Integrate Pure Big Eyes VI221 Eyeshadow Quad Review

Happiness is in your eyes!!!

Or maybe it’s just in good makeup?

This is Integrate’s Pure Big Eyes eyeshadow quad in VI221.

(It may have 5 shadows but it’s weird to call this a penta so i’ll stick to calling it a quad)

I know Integrate doesn’t really sound a bell but it’s slowly gaining traction in Asia. It’s already a staple in all Watsons outlets in Taiwan, and I’m quite certain that a Hong Kong and Singapore domination is on its way. As for the Philippines, they’re probably going to delay it as this is a higher end sister brand or Majolica Majorca (and a daughter brand of Shiseido) and there probably isn’t an exact market for it at the moment. As in there are really rich matured ladies who buy the Shiseido brand itself and younger girls who buy Majolica Majorca, but there probably isn’t that kind of young middle class yet who will fully embrace this brand. However, it’s never impossible that this brand will be brought to the Philippines!!!

Okay so these are the swatches, and I’ll get on with describing the product in further detail.

First thing’s first is the ingredient list, you can probably see the ethylparaben in there.. I guess this kind of reflects that the paraben scare is a totally Western created thing– as in I am not dismissing the possible dangers, but there just isn’t enough conclusive research about it (as in for a statement to be conclusive in the scientific world you need to have several studies from several countries involving different subjects and environments and not just one study), and as of now it’s still controversial. In the end of the day too it’s easier for a Western makeup company to ban an ingredient from its list than suffer a lawsuit from a disgruntled customer, regardless of whether the customer wins or not as this is a damaging thing to a brand’s reputation.

But my Japanese and Korean stuff have it… Even my Dolly Wink items have parabens in it…

I personally do not mind parabens and only mind toluene and formaldehyde and possible mercury in a product.

And this is how it looks like in the box. What initially attracted me to this brand was when I’d buy Taiwanese Popteen from hong Kong I’d often see this brand mentioned in the pages, and the heart shaped eyeshadow pans were just too cute to ignore!

As for this quad though, what attracted me was that I was personally blaming myself for not buying a Majolica Majorca purple quad when they still had it. I was looking for a purple quad with good color payoff and realized that given that they’re sister companies the formulation of this quad can’t be too far from what Majolica could have come up with.

If you look closely, you can see the indications for usage, as what Japanese people do.

And this is the top logo. This product is shaped like a clover, but in general their eyeshadow pans are heart shaped and just shaped in different ways. Their eyeshadow trio has a full sized heart shaped pan in it.

Initially, I was not really very attracted to this packaging wise as the case is scratch attractive (see all the scratches?) and lacks the cutesy feel Majolica’s stuff has.

But altogether, the eyeshadow pans are sooo cute and to die for.

It comes with a foam applicator that thankfully doesn’t seem crummy, and a small blurry mirror. Technically it’s not a mirror as it just seems to be the backing of the cover, but in times of extreme need, it will do.

And these are the eyeshadows up close. Don’t you just loooove the heart embossed eyeshadows?

Anyways, here are the colors of the eyeshadows.

Counterlockwise, the first color is the pure shining pearl color (the snow white one). It’s a semi-loose shimmer color with microglitter.

Next is the light pink one on the pan. On the pan it’s light pink but on the skin the pink tint is very very faint. You can barely feel its pinkness.

Up next is the legit pink shadow of the pan that looks pink in the pan and on the skin.

Next is the purple one. It’s a purple shadow with purple hologram shimmer in it.

Last is the dark purple liner. It looks purple on the pan but more brownish on the skin.

Texture wise, it’s very pigmented, but do not expect this to be buttery like Western eyeshadows. It will spread and swatch easily, but it will not go on opaquely. Like any other Japanese shadow quad, this is a shimmery shadow that goes on lightly but packs a lot of color.

And this is the pseudo mirror I was pointing out awhile back. 🙂

And this is another arm swatch photo. As you can see, the dark color is like brown… Relative to everything else, the pure shining pearl color is lighter in texture, is not shimmery but is packed with nanoglitter (nano coz it’s smaller than microglitter), and goes on like a sprinkle. It does not go on opaquely, and this effect on my arm was only achieved with about 3 or 4 swipes.

I got this quad for 390NT (Php585) from a Watsons outlet in Taiwan.

As for value for money, I personally love purple quads and also love the texture and finish of this one that I honestly think it’s a good buy. I honestly wish I had hoarded this in our Taiwan trip and bought more of this. It’s pigmented and has good color payoff, and goes nicely on the skin.

Here’s the quad in action!