I’m not so talented when it comes to eyeshadow. I know my makeup strong suits, and let me tell you, carving out a cut crease is not one of them. That being said, I rarely wear eyeshadow, and on the rare occasions I do, it’s a swipe of light champagne glitter pigment or a wash of a neutral tone. Smoky eyes are nothing short of terrifying to me, so when I visited Violette Serrat’s Dumbo office earlier this month, and she told me her new Plume Eyeshadows make black and dark brown eyeshadow both dummy-proof and finger-friendly, I was…skeptical.
She handed me a tray of eight shades—four shimmer, four matte—and told me to build and layer until my heart was content. The shades look hyper-pigmented, so I was very conservative at first, gently tapping my finger into the pot. But once I swiped it on, I found myself building up layers and layers with the different shades. The payoff is more like a sheer veil than a pigmented shadow, but it still adds dimension to the lid. Did I have technique? Absolutely not. Did it look like I was pro? 100 percent.
Cut to a month later, and I’m wearing a smoky eye to the office. For my full, honest review of the shadow that has turned me into a smoky eye convert, keep reading.
The Formula
I’ve tried a lot of eyeshadows over the years and have found that the main differences between brands boil down to fallout, blendability, creasing, and wear. When evaluating these new shadows against those standards, you’ll get zero fallout, high blendability, minimal creasing, and pretty long wear (I probably notice light fading around later afternoon). But that being said, this formula falls into a category of its own (I’m not being dramatic).
It’s a cream-to-powder by design, but the way that the pigment lays down on the lid is genuinely like nothing I’ve ever tried. No matter how much pigment you pick up on your fingertip, the payoff won’t look heavy or dark. I’d liken it to a jelly nail polish—there’s a translucent factor to the shadow that gives my eye makeup instant dimension, despite my lack of layering or skill. I’m partial to the shades Bois Brulée and Bronze d’Or, but they’re all incredible.
The Application
Anything that involves eyeshadow brushes is just a little too complicated for my liking. I actually have been doing a full face of makeup (foundation included) and grabbing these shadows as my very last step—that’s how non-existent the fallout is. I start with a wash of a matte shade (I’m loving Bois Brulée and Carbon), do a pop of shimmer in the center of my lid (I go for Bronze d’Or nine times out of 10), and then just dust my lower lash line with the matte shade to top it off.
The Takeaway
It’s pretty rare that a makeup product actually makes a lasting impact on me. Sure, there are plenty of products I genuinely love and use on repeat, but truly innovative formulas are few and far between. The way that this shadow creates dimension on the lid and applies in a translucent wash is a finish that is truly new to the market—it’s like nothing I’ve ever tried before. It’s also the easiest eyeshadow I’ve ever applied. Never did I ever think I would be wearing black eyeshadow to the office, but here I am with my daytime smoky eye.
Shop Violette_FR
Why Trust Marie Claire
For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.
