Vanity in the Dark: Etos All in One Party Colour Kit


Sure, I’ve been making an effort to widen my eyeshadow horizon to something beyond brown, brown and brown. But electric blue?! Blimey, of all the colours to choose from, how in the world did I end up with this?

I bought this at a local drugstore not expecting much and not realising that I already had something similar from NARS. I had swatched the eyeshadows at the store. The blue eyeshadow wasn’t too bad, I thought. It was a dull blue shade. The gorgeous aubergine shade which held so much promise was, however, a total disappointment in the swatch. It was half-dead and lacking in pigmentation.

Still, I bought it, together with a lip gloss. And why? Because I’m a sucker for gimmicks.


Gimmicks do wonders to distort your rational thinking, no?

Blinded by the lights, you could say. Well, you must admit that they do look cool in the dark. I can see the lights coming handy when you need to touch up your makeup while clubbing, or if you’re rummaging through the dark abyss that is your handbag looking for your keys (let’s just assume your phone battery’s dead), or perhaps if there’s a city-wide power blackout.

Now, I will feature the lights...I mean, products, with a bit more detail:

Illuminating Product No. 1
Etos All in One Party Colour Kit
Price: €5.99

Etos (pronounced ay-tos) is a Dutch drugstore chain that also has its own makeup line under the same name. They released this colour kit about a month ago and as you would have noted from its name, it has all you might need to make up your face, except for a foundation. There are two eyeshadow shades, one lipgloss and a blush. On the back of the slide-out box, you are shown pictorially which one’s which.

There are three variations available and the one I bought was for brown hair. Quite frankly, I don’t really care much about that. What matters is that I like the colour combination found in that particular kit.

I know I panned the eyeshadows but I gave it another chance when I got home. Lo and behold, this is what I got with a sticky eyeshadow base (swatches in daylight):


There are hints of shimmer in the eyeshadows. The blue is like electric blue and the aubergine finally showed its worth. The eye makeup pictured at the beginning was created with only these two eyeshadows using the sponge applicator provided and some mascara. I lined the eyes with the aubergine shade using the other end of the applicator.

I must say that this gets quite close to being a dupe for the NARS eyeshadow duo called Demon Lover. Here’s the comparison:


Top row: Etos, Bottom row: NARS Demon Lover
Swatches in three swipes with eyeshadow base and with flash photography

It’s close, but not a total dupe. The Etos shades have a slight hint of glitter. The dark purple shade in NARS which they describe as deep indigo is a tad more intense but the blue shade in Etos is certainly brighter. I don’t know if it is too much for you, but I do like that pop of blue.

Pigmentation aside, I’m quite impressed with the quality of these Etos eyeshadows. They veer slightly towards the creamy side and the best thing is that they don’t crumble, which in turn means that there is hardly any fallout.

The lipgloss (bottom right) is a bright tomato red. Personally, it’s got the consistency of a lipstick and not a lipgloss. It smells rather like vanilla. I usually just tap it on the lips for a hint of colour. I would add more colour for redder lips.

The blush (bottom left) has a creamy consistency and is a coral shade. The swatch above has been slightly blended out. It may look orangey, but once blended out, I think it would give the wearer a subtle glow on the cheeks.

Oh, most importantly, the light switch is right next to the equally handy mirror, on the right, somewhere above the blue eyeshadow.

Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good product. The packaging is basic but, for the price, I can't complain. The lights and the eyeshadows were the reason why I bought this kit and I'm glad that, with a good base, the eyeshadows performed above expectations.

Next up, the illuminating lip gloss. Oh hey, I'm sharing the fun there.........

28 comments:

Mz. More said...

I agree. These are very close dupes. The blue shadow looks lovely on you hon. Don't be afraid to step outside of the box and go bold. Nice review! :)

DinaXYYan said...

wow, blue eyeshadow! i don't i'll ever wear this colour.. i'm more to natural colour :D

Cynthia Z said...

The Etos all in one packaging is cute n WoW! lights! Boy, I need some light sometimes. N yeah I'm a sucker for gimmicks too..haha. Ur right the eyeshadow duo is a dupe of Nars Demon Lover. I think overall it looks very Nars Mutiple Duo-ish..u know what I mean? lol.
I think the electric blue in the pic up there is not bad. I also find e blue quite tricky..I usually use it as a colored liner or only on my bottom lashline n outer V?
♥XX♥

twinsouls888 said...

It's really really pretty girl, I love the color combination yay ^_^.

Electric blue or not, I find it lovely on your eyes. You have very pretty eyes girl. :)

Advance Merry Christmas!!

Eli (Beauty Blog) said...

Wow, I wish we had that kind of drugstores in Spain :-)

Michelle @Lipstickrules said...

I love the blue! What a cool find.

