The good people at HerCampus HQ are essentially the bomb, and kindly sent us the full collection of the New York Color City Proof Eye Shadow crayons. I’ll admit, I haven’t tried a ton of N.Y.C. products, and I was skeptical initially about trying these shadows. Having said that, I was extremely impressed by the results.
Here are my thoughts on the range overall:
The packaging is disappointing. The shadows are in stick form with opaque plastic packaging matching the color of the shadow. My real issue is with the cap—the clear plastic cap is weak to say the least. These babies will not travel well, which makes me sad (of course, I am not above throwing a piece of tape on the cap and calling it a day). I was also a bit disappointed by the color range. There are a few outlier colors that really pop in the collection, but beyond those, we are left with lots and lots of neutrals. All of them are very wearable, of course, but I was looking for a bit more variety in the wearable range.
The colors themselves, however, are extremely pigmented and glide on smoothly. I worry about shadow sticks because they tend to create harsh lines that make it hard to look natural, but these need very little blending at all. I don’t know what sorcery N.Y.C. had to use to make these suckers, but with only one swipe on my lid, I was (nearly) convinced I had a full look. These colors also complement each other extremely nicely. It’s clear that the collection is made to be layered and built upon and I personally love it.
I’m also a total sucker for cute names, and these colors have the cutest names. All of them are named after landmarks or aspects of New York City (fitting, for the name of the brand).
Now, let’s talk about each of the colors individually:
#600 Wall Street Bronze
This one has a really nice color payoff—one swipe and it’s on! One thing I am not so crazy about is the glitter—rather than an overall iridescent quality, this color has micro-pieces of glitter, which generally puts me off (though this is just personal preference). I do think this would be a great all-over lid color for smoky eyes or a liner color for everyday looks.
#605 Brooklyn Mocha
The name and color of this one suggest that it will be a deep brown, but I found the bronze metallic-y color of this stick very refreshing. Bronze shadows are super in at the moment and this one is super subtle. If you are looking for a super opaque bronze, this one definitely isn’t for you. But as a nice metallic base, this works perfectly.
#610 Tribeca Taupe
This one might be my favorite in the collection. I love a good taupe on my eyes, and I think this color tends to be flattering on every skin tone and eye color. The finish is pretty neutral—somewhere between matte and satin. Very wearable for every day.
#615 5th Ave. Gold Rush
Everyone needs a nice gold eye shadow in their collection, and I think I’ve found just the one. As we transition into fall, my go-to shadow look is a simple gold eye with big lashes. This makes for an extremely nice base—I would pop a bit of matte brown shadow into the crease and call it a day!
#620 Murray Hill Champagne
OH MY GOSH THIS COLOR. Okay, champagne is also a highly sought-after color at the moment, and this one does not, in any way, shape, or form, disappoint. It is very metallic and shiny, opaque, and just overall gorgeous. I want to wear this for all special occasions. I want to marry this color. I will wear this color on my wedding day when I get married to this color. Okay, I’m finished.
#625 Rockefeller Center Snowflakes
This one actually really impressed me. A few too many past experiences made me loose hope on white shadow sticks—there are always too pearly to even show up or two matte to look anywhere close to natural. This color strikes a happy medium—satiny, opaque, and extremely blendable. Expect to see this on the inner corners of my eyes for the rest of my life.
#630 Empire State Building
This is a nice one as well. It has a bit more shimmer to it, but it won’t make your eyes look like a disco ball. The subtle green and grey tones go with most things and it’s still neutral enough to wear with a statement lip.
#635 New York at Night
Again, this black is caught between a matte and a satin finish and ends up being really nice for blending. I like to wear this one smudged on my upper lash line because it gives the look a bit of smokiness. Not the most opaque black, but nice for those of us that aren’t looking for a super-intense look.
#640 Central Park Tulips
This color was both impressive and disappointing for me. I was impressed by the color—I expected it to be a royal purple, but it ended up being a lovely metallic lavender. What disappointed me was the staying power—it went on patchy and after about an hour of wearing it, it was completely gone. Again, this one is great for a Halloween costume, but don’t expect this to last 24 hours like the name suggests.
#650 East River Romance
Okay, this is the one that immediately caught my eye when I looked at the collection, and for good reason! This blue color is intense to say the least, but don’t put it down just yet. Throw this in your lower lash line with some bottom lash mascara and it will add a little bit of interest without looking too 90s-era-Christina-Aguilera.
#655 Madison Square Park
I’m not going to lie, this one hit a sour note for me. I’m all for green eye shadow—I have green eyes, so if I’m looking to make them pop, I will toss on a forest green. This, however, hits somewhere in the range of St. Patrick’s Day green. This color really doesn’t flatter any eye color, and no matter how much I blend it, I just can’t get it to look non-costume-y. Having said that, if you are going as the wicked witch or a Martian for Halloween, check this one out!
#001 Primer
So this one I am kind of indifferent towards. I like that it is an opaque peachy color (though I take issue with the fact that this is supposed to be a universal primer but is really only tailored toward fair-skinned people), which covers any veins or redness on eyelids. The consistency is similar to the rest of the collection—very creamy. I wouldn’t use this with other cream shadows—I think it would work really well with powder shadows, though. It gives the powder something to grab onto and generally stayed on for about 8 hours.
Overall, I would give this collection an 8/10. I really enjoyed most of the colors that it included. While the range of colors wasn’t everything I had hoped for, and the packaging leaves a bit to be desired, I actually like these and would recommend them to anyone who loves good, cheap makeup (AKA everyone, everyone should like things that are cheap and good).
Have you tried these shadow sticks? Are there any makeup products you want us to try out? Let us know in the comments below!