♕ Nabla Cosmetics ~ Potion Paradise Collection ♕{Overview, Swatches, First Impressions}

{Disclaimer: this post is a first impressions/preview about a product I got for free as press sample. I'd like to thank NABLA Cosmetics for the opportunity, anyway my evaluation policy doesn't change and is always based on real use and in-depth testing of the product(s)}

It's been a while since NABLA Cosmetics launched new colours for their Crème Shadow range. It debuted about one year ago with six shades, then three new ones were added with the winter Artika collection and one more, shortly after, was introduced to celebrate NABLA's birthday in December. No new adds since then - until now.

The Potion Paradise Collection features six new shades, five of them being shimmery and just one completely matte. One of them is actually the cream version of a preexisting eyeshadow, but the other five are completely new, original colours! 

I'm sorry I wasn't able to post this overview earlier, I always try to post close to the launch day (usually slightly after)... Sadly, this time the weather has been really inclement (and still is, honestly), making nearly impossible for me to take any good pictures for several days in a row. Which is a problem, when you're a beauty blogger and you rely on natural light alone.
Anyway, I finally made it! Just in time - the traditional launching promo ends tonight, but hopefully this overview could still be useful to some of you, for future purchasing! 

Potion Paradise 
A collection where the Apollonian meets the Dionysian in a retro-futuristic pastel-shaded scenario.

Where the past runs towards the future in a rush that encodes a new concept of equilibrium.

A post-modern collection stating new codes in the name of freedom of expression. 

Are you ready to discover all the secrets of these new 6 Crème Shadow?

Can we take a second to appreciate this Special Box that contains all the new shades? *___* NABLA is doing an amazing job with their limited edition boxes! Remember the Brow Universe one? This one is smaller, with this cute girlish style - I think I'm going to store my Crème Shadow in there forever! The magnetic closure is a touch of class, for sure ♥

As I said previously, this new collection features six new shades - which you can buy individually or together in this cool box (which is a limited edition and website exclusive, mind you!). I am so excited to get to try them - as I always say I'm a pressed/powder eyeshadow kind of lady, but I've always been curious about creamy eyeshadows! 

In case you're wondering, these are not my very first Crème Shadows - I already own Christine, which I adore (here's a look I made using it a while back!) especially when it comes to quick, everyday looks!

Time to see each new colour in detail!

Let's start with the first shade I noticed, the one that totally stole my heart: Petite Mélodie! 
"Duochrome light lilac with pink-blue and wisteria sheen. Bright."
I'd say it is kind of a periwinkle shade, so cute and fairy-like *_*
But... It doesn't give an even application (at least on my skin), it tends to streak and create spots - if you now what I mean. 
The key is to find the right brush: I experimented a bit with fingers and a couple of different brushes and, for now, I found that a thick, stiff brush guarantees a nice application. I suggest to layer, start with a thin coat and then build up the colour. Make sure you don't overdo though! 


The second colour I noticed is Rea, the darkest one in this new range - and also the only satin shade!
"Dark amethyst with plum and ruby red reflects. Satin."
Lovely. Deep and intense - the more you layer it, the best it will get.
Its base is really dark, but it's filled with purple and red sparkles - resulting in such an unique shade!
I was a little afraid it would be hard to blend, but it isn't - you just need to be quick. You may also want to use a transition shade - such as another purple - to perfect the blending, but Rea itself won't be an huge deal.
I've already tried it as eyeliner too - and it's superb! *_*


Hyperspace
"Light platinum gold. Bright."
I don't know why, but Hyperspace reminds me of another Créme Shadow, Husky. Well, kind of. I don't own Husky, I just tried it once (and I was not enough convinced so I ended up not buying it), but I had this feeling when I first saw Hyperspace. I really wish I had Husky to compare them!
Anyway, Hyperspace is such a weird shade - in a positive way. A couple of friends of mine referred to it as the "green shade of the collection" - which is hilarious, but I must admit that Hyperspace has some green in it that tends to show up once applied (especially on the eyes). I have yet to find a real platinum shade, honestly, that doesn't contain any green in it.
That being said, though, I'm liking this shade more than I anticipated! Its texture is so good - not streaky at all, easy to work with, nicely pigmented.

Utopia
"Copper antique bronze. Bright."
A beautiful, bright copper shade. So pigmented and rich - I'm not an huge fan of copper/bronze colour but this one is just too pretty!
It's probably the one with the best texture of all: easy to apply, to blend, no streaks, no spots... No need to layer and layer to obtain an intense result. (I wish Petite Mélodie had this texture!)I need to try it as eyeliner, I have a feeling it'll look so good! *_*

Morning Glory - the only matte shade in this collection!
"Nude beige-rose. Matte."
This shade is meant to be used as an eye base, plus is supposed to be Underpainting's pink counterpart, I guess. 
I tried it as eyeprimer and I was very pleased with the result! First of all, it's a very soft pink that makes the lid even (covering small blemishes and imperfections) and gives a very fresh look. I was afraid it would cause blending troubles (meaning, making eyeshadows harder to blend) but it doesn't, at all. It's weightless and, once dried, almost impalpable. 
Also nice to use to "clean the edges" aka if you want to perfect/correct an eyeliner wing, negative spaces, things like that. 

Finally, Entropy aka one of NABLA best selling eyeshadow, now available as Créme Shadow.
"Medium hazelnut-mauve. Bright."
Looks like almost everyone raves about this colour... And then there's me, totally unimpressed XD
I own the eyeshadow version, I bought it one year ago more or less... When I swatched it on my hand it looked interesting, but once I tried it on my lids I immediately realized it was a big nope. (And this is why I don't rely on hand swatches only. The best way to evaluate a product is by applying it on where it belongs to!)
Same goes with this version of Entropy, looks cute on my arm - but not as cute on my eyes ^^" But I'm sure a lot of you will love this shade, being very discreet and neutral! If you need a natural shade, easy to apply, for quick everyday look - go for it!

