Silk Naturals Chromatic Cream Eye Color in Gotham: Swatch, Review, and Photos

I Purchased This

It seems like every purchase I make lately has been fueled by a fellow blogger and this is no different. Silk Naturals's new Spring 2013 Collection came out with a new product called the Chromatic Cream Eye Color, basically their take on a cream eyeshadow. Not many indie companies make a cream eyeshadow so I was super intrigued. I purchased Gotham after hearing raves about the formula from Phyrra. I'll show my swatch of it first then my thoughts on the formula, followed by a photo of my wear time test.

Where to purchase: Silk Naturals
Price: $4.99 for 4.5 mL.
Do they test on animals? They do not test on animals. 
Packaging: The chromatic cream eye colors are packaged in a lipgloss-style tube with a doefoot applicator. The bottom of the tube is clear so you can store them upside down to see which color is which.
Product description: Chromatic Cream Eye Colors are "luminous, well pigmented, and smudge-proof but not waterproof. No parabens, silicones, oils, or petroleum products. If you have really oily lids, you may still need a separate primer." From what I can tell, all the colors in the line are vegan and gluten-free.

Swatch

Swatch taken in natural daylight with no flash. The swatch on the left is one layer of the color then blended and the swatch on the right is two layers (I did one layer, blended out then did another layer on top). The one layer swatch is a little overblended, it's actually a little more pigmented than it appears in the swatch. I do think it looks best with two layers as the color is more true to tube. (and Silk Naturals does suggest two thin coats for maximum intensity)

Gotham is described as a deep, dirty grey with a hint of brown and the description is spot on. I think with one layer, it looks more brown than grey but with a second layer, it's definitely much more grey. This is a color that will work on everyone in my opinion.

My Thoughts on the Formula: 

I almost hesitate to call this a cream eye color, its much more reminiscent of a liquid eyeshadow. My first thought was "oh this is kinda liquidy, is it gonna be sheer and take forever to dry on me?" but it's actually quite the opposite. Despite the liquid texture, you have to work quickly to blend the color before it dries down. The time it took for me to apply and to blend it out with your fingers before it dried was about 25 seconds. Although it comes with a doefoot applicator, I think fingers are best for blending the color out; I found it wasn't as even looking when I used the applicator to apply it.

Once it has dried, it's locked down and doesn't have a heavy, tacky, or sticky feeling on your eyelids. Gotham blends out beautifully and there's no "hard edge" between the eye color and your skin. This is one of those products that looks like you put more effort into it than you really did (which I'm always a fan of).

The best and worst thing is that it removes easily with water. No joke, you don't need a fancy makeup remover for this, water on a cotton pad is enough. That being said, it's not the best for someone who gets watery or teary eyes from allergies and the like. I would agree that it's smudgeproof but if you smudge the inner corner and your finger gets a little wet from your eyes, you will remove the color.

The biggest deterrent? Simply put, its shelf life of six months once opened. I don't think it's a big deal for the neutral colors like Gotham or the highlights which are so wearable that you'll reach for it often. However for the bolder colors that you might not wear every day, it might potentially be a problem. 

Wear Time Test

The surprising part for me was seeing how well it lasted on my lids despite the fact that it removes so easily with water. The two qualities almost seem mutually exclusive. After seven hours on my double whammy hooded and oily eyelids with no primer, Gotham had only begun to crease. I think you could go six hours without any creasing at all.

Final Thoughts

I'll easily recommend Gotham, after all it's only $4.99 and you'll be hardpressed to find another indie liquid/cream eyeshadow that's so easy to apply, lasts well, yet removes so easily. I'm a little less hesitant to recommend some of the brighter colors only because I'm not entirely sure how often you as a consumer will use them before the shelf life is up.

If I could make a suggestion, it'd be great to have a manufacture date on the tubes. I think most consumers would use and open the tube right when they purchase and for the forgetful types (like me), it'd be an easier way to keep track of when six months is up. If not, maybe an option for consumers to write in a "opened on" date. Oh and I'm personally not fond of the sticker on the packaging. I've had my tube for less than a week and the sticker is already starting to lift off the tube.

I'm so sold on this, I just love the idea of a product that lasts so well yet isn't a pain to remove. Are you thinking about picking this (or any of the other eighteen shades) up?

Disclaimer: I purchased this product myself. All opinions are my own. None of the links in this post are affiliate links.