As I get older, I have to admit the allure of applying my makeup quickly is appealing. I just want to do something quick and easy to just fine-tune my face, especially my eyes. As of late, I have had the hardest time keeping my makeup on; seems to slide right off my face. Especially my eyes. Well, I was lucky because I received two of these Smashbox Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadows ($19.00) — I couldn’t wait to tear open the boxes and give them a run.

These shadows claim to be transfer, sweat and humidity resistant. Nor will they crease, cake or flake. They are also enriched with vitamins A and E to glide right on the eyelid, as well as provide antioxidant protection.

Upon opening each jar, I was pleased to see that the mouth of the jar was wide enough so I could swipe my finger and get a nice pick-up of color to then tap onto my eyelid. I don’t recommend swiping — tap like you would concealer, and you really do get a nice pigment on your lid. Unlike a lot of other cream shadows, it gives you a little play time, so you can soften down the crease or harsh lines. I used these both alone and with powder shadow on top. Both blended rather nicely. Well, the heat wave we have been having here in the Northeast is a good test to see just how good their staying power is. I wore these to work for two days. The first day I just put the shadow on by itself, no powder on top. I was impressed by the staying power. I wouldn’t say it was perfect-looking by the end of the day, but it wasn’t bad either. The second day, I did put a little powder shadow on the top. I was sweating and proceeded to just wipe the sweat off my eye… lightly. Well, it wound up all over my finger. And slid right off. Not too impressed.

So there you have it: as long as you use cream shadows by themselves, they do have pretty good staying power. I wouldn’t call them bullet-proof, but not bad. But if you use powder shadow on top of the cream shadows, you will have it slide right off. The color selection is beautiful (as you can see with the Stone and the Amethyst shades on my hand). For a prestigious brand, the price is good, but I have to admit I have used drugstore brands that have been better and much cheaper. Available at www.smashboxcosmetics.com and www.sephora.com.

So, tell us… What are your summer budge-proof must-haves?

– Erin Sutera, senior writer and makeup artist

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