Pastel Pretty: Lancôme Infinité 24H Eyeshadow in Evermore Lilac

A bit early for spring pastels, you say? Well, I don't really care - it's extra dreary and wintery this week in New York, and I had this colorful pretty idly sitting in my to-review box: Lancôme Color Design Infinité 24H Eyeshadow in Evermore Lilac 300 ($25 for 0.12 oz/ 3.5g). I hardly ever get any post requests (wink wink, nudge nudge), but there has been some mild arm-twisting on Twitter for me to show how I wear pastel shades on my eyes - so your wish is my command, especially when it involes sparkly blurples.

While Lancôme calls their Color Design Infinité 24H Eyeshadows 'a revolution in eye shadow. Now, a unique creamy-powder texture creates effortlessly luminous, lasting looks. Purity of color meets exceptional long wear, for infinite intensity.' , we've seen this concept trickle down from luxe Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadows to drugstore L'Oréal 24H Infallibles - the tightly packed loose powder eyeshadow equipped with a stopper that gives the effect of intense, shimmery goodness on the lids.

I don't own any original Armani ETKs to compare the formulas, but I do have one L'Oréal 24H Infallible Eye Shadow in Golden Emerald (reviewed and swatched here) so I can pinpoint some differences for you. My Golden Emerald is slightly drier and less pigmented than Lancôme's Evermore Lilac and thus harder to pick up with a brush - I find that packing it on with a finger works best as far as application goes. I don't have that issue with Lancôme: it easily deposits pigment onto the bristles and takes a lot less effort to build up. Evermore Lilac also has bigger shimmer particles than Golden Emerald and thus is more prone to glittery fallout. I find it quite long-lasting on the eyes but I always wear it over primer.

Shade-wise, I don't own any purple eyeshadow that's even remotely similar to Evermore Lilac in tone or finish. Evermore Lilac is lighter and bluer than my other purples; in the pot, you can even see some blue duochrome where I picked the shadow up with my finger. Fyrinnae's When I Grow Up is a warmer, pinky purple, Inglot no. 439 is deeper and plummier, Stila's Glance and Wet n'Wild purple Crease shade from the LE Dancing in the Clouds trio are much darker but similarly on the cool side.

Clockwise: Lancôme Evermore Lilac, Inglot no. 439, Fyrinnae When I Grow Up, Stila Glance, Wet n'Wild Crease from Dancing in the Clouds trio

Swatches in the same order as above photo
Lancôme's Evermore Lilac also has the most multidimensional shimmer; in this intentionally blurry sunlit shot, you can see light blue, pink, silver and gold sparkles. What I love the most about this eyeshadow is that this beautiful finish is actually also visible once applied on the eyes. Evermore Lilac is bright enough to create a bold, colorful eye, but also works well as an accent color for shading the inner socket, inner corners or lower lashline.

In this eye look, I combined Evermore Lilac with Rouge Bunny Rouge Eclipse Eagle in the outer corner and up in the crease, and another splash of color by way of Fyrinnae's vibrant blue Dapper Mr Shark at the outer third of the upper lashline and slightly up. Rouge Bunny Rouge Unforgettable Oriole in the inner corners to highlight. Can you see the pretty sparkles on my brow bone? Oh yes, baby.

All in all, I have to say I'm quite surprised by how much I like this Lancôme Infinité 24H eyeshadow in Evermore Lilac. Lancôme is usually not a brand that gets me very excited, so I did not expect such multicolor shimmery fun from this shade. I'll definitely explore more of their eyeshadows in the future, hoping for some more hidden gems in the line. Have you tried these eyeshadows from Lancôme? What is your favorite way to wear lilac?