boxes are, I chose to go a la carte. After all, I have absolutely no need of another black eyeliner pencil or mascara. I can also survive without a new blush for the time being (the noise you're hearing is the shelves and drawers that hold my makeup sighing with relief. Yes, my storage system has emotions). Today we'll talk about about eye shadows.

I chose two, Lauren's Loyalty and Jamie's Gem. The former is described as "oyster", or in plain English", beige. I hoped for a highlighter, but instead got a very sheer, gently shimmering wash that looks identical in color to my skin. It's not really the eye shadow's fault. It's my peculiar coloring that doesn't let light shades do their thing on my brow bone. The best I can expect in this department is a nice texture that doesn't look chalky and wouldn't crease under the elements. I definitely got it here, together with the delicate shimmer I mentioned above. I'm assuming that on someone who is a tone or two lighter than me,the effect would be nicer. The very pale should be careful, because "oyster" is probably not the best highlighting hue they can find.

The second color, Jamie's Gem is, might be a golden olive, as described, but the gold is very subdued and the olive has tons of green in it. It's very pigmented and requires the lightest touch and a good brush (I use a slanted crease brush from Sephora's professional series). It's easy to blend and looks very flattering with my coloring (that's my reward for being naturally green). It doesn't crease, even without an eye primer, but if you want it not to fade throughout the day, you'd better use one.

All in all, Face Time eye shadows are very nice, and so far are the best product I've tried of this brand (reviews of their face primer and lip gloss are coming soon).

Face Time products are available online from the company's website, which is where I bought the products I tried. Each eye shadow retails for $12.