Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Marsk Mineral Eyeshadow

Marsk is a UK/Australian company that I'd never heard of until this sample of its mineral eyeshadow popped up in my December Topbox. The company produces beauty products that contain "all natural and certified organic ingredients" that are also cruelty-free (meaning they aren't tested on animals).

According to Marsk, its line of mineral eyeshadows are "100% natural" and are "...available in a range of striking shades that offer endless colour possibilities for a professional makeup effect." To achieve that, these shadows are all "highly pigmented powders (that) are easily blendable" in order to "offer you the ability to create depth and intensity around the eye." They can be used wet or dry and, since they are a powder, work best when used with a proper brush (ideally one from Marsk's own brush line).

I'm generally not a fan of loose powder eyeshadows because they are tricky to use and this one is no exception. However, it have a "creamy" texture that does blend nicely. It's also super pigmented, something that took me a bit by surprise. A little of this product goes a long way and it's easy to turn up the drama by using water or applying multiple layers. Someone who actually knows how to use loose powder eyeshadow properly could probably get a lot out of this product.

This eyeshadow is offered in 10 different colours. The one I received is called Mudcake and Marsk describes it as, "This sweet chocolate is the perfect brown for that sexy, sultry smoky look." And at first glance, Mudcake does appear to be a dark brown colour. But then I opened the jar open and discovered that it was more of reddish brown than a chocolate brown.

Reddish brown is not really my thing so I tossed this sample into a basket and forgot about it until recently. This time I actually swatched the product and discovered that while the base colour is a reddish brown,  there's an also greenish iridescent quality that I've never seen before in an eyeshadow. It's a bit strange but also quite pretty at the same time. I tried to capture it in the photo below but I don't quite think I pulled it off.

Unfortunately, that iridescent element didn't last. It didn't smear or anything like that, instead it seemed to gradually fade away over the first hour of wear. And that's a real shame because the green colour really balanced out the red and made this colour surprisingly wearable. Once it was gone, I was left with a reddish-brown colour on my lids that really only worked with certain outfits in certain (generally nighttime) situations.

The reddish-brown base colour is a bit more durable and under normal circumstances, it stayed in place until the end of the work day. It was however quite transferable, meaning it I rubbed my eyes, it ended up on my fingers.

I cannot find any sign that Marsk sells its products through a brick-and-mortar store in Canada but its full line can be purchased through its online store. This eyeshadow retails for about $28 CAD, depending on the exchange rate, a price that I do think it a bit pricey for what you get.

Would I buy this product: I wouldn't buy this product in this particular colour as reddish-brown just isn't one that works for me. But if I came across this product in a store at closer to $20, I might pick it up in another shade.

Should you buy this product: If you love highly pigmented loose powder eyeshadows, this might be a product you want to check out. It's just a shame that it can only be ordered online.

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