Merit’s Solo Shadow Sheen Made Me Love Eye Shadow Again
2 min readWhen I was in high school, eye shadow was everything. I watched every YouTube video tutorial to to create the ideal smoky eye. I collected Urban Decay Naked Palettes like rare stamps. I woke up extra early so I’d have time to smudge, blend, and blur to perfection, all before first period. But slowly, I became disillusioned with eye shadow—I hated the fallout, the creasing throughout the day, and how hard it was to blend evenly. In recent years, I’ve come to forgo eye shadow altogether, favoring a bold lip or lots of blush. But that all changed thanks to Merit’s newest product, Solo Shadow Sheen.
When the Solo Shadow Sheens came across my desk, I almost cast them aside. I’ve been fooled by many shimmery eye shadows promising no fallout and effortless blending. Maybe it was the silver packaging or the dreamy colors, but something enticed me to try them out. I brought home Glacé, a soft, rosy shade that has a silver shimmer. I was running late before meeting friends for drinks and did something I never do—applied a messy swipe with my finger as I ran out the door.
To my surprise, I got more compliments on my eye shadow than I’ve ever gotten when I’ve spent hours painstakingly crafting a multilayered smoky eye. “What is on your eyelids?” my friends asked, noticing them glittering under the dim bar lighting. The shadow lasted all night, and I didn’t need to prime underneath or set it with powder to make it stay (the creamy formula is self-setting).
Since then, I’ve used the Solo Shadow Sheens nearly every single day and in every way imaginable. I’ve continued to pop them on with my fingers. I’ve used fluffy eye shadow brushes to diffuse them. I’ve even used eyeliner brushes for more precise lines. Every color is endlessly wearable, and as someone with cool-to-neutral undertones, I like that they lean a bit cooler than most (is it me, or is every eye shadow gold-toned?).
The best thing about these eye shadows is that they eliminate the fear factor. You never have to worry about accidentally making yourself look like you got a black eye or that one lid will look more pigmented than the other. Merit Solo Shadow Sheens are incredibly forgiving, and I am nearly positive that I could put them on in a moving car without access to a mirror and still look put together (for safety reasons, I won’t be trying this). Even if you’re not an eye shadow person, these shadows will make you a convert. And former YouTube beauty girls like me will find them a welcome upgrade to the eye shadows of yore.