To be honest, I don’t know what compelled me to pick this up, but while waiting for Sarie to meet up with me after she retrieved her gift wrapped Christmas gifts from the counter, my eyes wandered around the different makeup stations around me.

I’d heard only good things about this ceaseless cream shadow by Benefit, but I never felt the need to try it, mainly because most trips to the beauty sections are based on a list and this was never on it. Ahem. So, why this color? Again, I couldn’t really tell you, because up until now I wonder if I should have gotten a more sensible color, like Skinny Jeans or Birthday Suit.

But, I went with Stiletto.

And I left it alone for a long time because I remember it being red and I thought, “What were you thinking, Carina? It’s red. Do you want to look like Voldemort’s bride?”

Then I braved the possibility of disappointment and swatched it, and well, who’d have thought it would actually be more violet than red. Benefit calls it “aubergine.” Score one for this purple fiend!

Purple is my favorite color and I am always inexplicable attracted to anything that leans towards that color. Which explains why I pcked up this shade. This batch of swatches was applied with fingers; the right is “leftover” from the left.

Here’s a look I made, sweeping the color over my entire lid, but this is a bit lighter because I patted on a pale pink shadow over it. You can see the post about this look over here. I tried to imitate a Rothko. 🙂

The overall consistency of this cream “shadow/liner” is very. Creamy, that is. I personally prefer it as a shadow than a liner, because it’s just so damn creamy. That’s a good thing for a shadow and a base, not so much as a liner. I tried to draw two neat lines, one for each eye (which, if you’ve been reading my blog, is hard enough to do as my lids aren’t even) but the left one just looked so thick. And I looked crazy. So, that’s not good. I bet for other people it would work better, though.

VERDICT: A winner as a cream shadow (no creases here!) but a bit too creamy as a liner.
How much? Php 1,000 or $19 for 4.5g Net wt. or 0.16 oz.
Will I repurchase? Would love a few more basic or neutral colors. 🙂 The formulation is amazing but I don’t wear dark or colorful eye makeup that often.
Where to buy in Manila? Benefit counters in Rustan’s department stores. Benefit store in Greenbelt 5.