Givenchy Ombre À Fleur De Peau Eyeshadow in Pearly Nude

Givenchy's new, limited-edition Ombre À Fleur De Peau Eyeshadow in Pearly Nude ($34) caught my eye at Sephora online for a two reasons: 1) A new cream eyeshadow will always entice me; 2) Pearly Nude (#2) was described as a glimmering light beige, which made the shade the most attractive of the two available. Pearly rose, although pretty, is not a great shade for my eyelids (it might be gorgeous on my cheeks).

Here is the marketing speak in italics. I've added my assessment after each blurb.

Ombre À Fleur De Peau Eyeshadow is a water-resistant cream eye shadow that blends into the eyelids like a second skin. True.

This eye shadow’s creamy texture turns into a smooth powder for a light and comfortable result. With a pearlescent finish, this shadow works equally well as a primer beneath other shadows. True, and true with reservations.

Wen it arrived at my house, I looked at the little square jar and became anxious. Was this color that looked rosy from outside the jar the right product and shade? It was, but you have to skin-test it to know it matches its glimmering light beige description - kind of sort of.

Pearly Nude showed me a lot of rose in the pot. On my skin, it shows me a little camel and some gold in addition to light beige. "Light beige" can cover a huge range of shades. This one should be called light warm beige.

The texture and finish of this cream shadow are divine. It is sheer, sparkling, and buildable in color. It lasts all day without creasing, most likely because it's a cream-to-powder formula. I'm not sure I'd use it as a shadow primer because I like my primers to be skin-toned or a color that reduces redness and gives me a nice blank canvass on my lids. Edward Bess offers a shade that's perfect for me (already featured here).

I took my swatch photos in full, afternoon sun. I applied Pearly Nude with a cream shadow brush (you can even see the brush strokes in my swatch photos because I built the color for the photos). I don't see that stripey effect on my eyelids.

On my eyelids, Pearly Nude looks like a very warm golden nude. Hopefully, you can see the camel and gold in the shade. It's pretty. It sparkles, but not too much. I have noticed that the color and sparkles transfer above the crease if I blink before it sets. I can't control blinking, so be prepared if you want to contain glimmer to your below-the-crease zone.

Speaking of sparkle, the sparkle factor with Ombre À Fleur De Peau Eyeshadow is significant. If you don't like sparklies, don't order it. I can't wear this shadow during the day, but I would wear it at night.

Pearly Nude is pretty. I'm glad I have it. I don't have a cream eye shadow shade exactly like it, so it adds a new option for this cream shadow lover - even if it is sparkly.

You can find and purchase it, as I did, at Sephora. It's only available online. Since it's a limited edition, it may disappear at any time.

Photo at top courtesy of Sephora; other photos by Best Things in Beauty