Some time in the middle of this year, Elite Cosmetics became available at Watsons, MidValley. Although the company is based in France, according to their official website, quite a few of their cosmetics are made in Taiwan including the eye shadows which are the topic of today’s review.

There are 3 mono eye shadows and 6 eye shadow quads. As usual, I had to pick them up when they weren’t on discount (wait long enough and whatever is new in drugstores will eventually be on 10% discount but I never learn!) so I paid RM18.90 for the mono eye shadow and RM42.90 for the quad.

The mono eye shadows come in pretty sturdy plastic packaging, definitely comparable to some pricier counter brands. The covers are transparent which makes for easy identification of the colours. The mono eye shadow plastic seems to be heavier and more hardy than the quads. The palettes have a cheaper feel and look to them than the mono eye shadows.

There isn’t much choice of mono eye shadows. I picked the lightest shade of the 3 available as it’s the most versatile, I can use it as a highlighter or on my eye crease and blend it with similar shades. RM18.90 for 2g of eye shadow is a worthy buy.

Andalusite is a very neutral brown toned shade which is eminently suitable for day wear. It has some fine shimmer which gives it some dimension and so it doesn’t look flat. Easy to apply with fingers or brush, the only issue I have with this eye shadow is it is too powdery. When I apply it with my fingers, bits of it fall into the sink. The powder isn’t nicely packed so it goes all over the pan and casing. That makes me think twice about getting a 2nd mono eye shadow.

The eye shadow quads include a brush and a dual-ended sponge applicator. These are the best features about the palettes as I found the brush and sponge applicator very useful for applying the shadows and the tapered tip of the sponge applicator was perfect for applying the darkest shade as eye liner.

Since there is a yellowish highlighter shade, a mid-tone light green for the inner corners of the eyes, a charcoal black for the outer corners and a deep black for eye liner, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to apply the colours. Besides, instructions are provided in French and English on the reverse of the box along with a diagram. Il est facile de faire!

There’s good enough colour pay-off and the little brush makes blending très simple so it should be a worthwhile buy, non? Well, unfortunately the eye shadows have the same problem as the mono eye shadow – when touched, they become rather powdery. All the colours contain some shimmer. There are no matte colours here. The eye shadow palette contains 6.4g which is quite a lot even when you divide it between 4 colours.

Checked them out yet? I am not sure what other countries Elite Cosmetics is available outside of France. There are also some interesting liquid foundations, they are at 10% discount from time to time. I have only seen them at Watsons MidValley and Sunway Pyramid but I presume they should be available at the bigger Watsons outlets too.