Elegance Paris Nouvelle Eyes in 02

Nothing catches my eye faster than pretty packaging, and Japanese cosmetics, undoubtedly, knows it best! Without further ado, my latest and most welcome addition to my collection... Elegance Paris cosmetics! I thought Jill Stuart knocked it out of the park with its girly and princess-y packaging, but Elegance proved me wrong with its more grown-up and elegant presentation. A mature version of Jill Stuart, if you will. The only missing from all that fanciness? Real bling.

Despite the plastic packaging, it is still a rather hefty compact. The compact itself inevitably attracts fingerprints, but a quick wipe will make everything look pristine once again. The eyeshadow quad comes with a dual-ended sponge tip applicator, which is perfect for on-the-go, as well as a dual-ended brush -- excellent for detailed crease work and smudging. While both applicators are great to have, they are unnecessary for the Elegance shadows, as these apply with nice pigmentation with brushes. Again, not full-on pigmentation like Urban Decay eyeshadows but soft and buildable colors like we would expect from Asian cosmetics.

The eyeshadows themselves are a joy to work with, easily my favorite eyeshadow formula from all of the Japanese brands I have tried! (Trust me, as an eyeshadow snob, that says a lot!) I would even go as far to say that I prefer the formula of Elegance eyeshadows over Suqqu's, in terms of its buttery texture, blendability, and lasting power over primed lids. Suqqu eyeshadows just seems drier and not as finely milled, in comparison. What makes the shadows in the Elegance quad stands out is the fact that I hardly experienced any fall out from all four shades -- not even with the darkest chocolate brown shade! Also, the glitter particles do not translate onto the eyelids either.

Eyeshadows: (clockwise order starting from the top left)
#1) Shimmery, borderline metallic, light champagne. This is great as an inner highlight or as a browbone highlight (when used with a light hand!)
#2) Shimmery, light peachy-beige. This works well as an all-over lid color or even to blend out the other darker colors from the palette.
#3) Shimmery, glitter-containing dark chocolate brown. As mentioned previously, the glitter particles are not noticeable when applied. This is marketed as a liner, but I do find it is just as good of a crease (or even outer V) color.
#4) Shimmery, light neutral brown. On me, this shade -- thankfully -- pulls more neutral than warm. This is a wonderful all over lid shade, as well as a good crease color.

I personally chose the quad in 02, because it looked like an everyday, work-appropriate palette for me, and I could not be any happier. If anything, this palette had my name stamped all over it. I like to be able to incorporate all of the colors in a quad for an eye look, and 02 easily allowed for such application. From simple, yet polished eye looks to the most gorgeous brown smoky eye, this palette is actually quite versatile. Given the shimmery nature of all four shades, I can still apply any of the three darker shades in my crease and not look garish (like a lot of other shimmery shades can when popped in the crease.) Truth be told, the shades are not unique, but for the price point of the quad, I knew I had to get one that I will get a lot of mileage out of. Wear time-wise, this held up through 10-hour work days and through sweating without any signs of fading. That alone, makes this palette worth every penny!

My foray into the world of Elegance is a dangerous one! To be honest, I never knew the line even existed until one day, I decided to spend some quality time on Ichibankao.com. Now, it has left me wanting to own more products from the brand -- specifically more Nouvelle Eyes, a Poudre Haute Nuance, and an Aurora Storm Face Color. An eyeshadow quad runs about $75 USD, when you factor in additional shipping charges, so it is -- for me, at least -- reserved for those moments of splurge.