Review: Ellis Faas Ellis Eyes - Light

Ellis Faas' range of beautifully packaged products has attracted a fair bit of attention since its launch.  The prime selling point of the range (aside from the very elegant packaging) is that the shades are all based on colours from the body, making them pretty much wearable for everyone.  I'd not yet indulged because, well, I love bright colours, preferably with as much sparkle as possible.  So when I popped into Liberty the other day and happened to swatch the new Light colours, which are metallic and sparkly, I had to buy one.  I chose 304, a beautiful metallic mid purple.

My first attempt with it was a bit of a washout, to be honest.  Under that shiny silver cap lurks a brush tip, and you turn the end to dispense product into the brush.  I had to turn the end about twenty five times to get the product flowing initially, by which time I was starting to get annoyed, and naturally ended up with too much coming out of the pen.  Once I managed to get it near my eyes, I found the creamy shadow to be very blendable and easy to sheer out, but of the variety that dries down so quickly that you have to blend very fast indeed to avoid getting a hard line.

As usual for me, my first try was without primer, as I'm always hoping that the next cream product I try will be the one to set properly and stay properly on my oily lids.  Unfortunately, Ellis Eyes Light isn't that product.  After a day's wear I found that most of the shadow had flaked away, leaving me with patchy looking eyelids and a lovely purple sparkly shadow under my eye.

My next attempt was over some of my trusty UDPP, which made a massive difference; the colour stayed on my eyelids, and there was significantly less flake-age.  There was still a little, though, which disappointed me - for this kind of price (£22), I expect better performance.

But... look at that colour.  It's a lovely, flattering shade of mid-purple, which will do wonderful things for those of you with green or hazel eyes.  The finish is distinctly metallic and sparkly, and is very eye catching.  So eye catching, in fact, that my little brother even noticed and commented on it - very impressive.

Although I absolutely love the colour and the finish of this product, I won't be repurchasing it in more colours.  The reason?  The packaging.  Pretty as it might be, it's not particularly functional; with a product that sets this fast, a brush applicator makes little sense, as you really need to blend quickly with your fingertips.  When I didn't use it for a couple of days, the product residue in the base of the brush tip dries up, and when I came to dispense some more, I couldn't get any product out into the brush.  Then, a big blob came out, leaving me blending wildly to avoid wastage and to avoid purple sparkle up to my eyebrows!

If you'd like to try this product out for yourself, you can get it from Liberty - it's not yet available online at the Liberty site or at the Ellis Faas site, although I imagine it will be soon.  £22 will get you a tiny 2.5ml.