H&M Eye Shadows and Blush Review

~ stashy

I bought a bunch of H&M Beauty items back in January during my free for all month of makeup haulage.  😀  I had been eagerly waiting to try the H&M Beauty ever since they re-vamped their line in late 2015.  Whenever I try out a makeup line for the first time, I always default to the products I’m most comfortable with: eye shadows and blushes! ❤
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• High Impact Eye Color Single Eye Shadow in Down to Earth, Cocoa Mauve, and Shiitake
• Pure Radiance Powder Blusher in Deep Brown

I’ve had a chance to wear these for a while so it’s high time I review them!

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The outer boxes of the H&M Beauty products are really stylish with the black & white photography and gold foil lettering.

High Impact Eye Color Single Eye Shadows

Narrowing down to these 3 colours was quite challenging since the colour offering is quite vast (I count at least 50 colours) and many of the shades are so similar to each other:
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They retail for C$7.99 each for 2g of product.

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“A silky smooth eye shadow that blends easily for a vivid, velvety finish that stays put. Available in a wide range of curated colours and eye-catching effects – from soft mattes to rich shimmers to bold metallics, the possibilities are endless. Wear it on top of eye primer for even more intense and long-lasting results.”

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L to R:
Down to Earth – shimmer finish, deep grey taupe
Cocoa Mauve – matte finish, mauve brown
Shiitake – metallic finish, light cool tan
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My favourite shade is Shiitake, followed by Down to Earth – both of these are plush and pigmented.  I found Cocoa Mauve to be not as pigmented and applied a little patchy, although it did blend out nicely.
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The packaging is nice but there’s a lot of useless extra plastic around the pan – compared to MAC and Essence single shadows:

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MAC Prepped for Glamour, H&M Shiitake, Essence 58 Cappuccino, Please! The MAC is 1.7g vs H&M’s 2g vs Essence’s 2.5g pan.

Price-wise, I think C$7.99 is a little bit steep for H&M – which is known for its “fast fashion” – and considering that MAC eye shadow refills are now C$8 each.  I think a $2 price drop would be more in line with the brand.

Pros:
• Pigmented
• Long wearing
• Crease resistant
• Blends well
• Wide colour and finish range

Cons:
• Excessive plastic casing
• Quality inconsistent between shimmer and matte

Stash worthiness: 8/10

Pure Radiance Powder Blusher

I was originally set to buy at least 2 blushes but I found the selection to be lacking – most of the colours did not swatch well on my skin.
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I ended up with just Deep Brown which cost C$12.99 for 5g.
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The shade Deep Brown isn’t too deep or really all that brown – it’s more of a mauvey rose that’s mostly matte with a tiny bit of satin sheen.
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I found the texture of the blush to be really thin – I have to pile on the layers for it to show up on my skin. On the flip side, it’s very easy to blend and doesn’t leave any harsh lines.  On my cheeks, I noted that it did not last very long and would start fading by around the 5 hr mark.
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And the packaging – it’s very Instagram-friendly with the hexagon shape – and it’s unique in my collection. Although there is a bit of excess plastic, the compact itself is quite thin. Here it is compared to MAC blush (Cubic is shown) which is 6g.
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I did actually compare this H&M blush against MAC Cubic in this post here.

Pros:
• Easy to blend
• Nice packaging

Cons:
• Not pigmented
• Faded quickly

Stash worthiness: 5/10

I’d likely not purchase another H&M blush but would consider more of the eye shadows.
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Both products are made in Italy. I should note that not all of the H&M collection are made in Italy so care should be taken to read the fine print. For instance, one of the heavily promoted product during the launch, the Eyeshadow Palette (shown in Smoky Nudes):
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Is actually made in China, so I passed on it.

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I recently had another look at the H&M Beauty collection at the store and I would be interested in trying the All-Day Liquid Foundation (C$14.99) and Tinted Lip Balm (C$7.99) – both are made in the E.U.

Have you tried any H&M Beauty products? What would you recommend to try?

From last year:
Blogmas Day 12: Received a Parcel!
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Side note: My Black Friday order from Beauty Bay still hasn’t arrived…! 😕

63 thoughts on “H&M Eye Shadows and Blush Review”

  1. I agree, their eye shadow needs to improve on the prices. Almost the same price as MAC refill guarantees that I’ll never buy H&M *LOL* The excessive plastic aside, their packaging looks very premium. I am totally OCD with country of origin. It is so weird that many brands do this type of thing. The special editions are not made in the same country or the quality is different from the regular ones.

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    1. I know not everyone likes their packaging but I think it’s really stylish at this price point.
      Yes, we’re both like hawks with the country of origin and I think more people need to pay attention. It does boil down to personal preference but I think it’s annoying that they aren’t consistent between the single / core products vs palettes / limited edition.

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  3. I have different opinion with you for the packaging, maybe I have unique taste. 😂 The packaging does not attract my attention and I think it looks cheap. For $8 I will get the MAC refill or I will check for Makeup Greek for $6.00.

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    1. I think it’s the metallic paint on plastic – especially the gold tone. It can look cheap. I like that these are a good supplement to the colours I have from MAC. I don’t have anything exactly like what I got from H&M from MAC. Sadly for Canadians, MUG eye shadows cost more than MAC when we factor in the exchange rate (they’re cost C$9.4) never mind the shipping cost.

