Sometime last year tarte released their Chrome Paint Shadow Pots and I was instantly smitten with the shade Fire Dancer (that deep metallic burgundy-red you see on the left). That shade in particular was so intriguing to me – in the pot it looked more pink than red (which isn’t my style), but in swatches it was this molten fiery lava shade that just set my heart on fire!

So when I received a package of these Chrome Paint Shadow Pots to try out, I was over the moon! And then also… suddenly nervous. While I do use pigments from time to time, they’re not generally my favourite kind of eyeshadow because my god are they ever messy. These Chrome Paints are no exception, but once you see how the colours play out, you may want to dive in headfirst and play around with them too!

Each pot contains 3 grams (0.11 ounces) of product – which is roughly double what you would expect to get in a traditional pressed eyeshadow pan. I’m glad there’s so much product in there, because the price point is a bit up there  ($27 CAD/$22 USD) for a single shadow. That being said, you’re getting a heck of a foiled eyeshadow pigment out of these… just check out the swatches!

These were swatched (as per usual) with a cotton bud, but the brand does indicate these work best with your fingertip in order to melt the product into your skin. I didn’t read that tidbit until after I’d swatched them, but I can confirm that using something to “melt/crush” the product (so to speak) works a lot better than something dry. If you apply them dry, you end up with a few chunks (as you can see above) that need a bit of smoothing out. For all the eye looks you’ll see below, I ended up wetting my brush before applying the shadow to my lids and I found that worked very, very well in order to smooth out the pigment. That being said, these are metallic right out of the gates and don’t necessarily need the extra oomph from a wet brush.

For this look I opted for Park Ave Princess on the lid with Top Yacht on the inner corner. Top Yacht is unbelievably reflective. I could probably also use it as a cheek highlight because the reflection is incredible!

Closed eye shot with the same colours as above so you can see the texture a bit better. It’s quite foiled (and my eyelids are a touch crinkly) but overall it’s quite a smooth application with a wet brush.

The next look involves Martini all over the lid with Steel The Show on the outer corner and through the crease. I thought Steel The Show would be more grey overall, but it’s got a beautiful grey cast to it. Martini is one of those darker golden-olive shades – wonderful as a lid shade.

And my favourite? No surprise here, but it’s Fire Dancer (I even love the name!). This colour is basically all of my makeup hopes and dreams rolled into one fiery shade of wonder. This colour is EVERYTHING to me! It’s the only colour I used all over my lid, crease and lower lash line (I have a glitter on the inner corner) and the end result is breathtaking. If there’s one shade I’d urge you to pick up the most in this collection – it’s this one!

Final Thoughts

The tarte Chrome Paint Shadow Pots are definitely a bit messy, and slightly finicky but oh-so-worth it. (To cause the least amount of mess, I’d scoop my brush into the product and plop it into the lid, wet my brush, then smush the shadow into the lid of the product and apply it directly to my lid.)

Each colour is beautifully pigmented and has a beautiful foiled/metallic finish. While most of the shades are fairly neutral, the ones that stood out to me the most were definitely Fire Dancer and Pot of Gold. I experienced no creasing after 12+ hours of wear on all shades and each of them had solid opacity on the lid and didn’t require constant layering. These are a definite winner!

The tarte Chrome Paint Shadow Pots can be purchased at sephora.ca for $27 CAD each or on sephora.com for $22 USD.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post contains affiliate links.