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:

Flower Beauty Balm BB Cream review

Flower Beauty is a new cosmetics line launched by Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore. With a focus on affordable luxury, all products are priced under $15.
Currently available exclusively in US Walmarts, the entire line is made in the USA and products are not tested on animals. No word yet on when or if the line will be available at Canadian Walmarts, but I have been seeing bits and pieces pop up on E(vil)bay.
I managed to pick up a few items from the line and will be reviewing them in the next few weeks (with luck heh).
The Flower Beauty Balm BB Cream is available in 4 shades and retails for $12.98.
From the Walmart website:

"Flower Beauty Balm BB Cream can be used daily to eliminate skin dullness. It covers imperfections, pores and discolorations.

Flower Beauty Balm BB Cream:

• Smoothes and softens skin
• Helps eliminate unwanted shine
• Primer, foundation, and concealer in 1
• Talc free"

 Hide yo kids, hide yo wife and hide yo husband for the before photo:

 After:

 Look left, look right:

After about 5 or 6 hours of wear time:

I've been using this BB Cream for the past 2 weeks and haven't been able to stop raving about it!
I got shade 01 and find it a bit too light for my NC20ish skin so I either use bronzer or mix it with a darker foundation if I want a better colour match, however, the colour difference isn't severe and it gets less noticeable after a while (oxidation perhaps?). Definitely look into shade 01 if you have fair, yellow toned skin. Next time I'll try 02.
Texture wise it reminds me a bit of the Coffret D'or Soft Gel Foundation, it's quite thick and feels almost like a gel. It's definitely not like thin tinted moisturisers that Western cosmetics brands have been passing as a BB cream.
Due to the thicker formula, it does feel a little heavier than some of my lighter foundations and takes longer to set. A little goes a long way with this BB cream, too much and it'll look cakey and mask-like, especially on areas with dryer skin such as the under eye area. I use a wide, flat top brush and work from the middle of my face outwards. I did find that it required a bit more work to blend and that if you don't blend it well, it has a tendency to sink into fine lines.
I would rate the coverage as medium and buildable, most redness and imperfections are covered by this BB cream alone without the addition of concealer. Finish is matte.
Unlike Asian BB creams the Flower Beauty Balm BB cream does not have any skincare properties or SPF.
The oil control of the BB cream is amazing, the matte finish lasts about 6 hours before it started showing shine. For reference I had this on from 7am in the morning and this was what I looked like by 9pm after a full day of work and a heavy cardio class with no blotting:

Close up:

Pros:

• Amazing oil control;
• Great coverage;
• Long lasting; 
• Yellow based;
• Lightest shade will match palest of the pale;
• Affordable.

Cons:

• Small colour range;
• Thicker formula;
• Not available outside of America;
• No SPF;
• Contains parabens and silicones;

I really love this BB cream for it's oil control properties and its long-lasting ability and would recommend the Flower Beauty Balm BB Cream for anyone with oily or combination skin looking for an affordable Western BB cream.

p.s Don't forget to enter my contest to win $100 worth of Shu Uemura products! Last day for entry is 30 April, 2013!