

Budget finds
I love my Chanel and Guerlain bizniz… but nothing excites me more than a budget beauty find. And since I’ve recently been fixated on eyeshadows, they’ve been my main focus when I approach a beauty counter. I went inside Tony Moly in search of my favorite hand cream only to find out it’s already been phased out (I hate when they do that!). I’m glad I stayed and looked around else I wouldn’t have discovered these babies. These single eyeshadows come in refillable pans sans the casing. Now if I had been my regular self, this wouldn’t have appealed to me at all because packaging is important to the magpie that I am attracted to shiny things and all.


So is it really cheap?
A single shadow is 1.4 g or 0.04 oz and costs Php178 ($4) — now, let’s compare for fun, shall we? a Chanel baked quad contains 0.04 oz for 4 shadows and costs Php3,250 ($59) a Guerlain quad contains 0.25 oz and costs Php3,000 ($59) a Dior quint contains 0.21 oz and costs Php3,450 ($60) an Urban Decay Naked palette contains 0.60 oz and costs Php2,800 ($50) a NARS six-piece palette contains 0.42 oz and costs Php2,250 ($43) a Tony Moly six-piece palette contains 0.24 oz and costs Php1,068 ($25) plus the case which is Php350 so around Php1,400So it’s not really cheap — it costs almosts as much as the UD Naked palettes if you get 12pcs of the Tony Moly single eyeshadows. But it’s definitely way cheaper than the luxury brands’ outrageous prices (Chanel’s baked quads only contain 0.04 freaking oz!!! Call the cops cos I feel robbed!!) for the same amount of product.
I ended up choosing 4 shimmer and 2 matte shadows to fill in the slightly-tacky-but-i-can-live-with-it palette. It was a challenge matching the testers to the sealed products because there aren’t any names to distinguish them — only the last 2-digits in their barcodes.
I also ended up with quite neutral colors which is typical Misty Mom style (shying away from the more out-there shades).
What about the quality?
But of course, the main reason I was drawn to these in the first place! Love at first swatch — you can call it that. Buttery smooth and heavily pigmented = without any primer whatsoever. In short, what I expected from the NARS eyeshadows. Granted, there were also Tony Moly singles that were gritty and patchy which you just have to weed through. The shimmer shades have excellent color pay-off. The matte shades aren’t as pigmented but are really smooth and non-powdery. Definitely better than the NARS mattes I’ve encountered.But the downside!
Well, it’s not as perfect as I wished it would be. The shimmers did have some fall out, which isn’t a deal breaker but I’m iffy with that. I hate having shimmer all over my face when I apply eyeshadow (especially with my n00b skills). Of course, nothing a primer (a really good one!) couldn’t solve.
I would go on and describe the colors but I’ll leave you instead with swatches – one in direct sunlight and one under the shade. I’ll do some looks and share them soon!
wow. this i really like! budget friendly but looks really expensive! plus they look really pigmented!
They are super pigmented, especially the shimmery ones. 🙂 The matte ones, okay lang 🙂
I love all the shades…except that pink-ish one. I can never pull that off. I agree with the price, not exactly friendly but since you compared them to NARS, being the current eyeshadow/NARS aficionado that you are :), they must really be good. I’d go for the Naked though, because I’m predictable, safe and I want more value for my $$$!!!
True! If I don’t have the Naked palettes yet, I’d save up for those instead. 🙂 But yes, I actually like these better than some NARS shadows I have.
I love the rich purple shade. Do the eyshadows come with names?
They don’t Raven! 🙁 Only numbers!
Gorgeous shades! I want!
Daming shades in Tony Moly, Khymm! Youre bound to find one you like 🙂
Love the swatches!
Thanks, Linh!
wow these are gorgeous!
♥ HerNameIsTrina ♥
I’ve been looking to inject some color into my palettes and this looks like a great find! Must stop by when I get back.
Yes yes – maraming shades to choose from – even wearable non-neutrals! 🙂
Wow this palette is gorgeous, I love all the colours!!
Can you buy this brand in the UK? I’ve never heard of it before.
I don’t think Tony Moly is available in the UK:-( It’s a Korean brand so maybe look for a Korean e-tailer?
Oh my god. Just…oh my god! I should check out Tony Moly ASAP. This is amazing. I’m a sucker for eye shadows so I don’t think I would pass this up. Thank you so much for sharing, Shari! 🙂
Yay! Glad I could help out fellow beauty junkies! 🙂 Blog about your finds if you do pick up some!
They are gorgeous shades, for a minute I though it was a NARS palette.
Ha ha. Gotchu there didn’t I? 🙂 Maybe I should’ve put in the title – guess what palette this is! Good quality but for half the price of a NARS palette.
Will definitely, definitely buy! Thanks! 🙂
Will wait for your thoughts on this if you do pick some up Kmmy!
Nice! I love the colors that you bought. =)
Thanks Cris! 🙂 Thanks for sharing mywoodencanvas. Before they didnt have the online ordering pa. Now I’m glad meron na!
Shariii! Which branch did you go to?? OMG they phased out the age stop hand cream??? That’s my FAVORITE. I hope I can still hoard!!!! 🙁 🙁
Ina! I went to the store mismo in North Edsa. 🙂 Oo wala na yung Age Stop!! 🙁 Kainis. Sana pala marami na ko binili non. They only have the fruit-encased hand creams 🙁 Eh alam ko sa counters wala rin yung Age Stop eh!
I’ve always wondered why shimmery eyeshadows are more pigmented than matte ones. Anyway, the colors you got are beautiful! Wow!
I love the champagne one! Thanks so much for sharing <3
OMG! How pretty?!
I’ve been to Tony Moly Shop once when we visited Brunei 2 years ago. I loved their stuffs and the price….OMG! So affordable! I’ve never been to any Tony Moly shops in the Philippines…but maybe on our next vacation, I’ll keep it on my list.
its nice of you to do some calculation and comparisons between different brands 🙂 i was actually shocked to see that it is almost as expensive as UD. i was hoping it would be much cheaper. i really like pa naman the idea of choosing diff colors and placing it inside a magnetic box ^^ you picked nice colors 🙂 – shayne
Thanks Shari! I will definitely check this out one day. I love palettes especially the ones where you customize your own. 🙂
omg the colours are gorgeous! honestly didn’t expect so much quality for such a cheap price!
http://affidavita.blogspot.com.au/
I do not know where to buy Tony Moly box for shadows! It’s soo trouble for me!