Black Shadow Showdown Redux

You might remember my disappointment that Sugarpill's Bulletproof didn't live up to the hype or Urban Decay's Blackout. A generous friend sent me Makeup Geek's Corrupt because she was pretty sure it could slay the competition.

Of course, between now and then, I've managed to obtain a few other black shadows. Who doesn't need more black shadow? Before I move on to the swatches, I wanted to say that I bought two pans of MAC's Carbon, certain that I had a defective one. Both pans swatch exactly the same and the MAC counter rep I spoke to told me that "you don't actually want a shadow that black, because it wouldn't blend well!" I disagree, clearly, and so do many other cosmetics companies, apparently.

On to the main event:

My ten black shadows, in natural light

1. Sephora Collection No 54 Black Lace 2. Kat Von D Lucifer from Sinner 3. Smashbox M7 from Full Exposure 4. Sugarpill Bulletproof 5. MAC Typographic 6. MAC Carbon 7. MakeupGeek Corrupt 8. Urban Decay Blackout 9. Urban Decay Crave from Naked Basics 10. NARS Pandora II

Do you see the lengths we have to go to in Washington state to get 'natural light' photos? I'm hanging my shadow-covered arm out of my kitchen window for this. I think the MAC shadows are the most disappointing here - Typographic (5) and Carbon (6) are practically the same color and neither are what I would call black - they're clearly gray shadows.  I was a little surprised by (3) Smashbox M7 from the Full Exposure palette. That palette has taken a beating on a lot of reviews I've seen as being poorly pigmented. I'm going to do a review for that palette next week but spoiler alert: buy it for the mattes.

The MakeupGeek Corrupt (7) and Blackout (8) seem to be going head-to-head. Blackout is smoother in texture and Corrupt seems to have a little glitter in it but they're both very dark, deep black shadows.

Let's look at these shadows inside, shall we?

1. Sephora Collection Black Lace 2. Kat Von D Lucifer 3. Smashbox M7 from Full Exposure 4. Sugarpill Bulletproof 5. MAC Typographic 6. MAC Carbon 7. MakeupGeek Corrupt 8. Urban Decay Blackout 9. Urban Decay Crave 10. NARS Pandora II

I feel like you can see which shadows lean brown or gray with indoor lighting a little better. I also think the difference between Typographic (5) and Carbon (6) is more clear here but I'm still not impressed.

If you're looking for a velvety-smooth true-matte black shadow, I still think Urban Decay's Blackout ($18 alone or available in the Naked 2 palette) is the best you can get - but at one-third the price, Makeup Geek's Corrupt ($6 in a naked pan, $8 in a single compact) is a serious contender, even with a little bit of shimmer.

Sugarpill Bulletproof is not a Blackout

So, the day before yesterday I raved about Sugarpill's matte, pigmented shadows. Today, I am here to show you that Bulletproof can't really hold a candle to Urban Decay's Blackout. (No really, it would be pointless, in a good way.)

Follow my blog with Bloglovi'

I kept hearing that Bulletproof was the black shadow to end all black shadows. I'm a fan of dark shades and use a lot of black shadow - as liner, as a setting powder for liquid liner, as a smoking-out shade for lighter colors, as a blending color to deepen bright shades, and so on. Given the great experience I had with Burning Heart and Sweetheart, I took this rumor at face-value and bought a single of Bulletproof when I picked up Cold Chemistry and Heartbreaker. I've got to say, I'm disappointed.

First up, the packaging is cute and sleek, which is nice. It seems durable and the shadow in the package gave me hope - you can't even see the black design on the clear lid because the shadow is dark behind it.

So, like any over-zealous package-opener, I swatched it on the back of my hand. Whomp-whomp. I knew immediately that Urban Decay's Blackout would be darker - so I grabbed it and threw it on the back of my hand next to Bulletproof. See:

Okay, maybe it just needs some primer or something to hold it on a little better - I mean, after all, those red and pink shades from Sugarpill have a little bit of a fallout issue, right? So I dragged out all of my black shadows still currently in service and put down a layer of Urban Decay's Primer Potion (if you remember my foundation swatches, you know my skin is lighter than it appears here. I love Primer Potion but don't let anyone tell you its colorless.)  Here are the results of that:

1. Sephora Collection Black Lace (matte, single, 2013)

2. Sugarpill Bulletproof (matte, single, 2014)

3. Kat Von D Lucifer (matte, Sinner palette, 2011)

4. Urban Decay Blackout (matte, Naked 2 palette, 2013)
5. Urban Decay Crave (matte, Naked Basics palette, 2013)

As you can see, some colors that claim to be matte come out more satin (Crave) or have shimmer in them (Lucifer.) Bulletproof definitely out ranks three of the five shades but Urban Decay is the clear winner here on pigmentation and even application.

I'm sure I'll have a use for it, so I'm not upset that I spent the money but I officially refute any "it's the blackest" claims out there. When I brought this up on a makeup chat forum I participate on, someone suggested that Makeup Geek's Corrupt was blacker than Blackout. A challenger has appeared. (Clearly, to be continued.)