Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint For Eyes

When Clinique's new Chubby Stick Shadow Tints For Eyes ($16) arrived at counters and online, I hesitated. I was trying to be frugal - not very successfully. I love my Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balms, so I don't know why I was holding out. I finally ordered four online.

As an aside, when did companies born and bred in the United States start spelling "color" as "colour," the European way? Does it strike you as a little pretentious? Am I weird to notice or think that?

There's nothing weird about these wonderful cream shadows in handy sticks.There's a lot to love, starting with the colors and ending with the extraordinary long wear. When I applied them for my swatch photos, I could not wash them off with soap and water. It took a long-wear eye makeup remover to remove every last trace. That is always my first tip that they will say on my eyelids all day - or more.

Sheer wash of lightweight, creamy color slips on. Layerable and long-wearing. Versatile, too. Glide one on for a swift wash of color. Contour with another to add depth, and yet another to highlight. There's no need to stop at just one.  Appropriate for sensitive eyes and contact lens-wearers.

You can apply these Chubby Sticks sheerly, but I find they give you a pop for your $16 - more color, less sheer. Now I'm wondering if I should stop by the Clinique counter and purchase a few more. Maybe during Neiman Marcus Beauty Week?

Here are the four I purchased, from left to right: 01, Bountiful Beige; 03 Fuller Fudge; 05 Whooping Willow; and 06 Mighty Moss. All four offer fabulous color.

I do have a bone to pick with Clinique's quality assurance. Look at the amount of product exposed above the tube. This is how they arrived - everyone different. There is no way to roll the excess back into the tube. Each tube has a different starting point. Not only that, the silver caps do not fit tightly, so they keep falling off. Whoever does Clinique's QA gets a fail.

It's a good thing the shadows are fabulous! I took swatch photo of these shades in full sunlight, applying them in the order shown above on my arm, top to bottom.

Bountiful Beige is a very pretty fleshy peach with a gleam. It's a perfect base shade or a color you can wear when you want to swipe and go. The sun hit it directly in my swatch photo, lighting it up. Fuller Fudge is a fabulous copper brown.

Whooping Willow is the color of moss. I love every shade of green, and I find this one particularly enticing. It's the one that should have been called Mighty Moss. The real Mighty Moss at the bottom of my arm is drop-dead gorgeous.  The shade is hard to describe. Here are some of my attempts: weathered emerald and green-tilt teal. I don't know what to call this shade, other than breathtaking. What would you call it?

Clinique groups the 12 shades into looks. Three of the four I purchased are members of "In the Nudes." Mighty Moss belongs to "Go for the Gold." as is Bountiful Beige. There is overlap in the groups.

I always liked Mighty Mouse, but at my age, I think Mighty Moss is a more appropriate crush. These are very cool eye shadows.

You can purchase them at Clinique's Web site, where you can buy two (for lips or eyes) and get free shipping with the code CHUBBY. They are also available at all Clinique counters (and their equivalent store online sites).

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