Flower Beauty Color Play Creme eyeshadow swatch and review

I swear I had no intentions to collect these, it just happened...somehow. The silver lining is that I can provide you guys with swatches of the entire line xD.
From the Flower Beauty website:

• Enriched with Vitamin E for antioxidant protection
• Long-wearing formula
• Water-infused, weightless finish
• Lid-smoothing texture
• Buildable, blendable coverage
• Moves beautifully during application then sets without creasing
• Easily removed with make-up remover

All Flower Beauty products are made in the USA and not tested on animals. Currently the Flower Beauty collection is available exclusively at US Walmart stores. No word yet as to when or if they will be available in their Canadian counterpart.
The Color Play Creme eyeshadows are available in 12 shades and retails for a paltry $7.98 each. True to the brand's philosophy of affordable luxury, the small price tag belies a great little product.

The heavy glass packaging with the brand's characteristic rose gold accent is unassumingly elegant and more typical of a high end product than a drugstore brand. Under the lid lies a plastic keeper, much like those found inside the L'Oreal Infalliable Color eyeshadows. This keeper is the source of all my antagonism towards this product. Unless you are extremely careful every time you remove or replace this keeper, you'll end up with a huge mess on your hands because there's either a big blob of eyeshadow stuck to the bottom of it or you're rescuing it from its half sunken position in the jar. I'm mighty tempted to just do away with the keeper but then it will probably dry up like my Chanel Illusion D'ombre -______-;
The texture the Color Play eyeshadows is unlike anything else I've seen on the market. They are not as firm as the MUFE Aqua Creams or the Chanel Illusion D'Ombres, but also not as liquidy as the MAC Big Bounce, instead they have the consistency like that of a dense whipped mousse. Also unlike the MUFE and Chanel cream shadows, these never really dry down to a powder finish and for those with oily eyelids, the dewy finish might mean some creasing without use of a primer. I personally experienced some slight settling of this product in the creases of my eyelid when worn without a primer.
I found the pigmentation of these eyeshadows to be superior to that of the Chanel Illusion D'Ombres but not as intense as the MUFE Aqua Creams or Maybelline Color Tattoos. The darker shades definitely have more colour payoff compared to the lighter shades such as Lilac You A Lot. I think the reason why this product doesn't receive much love from MakeUpAlley is because it takes a bit of patience to make it work. I apply using my fingers, the tiniest bit of product is enough to cover your entire eyelid, I pat it on, I don't blend it out too much and I wait about half a minute between each layer. Due to their creaminess, these eyeshadows have a lot of slippage so it's very easy to over blend. Use gentle patting instead of the ol' back and forth windscreen wiper action. They are definitely a softer look but they can be sheered out for a light wash of colour or built up for vibrancy. They can used on their own or as a base for powder eyeshadow. On me they last about 5/6 hours before any noticeable fading without primer.
I want to call these the poor (wo)man's version of Chanel Illusion D'Ombres (and in fact several of the shades are passable dupes for the Illusion D'ombres! Orchid-ing Around = Illusoire; Midnight Garden = Mirifique; Awesome Blossom = Ebloui; Rest On Your Laurel = Fantasme) but with better pigmentation. I haven't been this excited about an eyeshadow line since the L'Oreal Infallibles and definitely recommend that you try them out if you come across them.

Swatches from left: Awesome Blossom; Flirty Floret; Lilac You A Lot; and Wild Geranium.

Swatches from left: Mum's The Word; Vine Of The Times; Good As Mari-gold and Cocoa Camelia.

Swatches from left: Orchid-ing Around; Rest On Your Laurel; Time Willow Tell and Midnight Garden.

After 8hrs of wear: