City Color Shimmer Shadow Review and Swatches

It's no secret that City Color Cosmetics is one of my favorite budget beauty brands because they consistently wow me with their high-quality formulas that seem like they should cost a whole lot more than they do. So when they released their new Shimmer Shadows ($6.99 each) last week, I knew I wanted to get some to try...what I didn't know is that they were going to blow every other eyeshadow out of the water, even the most expensive ones! If you like shimmery shadows like Kat Von D Metal Crush or NYX Prismatic, you're definitely going to want to read this! They actually look a lot like the Kat Von D Metal Crush shadows, don't they? Let's take a look...

City Color Shimmer Shadows come in sleek black packaging with a see-through lid. I was surprised by how large the compact looked next to some other shadows I own, so I wanted to share a comparison photo so you can get an idea of the size. It holds .129 oz., or more than twice the amount of the NYX Prismatic Eyeshadow, which only has .043 oz.  The L'oreal Infallible looks smaller but it actually holds a similar amount of product at .12 oz. because the pot is deeper.

Shimmer Shadows come in 16 shades, all of which are shimmer except for Black Widow (which I'm not reviewing here). Two of the shades I'll be reviewing today, Marsala and Spring Fling are more satiny-shimmers and aren't quite as shimmer-packed as the other shades. Still, none of these shades are chunky or glittery...they just leave a beautiful metallic sheen with very little fallout.

When you touch these shadows with your finger, they feel like you're touching velvet...they're so soft, they actually feel "fuzzy" and they're so creamy, they could almost be mistaken for cream shadows. All of the swatches you'll see below are one swipe of my finger after swirling it once or twice around the pan. My mind was completely blown as I was swatching these because they went on so smooth and buttery with completely full coverage in one pass. They also have great staying power on their own, so I can only imagine how well they'll wear over primer!

Here are some close-ups and swatches (on bare skin, without primer):

New Year, New Me! 

New Year, New Me! swatch

Bubble Bath

Bubble Bath swatch

Pharaoh

Pharaoh swatch

Cheers to Life

Cheers to Life swatch

Homecoming Queen

Homecoming Queen swatch

Ladylike

Ladylike swatch

Marsala

Marsala swatch

Spring Fling

Spring Fling swatch

All Eyes On Me

All Eyes On Me swatch

City Color Shimmer Shadow swatches

Overall, these are a must have! I would pay a lot more for these shadows, but thankfully I don't have to since they're only $6.99. I say run, don't walk, over to Citycolorcosmetics.com and pick yourself up 1 or 2 (or 16)!