Lancôme Color Design Infinite 24H Crease-Free Luminous Eye Shadow

I was shopping online at Lancôme a few weeks ago. I wanted to make sure I could get the five lipsticks they generously send me for my birthday every year. It's the best customer birthday present on the Web! I decided to try more colors of Color Design Infinite 24H Crease-Free Luminous Eye Shadow ($24.50). I love my selections!

A revolution in eye shadow.  Luminous eye color stays true for 24 hours without creasing. Now, a unique creamy-powder texture creates effortlessly luminous, lasting looks. Purity of color meets exceptional long wear, for infinite intensity. Available in 15 shades.

I think it's no mistake that Lancôme's pot eye shadow is packaged exactly like Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense. It comes in a pot with an interior black plastic insert to keep it moist. The insert has a little handle. Additionally, it has the same spongy texture in the pot. They are both L'Oreal companies. Originally, I thought Lancôme's use of Armani's packaging was tacky - somehow diminishing both brands. Now I am reconciled to that issue. If eye shadow palettes from many different brands can come in a rectangular palette with a mirror inside, there's no reason that two pots from L'Oreal cannot have striking similarities. I haven't compared the ingredients, but I'd put money on a huge overlap.

I ordered these four. Continuous Creme is shown at top left, Eternal Gold at top right, Electrifying Sparkle at bottom left, and Timeless Taupe at bottom right. Continuous Creme is a very light beige matte. On me, it leans pink, but online it's described as yellow-beige. That's the way it looks in my photos. The other three are shimmering (or metallic) stunners.

My swatch photos were taken in full sun, and, as usual, I used a sponge-tipped applicator to apply the shadows heavily (not ideal - a cream shadow brush would have been better by being flexible). Each of these shades has something special to offer.

Continuous Creme is not exciting. It's a base shade. You can barely see it at the top of my arm. However, we need base shades, and this a nice one. The color covers the natural redness in my eyelids and provides a non-distracting canvas for other shadows.

The gold shade is fabulous. I think it falls between pure gold and antique gold on the shade spectrum.  It looks great under the crease all by itself - the way I like to wear gold.

It's a shame you probably can't see the green hue in Electrifying Sparkle, described online as a green silver sparkle. Trust me, it's there and makes this shade unique. It's perfect for fall.

The Timeless Taupe at the bottom of my arm, is a lovely taupe with a slight mauve hue. The metallic finish distracts from the complexity of the color. If you are a taupe lover, you should definitely consider this eye shadow - unless you have trouble with red dyes. I can see how Timeless Taupe might irritate someone with red dye allergies.

How are these shadows unique - different from a thousand other shimmering shades? They are extremely long-lasting. The darker the shade, the longer they will survive on your skin. Fortunately, you can remove them with a long-wear eye makeup remover (no Clorox required). Be assured, they will stay put once they set on your eyelids.

You must make sure to keep the little inserts that protect the moisture in the shadows and screw the lid on tightly after use. If you don't, these shadows will dry out. One of the shades I received was already a little crumbly on arrival. It applies well, but I had to pack down the product I disturbed with the alien sponge-tipped applicator.

You can find these beauties at any Lancôme counter or at Lancôme's Web site where I purchased mine. If you need help, I can recommend Jodie Hawk at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie (202-966-9700) or Jocelyn Malinowski at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria (703-761-1600).

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