These come in nicely-sized packaging, and the modern black casing looks really luxe too, and they've put in a decent-sized mirror for on-the-go-application. The pigmentation on these shadows is one of the best I've seen. Much better than those pretenders MAC and NARS *waves hand disdainfully*. I'd put it on the level of higher-ups, like Chantecaille and Becca. Yes, that good. This is awesome. It's got Chantecaille's soft texture, without the sheerness, Becca's texture and pigmentation, without the puny product size, and the colour range of Bobbi Brown, without the chalkiness and hit-and-miss level of pigmentation. None of these shades are duds - they are all smooth, finely-milled and well-pigmented.
The meanest thing I can say about the single eyeshadows is that the colour range, while appealing to my taste for neutrals, isn't very unique. There isn't any shade that stands out and wows me, and I feel like I've seen all the shades before. We've all seen bronzy browns, charcoal greys, and nude beiges. But I guess given that there are only six eyeshadow colours in the line, Edward Bess has done a good job on these. These are all in line with his vision of high quality wearable, universally flattering colours.
Another thing to note about these shadows is that while they are called Ultra Luminous, they aren't actually OTT shimmery or frosty or sheen-y. In fact, these have more of what I call a soft glow - there is some shimmer in all the shades, but not so much that it's distracting - its a very soft, subtle shimmer that makes the colours more dimensional.
Here are swatches of the first three:
Nude is a lovely neutral beige, good for a highlight or a base shade. This is a great staple most of us could use, and would be a total workhorse shade for me.
Mystery is a beautiful grey-brown that leans a little to the cool side. Also a great staple colour. This is one of my favourites.
Escape is a bronze brown that's not too loud, brassy, or orange. This is a very wearable bronzish shade that would look good even on cool-toned girls.
Dusk is billed as a metal grey, but it actually swatches as a lovely neutral brown on me.
Night is a soft charcoal black. Very good for deepening a crease or outer V shade, without being too overwhelming.
Intimate is a lovely khaki-brown shade. This one is also a very pretty shade, another of my favourites - it's brown, but it's got some olive and green thrown in it, and that makes it a little more special. It kind of reminds me of Stila's Golightly.
You might be able to fault the colour range of the eyeshadows as being a little boring, however you can't fault the quality on these singles. There is definitely a lot of attention to detail paid to the shades to get them just the right neutral undertone, or to put in just the right amount of shimmer. These are great basic staples and work-appropriate shades that would suit just about everyone.
