Make Up For Ever Aqua Shadow Pencil in 26E and 4E - Review, Swatches and In Action!

When I was offered to review Make Up For Ever's new Aqua Shadow Waterproof eye pencils, I was ecstatic. The Aqua Shadows are meant to be long wearing, waterproof shadows used for layering as a base, or on its own, and have received quite good reviews on the blogosphere at the moment. I received shades 26E and 4E and would like to share my experiences with them! 

The product comes out of a sturdy plastic encasing.

I like that the packaging corresponds with the color inside the tube! No more searching for small lettering on the tube!

26E on the left and 4E on the right.

26E is a peachy shimmery warm shade and 4E is a neutral ashy/grey dark brown.

I can absolutely attest to the fact that these are waterproof. The picture below was taken after swatching it on my hands and vigorously trying to rub them off with water. Nothing. It would not budge. However, it wiped off easily with my Nuxe makeup remover.

I also found them relatively easy to blend - the trick to blend them evenly is to layer the product and keep blending as you go. I tried out the look below with the 26E and 4E exclusively. And mascara of course!

The durability of these products is very good. As tested on my hand, they are indeed waterproof. However, the do wear off after about 7 hours on my very very oily lids. They last a few hours longer with a base. I also found 4E lasted longer on my lids than 26E, perhaps because of the glitter particles. These were also a pleasure to use under powder shadow and I found 4E was especially beautiful with a lighter champagne/brown shade like MAC's Patina or Woodwinked.

All and all, these are great. I highly suggest them for those of you who do not have very oily lids to use on their own, or over powder shadow. For those of you who have extremely oily lids like mine, it might be advisable to use a base. This isn't an issue for me because I use a base all the time anyway (specifically Two-Faced Shadow Insurance).

I hope to purchase more of these in the future - perhaps a navy (6E) and a silver (20E) color? I'm particularly happy with the 4E shade as I have found it quite hard in the past to find a non-shimmer dark cream base. I was dissatisfied with MAC's Blackground because the shimmer in it. And I see from Karla Sugar's swatches here that there are many options of darker non-shimmer shades to choose from. Exciting!

Do you like using cream products such as these? Do you find yourself using them alone or with powder shadows?

* I have received these products for consideration but my opinions are always my own. I am not being compensated for this review and I always strive to review products with honesty.