Product Purchased by IMBB
Hello ladies,
After reviewing Melt Cosmetics’ Dark Matter, I have for you today another eyeshadow stack from their range called “Love Sick.” While Melt Cosmetics is known for both – their eyeshadow stacks as well as their lipsticks, I have been able to test only their eyeshadows so far. Notice the word “so far”! 😉 So, let’s get started with this review!
Product Details (from the official website):
PROMISCUOUS- a beautiful color changing violet-blue! Use it alone, or combine it with black to reveal a completely different shade!
FIXATED – a gorgeous matte grey inspired by one of our favorite lipsticks, Space Cake, so pigmented and cool you have to see to believe
AMELIE- a perfectly peachy gold, you’ll want to add it all over Cheeks! Highlight! Eyes! It glistens and glides on with ease
LOVE SICK- a beautiful ultra-matte burgundy-red …inspired by our most popular lipstick 6six6!
These are all our favorite accent colors in one palette. We dare you to use all 4 in one look! <3
*Stack includes mirror. Vegan: Fixated
Non-Vegan: Promiscuous, Amelie, Love Sick.
Price:
USD 48. Each eyeshadow is available as a single shade as well and retails for $17 while a normal stack, consisting of 4 eyeshadows (except the Rust stack which has 5 shades) and 1 mirror, retails for $48.
A couple of points to remember:
- It obviously makes more economic sense to buy the stack rather than individual shade.
- However, if you like just one shade from the stack – you have the choice to purchase it individually.
- The price of $17 for an individual eyeshadow is fairly staggering and unprecedented – when you consider that Melt Cosmetics is an Indie brand and not really Tom Ford level. Similarly, $48 for a palette of 4 shades seems fairly steep. However, do note that an individual shade has about 3.57 gms of product vis-a-vis say a MAC shadow which is about 1.5 gms. So, you are getting more than double the amount of product. Take a look at the pic where I have shared the size comparison.
Packaging: The packaging is one of the most interesting aspects of the product! Each eyeshadow comes housed in a magnetised pan and each of these pans conveniently stack up on top of each other. If you have more than one stack, you can just add the new one right on top! Or if you decide to pick a stack and maybe two individual shades – everything just stacks up together. You can unfurl the stack in any which way you want, I have shared some examples below – a fun way to manage a palette.
The mirror forms the cover of the stack. The mirror is of good quality and a nice touch to the packaging; however, considering its size, it is something which is more suitable for on-the-go touch-ups and not really something you would use to apply the makeup.
Each pan is made of this hard good quality plastic, which though looks like the NARS rubberised packaging – thankfully isn’t. It is more like the packaging used by Bite Beauty.
The shade name is distinctly mentioned on the flip side of the shadow. The stack comes packaged in a cube-shaped cardboard box. I have traveled with these stacks and have not faced an issue with anything breaking. *Touchwood!!!*
My Experience with Melt Cosmetics Love Sick Eyeshadow Stack:
Like I have mentioned in my review of “Dark Matter Stack,” the one stack I really wanted from this range was the elusive “Rust” stack. So, while looking at alternatives to quench my neutral matte thirst, I fixed upon “Dark Matter” instead. While checking swatches for it, I came across the Love Sick stack, which till then was not even on my radar. A couple of shades – yes, the purple – intrigued me and I bit the bullet. Unlike Dark Matter stack, this is a fun stack, with two almost duo-chromatic shimmery shades and two mattes – all of which seem to have no relation to the next shade – this is a fun stack to play with.
Ideally, this would be a stack from where you could add 1-2 fun shades at a time – to an existing look meaning say, you created a basic look with the Dark Matter stack, you could add colours from this to the look to amp it up. However, while I was testing it, I wanted to use the stack as it is. I generally do this because, to me, it doesn’t seem fair to test a product and showcase it – while you end up incorporating other products (eyeshadows) from other palettes or brands. So, Look 1 was my first attempt with this palette – only this palette. I did not know how the look would turn out, so I kept the colors soft. For Look 2 – I amped up the colours and their intensity. So, it’s one eye look with 3 different lipstick shades. Look 3 is where I have created base with Dark Matter stack and then incorporated Love Sick stack to create a more dimensional look.
As I have mentioned earlier, this stack has 4 shades – two are almost duochromatic shimmery shades, while two are mattes. All the shades are different from each other – and yet work well together. You could create a multitude of looks with this stack – on its own or paired up with another basic neutral stack.
