NYC Best of Broadway IndividualEyes Custom Compact Review and Look

The NYC Individualeyes Custom Compact is a fairly new product from New York Color that is designed to work with your eye color and create an individual look. There are 8 different color combinations to choose from that enhance the look of green, blue and brown eyes. 4 of the palettes have names referencing popular NY hot spots, like Union Square and Soho Grand, and the other four offer a more smoked-out look and have names that are very simple, such as Smokey Charcoal and Smokey Greens. The pallettes can be purchased at CVS for about $4.99 - $5.49 depending on where you live (The CVS in my area always is always higher priced -gotta hate it love it!)

Best of Broadway

On the NYC website, it states that this "all-in-one compact has everything you need for a complete look: primer, illuminator, applicator and complementing shadows. With four colors specially coordinated to intensify and enhance your eye color, you can create a look as individual as you are."

I purchased the palette named Best of Broadway, which is a bronze-based palette. On the package it says that these shades are best suited for brown eyes, but I really liked the shades and found them very fall appropriate, so I decided to see how they work with green eyes.

The compact comes with a plastic cover that indicates what each shade/ product is used for, as well as a diagram on the back to act as a guide,  so if you are new to the whole eye-makeup thing you know what color goes where.

                               

The palette comes with 4 shadows: a shimmery cream, a yellow gold, a coppery bronze, and a  muddy brown (which is the only matte shade). 

The gold and bronze shades have the best pigmentation of the bunch, but all three shimmer shades feel soft and apply smoothly. The matte brown is pretty chalky, and it takes a few extra swipes to achieve a decent color payoff. 

The compact also comes with two cream products: a base, and an illuminator.

The base is a light/medium skin tone and is similar in texture to a cream concealer. The illuminator is a pearly white shade, and is rather thin feeling and slightly greasy. They both have fairly good pigmentation. 

L-R: base and illuminator

If you have normal-to-dry eyelids, the primer included in the compact might work for you; but if your lids tend to be more oily, like mine, stay clear! The first time I tried this shadow, I used the included base, and - DISASTER! -  all the shadow was gone from my eyelid within two hours!! Let me repeat: TWO HOURS!!! Yeah, it was a bad day...  However, when I used my Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I had much better results and the shadow stayed in place for most of the day (I'll count that as a win!).

I did experience some fall-out while applying the shadow, which is to be expected, but it wasn't terrible. I enjoyed the shimmery shades - they apply fairly well and blend out nicely. As for the matte brown, I am simply not a fan- it was patchy and did not blend out well, creating an unattractive muddy look. I found that, as long as I did not try to add too much matte brown to the equation, I could achieve a respectable eye look with this compact.

For this look, I first applied Milani Bella Eyes in Bella Cafe to the crease. Using the NYC Individualeyes Custom Compact in Best of Broadway, I added the gold shade to the inner half of the lid and the bronze shade to the outer half, keeping the shadow under the crease. Using a small crease brush, I added a little bit of the matte brown to the outer v, blending it up into the crease. I used the pearly cream shade under the brow  and on the inner corners as a highlight.  With a pencil brush, I applied the bronze shade to the outer lower lashline and the gold to the inner lower lash line, blending the two in the center. I used Stila Smudge Stick in Damsel to line my top lashline, and finished things off with two coats of MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara in Black.

On the rest of my face, I have Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in the shade 2N1, NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in the shade Sunny,  Tarte Amazonian Clay Brow Mousse in Taupe,  Elizabeth Mott Tints & Sass in Cherry and Mary Kay Translucent Loose Powder.

To be honest, I feel rather lukewarm about the NYC Individualeyes Custom Compact. The colors are really pretty, and they swatch well enough, but when you apply them to the eyelid they just don't come off as pigmented, and they are hard to blend. For a makeup beginner, or someone who likes a more muted look, this would be a great palette to pick up. I really like how the compact includes a diagram and labels to show a new user how and where to apply the shadows. The price point is fantastic, and the quality is not bad for the price. I did not like the base or the illuminator, but I think that mostly has to do with the fact that I have oily skin and the products did not stay in place; if you have drier lids these products might work better for you. As for making your eyes "pop", I picked a palette that is intended for another eye color, so I can not give an opinion on this except for stating the obvious: it did nothing special for my green eyes (surprise!). I'd be curious to see how the palette designed for green eyes works, and I may purchase Smokey Greens  just to see (if I do, I will let you know my thoughts).  Overall, I think that you get your money's worth from this $5 compact; as long as you don't expect champagne quality from this beer-budget product, you will be happy with it.

Have you tried any of the NYC Individualeyes Custom Compacts? If so, did you use a combo created for your eye color, and did it help to emphasize your eyes? What are your thoughts on the product overall?

~Jessica