Review and swatch: Almay Intense i-Color Shadow Sticks for Green eyes

Last time Rite-Aid had their clearance sale, I picked up this dual ended cream shadow stick for a few bucks (though it’s normal retail is about $7, I think I got it 75% off). It contains two colors: a silver and a dark plum tone.

When swatched, they look very pigmented, but upon application to the eyelid they don’t really and with any attempt to blend they almost disappear. They do apply easily, and have a creamy formula. I find these don’t really work for cream eye shadows, but instead work as an eyeshadow base.

just the shadow sticks

In this look I applied a taupe-ish light grey tone over the silver (to make it less blaringly metallic) and a plum color over the purple. This plum eye shadow is from my stila palette and is so soft, it barely shows up on the lid. With this cream stick as a base, though, it looks as deep and as rich as it does in the pan!

with shadow on top

Overall, I would say it is worth $7, mostly because it can’t be blended without disappearing. It is a good base though. If you are just looking for a base though, it might be worth to try out NYX’s “milk” cream shadow pencil (which I haven’t tried, but I’ve heard it’s fantastic).