Monday, April 28, 2014

My Favorite Blue Eye Shadows


My first blue eye shadow was a gift from a high school friend. It was a no-name three color palette that included a chalky white, a frosty baby blue that looked a bit dated even in 1986, and a rich matte blue that was somewhere between cobalt and teal and had a workable texture. I used to wear it with a chocolate brown and a light bronze from another palette, certain that Cyndi Lauper would have been proud of me. Blue eye shadows have been a staple of my collection ever since. I love them all: navy, turquoise, aqua... you name them. I have the hardest time resisting blue in seasonal collections (see the latest one I got, YSLBleus Lumiere Palette Collector Summer 2014), but I'm just as likely to fall under the spell of a good single from a permanent line. I gathered my most used blue eye shadows here, and as much as I was trying to avoid discontinued and impossible to find products, I had to include the two Chanel items. There was just no way around it: the 2003 Jeans de Chanel is the only eye shadow quads I've purchased a backup in the last 15 years (the one you see here, which I opened around 2007 and still use). The single, Bois Bleu, was inexplicably discontinued a year or two ago. It's a beautiful and unique shade.

Here are my all-time favorite blue eye shadows in no particular order:

1. Dior Bleu de Paris 5 Couleurs ($60, at Sephora). Shimmery finish, silky texture. The second darkest is my most used.
2. La Prairie- Hematite ($45, at select department stores). A rare cadet blue with an elegant finish.
3 &6. Rouge Bunny Rouge - Mountain Bluebird & Mysterious Tinamou ($27.90, rougebunnyrouge.com) are exclusive to RBR website. They're shades of tropical seas with an iridescent finish.
4. Laura Mercier Sapphire Caviar Stick ($26, at the counters and lauramercier.com. I think this is my second or third one in this color (I'm definitely on my third Amethyst). It's that good.
5. The blue side from NARS Mad Mad World ($35, Sephora and narscosmetics.com. Press sample). Now, I don't use this parroty blue quite as often as the other ones, but when I do it makes me very happy.
7. Jeans de Chanel from Fall 2003. The four darker colors are nothing short of brilliant.
8. Chanel Bois Bleu (discontinued).
9. Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes E113 ($36 at Sephora. Press sample). Both the color and the texture are peerless. And you can see what Ellis has done with it here.
10. Kjaer Weis- Blue Wonder ($25 at Osswald NYC). Medium blue with a beautiful finish. The color is not quite like the discontinued Chanel, but if I had to choose a replacement that would be it.

Do you have a favorite blue eye shadow? Any recommendations?

6 comments:

  1. There was an old Dior duo in Watery Look that I absolutely still adore just because it has a nice texture depending on how dense a brush is. I use very regularly given the matte navy shade could be used so many ways and the shimmer is nice for the light blue. I am also fond on the blue in Bonne Etoile (if only Dior stuck to this formula for all their interesting colours since it performed very well). I seem to have a weakness for Dior limited editions because theIridescent palette in Electric Lights has a bright blue I've been using lately to make a tamer version of the Marc by Marc Jacobs blue eyeshadow look from the SS2014 show.

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  2. Bois Bleu really was discontinued? I'm so glad I bought a second...

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  3. I have enjoyed Laura Mercier Summer in St. Tropez. Both blues are very nice even though they tone down quite a bit on me...not nearly as bright as in the pan. Haven't tried them wet though. I usually take the recommendations instead of giving them. I have really liked the Kjaer Weis one you recommended earlier, and finally broke down, after reading this post, and ordered the RBR Mysterious Tinamou. The RBR eye shadows are the very best I've tried for my eyelids. The colors stay truer and don't "gray out."

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  4. My go-to blue eyeshadow is the Chanel Bleu Celeste quad - 3 shades of blue and a light pink. Love to wear this with the Chanel Marine eye pencil or the Lancome Bleu Gris pencil.

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  5. Right now I'm loving the cobalt shade from Tom Ford's Unabashed. It blends beautifully without fading or becoming muddy looking. It's got just the right amount of warmth to enhance my dark, warm green eyes. Of course, no one in their right mind would plunk down $95 for just the blue, but the entire palette is a winner in my book.

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  6. I have blue eyes but have been jonesing for blue eyeshadow lately. I have an appointment with my Chanel advisor next week and I plan on taking my rarely used Bois Bleu for a tutorial. It's gorgeous but I'm stumped on how to pair it with other shadows. Macy's still has available Chanel Lagons and I hope my advisor has a tester to play with. I'm looking for a real navy without teal or green in it and Lagons looks like it might contain a true navy shadow. I just bought the Chanel Le Volume in Blue to wear over black mascara. It doesn't read BLUE! but I think it brightens my eyes. Can't wait to meet with my advisor!

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