From the first look, the City Color Barely Exposed Eyeshadow Palette instantly reminds me of the legendary Urban Decay Naked 1 Eyeshadow Palette.
PACKAGING (10/10)
City Color Barely Exposed Eyeshadow Palette contains 12 eyeshadows, each weighing 0.72g. It contains 10 shimmer eyeshadows and 2 matte shades. The palette is sleek, sturdy and lightweight which makes it great for travelling.
TEXTURE (7/10)
Though the texture isn't buttery smooth or one that makes you go WOW upon swatching, it's still of acceptable grade and not horrible at all.
PIGMENTATION (7/10)
Expected of most drugstore eyeshadow palettes, the pigmentation isn’t consistent across all 12 colours. Some colours are pigmented while some aren’t.
EASE OF APPLICATION (8/10)
The eyeshadows do get a little chalky and I did experience quite a major fallout when I applied onto my eyelids. My advice is to give your eyeshadow brush a good tap to knock away the excess powder before applying it to your eyelids.
However, the fallouts aren't a big deal as you can easily wipe the specks of powder away and thank goodness, they don't stain badly! After using this palette for a week, I realized this is best worn with an eyeshadow primer underneath. Not only it helps the eyeshadows to stay in place and last longer, more importantly, the colours are accentuated with a primer underneath.
To my surprise, the eyeshadows were much more pigmented when I applied them onto my eyelids. The colours did not appear super intensely (which may be a good thing for beginners), but just sufficient as a nice coat of colour over your eyelids.
The hues of these eyeshadows work coherently to create a seamless gradient. Also, I realised minimal blending is required. The eyeshadows just worked their magic and formed a beautifully diffused transition between each colour.
LONGEVITY (9/10)
The eyeshadows lasted more than 10 hours under various weather conditions. I was absolutely impressed that none of the colours faded, flaked or smudged.
OVERALL (8/10)
This is the first drugstore eyeshadow palette I've tried and I’m so thrilled to discover this gem. It’s an excellent dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 1 Eyeshadow Palette. While the colours aren't incredibly pigmented, the colour payoff is more than enough. In fact, this may actually be a good news for makeup beginners because the eyeshadows can be layered to achieve the desired intensity. What I love most about this palette is that it is so easy to blend the eyeshadows. As for the colours, you get a rather comprehensive colour selection from everyday, fuss-free naturals to glam natural to smokey eyes. The only complaint I've is perhaps the smell. It has a cheap, powdery smell which I dislike a lot since I’m sensitive to fragrance.
Written by: Our most talented copywriter Xiaohan. Find out more about her @ https://1floz.wordpress.com