Review: NYX Hot Singles Eye Shadow in Club Crawl

Review: NYX Hot Singles Eye Shadow in Club Crawl

I've had my eye on Club Crawl since I very first posted about the new-for-2014 eyeshadow singles from NYX last year. I actually ordered this shadow from Ulta back in March and I almost forgot to review it! I rushed to get this up today so that, if you want it, you can get it for 40% off online and in-store at Ulta (sale ends Saturday, 7/5). Instead of paying $4.49, you'll pay $2.69 this week (and there are 87 other shades in the range in case this one isn't to your liking).

NYX Hot Singles Eye Shadow in Club Crawl

(retail: $4.49, 0.053 oz)

Made in People's Republic of China

Safety seal

How cute is that bow?

Obviously the packaging looks very much like MAC (with the addition of that adorable bow). Standard MAC eyeshadows contain 0.05 oz. of product for $15, whereas these NYX shadows contain 0.053 oz. for $4.49. But the diameter of the pans looks almost identical to my eye. So if you de-pot these, they should fit in any of your palettes that you would normally use for MAC shadow singles. 

The photo above does not really show you the fine iridescent glitter that runs throughout this shadow. Here's a macro:

Without primer, this is a cool-toned taupe-ish gray with reddish-purple undertones. It has decent pigmentation but it's a bit sheer without primer. It's also more of a satin finish without primer. Over primer, this shadow develops into a darker, shimmery gunmetal. There is a lot of iridescent glitter that you can't see above, so here's a photo I took in lower lighting--it's intentionally blurry because it's easier for my camera to pick up glitter when things are blurry:

Next, a comparison:

NYX Club Crawl vs. MAC Satin Taupe

(both shadows swatched on top of primer)

MAC Satin Taupe is a shimmery, warm-toned taupe. I wanted to show it to you next to Club Crawl not because I thought they might be dupes, but because I think this helps give you some perspective as to just how cool-toned Club Crawl really is when worn over primer.

All three swatches

Overall, this is a nice shadow, but not what I was expecting. I thought it would be more of a true, cool-toned taupe, but it actually looks more like gunmetal when worn over primer. I also had no idea that it contained fine iridescent glitter, which isn't something I like to contend with when it comes to my daytime looks (I purchased this specifically to wear in the daytime). 

The texture of this shadow is smooth but I wouldn't exactly call it buttery. It's not chunky or grainy, but it is a bit powdery and I do see some fallout when picking up color with my brush (and also during application). Staying power is decent without primer (4-5 hours before I see significant fading) but of course it's much better with primer (8-9 hours before I see fading or creasing). 

One more thing: if you have brown, golden-brown, hazel or green eyes, I think this color is going to make your eye color pop. I have hazel eyes and if I wasn't in such a hurry to get this review up (because NYX is on sale this week for 40% off at Ulta), I would have done an eye look to prove this. I think that the purple undertone in this shadow really complements brown/hazel/green eyes. 

FINAL VERDICT: If you don't go into it hoping that this shadow is a cool-toned taupe (like I did!), then I think you'll find this to be a nice, shimmery gunmetal gray. I was initially disappointed to find that it's not a taupe, but when I got over that I discovered that I don't have too many gunmetal grays quite like this. Most of the shades I own that are like this have a metallic finish, so it's nice to have one that's not uber-shimmery. I"m not huge fan of the iridescent glitter, but it's pretty for nighttime looks. This shadow is a bit powdery and you'll see some fallout during application, but it has great pigmentation and staying power when worn over primer. I think it's definitely worth $2.69 if you get it this week for 40% off at Ulta. I'm not sure I would pay full-price ($4.49) for it again though.