Have you ever bought makeup from Aliexpress?
To be honest, if you asked me this some time ago, I would be like "Hell no, are you crazy?". But to be honest, there's a big difference between a random retailer and an actual brand that's based on Aliexpress. If I'm not mistaken, Focallure is one of those brands.
Once in a while, I just go on Aliexpress and just look around and check out what could I use. The stuff they sell is usually pretty cheap and I was always pretty happy with what I ordered, from nail supplies to clothes, it was always a hit for me. I also ordered some brushes and they were actually very nice. But this time I stumbled upon Focallure.
I've heard about them before, a friend of mine sent me a swatch of their liquid eyeshadow that was just unreal so I thought I might order a few and give them a try. As I was in it, I got myself a glitter liner as well, just to see. And a lipstick...because, why not.
The order
I got myself their Glitter and Glow Liquid Eyeshadow in shades 01 Diamond, 03 Sand and 07 Firework. I also ordered the Heavy Gelitter Eyeliner in the shade 03 Galaxy.
The lipstick I got is the Matte Creamy Liquid Lipstick in the shade 13 Coffee.
The liquid eyeshadows were $2.82 each, the glitter liner was $2.55 and the lipstick was $2.17. All of those seem like a good deal. The order arrived in about a month, which is pretty standard when the goods come from China.
First impressions
I was nicely surprised by the packaging. All the little boxes look very nice and legit. They all have ingredients on the box, expiration period after opening and the cruelty-free sign. It all looks very neat.
The eyeshadows all have the same clear plastic component with almost square black twist-off lid. You can see the product inside and there's just "Focallure" written on the packaging. There's also a sticker on the bottom which tells you the shade.
The glitter liner comes in a round, clear plastic component which looks and feels like a cheap ripoff of the Heavy Metals liner by Urban Decay. What a surprise... When you take it out, it's got a different name on the component than on the box. It says "Beam Heavy Metallic Eyeliner" and it also has the sticker on the bottom which tells you the shade. This is a little weird but well, I'm not that surprised. You can also see the product through the clear plastic and it looks pretty packed with glitter.
The lipstick box already looks pretty long for a lipstick. The lipstick comes in a very long and thin component. It's again, seethrough, plastic, black lid and sticker with shade info on the bottom. It feels quite cheap, but well, it was cheap. The wand was a little crooked, but I like the flat kind of a lipstick applicator it has.
The color of all these products is very similar to what I expected online. I was mostly surprised by the lipstick, because I usually get disappointed by lipstick color even when I buy it in store. The think that was the furthest was the liner. In the picture it looked a lot different but it's probably photoshopped. Looking at it now, this type of glitter payoff and ombre effect is probably impossible to get with one liner product. So well, my bad.
Overall, I am happy with my purchase. I have worn the eyeshadows a few times, and those are very nice and well made. They dry down, don't flake or fade and they look really nice.
I haven't worn the liner and the lipstick yet, but I absolutelly will and I'll let you know in a proper wear test post.
Have you ever ordered any makeup from Aliexpress or you want me to try something? Thanks for the reading and let me know!