Glossier Lidstar: Swatches and Review of Cub, Fawn, Herb, and Moon

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of the Glossier Lidstars. Their newest makeup product launch, the Lidstars are a liquid-cream eyeshadow, packaged in tubes reminiscent of vacutainers. Admittedly, not my first choice when it comes to eyeshadow packaging but it's definitely unique. The videos on the website made it look so cool and they promise a sheer finish with long-lasting wear so I decided to get four of the colors to try out.

Click through to read my review and see both eye and arm swatches!

Where to Get It: These are $18.00 for 0.15 oz / 4.5 ml, you can also get two for $30.00. It's only available on Glossier or in their Showroom.

Packaging: These come in a slim tube with a doefoot applicator. Just be careful cause these can have a lot of pressure built up in the tube. The wand for Moon sometimes springs out as I'm trying to put it back on if I'm not careful. 

Review:

Glossier says:

• Lidstar lights up eyes with a wash of soft, glistening color that lasts all day. The effect comes from a delicate proportion of ultrafine multicolor pearls suspended with coated pigments in a buttery base for the silkiest, most blendable formula. To apply, dab doe foot applicator onto clean lids and use fingertips to shape. The cream dries down to a sheer veil, locking onto lids with no creasing (no need for primer). It’s one-step eye enhancement you can do every day.

My first thought when I swatched them was "hmm this feels really slippy". It's quite creamy/emollient and the thin consistency reminds me of liquid lipsticks (not surprising since the first ingredient is a common liquid lipstick base ingredient, isododecane). The formula doesn't set quickly so you do have time to blend it out, about 30 seconds to a minute, but it does need to be blended out otherwise it'll feel more heavy on the lids.

When you apply these onto your eyes, it does sheer out a bit as it blends down but you can layer it to build up the pigmentation without it looking crepey or bunching up on the eyes. I highly recommend applying these with your fingers and swiping it on, dabbing it on ends up lifting the color so more ends up on your finger than your eye. Brushes just soak up the product. Also, just cause I notice these things the eyeshadows smelled kind of leafy/herby though obviously it doesn't have an effect on its wear.

Wear Time on these was quite excellent, I was able to get beyond 8+ hours with no primer and no creasing. Glossier makes the claim that you don't need primer for creasing, which I completely agree with but they've also made the claim on their social media that you don't need a primer due to lack of fallout, which I don't agree with 100% because there is some sparse shimmer fallout throughout the day. Nothing major but there is some.

All of the shades are shimmery but not so shimmery that it's metallic. I do have individual thoughts for each shade, which I'll share below with its swatch.

Swatches:

I'm not sure if we've had this discussion before but I'll say it now, sometimes swatches can be misleading. The Lidstars swatch differently compared to how they apply on the eyes. In arm swatches, you get lot of color payoff because when you swipe it on and let it dry down, it retains more of its pigmentation. These eyeshadows were swatched on my hand and also on my eyes (using my finger) to demonstrate the difference.

Cub

Cub is described as a rose gold gold with warm shimmer effect. I think this color is more akin to a copper vs. a rose gold, especially since it turns quite orangey when sheered out on the lids. I don't have any particular qualms about the pigmentation, only that I don't like how it looks on me.

Fawn

Fawn is described as a cool smoky taupe with violet and gold pearls. It's a gorgeous color, it is what Beyonce wore to the Grammys and that taupe brown is just a great color to wear when you want to look like you put more effort in than you did. It's my personal favorite and though it pulls quite purple in the swatch, it ends up more smoky and brown on my eyelids.

Herb

Herb is described as a smoky green with yellow gold pearl. This is a total skip for me. Despite my best efforts, it looks unpigmented and can apply blotchy instead of sheer even when layered. This was the color I was most looking forward to but ended up as a fail.

Moon

Moon is described as a sheerest cream base with blueish opalescent glimmer. On its own, it gives off a slight blue shimmer to the eyes. I would not use this for a spotlight/halo eye because I don't think the duochrome will catch the light as much as other liquid eyeshadows or glitters. The duochrome effect is stronger when applied over a black base but the cream formula can mess up and mix with the color beneath.

Conclusion:

If you're looking for a liquid-cream eyeshadow that wears all day and is buildable in pigmentation, you might want to consider the Glossier Lidstars. Skip if you're not willing to apply these with fingers or if the colors don't appeal to you. 

In the end, the one I would repurchase hands down is Fawn. Moon is not bad by itself and would be my second choice. For me, Cub is more orange than I like in a rose gold and Herb totally disappointed me so I don't plan to repurchase those. 

Do you like liquid eyeshadows? What have you been liking to wear?

Disclaimer: I purchased these eyeshadows with referral credit. If you decide to purchase any of the eyeshadows through my affiliate link, I receive commission.