When I first heard of Ardency Inn's Modster Manuka Honey Enriched Pigments almost exactly a year ago, I was set in trying to get all 12 shades. But, of course, there was a lot of hype around them and many of the shades were never in stock (I still can't get my hands on Royal, a deep purple shade that really put the spotlight on this formula). These appeared all over beauty blogs and YouTube videos, and regardless of whether you tried getting them in store or online, at least half of the shades were always sold out. So, yes, it took me about a year to get nine shades. I told myself that I wouldn't post about these until I got all of them, but now that they are being pulled out of Canada entirely, I decided to forget about getting the last three shades and just to post these now. The reason I'm still posting this is because Ardency Inn will still be carried in its entirety in the US (on their own website as well as Sephora), so they're technically still available to purchase (only the liquid liner appears on the Sephora Canada site now). They are described as "a collection of organic and mineral pressed pigments enriched with mānuka honey," which is "a mono floral honey produced in New Zealand and Australia from the nectar of the Mānuka tree, [and] was used for the first time in a colour cosmetic formulation to provide unparalleled creaminess and staying power." Each Pigment comes in a black clear-lidded plastic pot with 1.7 grams of product, and retails for $21 USD.
Sunday is a light brightened warm champagne beige in a metallic finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and warmer than MAC Nylon, brighter than MAC Ricepaper, cooler than Makeup Geek Magic Act, more yellow than Makeup Geek Shimma Shimma, more metallic than Urban Decay Blunt, and warmer than Urban Decay Easy Baked.
Copper is a medium rich warm amber gold in a metallic finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly cooler than MAC Amber Lights, lighter and more muted than Makeup Geek Untamed, darker and more bronze than Makeup Geek Gold Digger, less orange and more metallic than Makeup Geek Glamorous, warmer than The Face Shop GL01, and more metallic than NARS Isolde #1.
Rose Gold is a medium rich bronzed rose in a metallic finish. It is a permanent shade. It has a soft, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly lighter and more pink than MAC Sable, cooler than Makeup Geek Grandstand, darker and more bronze than Makeup Geek Cinderella, brighter and more bronze than Makeup Geek Twilight, lighter and warmer than Urban Decay Liar, and more brown than Urban Decay Bordello.
I am so freaking sad that Ardency Inn was pulled out of Canada because these are some of the most gorgeous eyeshadows I have ever had the pleasure of using, in terms of texture, pigmentation, application, and colour pay-off. These give off rich, saturated colour without any effort, and blend out like a dream, too. I'm especially impressed at the wear-time, which reaches about the ten hour mark without fading or creasing, even without eye primer. I would say that they're the most comparable to Makeup Geek's Foiled Eyeshadows (which ships outside of the US), but I do think that Ardency Inn has more shades that are more wearable and universally flattering overall. Unfortunately, Ardency Inn doesn't ship outside of the US from their site, and they are only carried at certain Sephora locations in the US and on the US Sephora website. So for those of you who live outside of the US who don't want to bother with the hassle of acquiring these, you can definitely make do with Makeup Geek's Foiled Eyeshadows (which are indeed fabulous, but currently only come in pans so you have to put them in a custom palette)... But if you live in the US or are visiting the US, these are totally worth the hunt.
omg these three colors!!!! they look so pigmented and pretty! so sad that another brand has been pulled from canada. why does this always happen!!
ReplyDeleteI think there just wasn't enough hype about this brand in Canada, and Sephora didn't really help support it here. It wasn't marketed well and it was only carried at very select stores. I think it was too niche, and the full range of products just wasn't wide enough. :(
DeleteI thought of getting on this but I don't have your focus and attention span, lol! I'd normally be sad these are gone from Canada but the new Buxom shadows are pretty similar and cheaper. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Buxom eyeshadows are more like regular eyeshadows to me (similar to Urban Decay's eyeshadow range) rather than this kind of pressed pigment. It's a different texture to me, but I've worked with so much makeup that it's easier for me to differentiate formulas... To the average consumer, it's probably not a big difference, lol. I am just a snob. :P
DeleteThese are so pretty! I'll be honest and say that I rarely pull out singles, though, so I usually buy palettes or even trios. But that rose gold shade is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm the opposite these days; I end up using more singles or custom palettes than pre-made palettes. These are so fun to add to palette looks, though. You're lucky you live in the US and have access to them. :P
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