Witoxicity said...

@Mz. More
Thank you! Shifting from brown to blue is quite a big step to take for me. Ha ha!

@Dina
Oh yes, natural shades are always safe to wear. I've been in that zone for too long. :)

@Cynthia
Yeah, I do realise that blue (especially THIS blue!) would not be to everyone's taste. I had lots of doubts about even placing a photo of my eye with this makeup on this post. Ha ha!! Well, it's time to step out of my comfort zone!

@twinsouls888
Thanks, my dear! I'm glad you approve! :D

Merry Christmas to you too!

@Eli
Stay tuned. I may feature one or two more items from Etos later. :)

@Lipstick Rules
I believe this kit is a limited edition item, something released for the holiday season. Well, holiday season or not, I can see it being used way into 2010! :D

Anonymous said...

*Puts hand up* I am a gimic girl too but I love the swatches! It is nice to be bold at go all out sometimes ( usually it's as far as the front door for me) but I think you should take your look out on the street - the blue looks beautiful. Another informative and interesting post, thank you xx

Witoxicity said...

@The Diva's Polish
The pleasure's all mine! Funny you should mention it but I actually did step out of the house with this look! The experience wasn't too bad. I felt self-conscious about the colour for only the first ten minutes. After that, it was like blue had become the new brown. Ha ha!

Kim Axani said...

That blue looks really nice with your brown eyes! Love the shape of your eyes

Manju said...

i actually LOVE blue eyeshadow. it felt kind of weird when i wore it for the first time, but now i just think it's Rad hehe

Witoxicity said...

@kimber doll
Thank you! You're too kind. :)

@Manju
Oh, I so get what you mean! Ha ha!

Babybubblz said...

Wow that is a very pretty blue! It's quite unique to find a small palette for the eyes, lips and cheeks like this! If you can find colors that work, this would be one awesome palette to have.

. said...

Aha! I was wondering if there was a light switch and it's a good thing there is -- I'd be worried about using up the batteries (where are those, anyways?) when I don't need the light in the daytime so it's good to know there's a switch.

Gail said...

haha great review! Lovely "lights", no seriously they all look quite lovely to me, and greatg job on that blue smokey eye - blue is my fave shadow for sure, it is so much fun x

The Beautifier said...

yay! you surely found a dupe girl! Ah! what a packaging! just LOVE it !its flashy and gimmicy for sure!
I too like my things to be multifunctional which is exactly what Etos All in one party colour kit is all about!xoxo

Witoxicity said...

@Babybubblz
Yes, it is indeed a very handy palette - all in one and easy to carry around! :)

@pfefi
Yeah, it's a good thing it has a little switch but I'm afraid I don't know where the battery is. Anyway, I don't think it's possible to open the casing to change the battery. :)

@Gail
Thank you! Blue is indeed a fun colour to work with and this particular blue shade is quite something! :D

@The Beautifier
It's funny that I discovered it was a dupe quite by accident! Ha ha!

lavender said...

Blue looks great on your eye. do an FOTD perhaps and show us.. thanks

Laura B said...

The shadows look very nice! I'm always up for good blue and purple shadows.:)

Shop N' Chomp said...

I love the name of this product! Too cute. *^_^* I think you did a fine job.

Witoxicity said...

@lavender
Thank you! I would have to think long and hard about your suggestion there. :D

@Madeleine Bouquet
I must say that I too am very drawn to this combination of blue and purple. :)

@Shop'N Chomp
Thanks! Ha ha, a cute name that is quite a mouthful, actually.

Anonymous said...

Haha I love your sense of humour. Blue looks gorgeous on you!!

Imo said...

These dupes are extremely close!? I actually prefer the Etos shades and they are cheaper? Great Post :)

lavender said...

Don't think too long ya. Next year is coming soon.

Witoxicity said...

@Natalie
Aw, thanks, my dear. Blue eyeshadow is so 80s. I missed out on it back then, so it's great that it has made a comeback! (That last bit would surely not apply to those who cringe when seeing electric blue on the eyes. Ha ha!)

@Imo
Close dupes indeed! The quality of the Etos shadows aren't too bad for the price, so it was certainly a pleasant discovery! :)

@lavender
Ha ha ha! FOTDs? Lavender, you tease!! ;D

Crystal said...

it's great that it has lip stuff as well as e/s in one palette already. it looks great for night events!

Sheefa F said...

Look at those colour combinations!
I would never expect a red and a blue eyeshadow to be in one paleltte. But looks stunning! I would love to try :)

Witoxicity said...

@Crystal
Yeah, it's very convenient to have them all in one palette. It was certainly made for girls on a night out. :)

@Shifa
This is indeed a cool palette but don't you mean purple and blue eyeshadow? The red on the palette is actually a lip colour. :)