L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadows

If you talk to me at all on twitter you've probably seen that my latest love is the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Silk eyeshadows - that'll be yet another post, but basically my goal when I went to SF was to pick up three colours since they were so much cheaper there! Unfortunately one of them was sold out, so I'll wait to see if I'll pick it up here before I post about them.

In any case, after seeing reviews of them start to hit the 'net, it was pointed out to me that other brands under the L'Oreal umbrella had similar shadows - Lancome with their Ombre Magnetique and L'Oreal with the Color Infalliable eyeshadows! Both had cheaper price points than the Armani but smaller colour ranges and not available in Canada :(

Vanity-Fashionista was kind enough to surprise me with a load of chocolate (yum) AND two of the shadows to try so I thought I'd compare them to my previous experience with Armani for you!

I wore these alone over a layer of UDPP :)

First observations:
- L'Oreal Shadows are a bit smaller at 3.5 g, Armani ETK are 4 g
- L'Oreal jars feel less substantial (they are plastic) but they do include the same plastic stopper to keep the shadow compressed as the ETK
- The colours are less complex in the pot - the Armani ETK are gorgeous and flecked with multiple colours

- The shadows swatch more satin than metallic (these swatches were done with my fingers)
- The L'Oreal shadows are a bit more fragile - I'm able to tip my ETK jar upside down completely and there's no fallout, but I lost a bit of Burning Black trying the same thing
- These apply MUCH better with a patting motion, I was unable to 'sweep' the eyeshadow on the way I typically do

- These shadows did blend really well! I didn't set them with powder
- Wear time was at least 5 hours (and then I took off my makeup since I was going to bed) over UDPP
- There was a bit of fading at the 5 hour mark - they weren't as shiny/satin as when I'd put them on, but no visible creasing!

Final verdict (for me)

If you aren't sure about the loose/pressed powder texture and the L'Oreal Color Infallible eyeshadows are available to you I think they are fun to try, but for WOW factor and longevity I'm definitely sticking with the Armani ETK Silk eyeshadows - the colour range is bigger, they last FOREVER, and I don't need to put anything on top of them to make them pop! And they are available in Canada (albeit with a jacked-up price) which is always a plus. I am still intrigued by the other colours in the L'Oreal range despite this, but I chalk it up to not being able to buy them myself!