If you’ve been browsing your instagram explore tab, chances are you’ve come across some swoon-worthy photos of multi-faceted color shifting shadows. We’ve seen several products, mostly from indie brands that all promise to deliver that multi-colored shift. The Sydney Grace Multichrome shadows come in both liquid and powder formulas and they’re the brand’s take on the trio-chrome trend.
- Sydney Grace Multichrome Overview
- Sydney Grace Multichrome Powder Shadow Review
- Sydney Grace Multichrome Cream Shadow Review
- Cruelty-free and Vegan Status
- Where to Buy the Sydney Grace Multichrome
- Final Thoughts
Sydney Grace Multichrome Overview
The Sydney Grace Multichromes are a color shifting shadow that are available in both cream and powder formulas.
Sydney Grace Multichrome Powder Shadow Review
Overview
The Sydney Grace Multichrome Powder Shadows retail for $15 and contain 0.064 oz of product. They come packaged in loose 26mm pan (size of a Mac shadow) which can be added to a magnetized palette. There’s currently a total of three shades in the line.
Formula
The shadow has a soft, creamy feel to it in the pan. When swatched it applied surprisingly smooth and evenly. With a brush you end up with a bit of fallout which makes sense as it’s a more metallic finish shadow. If you use your finger to apply you’ll really minimize the fallout and it does transfer smoothly.
Multi-chrome Effect
I got the shade Twisted Shifter which Sydney Grace claims will shift from pink, to orange to green. They also say that the shift will be most noticeable when applied all over the eyelid because the curvature of your eye will cause the shadow to shift. The swatch photo on their website shows a very distinct shift from green to gold to burgundy (I’m not seeing any orange).
Looking at it in the pan the shadow looks straight up purple to me, not burgundy as the photo on their website shows. And it’s the same story when swatched. The color definitely looks more like a warm purple than a burgundy.
In indirect light the shift isn’t very noticeable at all. You get a metallic purple looking at it full on but in the shadow it just looks dark. The gold really doesn’t come out until at least some direct light hits it.
Under bright lights you really start to pick up on the green to gold shift but again, the it looks purple (not pink) when in the shadows.
The real issue I’ve got is that an eyelid only gives you so much space and the full spectrum only shows up in a swatch that’s long enough to showcase the gradual shift in color. Even in bright light the shadow just looks like a gold flecked purple on my eye. The green really doesn’t come through and the shift is very hard to detect, if at all.
It’s still an interesting color once applied, but nowhere near as dramatic as I thought I was getting based on the swatches. And this might not be the fault of the shadow but an issue that crops up with all multi-chrome shadows so I wouldn’t necessarily blame the product.
Sydney Grace Multichrome Cream Shadow Review
Overview
The Sydney Grace Multichrome Cream Shadow retail for $15 and contain 0.17 oz of product. They come packaged in the same plastic squeeze tube as their other cream shadows and there are three shades available. Note that both the size and price have been reduced from the original product launch (they used to cost $25).
Formula
These feel very similar to the standard Sydney Grace Cream Shadows which I’ve already reviewed here. The formula starts out as a moussy cream and thins out to a smooth, even layer. It retains strong and even pigmentation despite the thinness of the product and dries down rather quickly.
Sydney Grace states that while not waterproof, the Cream Shadow is smudge-proof which is completely accurate. Once dry they don’t smear or move at all, however they break down easily with just water.
The finish is a smooth almost mirrored metallic. You don’t pick up on bits of glitter, it’s just and even reflective layer.
It’s a comfortable formula to wear and can be applied both over and under powder shadows. Personally I link applying a thin layer, adding contrast with powder shadows and then intensifying the cream again if needed.
Multi-chrome Effect
I have the shade Flamethrower which Sydney Grace describes as having a raspberry, copper, and gold shift.
Already based on the description I should have picked up on the fact that it’s more of a duo-chrome rather than a trio-chrome. Copper and gold are close enough to each other that you it would be easy for them to meld into on color.
To me the color looks exactly like the powder shade Twisted Shifter– purple. Which isn’t a bad color except I was really going for more of a burgundy. And as with Twisted Shifter in the shadow of indirect light it just looks dark.
When the light hits the color transitions from purple to warm bronze and it a pretty distinct shift. Again though, as with the powder shade the effect is kind of lost once applied to the eyes. Flamethrower looks almost identical to Twisted Shifter though the shift is maybe a hair more noticeable on the eye. For the most part it looks like a weird mix of bronze and purple. Still an interesting effect, not as cool as it looks in swatch.
I’d say the Sydney Grace Multichrome Cream Shadows perform similarly to the Natasha Denona Chromium Liquid Eyeshadows which I’ve reviewed here. For me the texture of the Sydney Grace shadow and the price makes them preferable to the Natasha Denona shadows.
Cruelty-free and Vegan Status
The Sydney Grace website states that they don’t test on animals and neither do any of their suppliers. They don’t ship to China where animal testing is required by law.
While Sydney Grace does not list the Multichromes among their non-vegan products, both the powder shade Twisted Shifter and cream shade Flamethrower contain carmine. I’m assuming that they haven’t updated their vegan list so I’d recommend checking the ingredients of each shade.
Where to Buy the Sydney Grace Multichrome Shadows |$15
- Sydney Grace – International shipping available.
Final Thoughts
I’m starting to think that I need to stop falling for the swatch photos on Instagram. Because, I don’t think either of these are necessarily bad products. They do what they claim when swatched and viewed under bright lights but those conditions usually aren’t present once applied to your eye. They do still give you a cool effect so if you’re looking for something different give these a try. Just don’t expect to get that distinct color change because that’s really not how these or any multi-chrome I’ve tried behave on the eyelid.
Pros
- Powder shadows apply smoothly
- Rich metallic finish
- Thin smooth formula for the cream shadows
- Cream shadows have excellent even pigmentation
- Smudge-proof finish on the cream shadows once set
Cons
- Both shades looked purple rather than burgundy or raspberry as described
- Multi-chrome effect didn’t translate to the eyelids
Thanks for reading, let me know if you’d tried any great multi-chromes in the comments below.
Bye now,
