YSL Ombre Duolumieres 19 Oatmeal/Petroleum Blue Eye shadow Duo

A quick rummage through my eye shadow drawers revealed that No.19 Oatmeal/Petroleum Blue is not the first Yves Saint Lauren eye shadow duo I own from the Ombre Duolumieres line. No.1 (Heavenly Beige/Astral Brown) was released for Holiday 2009 (it's become a permanent item) and is a very elegant evening item with loads of gold shimmer. No. 19 Oatmeal/Petroleum Blue has a very different texture- an almost creamy powder, no shimmer, and is quite more versatile as far as I'm concerned.

I adore the texture of this YSL duo- it's the most luxurious matte you can find, very easy to blend and manipulate, stays on all day over a primer and doesn't show any signs of wear and chalkiness. The two colors in 19 Oatmeal/Petroleum Blue are very pigmented- even the neutral/cool beige shows beautifully. The blue is quite dark and rich, requires good brushes for detailed work and makes a great outer v/crease/liner color- and a superb option for a blue smoky look. I have many blue shades in my makeup wardrobe, but none that is even similar to Petroleum Blue- a matte navy with just a hint of teal/green. The closest one I have is NARS Rajasthan, but the texture is different (and it's more black-based).

I find this Yves Saint Laurent eye shadow duo to be a superior alternative to NARS Rajasthan. Don't get me wrong- I still like the NARS duo, but it's hardly a daytime product and the texture is not nearly as luxurious. Both do wonders to make brown eyes pop, though- this shade of blue is very flattering in all iterations. I wear the oatmeal color as an all-over wash or a base color, sometimes supplement with any of my favorite taupes for depth where needed, and add the blue as an accent or a liner- blending and smoking it out as needed.

Bottom Line: As pretty as it gets.

YSL Ombre Duolumieres ($41) can be found at Sephora and most decent department stores.

All photos are mine.