Cream Eyeshadow Comparison - Bourjois, e.l.f, Maybelline, Essence

Since the release of the Maybelline Eye Tattoos I have become a huge fan of cream eyeshadows and it seems so have a lot of people have too since almost every company seems to be getting on the bandwagon.

Whilst shopping today I popped into Priceline and spotted something new and shiny in the Bourjois section - the 24H Color Edition Cream Eyeshadows and was immediately drawn to one of the colors, when I got home with it I was reminded of how similar it was to the Maybelline Eye Tattoo (packaging wise) and I thought a comparison post was in order so I dug up my other cream eyeshadow and took some photos for you.

So, the contenders are;

Essence Ballerina Backstage Edition in "pas des copper", Essence stay all day  in "for fairies", Bourjois "

Pétale de Glace",  e.l.f "Soiree", and Maybelline Eye Tattoo in "Pomegranate Punk". I tried to stay in a similar color palette to give a better comparison between them. I also gave Essence two spots as their formula for cream eyeshadow is so variable it's best to judge them by collections rather then as a company standard.

Here they all are swatched side by side, no primer, photo taken a few seconds after application.

Essence Ballerina Backstage Edition in "pas des copper" 

I've talked about this one a lot before, and this was the first cream eyeshadow I ever owned, it cost about $3.50 and I feel it can hold it's own against almost any competition. Essence struck gold with this one.

Texture: soft, creamy and very slightly powdery. Non drying (I've had it for two years and it looks like like i could have picked it up yesterday). Almost mousse like.

Opacity: Very opaque

Wear: 6-8 hours

2.8g

Essence stay all day  in "for fairies"

As amazing as pas des copper is, sadly Essence's regular range does not reach the same hights, this one is the same formula that has appeared in at least their last three collections (Breaking Dawn, Circus, Paradise). It was also in their permanent line for a long time but I'm not 100% if it still as as they changed it up a few months ago and I haven't looked at these since then. It's sadly quite terrible, patchy, drying, please go back to the soufflé formula!

Texture: hard, dry. Very difficult to blend without taking color off. With the shimmery shades sometimes the color with get wiped off or fade away and leave big chinks of glitter.

Opacity:  Medium, when it works. 

Wear: 2-4 hours

5.5g

Bourjois "Pétale de Glace"

Brand new collection here is Australia but it's been out for a little while in the UK now, I only saw three colors available at my local Priceline - the pink/beige (which i came home with), a silver and a dark blue. However I know overseas has at least three more colors, though I'm not sure if Australia will get them.

Owning Chanel you might also see some similarities between these and the Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Long-Wear .

Texture: Fluffy and soft. It's a cream to powder and blends very smoothly.

Opacity: Medium but can be built up.

Wear: 4-6 hours

5g

e.l.f "Soiree"

If you haven't heard yet e.l.f cosmetics are now available in Kmart (who is redoing all their beauty sections to be less nasty) and i picked this up the same day as the Bourjois for two reasons 1) for this comparison 2) I have never tried a e.l.f product before. It's smaller then the rest but packs quite a punch, I was expecting something closer to the Essence stay all day but it's probably closer to being somewhere between the Maybelline and the Backstage Ballerina.

Texture: Thick, and very fluffy. Whipped really is the best description.

Opacity: Medium/Heavy with more shimmer then the others

Wear: 4-6 hours

3g

Maybelline Eye Tattoo in "Pomegranate Punk"

These have been out for a while and most people probably have at least one with Bad to the Bronze being the standout shade (I personally love Bad to the Bronze, Tough as Taupe and Pomegranate Punk). There are many more colors overseas and a new nude collection which i really hope makes it to our shores! These are hefty little jars of awesome, they make great bases and the huge color range makes them much more accessible then the rest.

Texture: Average leaning toward hard, best applied with fingertips to warm it up a little.

Opacity: Heavy, some colors much less so.

Wear: 6 - 10 hours

4g

Photo of the same swatches 5 hours later