Have you ever heard of this brand? Me neither, until very recently. I’ve been seeing so many pictures of eye looks floating around on Instagram and became intrigued! I was about to purchase my first round of eyeshadows when our dear friend, Karah, was uber kind to send me my first round of Motives eyeshadows – yeehaw! (Thank you, K!) After using them for the past couple of weeks off an on, I must say, they are every bit as exquisite on the eyes as they are in the swatches below.
(Bottom Row, L to R) Goddess, Vintage Glam, Toast, Tahitian Red Earth, Vino, Heavy Metal
Did you catch the better, more green version of MAC’s Club there?! (hint: take a gander at Heavy Metal – wow!) It was hard to single them out, but my most favorites out of this group are Dusk, Bedroom Eyes, Sweet Plum, Tahitian Red Earth (you were surprised? ;)) and Heavy Metal.
The only thing I am not so fond of with these eyeshadows is the packaging; just a personal preference, but I find them to be WAY too bulky. Square and chunky. If that style works for you, great! If not, they come out of the packaging also. Just flip it over into the palm of your hand and give the packaging a gentle shake; the pan will pop out easily into your hand. (SO much easier – why don’t all makeup companies make the depotting process this easy?!) The pans are the same exact size (26 mm) as MAC and Urban Decay so it’s easy to plan a space similar to that size around these, too. (Please note the pans are not magnetized on their own; an additional magnet will be necessary to get them to stick to a palette.)
Overall, I am highly impressed with these eyeshadows both in terms of pigmentation and longevity. They are definitely worth a try! 🙂
To purchase or view their eyeshadow collection, visit:
www.MotivesCosmetics.com*
*not affiliated
How to Get This Look:
- MAC Samoa Silk (crease) – could also use MUG Peach Smoothie here
- Motives Toast (outer crease, blended into Samoa Silk)
- Motives Sweet Plum (on lid, below crease)
- Motives Red Tahitian Earth (center of lid)
- Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner
- False Lashes: ‘Coy Cutie’ from InkyMinkyLashes.com
- MAX Factor 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara
- CoverGirl Brow & Eye Makers in ‘Soft Blonde’
- Prestige Clear Brow Gel
Peggy Boersma
These are gorgeous! Thanks for introducing them to me/us!
Zabrena
Of course, Peggy! 🙂
Karah
Beautiful! 🙂 I agree with the packaging but it’s great the e/s comes out so easily. I love Bedroom Eyes and Vintage Glam . I happy your enjoying the e/s. I knew you would like those pinkish/red shades. 🙂
Zabrena
Haha! You know me so well! I LOVE Bedroom Eyes, too! How gorgeous is that?! Reminds me of UD’s Sin, but a more brown/neutral version of it. I’m definitely using it next! You’re the bestest! 😉
Karah
When you get a chance ,no hurry. I would love to see more looks with Motives e/s. Thanks Z 🙂
Catriona
Totally agree about depotting. Why do they have to make it such a chore?
Zabrena
Right?! UGH!
Karah
Motives also makes a dupe for MAC’s Malt that is called In The Buff.
Zabrena
Ouuu! Good to know! I have a sneaky suspicion MAC is going to discontinue that one ’cause it’s my favorite 🙁 LOL!
KristaS
These are gorgeous! I’ll have to look into getting some. Hey Karah, where do you get the lovelies you send Zabrena’s way? Do you work for a cosmetics company? If so, I don’t know whether to be jealous, or grateful that I don’t because I’d probably spend my paycheck at work. Is it me, or does the thought of giving back what you just earned sound sort of messed up? 😀 In any case, it’s nice to see new products so thanks for sharing here.
Zabrena
LOL! I know what you mean! I worked at a beauty supply store when I was in college and I was always spending money in there on new stuff. It was like “this isn’t fair, man!” Haha!
I went ahead and put their web address above; silly me. Might’ve helped if I told you where you can get them! 😉
Karah
Ha Ha! I wish I did! 🙂 If I did work at a CC their would be even more lovelies!
Motives has some really beautiful e/s. I think you’ll like them. 🙂
KristaS
Have you tried Inglot? I haven’t tried Inglot yet (even though I’ve meant to) and I’m curious as to how they compare.
Karah
Hi Krista,
I’ve tried Inglot. I have one or two issues with them. If you don’t have an Inglot store or counter near you, then you have to buy online. I purchased quite a few e/s online. Normally, I don’t have any issues purchasing online, but with Inglot I did. First, they didn’t have about three-fourths of their e/s available. I found this out after I made a purchase. I went back to give them a second chance about two months later. They have a lot of e/s to choose from at a good price, but they don’t describe any of their e/s. It’s just a numbered system. You have to guess if you’re going to like the e/s or not. I really think they could improve in this area. There’re a nice product. I’ve not used my Inglot e/s a lot. I guess they haven’t wowed me yet. I’ve really been enjoying my Motives e/s lately. Motives has a YouTube channel if you would like to see more looks. I’m
sure I’ll get into my Inglot e/s at some point. 🙂 If you do have to purchase Inglot e/s online, I would look up on the web each e/s your interested in. That way you’ll get more info on the shade. They do have some MAC dupes. Like Inglot’s #407 is a dupe for Expensive Pink.
KristaS
I did notice what you talked about and I found it, well, annoying. The numbering system is bad enough, but when I looked online I honestly couldn’t tell what the colors were supposed to look like. How are you supposed to buy eyeshadows you haven’t seen in person unless you can look at an actual swatch? It didn’t make sense to me. Mostly what I have been doing is what you suggested. If I see a swatch that I like, I take a screenshot of the color. Guess I’ll just have to keep doing my research if/when I do decide to place an order. Sites like this one and temptalia.com have a lot of swatches of different eyeshadows, and that really helps.
