One of the goodies in my TBBM bag from a couple weeks ago was a quad eyeshadow palette from CARGO Cosmetics. I received their Colour Eyeshadow Palette in London, which features a matte dark brown, a matte dark eggplant purple, a shimmery mushroom or beige and a shimmery olive colour (see swatches below). Each quad comes in a durable (but stylish) case with a large mirror in the lid. and retails for $28 CDN.
I have some foundations from CARGO as well as some bronzers and blushes, but to be honest, I havent used CARGO eyeshadows very much, despite their strong reputation in the industry as a quality makeup brand. There are so many brands on the market that I feel like I dont have enough time (or money!) to try all the great products that are out there today for makeup artists. That aside, I was happy to have the chance to try these shadows.
The first thing that I noticed with this palette was the packaging. It is very sturdy and I really like that. I dont know how many refill quad shadow palettes I have chipped or cracked from other brands, but this case seems very strong. Not that I plan on throwing it on the ground any time soon, but being a makeup artist means that you’re business is portable and your tools need to be portable and durable too. The other thing I really liked about the packaging was the mirror. It was big and bright and perfect for shadow application.
For the colours, I was very impressed with the dark eggplant. I am a big fan of matte shadows and this one has a nice rich tone. I wore it this week with an emollient base underneath and it lasted all day without creasing. The colour stayed true and I didnt need to layer it on to get the colour from the palette on my lid. The brown is very nice, but similar to others that I already have. The beige however, has become a great staple base for my basic makeup routine. I can wear it on it’s own with liner and its subtle shimmer will brighten my lids, or I can wear it as the base with other shadows and it blends well and works under the brow as a hi-lighter.
One thing to note about the two shimmery colours is that although they look like there is a lot of sheen to them on the swatches, they dont show up like this on the lid. Again, this is a plus for me because I like matte colours, but if you’re looking for shimmer like with a mineral powder, this isnt the quad for you.
Overall I was really impressed with the product and would definitely try other colours in their palette collection. The size of the shadows were generous and for $28, you’re paying about $7 a shadow for high quality colour that will last. For their full line of Colour Eyeshadow Palettes, you can visit the CARGO website.
A positive experience all around.
xoxo,
dg
