A few weeks ago Rite Aid was having a 40% off sale on New York Color (N.Y.C.) products and I decided to pick up a little eye trio to try. I think the price came out to around $1.50 or so. I chose the trio in Central Park Plums because I thought the colors would be great for a Fall eye look and I hoped the plum crease color would make my brown eyes pop. When I saw it in the drugstore it reminded me a lot of the Wet n Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Trios which I'm an enormous fan of. I expected the same level of pigmentation and smoothness but sadly, this was just not the same.



Let's start with the colors. The trio has a soft pink highlight color, a mid-toned taupe for the lids and a dark plum crease color. All three colors have a pearlescent, shimmery finish which is actually more prominent than the colors themselves. The pigmentation definitely leaves something to be desired. It just doesn't give off the same color you see in the pan, which is disappointing because those colors are gorgeous. When applied, the shadows look a bit sheer and shimmery on the lids. I feel like I definitely needed to pack on the shadow, even when using a primer, to get the level of color I wanted. And even with a primer and the many layers of shadow I applied. the color just didn't last throughout the day.






The texture of the shadows is also a bit too powdery and chalky. My biggest problem is probably with the dark plum color. I so wanted this to be a wow crease color but it really just ends up looking generically dark. By generically dark I mean that you can't really discern the color itself, just the darkness, which isn't even at the level you would expect from the color in the pan.

Now with all of that said. I did like the overall look I achieved with the shadows. The sheerness of the colors wasn't too smoky or too purple for a daytime look. I even got a complement on my makeup from someone who sees me all the time and never notices makeup. So, for the $1.50 I paid, I think this trio was worth it, if for no other reason than that I have some more autumnal colors to play with. But if you're look for some serious pigmentation and staying power from the drugstore, I would suggest trying some of the Wet n Wild trios.

Have you tried any of the other N.Y.C. trios? Is the pigmentation on the other colors different? Let me hear your thoughts.