Quickie Review: e.l.f Brightening Eye Colour

This evening, some more cheap-and-cheerful items that make the more discerning of us umm and aaah over whether they're worth bothering with. I'm talking about the e.l.f. Brightening Eye Colour quads. In the UK they'll set you back a whopping £1.50, €1.70 in Europe or $1 in the States. LUSH EXCHANGE RATE.

Anyway, a while ago I picked up the Day2Night quad after Wendy raved about it. I was impressed, and picked up a few more. I chose neutrals because that's what my collection is lacking.

All swatched over Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk.

Brownstone:




We've been dancin' with Mr Brownstone.... Hurrah for Guns N' Roses reference. Well done, e.l.f.

Surprisingly, the deep grey was the best in this quad. (It shows as a dark brown on the website... yeah, it ain't.) The payoff is lovely and it blends really well on the eye.

Noveau Neutrals:




Again, not true to the website swatch. Not at all. Rubbishness, e.l.f. The payoff of the sparkly white is pretty abysmal as well. Not that happy with this one, but I do like the brown on the far left.


Ethereal:




Aaah, that's better. I like all the shades in this one - the butternut sort of shade and the pinky-champagney shade in particular.

Day2Night:




Best out of the five I've bought, hands freakin' down. TAUPEYOUGUYS! And the light gold positively glows over a light base. If you're going to pick up one of these quads, make it this one - as you can see, it's well loved! I've picked up one for a future giveaway so keep your eyeballs peeled.

Hazy Hazel:


Loooove the purple from this quad. I would have liked the far-right colour to have been more khaki than 'Oooh, I'm not feeling brave enough for khaki, I think I'll just stick to khaki-ish brown,' but it's a good set of shades nonetheless.

The shadows are quite soft and kick up a lot of dust (as you can see from the cases!) but none of them apply chalky at all and fallout isn't an issue. They're also teeny, so perfect for chucking in your makeup bag for travelling, although the lids are domed so not so great for storage. And as per usual, the applicator is trash. So, er, trash it! Also just for the record, I think the 'eye brightening' thing is bunk. What does that even mean?

Would I recommend these? Well, if you don't use a base for your eyeshadows, don't bother. Some of the shimmery shades have decent payoff, but the mattes need a base like nobody's business. I always use a base with pressed shadows, so for me, they're a winner (apart from Nouveau Neutrals which was a bit of a duffer) for just £1.50. Just beware the dodgy website swatches and that the quality is mixed. I've got my eye on Punk Funk, Nymph Dreams, Glam, Luxe and Silver Lining!

Have you tried these quads? Any e.l.f recommendations for me?