Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow in Mesmerized, Caitlin Rose, Center Stage, Houdini, and Jester

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: Mesmerized, Caitlin Rose, Center Stage, Houdini, and Jester
Mesmerized, Caitlin Rose, Center Stage, Houdini, and Jester

Magic Act is a dark warm-toned plummy taupe-brown 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 warmer and more plum than Ardency Inn Hell, more plum than Make Up For Ever ME-614 Graphite Brown, and more taupe and more metallic than MAC Twinks.

Caitlin Rose is a medium brightened blue-toned violet purple 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 darker and brighter than Makeup Geek Pop Culture, lighter and brighter than Ardency Inn Royal, and brighter and more blue than MAC Violet Pigment.

Center Stage is a medium-dark brightened cobalt-royal blue with purple 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 darker and more purple than Makeup Geek Neptune, more purple than Make Up For Ever D-222 Night Blue, and lighter, brighter, and more metallic than MAC Contrast.

Houdini is a dark cool-toned teal-green 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 blue than Make Up For Ever ME-302 Peacock, cooler than Urban Decay Loaded, and brighter than MAC Deep Blue Green Pigment (PRO).

Jester is a light-medium vibrant golden chartreuse 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 darker and more golden than Makeup Geek Pixie Dust, more muted and more golden than Make Up For Ever ME-338 Acidic Green, and more golden than MAC Lucky Green.

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.