So, let us delve into the individual shades. I will discuss the texture and pigmentation of each shade individually because I felt there to be a bit of variation between the shades:
1. Promiscuous – Described by Melt as “a beautiful color changing violet-blue! Use it alone, or combine it with black to reveal a completely different shade!” This is the shade which first caught my attention towards this stack! CANNOT resist purples!! It isn’t just another purple – the shade is medium purple with red undertones and a violet-blue shift which comes off as a beautiful sheen. It is absolutely stunning. It is smooth – not smooth like a Make Up For Ever eyeshadow or creamy like the Natasha Denona one. I like that the texture isn’t overtly creamy or thick because that tends to add further texture to the eyelid and accentuate any wrinkles on your lid. Though the shades swatches beautifully with a finger, while applying it to the lid with a brush, it took layering. I needed to layer it for the pigment to show in all its glory. Initially, I was a bit bummed about having to layer, but then, I realized one small trick – which has been shared by the brand itself. While you can use the shade on its own and layer it up. Alternatively, you can use a black eyeshadow base (cream or powder) and press this shade on top of it. It gives a whole new dimension and depth to the shade and this is possible only because the pigmentation of the shade isn’t high. Had the pigmentation been as high as I initially wanted it to be, layering it on another shade would not have made any difference.
2. Fixated: Melt cosmetics describes this shade as “a gorgeous matte grey inspired by one of our favorite lipsticks, Space Cake, so pigmented and cool you have to see to believe.” This shade is definitely unique in my collection. I am not really drawn to cool-toned shades – that too a grey. However, this is a shade which intrigues me and something with which I do not want to experiment more. It is extremely smooth, finely milled – almost a creamy matte shade, with excellent pigmentation. Very easy to work with and equally easy to blend out without it looking dirty!
3. Amelie: Described By Melt as “a perfectly peachy gold, you’ll want to add it all over Cheeks! Highlight! Eyes! It glistens and glides on with ease.” This is a gorgeous, gorgeous shade! It is difficult to explain the shade – is it a shimmery gold shade with a peach base or is it a peachy rose gold shade with a yellow gold shift. You get the gist, right? This is a shade which is smooth and finely milled with fine frosty shimmer. You cannot really see specks of glitter. It is absolutely stunning. You can use it on your eyes – it has good pigmentation. However, you may need to pack it a little with a stiff brush. Alternatively, it can be used as a highlighter for your cheeks. It blends so beautifully and effortlessly…it’s a dream. Of course, considering the yellow gold tones – as a face highlighter , it would probably suit medium to dark warm toned gals more.
4. Love Sick: The shade is described as “a beautiful ultra-matte burgundy-red …inspired by our most popular lipstick 6six6! “ This is a deep dirty red shade in matte finish. It isn’t as smooth as Fixate and feels a bit drier. Also, it does not swatch very nicely, but works well when applied with a brush. Initially, I was worried that this shade would be too similar to the shade Enigma from the Dark Matter stack because honestly, at this price point, who wants dupes!! I was glad to see that both shades were fairly distinct. This is a deep dirty red shade while Enigma is a brown shade with red undertones. I have purposely swatched them next to each other in case someone has the same question in their mind. This is normally the shade which would be most difficult to work with – considering the shade itself, not the texture. However, this kind of shade seems to be all a rage right now, so, feel inspired.
Texture: I have discussed the texture of the individual shades while discussing each of the shadows. The texture is quite smooth except for Love Sick which felt a little dry. Red pigment is generally drier and harder to produce. These did not seem to kick up any powder when the brush touched the shadow. All shades were easy to blend.
Pigmentation: Again, I have discussed pigmentation with individual shades. Promiscuous and Love Sick needed a bit of building up. Fixated and Amelie had good pigmentation.
Staying Power: Disclaimer: I apply my eyeshadows with a primer because my lids are way too oily. Almost all of the looks that I have tried with this palette – the shadows stayed put the whole day. Maximum I have kept them on is for about 8-9 hours.
Pros of Melt Cosmetics Love Sick Eyeshadow Stack:
- Excellent array of unique shades.
- A stack/palette with a variety of textures.
- Smooth texture.
- Zero fallout.
- Long wearing.
- No creasing.
- Does not transfer.
- The colors blend easily and mesh very well together.
- Did not irritate my eyes.
- Travel-friendly packaging.
- A variety of looks possible – exclusively with the palette or when aided with another neutral palette.
- Unique, sturdy packaging.
- The stacks allow you to carry only the shade/s you want to carry.
- Huge amount of product in each pan.
- Quick dispatch from their warehouse post placing the order.
Cons of Melt Cosmetics Love Sick Eyeshadow Stack:
- The price point I guess can be a deterrent. $48 for 4 shades!! Even with a tonne of product involved. Most customers would rather have half the product with corresponding reduction in price especially considering that the pans are available individually too – assuming you hit pan on one shade.
- The challenge you may face when ordering from them are as follows:
a. There is a $7 shipping charge – within US. If you are ordering just one stack, this bumps up the already substantial price.
b. You could opt to order for more than 1 stack at one go but the issue I invariably face with them is that some or the other stack is perpetually sold-out. So, you end up ordering stacks
c. individually and paying the shipping charge each time.
d. There also does not seem to be any option of free shipping over X amount.
IMBB Rating:
4.5/5
I absolutely love this stack. All shades are so unique and so interesting to play with. If you were to pick one stack from Melt, I would recommend this one. You may have a plethora of options for neutral shades, but this whole stack is made of unique shades which can add oomph to any look. Highly recommend.
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