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  4. I really like the eyeshadows you bought! I think it’s so cool that H&M is also focussing more on selling make-up! I bought an eyeshadowpencil and it is amazing! You should definitely try one of them out 🙂

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    1. Thanks for the rec – I’ll definitely look into the pencils. I also eyed the cream eye shadows in the pots and those look great! Before the revamp of the H&M beauty line, I had previously only bought nail polishes – now I’m more willing to try a bit of everything.

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    1. I do think the blushes are great for very fair skin. Maybe I’m a bit jaded since I have a blush obsession – I didn’t see any colours that I felt were outstanding.

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    1. The selection is really daunting! I spent so long at the display trying to decide. The sales girl helped me decide between a couple of eye shadow shades that looked really similar to each other. Oh the nail polish, don’t even get me started!

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  7. I have tried a few of their polishes (natch!) and have some new ones to swatch. I like the polish and the polish packaging.

    I totally passed on the makeup because the packaging didn’t really speak to me at all! Kinda disappointed the shadows and blush aren’t too great, though. I agree, the price seems a bit high for H&M.

    OTOH drugstore prices are getting stupidly high, aren’t they? Hurrah for MAC’s $8 eyeshadow pans. I just wish they’d bring the blush pan prices down, too. (Not that it stopped me last month…)

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    1. I still haven’t worn any of the H&M polishes I bought… 😳 But glad to know you like the polish!

      I completely agree, drugstore makeup prices are so out of whack. Oooh do you have a makeup haul post coming up?!!

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    1. Yes I remember you got some good deals on the buy 1 get 1 offer! I did get the Cashmere perfume from them and I really like it. I’d like to try some of their body care products soon too.

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  9. I agree with you on the prices of the H&M stuff! They have a really good selection though, which is great.
    I bought Shiitake under your influence, and I love it! Don’t get as much use out of it as I would like though, since I own a ton of similar shades already…Down to Earth looks really gorgeous, too!
    I thought the same thing about the blushes not being pigmented both times I visited an H&M with the beauty section. I thought it was just maybe because the testers had been sitting out or something. $13 is not particularly cheap – it better work well!

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    1. Isn’t Shiitake awesome? I’m thinking of depotting the pans from the casing in hopes I’ll use it more. I need to do a comparison between other similar shades in my collection. It’ll be difficult to capture the nuances on camera though, I think.
      Yeah, the blushes have a very thin / densely packed consistency that doesn’t apply well onto the skin. Save your $13 and buy a Milani baked blush instead! 😉

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  11. Hi my babe the only thing i have from h&m is a cream blush …. and you know what – it was ok a while ago – but i wouldn’t even try it now –
    blogger enabled lol
    xxx
    #NiceSwatches xoxoxoxxoxoxxoxo

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    1. There was a LOT of hype around the blushes when the collection launched! I must have swatched every single blush in that display but I didn’t like them enough to buy more than one! And I only really settled on this one because I wanted to test it for the blog… the power of social media, huh!

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  12. The last time I swung by my local H&M they had moved the make-up closer to the tills. I did stop and look around, but it was just too much and I didn’t know where to start. I think I’ll check after Christmas to see if there are any reduced price items. 😉

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    1. I haven’t encountered the H&M makeup on sale yet but I do see that most of their body care products are 50% off. Yes, that’s the good thing about their blushes, very natural looking.

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  17. Realised I read this post yesterday and never finished commenting. What a donut.
    I’m still to get to grips with H&M beauty none of my local stores have the range so have only come across it in Valencia (whilst pissed off because of my cancelled flight and waiting to go home, and wasn’t in the mood to browse) and a flying visit in London. I still haven’t tested the one blush I picked up yet – getting as bad as you 😉
    These eyeshadow shades look lovely but I agree the line does feel a bit expensive and not comparable to the clothes prices! The packaging also looks nice but it’s a bit plasticy for the price point, the extra size of the plastic on those eyeshadows is also annoying!
    Overall looks like I haven’t missed out on much so far!

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    1. Haha, do you have a basket full of untried products too! 😉
      Which blush did you pick up?
      Re: prices. I also feel the beauty products themselves don’t seem to align with each other. The eye shadow singles are $7.99 and the foundation is $14.99? that’s odd to me – the eye shadow prices need to come down!
      I am considering depotting the eye shadows but I tried wedging a knife between the pan and plastic but there was absolutely no space. Might just need to heat that sucker up with a flat iron to see if it’ll pop out. A project for next year…

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  18. I’ve been more into brands that are made ANYWHERE but China lately so it’s neat to see this brand featured! They’re CF too, but I’ve never stepped foot into an H&M cause they are kinda rare here. I agree that $7.99 seems a bit steep for a drugstore brand… and I hate excess packaging too. Although I agree that the blushes look quite Instagram friendly 😀 But $12.99 for a blush that fades quick? No thanks. Thanks for your review! I loved it 🙂

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    1. Personally, I’m sick of all these made in China brands. I just do NOT trust them for my makeup / skincare.
      I think the eye shadows are decent but maybe if you come across them on sale. You can always order them online!

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    1. Actually, after Christmas I noticed that they’ve put a lot of their makeup on clearance. I also heard that they’re reducing the number of stores that will carry the makeup moving forward. I guess they’re not selling that well?

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