I’ve shared my best tips for beauty shopping in Seoul with you last week, now it’s time to ogle all the goodies I bought. So here’s a little overview and first (or second, or even third) impressions! I also decided to split this up into more than one post, because otherwise it’d become one massive novel. (Next up: lip products and skincare!)
So today’s topic is eyeshadows: Moonshot Jelly Pot and Aritaum Mono Eyes review. Whaaaaaat?! You’ll say. “Didn’t you tell us to skip eyeshadows in your previous post?” Well, yes, I totally did, and it was a gross generalization and there’re totally awesome eye products to be found (liners and eyeshadow sticks for example are mostly excellent as well. I didn’t get any because the colour range didn’t excite me. Powder eyeshadows weren’t too impressing most of the time, though.). I’ve no idea why nearly all the things I bought while in Seoul are red though. I’m going through a phase?
Moonshot Jelly Pot in PO5 moon revenge
Moonshot is a Korean brand under the umbrella of YG Entertainment, a company that’s often called “the cradle of K-pop”, because they’re the home of a lot of famous bands (think Sony or Atlantic). It’s a relatively new brand that came out in 2015. A bit more pricy than Innisfree, Clio etc., Moonshot has a very cool aesthetic, fashionably bored SAs and some seriously cool products. The Jelly Pots were high on my list and didn’t disappoint.
These are cream eyeshadows with a cooling jelly texture and mostly a highly metallic finish that come in a pot. (They also come in a matte finish, but of course, I went for the shimmery option.) They are super easy to apply (I just used my fingers) and have a stunning effect – not sparkly, but smooth and reflective on the lids. You can blend powder eyeshadows over them without any problem. Moon Revenge, the one I got, is a red-pink duochrome. Staying power is really impressive – no creasing, no fading at all during the day. Beware, though, to get the formula into/on your lashes – that’ll distribute little flecks of eyeshadow nicely all over your face (not that I did that. I would never!!!). Highly recommended. I paid 22.000 Won for one (18$ on their international site) and that gets you 7,5g/ 0.26 oz.
Aritaum Mono Eyes in 117
On the other end of the price range is Aritaum’s in-house brand. Aritaum is Amore Pacific’s (think Asian L’Oreal) one-stop shop, meaning it carries all their brands like Iope, Mamonde and Laneige (there’s a post coming up featuring the Laneige products I bought!). They’re also famous for their own in-house brand that is quite cheap. I had a look at their Shine Fix Eyes that are similar to Armani’s Eyes to Kill shadows in the glass pots, but that was a bit too much glitter in too little base for me (basically all glitter). The Mono Eyes are cheap as chips (5.000 Won – about 4$? – for 1,3g) and still suffer from the “glitter in light base” phenomenon, but there’re some interesting colours in the mix. (Mostly, though, you’ll find light peaches and pinks and a lot of brown shades.)
I got a gorgeous reddish pink with golden glitters that translates as a peachy pink on my skin and not the pinky-red it showed in the pot, but I intended to use it as a topper for red cream shadows and for the price, it’s a nice one. There’s surprisingly little fall-out from it if you use it over a base and use a stiffer, denser brush to pat it on. It’s gorgeous combined with matte browns and beiges and surprisingly, I reach for it a lot.
Etude House
I’ve already mentioned the LE Etude House eyeshadow palette in my favorites post. I’ve no idea if the palette I got is representative for all their eyeshadows and their formula, but I’m divided on them. The colours are gorgeous, but the formula is a pain in the behind. Read more/ see swatches about them here.
What I recommend
All in all I think the eyeshadows I bought are a good mix. Cream products generally seem to excel with great textures, while powder products are very glittery and mostly belong to a rather staid colour palette, consisting of nudes and rather “natural” shades in varying degrees. Please convince me otherwise if my impression is wrong!
One thing I know – I’m completely and utterly hooked to Moonshot’s Jelly Pots and want more. There’s a charcoal grey called Darth Vader that’s calling my name!