Meanwhile, I’m really interested in these Motives eyeshadows so I’ll take a look at them for now. Thanks for your input. 🙂
Zabrena
Yes! I love Inglot eyeshadows, but like Karah mentioned, I despise their numbering system (402, 365 … what?!) and the fact that their website is so hard to use and it’s a little overwhelming on which eyeshadows to purchase! If you have a store near you, they’re definitely worth visiting; that’s the only way I’ll buy their eyeshadows myself, but the nearest one to me is 2 hours, so I have to plan a trip for a visit there. I’ve done some looks with them on the site; if you look under the Index and the categories: ‘Eye of the Day’ and ‘Product Reviews’ you should be able to find them there 😉 That might help. I am also planning more looks with them soon.
KristaS
I believe the closest one to me is in Chicago, which is a 5+ hour drive from me. So it’s not like I could just hop in the car and be back in time for dinner. I’d have to make a weekend trip of it and have it on my list of things to do while I’m there. I’ve never been there but I hear that there’s a pro MAC store there too, yippee! Probably have to go in the summer sometime- maybe we could watch the Tigers kick the White Sox around while we’re there, bwahahahahahaaaaaaa… 😀
Mariella
Beautiful shadows and the prices (I just went to the site) aren’t too bad, even for Canada. I also love Bedroom Eyes and Dusk, as well as Midnight and Toast. More lovely shades and products on the site. More temptation…just what I don’t need!
Saira
Wow, these look amazing, Zabrena! I think one of my particular favourites is Creme Fresh (the first deep green shade).
I had a look to see if they ship in the UK and Motives also have a UK site! Very exciting! I hadn’t heard of this brand either and am now really excited about checking them out. I particularly like the way the eyeshadow pans just ‘pop’ out. No depotting! Yaaaay!
Just wanted to say as well – that style of eyeshadow reeeeally suits you! I haven’t seen you wear winged eyeliner like that before – it looks gorgeous. The eyeshadow combo is stunning too :o) .
Karah
Hi Saira,
I think you would really like their e/s. I know I do! Creme Fresh is actually a white pearl e/s. Dusk is the e/s next to it that has the grayish/ greenish tones to it. If you like MAC’s Club, but have trouble seeing the green in it, then Heavy Metal would be a good e/s for you.
KristaS
Karah, what would you recommend as a good blending shade? I am guessing that vanilla might be a good one.
Karah
Hi!
MAC’s Vanilla is a good blending shade. With some e/s Vanilla can get muddy looking. Usually browns. I’m like Zabrena I like Blanc Type. I have a couple of blending shades. Vanilla, Orb, B.T., Gesso, and Bisque LE. Of course MAC had to discontinue Bisque. Seems like they always do that with e/s you like. It’s a little darker than the other shades. I like to use it with Satin Taupe on the lid, Malt in the crease, than Bisque to blend. Zabrena has this combo under Malt or S.T., so you can see the difference between the shades. Inglot has a similar e/s for Bisque in #390, and NYX Nude is similar to Bisque. I hope this helps! 🙂
KristaS
OK… but I meant if you were strictly using Motives eyeshadow, is their version of vanilla a good blender?
Karah
I’ve never used Motives Vanilla. If you use it, I would make sure it’s a matte e/s. I’ve only used Blanc Type and Motives Creme Fresh as a highlighter..
Saira
Thanks for this, Karah. I had a look on the UK Motives site and couldn’t work out why they were showing Crème Fresh as a pale shimmery white colour instead of green! Didn’t see the swatch that came before the green.
Yes, I do really like MAC’s Club and I am frustrated sometimes that I can’t see the green pearl in it! Heavy Metal sounds like a good alternative. Thanks :o) .
KristaS
I agree! I like the entire combo, but love the winged eyeliner! 😀
Zabrena
Thank you, Saira! 😀 You’ve never seen me wear winged liner because it’s taken me this long to learn! LOL! 😉
I just figured out the trick this past week; it’s taken me months of playing with different gel liners and brushes to finally figure it out! Agghh! So needless to say I’ll more than likely be doing a tutorial for it based on my findings and see if it helps anyone else who might be struggling with it, too. 😀
Yes, yes! Motives has a UK site! They’re very big over there from what I understand! I know you’d be most impressed with their eyeshadows!
Saira
That’s weird – I just posted a comment in reply to yours and it hasn’t appeared. Hopefully it will appear soon!
Saira
My comment didn’t show up for some reason. Not sure what happened. Anyway, just wanted to say – I would LOVE
Saira
Aaargh – accidentally posted before I had finished typing! Anyway, just wanted to say – I (and I am sure other readers would too) would LOVE to see a tutorial on winged eyeliner. It’s tricky sometimes to find the perfect brush for winged liner, so I’d be really interested to see what you found worked best/what didn’t work as well.
At the moment, I am using the Sonia Kashuk bent eyeliner brush. It’s really good, actually. I have been eyeing up the MAC 211 (pointed eyeliner brush) for a while, though. I’d be curious to hear what you think about the 211 if you have tried it.
Melanie Steed
Zabrena,
I own so many eye shadows and palettes I am just wondering if their shades are similar to some I already have? Would you splurge to get them and if so what colors would you recommend?
Amy Allen
Beautiful look! I have a question about the mascara. I thought it was discontinued back around 2010? It was my absolute favorite and still haven’t found anything I like as much. Do you know where to get it? Do you have any mascara you can suggest that is comparable? I always layered this one with the length one from Max Factor. I can’t remember the name of that one. Thank you.