Serge Lutens Eye Shadow palette #2

Here it is…

The new Serge Lutens eyeshadow #2 is a lavender-purple-grey-cool-toned palette that offers 4 eyeshadows with similars tones but in a gradient intensity. They range from a very sheer, nearly white, lavender to a very dark grey with tiny micro lavender sparkles.

Although I find this palette a bit boring, unless you love lavender cool tones, the quality is once more outstanding.

There is something about Serge Lutens eyeshadow textures that make them stand out from the crowd, not only because of their price but the finish is truly different, they grab onto the skin with more precision and it feels like the pigmentation they leave on your eyelids comes from underneath the skin, you'll get less transfer in your final look and when it fades, it fades in an even and sultry way.

Compared to the old SL palette that I highly prefer, this new palette contains shimmery colors, my only problem with it is that it's a bit too flat and not very appropriate for me, but maybe I am missing something, since I have no other information, no example looks, no instructions, I don't know if I should use it the way I use it. I have tried several looks and came to the conclusion that lavender is not that flattering for me. I will share my thoughts with you today.

The 1st shadow : the dark grey

The finish reminds me of the Mac satin finish, just with more pigmentation and tiny bit more shine. Here are some similar options -nearly blacks with sparkles- to help you compare the intensity and the color :

• Le Metier de Beaute shade on the very left in the swatches is the one from Antiquité Poupée (kaleidoscope is not pictured here), the LMdB is much more metallic than the SL.
• Mac Hocus Pocus is green based but I still wanted to share a swatch (I love this color…), I love to mix it with a golden cream shade.
• The Mac Black Tied applies a bit patchy and is much darker.
• RBR Trumpeter Koehl is maybe a shade that SL could use instead of having two very similar shades in the same palette!
• Chanel Black Star I don't use it because of the lasting power and it tends to transfer while fading.
• RBR Volcano Fairy-Wren is similar to the SL but warmer and darker, the SL has also more tiny micro sparkles.
• SL #1 is blacker and matte.
• The Shiseido is a cream shadow with tiny sparkles, again much darker.

The second and third shades : the dark and medium lavender

The finish of these two shades is similar to Mac veluxe pearl, in between a satin finish and a veluxe pearl actually. It has been really difficult to find a dupe to these two shades, I have only two that come a bit close, Mac Parlor Smoke and RBR Lilac Reef Curassow. Of course the SL are better in terms of quality than the dupes I found so if you love cool lilac eyeshadows this SL will be heaven for you.

The forth shade : the lavender-white color

The finish is similar to a Mac frost in terms of shine but of course more appropriate for ageing eyelids. I believe the Suqqu individual shadow is no longer produced but it is the closest I found in my collection.

The SL is white but with a lavender bluish hue, not an irisdescent finish though but still a beautiful dimension. All the SL shades have sparkles but they are so tiny that this should not be a blocking point, that said, this one is the most shimmery, an elegant shimmery finish but still very obvious, it's really good to highlight the inner corner, but placed in all the browbone area it delivers too much shimmer, it will be better to use the mauvy sheer shade in the browbone and this white in a very narrow line application just underneath the eyebrows.

Then when all my hopes to find dupes was gone and when I finished taking all the pics, I found two other similar shadows, the Nars Tokyo and the Makeupgeek Galaxy, and I took a pic with the flash for you to see the sparkles going on…

In terms of quality the SL is above any other shadow here but I have to say that even though I did not find exact dupes, I can totally reproduce the same look. From the distance you won't see any difference.

However, the SL are really amazing for those of us who have older eyelids, they just don't emphasize the creepiness at all. The finish is smooth and even and where they differ the most is in the way they fade along the day, they fade with "elegance" and don't crease.

Here on the left I applied Serge Lutens eyeshadows and on the right I used the dupes (Makeupgeek Galaxy, Mac Parlor Smoke, RBR Lilac, Nars Tokyo), after 1 hour I saw the fading starting on the dupe shades and getting a bit patchy and the Makeupgeek eyeshadow started to transfer a bit further away (although it has great lasting power). The dark SL shadow stayed more precisely where I had put it. The finish was overall much more metallic on the dupe side, although here you don't necessarily see it, I am afraid you'll have to believe me 😉

Bottom line

SL is more gentle with older skin, stays put, the finish is more elegant than other dupe options but the price and the lack of diversity in this palette -in my humble opinion- does not justify the high price tag. I much prefer the SL #1.

I love to use some lavender shadows but this is way too cool for me, and if I do a smokey look although it doesn't shout metallic, it still is too shiny for my taste when I use the grey all over the mobile lid and up to the crease. I have been using it for 5 days in a row and I did not manage to be entirely satisfied with it, I think I will try again when my face managed to see some sun or when I will be able to give a more flawless finish to my skin, I suspect that with a more even skin, the final look will be much more beautiful. For now it's still too cold to apply more coverage and my dry skin will not enjoy it at all. I also find that these lavender tones makes my eyes appear even more tired than what they are right now and it emphasizes the "grey" in my eyes which is not something I love at all!

I can't wait to see the looks Serge Lutens will use on its promotional pictures in the press (if any…), I imagine he will share very theatrical images on very exceptional looking women but I guess it will give me a better idea of what was the idea behind these shades when he created this palette 😀

The next Suqqu palette will also be lavender toned, not sure it will a good option for me but knowing Suqqu I probably have bigger chances 😉

oh yes… ingredient list 😉