Review: Alima Pure Pearluster Eyeshadow (Prosecco) & Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow (Venus & Chai)

I was disenchanted with the first clean eye shadow I tried. I chose it on the basis of pressed shadow plus palette, but I quickly realized I’d have to expand my horizons.

I used a store’s recent sale to purchase a few Alima Pure loose eye shadows. Only a subset of the range was on sale, and I limited my order to those reduced-priced items. Given that Alima’s pigments seemed quite shiny, I decided to start by trying to figure out a nude “palette.” I think I would have bought different colors had I chosen from the whole line, but as luck would have it, I don’t think I could have outdone what I did buy.

Alima Pure has three separate eye shadow lines: Satin Matte, Pearluster and Luminous Shimmer. Like it sounds, Satin Matte is the most matte of the three. Because my eyelids get oily throughout the day, I wear a separate (still with silicones) eye primer. If you don’t need a primer, Satin Matte would make a good base for the rest of your eye shadow. Pearluster has a sheen to it. Luminous Shimmer has actual sparkle.

My skin is dewy and reflective at the best of times (i.e. immediately post blotting), so I don’t really go for matte eye looks. I’m definitely more drawn to the Pearluster and Luminous Shimmer categories. Given that I was going for a nude range, I felt comfortable trying a bit of sparkle.

To build my fake palette, I needed three shades. I bought Pearluster Eyeshadow in Prosecco and Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Venus and Chai.

To be clear, the Alima Pure eye shadows weren’t just my first clean loose eye shadows, they were my first loose eye shadows. I’d always been incredibly intimidated of loose powder. I wasn’t concerned that it wouldn’t apply well, but I did worry that as my eyelids got oily throughout the day that the loose powder would be more likely to start flying and sliding all over my face. At least when it comes to the Alima Pure shadows, this theory was unfounded. These eye shadows have great staying power. I am, again, wearing them over an eye primer, but I am truly impressed. I wore this palette again yesterday to prep to write up this review. Yesterday, I applied my makeup at 7:00am, and didn’t remove it until I got home from a work event around 9:30pm. I did no touch ups whatsoever, but I did remember to gently blot my eyelids when I did the rest of my face. The eye shadow was just starting to crease when I got home, but it had still look pretty good during my trip to the powder room (she said, like a lady) about an hour prior.

Applying these eye shadows is a little more work than I’m used to with pressed powder. If you have experience with loose eye shadows, you’ll be fine. I, however, took myself on a bit of a crash course. Basically, one shakes the powder out through salt shaker-style holes at the top of the jar onto the lid, gently swirls a little powder onto your brush, taps away the excess, and goes to town. It took me a couple of slow mornings to be able to apply the shadow without excess falling on my cheeks. I’ve now nailed that, but I’m still working on picking up speed. I’m a slow learner with poor motor skills.

There was no difference in either application or lasting power between the Pearluster and Luminous Shimmer ranges. As you’ll see below, they share a very short ingredient list. The only difference is the look.

On to colors! The Pearluster Eyeshadow in Prosecco is, according to Alima, “soft beige with a hint of pink.” I would call it more of a pinky cream. I certainly find it too pale to refer to as “beige.” It is lighter than the skin on my face, but dead on accurate to the amount of pink in my skin. This shade may be difficult to wear for people who aren’t pale and cool-toned. As a close-set eyed human being, I use Prosecco starting at the inner corners and blend it out onto the rest of the lid.

The Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Venus is, per Alima, “sparkling pink-gold with high shimmer.” The description is quite apt. Venus is slightly deeper pink than my natural eyelid, and adds this great warm shine through the gold shimmer. Do we do “my lids but better?” Because Venus is my lids but better. I use this as my base shade all over the lid and blend into the other two shades.

And finally, Alima calls the Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Chai “rosy taupe.” Spot-on description! Chai has this wonderfully cool, pink shimmer tone mixed with a light taupe base. I use this color up in my outer crease. It’s just darker enough than Venus to shade and contour my eyes without making me look dirty or trying too hard.

All three of the colors are an interesting mix of cool and warm tones in a way I don’t often see. I successfully built a Bronwen-nude palette. This eye look works for me with just a rose colored lip balm or a more fun, bright red lip!

Swatches:

The Alima Pure eye shadows come in fun greens, blues and purples as well as many tans and browns. Generally speaking, Alima Pure has one of the most impressive color ranges for makeup I’ve ever seen. Alima Pure does not ignore women of color. While few people out there probably need this pale or pink a nude eye palette as I do, those of you with darker and warmer skintones will easily be able to find your own Alima nudes. 

Alima Pure Pearluster Eyeshadow and Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow ingredients: Mica (CI 77019). May contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510).

Comments

[Mia]

Ohhhh, so beautiful to use as luminizers! I still couldn't find the perfect luminizer for my weird, medium-olive skin tone with no hints of anything, pink, peach, yellow, golden, nothing, what Alima Pure calls "cafe au lait". Most luminizers are way too cool-toned for me (like RMS Beauty Living Luminizer) and others too yellow/golden (like the ones by Vapour Beauty) and others are weirdly pink, nothing for me and I can't live without a luminizer, so much that I'm even using an ordinary one, because that's something I can't exclude because I couldn't find a natural alternative. I been thinking of finding a proper eyeshadow that could suit my skin tone to mix with a balm and use as a luminizer. Venus and Prosecco are both absolutely gorgeous and will surely suit perfectly my skin tone mixed together. Thanks for the swatches, you really helped!