I've been using these cuties for about one week now - still too early for a proper review, so I'll give you my very first, general impressions, keep an eye on my upcoming makeup looks for more details and thoughts!

So far, I noticed that they effortlessly last a long - they stay in place and don't move around, the colours don't fade and still look bright and deep after hours. I haven't had the chance to test their waterproof quality, I'll keep you updated on that.
Regarding the texture(s), well, I think I've cleared out already how different are from each other XD For now, the worst seems to be Petite Mélodie (sigh ç_ç), the best Utopia. Rea needs quite some layering, to achieve that beautiful deep purple shade, while Hyperspace, Utopia and Entropy are nicely pigmented on their own. 
They all dry pretty quickly, and after that they're set and will stay on for hours. To remove them, I tried both wipes and micellar solution to remove them - and both worked. I'll just stick with the micellar solution because it makes the removing process a little easier. 

I only wish this collection featured more brand new shades - such a bright blue, for example, or an aqua green. I feel like Hyperspace is a bit redundant (being chromatically close to Husky) and Entropy... Well, it's not a new shade. I feel like these two spots in the collection could have been filled differently, with more unique shades. Weirdly enough, I'm glad they included Morning Glory - a pink matte base is crucial for cool-toned people like me. Underpainting is too yellowish to properly work on us, so I'm very very happy with the new Morning Glory shade!

The PAO (aka expiring date) is about 6 months - but my Christine is almost one year old and still 100% perfect. Creamy and pigmented as day 1. Make sure you always close the cap after each use, and store the jar adequately. The more you'll take care of them, the more they're going to last!

Isododecane · mica · polyethylene · cyclopentasiloxane · trimethylsiloxysilicate · disteardimonium hectorite · cyclohexasiloxane · quaternium-90 bentonite · polyester-4 · vp/va copolymer · pentylene glycol · boron nitride · sorbitan sesquioleate · synthetic beeswax · acacia decurrens/jojoba/sunflower seed wax polyglyceryl-3 esters · bis-diglyceryl polyacyladipate-2 · trihydroxystearin · propylene carbonate · calcium aluminum borosiilcate · silica · syntethic fluorphlogopite · calcium sodium borosilicate · [+/− (may contain): ci 77891 (titanium dioxide), ci 77491 - ci 77492 - ci 77499 (iron oxides), ci 77510 (ferric ferrocyanide), ci 77163 (bismuth oxychloride), ci 77861 (tin oxide)]

Definitely not a natural formula for these cream eyeshadows - no wonder though, they're made to be long lasting and waterproof! Personally I didn't get any kind of reaction, even though they are silicone based. No itchiness, no pink/watery/weeping eyes, no irritations - nothing. If you have sensitive eyes, I recommend trying them one before buying - better safe than sorry. That's what I did last year, to see if my eyes could stand the formula ;D

(Click to enlarge :D)

Here are my very, very rushed swatches. Seriously. A pale sun came out for literally five minutes today, I just had the time to grab the box, quickly swatch each shade and took a couple of pictures... And it was already gone. So this picture will have to do, sorry everyone T_T

As usual - natural light, no primer used. You can tell each shadow has a different texture - and you can see how problematic Petite Mélodie is. I feel like it doesn't want to adhere to my skin... Shame on your cow T_T

Petite Mélodie VS Lilac Wonder: I don't know why, but they looked very similar in the jar/pan, but once swatched you can tell they're worlds apart. I can't stress enough how much I love Petite Mélodie shades, and how much painful is its texture on my skin ç____ç Thankfully I was able to use it with a nice result (here's the look) - I just wish it was easier to apply. 

Hyperspace is a platinum, not gold nor silver... So I thought I'd compare it with a gold and a silver to enhance the differences! 

Citron is a pure lime gold, beyond beautiful. Frozen, on the other hand, is the purest silver ever, while Aurum is a classic antique gold, with a strong green undertone. Hyperspace looks like a mix between Frozen and Aurum, not really platinum - but not really green at all. 

Sadly I don't own the right shades for a proper Utopia comparison - no Rust, no Aphrodite. I need to go shopping asap!! Time to fill the gap in my NABLA's eyeshadow stash!

Anyway, I compared it to Glitz (a lovely amber bronze) and to Unrestricted (a burgundy filled up with golden sparlkes - a friend asked for this comparison ♥). You can tell how copper-ish Utopia is - with no brown undertones, also. 

I compared Rea to Mimesis (a matte purple) and Juno Moon (a lighter purple with a strong reddish base). Rea looks almost cool on my skin, but it is not - thanks to it's red sparkles, impossible for me to capture in picture... But very noticeable in real life. 

Lastly, Entropy - both eyeshadow and Crème Shadow versions. The eyeshadow one looks paler and somehow softer, while the creamy one seems darker and more brown. In both case the mauve disappears on me. I added Chemical Bond, another neutral shade - very, very close to Entropy in my opinion. Less brown and a tad more silver perhaps... Nothing groundbreaking in both cases, honestly.

Name: Crème Shadow / Potion Paradise Collection
Brand: NABLA Cosmetics
What is it?: Long-lasting waterproof cream eyeshadows;
Prices: € 11,50 each
             € 65,00 Potion Paradise Special Box (Limited Edition)
Quantity: 5 ml / 0.17 fl. oz.
PAO: 6 M
Where to buy it: Website - Various E-commerce websites - Various stores.
Other: Cruelty Free & Vegan; Made in Italy.

I really hope this overview may be useful for you ♥

What's you favourite Potion Paradise Crème Shadow? 

Which one(s) have you purchased?

XOXO