Lashes and Leather MUA: Makeup Geek pigments Review & Swatches

This is a review of the 7 Makeup Geek pigments that I ordered. I purchased Sweet Dreams, Liquid Gold, Afterglow, Utopia, New Years Eve, Insomnia, and Paparazzi. Each of these pigments are sold for $6.99 each (U.S. dollars) and I received my order in about 3-4 days after I placed it. Each pot contains about 2 grams of product. Lately I have been trying out lots of pigments from a few different brands and honestly for the price and pigmentation these have been one of my favorites. They all pretty much apply effortlessly and opaquely with just one layer and whether you apply them wet or dry the pigmentation on these is outstanding. I didn't have any problem blending these colors out and in fact they all blended very well with each other as well as with other shadows. I have been testing these products out for a couple weeks and have been wearing at least one pigment every single day. I just love how creamy and smooth they apply. All of the colors have some amount of shimmer or glitter to them, so I have found that the best way to apply them, whether you use them wet or dry, is over top of a primer and/or base to cut down on fall out and maximize the appearance of the shimmer. The great thing about these pigments are that even if you're using just one color, there is so much dimension and shimmer or shine to them that you really don't need to have other shadows to make your eyes pop. Now because these are pigments, you can use them all over the face. I love using a couple of the shades as highlighters for my face, or mixed in with a lip gloss or lipstick for a 3-D effect, or used wet and applied on the lids as a fun liner.

I do have a couple cons to this product and my number one complaint is the packaging. I hate it! I don't mind the little pot that it comes in, but it does not contain a sifter so every time you open or close them product goes everywhere. I just really wish that it had a sifter or that the pot was deeper instead of wide so there was more room for the pigments to sit in there without being right at the top of the pot. I feel like I lose product every time I open or close the jar, so I have to be super careful to sit the pot down before I open it and tap all the sides and lid to make any lose shadow fall back in. I just think that a change in packaging would make these so much more user friendly, however these pigments are so great that I take all the extra precautions because they're that wonderful. My other complaint is just one I have with all pigments and that is the fallout, but that is to be expected and my tip is to apply your foundation and concealer after you do your eyes so you can clean everything up and keep yourself from looking like you got into a fight with the glitter monster.

Sweet Dreams- flesh toned beige pink with slight shimmer

^ This color is perfect for an everyday eye color. It has the least amount of shimmer or metallic to it out of all the shades I have. I love to apply this color to the inner corner of the eyes or on the face as a highlight. I found that this pigment applied smoothly wherever I put it. I like using this pigment wet first because it really brings out the shimmer and then applying just a bit of the dry pigment on top to set it.

Liquid Gold- True metallic gold

^ This pigment is a dirtier gold shade and by that I mean it isn't one of your bright gold pigments, such as Sugarpill's Goldilux, this one is a much deeper gold. This shade is a gorgeous metallic pigment that applies gorgeously to the lids. I prefer to use this pigment dry, because I feel like it goes on so pigmented and opaque without having to wet it. I felt like when I used water with it, it kind of bunched up on me and looked kind of streaky. I don't have any gold shadow or pigment that looks like this and am extremely happy to have it as part of my collection.

Afterglow- Soft shimmery champage

^This is one of my favorites out of all the pigments I bought, as well as one of the most versatile. This pigment applies so beautifully to the lids, or to the face as a highlight, or even patted on to the center of the lips to give fullness and shine to them. It's a gorgeous peachy-champagne shade with multicolored soft shimmers to it. I feel like for all you neutral loving girls out there, and even you crazy eye wearers too, you need this color in your collection. It applies perfectly wet or dry so whatever your preference have fun with it.

Utopia- Deep brown and antique gold shimmer duochrome glitter

^This was the pigment I was most excited to receive and the whole reason I placed the order in the first place and let me tell you it did NOT disappoint. I've heard that this is a dupe for MAC's antique gold reflects, but I don't own it so I can't say for sure. However, I will say that because this is a pigment and not just a glitter it will apply more opaquely to the lid. This color is just so gorgeous and fun to play with. The color is already intense enough on it's own , but used with a mixing medium or water makes it even sparklier and intense. It applies smoothly and evenly wet or dry and looks awesome over a black or brown base or just on its own. I did a smokier eye look using this pigment over a black base and absolutely loved how it came out. http://makeupbychelsea0106.blogspot.com/2013/07/utopia-eye-look-using-makeup-geek.html

New Years Eve- Light gold reflective glitter

^When I first tried out this color I have to admit I wasn't the biggest fan, which is sad because when you see it in the pot it looks stunning. I used it dry and it just didn't apply that well for me. The base color is nude and you don't really see it when you apply it, all you really notice is the little gold glitters and it just didn't look very nice. After playing around with it some more, I think the key to getting this pigment to live up to its full potential is to use it with a mixing medium (water works too). Once used wet it is a gorgeous light, shimmery gold with beautiful gold glitter. I have been loving using this on the inner corners of the lid to really brighten the eyes up. This shade made me realize that sometimes you just have to try products a few different ways to get it to look and apply how you want.

Insomnia- A warm chocolate brown base with blue/teal duochrome

^I am a sucker for any shadow like this. I love the warm, reddish brown base with a teal sheen to it. This pigment does remind me of MAC's blue brown pigment,but for the $6.99 price tag I would much prefer the Makeup Geek one. This shadow applies so smoothly to eye and looks just as pigmented dry as it does wet. I find shades like this so fun and easy to work with, because you really only need this one shadow to have a complete eye look. Because of the warm base and the blue duochrome it automatically gives you dimension to your eyes. I also really love to apply this pigment all over the lid and lower lashline and use matte warm browns into the crease and outer corner to complete the look. I feel like everyone can use a color like this in their makeup collection, because it's so fun and makes you feel super exotic when you apply it. I did a full eye look using this pigment: http://makeupbychelsea0106.blogspot.com/2013/07/insomnia-eye-look-feat-pigments-from.html

Paparazzi- Glittery smokey grey

^This pigment is a gorgeous charcoal shade with loads of multi-color glitters and shimmers in it. This pigment was a total impulse buy to me, because I didn't really like the swatch of it on the website, but the color description really intrigued me and I have to say I am quite happy with my purchase. This color sort of reminds me of Sugarpill's Stella pigment, but with a charcoal base instead of black. I think this is the perfect pigment for a smokey eye and it really blends out to give a soft blown out effect. I prefer this pigment applied dry, so you can see more of the grey color, as opposed to when it's used wet it gets darker. The glitters in this pigment are awesome and when used over a sticky base they really show up.

Sweet Dreams, Liquid Gold, and Afterglow (Dry)