Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes E107





Sometimes no photo or swatch can do justice to a makeup product. You just don't see the true effect until it's on your own face. Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes E107 is one such item- all you can see above is a stripe of a brownish taupish color on my arm. Even the on-eye photos of the shadow applied to a real model on Ellis Faas website don't give much more than a general idea of what this cream eye shadow can do. It's even more unfortunate because this niche brand has a limited distribution in actual stores, so few can actually see it in person.

Ellis Faas is a top makeup artist whose line of luxury makeup products in sleek packaging is quite different from other brands. Her specialty is cream and liquid textures and colors that are naturally part of every human body. The idea is to make makeup that melds with the skin and becomes part of the wearer. Now, that weird stripe of taupe you see above might make more sense.

Creamy Eyes E107 is a cream eye shadow that dries almost instantly into a beautiful taupe with a delicate velvety sheen and full coverage. It's a basic color for a nearly nude look or as a backdrop and anchoring shade with a touch of bright and bold liner. Once applied and blended it's amazing to see how flattering this unassuming and modest shade can become.

Now, the challenge is learning to deal with the texture and applicator. The pen is beautiful and is the best container to preserve the integrity of the unique formula and protect it from oxidizing, drying and general spoilage), but it's not exactly user friendly. It takes about a minute of determined clicking the first time you use the pen until the color comes bursting out (see photo). Then you realize that a) this is way too much product for one use, and b) the plastic brush applicator is utter crap. While the good people at Ellis Faas are working on improving it and promising we'll see results soon we still need to make it work as is.

There's a learning curve to Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes. I've been practicing and experimenting quite a bit until I was comfortable with it and was satisfied with the result, so don't start on a Monday morning when you're already 10 minutes behind schedule and already cranky. Take your time. The first thing one needs to learn is how to control the amount of products that comes out. That becomes easy after a couple of tries. Then there's application- avoid the built in brush and use a real one: any good flat cream eye shadow brush will do. I'm using Chanel,  Smashbox, Laura Mercier and the Sephora Platinum brand cream shadow/concealer brushes .  I've also started working with natural bristle brushes for an even finer finish. Also, don't be afraid to get your fingers into the cream. I use my ring finger and a brush together and love the result- the color and finish are gorgeous and end up looking amazingly professional and polished. There's absolutely nothing like it.

Bottom Line: Excellent but not for beginners.

Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes E107 ($36) is available from ellisfaas.com and Bergdorf Goodman (in-store only). A press sample was sent to me by the company.

All photos are mine.

8 comments:

  1. I have seen Ellis Faas before on SpaceNK but wasn't familiar with the brand. These eye shadows look so pretty, and $36 dollars doesn't seem like an outrageous amout for a high end product. You had me at "velvety sheen", I think I need to try these now. crap.

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  2. I love the colours and textures, and bought a lot of the products when they launched from the online shop. Unfortunately, a little over a year later the Milky Eyes I bought are completely unusable - when I tried to use one recently clicking it didn't dispense any product but resulted in destroying the container by forcing the top of it off.

    I do hope they improve the dispenser design. I couldn't recommend these until they do.

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  3. I should clarify - by 'these' I mean specifically the Milky Eyes - for some reason, the brush applicator products (like the Creamy Eyes) have fared better!

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  4. You are an angel for reviewing this product! I've been lusting after it for some time, but I really needed a good swatch and an expert opinion before committing. I'll be all over this. And thanks for the application tips, too!

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  5. I think that blob picture is familiar to anyone who's ever used a creamy eyes! I have E105 and I struggle with dispensing in this same way every time I use it. Mostly because there will be long gaps between uses and it takes a long while to re-prime each time and I always end up with wastage.

    I do love the colours though and I find the lip products are not as tricky as the creamy eyes. I look forward to seeing the improved packaging.
    Jane x

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  6. I bought this product ca. a year ago and since then was trying to come clear with it. Basically, I never get a small amount of product out of the dispenser - you probably could, if using it every day. But if not so, the brush obviously dries in and you need some clicks to get the applicator pump again. And then the cream comes out bursting - a quantity you can't use up at once, bu until the next time it's dry. I also hate the fact that though the product is delivered with an applicator brush, but that one is such a crap that I have to use a different one to apply the i. Yes, the shades are nice, but the form of delivery wasn't really considered professionally, and that's rather very annoying.

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  7. Hi Gaia,
    I found out about Ellis Faas after reading Gaia's review of Ellis Faas Red, I promptly fell down the rabbit hole.
    I have a few of her creamy eye shadows and I absolutely love them. I do find that one needs to practice and have the proper tools, the brush that comes on the product doesn't work well for subtle blending/shadowing. I like the quality, the color, they stay on lid forever and the color stays true. What's not to love? Great review Gaia.

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  8. How would you compare the Ellis Faas E107 to Chantecaille's Sel? I've fallen in love with E107 and wondering how it compares to Sel. Thanks!!

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