Bare Escentuals Ready 2.0 Eyeshadow Duo "The Epiphany" - Review

I really like Bare Escentuals as a brand, as I've previously noted. When I heard they were going to start releasing pressed eyeshadows, I was beyond excited. I love the concept of loose shadows, but I find them more prone to fall out, and the lasting power seems to vary wildly between shades with some brands. During Sephora's Friends & Family sale last year, I decided to pick up one of the duos, called "The Epiphany."

From Bare Escentuals:

bareMinerals READYTM Eyeshadow provides exceptionally vivid, long-wearing color in an ultra smooth, silky texture for effortless application and seamless blendability with two complementary shades. Powered by our proprietary SeaNutritive MineralTM Complex along with powerful antioxidants, cold-pressed borage oil, caffeine and cucumber-ingredients known to deliver anti-aging benefits including reduced look of puffiness and antioxidant protection for a softer, smoother, revitalized eye area. It looks like a powder but feels like a cream and delivers a beautifully smooth application of vivid, long-wearing color.

I have to question how long, or how often, you would need to wear an eyeshadow for any sort of skin care benefits to be visible, but I suppose it's a nice touch - I mean, it's the thought that counts, right? That aside, these shadows are creamy to the touch, and color selection is pretty good.

For $20 (an outstanding price), you get two eyeshadows (complete with names), in a rounded square palette. The palettes are made from that same soft to the touch rubber that NARS uses. A mirror is provided in the lid, and a sponge applicator is included. Each duo contains 0.1 oz of shadow, 0.05 oz of each shade.

The Epiphany includes Foreshadow, a matte "brown truffle" shade, and A-Ha!, a shimmery "brown sugar." You could also call them a matte medium/dark brown and a shimmery taupe, if you wanted to. Both shades lean warm, and swatch beautifully.  A-Ha! applies and blends great, too, however Foreshadow doesn't apply great. It can appear chalky and less pigmented than it would appear. It's not without it's uses, though. I love using it to deepen other brown tones. It seems to apply much better over another shadow, perhaps because they give it some "slip."

The shadows last all day over my normal primer system (UDPP + color base of some kind). I have not noticed any morphing, fading or creasing on my oily lids.

Overall, I really like these. Enough that I've since bought a quad, one of the 8-pan palettes from their holiday 2011 collection, and picked up one from QVC in their Today's Special Value from several months ago. This is a particularly dependable duo, because it's a great pair of neutrals at an amazing price.