Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow in Magic Act, In the Spotlight, Flame Thrower, Grandstand, and Showtime

For those who are familiar with Makeup Geek, you'll know that they've become the indie darling of the online beauty world over the past year. Beauty bloggers, YouTubers, makeup artists and makeup enthusiasts alike are enamoured by Makeup Geek's eyeshadows, which are ultra-smooth, finely-milled, and incredibly pigmented for very affordable prices, partially due to its indie standing and partially because of its minimal packaging (as of now, Makeup Geek eyeshadows are only available in pan-form, so you have to purchase empty palettes to house them). Over this past winter, Makeup Geek released a new eyeshadow formulation called Foiled, which are described as "a creamy texture that is a hybrid between a powder shadow and a cream shadow that is on a level of its own. The intense pigmentation combined with an opaque, metallic finish make these shadows a dream to work with. These can be applied effortlessly in just one swipe with no primer required!" There is a total of ten shades available right now, all in pan-form only. Each Foiled Eyeshadow pan contains 1.8 grams of product, and retails for $9.99 USD (they also offer all ten in a bundle package for $89 USD).

Clockwise from left: Magic Act, In the Spotlight, Flame Thrower, Grandstand, and Showtime
Magic Act, In the Spotlight, Flame Thrower, Grandstand, and Showtime

Magic Act is a light warm-toned muted champagne gold in a high metallic finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, dense, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation to opaque colour pay-off. It is similar to Ardency Inn Sunday, more yellow and more metallic than Makeup Geek Shimma Shimma, and more metallic than MAC Ricepaper.

In the Spotlight is a light warm-toned muted peachy pink in a high metallic finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, dense, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation to opaque colour pay-off. It is more metallic than MAC Jest, more peach than MAC Naked Lunch, and brighter and more metallic than Make Up For Ever I-520 Pinky Sand.

Flame Thrower is a medium-dark brightened orange-toned copper in a high metallic finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, dense, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation to opaque colour pay-off. It is brighter and more orange than Makeup Geek Goddess, more metallic and less red than MAC Coppering, and smoother and less sparkly than MAC Copper Sparkle Pigment.

Grandstand is a medium muted rose gold with brown undertones in a high metallic finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, dense, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation to opaque colour pay-off. It is less brown than Ardency Inn Rose Gold, brighter and more metallic than MAC All That Glitters, and lighter and warmer than Make Up For Ever ME-612 Silver Brown.

Showtime is a dark warm-toned rusty burgundy in a high metallic finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, dense, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation to opaque colour pay-off. It is more metallic than Makeup Geek Burlesque, darker and more reddened than Makeup Geek Last Dance, and warmer and more orange-toned than MAC Heritage Rouge Pigment (PRO).

Yes, yes, yes! These are everything I imagined them to be, and well worth the hype they've been getting. Each Foiled Eyeshadow is so soft with such a dense, buttery texture that it feels almost like a cream shadow, but they are so pigmented that the littlest amount gives off full, rich, saturated colour pay-off, and they layer and blend out beautifully and easily like the best powder shadows. Of course, where these get their name from is the finish, which is so metallic that it literally looks like foil, whether or not you use primer (I would use primer regardless, especially if you're prone to oily lids or creasing). Makeup Geek doesn't market these as pressed pigments, but that's really what they are and how they perform. Formulation-wise, I find them to be the most similar to Ardency Inn's Modster Manuka Honey Enriched Pigments and Make Up For Ever's most metallic Artist Shadows. I also reckon MAC Pigments would be similar if they added a binding agent to make them pressed. Basically, if you like metallic shadows, these are must-haves. It's pretty much one step away from putting actual metal sheets on your lids.